NB G5 FI Reading common mistakes
NB G5 FI Reading · Understand the traps and how to avoid them.
Scanning the passage for a word from the question, then copying the sentence around it as the answer without checking that it actually answers what was asked.
Keyword matching feels fast and safe under time pressure, and the matched sentence often looks relevant even when it addresses a different aspect (e.g. a cause rather than the requested result).
What to do instead
Read the question first and underline the exact thing being asked for (who, when, why, how many). When you locate a keyword, read the whole sentence and the one before and after, then state the answer in your own words before choosing an option or writing it down.
Answering from general knowledge or personal experience instead of from what the text states, especially on familiar topics such as animals, weather, or school life.
Background knowledge fills gaps automatically and confidently, so a plausible option feels correct even when the passage says something different or says nothing at all.
What to do instead
For every answer, point to the line or section that supports it. If you cannot find supporting text, treat the option as unsupported and eliminate it. Practise with short texts on topics you know well so the habit of checking is trained where the temptation is strongest.
Giving an answer that is true according to the text but does not respond to the specific question, for example explaining why something happened when asked when it happened.
The candidate finds a relevant paragraph, stops searching, and reuses whatever information it contains without re-reading the question stem.
What to do instead
Before finalising, re-read the question and check that your answer matches its question word. Build the habit of writing the question word next to each answer draft and crossing out answers whose type does not match.
Missing information spread across two places in the text, such as a rule stated in one paragraph and its exception in another, and answering from only one of them.
The candidate stops reading once a relevant sentence is found, and longer texts make it easy to overlook a later qualification or contrast word.
What to do instead
After finding a first relevant sentence, scan the rest of the text for connectives such as but, however, except, only, and also, which usually signal a qualification. Note paragraph numbers beside each piece of evidence before answering.
Choosing an answer that reverses or exaggerates the text, for example reading 'some students preferred the new timetable' as 'most students preferred it' or 'all students preferred it'.
Quantity and degree words are short and unstressed, and the brain tends to smooth them into stronger, simpler claims.
What to do instead
Circle quantifiers and degree words (some, most, all, few, often, always, never, slightly, greatly) whenever you meet them and compare them directly with the wording of each option. Train with paired sentences that differ only in one quantifier.
Confusing the writer's or a character's opinion with a fact stated in the text, and answering 'what does the text say' with a judgement instead.
Narrative and persuasive texts mix reported events with feelings, and young readers often treat a strongly expressed view as established information.
What to do instead
Mark opinion signals (I think, probably, the best, should, seems) and reporting verbs (said, claimed, believed) as you read. Sort statements into 'the text states this happened' and 'someone feels or thinks this' before answering.
Ignoring the purpose or audience of a text and answering questions about its form as if it were a neutral information source, for example missing that a leaflet is trying to persuade readers to visit a place.
Candidates focus on decoding content and do not step back to ask who wrote the text, for whom, and why, so genre cues such as headings, exclamation marks, and direct address go unnoticed.
What to do instead
Before reading in detail, spend a few seconds identifying the text type, the likely reader, and the writer's aim. Then check whether the answer you chose is consistent with that aim, and cite a layout or language feature that supports it.
Judging whether a text is effective or well organised using personal taste ('I found it boring') rather than evidence from the text's structure and language.
Evaluation questions invite personal reaction, and candidates have not been taught to justify a judgement with features such as clear headings, ordered steps, or vivid description.
What to do instead
Answer evaluation questions with a two-part response: a judgement plus a named feature plus its effect on the reader. Rehearse sentence frames such as 'The headings help because they let the reader find...' and always name the feature you are judging.
Guessing an unfamiliar word's meaning from its first letters or from a similar-looking word, then reading the whole sentence as if that guess were correct.
Fast guessing protects reading fluency, and a wrong guess is rarely noticed because the sentence still appears to make sense.
What to do instead
Use the surrounding sentence to test the guess: substitute it and check whether the meaning fits the logic. Also check word parts (prefix, root, suffix) and the word's grammatical role. Confirm the meaning by re-reading the sentence after substitution.
Misreading connectives and reference words, for example taking 'although' as 'because', or attaching 'it' or 'they' to the wrong noun, which flips the meaning of the sentence.
These words are short, unstressed function words, and readers often skip them while hunting for content words, so logical relationships are lost.
What to do instead
Underline every connective and pronoun in a paragraph and draw an arrow from each pronoun to the noun it refers to. Practise contrasting pairs (because/although, so/unless, this/that) in otherwise identical sentences to make the meaning shift explicit.