Introduction: English Language Skills and Essay

The CLAST measures writing ability by both an objective test and an essay. The writing competencies on the English Language Skills Test (ELS) measure 11 of the 27 writing skills in the broad skill areas of word choice, sentence structure, grammar, spelling, capitalization, and punctuation. There are 35 scored test items with six for word choice, 13 for sentence structure, and 16 for grammar, spelling, capitalization, and punctuation. You should save 40 minutes of the total of 80 minutes for the ELS test.

The essay sub-test asks that students demonstrate competency on many general writing skills including 11 tested on the ELS sub-test. Students have sixty minutes to write the essay on one of two selected topics.

This section begins with a listing and description of the writing competencies along with some instruction to further illustrate the skills and knowledge needed to pass the CLAST. The section ends with four sample 40-item English Language Skills tests on the broad skills areas. Answers follow each test. Students should also practice timing and writing as many essays as needed in order to feel confident.