skills test 2: rules of language - amazon...

A Complete English for Academic Purposes Program. SKILLS TEST 2: Rules of Language Learning resources created by Peter Mooney-Smith and Clare Goss © Oxford University Press 2014

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Skills Test 2:

Rules of Language

NAME: ________________________________STUDENT NUMBER:_________________

This test covers the following learning areas:

Language structure and vocabulary

TASK 1a: Understanding key vocabulary (20 marks)

TASK 1b: Verb forms (10 marks)

TASK 1c: Punctuation (10 Marks)

TASK 1d: Active and passive sentence formation (10 marks)

/50

Reading and general comprehension

TASK 2a: General comprehension (10 marks)

TASK 2b: True or False (10 marks)

/20

Writing

TASK 3a: Sentence structure (10 marks)

TASK 3b: Discursive essay writing (20 marks)

/30


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TASK 1: Language structure and vocabulary (50 marks in total)

TASK 1a: Understanding key vocabulary (20 marks) Choose and circle the correct word in the following sentences.

1. An adverb/adjective/article is a word that describes a noun or a pronoun.

2. A prefix/pronoun/suffix is a letter, or group of letters, added to the beginning of a

word to adjust its meaning.

3. Semicolons, apostrophes and question marks are all examples of exclamation marks/punctuation/pronunciation.

4. A word that gives us more information about a verb, an adjective or an adverb is an article/adjective/adverb.

5. Adding the letters ly to an adjective is a common way to form an article/adverb/active verb.

6. A verb/noun/infinitive is a word for an action, a state or a happening.

7. The basic form of a verb is known as the infinitive/unfinitive/comparative form.

8. An irregular/countable/uncountable noun cannot be made plural.

9. Re, anti, and pro are common examples of prefixes/suffixes/articles.

10. Remember is a(n) synonym/homonym/antonym of forget.

11. ‘The lecture was cancelled’ is an example of a sentence written in active voice/passive voice/gerund.

12. Inverted commas are also known as apostrophe/exclamation marks/quotation marks.

13. The words a, an and the are particles/articles/verbs.

14. A group of words that includes a subject and a verb, and forms a sentence or part of a sentence is known as a clause/pause/gerund.

15. I, me, and my are nouns/verbs/pronouns.

16. The word intention is a synonym/opposite/antonym of purpose.

17. A superlative/gerund/article is a noun form of the -ing verb and is often used as the subject of a sentence.


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18. ‘To put someone in the picture’ is an example of an idiom/infinitive/collocation.

19. The act of forming words correctly from individual letters is known as

writing/spelling/preposition.

20. Although, however and because are examples of collocations/conjunctions/comparisons. /20

TASK 1b: Verb forms (10 marks) Fill in the blank spaces below with the right verb forms.

PRESENT TENSE PAST TENSE PAST PARTICIPLE

1. spell

2. conclude

3. speak

4. make

5. write

6. think

7. understand

8. advise

9. discuss

10. add

/10 TASK 1c: Punctuation (10 marks) Correct the punctuation in the following sentences.

1. The dog ate it’s dinner.

2. In the english language, there are many exceptions to grammar rules.

3. Phi showed her essay to a student whom she thought she could trust

4. ‘Haven’t you finished the assignment yet’ asked Remzi.

5. ‘Oh no!’ Look what you’ve done! she cried.

6. The police officer got in the car started the engine and drove away.

7. Heres that book you wanted.

8. While you were studying Melissa left a message for you.


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9. I like going out on weekends my housemate prefers to say at home.

10. The essay was very well written in addition, it was clear that the student had done of a lot of research.

/10 TASK 1d: Active and passive sentence formation (10 marks) Rewrite these sentences in the passive form. 1. Remzi submitted the assignment last week.

2. They are building a new university campus closer to the city.

3. The administration officer has sent me this letter by mistake.

4. The students had completed the presentation by the time I arrived.

5. The lecturer will repeat the lecture next Wednesday.

Rewrite these sentences in the active form. 1. Coffee is grown in Colombia.

2. By whom were you told not to do the assignment?

3. The student was accused of plagiarising the essay from the Internet. _________________________________________________________________________ 4. The letter was sent by the immigration department.

5. You will be given all the necessary information by student services officers at orientation.

/10


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TASK 2: Reading and general comprehension (20 marks in total)

Read the text below. You will need to refer back to it for Task 2a.

Linguistics at Meldon University

Welcome to the Meldon University Linguistics Department. Meldon offers local and international students a number of courses in the Linguistics field, including single-subject short introductory courses to postgraduate study. Students can obtain a major in Linguistics, study honours and move on to a Masters course and even a PhD.

What is Linguistics?

Linguists study many different languages. It is not necessary to be good at languages to do well in linguistics but it certainly helps to be interested in how languages are structured, how they are used and how they develop over time, as this is what you will study in Linguistics courses at Meldon. Introductory subject areas include phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax and semantics. Phonetics and phonology refer to how we make the sounds required to speak languages, and studying sound patterns in languages. Morphology refers to word structure, syntax refers to sentence structure, and semantics simply refers to meaning. Throughout the Linguistics courses offered at Meldon University, students will compare many different languages from around the world and how these languages have changed and developed over time. It is also possible for students to study other aspects of linguistics, such as how people learn languages, and why the same language can vary from region to region.

Why study Linguistics?

There are many other fascinating areas of study within a Linguistics course, where students can develop research skills, the ability to evaluate information, form arguments and draw conclusions, as well as present information in both written and oral form, to academic standards. This can all lead to exciting career opportunities for graduates. Meldon students who have graduated with a degree in Linguistics have found employment in industries such as education, publishing, government-related positions, psychology and even in film and television. Start your application today!

(295 words)


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TASK 2a: General comprehension

Refer to the text above to answer the following questions. Please answer in full sentences and in your own words.

1. What is the topic of the reading?

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. Who is the text written for?

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. What subjects can students study in a Linguistics major?

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4. Why does the writer recommend studying Linguistics?

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

5. Would you like to study Linguistics? Why? Why not?

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

/10


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TASK 2b: True or false (10 marks)

Decide if these statements about the text are True (T), False (F) or Not Given (NG).

1. Many students choose to study Linguistics.

2. Meldon University offers several Linguistics courses.

3. Only local students can study Linguistics at Meldon University.

4. One of the subject areas in the Linguistics course is syntax.

5. Linguistics lecturers at Meldon University are multilingual.

6. In a Linguistics course, students will study many languages.

7. It is necessary to speak more than one language well to be successful in

linguistics.

8. The Linguistics Department will help you find a job after you have

graduated.

9. Morphology is the study of word structure.

10. Studying linguistics involves comparing different languages.

/10


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TASK 3: Writing (30 marks in total)

TASK 3a: Sentence structure (10 marks)

Put the words in the right order to make a coherent sentence, and correct the punctuation

as needed.

1. Thi Tran am I from Vietnam.

_____________________________________________________________________

2. strong arguments the idea are there against both for and.

_____________________________________________________________________

3. Academic Skills Reading in our class being taught are we English for Academic Purposes.

_____________________________________________________________________

4. Meldon University are every semester welcomed to new students

_____________________________________________________________________

5. in English foreign language as a taught is to large numbers of students their countries home.

_____________________________________________________________________

/10

TASK 3b: Discursive essay writing (20 marks)

Choose one of the topics below and write a discursive essay of no more than 250 words.

Topic 1

Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of doing classroom activities in groups. Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

Topic 2

Mobile phones have become a part of our everyday lives. They have transformed the way we communicate and learn. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using a mobile


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phone for education. Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

Topic 3

‘One language spoken worldwide would lead to better international relations.’ Discuss,

giving reasons for your answer and including any relevant examples from your own

knowledge or experience.


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ANSWERS TASK 1a (20 marks) Choose and circle the correct word. 1. adjective 2. prefix 3. punctuation 4. adverb 5. adverb 6. verb 7. infinitive 8. uncountable 9. prefixes 10. antonym 11. passive voice 12. quotation marks 13. articles 14. clause 15. pronoun 16. synonym 17. gerund 18. idiom 19. spelling 20. conjunctions TASK 1b (10 marks) Fill in the blank spaces with the right verb forms.

PRESENT TENSE PAST TENSE PAST PARTICIPLE

1. spell spelt spelt

2. conclude concluded concluded

3. speak spoke spoken

4. make made made

5. write wrote written

6. think thought thought

7. understand understood understood

8. advise advised advised

9. discuss discussed discussed

10. add added added


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TASK 1c (10 marks) Correct the punctuation in the following sentences

1. The dog ate its dinner. No apostrophe.

2. In the English language, there are many exceptions to grammar rules. Capital E for English.

3. Phi showed her essay to a student whom she thought she could trust. Full stop.

4. ‘Haven’t you finished the assignment yet?’ asked Remzi. Question mark.

5. ‘Oh no! Look what you’ve done!’ she cried. Quotation marks around whole speech portion.

6. The police officer got in the car, started the engine and drove away. Comma after car.

7. Here’s that book you wanted. Apostrophe in Here’s.

8. While you were studying, Melissa left a message for you. Comma after studying.

9. I like going out on weekends. My housemate prefers to say at home. Full stop after weekends, capital M for My.

10. The essay was very well written. In addition, it was clear that the student had done of a lot of research. Full stop after written, capital I for In.

TASK 1d (10 marks) Passive voice

1. The assignment was submitted last week. 2. A new university campus is being built closer to the city. 3. The letter has been sent to me by mistake by the administration officer. 4. The presentation had been completed by the time I arrived. 5. The lecture will be repeated next Wednesday.

Active voice

1. They grow coffee in Colombia. 2. Who told you not to do the assignment? 3. The lecturer accused the student of plagiarising the essay from the Internet. 4. The immigration department sent the letter. 5. Student Services officers will give you all the necessary information at orientation.


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TASK 2a (10 marks)

Read the text and answer the following questions in full sentences and in your own words. (2 marks per question)

1. What is the topic of the reading?

The topic of the reading is studying Linguistics at Meldon University.

2. Who is the text written for?

The text is written for international and local students who are choosing subjects to study at Meldon University.

3. What subjects can students study in a Linguistics major?

Students can study subjects such as Introduction to Linguistics, and subject areas include morphology, syntax, semantics, phonetics and phonology.

4. Why does the writer recommend studying Linguistics?

The writer recommends studying Linguistics for two reasons. The first reason is students can develop academic study skills such as doing research and evaluating information. The second reason is students can be employed in a wide range of industries after graduation.

5. Would you like to study Linguistics? Why? Why not?

Student’s answers will vary.

Sample answers:

After reading the text I think I would be very interested in studying Linguistics. This is because I am interested in why there are so many different languages in the world. Studying linguistics could answer my question.

I’m not sure that Linguistics is interesting for me. Studying many languages at the same time would be very confusing. I want to be good at English before I start another language.

Task 2b (10 marks)

Decide if these statements about the text are True (T), False (F) or Not Given (NG).

1. Many students choose to study Linguistics. NG

2. Meldon University offers several Linguistics courses. T

3. Only local students can study Linguistics at Meldon University. F

4. One of the subject areas in the Linguistics course is syntax. T


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5. Linguistics lecturers at Meldon University are multilingual. NG

6. In a Linguistics course, students will study many languages. T

7. It is necessary to speak more than one language well to be successful in

linguistics. F

8. The Linguistics Department will help you find a job after you have

graduated. NG

9. Morphology is the study of word structure. T

10. Studying linguistics involves comparing different languages. T

TASK 3a (10 marks) Put the words in the right order to make a coherent sentence, and correct the punctuation

as needed.

1. I am Thi Tran from Vietnam. 2. There are strong arguments both for and against the idea. 3. We are being taught Academic Reading Skills in our English for Academic Purposes

class. 4. New students are welcomed to Meldon University every semester. 5. English is taught as a foreign language to large numbers of students in their home

countries.

TASK 3b (20 marks)

Choose one of the topics and write a discursive essay of no more than 250 words.

Student answers will vary.

For full marks, students will have:

understood the task ‘to discuss’, and answered all parts of the question

included a clear introduction, body paragraphs and a conclusion

provided examples to support their points

written full sentences and used appropriate punctuation

used grammar accurately

used appropriate vocabulary and correct spelling.

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