Common error types in the LPATE writing Task 2B (2008 to 2018)

1. Part of Speech
Item 13: My father want to drive fastly there (13) and this is not possible.
There is one error in this item. The writer needs to use a/an (a) _______________ such as 'but' to show (b)
________________ between the clauses.

Item 17: ... polar bear is (17) too cuter than the panda.
There is one error. The writer has used a/an (a) __________________________ `too'; however, the (b)
__________________ 'cuter' is sufficient.

2. Meaning
see Item 13 (b) under Part of Speech

Item 16: Now Chinese people have more money (16) and they would go everywhere …
There is one error. The writer has used the wrong (a) _____________________ `would', which should be
replaced with 'can' to indicate the people's (b) __________________ to travel.

3. Part of Clause
Item 18: (18) It will be die soon because an ice is melting ...
There are two errors. The first concerns the verb 'die': this should be a/an (a) _________________ `dead'
because it is the (b) ___________________ of the verb 'to be' and tells us about the polar bear. Second, the
(c) ________________ 'an' is not appropriate because (d)
________________________________________.

4. Word Form
See Item 18 (d)

Item 14: ... petrol is very expensive and (14) it is not legal driving on Mainland ...
There are two errors in this item. First, the writer needs to change the (a) _____________________
`driving' to (b) ______________________ 'to drive'. Second, the writer needs to use a/an (c)
_________________________ `the' in front of 'Mainland'. This is because certain (d)
______________________________ (such as the names of countries) take this form.
5. Agreement
Item 21: (21) Introduce child-care services in schools are one way of overcoming the problem.
There are two errors in this sentence. The first error concerns 'introduce', which should be changed to the
(a) ________________ _________'introducing'.
The second error is one of (b) _____________________: 'are' should be changed to 'is' because 'introducing
child care services in schools' is a/an (c) _________________________.

6. Transitivity
Item 13: She always (13) told to eat plenty fruit and vegetables to stay good.
There are three errors in this sentence. The first error relates to the need for 'us' after the verb
'told' , as it follows a/an (a) ___________________verb. The second error relates to the missing (b)
___________________ which is needed to complete the set phrase 'plenty of'. The third error relates to the
(c) ________________________'good', which should be replaced with 'well' because (d)
_______________________________.

7. Tense
Item 12: (12) After that she steam the fish with too many herbs.
There are two errors in this sentence. The first relates to the (a) ____________________________ ‘steam’,
which should be in the (b) ___________________ tense, ‘steamed’. The second error relates to the (c)
___________________________ ‘too’, which should be deleted. ‘Too’ is not appropriate in this context
because it conveys the meaning of (d) _____________________________________.

8. Voice
Item 15: ... and (15) too many people are travelled ...
There is one error: 'are travelled' should be changed to 'travel', in the (a) _____________________, to tell
us about 'people', which is the (b) ___________________________________ of the clause.

9. Type of Clause
Item 20: (20) If we do not do this, we would all die soon.
There is one error. In the second clause, 'would' should be replaced by 'will' to form a/an (a)
_________________________ sentence. This kind of sentence tells us about (b)
_____________________________________________________.
10. Article
Item 22: (22) I wish that you will find an university that suits you.
There are two errors in this item. First, the writer should replace 'wish' with 'hope' because 'wish' is not
generally used with a that-clause to express the meaning of (a)
_________________________________________________
The second error is that the writer should replace the (b) ____________________article 'an' with 'a' because
(c) ____________________________________________________________.

11. Morphology
Item 17: I go home and preview what I have learnt.
In this sentence, 'preview' should be replaced by 'review' because the (a) ______________________'pre'
indicates (b) _______________________________, and therefore does not fit the context here.

12. Word Order

Item 14: Teenagers are difficult to resist copying the look of there idols.
This sentence contains two errors. Firstly, there is an overall problem with the (a)
_________________________ of the sentence, which should be rephrased as 'It is difficult for teenagers to
resist...'. When we say someone is difficult, as in 'teenagers are difficult', we mean that teenagers are (b)
_____________________________. The second problem concerns the misuse of 'there', which can be
classified grammatically as a/an (c) ____________________________. It should be replaced by a/an (d)
_______________________________________ 'their'.

13. Type of Cohesion

Item 16: (16) Most of the time he goes by hisself my mother will scold him and make him to feel bad.
There are three errors in this sentence. The first relates to the word 'hisself', which should be corrected to
the (a) _________________________'himself'. The second error relates to the lack of a/an (b)
__________________________ such as 'and', which is needed in order to (c)
___________________________. The final error relates to the phrase 'make him to feel bad'. This should
be changed to 'make him feel bad' because (d) _________________________________.

Item 21: I do love the seafood in the fish market. (21) They are very delicious.
There is one error in this item. The writer should replace 'They are' with 'It is' because the antecedent (i.e.
'the seafood in the fish market') is definite and (a) __________________________, 'It' is an example of a
pronoun acting as a/an (b) _______________________________reference.
Frequency of each type of error in Task 2B in LAPTE Writing (2008-2018)
Error Type No. %
1 part of speech 79 35.91%
2 meaning 34 15.45%
3 part of clause 28 12.73%
4 word form 27 12.27%
5 agreement 8 3.64%
6 transitivity 8 3.64%
7 tense 7 3.18%
8 voice 7 3.18%
9 type of clause 6 2.73%
10 article 5 2.27%
11 morphology 5 2.27%
12 word order 4 1.82%
13 type of cohesion 2 0.91%
Total 220 100%

Passing rate of LPATE (2008-2018)

Classroom
Reading Writing Listening Speaking Language
Assessment
2008 81.80% 42% 71.80% 62% 94.60%
2009 80.3% 46.2% 69.5% 50.6% 97.2%
2010 66.2% 42.7% 71.9% 43.7% 93.9%
2011 89.0% 37.0% 83.0% 50.0% 95.5%
2012 88.0% 37.0% 83.0% 50.0% 95.0%
2013 89.0% 45.0% 78.0% 52.0% 98.0%
2014 84.0% 53.0% 83.0% 52.0% 98.0%
2015 87.8% 60.5% 86.3% 54.8% 97.2%
2016 87.1% 50.2% 84.6% 55.3% 96.5%
2017 85.1% 39.2% 82.6% 56.3% 97.3%
2018 84.1% 43.0% 76.4% 57.6% 95.6%