ENGLISH · CSAT (대학수학능력시험)
ENGLISH/11
English
English · 2021 · Variant 1
Relative difficulty
Analysis source: Korea Institute for Curriculum and Evaluation (KICE)
Analysis aligned to the official syllabus and assessment design.
3.0 / 5
100
70 min
Long-reading inference, blank/summary/order questions, and listening detail under absolute-grade pressure.
Cohort performance
Session statistics from official examination reports
Total marks
100
Duration
70 min
Session difficulty
3.0 / 5
Calculator policy
No calculators in any CSAT section. All arithmetic must be done by hand. English includes a listening section with broadcast audio.
Key examiner messages
Top priorities from the principal examiner before you revise
KICE English assesses listening and reading from the national English curriculum through 45 questions in 70 minutes: 17 listening and 28 reading questions, 100 points, absolute grading, and about 53% EBS linkage in 2024.
Longer inferential reading and sequence/coherence items demanded faster passage mapping.
KICE designs English items from the national curriculum achievement standards and publishes all questions and answers after the exam.
EBS-linked items about 53% means concepts, source themes, or problem types are linked, but wording and contexts are commonly transformed.
KICE publishes annual test-design directions (출제 방향) emphasising syllabus-faithful items, EBS textbook linkage (~50% of Korean, Mathematics, and English items), and post-2024 exclusion of extreme “killer” items outside public-education scope.
Question difficulty map
How candidates performed on each question in this series
No data available in official reports
Assessment objectives
Skill and AO weighting from official examiner commentary
Skill weighting
Cognitive skills emphasised in official test design.
Listening accuracy
Weight: 30100%Reading inference
Weight: 30100%Discourse organization
Weight: 2583%Vocabulary and grammar control
Weight: 1550%
Method marks watchlist
Where working, steps, or method marks were commonly lost
No data available in official reports
Recurring mistakes across years
Themes examiners flag in multiple recent sessions for this subject
Listening: Reading ahead too slowly and missing the first clue in the audio. — Preview only the task and key nouns, then listen from the …
Blank questions: Choosing a sentence that sounds impressive but does not match the paragraph logic. — Predict the missing function before…
Order/insertion: Ignoring pronouns and demonstratives that signal previous information. — Circle this, these, such, however, and therefor…
Vocabulary: Translating a word by its most common meaning when context requires another sense. — Check part of speech and surrounding col…
Absolute grading: Overstudying rare grammar while routine listening errors persist. — Track which item types cost grade-band points and p…
Question choice intelligence
Mean scores and popularity for optional questions (HKDSE electives)
No data available in official reports
Level exemplars
What candidate scripts at each grade level looked like
No data available in official reports
Grade & admission context
How marks relate to grade thresholds and entry standards
Official body
Korea Institute for Curriculum and Evaluation (KICE)
Grading system
KICE absolute grading (1 = highest): e.g. raw 90–100 → Grade 1, 80–89 → Grade 2, through Grade 9
Scale band
1
Scale band
2
Scale band
3
Scale band
4
Deep insights
What top candidates did
Techniques and approaches examiners rewarded in this series
1. Preview listening stems
Use the short preview window to identify what each audio question asks: purpose, place, reason, price, sequence, or response.
2. Build a reading order
Secure easier questions first, then handle blanks, order, insertion, and summaries. These high-value items need calm passage mapping.
3. Track discourse markers
Words such as however, therefore, for example, in contrast, and as a result often decide insertion and order items.
4. Learn EBS themes, not scripts
EBS-linked reading is frequently paraphrased. Summarize each source passage in one sentence and list its argument structure.
5. Practice threshold scoring
Because English is absolute graded, know the raw-score band you need and focus practice on the item types that threaten that band.
6. Review vocabulary by collocation
Learn verbs with prepositions, academic nouns with adjectives, and transition phrases in context instead of isolated word lists.
Command word playbook
How to match each command word to the expected response style
No data available in official reports
Time traps
Sections where candidates spent disproportionate time relative to marks
No data available in official reports
Syllabus traceability
Topics linked to questions and mark weighting in this session
Listening comprehension: short dialogues, talks, purpose, detail, and response
Official topic weighting
Reading comprehension: main idea, detail, inference, title, and summary
Official topic weighting
Discourse structure: order, insertion, coherence, and flow
Official topic weighting
Vocabulary and grammar in context
Official topic weighting
MCQ trap analytics
Commonly chosen wrong options from examiner commentary
No data available in official reports
Topic heatmap across years
Mark concentration by topic and exam year for this subject
Mark intensity
Listening comprehension: short dialogues, talks, purpose, detail, and response
Reading comprehension: main idea, detail, inference, title, and summary
Discourse structure: order, insertion, coherence, and flow
Vocabulary and grammar in context
Difficulty trend
How session difficulty has shifted across recent years
Paper comparison
Marks and duration breakdown across papers in this session
English: 45 questions: 17 listening and 28 reading, all multiple choice
Marks you can still earn
Where valid approaches outside the mark scheme may still gain credit
No data available in official reports
Practise what examiners flagged
Target weak topics from this report inside the Revui app
Listening comprehension: short dialogues, talks, purpose, detail, and response
Official topic weighting
Practise in RevuiReading comprehension: main idea, detail, inference, title, and summary
Official topic weighting
Practise in RevuiDiscourse structure: order, insertion, coherence, and flow
Official topic weighting
Practise in RevuiVocabulary and grammar in context
Official topic weighting
Practise in RevuiSelf-diagnostic checklist
Key actions before you sit this paper — copy and tick off as you revise
- 1Message
KICE English assesses listening and reading from the national English curriculum through 45 questions in 70 minutes: 17 listening and 28 reading questions, 100 points, absolute grading, and about 53% EBS linkage in 2024.
- 2Message
Longer inferential reading and sequence/coherence items demanded faster passage mapping.
- 3Message
KICE designs English items from the national curriculum achievement standards and publishes all questions and answers after the exam.
- 4Message
EBS-linked items about 53% means concepts, source themes, or problem types are linked, but wording and contexts are commonly transformed.
- 5Message
KICE publishes annual test-design directions (출제 방향) emphasising syllabus-faithful items, EBS textbook linkage (~50% of Korean, Mathematics, and English items), and post-2024 exclusion of extreme “killer” items outside public-education scope.
- 6Pitfall
Listening: Reading ahead too slowly and missing the first clue in the audio. — Preview only the task and key nouns, then listen from the …
- 7Pitfall
Blank questions: Choosing a sentence that sounds impressive but does not match the paragraph logic. — Predict the missing function before…
- 8Pitfall
Order/insertion: Ignoring pronouns and demonstratives that signal previous information. — Circle this, these, such, however, and therefor…
- 9Pitfall
Vocabulary: Translating a word by its most common meaning when context requires another sense. — Check part of speech and surrounding col…
- 10Pitfall
Absolute grading: Overstudying rare grammar while routine listening errors persist. — Track which item types cost grade-band points and p…
- 11Strength
1. Preview listening stems: Use the short preview window to identify what each audio question asks: purpose, place, reason, pric
- 12Strength
2. Build a reading order: Secure easier questions first, then handle blanks, order, insertion, and summaries. These high-value
- 13Strength
3. Track discourse markers: Words such as however, therefore, for example, in contrast, and as a result often decide insertion a
Teacher briefing pack
One-page session summary for tutors and classroom review
2021 2021
English
KICE English assesses listening and reading from the national English curriculum through 45 questions in 70 minutes: 17 listening and 28 reading questions, 100 points, absolute grading, and about 53% EBS linkage in 2024. 2021: Longer inferential reading and sequence/coherence ite
KICE English assesses listening and reading from the national English curriculum through 45 questions in 70 minutes: 17 listening and 28 reading questions, 100 points, absolute grading, and about 53% EBS linkage in 2024.
Longer inferential reading and sequence/coherence items demanded faster passage mapping.
KICE designs English items from the national curriculum achievement standards and publishes all questions and answers after the exam.
Listening: Reading ahead too slowly and missing the first clue in the audio. — Preview only the task and key nouns, then listen from the …
Blank questions: Choosing a sentence that sounds impressive but does not match the paragraph logic. — Predict the missing function before…
- Total marks
- 100
- Duration
- 70 min
- Session difficulty
- 3.0 / 5
- Calculator policy
- No calculators in any CSAT section. All arithmetic must be done by hand. English includes a listening section with broadcast audio.
Session analysis
KICE English assesses listening and reading from the national English curriculum through 45 questions in 70 minutes: 17 listening and 28 reading questions, 100 points, absolute grading, and about 53% EBS linkage in 2024. 2021: Longer inferential reading and sequence/coherence items demanded faster passage mapping. Korea Institute for Curriculum and Evaluation (KICE) emphasises long-reading inference, blank/summary/order questions, and listening detail under absolute-grade pressure.. Priority revision: Listening comprehension: short dialogues, talks, purpose, detail, and response, Reading comprehension: main idea, detail, inference, title, and summary, Discourse structure: order, insertion, coherence, and flow, Vocabulary and grammar in context. Use the short preview window to identify what each audio question asks: purpose, place, reason, price, sequence, or response.
Updated 2026-07-03
Paper breakdown
English: 45 questions: 17 listening and 28 reading, all multiple choice
Top chapters
Exam structure insights
Marks by syllabus topic
Revision priority from official test-design weighting.
Mark accessibility
Estimated difficulty spread based on official design.
Long-reading inference, blank/summary/order questions, and listening detail unde
Paper structure
Official paper breakdown for this subject.
English
100·10·100%
Official syllabus scope
KICE English assesses listening and reading from the national English curriculum through 45 questions in 70 minutes: 17 listening and 28 reading questions, 100 points, absolute grading, and about 53% EBS linkage in 2024.
2021 session trend
Longer inferential reading and sequence/coherence items demanded faster passage mapping.
Difficulty verdict
Rated 3/5 for November sessions. Long-reading inference, blank/summary/order questions, and listening detail under absolute-grade pressure.
What examiners measure
1. Understand spoken conversations, talks, purposes, attitudes, and specific details. 2. Infer main ideas, claims, tone, logical flow, and omitted information in reading passages. 3. Use grammar, vocabulary, and discourse markers to solve cloze and coherence items. 4. Recognize transformed EBS-linked themes without depending on memorized passages. 5. Secure absolute-grade thresholds through consistent accuracy on routine item types.
Where the marks are
Highest-weight syllabus areas: Listening comprehension: short dialogues, talks, purpose, detail, and response; Reading comprehension: main idea, detail, inference, title, and summary; Discourse structure: order, insertion, coherence, and flow; Vocabulary and grammar in context.
Examiner notes & key calculations
- Longer inferential reading and sequence/coherence items demanded faster passage mapping.
- KICE designs English items from the national curriculum achievement standards and publishes all questions and answers after the exam.
- EBS-linked items about 53% means concepts, source themes, or problem types are linked, but wording and contexts are commonly transformed.
- The official timing is 70 min for 45 questions; pacing practice should match the actual OMR marking burden.
- Distractors usually represent common misconceptions, not random wrong answers, so elimination must be evidence-based.
- High-discrimination items often combine two syllabus domains or require interpreting a new source, graph, table, or scenario.
- A full mock should include answer-sheet transfer and a post-test error log organized by domain and mistake type.
- English difficulty is managed around absolute grade thresholds, so a few hard reading items coexist with many accessible items.
- KICE listening questions are format-stable; gains come from preview discipline and weekly full-audio practice.
- 2021: Grade-1 rate ~6%. Double-passage reading introduced in more slots.
Exam tips
Paper format
- Duration
- 70 min
- Total marks
- 100
- Weighting
- 100%
- Question types
- 45 questions: 17 listening and 28 reading, all multiple choice
- Use the short preview window to identify what each audio question asks: purpose, place, reason, price, sequence, or response.
- Secure easier questions first, then handle blanks, order, insertion, and summaries. These high-value items need calm passage mapping.
- Words such as however, therefore, for example, in contrast, and as a result often decide insertion and order items.
Common mistakes
Listening
Reading ahead too slowly and missing the first clue in the audio.
How to avoid: Preview only the task and key nouns, then listen from the opening sentence.
Blank questions
Choosing a sentence that sounds impressive but does not match the paragraph logic.
How to avoid: Predict the missing function before reading options.
Order/insertion
Ignoring pronouns and demonstratives that signal previous information.
How to avoid: Circle this, these, such, however, and therefore before arranging sentences.
Analysis is paraphrased for study purposes. Always verify against the official examiner report and mark scheme.