Hi I'm Jo from Specialist Language Courses, we are OET Premium Preparation Providers which means we
are experienced and skilled in what we do, helping people achieve success in the OET exam. So, in
today's video we're going to look at Reading A and format and question types. So in this video we're
going to look at a brief overview of the reading paper, we'll then take a closer look at the format
of Reading A, we will look at the text used and an overview of the different question types. So
what should you expect in Reading A? The reading test is one hour long, there are three parts and
a total of 42 questions and all questions carry the same mark. Reading A consists of four short
texts with different tasks, Reading B has six short texts with multiple choice questions and
Reading C has two long texts with multiple choice questions. Reading A lasts 15 minutes and for
Reading B and C you have 45 minutes to complete both parts. Let's take a closer look at Reading
A and what to expect in the exam. In Reading A, there are four texts and one text usually contains
a visual or numerical information, such as a table or a flow chart, there are 20 questions in total
and three different task types: a matching task, sentence completion and short answer questions.
Let's take a look at what type of texts you will see in the Reading A exam. The text for Reading
A can be based on any of the 12 professions but all four text will be related to the same topic,
there will be texts that are commonly found in the workplace and ones which are used when
dealing with patients, for example they might be diagnostic tools, management guidelines or perhaps
information on dosages. Let's take a look at some example texts from a Reading A paper. These texts
are all on the topic of vertigo, as you can see, they all have a slightly different format
and focus. As well as the text booklet, you will have an answer booklet which contain the tasks,
let's have a look at some examples. The first set of questions always looks like this and it is the
matching task, the following tasks will be short answer questions and also a sentence completion
task. How should you approach Reading A? Let's have a look. In the matching activity, you need to
read the sentences and then decide in which of the four texts you can find the answer, this activity
will prepare you for the next task as you will then have more of an idea of the content of each
of the texts. In the short answer questions, you need to scan the text for a word or short phrase
which answers the question, so knowing where to look is essential. Similarly, in the sentence
completion task, you should decide what kind of word or phrase you are looking for and which text
to look in and then scan the relevant text for the answer, here's a quick summary of how to approach
Reading A. First of all, you should look at the headings of the texts and their format,
do not read the text, you simply do not have time, instead have a quick look at what kind
of information they contain and this will help you decide where to look when searching for
answers. Complete the matching task first, this is important to do as it will provide you with
more insight as to what kind of information is in the texts and this will better prepare you for the
next tasks. You should use the words and phrases in the questions to decide what information you
are looking for and which text to look in, then scan the relevant text for the answer. If you
can't find the answer quickly move on, this is so important as you only have 15 minutes
for 20 questions. Many people find the time limit difficult, which is why it's so important that you
don't get stuck on one question, if you can't find the answer quickly move on to a question that you
can answer, if you have time at the end you can always go back. How can you practice? Well, it's
really important that you develop your reading skills for the OET exam by reading widely, doing
exam practice papers is not enough to prepare you sufficiently for the OET exam. For Reading A, you
should practice your scanning technique, one idea is to take any text and scan for specific words,
let me show you an example. Here is a text on treating burns, one idea would be to scan for all
the mentions of the word "burn" or any variations, like this. Think about using your finger or a
pencil to help you scan, and underline or circle the words when you find them, or you could look
for body parts, or even numbers. The patient.info and NHS websites are good for this, but really
you can use any text. Top tips for Reading A. Familiarise yourself with the format of Reading A,
in the exam don't read the text first, you simply don't have time, use the headings to help you know
where to look and move on if you get stuck on one question and in yourself study time, practice your
scanning skills. So thanks for watching, if you would like more tips and strategies on how to
prepare check out our website, link below. Please, like and share so we can help more people achieve
success in the OET exam, don't forget to subscribe so you can get more videos like this, bye!