Information taken from the British Council.

1. READING EXAMS TIPS
http://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/exams

2. READING EXAMS TIPS
BEFORE YOU READ…

3. 1. PLAN YOUR TIME.
2. UNDERSTAND THE SYSTEM OF POINTS IN THE
EXAM :
•There may be some sections that are worth a lot
more points than others. You should consider this
when you are planning how much time to spend on
each section.
3. READ THE QUESTIONS CAREFULLY:
•Underline the key information in the question that
you need to answer.
•Check you have answered the question correctly.

4. 4. THINK BEFORE YOU READ:
•Predict what the text is about. Use your
background knowledge to help you understand the
text.
•Look at the title, headline or pictures to help you
understand the text.
•Identify the type of text. Knowing the type of text
will help you understand it.

5. READING EXAMS TIPS
WHILE YOU READ…

6. 1. USE OF READING TECHNIQUES:
•Skimming
The first time you read a text, read it quickly to get
a general idea.
Topic sentences will give you a quick idea of the
content of each paragraph.
•Scanning
The first time you read a text, scan it quickly to
find specific information.
Scan to find names, places, numbers or dates and
circle them.

7. •Reading for detail / specific information
•The second time you read the text you will be
looking for detail and specific information.
•Read slowly and carefully.
•Read parts of the text again and again.
2. DIFFICULT QUESTIONS:
•Don’t panic if there is a question you don’t
understand or can’t find the answer to. Leave it and
come back at the end.

8. 3. FIND THE ANSWER
•Usually, questions refer to information in the text in
chronological order.
•Find the paragraph in the text that is connected to
the question. Read the question again and then
return to the text to find the answer.
•Underline, or highlight, the parts of the text that
help you focus and find exactly the right answers.
4. DIFFICULT VOCABULARY:
•There will usually be some words in the text that
you don’t understand. The important thing is to be
able to ‘read around’ the unknown words.

9. • Don’t worry about difficult vocabulary.
• Use the context to help you understand the
meaning. Read the whole sentence and the
sentences before and after.
• What type of word is it? A noun? A verb? An
adjective? An adverb?
• Does the word have a positive or negative meaning?
• Look for synonyms in the text. Well written texts use
synonyms rather than repeating the same word.
• Think about the topic. Which words do you know
related to the topic?
• Is the word similar to another word you know?
• Is the word similar to a word in your language?

10. READING EXAMS TIPS
TYPES OF READING TASKS

11. 1. TRUE OR FALSE:
•Read the sentences in the exercise carefully.
•Use what you know to work out if the sentences are
true or false before you read the text. Read the text
to confirm what you think.
•Underline the part of the text that has the
information.
•Find evidence from the text that tells you if the
sentence is true or false.

12. 2. MULTIPLE CHOICE:
•Read all the options carefully. If possible, use what
you know already to work out any options that are
not possible.
•Eliminate options you are certain are wrong.
•Find the part of the text with the information.
•Find key words in the text that tell you which
option is correct.
•Look out for words such as always, never, might ,
may or could. They can help you decide if an option
is correct or not.

13. 3. OPEN-ENDED QUESTIONS:
• You have to think about your writing for this type of
question. Sometimes, bad writing can lose you marks in
this part of a reading exam.
•Read the questions carefully.
•Find the part of the text that answers the question.
•Refer to information in the text and write your answer
in a complete sentence.
•Write short, clear sentences that are easy to
understand.
•Always use information from the text to answer, not
just your opinion.
•Don’t copy from the text. Use your own words. Rewrite
the information in another way that means the same

14. 4. COMPLETE THE SENTENCES ABOUT THE TEXT
•Find the part of the text that refers to the sentence.
•Always use information from the text to answer, not
your own opinions or ideas.
•Don’t copy sentences straight from the text. You may
need to change the part of speech, for example, use a
verb when there is a noun in the text.
•Include all the necessary information to complete the
sentence.
•Is your sentence correct? Check grammar, parts of
speech, spelling and punctuation.

15. 5. VOCABULARY IN THE TEXT
• Read the whole sentence with the word and the sentences
before and after. Use the context to understand the meaning
of the word.
•What is the topic of the text? Is the word related to the
subject of the text?
•What part of speech is the word? Noun? Verb? Adjective?
Adverb?
•Does it have a prefix?
•Does it have a suffix?
•Is the word similar to another word you know?
•Is the word similar to a word in your language?
•Is there another word in the text that means the same?
•Check that your definition or answer is the same part of
speech as the original word.

16. 6. MATCH THE HEADINGS TO THE PARAGRAPHS:
•In order to do this type of task well you must
understand the main ideas, of each paragraph.
•First read all of the headings.
•Then read the paragraphs carefully and match the
ones you are sure about.
•If you are not sure about one, leave it and move on
to the next one.
•Be careful with extra options. There will be two
headings you don’t need.

17. 7. PUT PARAGRAPHS IN THE CORRECT ORDER
•Read all the paragraphs before deciding on the correct
order.
•Look for linking words and discourse markers that
express the same idea (too, also, furthermore…), a
different idea (however, but, nevertheless…) , reason and
result (so, as a result, consequently…) , sequence or
order (firstly, then, finally…)
•Look for connections between paragraphs. Reference
words link backwards or forwards to things in the text
(for example, pronouns).

18. 8. MISSING SENTENCES
•Read all the sentences taken out of the text.
•Read the text and match the sentences with the gaps you
are sure about.
•Read the sentences before and after the gap carefully. There
will always be a link between these sentences and the
missing sentence.
•Look for reference words. What do they refer to?
•Look for discourse markers.
•If you are not sure which sentence goes in the gap, leave it
and move on to the next.
•If you think there are two possible sentences for one gap,
write down both answers and check again later.
•Write down all the possibilities for each gap.
•You don’t have to read the text in order. You can move
backwards and forwards to different paragraphs.
•There may be extra sentences you don’t need.

19. 9. THE WRITER’S OPINION or READER’S RESPONSE
•At higher levels you may be asked to consider the writer’s
opinion or to give your opinion about a text.
• Does the type of text help you understand the writer’s aim?
•Look for language in the text that indicates the writer’s
intention. e.g. ‘We should use ...’, ‘Experts warn us that ...’ to
advise.
•Look for language in the text that indicates the writer’s
opinion. e.g. ‘In my view ...’, ‘I refuse to believe that ...’, etc.
•To give your opinion use language such as ‘In my view ...’, ‘I
believe ...’, etc.
•Do you agree or disagree with things in the text? Explain
why with your own words. ‘I agree that ... because ...’.