Contents of METU-EPE

METU-EPE consists of two stages, each administered on a separate day. Both

stages of the test are equally weighted, each contributing 50 points to the overall
total of 100 points.

STAGE I : Language Use & Reading Comprehension

(80 minutes / 50 pts.)
STAGE II : Listening Comprehension, Note Taking & Writing
(100 110 minutes / 50 pts.)
Stage One of METU-EPE determines whether a candidate may take the second
stage of the test or not. The final METU-EPE scores of those candidates who do
not qualify for the second stage of the test will be whatever they have scored on
the first stage of the test.
What follows is brief information on the contents of each stage of the METU-EPE,
its comprising sections, assessment objectives, and some sample items.

STAGE ONE (Duration: 80 minutes / Total 50 pts.):

LANGUAGE USE AND READING COMPREHENSION

PART A Language Use (40 questions / 0.5 pts. each; total 20 pts.)
All multiple choice questions, one correct option (key), three distractors.
Candidates mark their choices on an optic form.

I Language Use

SECTION

OBJECTIVES

SOURCE OF TEXTS

To assess the candidate's

ability to decode simple,
compound and complex
sentences and to detect
correct, appropriate
language structures,
vocabulary and discourse
markers. Also, to assess
the candidate's awareness
of the essentials and
intricacies of English
grammar, including
tenses, prepositions,
idiomatic expressions and
stylistic variations of
certain structures.

Sentences and
paragraphs taken from
various authentic sources.
When necessary, some
single-sentence items are
constructed by test
writers.

NUMBER OF
TEXTS
10 15 texts of
varying lengths,
with 1 15 or
more blanks.

Questions 1-40
On your answer sheet, mark the alternative which best completes each sentence /
paragraph.

Sample Item
Over 4,000 children in the developing world ____5____ from measles every day. This figure is
just the tip of the iceberg, because not every child ____6____ measles dies of the disease.
Measles can lead to child malnutrition ____7____ vitamin A deficiency, in itself responsible for
over 100,000 deaths a year. All it takes is one single vaccination to immunize a child against the
disease. ____8____ prevent measles and the subsequent malnutrition, but it will also reduce the
risk of diarrhea and pneumonia, two of the complications the disease may cause.
5. a)
b)
c)
d)

has died
have died
die
dies

Correct answers:

6.

a)
b)
c)
d)

5. c

catches
who catches
has caught
is caught
6. b

7. a

7.

8. b

a)
b)
c)
d)

as well as
but not
except for
just as

8.

a)
b)
c)
d)

Should it only
Not only will it
It will only
It doesnt only

PART B Reading Comprehension (30 questions / 1 pt. each; total 30 pts.)

All multiple choice questions, one correct option (key), three distractors.
Candidates mark their choices on an optic form.
SECTION

OBJECTIVES

NUMBER OF
TEXTS

Sentences taken from

various authentic
sources.

Logical Sequence

To assess the candidate's

ability to recognize the
relationship between ideas
in a text and to recognize
and interpret cohesive
devices for linking different
parts of a text.

SOURCE OF TEXTS

Questions 41-44
On your answer sheet, mark the alternative which best completes each sentence or
thought.

Sample Item
42.

The fur trade is a controversial issue. On the one hand, fur farmers and sellers are
fighting to be allowed to continue producing fur goods, and, on the other hand,
___________.
a)
b)
c)
d)

the fur traders say that they do not cause unnecessary suffering to animals
people concerned about animal rights are trying to prevent the on going trade
if the trade were made illegal, hunters without licenses would cause greater
suffering to animals
an animal has more right to live than a human does to wear its coat

The correct answer is b.

II Supporting Ideas

SECTION

OBJECTIVES

SOURCE OF TEXTS

To assess the candidate's

ability to recognize ideas
that support a given topic
sentence.

Sentences taken from

authentic sources
such as academic
texts, course books
newspaper and
magazine articles.

NUMBER
OF TEXTS

Question 45-47
In the following items, three of the alternatives support the main statement or
idea and one does not. Mark the alternative that DOES NOT support the given
topic statement.

Sample Item
45.

While life outside the city is the secret dream of certain city-dwellers, it has
many drawbacks.
a)
b)
c)
d)

Because there are fewer people, one has a smaller number of friends.
One is much closer to nature and can enjoy more peace and quiet.
Entertainment, particularly in the evening, is difficult to find.
There are fewer services, thus fewer employment opportunities.

The correct answer is b.

OBJECTIVES

III Paragraph Completion

SECTION

To assess the
candidate's ability to
recognize the
relationship between
ideas within a text,
discourse
organization and
transitions that tie
ideas to one another
in a paragraph.

SOURCE OF TEXTS
Paragraphs taken from
authentic sources such
as academic texts,
course books
newspaper and
magazine articles.

NUMBER OF
TEXTS

Questions 48-50
Mark the alternative which best completes each paragraph.

Sample Item
48.

Between 1820 and 1840, an estimated 700,000 immigrants arrived in the United
States, mainly from the British Isles and German-speaking areas of continental
Europe. During the 1840s, this substantial flow suddenly became a flood. No less
than 4,200,000 crossed the Atlantic between 1840 and 1860. This was the
greatest influx in proportion to total population then about 20 million that
the nation has ever experienced. ___________. Smaller contingents came from
Switzerland, Norway, Sweden, and the Netherlands.
a)
b)
c)
d)

Many came to escape great suffering because of natural causes or systems

that kept them in poverty
The great push factor that caused a million and a half Irish to leave their
homeland was the great potato famine
The largest single source of the new mass immigration was Ireland, but
Germany was not far behind
Yet, what many of them found in their new land was not exactly what they
expected

The correct answer is c.

IV Text Comprehension

SECTION

OBJECTIVES

SOURCE OF TEXTS

NUMBER OF
QUESTIONS

To assess the candidate's

ability to understand the
key ideas in a text and
answer comprehension
questions about it, to
distinguish between
different levels of
information, to identify the
purpose of a text, to
understand the author's
point of view, to make out
implicit meaning and to
guess word meanings.

Texts taken from various

authentic sources.
Caution is exercised to
select texts in a balanced
fashion from both social
and physical sciences
aimed at popular readers;
i.e., not requiring very
specialized background
knowledge.

5 7 Texts of
varying lengths
accompanied by
1 10 questions.

Questions 51-70
On your answer sheet, mark the alternative which best answers the question or completes
the statement about the text.

Sample Item
One of the leading schools of psychological thought in the twentieth century is behaviorism
the belief that the role of the psychologist is to study behavior, which is observable, rather
than conscious or unconscious thought, which is not. Probably the best-known proponent of
behaviorism is B.F. Skinner, who is famous for his research on how rewards and punishments
influence behavior. He came to believe that positive reinforcements such as praise, food, or
money were more effective in promoting good behavior than negative reinforcement, or
punishment.
52.

53.

The school of behaviourism is concerned with ___________.

a)
conscious thought patterns
c)
b)
observable actions
d)
According to Skinner, good behaviour is ___________.
a)
effective when one is punished
b)
important in influencing rewards and punishment
c)
promoted by not being praised
d)
encouraged by positive reinforcement

Correct answers:

52. b

53. d

psychological thought
unconscious behaviour

STAGE TWO (Duration : 100 110 minutes / Total 50 pts.):

LISTENING COMPREHENSION, NOTE-TAKING AND WRITING

PART A Listening Comprehension (40 questions / 0.5 pts. each; total 20
pts.; Duration: 40-45 minutes)
All multiple choice questions, one correct option (key), three distractors.
Candidates mark their choices in the question booklet as they listen to the
recording and then transfer their answers to an optic form, in pencil.

I - Statements

SECTION

OBJECTIVES

SOURCE OF TEXTS

To assess the candidate's

ability to deduce the meaning
of functional expressions,
idiomatic expressions,
vocabulary and structure, to
recognize paraphrasing and
to draw conclusions.

Sentences mostly
constructed by test
item writers.

NUMBER OF
QUESTIONS
78
statements

In this section, you will hear a statement for each item and a question related to it.
Before you listen to each statement and the related question, you will be given 5
seconds in order to have a look at the 4 alternative answers to the question. Each
statement will be spoken only once. After you listen to each statement you must mark
the alternative which best answers the question that follows.

Sample Item
You will hear:
(Speaker A)
(Speaker B)

Have a look at the four alternatives given.

Usually, there is so much air pollution in cities that it is more sensible to
live in the country than to be exposed to pollution.
(Speaker A) What does the speaker mean?
You
a)
b)
c)
d)

will read:
Air pollution is very bad in cities, so you should move to the country to live longer.
Instead of being exposed to air pollution in cities, it is wiser to live in the country.
Despite the harmful effects of air pollution, it is more exciting to live in cities.
It doesnt make sense to leave the cities just because of some exposure to air
pollution.

The correct answer is b because it recommends living in the country due to the air
pollution in cities.

SECTION

OBJECTIVES

II - Dialogues

To assess the candidate's

ability to deduce the
meaning of functional
expressions, idiomatic
expressions, vocabulary
and structure, to
recognize paraphrasing
and to draw conclusions.

SOURCE OF TEXTS

NUMBER OF
QUESTIONS

Dialogues constructed
by test item writers.

4 5 dialogues;

In this section, you will hear a dialogue for each item and a question related to it.
Before you listen to each dialogue and the related question, you will be given 5 seconds
in order to have a look at the 4 alternative answers to the question. Each dialogue will
be spoken only once. After you listen to each dialogue you must mark the alternative
which best answers the question that follows.

Sample Item
You will hear
(Speaker A)

Im taking so many courses that I need a lot of time to work on my

assignments.

(Speaker B)

Will you have the time to complete all of them?

(Speaker A)

All of my classes are in the morning, so I can spare time every week day
from noon on. And of course, my weekends are free.
When can the student study?

(Speaker C)
You will read:
a)
b)
c)
d)

Every morning.
Afternoons and weekends.
When she is in class.
Weekdays.

The correct answer is b because the student has classes till noon every day and she is
free at weekends.

III Mini Talks

SECTION

OBJECTIVES
To assess the
candidate's ability to
comprehend short
stretches of spoken
discourse and to predict
what will follow.

SOURCE OF TEXTS
7 9 sentence texts
taken from authentic
sources and converted
into spoken English.

NUMBER OF
TEXTS

4 5 mini talks

For the items in this section, you will hear a mini talk for each item. However, the
last sentence of each mini talk is incomplete. Before you listen to each mini talk,
you will be given 5 seconds in order to have a look at the 4 options that may
complete the last sentence. Each mini talk will be spoken only once. After you listen
to each mini talk and hear the "beep" sound, mark the alternative which best
completes the sentence.

Sample Item
You will hear
(Speaker C)

You will read:

a)
b)
c)
d)

Scientists wondered for a long time just how whales are related to
land mammals. They believed that there must have been some kind of
in-between mammal. It would have lived partly in the sea and partly on
land. However, they had no evidence until the discovery of
'Pakicetus', which lived 50 million years ago. This animal... (beep)
was a kind of large fish living in deep water
provided the link between whales and land mammals
looked like mammals living on land
lived far up in the mountains and ate mostly leaves

The correct answer is b because the talk is about how whales and land mammals are
related
.

IV Interviews

SECTION

OBJECTIVES

SOURCE OF TEXTS

NUMBER OF
QUESTIONS

To assess the candidate's

ability to follow a
conversation, to identify
specific information on a
range of topics and to
distinguish between facts
and opinions.

Semi-academic
interviews taken from
authentic sources.
Caution is exercised to
make sure the
interviews do not
require specialized
background knowledge.

2 interviews with
5 6 questions
each

For items in this section, you will hear two interviews. You will hear each interview only
once. As you listen to the interviews, mark the choice that best answers each question.
Before you listen to each interview, you will have 40 seconds to have a look at the
questions related to that interview.

Sample Item
You will hear
For questions 17-21, you will hear a radio program on which a doctor answers the most
frequently asked questions about SARS (or Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome). The radio
program was broadcast in early April 2003. As you listen, mark the choice that best answers
each question.
Now you have 40 seconds to have a look at the questions.
(.....
(Speaker A)
On this edition of Q&A, well be focusing on SARS The continuing
spread of SARS has all of Asia and much of the rest of the world
on edge. What do we know about this mysterious disease? And how
can we protect ourselves against it? Our guest today is Doctor Miller.
He is going to answer the questions most frequently asked by the
audience about SARS First of all, what is SARS, Doctor Miller?
(Speaker B)
Well, according to the World Health Organization, SARS is a disease
caused by a virus that affects the lungs. It leads to a dry cough,
shortness of breath, stiffness, fever and loss of appetite. The
symptoms are very similar to those associated with the flu, except
that SARS can appear as pneumonia in chest x-rays. .......)
You will read:
17.

Which of the following is NOT a symptom of SARS?

a)
Stiff muscles
b)
Cough
c)
Drop in body temperature
d)
Difficulty in breathing

The correct answer is c.

V Mini Lectures

SECTION

OBJECTIVES

SOURCE OF TEXTS

NUMBER OF
QUESTIONS

To assess the candidate's

ability to follow and
comprehend extended
spoken input and identify its
purpose, to track the
development of the
argument, to identify specific
information on a range of
topics, to distinguish
between facts and opinions
and to distinguish main
ideas from supporting
details.

The transcript of a
recorded lecture on a
topic related to either
social or physical
sciences, not
excessively
specialized.

2 mini lectures
with 6 7
questions each

For items 28-40 in this section, you will hear two mini lectures. You will hear each
lecture only once. As you listen to the lectures, mark the choice that best answers
each question.
Before you listen to each lecture, you will have 40 seconds to have a look at the
questions for the related lecture.

Sample Item
You will hear
For questions 28-34, you will hear a mini lecture on TOMATOES. As you listen to the
lecture, mark the choice which best answers each question or completes the statement.
Now you have 40 seconds to have a look at the questions.
(Speaker)

You will read:

28.

The
a)
b)
c)
d)

.........The tomato has been grown since prehistoric times. We

believe that it first originated in South America and was cultivated
by Indians in the Andes Mountains. More than 3,000 years ago, it
moved from South America to Mexico. The tomato was first
introduced to Europe in the 16th century, but it was not until the
19th century that it became popular in Europe. This is most probably
because Europeans considered the tomato poisonous and therefore
inedible.......

tomato was ___________________.

first grown in Mexico
not known in Europe till the 19th century
first cultivated during prehistoric times
brought to South America by Indians

The correct answer is c.

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PART B Note-Taking (4 5 questions; total 10 pts.; Duration: 20 minutes)

All open ended questions to be answered referring to the notes taken while
listening to a lecture. Notes to be taken on a separate sheet, answer sheet to be
distributed after the text is spoken.

I Note-Taking

SECTION

OBJECTIVES

SOURCE OF TEXTS

To assess the candidate's

ability to follow and
comprehend extended
spoken input, to predict the
organization and the content
of a talk throughout, to
recognize the outline of the
talk and the important
information and to take notes
simultaneously.

The transcript of a
recorded lecture of 5 - 6
minutes on a topic related
to either social or physical
sciences, not requiring
specialized background
knowledge.

NUMBER OF
QUESTIONS

__

(Notes taken
not to be
graded)

Sample Note Sheet

In this section, you will hear a lecture on PHOBIA. Take notes on the following points as you
listen to the talk/lecture:

Definition of phobia,
Types of phobias and their definitions,
Distribution of phobias within the population,
Ways of treating phobias, the techniques employed, and their side effects, if any.

II Answering
Open-Ended
Questions

Later, you will be asked to write answers to 5 open-ended questions. Your notes will not be
graded.

In addition to those stated

above, to assess the
candidate's ability to write
short answers to questions
related to the talk by referring
to notes taken earlier.

4 5 questions
__

Sample Item
Q.

Define social phobia and give an example of it.

Definition: _________________________________________________________
Example:

_________________________________________________________

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PART C Writing (Total 20 pts. ; Duration: 45 minutes)

Section I: All open ended questions. (5 pts.)
Section II: Paragraph to be written on a separate sheet. (15 pts.)

to a Text

I Responding

SECTION

OBJECTIVES
To assess the candidate's
ability to recognize the
attitude of the writer towards
the issue, his point of view
and how well he supports his
argument.

SOURCE OF TEXTS
A text taken from an
authentic source such
as an academic text,
newspaper or
magazine.

NUMBER OF
QUESTIONS
1 2 questions

Sample Item

Paragraph

II Writing a

What is the argument of the author in this text? State this in one sentence and write down
the author's supports / reasons in one or two sentences.

To assess the candidate's

ability to use correct,
appropriate language
structures, vocabulary and
discourse features in writing,
to follow the conventions of
standard written English, to
produce a cohesive and
coherent piece of writing.

The text in Part I above

will serve as a tool to
activate the candidate's
schemata, concepts
and vocabulary relevant
to the topic and to help
him think about the
issue prior to writing.

1 paragraph of
approximately
150 words

For instance, if the reading text in Section I above is about the Internet as a source of
information, a writing task like the one below might be given.

Sample Item

Write a paragraph of approximately 150 words comparing the library and the Internet as a
research tool.
In your paragraph make sure:
* you write an introductory sentence indicating what you will write about;
* all your ideas are relevant to the topic;
* you address the task in full.
Your paragraph will be graded according to:
* the organization,
* how fully you respond to the task set,
* the content,
* accuracy of language.

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METU-EPE Scoring Procedure and Guidelines

Stage One Language Use and Reading Comprehension and Stage

Two / Part A Listening Comprehension are scored by an optic reader.

Stage Two Part B / Note-Taking is graded by a group of experienced

raters in accordance with an answer key provided. The raters go through
standardization before each grading session. Each paper is graded by two
co-raters.

Stage Two Part C / Writing is graded by a group of experienced raters

in accordance with the guidelines provided. The raters are trained in using
the guidelines for grading in a standardization session before each
grading. Each paper is graded by two co-raters.

(Initial trials revealed that inter-scorer reliability among pairs of trained raters
ranges between r: .88 and r: .92)

Reporting of the METU-EPE Scores

Stage One Language Use and Reading Comprehension
The results of Stage One are announced within 1 or 2 days after the exam,
indicating whether the candidate has qualified to sit for Stage Two of the exam or
not. That is, candidates indicated as "qualify" in the exam results list will sit for
Stage Two, whereas candidates indicated as "not qualify" will either study at the
Department of Basic English or take the next scheduled exam in accordance with
their status.
In order to qualify for Stage Two of the METU-EPE, a test taker must have
obtained a minimum of 50% achievement in Stage One. The final METU-EPE
scores of those candidates who do not qualify to sit for Stage Two will be
announced along with the Stage Two results.
METU-EPE Scores
The final METU-EPE scores are announced within 3 5 days after Stage Two of
the exam as
a) the total grade, and
b) the grade for each component.
The list of scores are posted on the bulletin boards at the Registrar's Office and the
School of Foreign Languages. The scores are also announced on the Web page of
the School of Foreign Languages:
http://www.metu.edu.tr/home/www93/prf/anasayfa.htm
Those candidates who have qualified for Stage Two but failed the METU-EPE will
have to take the whole exam (Stage One and Stage Two) again if they are entitled
to.
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