English Enhancement Guide. English Entrance Examination Guide for Doctoral Candidates

Author: Wang Siyu, Wang Chunmei
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-01-01
Features: Currently, China's postgraduate entrance examination for doctoral candidates adopts a system where each admitting institution sets its own exam and organizes it independently. As a result, the exam focus and question-setting characteristics of different schools vary significantly. If candidates cannot gain a clear understanding of the above situation of the target institution, they often find themselves lost when studying, ineffective when practicing, and unable to cope during the exam. According to surveys, some candidates with four years of study or work experience abroad have very fluent daily English communication skills but fail to meet the English score requirements for doctoral entrance exams. Therefore, the doctoral English entrance exam is largely a proficiency test, although many institutions now place greater emphasis on ability testing.
As one of the three courses for doctoral entrance exams (candidates with equivalent academic qualifications need to take four courses), the doctoral English entrance exam is crucial. For an excellent English-achieving fresh master's graduate applying for doctoral studies at the same institution or a candidate who has participated in GRE (or equivalent) training, performing normally in the exam is sufficient—even if they do not score highly—since it will not hinder their admission process. However, targeted intensive training can provide an additional advantage.
However, for other candidates, such as:
- A fresh graduate applying for a doctoral program at a different institution
- An employed individual seeking a doctoral degree
- A candidate whose English proficiency is uncertain even at the CET-6 level
Without specialized intensive training, their English entrance exam scores may become a bottleneck in their doctoral application process. Therefore, for the above three types of candidates, targeted intensive training to improve English scores and ensure a smooth admission process is essential.
This book is designed to serve the above three types of candidates. To achieve the goal of intensive training, it highlights the following three key features:
First, help candidates understand and familiarize themselves with the characteristics and requirements of the doctoral English entrance exam. Since the doctoral English entrance exam is not nationally standardized, the question types and scoring systems vary greatly among institutions, and some still adjust their formats. Therefore, understanding the question characteristics of the target institution and conducting targeted review is crucial. This book first examines and analyzes a national guiding exam outline issued by the Ministry of Education, then analyzes the historical question features of various institutions in actual exams, accurately assessing the level, characteristics (compared to CET-6, TOEFL, and GRE), and other aspects of the doctoral English entrance exam to give candidates a clear understanding.
Second, help candidates master some techniques and features of the doctoral English entrance exam. Only candidates who have successfully passed the exam can truly understand its tips and key strategies. Similarly, only those who have experienced failure can deeply realize the shortcomings in their preparation. This book summarizes relevant review experiences and techniques by surveying the successful experiences of current doctoral candidates.
Third, provide candidates with a large number of practice questions based on actual exams to enhance their exam knowledge and skills. Although each institution's exam questions have unique features, their sources are fundamentally similar. Practicing questions from domestic institutions not only strengthens preparation but also helps understand the commonalities and specificities of exam questions. This book includes nearly 46 sets of actual exam questions and answers from 24 renowned domestic institutions. If candidates complete one set in two days and undergo three months of intensive training, passing the English exam should be no problem. Surveys show that many candidates feel a sense of familiarity with the questions from different institutions during training. This is because the knowledge points of English proficiency tests are essentially limited and focused, and these questions are almost entirely sourced from abroad (excluding subjective questions). Therefore, the benefits of extensive practice are obvious:
- Developing a strong sense of language intuition. Sometimes, just by reading half of a question, you can sense the potential topics to be tested.
- Improving problem-solving speed. Based on experience, most candidates feel they do not have enough time during the exam. Of course, having the best training materials and techniques also requires hard work. If you are not too confident in your English proficiency, carefully following the requirements of this book should ensure a passing score in the doctoral English exam.
Methods for English exam intensive training cannot be one-size-fits-all. This book undoubtedly has shortcomings, and candidates are encouraged to point them out during their studies. In 2000, a group of us, as current doctoral candidates, organized the writing of a systematic series of practical guides for doctoral English entrance exams in China. Four years have passed, and while there have been some changes in the doctoral English entrance exams of certain domestic institutions, most remain relatively stable (e.g., Renmin University's exam format has not changed in nearly eight years). This book is based on a detailed analysis and research of 46 sets of recent actual exam questions from major domestic institutions and was compiled accordingly.