4. Gap-filling and completion This usually tests grammar or vocabulary, as in the examples. It is tedious to compose, though not so difficult as multiple-choice; it is more easily administered in writing than in speech; the marking is usually simple. You may need to be aware that there is more than one possible right answer.
5. Matching This usually tests vocabulary, and is rather awkward to administer orally: thus it is best presented written on the board or on paper, though responses may be either oral or in writing. Items can be time-consuming and difficult to compose, and again, there may be alternative 'right' answers to any particular item. Answers are fairly easily checked.
6. Dictation This mainly tests spelling, perhaps punctuation, and, perhaps surprisingly on the face of it, listening comprehension: people can only usually write words down accurately from dictation if they understand them. It does not, however, test other writing skills or speech, and involves very little reading. It may supply some information on testees' passive knowledge of pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary. It is very easy to prepare and administer; it is relatively easy to mark, though there may be a problem deciding how much weight to attribute to different mistakes.
7. Cloze This tests (intensive) reading, spelling, and to some extent knowledge of vocabulary and grammar. It can be adapted to 'target' specific language items, by, for example, omitting all the verbs (in which case it is not, strictly speaking, 'cloze', but rather 'gap-filling'). It is fairly easy to prepare and administer. Marking can be tricky: you may find it difficult sometimes to decide if a specific item is 'acceptable' or not.
8. Transformation This item is relatively easy to design, administer and mark, but its validity may be suspect. It tests the ability of the testee to transform grammatical structures, which is not the same as testing grammar: a testee may perform well on transformation items without knowing the meaning of the target structure or how to use it in context. Marking is fairly straightforward.
