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Galicia PAU English - First Foreign Language study materials
Galicia PAU English - First Foreign Language study resources

Galicia PAU English - First Foreign Language: Reading comprehension: specific information and inference

Galicia PAU English - First Foreign Language · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.

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Reading comprehension: specific information and inference

Domain 2 - Reading comprehension: specific information and inference. This domain covers questions that send you back into the text: locating a fact, deciding whether a statement is true or false and justifying the answer, and drawing a conclusion the text supports but does not state directly. In the PAU, justification questions usually require a quotation or close paraphrase; a bare 'True' or 'False' earns little.

Scanning for detail

  • identify the key word in the question, then look for a synonym in the text
  • read the sentence before and after the match
  • watch for negation, concession and comparatives: 'although', 'unless', 'fewer than', 'not only'

True/False with justification

  • decide against the text, not against your opinion
  • if true, quote the clause that proves it
  • if false, quote the clause that contradicts it
  • copy accurately; do not invent a quotation

Inference

  • an inference is a conclusion the text implies, not information you add
  • ask which sentence the author would sign
  • eliminate options that contain unsupported extra details, especially numbers, causes or intentions

Worked example

Text: 'Although the town opened a new cycle lane last spring, cycling to school has fallen by 8% because the lane stops 500 metres before the school gate.' Statement: 'The cycle lane directly connects homes to the school.' Answer: False. Justification: 'the lane stops 500 metres before the school gate.' Reasoning: 'directly connects' is contradicted by the stopping point. A weak answer would quote only 'opened a new cycle lane last spring', which does not address the connection. Inference question: Why has cycling fallen? The text implies the route is incomplete; it does not say children dislike cycling or that the lane is dangerous. Choose the option about the missing section, not the plausible but unsupported one.

Traps

  • answering from general knowledge instead of the text
  • quoting a sentence that only partly supports the claim
  • treating 'not stated' as 'false' without checking
  • over-inferring motives or causes
  • ignoring 'according to the text'