Tips to Improve your Pipplet Grade

General Recommendations

Take a practice test to get comfortable with the format of the test. This practice test will not be evaluated.

Use all of the time allocated to answer each question. We encourage candidates to spend some time planning and structuring their answers before responding. In the case of written questions, try to use the last 30 seconds to proofread your answer and to fix mistakes in spelling and grammar.

Speaking section
Speak clearly, articulating well
Speak at a natural and even pace
Only the last response recorded will be evaluated, so you can try again if you are not satisfied with your first response. There is no need to worry about pauses, repeating a word or self-correction - these are natural parts of speaking. Just don’t forget to keep an eye on the timer!
Speak for as long as you can! Response length can have an impact on your grade, as you are more likely to obtain a higher grade if you develop your answers to the best of your ability. Longer answers allow you to demonstrate a broader vocabulary and a variety of grammar and sentence structures.

Written section
Make sure you have the correct keyboard installed before the test
Proofread your answers to correct mistakes in spelling and grammar
Write as much as you can! Similar to speaking, the more you write the more opportunities you have to show off what you know.

Our examiners' grades are based on both communicative ability and technical linguistic ability. The candidate’s ease in the language, spontaneity, use of natural and idiomatic language and expressions, as well as breadth of vocabulary and variety of grammar are all taken into consideration.

Native and High-level Candidates

We do not penalize candidates for regional accents or pronunciation, as long as they remain comprehensible. Spelling and grammar mistakes will be taken into consideration and may lead to a lower grade.

We grade candidates based on the responses provided so we encourage native, bilingual and other high-level candidates to make the effort to give detailed responses which display an appropriate use of advanced vocabulary, correct and varied grammar, as well as ease and spontaneity in the language. For this reason we recommend that candidates make full use of the time allocated to respond fully to each question.

Tips

Pay special attention to the following points to give yourself the best chance of boosting your grade.

Consider making some notes for yourself or a short plan of the points which you are going to make in your answer before beginning to speak or write. Use your time wisely and don’t forget to keep an eye on the timer. This ensures that your responses will have a logical structure and flow, which is important for the Coherence and Cohesion criteria.
Proofread your written responses before submission. This allows you to fix small grammatical and spelling mistakes, and also to ensure that the response as a whole makes sense and contains appropriate linking words.
Please note that the ability to copy and paste has been disabled in the test environment, and as such you will not be able to use this method to rearrange your written responses during the test. For this reason we recommend that you plan your paragraphs before you begin writing.
Basic grammatical mistakes can have a considerable impact on your grade, so pay attention to the correct use of tenses, plurals, verb conjugation, and prepositions when speaking and writing.
Make sure that the register and tone of your language is appropriate for the situation. For example, an email to a client or an opinion essay should use formal language, while a message to a colleague who you know well would be more informal.
Try to use a varied vocabulary and correct use of fixed and idiomatic expressions. Appropriate linking words or phrases can also boost the sophistication of your responses.

Updated on: 08/05/2021