OET Reading Tips: Tips to Improve your OET Reading

OET Reading subtest is a part of the Occupational English Test and aims to assess the reading abilities of a healthcare professional in the English language. The reading subtest consists of three parts and a total of 42 questions.

The reading skills of a candidate are thoroughly assessed in this subtest. Part A, B and C use different techniques to assess a candidate’s reading abilities. Since reading skills are one of the rudimentary assets of a medical professional, OET put considerable focus on this part.

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In this article, we have mentioned some useful tips for the OET Reading test and each of its parts.

OET Reading Tips

Reading is a fairly straightforward action as it is not influenced much by regional accents, which helps readers spend less time decoding the meaning of unfamiliar words. In the OET exam, candidates can tackle the reading subtest easily if they have sufficient reading skills and can use them properly. Here are some useful tips for candidates to improve their reading skills for the OET Reading test.

Be familiar with the different parts of the Reading test:

Having substantial knowledge of the different parts of the Reading subtest and the kinds of questions they involve can significantly sharpen a candidate’s skills and help them use these skills effectively.

Double-check your answers:

Although being time efficient is of utmost importance in the OET exam, it is also vital to check your answers for errors and silly mistakes. This practice helps you avoid losing marks and ensures your performance is immaculate.

Improve your reading skills:

Practicing for the OET reading test by limiting your preparation to text extracts is not enough. It is important to extend your reading habits beyond textbooks and study resources. Medical journals, books, and current affairs related to healthcare are productive sources of information to improve reading skills.

Understand which skills to use:

Since the reading subtest has different parts which assess a candidate’s reading skills using different approaches, it is important to understand which skills should be used for each part of the OET reading test. One of the aims of the reading test in OET is to make sure candidates know how to use the right reading strategies at the right time.

Section-wise Reading Tips for OET

The OET Reading test consists of three parts which are Part A, B, and C. Candidates have 60 minutes to complete this section. In the first part of the reading test, that is, Part A, candidates are required to answer questions based on text extracts related to a medical context.

In Part B, candidates need to identify minute details or summary points from the six given text passages. Using these details, candidates have to answer multiple-choice questions. Part C of the OET reading test requires candidates to understand the detailed meaning of two test passages related to healthcare topics and answer multiple-choice questions based on their understanding of the texts.

Given below are some tips to help candidates perform well in each part of the OET reading test.

Reading tips for OET Reading Part A

Part A of the OET Reading test is also known as the speed reading task. Candidates have 15 minutes to complete this part of the reading test. During this time, candidates have to read and retain important details from four short texts and answer different types of questions. Here are some tips candidates can implement in this part.

1. Always read the title of the text carefully. There are certain words in the title of the text that help in preparing the candidates for what they are about to read in the passage. Thus, it is important to read and make a note of these relevant words.
2. It is important to take time to read the text properly. Understanding the meaning of the text is as important as using time judiciously. It is important to concentrate while reading the text as that is when we acquire information about the topic in question.
3. Scan the text for information and relevant clues. Candidates may be required to find facts from the text. Thus, they should be noted down whenever useful details are found in the text.
4. Read the questions carefully and try to read the words before and after the gap to predict the required kind of answer.

Reading tips for OET Reading Part B

As we know in Part B of the OET Reading test, candidates need to analyze the given text passage and identify relevant details in order to answer the given questions.

This particular task is also known as a careful reading task. The text passages can range from hospital guidelines and policy documents to internal communications like memos and emails. Here are some tips candidates can implement in this part.

1. When answering Part B of the OET Reading test, candidates must read the questions and the given answer option before answering. This technique will help the candidate find relevant keywords and phrases, which will make it easier to locate the answer from within the text extract.
2. Eliminating irrelevant and wrong answers is also an effective way of finding the answer to a question. Such an approach works better in the case of multiple-choice questions. If candidates cross off wrong answers as they move along with a question, it helps them guess the correct answer more quickly.
3. If candidates come across a certain word or phrase that they do not understand, it is advisable to highlight that word. Candidates can try to read the whole text in order to ascertain the meaning of a particular word or phrase in that context.
4. Candidates should also mark relevant bits of information from the reading passages. This will help them use their time more effectively as they go back and forth between the reading passage and the question when looking for the correct answer.

Reading tips for OET Reading Part C

Part C of the OET Reading test is also a careful reading task. In this part, candidates need to understand the meaning of the two text passages provided in detail. A deeper understanding of the text passages is required to locate the answers. There are eight four-option multiple-choice questions for each text extract. Here are some tips candidates can implement in this part.

1. An easy way to locate the answer to the question is to notice which paragraph the question refers to out of the entire passage so that candidates do not have to read the entire passage to find every answer. This is easy to ascertain as the questions also highlight the paragraph number.
2. Skim the title of the text to understand what the passage is about. Reading the first sentence of each paragraph is also helpful in understanding the gist of the paragraph.
3. Compare the given answer options to the paragraph the question is related to in the passage. The correct answer option will significantly match the relevant paragraph.
4. Always keep abbreviations and synonyms in mind. Words from the text passage can be used differently in the questions. Candidates should expect the synonyms for a word used in the question for a particular passage.

The OET Reading section can be a scoring part of the OET exam if a candidate has prepared decently. Hopefully, the tips mentioned in this article will help aspiring candidates in their preparation for the OET Reading test.