English Language Proficiency: Grammar, Vocabulary, Reading, and Controlled Writing
What the paper measures
The English proficiency domain of the AUB entrance examination checks whether your English can carry university-level reading and writing. Expect four interlocking skills: sentence-level grammar and usage, vocabulary in context, reading comprehension of academic prose, and a short controlled writing task. Every part rewards the same habit: deciding from evidence in the text rather than from what sounds right.
Rules that decide most items
- Agreement: the verb follows the head noun, not a phrase between them - in The list of applicants was posted, the subject is list.
- Pronoun reference: a pronoun needs one clear antecedent; it or they with two possible referents is an error.
- Parallelism: items joined by and, or, not only … but also take the same grammatical form.
- Tense and mood: hold one time frame unless meaning requires a shift; after if, wish, suggest use were or the base verb.
- Modifiers: an opening participle modifies the subject - Walking to class, she noticed …, never Walking to class, the rain began.
- Concision: sentence-correction items prefer the shorter direct version; delete redundancy such as return back.
Worked example
Neither the laboratory assistants nor the supervisor (was / were) aware of the change. Step 1: identify the subjects joined by neither … nor. Step 2: apply the rule - with or/nor the verb agrees with the nearer subject. Step 3: supervisor is singular, so was. Choosing were because two people are mentioned is the common error.
Traps that cost marks
- Absolute wording - always, never, all, only - is rarely supported in reading options.
- A true statement the passage never makes is still a wrong answer; correct options trace to a line you can point to.
- For inference, take the smallest step beyond the text, not the most dramatic one.
- In sentence correction, keep "no change" when the original is already grammatical - over-correction loses marks.
- Watch misplaced only, dangling which, and comma splices joining two clauses with a comma alone.
- In writing, an unfocused thesis and unsupported generalities cost more than small slips.