OET Reading Test Tips & Reading Material | Oet Exam

Are Preparing for the Occupational English Test (OET)? Do you want to score high in the OET exam but confused about how to prepare for it? Well, in this article we will share all the key tips to improve your performance in the OET reading test.

Today, we will discuss the reading section in which most of the test takers got confused and spent more time solving it. Reading section appears to be more difficult for many test-takers. In this article, we will guide you about how to solve the reading section in a fast and effective way.

About OET Reading Subtest

OET reading is a subtest in the OET Exam. The reading section is divided into three different sections to test the reading ability of the test taker. The sections consist of a total of 42 questions to complete in 60 minutes.

The topics are of generic healthcare interest, therefore are not very hard to attempt for any student.

How is the OET Reading Section Structured?

Part A – Expeditious Reading Task (15 minutes)

Part A of the OET exam reading subtest is to check the ability to locate the correct information from a four short text in a quick and efficient way. The short text is related to a single healthcare topic.  

The OET reading part A consists of a total of 20 questions to attempt. The 20 questions consist of matching, sentence completion and short answer questions. Only 15 minutes of time is given to attempt all these questions after which the answer sheet will be taken away from you. 

Part B & Part C – Careful reading Tasks (45 minutes)

Part B of the OET exam reading subtest is to check your ability to identify the detail and the main point of six short sentences. Which can be taken from the policy documents, hospital manuals or from internal communications such as emails or memos. For each text, there is a three-option multiple choice question. 

Part C of the OET exam reading subtest is to check your ability to identify the detailed meaning and opinion in two texts on topics familiar to healthcare professionals. A single text length is about 800 words and for each text, you must answer four multiple-choice questions.

What Skills are being Tested in reading section

Part A of OET reading is about evaluating your scanning & skimming skills. The test is to check the real workplace situation of a healthcare professional.

Many times healthcare professionals have to process important information accurately in English. This section of OET exam examiner ensures that you process the meaning of the texts efficiently in a stressful time limit.

Part B of OET reading is about to check your attention to detail. In this section of OET exam, you have to go through a large text to get the important and needed information from text.

This is again to check your efficiency in the real workplace situation being a healthcare professional. Many times the healthcare professional has to go through the patient history or details.

The OET reading exam ensures that you process the important and need information about the patient in critical time.

Oet Reading Subtest Tips

As you know, the OET reading exam consists of three parts, Part A, Part B & Part C. So it is important to divide your time wisely to complete all three sections in time. 

You will get only one hour to complete all three sections. In which transferring the answer sheet is also included. Part A consists of 20 questions for which you will get only 15 minutes and you have to complete it without wasting time.

Part B is going to be more difficult for you. Part C is even much tougher than part B. As you go on the next section it is only getting more difficult for you. So its better to prepare for the OET exam prior to get a good score.

How to Find Answer

Questions asked in the OET reading exam can be tricky as you won’t find the same words used in text. So, you have to check carefully what is asked in the question and search what can be the answer to that question in text. 

90% of the time the questionnaire uses the synonym in the question to confuse the test taker. Understanding the meaning of the words used in the question can be helpful for you to locate the correct answer in text.  

Make sure you read the text give in OET reading exam carefully and quickly so you can easily point to the answers. It will help you to get the correct answers to match the statements questions with one of the four texts. 

Sometimes, the given text might provide you with two different ideas after reading it. But you have to focus and look for what is talked more in the text. If you get success in understanding that you will also get the correct answers for the questions asked.

For gap-fill questions, The correct word is given itself in the text and you need no think of any word out of the text given. Reading text carefully and understanding it will help you to locate the correct word for the answer.

Don’t Get Frustrated

We all know that during the OET exam one can easily get frustrated. You will have to stay cool and calm during writing the test and have to stay focused.

If you get stuck on any question we recommend you not to waste much time on that particular question and move forward. You can always come back to that question to answer.

But spending too much time on a single question in OET reading will affect your efficiency to answer other questions. So, try to answer as quickly as possible and skip the question you don’t have answer for.

Check your Work

It is important to take a few minutes and check your answers. In Part A of OET reading make sure that you have copied the correct spelling of the words the same as in the text. You will not want to lose unnecessary marks Because of incorrect spellings in the OET Exam.

Checking Part B & C is also important so you can be reassured that the answers you have given are correct. Checking your answer will always help to locate any error and mistake before submitting the answer sheet.

To prectice for the OET reading exam you can find sample papers here.

You can also check our other blogs on OET exam to prepare:

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CONSIDER AN ONLINE OET PREPARATION COURSE. 

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