Completion and Transformation Items

Completion Items

Completion Items Useful in testing students ability to produce acceptable and appropriate forms of language.

Measure production rather than recognition.

The words selected for omissions are grammatical and functional words (e.g. to, it, in, the, etc.)

Content words may be selected in a vocabulary or reading test.

_____ Sun is shining today.

_____ sun is shining today.

It can be rewritten as a question to overcome the problem:

Is ____ sun shining today?

completion items sometimes cause problems in scoring.

PREPARE 1. He heard a gasp behind him as he __________ to go.

a test writer must be certain that testees produce only the answer she wants to be used in each blank.

As soon as possible the next day I sent my story __________ the editor

_________ the magazine _________ where my best work usually appeared.

Three ways of restricting the choices available to the testees:

a)By providing a contextb)By providing datac)By using multiple choice

techniques

by providing a context

Kim usually goes to the cinema about once a week but she _________four films already this month and it’s only the 20th today.

(possible answers: has seen/will have seen/ must have seen)

by providing data

I go to the cinema regularly, but it’s ages since I last saw a play.I go to the cinema regularly, but I ________ to the theatre for months.

(Possible answers: haven’t been/ haven’t gone/ haven’t been going/ haven’t been able to go)

by using multiple choice techniques.

I _____ to the theatre three times since I last saw you.

a. go c. had goneb. have been d. went

Advantages: the use of context often avoids the

kinds of ambiguity referred to in the previous paragraphs.

Students experience the use of grammar in context being required in order to guess many of the missing words.

Types of completion items

1.Blanks are indicated and requires only one word for the answer.

2.Modified cloze passage • Omissions themselves are not

indicated.• requires to put an oblique stroke (/) at

the place where the word has been omitted and then to write the missing word in the appropriate space.

It (1) _______ always useful(2) _______ practice answering the types of questions (3) ________you may (4) _______ asked. However, (5) _______ is not enough simply (6) _________ glance through a past paper (7) _______ answer the questions (8) _______ your head.This will give you (9) ______ indication at all (10) _______ what you can do.

Historians and anthropologists used think that ill health and disease prevalent among primitive tribes. Results recent investigation, however, have shown we much to learn from primitive people. Without benefit of immunization or vaccination, primitive often acquired immunity the diseases present in their society.

Sentence Completion

part of a sentence has been omitted.

tests the ability to handle structures according to certain patterns.

Make concentration on specific grammatical points more difficult.

Many zoo officials are worried by the increasing ill-treatment of animals by visitors to the zoo, especially by children. When the animals fail to perform in the ways expected, ________________________________________________. Crocodiles seem to be the chief victims of such attacks because they ________________________________________. The bottles, cans , sticks and stones that _________________________________________ end up as unsightly litter in the enclosures. Some animals, however, swallow __________________________________________.

……………………………………

Completion of Dialogues

provides the ability to manipulate the grammar and language patterns.

Unfortunately, it is often difficult to write a natural dialogue and provide useful cues at the same time.

A: ________________________________________________________________.B: So do I. I generally watch it for an hour or two every evening.

A:_________________________________________________________________.B: Immediately after I’ve finished my homework, at about

8:30 or nine.

A: ______________________________________________________________.B: So are mine. The funnier, the better. I like American ones

best of all –you know, programs like “Benson” and “Different Strokes.”

Transformation Type

types of tests the ability to produce structures in the target language.

An objective item type which comes close to measuring some of the skills tested in composition writing.

1.I haven’t written to you for a long time.It’s along time

_____________________________.

2.In sunny weather, I often go for a walk.When the weather

_______________________________.

Other ways of covering transformation items:

1. It was impossible to work under those conditions.Working ___________________________________

2. I don’t think it’s necessary for you to stay any longer.

I don’t think you ____________________________.

In some tests, students may be required to rewrite a sentence beginning with a certain word underlines in the original sentence.

Example:

They believed that the earth was flat.The earth was believed to be flat.

Transformation can also be affected by requiring a substitute to the given verb necessitating a change in a structural pattern.

Example:

Ten lessons make up the course. CONSIST

The course consists of ten lessons.

Transformation can be made to perform a part of continuous sentence by:

1)Changing sentences according to a given pattern.

2)Changing sentences by using selected words.

Changing sentences according to a given pattern.

a)Very few objective tests allow for a choice.You have ________________________________.

b)However, the instructions should be carefully checked.However, you ______________________________.

Changing sentences by using selected words.

1)Remember that it is necessary to answer the questions in the order set. (NEED)______________________________________________.

2)You are advised to check your answers carefully after each question. (ADVISABLE)________________________________________.