From now on, St. Paul’s School will include a dictation test instead of the creative writing task for the English Paper.

Dictation testing consists of your child writing something down that the tester will say aloud. They will repeat it a total of three times for your child to listen once, write it down, and then review and check for errors.

This will test their spelling and grammar, as well as their listening skills – exactly what the schools will be looking for. A basic understanding of spelling, punctuation, and grammar, sentence structure, legible and neat writing, and the ability to listen carefully are all essential.

They will check for the correct placement of capital letters and punctuation (periods, commas, speech marks, exclamation points and question marks). Furthermore, contractions will be assessed. For example, he’s (he is) or you’re (you are).

An understanding of proper pronouns and appropriate capitalisation is important.

Homophones (i.e. there/their/they’re) will be carefully examined to make sure your child can use the right word in the correct context.

To help your child prepare, plenty of practice is best. This is easily achievable at home with just you and your child! Begin with simple sentences to help build their confidence. It will make them feel more confident. It may be wise to research sample dictations or seek external practice resources online. Some practice tests even provide audio! 

To keep them engaged, we encourage including silly sentences or ones that are tailored to your child’s interests. 

Address any errors they make and work on them. They will become more familiar with the testing process and the types of errors that may arise. This will make them feel more comfortable and able to avoid mistakes during the real examination.

Exam Papers Plus has provided 7+ and 8+ Dictation books (2020-2021 Edition) at £40 each.

https://exampapersplus.co.uk/papers/seven-plus/7-plus-dictation/

 https://exampapersplus.co.uk/papers/eight-plus/8-plus-exam-english-dictation/