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ContentsoftheEnglishPlacementTest
TheUWEnglishPlacementTest(EPT)consistsofthreesubtests.ThesesubtestsareEnglishUsage,SentenceCorrection,andReading
Comprehension.TheentireEnglishPlacementTestisdesignedtobecompletedin90minutes,whichrequiresanaverageofapproximately30
secondspertestitem.Thisissufficienttimeformoststudentstocompletethetest.

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BackgroundoftheTest
Intheearly1970's,theCollegeWritingAssociation,consistinglargelyofcompositionteachersintheUniversityofWisconsinSystem,beganto
discusstheincreasingneedforremedialworkincompositiononUWSystemcampuses.Therewasagreementtothenecessityoffindingquick,
reliablewaystoidentifystudentsneedingsuchworkforsurvivalincollege,andtoestablishfair,uniformstandardsformeasuringstudent
abilitieswithinastatewideuniversitysysteminwhichwritingrequirementsvaryfromcampustocampus.Therewasalsoanagreementthat
teachersofcollegeEnglishhadverylittledataonthewritingskillsoftheirnewstudentsinFreshmanEnglishclasses.TheAssociationdecided,
therefore,thatoneofitsimmediatetaskswastheconstructionofaplacementtestwhosecontentandstandardswouldsuittheparticularneedsof
theUniversityofWisconsinSystemandwouldbecompletelydeterminedbypracticingclassroomteachersofcomposition.Thistestwouldhave
asitsmajorpurposetheidentificationofthosestudentswhoneedimmediateremedialhelpand,attheotherendofthescale,thosestudentswho
couldjustifiablybeplacedintoadvancedcourses.
Sixinstructors,fromvariousUWSystemcampuses,agreedtoserveasthetestconstructioncommittee.Inaseriesofformalizedmeetingswith
themembershipoftheCollegeWritingAssociation,andwithmembersoftheirownandotherEnglishdepartments,thecommitteemembers
collectedandarticulatedthevariousopinionsoftheirfellowteachersontheskillsstudentsoughttobeabletodisplayinwritingandreading.The
resultofthisworktooktheformofalistofproblemsgenerallyidentifiedasworthtesting.Atthesametime,thecommitteeattendedworkshops
ontestconstructiondirectedbyaconsultantfromtheEducationalTestingService,andinthefollowingmonthsmetwiththeOfficeofTesting
andEvaluationServicesatUWMadisontogainanunderstandingofstatisticalproblemsofvalidatingandinterpretingdata.Thusprepared,the
committeeturnedtoitsmajortasks:thecreationoftestitemsontheskillsdeemednecessaryforgoodwriting,thecollecting,refining,correcting
andapprovingofsuchitemsforinclusioninthetest,andtheorchestratingoftestitemsintothecompletetest.Theexperimentalformofthistest
wasgiventoabout3,000studentsin1975.Throughtheuseofstatisticalanalysis,thetestcontinuestoberefinedandimprovedsothatit
effectivelydistinguishesthestudentswiththestrongestlanguageskillsandthestudentswiththeweakestlanguageskillsfromthegeneral
populationofstudents.

TestDescription
TheEnglishTestDevelopmentCommitteedecidedonthreebroadcategoriesofitemswhichbecamethethreesubtestsoftheUWSystem
EnglishPlacementTest.ThesesubtestsareUsage,SentenceCorrectionandReadingComprehension.TheentireEnglishPlacementTestis
designedtobecompletedin80minutes,whichrequiresanaverageofapproximately30secondspertestitem.Thisissufficienttimeformost
studentstocompletethetest.BoththeEnglishUsageandSentenceCorrectionsubtestsdealwithastudent'sabilitytodistinguishproblemsinthe
followingclassifications:
VerbProblemsagreement,tenseconsistencyandweakconstruction
PronounProblemsconsistency,case,agreementandreference
DictionProblemsdictionandidiom
ModifierProblemsadjectiveandadverbform,placementandcomparison
SentenceProblemsfragment,commafault,parallelism,subordination,punctuationforclarity,economy,wordorderandlogic.
EnglishUsageitemsrequireastudenttoidentifydeviationsfromstandardwrittenAmericanEnglish.SentenceCorrectionitemsrequireastudent
toselecthemosteffectiveexpressionfromamongfivechoices.
TheReadingComprehensionsubtestrequiresstudentstodemonstratetheabilitytounderstandandinterpretprosepassagescomparabletothose
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theywillreadincollege.Theseitemsspecificallyrequirestudentstocomprehendtheliteralmeaning,tointerpretfigurativelanguage,todraw
inferencesfromwhattheyread,torecognizeprinciplesoforganizationandtoidentifythefunctionofprominentstylisticfeatures.

SampleItems
EnglishUsageItems
Directions:
Someofthefollowingsentencescontainanerroringrammar,usage,punctuation,orwordchoice.Somesentencesarecorrect.Nosentence
containsmorethanoneerror.Youwillfindthattheerror,ifthereisone,isunderlinedandlettered.Assumethatallotherelementsofthe
sentencearecorrectandcannotbechanged.Inchoosinganswers,followtherequirementsofstandardwrittenEnglish.
Ifthereisanerror,selecttheoneunderlinedpartthatmustbechangedinordertomakethesentencecorrectandblackenthecorrespondingspace
onyouranswersheet.
Ifthereisnoerror,markthefinalanswerspace,E.
EXAMPLES
1.Allanisafraidoftherain,helikesthethunder.Noerror.
ABCDE
Becausetwosentencesdividedonlybyacommacreateacommafault,eitheraconjunction
mustbeaddedorthepunctuationmustbechangedtoaperiod,asemicolon,oradash.
Therefore,Cmustbechanged,andyouwouldmarkConyouranswersheet.
Note:whenthepunctuationisinquestion,theunderliningmayextendbeneathaspace,asin1C.
2.Maria,whohadjusteaten,thoughtconcerninghavingacandybaroricecream.Noerror.
ABCDE

Becausewedonotgenerallysay"thoughtconcerning,"but"thoughtabout,"Bmustbechanged,andyouwouldmarkBonyouranswersheet.

ThefollowingitemsaresamplesofthetypeusedintheUsagesectionoftheEnglishPlacementTest:
3.Thepublicisnotsoangryaboutcorruptioningovernmentthanitisdisgustedwithinflation.Noerror.
ABCDE
4.Whileinspectingtheranks,theofficerseenthatthenewrecruithadlaidhisrifleinthemudandgottenitdirty.Noerror.
A
BCDE
5.Howwellthenewcomedyseriesdoesintheratingsdependsalmostentirelyonitscompetition.Noerror.
ABCDE
6.Havingenjoyedthescenery,thesteamernexttookustoBirdIsle,anislandwhosehistorywashardlyknownuntil1900.Noerror.
ABCDE
7.Earlandmewereleftalegacybyanauntwhohadalwayslikedusboth.Noerror.
ABCDE
Thecorrectanswersfortheabovequestionsare:
3.C
4.B
5.E
6.A
7.A

SentenceCorrectionItems
Directions:Thisisatestofcorrectnessandeffectivenessofexpression.Inchoosinganswers,followtherequirementsofstandardwritten
Englishthatis,payattentiontoacceptableusageingrammar,wordchoice,sentenceconstruction,andpunctuation.Choosetheanswerthat
producesthemosteffectivesentenceclearandexact,withoutwordinessorambiguity.Donotmakeachoicethatchangesthemeaningofthe
originalsentence.
Ineachofthesentencesofthissection,oneportionisunderlined.Beneatheachsentenceyouwillfindfivewaysofwritingtheunderlinedpart
thefirstofthesealwaysrepeatstheoriginal,andtheotherfourarealldifferent.Ifyouthinktheoriginalsentenceisbetterthananyofthe
suggestedchanges,choosethefirstanswerAotherwise,selectthebestrevisionandblackenthecorrespondingspaceonyouranswersheet.
EXAMPLE
1.Heavysmokingandtoovereatareactivitieswhichaheartpatientmustforego.

A.Heavysmokingandtoovereat

B.Smokingheavilyandtoovereat

C.Tosmokeheavilyandovereating

D.Heavysmokingandovereating

E.Smokingheavyandtoovereat

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BecausestandardEnglishrequiresthesamegrammaticalformfortwounitsconnectedbyand,
eithersmokingortoovereatmustbechangedtogainparallelism.Amongtheoptionsoffered,
onlytheformHeavysmokingandovereatingisparallel,andyouwouldmarkyouranswersheetD.

ThefollowingitemsaresamplesofthoseusedintheSentenceCorrectionsectionoftheEnglishPlacementTest:
2.InthesmallertownsofWisconsin,whereonecanquicklywalktothegreeninghillsofSpring.

A.,whereonecanquicklywalk

B.whereonecanquicklywalk

C.,whereonecanquicklywalk,

D.,onecanquicklywalk

E.onecan,quicklywalk
3.CoachJonesisaremarkablephysicalspecimen:althoughsixty,heisasvigorousasever.

A.althoughsixty,heisasvigorousasever.

B.he,seeingthatheissixty,isasvigorousasever.

C.heissixty,beingasvigorousasever.

D.asvigorousasever,heissixtyyearsofage.

E.heisasvigorousasever;howeverheissixty.
4.Theswashbucklingherowaswithoutmoralconvictions,acceptablemanners,andhehadlittle
elseinhisfavor.

A.withoutmoralconvictions,acceptablemanners,andhehadlittleelseinhisfavor.

B.withoutmoralconvictionsoracceptablemannersandhadlittleelseinhisfavor.

C.withoutmoralconvictions,acceptablemannersorlittleelseinhisfavor.

D.withoutmoralconvictionsandacceptablemannersorlittleelseinhisfavor.

E.withoutmuchelseinhisfavor,includingmoralconvictionsandacceptablemanners.

5.Onemethodofendingdiscriminationinbusinessandindustryistodemandquotastobemetbyemployers.

A.todemandquotastobemetbyemployers.

B.demandingemployerstomeetquotas.

C.todemandthatemployersmeetquotas.

D.thatemployersbedemandedtomeetquotas.

E.thatofdemandingemployerstomeetquotas.

6.Mr.Bole'srecommendationwasbelievedtobesufficientandthatitwouldguaranteemygettingajob.

A.andthatitwouldguaranteemygettingajob.

B.,andthatitwouldguaranteemygettingajob.

C.,andthatitwouldguaranteemetogetajob.

D.thatitwouldguaranteemegettingajob.

E.toguaranteemygettingajob.

Thecorrectanswersfortheaboveitemsare:
2.D
3.A
4.B
5.C
6.E

ReadingComprehensionItems
Directions:
Thepassagesbelowarefollowedbyquestionsonthevocabulary,style,andmeaningofthepassages.Afterreadingeachpassage,choosethebest
answertoeachquestion.Answerallquestionsforeachofthepassagesintermsofthecontextwithinthepassage.
Theprevalenceofpositiveornegativefeelingsaboutphysique
isasignofwhichtraitsarevaluedandappreciatedbyasociety
orbytheworldcommunity.Wherethereisconspicuous
subordinationofasocialgrouponthebasisofrealorattributed
(5)physicalfeatures,themembersofasubordinatedgroupmaycome
torepudiatetheirownphysicalcharacteristicsandinmixed
populationsevenpenalizethoseindividualswhomanifestthe
disapprovedcharacteristicstothemostmarkeddegree.Theconceptof
negritudeinAfricaisanexampleofavigorousattempttoreassertthe
(10)primacy,foragivengroup,ofitsownphysicaltype.Wemust
recognizetherisingdemandforthekindofworldinwhichpeoplecan
enjoythewaytheylook,beproudofthewaytheirparentslooked,and
lookforwardtothewaytheirchildrenwilllook.
MargaretMead,"RacialDifferencesandCulturalAttitudes"
1. Initscontext,theword"attributed"(line4)meansmostnearly
A.praised.
B.widespread.
C.imagined.
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D.ideal.
E.secondary.
2. Inthispassage"physique"(line1)referstoallofthefollowingexcept
A.styleofdress.
B.height.
C.facialfeatures.
D.degreeofhairiness.
E.skincolor.
3. Thesubjectof"lookforward"inline13is
A.I.
B.we.
C.people.
D.minorities.
E.theworld.
4. The"conceptofnegritude"(lines8and9)
A.referstothesubordinationofasocialgroup.
B.isanationalpoliticalmovement.
C.referstopeoplediscriminatingagainsttheirownrace.
D.occursinmixedpopulations.
E.involvesprideinblackphysicalfeatures.
5. Whichofthefollowingcomesclosesttoexpressingtheauthor'sopinion?
A.Howonelooksisofnoimportancetoanyone.
B.Slaveryistheworstevil.
C.Peoplewithfaultsoftheirownshouldnotcriticizeothers.
D.Wemustlearntotoleratephysicaldifferences.
E.Somepeoplelikewhatotherpeoplehate.
Thecorrectanswersfortheabovequestionsare:
1.C
2.A
3.C
4.E
5.D

UniversityofWisconsinCenterforPlacementTesting,1025WJohnsonSt,Madison,WI53706|6082625863
2011BoardofRegentsoftheUniversityofWisconsinSystem

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