Currently, on the Russian market you can find many different (and not so different) manuals for preparing for the Unified State Exam in English language. Which ones should you choose to prepare and pass the exam successfully?
I recommend you the grammar textbook R. Murphy ‘Essential Grammar in Use’ (popularly known as “red Murphy”) and R. Murphy ‘English Grammar in Use’ (popularly known as “Murphy blue”):
Red is for complete beginners; it covers in detail the basic tenses and basic grammatical structures of English. If you already speak English at a level of about Pre-Intermediate (“Below Intermediate”), then the blue textbook is more suitable for you, and you can turn to the red one if necessary, if, for example, you have forgotten some There is/There are.
Please note that the fourth edition of these textbooks is now available. In my opinion, there is no point in chasing the fourth one, because it differs from the third only in that, for example, the name Peter appeared in the exercises, and now it is John. The tasks themselves and their number remained 99% unchanged. However, the fourth edition also comes with a disc with an audio version of the tasks.
Murphy's textbook is good because it has ALL the necessary grammar, and it is also very well structured by topic.
By the way, these textbooks also have Supplementary Exercises: Additional exercises:
But the set of exercises in them is different in different editions. Therefore, if your goal is to do more exercises on a certain topic, it makes sense to get Supplementary Exercises 2, 3 and 4 editions.
In this series there are also manuals for vocabulary development, for different levels. I also highly recommend it!
Please note that since Murphy's textbooks are intended for students from... different countries, and not only for Russia, they do not contain a word of Russian and, therefore, there are no tasks for translating sentences from Russian into English. I recommend that you also complete translation tasks, since in this case your brain begins to work completely differently, unlike tasks where you need to fill in the blanks. For this, various domestic collections of exercises are suitable, the same collection by Yu. Golitsynsky (popularly known as the “green collection”) and other analogues:
Also, no one is stopping you from translating from Russian all sorts of short stories or even articles on topics that interest you - be it sports, geography or cooking.
As for the “green collection”, in the latest, seventh edition you will find a lot of exercises on articles, on tenses (the Tenses), passive voice (The Passive Voice), indirect speech (the Reported Speech), on basic conditional sentences ( the Conditionals), by modal verbs(the Modal Verbs) and structures based on them. The remaining topics (prepositions, comparison of adjectives and some others) are presented there rather poorly, so it is better to additionally look for exercises in other manuals.
Many school graduates are wondering what textbooks to use to prepare for the Unified State Exam in English. Choosing the right textbook is fundamentally important even for those who do not doubt their knowledge of the language. After all, if the form of the proposed tasks is unusual, the most competent person in English may become confused.
Professional British publishing houses have long begun to publish literature on preparation for the Unified State Exam in English. Some series have already gone through several editions. How to choose the most effective benefits from all this diversity, which will become a reliable help and give a tangible effect?
IQ Consultancy specialists have compiled a list of the best textbooks for preparing for the Unified State Exam in English.
Exam Skills for Russia, Speaking & Listening
Publisher Macmillan
This publication is designed to develop students' speaking and comprehension skills. English speech aurally. This knowledge will help them when completing Unified State Examination tasks from the “listening” and “speaking” sections. The textbook consists of 30 lessons. The first 15 lessons are aimed at repetition school curriculum, the next 15 are more complex - they reinforce speaking and listening skills in English. As part of the proposed tasks, students model dialogues in various life situations. The manual also pays attention to thematic vocabulary and grammatical structures.
Exam Skills for Russia Reading & Writing + Practice Tests
Publisher Macmillan
The textbook consists of individual lessons, each of which includes reading and writing exercises. Reading texts are varied in genres and topics, so students’ attention span is not reduced. The textbook pays attention to the development of skills in composing various texts: from business letter, before a short story. In addition to developing students’ language knowledge, the textbook also gives advice on how to properly organize the execution of exam tasks, which is no less important in the context of taking an important exam.
Practice Exam Papers for Russian National Exam
Express Publishing
Practice Exam Papers were written by Russian teachers specifically for preparing for the Unified State Exam. The peculiarity of this publication lies in its practical orientation. It contains 20 standard tests that are included in the Unified State Exam. There are practical tasks to prepare for all sections of the Unified State Exam: listening, reading, writing, speaking, and there are also exercises on English vocabulary and grammar. In addition to the keys and teacher's book, the textbook comes with 5 audio CDs.
State Exam Maximizer
Longman Publishing
Another manual by Russian authors. British specialists were also involved in the creation of the textbook. The textbook suggests A complex approach to prepare for the Unified State Exam. State Exam maximiser contains exercises for each section of the Unified State Exam. Even the topics of the Unified State Exam tasks and those offered by this tutorial, largely coincide. State Exam maximiser is suitable for independent work.
First Certificate in English
Longman Publishing
This textbook is designed specifically to prepare for the international FCE exam. Why FCE if we're talking about about the Unified State Exam? It's simple - when developing the Unified State Exam standards in English, the developers actively used this particular exam. The tasks from the lexical and grammatical section of the Unified State Examination are very similar to the tasks that can be found in the writing section of the FCE exam.
By the way, FCE (First Certificate in English) is an exam of English as a foreign language for students with an upper-intermediate level. It is also called the First Cambridge Certificate as it was developed by the ESOL division of the University of Cambridge Examinations Council (UCLES).
Now you know about the best textbooks for preparing for the Unified State Exam in English. You can also familiarize yourself with the main forms of preparation for the Unified State Exam and choose the best one for yourself. Good luck!
In this article I will try to collect in one place the textbooks that I use for preparing for the Great and Terrible Unified State Exam. I’ll make a reservation right away: I take one main textbook (there will be an article about it), and all the manuals described in the article only decorate my lesson.
The bad news: there are a lot of textbooks on the Unified State Exam, and not all are available in electronic format.
Good news: Since almost all the manuals are Russian, they are not particularly expensive and are easy to learn.
I will describe the textbooks in the order in which the skills are tested in the exam itself. Basically, these will be a series of manuals by the same authors.
Textbooks for the Unified State Exam: Listening
From grammar I also take: Veselova and Bodonya Training notebook for preparing for the Unified State Exam.
When preparing for a task on word formation, we go through almost the entire textbook Word formation. Tasks 26-31:
If I see that a student has problems with vocabulary, doesn’t understand the difference between do and make, knows few phrasal verbs), I take Veselova’s textbook Thematic trainer for the English language or Muzlanova's reference book
I managed to finish school even before the Unified State Exam was introduced. Of course, there are many more opponents of such an examination system than supporters, but this is our reality, which is much easier to put up with than to resist.
The Unified State Exam in English is a difficult exam. In 2017 enter good university With basic level It is unlikely that you will be able to pass the English language exam. To get a high score, you need to start preparing for the exam as early as possible.
As we know, the written part consists of 40 tasks, for which students are allocated 3 hours, and includes:
- listening test;
- reading test;
- lexical and grammatical tasks, also in the form of a test;
- letter consisting of two stages.
It is worth saying that for the first part of the English language exam, a maximum of 80 points is given; if a student needs to increase his score, then he must come on the second day to pass the oral part.
If the written part can be trained by studying independently using all kinds of manuals, then for the oral part you need a teacher.
This post will be devoted to the most successful study guides for preparing for the Unified State Exam in English on your own.
1. Macmillan Exam Skills for Russia
This is the only book to date for preparing for the Unified State Exam, which consists of 15 complete tests in the new Unified State Exam format, including the oral part. When working on the tests, all changes in the exam format were taken into account. The tests were created in collaboration with M.V. Verbitskaya, chairman of the subject commission on foreign languages of the Unified State Examination. The website Macmillan.ru presents Additional materials on the Unified State Exam for students and teachers: online tests, audio files, video tips, etc.
2. A.I. Nemykina, A.V. Pochepaeva - Unified State Exam. Oral part
The manual is a collection of tests to test skills oral speech, as well as a simulator for practicing the skills of passing the oral part of the Unified State Exam in English on a computer. It is with this textbook that you should start preparing for the oral part if you study on your own. At the beginning it is given full analysis oral part tasks, and then 20 tests with explanatory materials.
3. Afanasyeva O., Evans V., Kopylova V. - Practice Exam Papers for the Russian National Exam
This study guide with an audio application contains 20 versions of English language tests in the Unified State Exam format.
Distinctive features of the textbook are variable tasks corresponding to advanced and high levels of preparation for the Unified State Exam, as well as texts of various genres for listening and reading. It should be noted that there are excellent examples of completing tasks in all types of speech activity.
Download the 2010 manual from this link.
Textbooks from 2007 along with audio are available.
4. Muzlanova E.S. - English language. Unified State Exam textbook
The manual is compiled on a thematic basis and consists of 16 thematic blocks that cover the entire range of topics provided for Unified State Exam codifier in English language. The blocks consist of 5 sections: reading, listening, speaking, grammar and vocabulary, writing. Each section includes exam-type tasks, as well as useful tips for completing them, which will allow students to successfully prepare for the exam. After completing all tasks, students will be able to check the answers with the keys.
5. Verbitskaya M.V. - Unified State Exam. English language. Typical exam options. 10 (30) options
This textbook is part of the “Unified State Exam” series, known to all graduates. FIPI - school", which was prepared by the developers of control measurement materials for the unified state exam. Available in 2 types: 10 test options and 30 options. The difference, as you understand, is only in the number of tests. The collection of 30 tests presents 15 thematic options for all sections of the Unified State Examination, 15 standard exam options, oral part tasks, instructions for implementation, answers to all tasks, etc.
You can download a textbook from 2015 with 30 options.
6. Yuneva S.A. — Opening up the world with English. 150 essays for the Unified State Exam. Getting ready for the Unified State Exam
The manual is addressed to students independently preparing for the Unified State Exam in English, as well as to teachers who can use it in class and when preparing students for tests, exams or Olympiads. It includes 150 essays compiled in accordance with all the requirements for a written statement with elements of reasoning. The main purpose of this guide is to help students excel in essay writing.
1. English language. Effective techniques preparation for the Unified State Exam in English. Author - Mishin A.V. 2017. Moscow "Enlightenment", 2017.
This manual cannot be downloaded electronically.
The information is presented in an accessible form, which allows the student to repeat and prepare independently. The manual involves preparing for an exam or reviewing material in as soon as possible.
There are a limited number of illustrations, found only in the speaking section. The illustrations are black and white.
The paper is thin, gray. Cover made of thicker paper. Manual on 55 pages, A4 format. The pages are stapled together.
Professional assessment
1. The manual covers one exam option. It is explained in quite a lot of detail, making it easy for schoolchildren to understand. The material can be used in class.
2. The manual is more suitable for already well-prepared students. Does not involve repeated mechanical practice or explanation of the material. Rather, correcting what has been learned, repeating the material as soon as possible.
3. The manual is divided into Listening, Reading, Grammar and Vocabulary, Writing, Speaking. There is also an introduction (distribution of tasks by sections, maximum primary scores, type of tasks, correlation of the level of foreign language proficiency with the level of tasks) and a conclusion (typical mistakes). There is no disc, I can’t listen to the audition.
4. No answers. But there are no tasks as such either. There is only step by step analysis one exam version with detailed comments and recommendations, including the student’s answer options.
5. The material is presented in an accessible, systematic form.
6. There are no verification tests.
7. Not suitable for students in grades 8-9, college and university students. To help teachers and students of 9th grade, the publishing house has published a manual “English Language. Main state exam. Oral part" And this manual is accompanied by a developed electronic simulator, which can be downloaded from the link http://catalog.prosv.ru/item/22102
8. Information is given in the form of text and tables. Eat detailed information about the exam: regulations, structure, comments on tasks, training exercises. Much has been written under the headings “Pay attention” and “Remember,” which allows students to focus on the most problematic aspects of the assignments, the structure of the option, wording, and “pitfalls.” Information is given on the number of points for each task, the theoretical part for each section of the exam version. Most important point are marked with exclamation marks.
9. This manual costs 300 rubles at a book exhibition, but is more expensive in bookstores. The information is presented in a collected form, many problematic issues are touched upon, which are often not mentioned in other sources and can be found out at specialized seminars/webinars/master classes, and, perhaps, have this manual for generalization and correction of knowledge in the last pre-exam days will be extremely useful. But I think that the price is somewhat overpriced, since for the same money you can buy a publication with big amount training exercises.
Conclusion
1. The manual is designed for students secondary schools With in-depth study English and can be used both for independent work or preparation with a tutor, and for group work under the guidance of a teacher in the classroom.
2. Since there are no answers in the book, and parents are unlikely to have a deep understanding of the subject, they cannot independently check whether the child can cope with the material.
3. = 9. This guide costs 300 rubles at a book exhibition, more expensive in bookstores. The information is presented in a collected form, many problematic issues are touched upon, which are often not mentioned in other sources and can be learned at specialized seminars/webinars/master classes, then, perhaps, have this manual for generalization and correction of knowledge in the last pre-exam days will be extremely useful. But I think that the price is somewhat overpriced, since for the same money you can buy a publication with a large number of training exercises.
4. The manual clearly complies with all the latest requirements of the Unified State Examination (GIA).
5. Among the useful skills that this manual forms, I will name the main ones: learning to write a personal letter, an essay “Expressing an opinion”, learning to listen and read to understand the main content of the text, to establish structural and semantic connections in the text, to fully understand the text, learning monologue statements and more.
6. If you carefully study the material given in the manual, you have a chance to avoid many mistakes and get a high score on the exam.
2. Verbitskaya M.V., Makhmuryan K.S., Nechaeva E.N. English language. Unified State Exam. Workshop and diagnostics - Moscow "Enlightenment", 2017.
An electronic version of the manual is available.
The material is presented in a form accessible to the student.
Black and white illustrations in the Oral Language section, in tasks for describing/comparing pictures (photos).
The pages are thin and grey. Cover made of thicker paper. The binding is strong, stitched, not glued.
Professional assessment
1. The tasks in the manual are analyzed in detail with many examples and explanations. Students of any level will be able to understand the material explained. The manual corresponds to real tasks from the Unified State Examination. The teacher can print out many of the exercises and use them as practice exercises during the lesson.
2.Motivated students are able to prepare for the exam using this manual on their own. Less prepared students need to be accompanied by a teacher/tutor. In general, the manual allows you to work through all levels of complexity of tasks, just like in the exam there are tasks of basic, advanced and high levels.
3. Each examination section is studied in sufficient detail. Consists of: “Getting to know the tasks”, “Preparatory exercises”, “Useful tips”, “Practicing to perform”, “Learned, able, mastered”, detailed steps of implementation are given.
4. No answers. But in the steps to complete it there are instructions like “let’s check whether the statement is chosen correctly” or “statement 2 is not suitable, since...” So even a student with poor preparation will understand the comments and analysis of the tasks.
5. The material is systematized. Information is presented in accordance with the exam format. In the form of preparatory questions, training exercises, useful tips highlighted in the tables, descriptions and strategies for completing tasks.
6. There is an entrance test at the beginning of the book, then sections on listening, reading, grammar and vocabulary, writing, speaking. Next, you can complete a demo version of the written and oral part of the Unified State Exam 2017. As already mentioned, there are no answers to all tasks. There are answers for the demo version. So, not only the teacher can objectively assess the degree of preparedness. The book contains, importantly, assessment criteria and a codifier of exam content elements.
7. The book is partially suitable for those studying in grades 8-9, since the format of the OGE-9 and Unified State Exam-11 tasks is different. College students preparing for passing the Unified State Exam, the manual may be useful. For university applicants preparing for entrance tests of a creative and professional nature, the manual is unlikely to be relevant.
8. Black and white illustrations in the Oral speech section. The tables are given in the section evaluation criteria and codifier of exam content elements, as well as in the theoretical material “Structure and content of sections”, “ Common mistakes", "Do you know that...?" There is no dictionary or other reference books.
9. You can buy it at a book exhibition for 300 rubles. I think the price is reasonable. The paper quality is average, but the material is extensive. IN in this case It’s better to save on paper and benefit from the information content and practicality of the publication.
Conclusion
1. The book is designed for children of any level of training. The guide can be used for self-study, for work in the classroom, preparation with a tutor.
2. Parents will only be able to check the correctness of the diagnostic option (written part).
3. = 9. You can buy it at a book exhibition for 300 rubles. I think the price is reasonable. The paper quality is average, but the material is extensive. In this case, it is better to save on paper and benefit from the information content and practicality of the publication.
4. The manual meets all the latest requirements of the Unified State Examination (GIA)
5. The manual develops skills in completing tasks in the Unified State Exam format, teaches you to distribute your forces in accordance with the goal and level of preparedness: tasks are divided and the level is indicated: basic, advanced and high. Children themselves can determine what tasks they need to complete in order to score the minimum or, conversely, the maximum score.
6. By studying this manual, it is quite possible to initialize your weak points and learn to perform a wide range of tasks on the subject. And thus focus on a high score for the exam. But the benefit is not prepayment for multiple repetitions and variability of the same type of tasks. As already mentioned, there is only one Demo option.
It is not possible to download it electronically.
The material is presented in the form of 14 modules, each of which consists of sections: vocabulary, reading, listening, speaking, use of English, writing), which allows you to thoroughly study all aspects foreign language, tested in the exam. In general, it is a textbook for grades 10-11, so the presentation of the material is accessible, and moreover, it is interesting for the modern content of the students.
Full of color illustrations for exercises and texts. The paper is white, thick, smooth, high quality; the binding is stitched and glued.
Professional assessment
1. There is no detailed analysis of tasks. there are tasks themselves to complete. The blocks include vocabulary development on the topics People, Home, School, Work, Family, Food, Shopping, Travel, Culture, Sports, Health, Science, Nature, Government. Country studies blocks are also included - Singapore, Australia, Wales, South Africa, India. The textbook can be used for a year or two (grades 10-11), for example, elective course in English language.
2. difficulty level is medium and high. Allows you to replenish lexicon,
A good guide for annual preparation for the Unified State Exam.
3. The above topics have been worked through in depth. Thematic texts correspond to the interests of our time: Parkour, Inemouri - japanese art sleeping at work, Setting up a business - How to start a business or have a cultural orientation - adaptations of Jane Eyre, Scotland, Valentine's Day, etc. Each module covers grammar topics (adverbs, participles, subordinate clauses, inversion, conditional sentences, indirect speech and more. Each module has a different topic, so there is no confusion for your child.
4. No answers
5. The material is systematized. At the beginning of the textbook there is an introduction to the exam, which explains its format in detail. Next are 14 modules. At the end of the textbook there is theoretical material about word formation, phrasal verbs with exercises, fixed phrases with prepositions and an Exam practice section, which gives you the opportunity to test yourself. The tasks are selected and formulated in such a way that students unobtrusively get used to the exam format, exercises on multiple choice, multiple matching, phonetic reading, gapped text, writing an essay “My opinion”, describing a photo, comparing and contrasting photos and others, which allows them to gradually to prepare for an exam.
6. There are no verification tests
7. The textbook is universal. Suitable for grades 8-9, 10-11, and college students, but the level of preparedness of students should be no lower than average.
9. The benefit costs from 800-1400 rubles. The quality of the paper and the level of development of the content of the manual corresponds to its price.
Conclusion
1. The manual is suitable for independent work of students, classroom activities (for any teaching materials) and individual lessons with a tutor.
2. Parents who do not speak English at a high level will not be able to check the quality of their child’s preparation.
3. = 9. The benefit costs from 800-1400 rubles. The quality of the paper and the level of development of the content of the manual corresponds to its price.
5. Using this manual, students learn to complete reading tasks, repeat the basic grammar material, expand their vocabulary, practice the format of written exam tasks (letter to a friend and essay). Using the downloaded application, you can develop your listening comprehension skills. And tasks for description, comparison of photographs, phonetic reading and construction of questions will allow you to bring the child to high level in the section "Oral speech".
6. By studying systematically and purposefully using this manual, you have every chance of getting a high score in the exam.
4. Muzlanova E.S. Unified State Exam 2017. English language. 10 training options exam papers to prepare for the unified state exam. - M.: AST, 2016.
(Be careful when downloading for viruses)
You can also find a file with audio recordings for downloading for listening assignments for this collection on the Internet.
The book is a collection of 10 training versions of the Unified State Exam in English with answers, without explanation theoretical material, rules and instructions. The tasks are of a standard nature and fully comply with the Unified State Exam format, given in Russian. So students of any level can work with this manual.
There are no illustrations. There are only 6 black and white pictures on pp. 150-152 in the task for testing oral speech (description, comparison).
Gray paper, 239 pages - thin, easy to tear, the book is light in weight.
Professional assessment
The collection of training options is suitable for practicing the skills of performing exam options and getting used to the Unified State Exam format. “The purpose of the manual is to help students in grades 10-11 and applicants prepare for the State Examination as soon as possible” (see the above manual, p. 2). Can be used as testing within school year(control of listening, reading, lexical-grammatical, writing skills). The theoretical part is missing, the elaboration of the topics is zero. Each of the ten options is equipped with keys and texts for listening. The manual contains a preface with a description of the exam format and possible tasks, as well as advice “in the process of preparing for the exam, refer to the materials on the website www.fipi.ru in connection with possible changes” (see the above manual p. 6), Appendix 1 ( speaking tasks with illustrations), Appendix 2 (texts for listening), Appendix 3 (answers to tasks), Appendix 4 (what is KIM Unified State Exam: structure and content), Appendix 5 (the order of counting words in the “Writing” task), Appendix 6 (the procedure for determining the percentage of textual matches in task 40) and a list of references.
There is no task analysis. The answers are there, they are given simply correct options, no comments. Partially can be used to work with students in grades 8-9, since the format and OGE assignments and the Unified State Exam are different.
The price varies from 89 to 109 rubles approximately and corresponds to the practical value of the book.
Conclusion
The manual is suitable for teaching and testing in the classroom or working with a tutor. The answers will help you check your level of preparedness when independent work with an allowance or can be used by parents. Rather, this concerns the written part; in the oral part, you need the supervising assistance of a professional teacher.
The manual consists of an introduction, recommendations for completing tasks, theoretical sections“Parts of speech”, “Prefixes”, “Suffixes of nouns, adjectives, adverbs, verbs”, “Participation”, “Spelling rules”, “Word formation”, exam-type tasks, spelling exercises, answers. Topics related to the Word Formation section are covered widely and completely. The answers are presented according to the sections of the manual, the tasks and the sentence number are indicated, so that they are accessible and understandable to students with poor preparation; There are no comments for answers.
The theoretical part is structured in an informative and convenient way for schoolchildren to understand the material. Information is given about the main parts of speech (independent and auxiliary), morphemes with examples and an explanation of their educational role in the language. Exercises on covered topics are also offered.
Suitable for students of any level.
The verification test in the “Exam-type tasks” section, which also has answers, will allow both the student and parents to check the degree of preparedness for the “Grammar” section of the exam.
To prepare for international exams or olympiads, it can be used by schoolchildren in grades 8-10, college and university students.
There are no illustrations. Additional exercises and reference material are combined into tables for visual application of word formation rules. There are no dictionaries.
Conclusion
"Thematic simulatorWord formationin English" can be used both during class work at school and for independent preparation for the Unified State Exam in English and for individual lessons with a tutor.
The benefit costs about 134 rubles. I think that the price is more than acceptable, since the practical value of the manual is extremely high. Children in any grade make mistakes in word formation, and it is no secret that English spelling is complex, so this manual, with explanations and training exercises, can help avoid these mistakes.
All material meets the requirements of the Unified State Exam.
Working with this manual, children will learn to correctly form English words using suffixes, work with prefixes and correctly classify the required parts of speech, reinforce the rules of writing words, and have the opportunity to work through more than 40 exam-type exercises.
Conscientious preparation will help you complete the tasks in the “Grammar” section with a high score. At the same time, it is also necessary to complete tasks in the format of the Unified State Exam in English, since the manual is more focused on teaching English word formation, and there are no tasks on English synonyms at all, but word formation is worked out really well. To do this, you can use similar simulators in other sections. For example,
