ORT English common mistakes
ORT English · Understand the traps and how to avoid them.
Scanning a reading passage only for words that match the question, then choosing an answer built from those same words without checking what the sentence actually says.
Under time pressure, matching surface vocabulary feels fast and safe, and distractors are often written to echo the passage's wording while reversing or qualifying the meaning.
What to do instead
For each option, go back to the exact line and read the whole sentence plus the one before it. Ask whether the option states the same relationship (cause, contrast, condition) as the text, not just the same nouns. Practise by writing why each distractor is wrong before selecting.
Answering True/False/Not Given or Yes/No/Not Given items by deciding whether the statement is factually true in the real world rather than whether the passage says it.
Candidates rely on general knowledge or personal opinion, and 'Not Given' feels like a trick so they avoid it even when the passage is silent on the point.
What to do instead
Treat the passage as the only source of truth. Use a three-step check: locate the relevant lines; if present and agreeing, choose True/Yes; if present and contradicting, choose False/No; if the specific claim (including quantities, dates, comparisons) is absent, choose Not Given. Drill with short texts where one detail is deliberately missing.
Reading the questions after the passage, or reading the passage once at full detail before looking at any question.
Candidates believe thorough reading first is more careful, but it wastes time on irrelevant paragraphs and leaves too little time to locate answers precisely.
What to do instead
Preview the questions first and underline the key noun or number in each. Then read the passage paragraph by paragraph, marking where each question's information sits. Questions usually follow passage order, so move forward through the text as you answer.
Losing the thread during a listening section after missing one word, then missing the next two answers while replaying the missed moment mentally.
Anxiety about the lost item causes attention to stall, and candidates do not realise the recording keeps moving and the next answer is coming immediately.
What to do instead
Adopt a deliberate reset rule: when you miss an item, mark it with a dash and immediately read the next question stem. Before the audio starts, underline the key word in each question and predict the answer type (number, name, reason). Practise with full sections and enforce the reset every time.
Writing an answer as soon as a speaker mentions a number, name, or option, without waiting for the correction or qualification that follows.
Recordings often contain self-correction ('Tuesday - no, make it Wednesday') or a distractor mentioned before the real answer, and candidates grab the first plausible item.
What to do instead
Listen for contrast and repair signals such as 'actually', 'sorry', 'rather', 'but', and for the speaker confirming a choice. Train by listening to dialogues with deliberate corrections and noting both the first-mentioned and final values, then choosing the final one.
Spelling dictated names, addresses, and numbers phonetically or from memory instead of writing exactly what is spelled out, and leaving answers blank when unsure.
Candidates trust their ear for spelling, confuse similar-sounding letters (B/V, M/N, double letters), and fear that a wrong guess will be penalised more than a blank.
What to do instead
Learn the standard spelling alphabet patterns used in dictation and practise writing letter by letter. Always attempt an answer; a near-miss costs nothing extra. After the section, use the pause to check plurals, capitalisation, and whether a number needs a unit.
Choosing an answer that is grammatically possible but does not fit the surrounding sentence's tense, preposition, or collocation, especially in gap-fill and word-choice items.
Candidates evaluate options one at a time in isolation and stop at the first one that 'sounds right', ignoring the grammatical frame the sentence imposes.
What to do instead
Read the whole sentence and identify what the gap requires: part of speech, tense, singular/plural, dependent preposition, or fixed collocation. Eliminate options that fail the frame before judging meaning. Keep a personal list of preposition and collocation pairs you get wrong and review it weekly.
Writing answers that meet the word count by padding with memorised linking phrases and general statements rather than addressing the specific task.
Candidates believe length and impressive connectors earn marks, but examiners reward relevant content, clear organisation, and accurate language; irrelevant sentences lower the score.
What to do instead
Spend two minutes planning: identify exactly what the task asks (who you are writing to, what points to cover, what outcome you want). Draft one sentence per required point, then add only connectors that express real relationships. After writing, delete any sentence that does not serve a required point.
Submitting a writing task without re-reading it for subject–verb agreement, articles, and tense consistency, or without checking that the required format (email, letter, report) is present.
Time pressure pushes candidates to finish at the last second, and errors made while composing feel correct when read silently and quickly.
What to do instead
Reserve the final three to four minutes for a checklist pass: verb endings, singular/plural nouns, a/an/the, tense consistency, and format elements such as greeting, sign-off, headings, or bullet points. Read each sentence aloud in your head, one clause at a time.
In the speaking test, giving one-word or two-sentence answers to open questions, or delivering a memorised monologue that ignores the actual prompt.
Nervousness shortens answers, and rehearsed material feels safer than spontaneous speech, but it fails to demonstrate range and does not respond to the examiner's question.
What to do instead
Use a simple extension pattern for every answer: direct response, one reason, one example or detail, then a brief closing thought. For long turns, use the preparation minute to note three keywords, not a script, and practise speaking for the full time on unfamiliar topics with a timer.