NBT AQL study plan

Complete a 45-minute untimed baseline set of 30 academic literacy items and record raw score plus time per item

Define the four core academic literacy task types in your own words: main idea, inference, author's attitude, and application of a claim

Annotate 10 short passages by labelling the claim, the supporting evidence, and any hedge or qualifier word

Build a running vocabulary log of 25 academic words you could not define on first sight, with a one-line paraphrase each

Complete a 45-minute untimed baseline set of 30 quantitative literacy items and tag each by topic (percentage, ratio, rate, table, graph, estimation)

Rehearse percentage and ratio conversions until you can do 20 of them accurately in 10 minutes

Set up and solve 15 word problems by writing the relationship as an equation before calculating

Build a formula sheet of 12 relationships (rate, percentage change, average, proportion) written in your own notation

Distinguish assumption from conclusion across 20 short arguments by writing the unstated premise for each

Identify the function of contrast and concession words in 15 passages and explain how each shifts the author's position

Practice eliminating answer options by writing, for 20 items, the specific reason each wrong option fails

Complete one 30-minute timed set of 25 academic literacy items and log every error with its cause category

Read 10 tables and 10 graphs and extract two conclusions from each without doing full calculations first

Estimate 25 answers to within 10 percent before computing, then check against the exact answer

Solve 15 multi-step problems involving percentage change across two periods and record where you lose track of the base value

Convert 10 verbal descriptions of data into your own sketch of the relationship

Alternate 25-minute blocks of the two domains over three sessions to practise switching mental modes

Repair your five weakest error categories by redoing 5 items of each type and writing the correct reasoning in full

Complete one 60-minute mixed set of 50 items under exam timing and record an error-cause tally

Cut your average time per quantitative item by 15 percent through estimation rather than full computation

Sit one full-length timed mock under exam conditions with no breaks and no notes

Score the mock by domain and calculate percentage correct for each half

Rewrite explanations for every missed item in one sentence stating the rule you broke

Rank your remaining weak areas and assign the top three to the final two weeks

Drill your top three weak areas in three 40-minute blocks, redoing 10 items of each type

Practise skimming for structure in 10 passages by writing the function of each paragraph in five words or fewer

Complete 30 quantitative items with a hard two-minute cap each and mark any item you had to abandon

Review the full vocabulary and formula logs and retire any entry you can now use correctly without prompting

Sit two half-length timed sets, one per domain, in the final week and confirm pacing targets are met

Re-read your error log and state the one habit to avoid in each domain

Run a light review of the formula sheet and the 20 highest-value vocabulary entries only

Rest the day before the test rather than adding new material