Reading

True or false

True or false tasks can be a bit tricky, but these tips will help you do well in the exam.Read the sentences in the exercise carefully. Use what you know to work out if the sentences are true or false before you read the text. Read the text to confirm what you think.

Underline the part of the text that has the information. Find evidence from the text that tells you if the sentence is true or false.

Dont leave a true or false question unanswered. You have a 50% chance of answering correctly.

Do you have to correct the false sentences?

Sometimes you have to answer true, false or doesnt say. Doesnt say options are usually more difficult, but less frequent.

Missing sentences

Like ordering paragraphs, to put missing sentences into a text you have to work like a detective and look for clues. This example, and the tips that follow show you how.

Usually these streets were full of busy people. (Missing sentence)

It was completely quiet on the streets outside. Guy thought it was strange. _________ Now they were completely empty. The snow that had fallen looked like a carpet. Outside looked like inside.

The missing sentence refers back to a previous sentence as there is a reference to streets (these streets).
The missing sentence refers to the next sentence too. In the missing sentence we know that usually the streets were full. This links to the following sentence as now they (the streets) are empty. They refers back to a plural noun (the streets).

Read all the sentences taken out of the text.

Read the text and match the sentences with the gaps you are sure about.

Read the sentences before and after the gap carefully. There will always be a link between these sentences and the missing sentence.Look for reference words. What do they refer to? Typical reference words include:

personal pronouns (I, you, he, she, it, we, they)

possessive pronouns (my, mine, your, yours, his, her, hers, its, our, ours, their, theirs)

demonstrative pronouns (this, that, these, those)

Look for discourse markers such as in addition, however, as a result, then, etc.

If you are not sure which sentence goes in the gap, leave it and move on to the next.

If you think there are two possible sentences for one gap, write down both answers and check again later.

Write down all the possibilities for each gap. If you make the wrong choice at the beginning, this may affect the rest of your answers.

You dont have to read the text in order. You can move backwards and forwards to different paragraphs.

There may be extra sentences you dont need. But remember, there will always be a link between the correct missing sentence and the text.

Listening

Multiple choice

Multiple choice answers is a popular type of task for listening exams. Multilple choice can be tricky, as there are often two possible answers that are quite similar.Read all the options carefully before you listen andunderlinekey words.

If the options have numbers or dates, say them to yourself to think about the way they sound before you listen.

Use your common sense to eliminate any options that are not possible.

If the A,B,C options are confusing, think about how you would answer the question in your own words. Then look again at the options. Which option is similar to your idea?

Listen for key information to confirm your answers. Key information is usually stressed.

Sometimes the speakers talk about all the options. Listen to all the audio before choosing the correct option. Don't choose the first option you hear.

Read the options again after you listen. Eliminate options you are certain are wrong.

Do you get negative points for wrong answers? If not,alwaysanswerallthe questions, even if you guess.

Complete the notes

Sometimes you may be asked to complete a set of notes in a listening exam. This is a type of gap-fill. These tips wiil help you to do your best in this type of exam.Look at the notes before you listen. What information is missing? A noun? A verb? A number? A date? A name?

Predict what information you need and listen to confirm.

Just write down key words while you listen, not all words.

Just write notes while you listen, not complete, perfect sentences.

Write the key words quickly.

Write abbreviations, not complete words, e.g. info (not information), Eng (not English), etc.

Don't worry about spelling while you listen. You can correct spelling later.

Source: learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org