READING+BEC+VANTAGE

= Here are tips about the techniques you need to develop for this paper of the exam and also practice material (coming later). =

1.1 Timing
This part of the exam lasts **60 minutes**. There is **no time limit for each task**; some tasks may take longer than others and you should be aware of how long you need for different tasks. However, it's worth remembering that some tasks have more items and are, therefore, worth more marks. The answers must be put on the special answer sheet within these 60 minutes.

1.2 Marks
This part of the exam carries 25% of the marks for the whole exam.

1.3 Length of texts
These vary between 150 and 550 words

1.4 Types of text
Newspaper and magazine articles, reports, advertisements, letters, messages, brochures, guides, manuals, etc.

==2) How to approach the  reading tasks == ** Note: no extra time is allowed for transferring the information to the answer sheet. ** ~ **Either** four __short texts__ on a related topic ~ **Or** one text divided into four sections
 * ** Part ** || ** Number of questions ** || ** Task type, text type and reading skill ** || ** Technique ** ||
 * 1 || 7 || ** matching **

~ **Plus** a series of statements. You have to match each statement to the text or section where you can find the information.

~ to read for gist ~ to read for details and specific information ~ pay attention to the complete meaning of the sentences || ~ read all the statements and underline key words ~ then read all 4 texts ~ underline key words ~ now match the statements
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">SKILLS **

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">~ <span style="background-color: #ff0000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> !!! <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> If a statement includes exactly the same words as a part of the text, be careful: it will probably be incorrect || <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">~ a text with six gaps (including the example) <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">~ seven sentences (A–G).
 * 2 || 5 || ** matching **

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">~ each gap represents a missing sentence. Read the text and the sentences and decide which sentence belongs in each gap.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">~ to understand the text structure <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">~ check text for words which link the text together. These can refer to other words too, e.g. pronouns. They must refer correctly to the nouns before and/or after the gap in the text. Examples are: such as <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">~ look at linking words such as //**however**// or //**but**//. Both of these refer to __contrasting__ ideas. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">~ other words could be time phrases such as <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">~ read the text ~ <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">try to predict what kind of information is missing from each of the gaps
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">SKILLS **
 * //<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">this - that - these - those //
 * //<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">he - she - they //
 * //<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">his - hers - theirs - ours - yours //
 * //<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">us - them //
 * //<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">which - whose //
 * //<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">next - last // || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">~ cross out the sample sentence shown in the text at 0: see A-G

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">~ read the sentences and underline any pronouns or time words <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">~ write the letter you think is correct at the side of the text and delete it from the list <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">~ when all gaps are full, check your answers and put the correct letter in the gap || ~ one text e.g. newspaper article or business advice (approx 500 words) <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">~ six multiple choice questions with four possible answers
 * 3 || 6 || ** multiple choice **

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">~ to read for gist <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">~ to read for specific information <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">~ <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">pay attention to the general theme of the paragraphs || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">~ read the text
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">SKILLS **

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">~ read questions very carefully (because <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">although all of the four options appear somewhere in the text, only one of them will be correct with that particular question) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">~ underline the key words in the questions

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">~ read the answers very carefully [because these four options [A–D] may mean something very similar to the text, but not the same)

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">~ read text again and look for the answers <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">~ underline the part of the text which you think has the answer <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">~ write the question number next to this part of the text <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">~ when you have finished, check your answers again || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">~ one text (200 -300 words) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">~ fifteen 15 gaps. Each gap represents one word or phrase. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">~ 15 questions with four possible answers (A, B, C, D) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">~ choose the right word or phrase to fill each gap
 * 4 || 15 || ====**<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">multiple choice cloze **====

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">~ vocabulary <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">~ understanding structure || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">~ read text and try to predict the missing word in each gap as you are reading (these are often part of a collocation or a fixed expression) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">~ read the choices of word carefully
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> SKILLS **

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">~ circle the word you think is right ( <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Does the word you have chosen usually go together with a certain preposition or grammatical structure? Does it make a good collocation with the surrounding words?)

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">~ check your answers when you have finished || <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">~ one text (150-250 words) with 12 lines of text <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">~ some lines are correct and some lines have an extra, **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #ff4700; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">unnecessary and grammatically wrong **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> word. If the line is correct, write 'CORRECT' on your answer sheet. If the line is not correct, write down the extra word on the answer sheet - in **CAPITAL LETTERS**.
 * 5 || 12 || ** proof-reading **

~ understanding sentence structure ~ finding errors ~ typical types of word to look for are: ~ see page 24 in course book || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">~ read the text very carefully <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">~ underline the words you think make the lines grammatically incorrect <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">~ write these words at the side in the space provided ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">SKILLS **
 * prepositions
 * articles
 * conjunctions
 * auxiliary verbs
 * pronouns

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