English Enhancement Guidance Volume

Author: Wang Siyu, Wang Chunmei
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2005-01-01
Features: Currently, China's postgraduate entrance examination for doctoral students adopts a method 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 fail to gain a clear understanding of the above situation of the target institution, they often find themselves lost when studying, unable to find effective practice methods, and struggling to cope during the exam. According to surveys, some candidates with four years of study or work experience abroad have very fluent daily language communication skills but still 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 graduate master's student 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 don’t score highly—without becoming an obstacle to their admission. However, targeted intensive training can enhance their performance. For other candidates, such as: a fresh graduate applying for a doctoral program at another institution, a working professional seeking a doctoral degree, or a candidate unsure of reaching the CET-6 level, without specialized intensive training, their English entrance exam score may become a bottleneck in their doctoral application process. Therefore, for these three types of candidates, targeted intensive training to improve their 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, it helps 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 vary greatly among institutions, and some still adjust their formats. Therefore, understanding the question characteristics of the target institution and preparing accordingly 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, it helps candidates master some techniques and features of the doctoral English entrance exam. Only those who have successfully passed the exam can truly understand its tips and key strategies, and similarly, only those who have failed can deeply realize the shortcomings in their preparation. This book summarizes relevant study experiences and techniques by surveying the exam success stories of current doctoral students.
Third, it provides candidates with a large number of practice questions based on actual exams to refine their exam knowledge and skills. Although each institution’s exam has its own unique features, their question sources are fundamentally similar. Practicing questions from domestic institutions not only strengthens preparation but also helps understand the commonalities and differences in exam questions. This book includes nearly 46 sets of past 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 most questions are sourced from abroad (excluding subjective questions). Therefore, the benefits of extensive practice are obvious:
1. Developing a strong sense of language intuition. Sometimes, just by reading half of a question, you can sense the potential focus of the exam.
2. Improving problem-solving speed. According to experience, most candidates feel they don’t 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 level, carefully following the requirements of this book should ensure you pass the doctoral English exam.
There is no one-size-fits-all method for English exam intensive training. This book may have shortcomings, and candidates are encouraged to point them out during their studies. In 2000, a group of us, as current doctoral students, organized the writing of a systematic series of practical guides for doctoral English entrance exams in China. Four years have passed, and while some changes have occurred in the doctoral English entrance exams of certain institutions in China, 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 past exam questions from major domestic institutions and was compiled accordingly.