• How to approach the task

①Look carefully at any text title, subtitles or diagrams. This will give you a quick overview of what the text is about.

②Read the instructions for each task carefully. Check the maximum number of words allowed.

③Set yourself a time limit to tackle each section.

• How to read the texts

①Keep in mind that your main aim is to locate the answers to the questions. You do not need to read the text slowly and carefully; do not stop to think about every unknown word.

②If a text is organised into paragraphs, a good way to get the general meaning and to amiliarise yourself with the overall content is to spend the first 2-3 minutes reading only the first and last sentence of each paragraph.

③Some text types are suited to scan-reading looking quickly for specific details such as a fact or particular vocabulary item, e.g. reading a train timetable to find a particular departure time.

• How to approach the different task types

①Make sure that your answers keep to the word limit stated in the test paper. For expamle, if you are asked for “NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS”, then do not write more.

②With multiple choice questions, try and use common sense to eliminate some of the answer options.

③When matching headings to paragraphs, read the headings first. Then read the first and last sentence of each paragraph. This is often enough to match headings correctly.

④When gap-filling, read the gapped text carefully and think about both the meaning and grammer of suitable words to fill the gaps. Note down your ideas in the gapon the question paper so that when you read the text you are then reading to check your ideas.

⑤Never leave a gap blank. You do not lose marks for incorrect answers.