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Reading Overview: General Description

The document provides an overview of the format and structure of the Reading section of the FCE exam. It is divided into 3 parts that contain different types of comprehension tasks focusing on understanding details, text structure, and locating specific information. Candidates have 1 hour to complete 30 multiple-choice, gapped-text, and multiple-matching questions. Parts 1 and 2 are worth 2 marks each, while Part 3 questions are worth 1 mark, for a total possible score of 45 marks.

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60 views2 pages

Reading Overview: General Description

The document provides an overview of the format and structure of the Reading section of the FCE exam. It is divided into 3 parts that contain different types of comprehension tasks focusing on understanding details, text structure, and locating specific information. Candidates have 1 hour to complete 30 multiple-choice, gapped-text, and multiple-matching questions. Parts 1 and 2 are worth 2 marks each, while Part 3 questions are worth 1 mark, for a total possible score of 45 marks.

Uploaded by

mgemma_cabello
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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READING OVERVIEW

General Description
Paper Format The paper contains three parts, with a range of texts and
accompanying comprehension tasks. One part may contain
two or more shorter related texts.
Timing 1 hour
No of Questions 30
Task Types Multiple choice, gapped text, multiple matching.
Answering For all parts of this paper, candidates indicate their answers by
shading the correct lozenges on the separate answer sheet.
Marks Parts 1 and 2: each correct answer receives 2 marks. Part 3:
each correct answer receives 1 mark.
Part 1
Task Type & Format Multiple choice.
Task Focus In this part, there is an emphasis on detailed understanding of
a text, including the expression of opinion, attitude, purpose,
main idea, detail, tone and gist. Candidates are also tested on
their ability to recognise meaning from context and follow text
organisation features, such as exemplification, comparison and
reference.
Number of Questions 8
Part 2
Task Type & Format Gapped text.
Task Focus In this part, there is an emphasis on text structure, cohesion
and coherence, and candidates ability to follow the
development of a long text.
Number of Questions 7
Part 3
Task Type & Format Multiple matching.
Task Focus In this part, there is an emphasis on locating specific
information and detail, and recognising opinion and attitude,
in one long text or a group of short texts.
Number of Questions 15



FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Q. How long should candidates spend on each part?
A. There is no time limit for each task; some tasks may take longer than others and students
should be aware of how long they need for different tasks. However, its worth remembering
that each task is worth approximately the same number of marks overall.
Q. How many marks are there for each question?
A. Questions in Parts 1 and 2 each carry 2 marks, and in Part 3 each question carries 1 mark.
Q. Why are questions in Part 3 only worth one mark each?
A. In Part 3 candidates are looking for specific information in a text and do not need to engage
with the content of the text as deeply as in the other parts of the paper.
Q. How many marks is the Reading paper worth?
A. Each paper in the FCE exam is worth 40 weighted marks, so that all the papers are of equal
importance. The whole exam is worth 200 weighted marks. The weighted mark for the Reading
paper is calculated as follows: Each correct answer in Parts 1 and 2 is given 2 marks, and in Part
3 1 mark. Therefore, the total number of marks possible for the paper is 45. If a candidate
scored 35 marks out of a possible 45, their final weighted mark would be arrived at by the
calculation 3545x40 = 31.1.
Q. What kinds of texts are used?
A. A wide range of texts may be used; these include newspaper and magazine articles, reports,
novels and short stories, advertisements, correspondence, messages and informational
material such as brochures, manuals and guides.
Q. What aspects of reading are tested in this paper?
A. In Part 1 candidates are tested on their ability to understand detail, opinion, gist, attitude,
tone, purpose, main idea, meaning from context and text organisation features
(exemplification, comparison and reference); Part 2 tests text structure, cohesion and
coherence; Part 3 focuses on identifying specific information, detail, opinion and attitude.
Q. How long are the texts?
A. The texts range from 550700 words per text. Approximately 2,000 words overall.
Q. Do the questions in Part 1 follow the order of the text?
A. Yes, and any questions relating to global understanding of the text come at the end.
Q. How do candidates answer the Reading paper?
A. In this paper, candidates put their answers on an answer sheet by filling in a lozenge (a kind
of box) in pencil.

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