What comes to your mind when you think of your reading exam? Do you feel confident that you'll pass? Do you have a secret method of passing an exam? Maybe you dread it altogether because you are afraid that there will be words that you don't understand?
Here are a couple of tips that will help you to feel more confident before your reading exam.
Know what to expect. Doing practice papers is an invaluable source of information. Not only do you get an idea of the level of difficulty of the exam, but also the type of tasks that you can expect.We did some practice tests in class, but for the future, if you don't/can't practise in class, don't forget that examining bodies (like City and Guilds) put practice tests on their websites which you can download and do in your own time.
For your City & Guilds Literacy test you already know that there are two types of tasks: multiple choice questions and open questions. The open questions require a specific number of answers. If you go over the limit, even if the extra answer that you provided is correct, you will still be marked down for not following the instructions. Please remember about it during your real exam.
Read the questions first. This will help you to understand what the texts will be about. You can also underline key words which you will later look for in the text. Make a mental note of how many questions there are in total so that you manage your time effectively during the real exam.
Use reading techniques. Reading in detail and translating words that you don't understand is the WORST thing that you can do. Many students, especially at higher levels, are scared of not understanding each and every word in text, just in case they need it to answer questions. While it might be true for a small number of questions, you will be able to answer most of the questions just by skimming and scanning.
Skimming is when you read the text quite quickly, picking up the key words. The main idea behind this reading technique is to give you general meaning of the text, so called gist. That is why it is important to underline key words in questions to the text as you will most likely find the same words in text when you skim it.
Scanning is when you only look for a particular piece of information. For example, if a question requires you to provide a year/time/telephone number, don't bother reading the whole text. Just look around for a number and you'll find the information you need much quicker.
Reading in detail is the last thing you do. If you stumble across a question that you have problems with, you have no other choice but to read in detail. This is fine as long as you don't spend too much time on it. Try to leave difficult questions to the end.
Look at the whole page. Sometimes the text in your exam will be a screenshot of a webpage or a leaflet. They contain pictures, different fonts, tabs, etc. which also give information. So, don't concentrate purely on the text itself; sometimes the answer to the question might be in a picture or a caption.
Stay calm and carry on! Don't get too stressed if the topic of the exam is difficult for you. Just do whatever you can and follow the instructions. There is always a retake ;)
GOOD LUCK!
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