ESOL Cheat Sheet 2026

The 30 highest-yield ESOL facts, distilled from real exam questions. Print it, save it as a PDF, or study it here — free, no sign-up.

1. What is the process approach to writing? → Multi-step: prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, publishing
2. Which sentence correctly uses the past perfect? → By the time she arrived, we had eaten dinner.
3. What does the word 'bilingual' mean? → able to speak two languages
4. An insurance card shows a '$20 copay.' What does this mean when you visit the doctor? → You pay $20 out of pocket at each visit.
5. A professor asks for an 'annotated bibliography.' What must each entry include? → The citation plus a brief evaluative summary of the source.
6. Which sentence uses capital letters correctly? → I visited New York City last summer.
7. What is a collocation? → Words that frequently occur together naturally, like 'make a decision'
8. Which of the following best describes the American cultural value of 'small talk' in professional settings? → It helps build rapport before getting to the main topic
9. What does a rising intonation at the end of a sentence typically signal in American English? → A question or uncertainty
10. What does the business term 'deadline' mean? → The final date by which a task must be completed
11. Choose the correct article to complete the sentence: 'Do you have ___ appointment scheduled for today?' → an
12. Which sentence uses the conditional tense correctly? → If it rains, we will stay inside.
13. Choose the sentence that correctly omits the article (zero article). → I have breakfast at 7 a.m.
14. What does the prefix 'un-' mean? → Not or the opposite of
15. What are common English politeness conventions? → Using please, thank you, and indirect requests like 'Could you possibly...'
16. Someone gives you directions: 'Go straight two blocks, then turn left.' You started facing north. Which direction are you now facing? → West
17. Which sentence uses a coordinating conjunction correctly to join two independent clauses? → Both A and C are correct.
18. Read: 'Because the road was icy, many drivers chose to stay home.' What is the EFFECT in this sentence? → Many drivers chose to stay home
19. Fill in the blank: 'The cat jumped ___ the table and knocked over the vase.' → onto
20. What does identifying the author's purpose mean? → Determining whether the author writes to inform, persuade, entertain, or express opinion
21. Which sentence uses the correct preposition for direction? → Walk past the bank and turn left.
22. Which of the following represents a morphological feature? → Combining roots and affixes
23. Which sentence uses the definite article correctly? → She plays the piano beautifully.
24. What is the appropriate way to answer a phone call in a professional setting? → Good morning/afternoon, this is [name] speaking. How can I help you?
25. Which sentence correctly uses a semicolon in academic writing? → The experiment failed; the temperature was too high.
26. What does the root word 'port' mean in words like 'transport,' 'import,' and 'export'? → to carry
27. You need to transfer from one subway line to another. Which word describes this action? → Transfer
28. What is academic vocabulary? → Formal words commonly used in educational and professional texts across disciplines
29. Which word correctly completes this sentence: 'He is ____ the homework right now.' → doing
30. Which word is the antonym (opposite) of 'ancient'? → modern