Reading question types

1. Overview

The reading questions do not test whether you can read every word - they test whether you can find and understand the right information quickly. Different question types need different techniques: some want a single detail, some want the general idea, and some want you to make short notes. If you read the questions first and then hunt for the answers, you work faster and lose fewer marks.

Key Definitions

• Skimming: Reading quickly to get the general idea of a text, without reading every word.
• Scanning: Looking quickly for one specific piece of information, such as a date, name or reason.
• Detail question: Asks for a precise fact stated in the text.
• Inference: Working out something the text suggests but does not say directly.
• Note-making: Writing short answers (words or phrases, not full sentences) under given headings.
• Distractor: Information in the text that looks like the answer but is not.
• Reason ("why") question: Asks why something happens; your answer usually starts with "because" or "so that".
• Keyword: The word in the question you search the text for (a name, a place, a "why", a "how many").

Core Content

The method

1. Read the questions first. Underline the keyword in each question (a name, a place, a "why", a "how many").
2. Skim the text once for its general shape - what each paragraph is about.
3. Scan for each keyword. For detail and note questions the answers usually appear in the order of the text, so work downwards. Questions about the text as a whole (its main idea) are the exception - for those, build an overall picture instead of scanning point by point.
4. Answer in the right form. A note question wants a word or phrase; a "why" question wants a reason. Do not write more than the question asks.
5. Copy stated, reword implied. When the answer is stated in the text (a name, date, number or short fact), copy it exactly. When it is implied (an inference) or a long sentence you must shorten, use your own words. Either way the facts come from the text, never your own knowledge.

Matching the technique to the question

Question wants...	Technique	What your answer looks like
a specific fact (date, name, number)	scan for the keyword	one word or short phrase
the main idea of a paragraph	skim that paragraph	a short phrase
notes under headings	scan, then shorten	words/phrases, not sentences
a reason or explanation	find the sentence, read around it	a brief "because..." answer
something implied	read around the clue and infer	a short phrase in your own words

Worked example

Text (read as if on your paper):

The city library reopened last month after two years of building work. It now stays open until 9 p.m. on weekdays so that students can study after school, and it has added a small cafe on the ground floor. Membership, which used to cost a yearly fee, is now free for anyone under eighteen. The old reading room upstairs is still closed, however, and will not reopen until next year.

Question 1 (detail - copy a fact): Until what time is the library open on weekdays? Scan for "weekdays" -> the answer is beside it: 9 p.m. (a short phrase, copied exactly - no full sentence needed).

Question 2 (note-making - shorten to notes): Complete the notes.

New features of the library: (given)

• a small cafe on the ground floor (given)
• free membership for under-eighteens (your answer)

Scan for what is new. The text flags new things with "now" and "added" - the cafe, the later opening, and the now-free membership - so free membership is a fair note. Distractor watch: the "old reading room ... still closed" sits right there but is not new; reading the whole sentence stops you listing it by mistake.

Question 3 (reason - answer "why"): Why does the library now stay open until 9 p.m.? Find "9 p.m." and read on: "so that students can study after school." Answer: so that students can study after school - a short "so that / because" answer.

Question 4 (inference - work it out): Which group is the library most trying to attract? The text never says directly, but the late weekday opening "so that students can study" and free membership for under-eighteens both point one way: students / young people. That is inference - you follow the clues rather than copy a sentence.

How the reading questions are marked

The reading questions make up about a third of the Reading and Writing paper. Most answers score for finding the correct information; longer answers can also reward putting it clearly in your own words. The exact number of marks per question is printed beside it on your paper - answer with the number of points the marks suggest.

Exam Focus

• Read the questions before the text, and underline each keyword.
• Answer in the right length - a word or phrase for a note, a reason for a "why".
• Match the marks. The marks beside a question tell you how many separate points to give.
• Copy stated facts exactly (names, numbers, spellings); put implied answers (inference) and shortened long sentences into your own words.

Common Mistakes

• ❌ Wrong: Answering from your own knowledge instead of the text.
  • ✓ Right: Every answer must come from what the text actually says.
• ❌ Wrong: Copying a whole long sentence for a note question.
  • ✓ Right: Shorten it to the key words or phrase.
• ❌ Wrong: Giving one piece of information when the marks ask for two.
  • ✓ Right: Let the marks tell you how many points to find.
• ❌ Wrong: Falling for a distractor near the keyword.
  • ✓ Right: Read the whole sentence to check it truly answers the question.

Exam Tips

1. Underline the keyword in each question first.
2. For detail and note questions, answers usually come in text order - work downwards (main-idea questions are the exception).
3. Keep note answers short - words, not sentences.
4. Check spellings of names and numbers against the text.
5. Make the number of points match the marks.

Practice task

Read the short text and answer: (a) How long was the sports centre closed? (b) Complete the note: "New facility added: ____." (c) Why was the centre rebuilt?

The town sports centre closed for six months while it was rebuilt to attract more young people. It has reopened with a new climbing wall, and entry is now half price for students on weekday evenings.

Check yourself: (a) six months; (b) a (new) climbing wall; (c) to attract more young people. Each answer is short and taken straight from the text.