English Second Language·Reading skills · NSSCO 4.2
Task 1 — open-ended comprehension questions
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Task 1 of your reading paper gives you a short text — a leaflet, an article, a brochure or a set of instructions — and asks a series of open-ended questions with short answers. It is worth ten marks, and it is one of the easiest places on the paper to score well, once you know the little technique. In this lesson we read the question first, hunt for the key word, scan the text, and write a short, exact answer — then we dodge the small mistakes that quietly lose marks.
What you'll learn in this lesson
By the end you should be able to (NSSCO English Second Language 4.2):
- Describe what Task 1 asks for: reading a 450–550 word text and answering open-ended questions with short answers
- Recognise the kinds of text used (article, blog, brochure, advertisement, leaflet, guide, report or instructions)
- Use the technique of reading the question first, finding the key word, and scanning the text for the answer
- Use the question or command word (What, Where, Why, How, Give two, Name) to decide the kind of answer needed
- Answer in a single word or short phrase — either your own words or an exactly lifted phrase — giving only what is asked
- Match the number of points to the marks (1 mark = 1 point) and give two separate points when two are asked for
- Avoid the common mistakes: answering the wrong part, giving one point when two are needed, and misspelling a lifted word
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Miss Veronica and Mike talk through the whole topic — with the figure and working drawn live.