Informational and Analytical Texts: Reading and Responding
What this domain tests
You read articles, reports, letters, advertisements and opinion pieces in Portuguese, then extract information, interpret purpose and tone, and respond in writing. Texts may come from Portugal, Brazil or lusophone Africa and may include statistics or quotations.
Concepts to master
- Text purpose and audience: inform, persuade, warn, advertise, entertain. Look at headline style, imperatives and evaluative adjectives.
- Structure: title, lead paragraph, subheadings, conclusion. The main idea is usually in the first two paragraphs.
- Cohesion: pronouns and connectors that refer back (este, aquele, o qual, tal, assim, deste modo). Tracking referents is essential.
- Fact versus opinion: segundo dados, estima-se que (fact/estimate) versus felizmente, infelizmente, é lamentável (opinion).
- Nominalisation and passive voice, common in journalistic style (foi anunciado que…, a realização de…).
Traps to watch for
- False friends: atualmente (currently, not actually), realizar (to carry out), assistir a (to watch/attend), pais (parents) versus país (country).
- Questions asking in your own words - copying the text verbatim may not earn full marks.
- Inference questions where the answer is implied, not stated. Use evidence from the text.
- Confusing the author's view with a view the author reports and rejects.
Rule of thumb
For each paragraph, write a three-word summary in the margin. Then locate the sentence that supports your answer and quote a short phrase as evidence before paraphrasing.
Worked example
Text: «Atualmente, muitas famílias optam por comprar produtos locais. Segundo um estudo recente, esta escolha reduziu as emissões em vinte por cento. No entanto, os preços continuam elevados, o que limita o acesso.» Question: What is the author's overall view? Answer: the choice is positive environmentally but limited by cost - signalled by no entanto. A weak answer would claim the author fully supports or fully opposes the trend.