TSA CBT Test: Writing Skills Assessment & English Test

The first section of TSA CBT Test is the English test. It is composed of about 60 multiple choice questions with a time limit and is divided into three categories:

1. Vocabulary
2. Reading Comprehension
3. Written Communication
4. Start Practicing Now

This page is a part of a serie about the TSA CBT Test.

Vocabulary

Vocabulary questions are designed to test your level of English. They can be more complicated than they appear at first. They may require replacement of synonyms or antonyms in a given sentence, or spelling correction.

Synonyms

A synonym is a word or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word or phrase in the same language.

Free Sample Question

"I said it then only because it would have been dreadful for him, but he understood it differently."

Which of the following options constitutes an appropriate replacement for the word written in bold?

1. Astonishing
2. Unpleasant
3. Shimmering
4. Wrathful

Antonyms

An antonym is a word of opposite meaning to another.

Free Sample Question

"In order to arrest and temporarily imprison criminal suspects, the police have taken effective measures."

Which word is the opposite of the one written in bold?

1. Limit
2. Hinder
3. Penalty
4. Release 

Vocabulary

Vocabulary – all the words used or understood by a person, or that exist in a particular language.

Free Sample Question

"Management hopes to appease the unhappy workers by raising their salaries."

What does the word in bold mean?

1. To placate or mollify someone by giving them what they want.
2. To provoke impatience, anger, or displeasure.
3. Capable of being changed or adjusted to meet particular or varied needs.
4. To reduce the excessiveness of (something). 

Tips and Tricks

• It is important to read a lot in order to improve your vocabulary. Indeed, the best way to learn the meaning of many words is by coming across them on a daily basis in articles or items, rather than by trying to memorize them. By reading books, newspapers, and interesting articles, you will encounter and learn many words that you do not use on a daily basis.
• Practice vocabulary questions to see if you are at the appropriate level. For Free sample question, our TSA CBT preparation pack contains many exercises designed to practice vocabulary questions, including full explanations.
• Optional: Review lists of synonyms and antonyms in order to refresh your memory. For instance, you may use flashcards to practice linking words together, whether they are synonyms or antonyms.

Reading Comprehension

In this category, you will be presented with a paragraph of varying length and complexity, followed by a multiple-choice question with four optional answers. The questions are intended to assess your understanding of the text, i.e., your level of English, and not your verbal and logical reasoning skills. The time limit for each question is approximately one and a half minutes.

Sample Suestions

Free Sample Question No. 1

TSA employs approximately 50,000 screening officers at nearly 440 airports, creating a community of officers near and far. Additionally, if you’re an active or retired service member, nearly 20% of our workforce are veterans or still proudly serving.

"As a TSO, your work is vital to preserving the safety of the traveling public. Your team knows that, and there's great teamwork when you're all working toward a common goal of keeping people safe," says Crane.

"During my time as TSO, climbing the ladder, and now as a Public Affairs Specialist, I've found comradery, unity and a community of individuals that care about each other and help each other," adds Hale. "Those internal bonds become strong, and your job can actually be a lot of fun because you enjoy working alongside your team. Being a TSO and working your way up is a great way to learn things from different people. And this knowledge, helps me still today to do my job better in my current role." 

According to Crane, why is it interesting to work as a TSO?

1. Because he is a veteran and part of a community of veterans working at TSA.
2. Because it allowed him to become a Public Affairs Specialist.
3. Because it is a vital job that keeps passengers safe whilst providing a sense of community and unity among workers.
4. Because there are few places to work as a TSO, and the salary is very attractive.

Free Sample Question No. 2

Electric vehicles (EVs) have made huge technological strides since they were first introduced, and they are more popular than ever before.
For many motorists, simply knowing that electric vehicles are better for the environment is reason enough to make the investment.
Although EV range is constantly improving, it's still one of the main pain points for consumers deciding between electric and conventional. On a full charge, most electric models are limited to a range of 60 to 100 miles, but a small minority of models can go between 200 and 300 miles per charge.

Select the sentence that best expresses the ideas contained in the sentences above.

1. Electric cars are less popular than they used to be, although they are better for the environment. 
2. Thanks to technological advances, electric cars have been greatly improved since their inception. However, this is not enough to reassure most motorists, for whom the knowledge that they are better for the environment is not enough, compared to the maximum distance that can be traveled between charges.
3. Electric cars are getting better and better from a technological point of view, which makes them more and more popular. For most motorists, the mere knowledge that they are better for the environment is enough to convince them of their superiority over conventional cars. However, one of the biggest deterrents is the maximum distance limit for a full charge.
4. Electric cars have made considerable advances in technology, which makes them quite popular. In addition to being better for the environment, they are now able to travel very long distances per charge, which is their strong point and helps convince reluctant motorists.

Tips and Tricks

• The most important thing to do in reading comprehension or paragraph questions is to read the entire text before choosing an answer. You may find that one of the statements seems to correspond to a sentence at the beginning of the text, when in fact it is a topic that is covered later in the text. It is therefore important to read the entire text to avoid such traps, in the hope of saving time.
• Some candidates prefer to read the questions first to get a general idea of what they should look for in the text before reading the text itself. Others feel that reading the questions first is a waste of valuable time. Since the proposed paragraphs are usually quite short, reading the question may help in understanding the text. It is up to you to decide which method is best for you.
• An answer may be a correct or logical statement in itself, but it may also be an incorrect answer to the question asked or an incorrect answer given in the text. Therefore, read the question carefully and look for clues in the text to confirm or refute each possible answer. In addition, an answer may be excluded even if it is partially correct, so do not rush to choose an answer until you have read it carefully in its entirety and have also read the other answers.

Written Communication

This third and final category is very broad and may contain different kinds of exercises. It is designed to assess your reading comprehension skills, such as grammar, spelling, and punctuation, which are essential for jobs requiring you to write reports or report written data. It also assesses your general grasp of the English language. Here are the different topics and exercises that may appear in the CBT exam.

Punctuation

Punctuation is the use of symbols such as full stops or periods, commas, question marks, and parentheses, to divide written words into sentences and clauses and thus clarify their meaning.

Free Sample Question

Which sentence is punctuated correctly?

1. When you arrive at the checkpoint let our officers know about your medical device and any other equipment prior to screening.
2. If you are traveling with medical equipment, or supplies, you will need to undergo separate screening'.
3. If you have questions or concerns at any time during the screening process, please ask to speak to a supervisor?
4. If you do not wish to go through screening by technology, inform the TSA officer and they will conduct a pat-down. Pat-downs are conducted by a TSA officer of the same gender, and you may request private screening at any time.

Capitalization

Capitalization is the action of writing or typing in capital letters or with an initial capital letter.

Free Sample Question

Which sentence is capitalized correctly?

1. Are you brining wine or other spirits from overseas? Our friends at Customs and Border Protection are in charge of the rules for bringing alcohol into the United States.
2. Before you get to the document examiner, be sure you have both your id and boarding pass in hand.
3. first things first, you'll want to remove everything from your pockets and place it inside your carry-on bag.
4. As Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs, marsha Espinosa oversees the Department of homeland Security's public outreach, media, strategic and incident communications efforts.

Spelling

Spelling is the forming of words from letters according to accepted usage.

How many words are spelled incorrectly in the following sentence?

"Lithium metal batteries (a.k.a.: non-rechargable lithium, primary lithium) are often used in cameras and other small personal electronics. Consumer-sized batteries (up to 2 grams of litium per battery) may be carried."

1. 0
2. 1
3. 2
4. 3

Grammar

Grammar – the rules about how words change their form and combine with other words to make sentences.

Free Sample Question

"Medications in pill or other solid forms must undergo security screening. TSA allows larger amounts of medically necessary liquids, gels, and aerosols in reasonable quantities for your trip, since you must declare them to TSA officers at the checkpoint for inspection. This includes over the counter medications such as cough syrup or heartburn medication."

What action is required in order to correct the sentence grammatically?

1. Change "of" to "from".
2. Change "since" to "but".
3. Change "This includes" to "These includes".
4. No correction is necessary.

Verb Conjugation

Verb conjugation refers to how a verb changes to show a different person, tense, number, or mood.

Free Sample Question

Complete the sentence with the correct verb:

If he were ever in trouble, they would give him all the help he _______.

1. would need
2. needs
3. will need
4. needed

Paragraph Organization

Paragraph organization exercises are designed to assess your ability to organize sentences into paragraphs.

Free Sample Question

1. Passenger names are also compared against a longer list of "selectees"; passengers whose names match names from this list receive a more thorough screening before being potentially allowed to board.
2. At last, at the airport security checkpoint, passengers are screened to ensure they are not carrying prohibited items.
3. The effectivity of these lists has been widely criticized on the basis of errors in how they are maintained, over concerns that the lists are unconstitutional, and over their ineffectiveness at preventing Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, who attempted to detonate plastic explosives in his underwear, from boarding an aircraft.
4. Passenger names are compared against the No Fly List, a list of about 21,000 names (as of 2012) of suspected terrorists who are not allowed to board.

Select the answer that represents the most appropriate and effective ordering of the sentences above.

1. 1-2-3-4
2. 2-1-4-3
3. 4-1-3-2
4. 4-2-1-3

Sentence Completion

Sentence completion assesses your ability to complete a sentence that is missing one or more words. The propositions include misspelling, verb tense mistakes, or grammatical errors.

Free Sample Question

"Being a TSO offers flexibility and endless __________ within TSA and with other agencies as well. One's progression isn't defined solely by ______ title but by the positive work and impact they are making".

1. opportunities, their
2. opportunity, his
3. oportunities, this
4. opportunate, theirs

Tips and Tricks

• The best way to prepare for these types of questions is by completing exercises that will help you remember the different tenses, grammar, and spelling rules. The practice pack we offer contains hundreds of exercises with explanations that will allow you to practice effectively.
• As with the vocabulary questions, reading a lot of different types of texts can greatly improve your grammar and spelling, as well as your understanding of the use of different tenses. For free sample question, you can browse the TSA blog for a few minutes every day before your test. This will not only allow you to practice your reading comprehension skills for the exam but will also allow you to become acquainted with important information about the organization, details about a TSO's work, and implications on airport security. If you are interested in doing so, you can find the TSA blog here.
• Practice writing correctly on a day-to-day basis, even when communicating by text messages or email. This will help you maintain accurate written communication skills, which is exactly what is required of you on this exam. 

Did our tips help you pass the CBT test? Do you want to share your experience to encourage other candidates? We would greatly appreciate receiving any comments, testimonials, and experiences so that we can improve and help all CBT candidates succeed like you did.