【Efficient Preparation】Six Exam Strategies for the 2016 Professional English Test: Key Points to Review Before the Exam

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This post was last edited by zuanshinianhua on 2016-1-20 at 08:37. The preparation for the 2016 National Professional Title English Exam has now fully begun, and candidates need to create their own study plans in order to prepare systematically. To assist candidates in preparing more effectively, our teachers have summarized some tips for preparing for this exam, in the hope of helping all candidates. We also wish everyone success in the 2016 Professional Title English Exam!

Key tip No. 1 for preparing for the Professional Title English Exam: Concentrate on studying the textbook, with particular attention to the newly added articles.
Based on past patterns of questions in this exam, 30%-50% of the questions come from the textbook. This year’s textbook has been released, and the only changes relate to the short articles included in it – five articles have been removed and five new ones added (for details on the changes in the 2016 textbook, please check accordingly). So, following past trends, mastering the content in the textbooks should be sufficient to score around 40 points. Candidates are advised not to waste time on trivial matters during their review period before the exam; they should not focus on other questions until they have fully understood those in the textbooks. 　　Referring to the exam situations from 2013 to 2015, although new articles are no longer as popular, the examination format remains unchanged; the questions in the Professional English exam are based on the textbooks, so these articles are essential to review. For candidates who recovered earlier and to a better extent, and who are already familiar with the questions in the textbooks, they should work on some practice problems to gain experience and master certain problem-solving techniques. To ensure that proficiency is achieved through the use of appropriate techniques. 　　Key tip number two for preparing for the Professional English Test: Understand the six different question types in the exam and master basic grammar knowledge. As the saying goes, know yourself and your opponent, and you can win every battle; the same applies to the Professional English Test. There are no changes in the question types of the Professional English Test; it still consists of six types of questions: vocabulary selection, reading comprehension with multiple-choice answers, summarizing main ideas and completing sentences, reading comprehension, filling in blanks, and cloze tests. Only by thoroughly understanding the examination methods for these six question types can one truly begin to prepare for the exam. 　　Another point is that although dictionaries are allowed in the professional English test, one cannot rely entirely on them during the exam; it’s not possible to look up everything in a dictionary, so it’s still necessary to memorize some words. Since working professionals have limited time and energy, it is recommended that they focus on key vocabulary and phrases. Additionally, the professional English test covers grammar, but it isn’t tested directly; rather, grammar is incorporated into the questions in a flexible manner. If you don’t have good study methods, you can visit the professional English website – there, you’ll find various experience summaries that can serve as references. 　　Key tip number three for preparing for the Professional English Test: Do practice tests to master problem-solving skills. For candidates who start preparing early and have a solid foundation, it is recommended that they do some targeted practice tests after mastering the content of the textbooks, in order to improve their skills in reading and solving problems. 　　Start by practicing with different types of questions separately*. While practicing, you can try applying the problem-solving techniques explained in class, such as the method of using headings, the red-flower and green-leaf principle, the sequential question-posing principle, and the keyword-based location method. Mastering these techniques not only helps you save time when solving problems, but more importantly, it enables you to answer questions that contain many unfamiliar words for which there’s no time to look them up in a dictionary, thereby improving your scores. After practicing each type of question separately, we need to conduct practice tests under the actual exam time and conditions in order to assess the candidate’s true current level and recovery status. 　　Key tip number four for preparing for the Professional English Test: Keep practicing dictionary lookup. Candidates are allowed to bring a dictionary into the exam room, and it is necessary to practice looking up words repeatedly in the final stages in order to improve both speed and accuracy. It is recommended to practice looking up 60 word pairs per day; for each vocabulary question, one should check both the correct and incorrect meanings of the word. Additionally, it is important to memorize the words that are frequently tested in this exam, as this will help increase speed and save time during the test. At the same time, it is recommended that candidates focus their final review before the exam on the key vocabulary that appears frequently in the vocabulary sections of past exam papers, as well as the core vocabulary required for the Professional English Test; this will help improve their efficiency when answering questions during the exam. 　　Key tip number five for preparing for the Professional English Test: Adjust your mindset for preparation, build confidence, and remember not to give up easily in times of confusion. Generally speaking, most candidates taking this test are middle-aged or young; many of them have a weak foundation in English or haven’t been exposed to it for a long time, which makes them lack confidence in the exam. It is recommended that everyone make a plan as soon as possible and prepare consistently and regularly.