The task  : This is a multiple-choice reading task type that tests reading skills. You have to select a single answer to a question about information in a text. You will do 2-3 Multiple-choice, choose single answer tasks.

Strategies
Read with purpose

• Read the question before you read the passage. • Next, skim the text to get an idea of the general content and the development of the ideas. It’s OK if you don’t understand every word.

Select the option • From the prompt, identify whether the answer you need is located in the whole text or in part of it, then read carefully the whole text or the relevant part.• Remember, the options may  be synonyms for words in the passage, not the exact words.• Try to guess its meaning of words from the context if you do not know the meaning.

Confirm your choice by clicking the option and change if you wish to, before clicking ‘next’.

• Don’t spend too much time on one task as there is no individual timing for each question.  

Reading:

Preparation

• Skim short texts of about one paragraph to answer this question: What is the writer’s main point? Summarize the main point in a short sentence.• Practise skimming short texts to answer this question: What is the writer’s purpose in this passage? (to criticize, to argue, to persuade the reader, to describe, to explain, etc.).• Identify the topic sentences in paragraphs; this helps to identify the main theme.• Take notes of the information in a text and use arrows to show how the writer’s ideas develop.• Highlight the cohesive devices used in a text, such as pronoun use, article use, substitution, etc.• Guess meaning of unknown words  from the context. Confirm your guess using a dictionary. • Locate the signpost words that indicate evidence, support, details, examples, or opposing arguments.• Build lists of words with  synonyms.  When learning a new word, find an example of how it’s used in context.

The task

 This is a multiple-choice reading task type that tests reading skills. More than one response is correct in answer to a question about a text. You will do 2-3 Multiple-choice, choose multiple answers tasks.

Strategies

Read the question first

 Read the question before you read the passage. This will help you to look for  required information in the text. It can be the main ideas, the writer’s purpose or attitude, some detailed information, or inferences. • Next, skim the text to get an idea of the general content and the development of the ideas. It’s OK if you don’t understand every word. 

Read for a purpose •

From the prompt, identify whether the answers you need are located in the whole text or in parts of it, then read carefully the whole text or the relevant parts. • Remember, the options may use synonyms for words in the passage, not the exact words. If you don’t know an important word in the text, try to guess its meaning from the context. • Answer the question by clicking on more than one option or on their checkboxes. Confirm your choices

• After you have chosen the options, compare each of the other options to the text to eliminate each one. If you change your mind, click on the option again to de-select it then click on the correct option.

• Be aware of the time and don’t spend too much time on one task.

 Reading:

Preparation

Skim longer texts of several paragraphs to answer this question: What are the writer’s main points? Summarize the main points.

•Answer this question: What were the writer’s goals in writing this passage? (to criticize, to argue, to persuade the reader, to describe, to explain, etc.).• Practise identifying the topic sentences in paragraphs; this helps to identify the main themes.• Take notes of the information in a text and use arrows to show how the writer’s ideas develop. • Highlight the cohesive devices used in a text, such as pronoun use, article use, substitution, etc.• Highlight any words you don’t know in a text and practise guessing what they mean from the context. Check your guess in a dictionary. • Work with a friend to see if you agree on what are the main points and the supporting points in a text. Identify the signpost words that indicate evidence, support, details, examples, or opposing arguments.• Expand your vocabulary by creating lists of words with their synonyms. Use a thesaurus to find new words with the same or similar meanings. When you learn a new word, find an example of how it is used in context, for example in a learner’s dictionary.

  About the task type

This is a reading task type that tests reading skills. You have to select the single correct order for a set of sentences presented in incorrect order. You have to do 2-3 Re-order paragraphs tasks.

 Strategies

Find the topic sentence

• Skim the sentences in the left panel. Look for a sentence that introduces the topic. • Check that your selected topic sentence `stands alone’, containing no references to any information that must be stated before it.• Move your topic sentence to the right panel by dragging-and-dropping or using the left/right arrow keys.

Look for the links

Look for linking words and structures in the other sentences. Look for signal words like However or In addition, or referencing pronouns replacing nouns already mentioned such as he or it, or demonstratives such as this or these. Think about article usage (a for first mention, the afterwards).• Use these cohesive markers to put the information in the correct order. Move each sentence to its place in the right panel by dragging-and-dropping or using the arrow keys.

Confirm the order

• Check each sentence. If you change your mind, use the up/down arrow keys or dragging-and-dropping to put the sentence in a different position.• Read through the sentences in order for one last check, then click ‘Next’ and move on.

Subskills tested

Reading

Preparation • Write a short sentence about a topic. Replace all the nouns with pronouns such as he, she, it, they, them, etc. Look at the sentence again. Can you see why it is no longer a ‘standalone’ sentence?• Look at groups of sentences in magazines or online passages. Highlight the articles a/an, the. Identify the pattern in article use of first mention/subsequent mention.• Find short passages of 4-5 sentences in magazines or online. Then:  Look at the first sentence and ask: Why is this sentence before the others? Highlight all the words that indicate the cohesion (linking words, pronouns, articles, demonstratives).• Work with a friend to cut up or re-write the text, moving the sentences into a different order. Exchange texts. Look at each sentence and highlight all the cohesive devices. Use them to re-create the correct order.• Delete all the referencing pronouns that indicate cohesion. Put the passage aside for a few days, then look at it again and put in the missing words.• Make a list of signpost words used to show how a text is organized, such as Firstly, Secondly, However, In addition, On the other hand. etc.

 The task

This is a reading task type that tests reading skills. From the box below a text, you have to select a single correct answer for each gap in the text. You will do 4- -5 Reading: Fill in the blanks tasks.

Strategies

Skim the text first

Skim the gapped text to get an idea of the topic. Ignore the blanks at this point. Look for the key words that carry the meaning.

If there are words you don’t know, read around them to try to guess the meaning from the context.

Identify the correct words

• Look at the words around the first blank and its place in the sentence. Identify the idea being expressed in the sentence, and think what word will create meaning in the context. Use grammar clues to help you decide between possible options.• Think about collocation: what word often appears with the word before or after the blank?• Look for possible words in the box at the bottom of the screen, and try each one by dragging it up to the blank in the text. If it fits the meaning and grammar, leave it there. if not, move it back.

• Once you have filled one blank, move to the next. If you cannot do one, don’t worry; just move to the next. The more blanks you fill in, the easier the missing ones will be.Check one last time• Check each of the 3 unused words to confirm your choices.• Read through one last time to check the meaning is consistent.

Subskills tested

Reading

Preparation

• Improve your general reading skills by reading short texts and summarizing the main ideas. Stop after 2 or 3 sentences and put the ideas you have read into your own words.Try to guess the meaning of words you don’t know from the context, then check their meaning in a dictionary. Use a thesaurus to expand your vocabulary with synonyms for the word, and look for examples of how to use the new words, for example in a learner’s dictionary. Expand your knowledge of collocation (words that frequently occur together, such as difficult decision). Keep a diary of collocations you find in your reading and revise them regularly. This will help you to recognize the best word for a blank. Make your own collocation lists. Take a common word such as pollution and add to it any words you would expect to see it used with, such as water pollution, air pollution, urban pollution. Expand this list by taking the words you have found and adding different collocations, for example, with water you can put water pollution, water sports, water supply, water shortage, clean water, fresh water, etc. Work with a friend to delete some of the words that carry meaning from short texts. Exchange texts and try to guess the missing word, with and without having a list to choose from.

 The task 

This is a multiple-choice reading task type that tests reading and writing skills. You select one correct word from a list to fill each blank in a text. You will do 5-6 Reading & writing: Fill in the blanks tasks. 

Strategies

Read the text through

 • Read the whole text through once for the overall meaning. Then, re-read the sentence with the first blank and think what word would create meaning in the context. Look at the sentence grammar to decide what is needed, e.g. noun, past tense verb, adjective. • Click on the first blank. From the drop-down list, select the one that will create meaning and is grammatically correct.• Repeat for the other blanks.

Use your language knowledge

 • Think about collocation: what word often appears with the word before or after the blank? • Consider word form: should the word be the noun form, the verb form, or the adjective form? For example: allocation, allocate, allocated, allocating. • Read the sentence with each word in turn: which one makes the best meaning in context?Check for grammar and meaning. • Fill each blank in turn. If you cannot do one, leave it and return later. The more blanks you fill, the clearer the text will become.• When you have finished, check each selection for correct grammar. If it is a verb, is the tense correct? Is it the right form of the word?

Subskills tested

Reading, Writing

Preparation

• Improve your general reading skills by reading short texts and summarizing the main ideas. Look at the sentence structure and trace the verb tense patterns and the clause structure. Revise your knowledge of grammar and word order. Use a grammar book with gap-fill quizzes to practise choosing the grammatically correct word for each gap. When reading texts, try to guess the meaning of words you know from the context, then check their meaning in a dictionary. Use a thesaurus to expand your vocabulary with synonyms f word, and look for examples of how to use the new words, example in a learner’s dictionary. Expand your knowledge of collocation (words that frequently occur together, such as difficult decision). Keep a diary of collocations that you find in your reading and revise them r This will help you to recognize the best word for a blank. Notice the discourse structure when you read, how the w use cohesive devices to indicate the progression of what t saying. This will help you to choose the correct option based understanding the construction of a text. Work with a friend to delete words such as verbs and nouns texts. Exchange texts and try to predict what the missing words should be.
• Content courtesy : Pearson