Mistake Analysis
Where the Points Went
Total Wrong
16
questions
Section III
7
grammar errors
Section II
5
grammar context
Section IV
4
reading questions
Section III accounts for the largest single loss (14 points out of 32 lost total). The 7 grammar errors map to only 6 distinct rules — learning these 6 patterns is the highest-ROI study task.
Section III — Grammar Error Detection
You correctly identified errors in Q1, Q3, Q6. Below are the 7 you missed — each with the rule, examples, and a memory hook.
dressing → dressed A past participle (dressed) describes a state or condition — what something looks like or is. A present participle (dressing) describes an active, ongoing process — the act of putting on clothes. In the sentence, the person is already wearing the uniform, not in the process of putting it on.
Examples
- ✓ State/condition (wearing it) She walked in, dressed in a blue uniform.
- ✓ Past participle as adjective He sat exhausted on the bench.
- ✓ Reduced relative clause Written in French, the book was hard to read.
- ✗ Wrong — implies she was putting it on right then She was dressing in the uniform when she arrived. ✗
Memory hook: Ask yourself: is it describing a state (past participle) or an action in progress (present participle)?
have → has A third-person singular subject (he / she / it / any single noun) requires has in the present perfect, not have. The most common trap: a long phrase comes between the subject and the verb, making the subject easy to forget.
Examples
- ✓ Singular subject "the number" The number of students has increased.
- ✓ Singular subject This disease has caused many deaths.
- ✓ "Everyone" is always singular Everyone in both classes has passed.
- ✗ Should be "has" (singular noun as subject) The team have won three times. ✗
Memory hook: Ignore phrases between subject and verb. Find the true subject, check if it's singular → use has / is / does.
which → at which Many verbs require a preposition: arrive at, look at, apply for, wait for, rely on. When you form a relative clause, that preposition cannot disappear. You have two correct options: move the preposition before which, or leave it at the end.
Examples
- ✓ Formal: preposition before which The hotel at which we arrived was lovely.
- ✓ Informal: preposition at end The hotel which we arrived at was lovely.
- ✓ focus ON → on which The topic on which she focused was interesting.
- ✗ Missing preposition — "arrive" needs "at" The hotel which we arrived was lovely. ✗
Memory hook: Before writing a relative clause, ask: does the verb need a preposition? If yes, include it.
meals → meal English has many fixed expressions that require the singular noun with an article, even when you might logically expect a plural. These are formulaic chunks — learn them as complete phrases, not word-by-word.
Examples
- ✓ Fixed: "have a meal" They sat down to have a meal together.
- ✓ Fixed: "make a mistake" She made a mistake on the test.
- ✓ Fixed: "reach an agreement" They finally reached an agreement.
- ✓ Fixed: "take a look" Can you take a look at this?
Memory hook: Common fixed-expression pattern: verb + a/an + singular noun. Memorize these as chunks: have a meal, make a decision, take a break.
such → so The rule is structural — it depends on what follows:
so + adjective (or adverb) alone — no noun immediately after.
such + (a/an) + adjective + noun — a noun must follow.
Examples
- ✓ so + adjective alone It was so cold that we stayed inside.
- ✓ so + adverb alone He spoke so quickly that I missed it.
- ✓ such + a + adj + noun It was such a cold day that we stayed inside.
- ✓ such + a + adj + noun She is such a kind person.
- ✗ No noun after → should be "so cold" It was such cold outside. ✗
Memory hook: Check what comes next. Adjective alone? → so. Adjective + noun? → such (a).
easy → ease A preposition (with, by, in, from, for…) must be followed by a noun or noun phrase, not an adjective. Easy is an adjective — it can't follow a preposition directly. Ease is the noun form of easy.
Examples
- ✓ preposition + noun She completed the task with ease.
- ✓ in + noun (not "in peaceful") They lived in peace.
- ✓ confident → confidence (noun form) He answered with confidence.
- ✗ Adjective after preposition — wrong word form She did it with easy. ✗
Memory hook: After a preposition, always ask: is this a noun? Common noun forms: happy → happiness, easy → ease, strong → strength, free → freedom.
play → playing A specific set of English verbs always takes a gerund (verb + -ing) as their object — never an infinitive (to + verb). The verb enjoy is one of the most common. There's no grammatical "why" — these must be memorized as a category.
Examples
- ✓ enjoy → gerund I enjoy playing tennis.
- ✓ finish → gerund She finished writing the report.
- ✓ keep → gerund They kept talking after class.
- ✓ avoid → gerund You should avoid making errors.
- ✗ enjoy never takes infinitive I enjoy to play tennis. ✗
Memory hook: FAME verbs always take -ing: Finish, Avoid, Mind, Enjoy. Extended list: keep, consider, practice, suggest, recommend, imagine, miss, deny, risk.
Section III — Pattern Summary at a Glance
| Question | Wrong → Correct | Category | Your Answer |
|---|---|---|---|
| III — Q2 | dressing → dressed | Participle Forms | Chose wrong error location |
| III — Q4 | have → has | Subject-Verb Agreement | Chose wrong error location |
| III — Q5 | which → at which | Prepositions in Relative Clauses | Chose wrong error location |
| III — Q7 | meals → meal | Noun Number in Fixed Expressions | Chose wrong error location |
| III — Q8 | such → so | Such vs So | Chose wrong error location |
| III — Q9 | easy → ease | Word Form — Noun vs Adjective | Chose wrong error location |
| III — Q10 | play → playing | Gerunds After Specific Verbs | Chose wrong error location |
Section II — Grammar in Context
5 wrong: Q2, Q6, Q7, Q9, Q10. Without the original questions I can't give per-item explanations, but the correction keys and patterns below will help you review if you revisit the paper.
Your answer was D; correct is B. Grammar pattern in context.
Your answer was A; correct is C.
Your answer was B; correct is C.
Your answer was A; correct is D.
Your answer was A; correct is B.
Why reviewing Section III rules helps here too
Section II tests the same grammar points as Section III, but in a multiple-choice sentence-level format rather than error detection. The same 6 rule categories — verb forms, agreement, prepositions, word form, such/so, and fixed expressions — are the most commonly tested grammar items in MEXT. Internalizing them from the Section III analysis above will directly improve Section II performance.
Section IV — Reading Comprehension
4 wrong: Q1, Q2, Q6, Q9. You answered 6/10 correctly, which is a reasonable base. The strategies below target the most common reason readers choose the wrong option.
Your answer was B; correct is A.
Your answer was B; correct is C.
Your answer was A; correct is C.
Your answer was A; correct is B.
Reading Strategies
Locate before you answer
For every reading question, physically find the sentence in the passage that contains the answer before choosing. Never answer from memory alone.
Eliminate obviously wrong choices first
In MEXT-style reading, 2 of the 4 options are usually clearly wrong. Narrow down to 2, then compare carefully.
Watch for answer traps
Wrong options often use words directly from the passage but change one key detail (the direction, the subject, or the scope). The passage says "most" — the trap says "all".
Inference questions: stay close to the text
MEXT inference questions ask what is implied — not what you know about the world. The implied answer must be directly supported by the passage.
Complete Answer Comparison
Section I — Vocabulary (20/20)
| Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Q5 | Q6 | Q7 | Q8 | Q9 | Q10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ✓ B | ✓ A | ✓ C | ✓ B | ✓ D | ✓ A | ✓ A | ✓ B | ✓ D | ✓ A |
Section II — Grammar (10/20) · 5 wrong
| Q | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Q5 | Q6 | Q7 | Q8 | Q9 | Q10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Your | A | D | D | B | A | A | B | A | A | A |
| Key | A | B | D | B | A | C | C | A | D | B |
Section III — Error Detection (6/20) · 7 wrong
| Q | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Q5 | Q6 | Q7 | Q8 | Q9 | Q10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Your | B | C | A | C | B | D | C | C | B | C |
| Key | B | D | A | B | C | D | D | B | C | B |
| Error | any→none | dress→ed | has cau… | have→has | wh→at wh | — ✓ — | meals→l | such→so | easy→ease | play→ing |
Section IV — Reading (12/20) · 4 wrong
| Q | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Q5 | Q6 | Q7 | Q8 | Q9 | Q10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Your | B | B | A | D | A | A | A | C | A | D |
| Key | A | C | A | D | A | C | A | C | B | D |
Section V — Listening (20/20)
| Part | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Q5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part I | ✓ D | ✓ A | ✓ D | ✓ B | ✓ B |
| Part II | ✓ B | ✓ D | ✓ C | ✓ A | ✓ B |
Suggested Practice Plan
Session 1 · Verb Forms
Participles & Gerunds
- • Past vs present participle as adjective (III-Q2)
- • Verbs that always take gerund: enjoy / finish / avoid / keep (III-Q10)
- • Write 5 example sentences for each pattern
Session 2 · Agreement & Word Form
Singular Verbs & Noun Forms
- • S-V agreement with intervening phrases (III-Q4)
- • Adjective → noun transformations: easy/ease, strong/strength (III-Q9)
- • 5 error-detection sentences for practice
Session 3 · Prepositions
Verbs + Prepositions in Clauses
- • Relative clauses: which → at/for/on/in which (III-Q5)
- • Phrasal verb directions: up vs down (III-Q6 — you got this right!)
- • Flashcard set: 20 verb + preposition collocations
Session 4 · Connectors & Articles
Such/So & Fixed Expressions
- • such vs so rule with 10 practice sentences (III-Q8)
- • Fixed expressions: "have a meal", "make a decision", etc. (III-Q7)
- • Then take a timed Section III practice from another year
2e Learning tip
Grammar rules stick faster when you connect them to a pattern you already understand — not by drilling isolated sentences. For each rule, try to find a real example in something you're already reading (a novel, a paper, a news article). Seeing the rule "in the wild" activates recognition much faster than flashcards alone. Once you can spot the rule outside a test, you own it.