Reading Comprehension Strategies Exam Tips
Exam Sections Predicting Skimming Scanning Inferencing Inferencing Vocabulary Reference
Exam Strategies Predicting: pictures and first lines Skimming: main idea of each paragraph Scanning: detailed information in the text Inferencing: background knowledge Inferencing Vocabulary: words in context Reference: discourse and cohesive devices
Exam Section Scores Predicting: 5 points Skimming: 30 pts. Scanning: 10 pts. Inferencing: 25 pts. Inferencing Vocabulary: 10 pts. Reference: 20 pts. Total score: 100 pts
Exam Section Timing Predicting: 5 minutes Skimming: 30’ Scanning: 10’ Inferencing: 20’ Inferencing Vocabulary: 15’ . Reference: 10’ Total time: 90 minutes
Tips before Exam Read about exam topic for vocabulary and background knowledge. Find information by reading academic articles on-line .
Tips during Exam Read the whole text quickly to understand the general idea. Read exam questions carefully to undesrtand what is being asked for. Re-read the text parts to complete the exercises in each section.
Tips on choosing the right option Choose ONE option for answer. Eliminate choices that are obviosly wrong and not mentioned.
Good luck on your Reading Comprehension Exam! Final Tips Pay attention to clue words and discourse. Do not look up every word in the dictionary. Guess meaning of unknown words from context. Do not translate. You only have time to carry out the comprehension exercises. Reading comprehension is a skill that can be improved day by day! Good luck on your Reading Comprehension Exam!