Pre-sessional English course assessments
Find out what you’ll need to pass to start your degree.
How you'll be assessed
To progress onto your degree, you’ll need to meet the English language requirements of your chosen degree. This will be detailed in your offer letter.
If you don’t meet the requirements, you’ll need to pass a pre-sessional English course. We’ve put together this useful guide, so you’ll know what you need to achieve and how.
40, 30 and 20-week assessments
Throughout the longer pre-sessional courses, we’ll assess you informally on all four language skills:
- Reading
- Writing
- Listening
- Speaking
Assessment tasks may include:
- essay and report writing
- presentations
- note-taking activities
- comprehension tests
At the end of each ten-week course, you’ll be expected to meet the entry requirements for the following stage of your pre-sessional course. There are no opportunities to re-sit, so you must prepare for your assessments.
Final assessment
During the final weeks of your pre-sessional course, you’ll be assessed in all four language skills:
-
Writing skill: you’ll conduct an independent research project on a topic related to your academic field and produce an essay. Plans and drafts will also contribute to the mark received for this.
-
Speaking skill: you’ll prepare and give an individual academic presentation on a topic related to your subject field. Your presentation will focus on the key findings of your written research project.
-
Reading skill: you’ll complete an ongoing journal, recording summaries and critical responses to written texts on a range of topics.
-
Listening skill: you’ll complete an ongoing journal, recording summaries and critical responses to spoken texts on a range of topics.
Each skill contributes 25% to your final, overall grade. You’ll receive a final score of an IELTS equivalent that will determine whether you meet the requirements to start your chosen degree.
Engagement, participation and completion of independent study materials will also contribute to your final mark.
If you fail any or all of your final assessments, you’ll have the opportunity to re-sit them.