How to Pass for The Australian Citizenship Test
If you want to ace the Australian citizenship test, you may want to dedicate a few study sessions before the exam. However, you don’t need to let the pressure get into your nerves. There’s ample time to polish up and familiarize yourself with all the questions you’re likely going to tackle in the exam room.
To beat the 75% pass mark, you need to put together a functional blueprint, upfront. This, of course, goes beyond having a clue about who the current prime minister of Australia is. You need a little more technical knowledge on how to prep for the Australian citizenship test.
Below are some of the pointers to help you draw up a great preparation plan:
Do a practice test
It’s highly recommended that you take a practice test before sitting for the actual citizenship exam. There are many practice tests on the internet that help applicants have an extensive background of questions and answers they should know. Since most of these practice tests require you to answer about 20 questions within 30 minutes, it will be easier to adapt to the exam duration. Although, during the citizenship test, you will have about 45 minutes to answer all the questions.
Such an assessment gives you insights on weak areas to familiarize yourself with. Not to mention, you will be able to measure your knowledge using the final score after completing the Australian citizenship practice test. Most importantly, make sure you can correctly answer 15 of the 20 questions available for each practice test before you consider yourself ready.
Draft a study timetable
You need to schedule some time to read and make it a routine. Good study habits require a pre-planned program. It’s important to spare an hour or two for reading. Over time, you’ll be able to boost your chances of reaching the 75 percent threshold.
Besides having a study timetable, you can enroll in Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP) to improve your English comprehension. At AMEP learning centers, you can join other groups of immigrants who are preparing for the citizenship test to discuss and share knowledge.
Use the study guide
The study guide is a useful revision material for applicants who are prepping for the Australian citizenship test. You should take note that all the questions in the test are only conducted in English. Australia’s Common Bond guidebook breaks down the three main testable sections. The first section, for example, gives more context about Australia and its people.
You can use the information shared on this document to learn more about:
- The common practices and beliefs among indigenous Australians.
- Australia’s history and how the early European settlement was established.
- Basic facts and background about Australia’s states and territories.
- Special national symbols and calendar dates (Anzac day, Australia day, etc).
You also want to pay close attention to finer details such as Australia’s government structure, privileges, rights, and freedoms.
Know The Citizenship Test Rules
To avoid getting disqualified during the test, you should familiarize yourself with the rules. It seems a little bit obvious, but you should switch off your smartphone during the test and keep it away. Neither should you carry any material or talk to other candidates to help you figure out the answers during the test.
The test will be done on a computer, but if you find it difficult to use the computer, you can ask for help from a staff member. Additionally, you can ask for an assisted test in your application, but you should have done at least 400 hours of classes under the AMEP (Adult Migrant English Program). Even so, you need to have a special case verified by the AMEP provider that you can’t grasp the necessary reading skills required to complete the test without assistance.
If you qualify for the assisted test, you will be given 90 minutes to complete the test.
Improve your English fluency
Sure, you can do an assisted test if it has been assessed that you don’t have adequate reading skills despite attending more than 400 hours of Adult Migrant English Program classes. However, even if you do an assisted test, you still need to demonstrate a basic understanding of English. In other words, if your English skills are very poor, you will find it challenging to pass the citizenship test; regardless of whether you’re doing an assisted test or not.
As mentioned earlier, the best method to improve your English skills is to attend Adult Migrant English Program as much as possible until you’re ready.
If you couple all the above points together, you’ll not find it hard to pass the citizenship test.