What's Tested on the TEAS: English and Language

Many questions about English and language usage will present you with a sentence or short passage and ask you to identify an element of the sentence, complete the sentence correctly, or fix an error. The question will specify what task you are to perform. Read the question and the sentence carefully, paying particular attention to the rule of grammar, spelling, punctuation, or style that you need to apply, as well as context clues in the sentence that point to the meaning of a word or its part of speech, a needed punctuation mark, or whatever you are being asked about.
Not every question is accompanied by a sentence. Some simply ask you to recall facts. In this case, the question still contains key terms that identify which fact you need to apply. The TEAS tests many language arts topics; you might see a question about writing style followed by one about punctuation followed by one about sentence structure. Each time you read a question, give yourself the time it takes for one deep breath to call to mind the particular rules or facts being tested.

Before looking at the answer choices, predict the answer. You have a much better chance of finding the correct answer if you already have it in mind. Sometimes you may not be able to make a specific prediction. For example, a question might ask you to complete a sentence and there are several ways to complete the sentence correctly. Think of several ways you could complete the sentence and then use this mental checklist as you evaluate the answer choices.
Alternatively, you may have trouble thinking of the exact answer. Say the question asks for the part of a book that lists key terms alphabetically. You may not be able to think of the word index right off the bat, but you may know that you find such a list at the back of a book. Even an approximate prediction will allow you to eliminate answer choices you know are not found at the end of a book.

Compare each answer choice to your prediction, eliminating those that are not a match and choosing the one that is a match.