OET Reading

OET Reading Test

PreparationINTENSIV

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OET Reading

They are likely to include the following:

Increasing comprehension

Vocabulary and language skills

Increasing your speed

Reading skills

Reading with a purpose

Test preparation for OET

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E What are yourreading goals?

OET Reading

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E Reading

Reading for information

Facts

Opinions

Possibilities

Things that are Definite

OET Reading

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E Reading Skills

Reading for information is a skill. Reading strategies can be used to vary the approach to any given text.

Activating prior knowledgeClarifying

Context clues

Drawing conclusions

Evaluating

Inferring

Predicting

Re-reading

Re-stating

SettingA purpose

SkimmingAnd Scanning

Visualizing

OET Reading

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E Reading Skills

This is not an exhaustive list of all reading strategies.

Choose the appropriate techniques during your reading.

These reading strategies will increase your comprehension, retention and command over the subject matter.

OET Reading

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E Skimming andScanning

Scan the heading• Look for keywords / ideas• Make a list of related

words• Get a sense of the topic• Try to predict what the

article is about

OET Reading

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E Skimming andScanning

Look at pictures / diagrams and captions

• For additional keywords / ideas / information on what the article is about

OET Reading

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E Skimming andScanning

“All of the birds appeared healthy,

but the tests revealed that 19 of

the penguins, 5 per cent, carried

the Plasmodium parasite, which

causes malaria. The infected birds were

spread across the archipelago, suggesting the

parasite is not restricted to one small colony of

penguins. Galapagos penguins move

around the islands, so the parasite

is likely to spread further, say the

researchers.”

• Read the 1st sentence of a paragraph

• Read the 2nd sentence of a paragraph

Save time when reading

Can you make an informed guess of what the paragraph is about?

OET Reading

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E Skimming andScanning

• Skim several timesNote chapter and section titlesLook for meaning / topic

• Read first sentence of each paragraphNote the main ideaOther sentences elaborate idea (further details)

• Speed up your reading - look at groups of wordsLook at phrases / groups of words and read in “chunks”

• Take note of unknown terminology / wordsTry to work out what they mean by the context of the sentence / paragraph

OET Reading

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E Skimming andScanning

• Practice speed readingTry reading several words, a phrase or even a sentence at a timeRead newspaper articles by scanning down the column instead of reading each word

• Practice with discipline-specific journalsAgain, reading several words at a timePractice coping with unknown, technical words or phrases by noting the context of the word or phrase.

ABC Australia Health

http://www.abc.net.au/health/BBC World Servicehttp://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/sci_tech/features/health/index.shtmlBBC Healthhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/health/

New England Journal of Medicine

http://content.nejm.org/Science Magazine for the American Association for the Advancement of Sciencehttp://www.sciencemag.org/archive/Naturehttp://www.nature.com/

British Medical Journalhttp://www.bmj.com/

Journal of the American Medical Associationhttp://jama.ama-assn.org/

Medical Journal of Australiahttp://www.mja.com.au/The Free Medical Journals Sitehttp://www.freemedicaljournals.com/

OET Reading

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E What skills are being tested?

• Can you distinguish between fact / fiction or something that is definite or a possibility?

• Can you follow a complicated argument made over several paragraphs?

• Can you recognise connections between ideas? (What is the “cause” and what is the “effect”)

• Can you get the “gist” - work out the meaning of a word / phrase from the context in which it was used?

OET Reading

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E Understanding the way the text has been written

• The order of eventseg: firstly … secondly … initially … subsequently …

• Consequenceseg: due to … therefore … as a result …

• Contrasting or alternative ideaseg: however … on the other hand … despite …

• The extension of an ideaeg: in addition … furthermore …

OET Reading

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E TypicalQuestions

According to the article …

What is the article about?

OET Reading

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E TypicalQuestions

The statistics provided …

Correct number / percentage?

OET Reading

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E TypicalQuestions

The phrase …

What is it about?

OET Reading

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E TypicalQuestions

The term …

Relates to what?

OET Reading

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E TypicalQuestions

The writer argues …

Is the author arguing for or against something?

OET Reading

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E TypicalQuestions

Which of the following statements best summarise the article …

Which mutiple choice is the best / most appropriate fit?

OET Reading

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E TypicalQuestions

In the future …

In the text, the writer posits what might or will happen

OET Reading

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E TypicalQuestions

Which statement most accurately reflects the writer’s point of view …

Which multiple choice is the most appropriate one?

OET Reading

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E TypicalQuestions

Some questions ask for a reason

Why is …

You need to provide the best explanation

OET Reading

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E TypicalQuestions

Sometimes questions are in a negative form

The writer does not say …

True or false?

OET Reading

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E TypicalQuestions

Sometimes questions are in a negative form

Which of the following statements does not match the information given …

True or false?

OET Reading

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E TypicalQuestions

Sometimes questions are in a negative form

The survey does not include …

True or false?

OET Reading

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E TypicalQuestions

Sometimes questions are in a negative form

Which of the following is not mentioned …

True or false?

OET Reading

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E TypicalQuestions

Sometimes questions are in a negative form

Which of the following is false …

Which one is not true or incorrect?

OET Reading

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E TypicalQuestions

Sometimes questions are in a negative form

Which of the following is not given as a problem …

Which statement is written in a positive / affirmative way?

OET Reading

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E Do’s andDon’t’s

• It’s OK to answer only 80% - 90% of the questions

• DON’T get stuck on one question - keep going and come back to it at the end

• DO use a soft pencil(s) and have an eraser if necessary

• DO record all your answers on the answer sheet BEFORE time has expired

• DON’T give more than one answer per question

OET Reading

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E Reading Strategies

Skimming the Article:

• Get a rough idea of what the article is aboutthe main idea

• Get a rough idea of the key words / ideas / people and, where they are located on the page

• Familiarize yourself with the layout of the article

• Familiarize yourself with the kind of writing and language used

OET Reading

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E Reading Strategies

Suggested strategy:

• Look at both articles ….. Make a quick choice on which one to read first

• Read the questions and note the key ideas (not just words)

• Read the opening paragraph and the conclusion carefully

• Read the first and last sentences of each remaining paragraphs to gain some idea of the main points.

• Look for words and phrases that you want to refer to later

OET Reading

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E Reading Strategies

Scanning:

• Use to obtain specific information from a piece of text

• When scanning, ignore information that is not relevant to the particular question

OET Reading

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E Reading Strategies

Suggested Strategy:

• Identify the style of question

• Ensure you have read the question accurately- are there any alerts?

• Locate the relevant section in the text and scan carefully

• Don’t assume the exact words used in the question will be used in the text

OET Reading

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E The OET:

Aiming to Succeed:

• 2 Readings - Part A and Part B

• Each passage will have 10 - 12 Multiple choice questions

• Aim for 60 - 65% which should give you a good chance of passing OET Reading

• Use pencil to answer questions on a computer readable answer sheet.

OET Reading

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