The Format of the English Test
The five passages on the English Test contain two question
formats: underlines and boxes. Both the underlines and the boxes
will be numbered so you can find the corresponding multiple-choice
answers in the right-hand column of the test booklet.
Below you’ll find a sample English Test paragraph, illustrating
both question -formats:
 |
| [1] That summer my parents | buy | me my first |
| | 17 | |
|
17. | A. | NO CHANGE |
| B. | bought |
| | C. | have bought |
| | D. | buys |
| bike—my first true love. [2] One day, I crashed |
| |
|
|
| into a tree and broke my leg. [3] Unfortunately, |
| |
|
|
| my control of the bike was not as great as my |
| |
|
|
| enthusiasm for it. [4] I spent all my afternoons |
| |
|
|
| speeding around the neighborhood blocks. |  |
| | |
|
18. | Which of the following |
| provides the most logical |
| | ordering of the sentences in |
| | Paragraph 3? |
| | F. | 3, 2, 1, 4 |
| | G. | 3, 1, 4, 2 |
| | H. | 1, 4, 3, 2 |
| | J. | 1, 4, 2, 3 |
Question 17 demonstrates the underline format
on the English Test. In this example, the word “buy” is underlined
and numbered 17, indicating that you can replace “buy” with answer
choices B, C, or D, or keep it by selecting answer choice A (“NO CHANGE”).
Decide which answer choice makes the sentence grammatically correct, and
fill in the corresponding bubble on your answer sheet. (The correct
answer is B.)
Question 18 is an example of a Rhetorical Skills
question indicated by a boxed number. The boxed number indicates
that the question will deal with a large section of the passage,
not just a few words. This question asks you to reorganize the sentences
of the paragraph in a logical manner. Once you’ve arrived at an
answer, fill in the corresponding bubble on your answer sheet. (The
correct answer to this question is H.)
Don’t worry about the answers to these questions
now. We’ll deal with the specific question types and the grammar
covered on the English Subject Test later on in this chapter.
