Is your child taking the English EmSAT exam this year? Relying on their school teachers to prepare them is a risky strategy. In many cases, their teachers aren’t given specific training on the exam and aren’t given the resources to prepare them properly. As a former UAE public school teacher myself, I know this problem well. Don’t risk having them sit at home for a year after graduation trying to improve their marks. Prepare them for success the first time with these 6 crucial steps.
- They should know the four most common essay types and how to write them. The writing section is worth 25% of their overall mark, so performing well on this part of the exam can boost your student’s score up to the level needed for university entrance. While there are many different types of essays students can be asked to write the most common essays are: Advantages and disadvantages, persuasive, opinion, and problem and solutions. All of these essays should be organized with an introduction, a main body, and a conclusion. However, the content and organization of the main body will change for each essay type. Make sure they study how to write each type and practice writing them.
- They should know the format of the exam and which sections take them the longest. The EmSAT exam is timed. A timer will start as they begin each section of the exam. They should practice with each section of the exam to understand which sections of the exam take them the longest and practice with those question types to help improve their speed. If the timer finishes before they have answered all of the questions in that section, they will be marked as wrong causing them to lose valuable points.
- They should know the 12 main grammar tenses and how to identify them. Many of the questions in the grammar section will require them to choose the best words to complete a sentence. Being familiar with the rules and uses of the 12 main grammar tenses will help them to quickly identify the correct answer for the most common grammar question types.
- They should know how to skim and scan a text for information. As mentioned above, the EmSAT exam is timed, so being able to quickly find the answers to questions in the reading section will help them to save time. For many common question types, it isn’t necessary to read every word in a passage to find the answer. Learning how to skim for the main idea and scan for specific details are essential to making the most of their time in the exam. Familiarizing themselves with these different reading strategies will help their overall performance.
- Know how to guess the meaning of an unfamiliar word. It’s almost guaranteed that they will come across several words in the exam that they don’t know. Does that mean they are destined to get those questions wrong? Absolutely not! They should spend time learning how to guess the meaning from context, and practice that skill. This will help them to eliminate wrong answers and improve the liklihood of choosing the correct ones.
- They should know where to find practice exams and use them! The best way to prepare for any exam, in any subject, is to take as many practice exams as you can find. Make sure that the practice exams they are taking mimic the style and content of the real EmSAT Exam. This is guaranteed to make them more confident and more prepared for the real exam. Where possible, make sure the exams come with answer keys that give detailed explanations so your child can learn not to make the same mistakes on the real EmSAT exam.
Get them started by having them taking a free mini practice exam here!