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Trinity Integrated Skills in English (ISE) Practice Test Material Notes

The document provides an overview of Trinity's Integrated Skills in English (ISE) examinations, which assess four language skills: speaking, listening, reading, and writing. There are three components to the ISE exams: 1) a controlled written examination consisting of a reading into writing task and a writing task, 2) a portfolio of written work prepared in advance, and 3) an interview to discuss the portfolio and other topics. The portfolio requires candidates to complete three sections - correspondence, factual writing, and creative/descriptive writing - within strict word limits at each exam level.

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234 views3 pages

Trinity Integrated Skills in English (ISE) Practice Test Material Notes

The document provides an overview of Trinity's Integrated Skills in English (ISE) examinations, which assess four language skills: speaking, listening, reading, and writing. There are three components to the ISE exams: 1) a controlled written examination consisting of a reading into writing task and a writing task, 2) a portfolio of written work prepared in advance, and 3) an interview to discuss the portfolio and other topics. The portfolio requires candidates to complete three sections - correspondence, factual writing, and creative/descriptive writing - within strict word limits at each exam level.

Uploaded by

carnaiba
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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TRINITY

Integrated Skills in English (ISE)



Practice Test Material Notes

Contents
Trinity ISE Examinations
1. The controlled written examination
2. The portfolio
3. The interview
Trinity ISE Practice Tests
Trinity ISE Examinations

Trinitys Integrated Skills in English (ISE) examinations assess all four language skills
speaking, listening, reading, and writing as they interact with each other. In real life,
these skills are seldom used in isolation from each other. Thus, a person may be listening
and speaking on the phone, while checking a document and making notes. For this reason
each component of the ISE exams tests more than one language skill at a time.

There are five ISE levels:
ISE 0 (equivalent to GESE Grades 34; CEFR / A2)
ISE I (equivalent to GESE Grades 56; CEFR / B1)
ISE II (equivalent to GESE Grades 79; CEFR / B2)
ISE III (equivalent to GESE Grades 1011; CEFR / C1)
ISE IV (equivalent to GESE Grade 12; CEFR / C2)

The present test material relates to ISE 0, ISE I and ISE II.

There are three components of ISE exams: the controlled written examination, the
portfolio, and the interview.

1. The controlled written examination

This examination is taken at a Trinity Registered Centre on fixed dates. ISE 0, I, and II
each have two equally weighted tasks a reading into writing task and a writing task.

The reading into writing task
In this task candidates read a text and then complete a piece of writing using the
information provided by the reading text. The writing may be a letter, an email, notes,
directions, etc.

Tip: When you are writing, think of the person who is going to read what you write.
This helps you to focus on the points which are most important for your reader.

The writing task
In the writing task candidates are required to describe places, people, or things, or to
write about present and past activities.

Tip: Read the instructions carefully and pay attention to the format of the writing
you are asked to do. An article for a newspaper is different from an email to a
friend, which is different from a report for a committee.

2. The portfolio

The portfolio is a collection of the candidates written work which is marked by the
Trinity examiner who then (in the conversation phase of the examination) asks the
Trinity ISE Practice Tests
candidate questions about it. Candidates should prepare and draft the portfolio well in
advance of the examination, using information from reference books, internet websites,
and other relevant sources. Candidates are not permitted to simply copy material from
these sources: information must be presented in the candidates own words.

Teachers may not correct candidates work, but they are allowed to give one piece of
feedback per task. Candidates may prepare several drafts of their portfolio, but only the
final version should be presented to the Trinity examiner. Because candidates have
several weeks to prepare their portfolios, a very high standard of linguistic accuracy
(spelling, grammar, vocabulary) is expected.

Assessment
Portfolio tasks are assessed by the examiner using a grading system similar to that of
GESE.

At ISE 0, I, II, and III the portfolio consists of three sections:
Correspondence, e.g., emails, memos, notes, postcards, etc. This section accounts for
20% of the portfolio marks.
Factual writing, e.g., instructions, directions, reviews, articles, reports. This section
accounts for 40% of the portfolio marks.
Creative / Descriptive writing, e.g., diary, story, essay. This section accounts for
40% of the portfolio marks.

There is a choice of two tasks for each section. Candidates choose one task in each
section, selected from the current Trinity list of tasks.

At each ISE level there are limits on the maximum number of words that may be used.
Candidates should count the words used and write the number at the end of the section.

Tip: It is very important to keep to the word limit for each section. If the limit is
exceeded, the examiner will stop marking. For example, if the candidates
correspondence is 20 words too long, the last 20 words will not be counted in
assessing the mark awarded.

3. The interview

The interview consists of two phases, each lasting four minutes:
Discussion of a topic prepared by the candidate.
Conversation with the examiner, including discussion of the candidates portfolio and
of a subject area chosen by the examiner.

These phases are similar to the topic discussion and conversation in equivalent GESE
exams.

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