Pellet B study guide, sub-test by sub-test

Three writing sub-tests of 15–18 items each, then one reading sub-test. Reading comprehension is the largest single sub-test, and your reading T-score is reported separately from your writing T-score. Each name links to that sub-test's topics and questions.

• Clarity15–18 items
• Vocabulary15–18 items
• Spelling15–18 items
• Reading Comprehension20–24 items

Source: POST Applicant Preparation Guide, form version 2025, pp. 1–3 · checked 21 Oct 2026

1. Clarity first. The faults on it come from a short, fixed list: misplaced modifiers, vague pronoun references, run-on sentences and sentence fragments. POST's guide says no obscure faults are tested. Learn to name each one, then drill until you can spot it in a single reading. See clarity.
2. Reading comprehension, timed. The skill itself grows slowly, but the method can be learned: read the question and the options before the passage, answer only from the text, and read every question carefully. These are POST's three strategies. See reading comprehension.
3. Spelling rules, not word lists. POST used no word list to build the spelling sub-test, so there is nothing to memorize. Learn the rules that cover the most words: prefixes, doubling a final consonant, dropping a silent e, y to i, plurals. See spelling.
4. Vocabulary through roots and context. POST's advice is long-term reading. For the short term, learn the common Latin and Greek roots and prefixes, and practice working out a word from the sentence around it. See vocabulary.

After each step, do that sub-test's questions and read why each wrong option is wrong. In the final week, switch to mixed, timed runs on the practice test.

• Clarity →15–18 items on the exam
• Vocabulary →15–18 items on the exam
• Spelling →15–18 items on the exam
• Reading Comprehension →20–24 items on the exam

POST's Applicant Preparation Guide is the 2025 version, written after the CLOZE section was removed. It has four useful parts:

• How the test is scored: the T-score scale and what “average” means.
• A shortened sample test, with the real cover page and instructions, so test day looks familiar.
• Answer keys with reasons: each sample item explains why the other choices are wrong.
• “Things to study” for each sub-test: the clarity rules, spelling rules and word roots this page draws on.

POST also suggests two other kinds of help: assessment centers at community colleges, which can pinpoint reading and writing weaknesses, and free online writing labs (OWLs).

Paid prep is optional: POST's own guide is free. If you buy a book or course, check three things:

• The structure matches 2025: four sub-tests, clarity with two sentences to choose from, 65–78 questions, no CLOZE.
• The explanations name the error. A clarity key that says only “b” teaches nothing; one that says “misplaced modifier” does.
• No math or judgment sections. Some guides sell one book for several police tests. Math and situational-judgment chapters belong to other exams, such as the NPOST, and don't apply here.

POST sets no study time, and its guide warns there is no quick way to raise an aptitude score. A practical plan: a few weeks of daily practice on clarity and timed reading, plus short daily sessions on spelling and vocabulary. Take the test when your mixed, timed runs hold steady. If it goes badly, you can retest after 30 days (retest rules).