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What is LPI?

The full form of LPI is The Language Proficiency Index. It is an English language test of reading and writing. The test was originally developed at The University of British Columbia and is administered by Paragon Testing Enterprise, a subsidiary of The University of British Columbia.

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The LPI measures the test taker’s competency in English. This test is taken by many post-secondary institutions in British Columbia and is a medium to take entry in academic programs or first year English courses for those whose first language is not English.

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In addition to post-secondary institutions, many companies and professional associations look to recruit employees and certify members who have the necessary reading and writing skills to carry out their responsibilities and represent their organizations effectively. The LPI assessment information helps to maximize the success rate of individuals applying to programs at post-secondary institutions and professional organizations, and also contributes to the efficiency of these programs.

TEST FORMAT

The LPI test is a paper–based test and is taken at one of the designated testing location of Paragon Testing System.

INTRODUCTION TO THE LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY INDEX

The LPI test is 2 hours and 30 minutes in length and consists of four components.

 

PART I: SENTENCE STRUCTURE

PART II: ENGLISH USAGE

PART III: READING COMPREHENSION

PART IV: ESSAY WRITING

 

Part I and part II assess the examinee's ability to recognise common errors involving sentence structure and respectively, language usage.  Part III assesses an examinee’s ability to answer four multiple-choice questions related to each of two passages (A) and to summarise three other passages in no more than three sentences each (section B). Part IV assesses an examinee’s ability to write an argumentative essay in response to a topic.

SOME EXAMPLES OF SENTENCE STRUCTURE ERRORS IN PART I:

 Some examples of sentence structure errors tested on each form of the LPI are listed below:

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  1. Faulty subject-verb agreement

  2. Unclear pronoun reference

  3. Shift in perspective

  4. Faulty parallel structure

  5. Faulty subject/ dangling modifier

  6. Faulty prediction

  7. Misplaced modifier

  8. Punctuation problems

  9. Incomplete sentence

  10. Faulty logical relations between clauses.

PART II. ENGLISH USAGE

In part II of the LPI test you will see ten items. Each item contains one or two sentences and has four underlined parts. One of the underlined parts of each item may contain an error involving English usage; however, some items may contain no errors. Some examples of English usage errors tested on each form of the LPI are listed below.

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  1. Incomplete use of an article

  2. Incorrect number of a noun

  3. Incorrect use of a pronoun

  4. Incorrect use of a verb

  5. Adverb/adjective confusion

  6. Incorrect use of preposition

  7. Faulty diction

  8. Non-standard word, expression, or idiom

  9. Incorrect degree of comparison

10.  Confusion between words with similar sounds (Homophones or Near- homophones

PART III. READING COMPREHENSION

In the part III of the LPI Test, there are two sections.

In section A, examinees must read two prose passage and ten answer four multiple-choice questions that accompany each passage.

In section B, examinees must read three prose passage and then summarise each passage’s main idea (or ideas) in no more than three sentences.

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