What to do
In this part, you read a text and then answer six multiple-choice questions about it. Each question gives you four options to choose from. Only one is correct.
Some options may state facts that are true in themselves but which do not answer the question or complete the question stem correctly; others may include words used in the text, but this does not necessarily mean that the meaning is correct; yet others may be only partly true.
Leave your own opinions and ideas at the door. You might be an expert in the topic – if anything, this is a disadvantage! You have to read the text for what the writer says, not what you assume they say.
Always question your answers – overconfidence is especially dangerous in this part of the exam.
Strategy
- Read the whole text quickly for its general meaning — the gist.
- The questions follow the order of the text, although the last question may refer to the text as a whole or ask about the intention or opinion of the writer.
- Read each question or question stem and try to identify the part of the text which it relates to.
- Look for the option that expresses this meaning, probably in other words
- Make sure that there is evidence for your answer in the text and that it is not just a plausible answer you think is right
- Check that the option you have chosen is correct by trying to find out why the other options are incorrect.