1. Alternative Viewpoints
Reading Paper Help
Topic Sentence
Embedded Quotation
Writer’s Viewpoint
One-word summary
Device
Unpacking Quotations
Elaboration
Alternative Viewpoints
Comparison 1 6 7 2 5 8 3 4 9

2. Reading Paper Help 1 Topic Sentence
A topic sentence is the first sentence you write. Your aim is to summarise the main point(s) in the article. It’s the ‘in a nutshell’ sentence.
Example: article on Chelsea Football Club
The article discusses the unusually poor start to Chelsea’s season and the pressure on Jose Mourinho and his players to solve fundamental flaws in the team’s performance.

3. Reading Paper Help 1 2 2 3 Embedded Quotation
Embedded quotations are quotations that are inserted within your sentences. Embedded quotations should be a few words long and appear very frequently in your writing. They provide detailed analysis.
Example: article on train crash in India
The writer reflects the gratitude of those injured through reference to an expression of “sincere thanks”, highlighting a genuine sense of gratefulness and a comment on “the enormous support” – the adjective “enormous” implying that those injured in the train crash have been overwhelmed by the level of support.

4. Reading Paper Help 1 2 3 3 Writer’s Viewpoint
The writer’s viewpoint always appears in one of the exam questions. Writer’s viewpoint is the writer’s opinion on the article: i.e. their angle on it.
Example: article on writer’s viewpoint to global warming
The writer takes a balanced view on global warming in that she accepts that statistical evidence appears to point to global warming to the extent that we do not have a better explanation: i.e. the research presents a partial explanation and is therefore inconclusive.

5. Reading Paper Help 1 4 2 One-word summary 3
Summarising paragraphs in one word helps you to save time reading articles in the exam. Time is the biggest factor in The Reading Exam so assimilation (synthesising and summarising) is critical to success. As a reminder, the word does not always appear in the paragraph.
Example: using association for one-word summary
“The Lake District is renowned as much for its beauty as its tranquillity, and place in our most famous literature.”
Mistaken one-word summary: beauty (only part of paragraph)
Correct one-word summary: uniqueness (links to all three points made)

6. Reading Paper Help 1 2 5 3 Device
Devices (techniques) are central to success in The Reading Paper. Devices (techniques) help you to analyse in detail and show an understanding of the writer’s specific choice of language.
Example: volcano eruption in Japan
The writer uses a combination of techniques to report on the dramatic scene, firstly through the use of the verb and adverb “erupted unexpectedly” followed by the adjective “huge” and figure “2, 000” to reinforce the extent of the pollution.

7. Reading Paper Help 1 6 Unpacking Quotations
Unpacking quotations is the skill of selecting words within a quotation which you feel is the ‘vehicle’ or heart of the quotation.
Although we often use a number of words for a quotation, not all of the words carry the same weight.
Example: article on use of drugs by Nazis during Second World War
The writer makes reference to the soldiers feeling “euphoric and invincible”, the adjective “invincible” highlighting Hitler’s desire for Nazi Germany to be utterly dominant as a nation.

8. Reading Paper Help 1 2 7 Elaboration
Elaboration is the skill of stating more than the obvious. The easiest way to elaborate on a point is to use a number of words from your quotation – rather than commenting generally on the quotation.
Example: article on Egyptian forces killing innocent civilians
The statement that a “military force was chasing terrorist elements” represents an attempted justification of the army’s actions highlighted by the emotive noun “terrorist”; however the indefinite noun “elements” suggests that the government have no definitive information on the identity of the terrorists.

9. Alternative Viewpoints
Reading Paper Help
Alternative Viewpoints 1 8 2 3
Alternative viewpoints simply means having more than one explanation for your points. Multiple explanations are difficult unless you think of alternatives to your initial point.
Example: article on discovery of dead body
The article refers to a “decomposing body” recently found and that police are “hunting for a murderer”, suggesting through the verb “hunting” that the police are either beginning a murder inquiry or are “hunting” a scent left by incriminating evidence.

10. Reading Paper Help 1 2 9 3 Comparison
Comparison appears in Question 4 of the Reading Exam. The simple way to compare is to find the word which links both texts then look at how each writer does the same thing differently.
Example
Writer 1
Writer 2
Travel is part of widening our experience and cultural knowledge
Travel rarely incorporates a desire to embrace the countries we go to.
Travel has been proven to make people more open-minded
Common destinations are an example of how unimaginative people are
Travel