V4 Reading comprehension test preparation

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• havo
• Leerjaar 5

Tips for READING COMPREHENSION tests 

Today:

- Some info about the types of questions

- Exam Strategies 1-10

1. Which of the following sources is most used on the final English exams?

1. The Economist
2. The New York Times
3. The Washington Post
4. The Guardian

2. Which of the following types of texts does not occur on the final English exam?

1. Letters
2. Part of a book
3. Advertisements
4. Terms of Agreement

3. What type of questions appears least often on final English exams?

1. Open Questions
2. Fill in the gap questions
3. Multiple Choice questions
4. True/False questions

Final English Exam

Facts about a general CE:

- Only reading, 10-12 texts, 40-45 questions
- 80% of the texts are 'scientific' articles & opinion
  pieces, others are mostly letters or a part of a book

- Mostly multiple choice questions about the function
  of a paragraph of the main idea

Most used sources on the last few English exams:

- The Economist    
- The Guardian
- The New Yorker
- The Washington Post
- The Daily Telegraph
- Part of a book

Facts:

- Level of the texts is high, level of the questions even higher

- Native speakers / Bilingual students often still make 4 or 5 
  mistakes. You have to read reaalllllyyyy carefully!

- You will need a dictionary! Some questions are made extra 
  difficult to force you to look up words. 

Top 3 tips:

1. Read everything, but use as little of your own knowledge as
    possible (base your answer on what's in the text!)
2. Underline, Highlight,  cross out,  etc. to indicate what to 
    look for or to find specific information
3. Approach multiple choice questions as if they are open 
   questions. Come up with your own answer first and then 
   choose the one that best fits it. 

Exam Strategies:

- Leesstrategieën                    - Woordenboeken
- Meerkeuze vragen                - Tekstsoorten
- Wel/niet vragen                      - Vraag-Antwoord Structuur
- Gap-fill vragen                        - Functiewoorden
- Citeer vragen                           - Signaalwoorden
- Open vragen 

"Vorm" van de vraag:

Open questions
(citation questions)

Multiple choice questions
(gap-fill questions)

True/False questions

"Doel" van de vraag:

1. Main idea of the paragraph
2. Finding specific information
3. Function or tone of a text
    or paragraph
4. Gap-fill (bit of everything / 

   signal words / dictionary 

   questions)

1. Main idea of the paragraph:

2. Finding specific information:

3. Function or Tone:

- Function:


- Tone:

4. Gap-fill questions:

- Signal words



- Dictionary questions / 
   tone (positive/negative)

Rest of this class:

- You are going to work on a few exam texts together to learn
    how to best approach English texts and questions.
- Try to read and discuss each question as a pair/group and
   decide which answer is the right one.
- Make sure to also indicate where you found the answer in the
   text.