Free iTEP Academic-Core Exam Flashcards

Grammar, also called Structure, has 25 multiple-choice items in 10 minutes: 13 sentence-completion items and 12 error-identification items. Items range across proficiency levels.

Identify the head noun of the subject, then match the verb to that noun. Ignore interrupting prepositional phrases: “The list of courses is available” because list, not courses, controls is.

Subjects joined by and normally take a plural verb. With or or nor, the verb agrees with the nearer subject: “Either the tutors or the professor is speaking.”

Use had plus the past participle for an action completed before another past action or time: “By the time class began, she had submitted the paper.”

Use the present perfect for past experience or an action connected to the present without a finished past time. Use the simple past with a completed time such as yesterday, in 2024, or last week.

Use many and few with plural count nouns; use much and little with noncount nouns. A lot of and some work with both: many books, much research, some books, some research.

Use a or an for one nonspecific singular count noun, the for an identified or unique noun, and no article for plural or noncount nouns used generally: “Students need information.”

A pronoun needs a clear antecedent and must agree with it in number and person. If “it,” “they,” or “this” could refer to more than one noun, rewrite or choose a clearer option.

An adjective modifies a noun or follows a linking verb to describe the subject; an adverb modifies a verb, adjective, or another adverb. Compare “The result seems accurate” with “She calculated accurately.”

A preposition is followed by a noun phrase or a gerund, not a bare infinitive: “interested in learning.” Remember that to can be a preposition in expressions such as “look forward to learning.”

A modal such as can, could, may, might, must, should, or will is followed by the base verb without to: “Students must submit,” not “must to submit” or “must submits.”

A likely future condition commonly uses if plus present, then will plus base verb. A present unreal condition uses if plus past form, then would plus base verb: “If I knew, I would answer.”

Who refers to people; which refers to things; that can introduce a restrictive clause about people or things. A nonrestrictive clause is set off by commas and normally uses who or which, not that.

After verbs such as recommend, suggest, insist, and demand followed by that, formal English uses the base verb for every subject: “The professor suggested that he revise the draft.”

Use the appropriate form of be plus a past participle: “The results were published.” The object of the active sentence becomes the passive subject; include a by-phrase only when the actor matters.

Items joined in a list or comparison should use matching grammatical forms: “The course requires reading, discussing, and writing,” not “reading, discussion, and to write.”

Although and because introduce clauses with subjects and verbs; despite and because of introduce noun phrases or gerunds. Compare “although it rained” with “despite the rain.”

Listening lasts 20 minutes and has 14 questions: four short conversations with one question each, one 2–3 minute conversation with four questions, and one 4-minute academic lecture with six questions.

It is played once. Listen actively the first time and follow your delivery rules: current at-home virtual-proctoring guidance prohibits physical notes, so take compact notes only when expressly allowed.

Identify the setting, the speakers' relationship, the immediate purpose, and the final decision or problem. A two- or three-sentence exchange often turns on one key detail.

When your delivery rules allow notes, record the speakers, problem or goal, proposed options, and resolution in keywords. If notes are prohibited, mentally track the same four elements; current at-home virtual proctoring does not allow physical notes.

When notes are permitted, write the topic and central claim, then indent major points, examples, contrasts, causes, and conclusions. Otherwise, mentally organize that hierarchy; current at-home virtual proctoring prohibits physical notes.

Choose the option that covers the speaker's overall subject and purpose, not one memorable example. Ask what unifies the beginning, development, and conclusion.

Connect each key detail to its role—date, cause, example, objection, or result—mentally or in notes when permitted. A correct answer must match both what was said and why it was mentioned.

It asks why a speaker made a statement—for example, to clarify, correct, illustrate, disagree, or introduce a result. Focus on the statement's function in context, not only its literal words.

A valid inference follows from spoken evidence even though it is not stated word for word. Reject choices that are merely possible but require an unsupported assumption.

They may ask whether two ideas show cause and effect, comparison, contrast, sequence, problem and solution, or example and principle. Transition language often reveals the relationship.

Combine word choice with stress and intonation. Enthusiasm, doubt, frustration, and polite disagreement may be conveyed by delivery even when the literal sentence sounds neutral.

However signals contrast; therefore signals a result; for example introduces support; first, next, and finally mark sequence. Track the relationship rather than trying to retain every word.

Correct choices often restate the audio with synonyms or a different structure. Match meaning, not repeated vocabulary: “postpone the meeting” can become “hold it at a later time.”

An incorrect option may repeat exact words from the audio but change their relationship or conclusion. Verify the full meaning before choosing an answer that sounds familiar.

If notes are permitted, write the value with a short label, such as “2018—study began” or “3 groups.” If notes are prohibited, mentally attach the same role because an isolated number is easy to confuse with another figure.

Words such as not, rarely, only, except, may, and probably limit a claim. Missing one can reverse or overstate the speaker's meaning, so deliberately connect it to the relevant idea whether or not notes are allowed.

Remove choices that contradict the audio, distort a relationship, overgeneralize, or mention an unstated idea. With no penalty for guessing, select the best supported remaining option.

Reading lasts 20 minutes and has 10 questions: about a 250-word intermediate passage with four questions and a 400–450-word upper-level passage with six questions.

No specialized academic or cultural knowledge is required. Base answers on the passage; unfamiliar subject matter is a context for measuring English comprehension, not outside expertise.

State the subject plus the author's central point about it. A strong main idea covers the whole passage without becoming so broad that it could describe many unrelated texts.

The topic is the general subject, often a short noun phrase. The main idea is the author's controlling statement about that topic and must account for the major supporting points.

Label each paragraph's role—background, claim, evidence, example, contrast, cause, or conclusion. The map reveals how details build the author's overall argument or explanation.

Use a keyword or paraphrase from the question to locate the relevant lines, then read the surrounding sentence. Choose what the passage states, not what is generally true.

Restate the task as “three choices are supported; one is not.” Verify each option against the text and select the unsupported or contradicted choice.

Substitute each candidate meaning into the sentence and check nearby definition, example, contrast, tone, and grammar clues. The everyday dictionary meaning may not fit the passage.

It must be the conclusion most strongly supported by passage evidence. Reject an option that adds a new cause, motive, or prediction the author did not imply.

Look backward for a noun that matches the pronoun in number and meaning, then substitute it into the sentence. The nearest noun is not automatically the correct referent.

It asks why the author included a sentence, example, statistic, or paragraph—such as to define, illustrate, contrast, qualify, or support a claim. Explain its job in the passage.

Transitions label relationships: however marks contrast, moreover adds support, consequently gives a result, and for instance introduces an example. Use them to predict the next idea's role.

Events occurring in order do not automatically prove causation. A cause-and-effect answer needs textual language or reasoning that one event produced the other.

Identify the two subjects and create a quick same/different chart. Preserve the direction of the comparison; a feature of the first subject cannot be reassigned to the second.

An example makes a broader statement concrete. Link it to the claim immediately before or after it; do not mistake one illustration for the passage's entire main idea.

Budget the 20 minutes across both passages, answer text-supported items first, and eliminate choices that are contradicted, too broad, too narrow, or unsupported. Guess rather than leave an item blank because there is no penalty.