PSLCE English common mistakes
PSLCE English · Understand the traps and how to avoid them.
Choosing an answer because a word in the option matches a word in the passage, without checking whether the option actually answers the question stem.
Under time pressure candidates pattern-match surface vocabulary instead of reading the stem first and returning to the passage to verify; distractors are deliberately built from passage wording.
What to do instead
Read the question stem before the passage lines it refers to, underline the exact words in the stem that define the task (main idea, detail, inference, tone), then locate the sentence that answers it and reject any option whose support you cannot point to in the text.
Answering main-idea and title questions with a single supporting detail or the topic word alone.
The first and last sentences are often vivid or emphatic, so candidates mistake a memorable detail for the author's overall point.
What to do instead
After reading the whole passage, write a one-sentence summary in your own words before looking at the options, and choose the option that covers the entire passage rather than one paragraph or one example.
Treating an inference question as a fact question and selecting an option that is stated word-for-word in the passage.
Candidates are trained to look for textual support, so they pick the safest-looking option, but a directly stated fact is not an inference.
What to do instead
For inference items, eliminate any option that is explicitly stated in the passage; the correct answer must be a conclusion the text strongly implies but never says outright, and it must be supported by more than one clue.
Picking a synonym based on one dictionary sense that does not fit the sentence, e.g. choosing a word meaning 'correct' for 'right' in 'the right to vote'.
Candidates memorise single definitions and do not test the word in context; many high-frequency words are polysemous.
What to do instead
Substitute each option back into the original sentence and read the whole sentence aloud mentally; eliminate any option that changes the sentence's meaning or produces an odd collocation.
Confusing word forms from the same root, such as affect/effect, advice/advise, practice/practise, or economic/economical.
These pairs sound similar and differ only in grammatical function, and candidates choose by sound rather than by sentence role.
What to do instead
Learn each pair by part of speech: affect is usually a verb, effect usually a noun; advise and practise are verbs, advice and practice are nouns. Before answering, identify what part of speech the blank requires.
Choosing an option that is grammatically possible but does not fit the register or collocation of the sentence, such as 'make a decision' versus 'do a decision'.
Candidates focus only on meaning and ignore fixed partnerships between words that native-like usage requires.
What to do instead
Keep a running list of common verb-noun and adjective-noun collocations you meet in reading passages, and when two options seem synonymous, test which one is used with that exact noun in formal written English.
Matching the verb to the nearest noun instead of the real subject in sentences with intervening phrases, e.g. 'The box of chocolates were on the table'.
The ear is drawn to the plural noun closest to the verb, and long prepositional phrases hide the head noun.
What to do instead
Cross out every prepositional phrase between the subject and the verb, then check agreement between what remains; do this mechanically on every agreement item before reading the options.
Leaving a sentence fragment or run-on because it 'sounds complete' when read quickly.
Informal speech tolerates fragments and comma splices, so candidates rely on rhythm rather than on identifying a finite verb and an independent clause.
What to do instead
For each sentence, locate the main subject and its finite verb; if either is missing, or if two independent clauses are joined only by a comma, the sentence needs repair. Practise by labelling subject and verb in ten sentences a day.
Putting a comma between two independent clauses (comma splice) or omitting the comma after an introductory element.
Candidates punctuate by pause, inserting a comma wherever they would breathe, rather than by grammatical structure.
What to do instead
Use the rule that a comma alone cannot join two full clauses: use a full stop, semicolon, or comma plus conjunction. Separately, always place a comma after an introductory word, phrase, or dependent clause before the main clause.
Writing a composition that lists general opinions without a clear controlling idea, paragraph structure, or specific supporting examples.
Candidates run out of planning time, write as ideas occur, and pad with repetition, so the script lacks a thesis and coherent development even when the grammar is accurate.
What to do instead
Spend three to five minutes before writing to draft a one-sentence thesis and a three-point outline, then write one paragraph per point with a topic sentence and a concrete example, and reserve two minutes to check agreement, tense consistency, and punctuation.