Reading: Time, Skimming, and Question Logic
What the section tests
The Reading section is timed as a whole, so pacing is a skill in itself. Question types include Multiple Choice (single and multiple answer), Re-order Paragraphs, Fill in the Blanks (reading and writing, and reading only), and Reading & Writing: Fill in the Blanks. Each rewards different reading behaviour: some need gist, others need local grammar and collocation.
Concepts to master
- Skimming for gist for multiple choice and summary-style items.
- Scanning for detail to verify options against the text, not memory.
- Cohesion and referencing for Re-order Paragraphs: pronouns, definite articles, and discourse markers signal order.
- Collocation and grammar for fill-in-the-blanks: the missing word must fit both meaning and syntax.
Traps
- Multiple choice with multiple answers: selecting more options than required, or choosing a true statement that does not answer the question.
- Re-order Paragraphs: anchoring on topic sentences only; the correct order often hinges on a pronoun referring to a previous noun.
- Fill in the Blanks: choosing a word that fits meaning but not grammar (e.g., wrong part of speech).
- Spending too long on one item and starving later questions.
Rule of thumb
For Re-order Paragraphs, find the sentence with no backward reference (often the opener), then chain the rest by tracking pronouns and connectors like this, these, however, therefore. For Fill in the Blanks, test the candidate word in the sentence aloud: does the grammar hold?