Online Resources to Help Students Review for the VPT-English

This document is intended to help students review for the VPT-English Test. It should prove

useful whether students use these resources before or after taking the VPT-English Practice Test.

The document is arranged according to six broad categories:

1. Additional Assessments and Practice Tests

2. Reading Comprehension and Vocabulary

3. The Writing Process

4. Grammar and Mechanics

5. Editing and Proofreading

6. Research and Documentation

Each category includes links to specific online resources as well as bulleted lists of activities that

students will find at the online sites. All links were verified on December 7 and are active.

Special thanks to the members of the Placement Test Team who identified and evaluated these

online resources.

Created: December 7, 2012

Updated: July 19, 2018

Online Resources to Help Students Review for the VPT-English

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1. ADDITIONAL ASSESSMENTS AND PRACTICE TESTS

Interactive

Free

Use in conjunction with the VPT-English Practice Test

The ACT

http://www.actstudent.org/sampletest/english/

INTERACTIVE PRACTICE TEST:

Practice Questions: English

Practice Questions: Writing

Practice Questions: Reading

Sample English Test Questions: 5 Passages

The ACT

http://www.testprepreview.com/act_practice.htm

INTERACTIVE TEST PREP:

Grammar

Usage

Reading

Writing

College Board, SAT

http://sat.collegeboard.org/practice/sat-practice-test

INTERACTIVE PRACTICE TEST:

Passage-Based Reading

Identifying Sentence Errors

Sentence Completion

Improving Paragraphs

Improving Sentences

Essay

Online Resources to Help Students Review for the VPT-English

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2. READING COMPREHENSION AND VOCABULARY

Preview, assess prior knowledge, plan, skim, and scan written texts

Annotate, question, summarize, and evaluate written texts

Analyze organizational patterns of written texts

Paraphrase, reflect, and respond to written texts

Identify topic, main idea, major and minor supporting details in written texts

Distinguish fact from opinion and make logical inferences in written texts

Identify audience, purpose, tone, and point of view of written text

Identify meanings of words using context or by analyzing word parts

Major Tests

http://www.majortests.com/sat/reading-comprehension.php

INTERACTIVE SAT READING COMPREHENSION AND VOCABULARY:

Stated/Implied Main Idea

Logical Inferences, Fact, and Opinion

Major/Minor Supporting Details

Identifying Meanings of Words in Context

Audience, Purpose, Tone, and Point of View

Patterns of Organization

TV411: Tune in to Learning

http://www.tv411.org/reading

VIDEOS AND LESSONS COVERING READING AND VOCABULARY:

Summarizing

Prefixes

Skimming/Scanning

Suffixes

Fact/Opinion

Roots

Major/Minor Supporting Details

Example, Synonym, and Antonym Clues

Townsend Press Learning Center

http://www.townsendpress.net/class/exercises

TEN DIAGNOSTIC STEPS TO IMPROVING COLLEGE READING SKILLS:

Vocabulary in Context

Inferences

Main Ideas

Purpose and Tone

Supporting Details

Argument

Online Resources to Help Students Review for the VPT-English

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3. THE WRITING PROCESS

Assess and draft with consideration of audience, purpose, voice, and meaning

Prewrite by brainstorming, mapping, listing, outlining

Write an appropriate, controlling thesis statement

Provide appropriate and reasoned support and evidence

Compose grammatically and mechanically correct sentences

Apply organizational patterns

Revise to produce clear, concise, and unified paragraphs and essays

Dartmouth Writing Program

https://writing-speech.dartmouth.edu/learning/materials

COMPREHENSIVE DISCUSSION:

Writing for College

Revision

Coming Up with and Researching Your Topic

Logic and Argument

Developing Your Thesis

Attending to Grammar

Structure and Organization

Attending to Style

Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL)

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/section/1/1/

THE WRITING PROCESS:

Writing Task Resource List

Creating a Thesis Statement

Starting the Writing Process

Outlining

Prewriting

Reverse Outlining

Writer’s Block

Proofreading

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/

WRITING THE PAPER—HANDOUTS AND YOUTUBE PRESENTATIONS:

Audience

Reorganizing Drafts

Brainstorming

Reverse Outlining

Introductions

Revising Drafts

Paragraph Development

Thesis Statements

Reading to Write

Writing as Decision Making

Online Resources to Help Students Review for the VPT-English

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4. GRAMMAR AND MECHANICS

Compose grammatically and mechanically correct sentences

Townsend Press Learning Center

https://www.townsendpress.net/class/exercises

INTERACTIVE EXERCISES:

Subjects and Verbs

Capital Letters

Sentence Types

Parallelism

Fragments

Pronouns

Run-Ons and Comma Splices

Adjectives and Adverbs

Commas

Misplaced and Dangling Modifiers

Apostrophes

Word Choice

Quotation Marks

Numbers and Abbreviation

Dave’s ESL Café

http://www.eslcafe.com/students/

INTERACTIVE “STUFF FOR STUDENTS”:

Grammar Lessons

Pronunciation Power

Idioms

Quizzes

Phrasal Verbs

Slang

Online Resources to Help Students Review for the VPT-English

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5. EDITING AND PROOFREADING

Edit to apply the conventions of academic written English, including grammar, usage, and

mechanics

Proofread to ensure accuracy of final published texts

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/

HANDOHUTS AND Y

OUTUBE PRESENTATIONS:

Editing and Proofreading

Proofreading

Online Resources to Help Students Review for the VPT-English

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6. RESEARCH AND DOCUMENTATION

Identify and retrieve a variety of relevant sources on a topic

Evaluate varied and applicable sources to determine weight of authority, credibility,

objectivity, currency, and relevancy

Demonstrate ability to take notes

Write texts that correctly integrate paraphrased or quoted information from an outside

source

Cite sources using both in-text citations and documentation of sources

Demonstrate understanding of the ethical, legal, and social issues surrounding plagiarism,

intellectual property rights, and academic integrity

St. Cloud State University, LEO (Literacy Education Online)

http://leo.stcloudstate.edu/#online

DISCUSSION AND INTERACTIVE EXERCISES:

Research and Online Resources

Citing and Using Sources

Introducing Quotes and Paraphrased Material

Plagiarism

Hunter College Libraries

http://library.hunter.cuny.edu/tutorials/mla/mla_tutorial.html

INTERACTIVE MODERN LANGUAGE ASSOCIATION (MLA) TUTORIAL:

Quotations and Citations

Exercises and Resources

Formatting

In-Text Citations

List of Works Cited

Indiana University, Bloomington. School of Education

https://www.indiana.edu/~istd/

DISCUSSION AND PRACTICE:

Overview of Plagiarism

Test

Plagiarism Cases

Resources

Examples

Practice with Feedback