Reading comprehension
Reading comprehension is the first block of the Catalonia PAU English paper. You get a text of roughly 400–500 words - usually an adapted newspaper or magazine article - and a set of items that test four things: locating explicit information, following the writer's argument, working out the meaning of unfamiliar words from context, and reading between the lines. The paper offers two options (A and B); you choose one and answer all of its questions.
Question types and what each one rewards
- True/False with justification. Decide, then quote the words from the text that prove it. The quotation earns the mark, not your explanation.
- Multiple choice. Distractors usually recycle vocabulary from the text; the correct option usually paraphrases it.
- Short answer. Two or three lines, in your own words, answering exactly what was asked.
- Reference and inference items. 'What does this refer to?' or 'What does the writer suggest about…?' The answer must be traceable to the text, never to your own opinion.
A worked item
Statement: According to the text, people working from home put in fewer hours than office workers. Text: 'Although employees now save time on commuting, surveys show that they often work longer hours than before.' Answer: False. Justification: 'they often work longer hours than before.' Reasoning: the statement and the quotation are direct opposites. The connector although signals that the second half of the sentence overturns the expectation set by the first. Note that the justification is short and verbatim - copying the whole sentence would also drag in 'save time on commuting' and blur the proof.
Traps that cost marks
- Quoting a sentence that contains the keyword but does not actually prove the answer.
- Writing 'False' with no correcting quotation; a false item normally needs the text's version of the truth.
- Confusing the author's view with the view of a person the author quotes.
- Importing general knowledge: if the text does not say it, it is not the answer.
- Long short-answers that add new information and therefore new errors.
- Missing a negative in the question ('Which is NOT mentioned…').