💰 12 to 15 marks, the biggest block⏱️ about 40 minutes7 question types, all easy to predict
Before you answer anything
Spend 90 seconds getting to know the text
The text is always the same kind of story: a true story of about 300 words from a British or American newspaper. Someone makes a change or takes a risk and learns something. It has 3 or 4 paragraphs, a named person, and some quotes.
Read the name and date at the bottom. It shows this is a real life story.
Read the first sentence of each paragraph to see the shape of the text.
The questions follow the order of the text and usually give you the paragraph number. Use it. Go straight there.
Good habit. Most answers are already in the text. Reading is a hunt, not a writing test. Find the answer, point to it, copy it.
Type 1, always Question 1
The title / "mainly about" question
You see "Tick the best title" or "The text is mainly about…". One mark. Three choices. Two of them are traps.
Tip. The right answer covers the whole text. Test each choice. Is it too small (one paragraph only)? Is it too big or off topic? Does the text say the opposite? The one you cannot reject is the answer.
Trap. Every wrong choice uses real words from the text. Seeing the same word means nothing. Test the idea, not the word.
"A fresh start to learn life skills." Not "to be great boxers" (the head teacher says "the aim is not to turn out boxers"), and not "to do well in studies" (too small). REAL BAC
Type 2, worth 2 to 4 marks
False statements: "pick out one detail"
The task: "For each statement, pick out one detail from the text that shows it is false."
Tip. Copy the exact words from the text that do not agree with the statement. Short and copied.
Trap, the zero mark answer. Writing "it is false because she did not…". Just saying "not" gives you nothing, even when your idea is right. Do not argue. Point to the words.
Copy: "Without delay, Jo decided something had to give." The words "without delay" show she did not take time. That is the mark. REAL BAC
Type 3, worth 2 to 4 marks
Complete a summary or a table
The task: "Complete the paragraph or table with words from the text."
Tip. The summary says the same idea in different words. Find the matching line in the text, then copy the missing word exactly. It is usually one word.
Trap. Writing your own synonym, or leaving a blank empty. Use their word, and never leave a gap.
Quick check. Here is the text. Read it, then complete the summary with one word from it.
Many of the teenage pupils have been excluded from mainstream schools because of violence. Aaron worked hard to control his anger. Although many young people at The Boxing Academy arrive shaped by rejection and failure, there is cause for hope: all students take five GCSEs, and last year 90 per cent passed maths.Bac Sport 2025
Summary: even after a hard start, these students still have ______ for the future.
Type 4, synonyms and meaning
Find words and explain expressions
Two tasks live here: "Find words that mean nearly the same as…" and "Tick the option that best explains the expression."
Tip. For the meaning question, hide the choices, read the sentence, and decide the meaning yourself first. Then match it. For synonyms, go to the right paragraph and copy the whole expression ("running on empty", not just "empty").
Trap. The literal meaning. "Have the travel bug" is not an illness. "Teetering on the edge" is not balancing. Think about meaning, not the single words.
Quick check. Read the text, then choose the meaning.
The influencer is struggling to keep her good name after a scandal. The fines were huge, and she has lost many fans and clients. Her business empire is now teetering on the edge.Bac Sciences 2025
"teetering on the edge" nearly means: being about to…
Type 5, 1 to 2 marks
"What do the underlined words refer to?"
A small word (it, they, this, the pair) points back to something already named.
Tip. The answer is almost always the noun just before the word. Test it: put your answer in place of the word. If the sentence still makes sense, you are right.
Trap. Answering with another small word, or copying half a sentence. Name the thing, in a few words.
Hannah and Rob (the couple). Test it: "Hannah and Rob began saving up." It works. REAL BAC
Type 6, 1 to 2 marks
Circle the adjectives that describe a person
Usually: "Circle the 2 adjectives that best describe…". You judge the person.
Tip. Do not look for the adjective written in the text. Judge the person by what they do. Someone who keeps going through hard times is brave or determined.
Trap. Circling more than they ask. Circle exactly 2. Match actions, not a feeling.
dutiful and considerate. She put her children first (considerate) and took her job as a mother seriously (dutiful). She decided fast, so not "indecisive", and she is not "self centred". REAL BAC
Type 7, the last reading question
Give your own answer, with a reason
The task: "If you were X, would you…? Why or why not?" One mark.
The two sentence plan. First, say yes or no clearly. Second, give a reason with "because". Use the words they give you: "If I were…, I would…". Keep it to two sentences.
Trap. Copying a sentence from the text as your "opinion", sitting on the fence, or writing a long paragraph. Be personal, short, and give a reason.
If I were one of Jo's children, I would support her choice, because a happy mother who is really there for me matters more than money.
Yes or no, then "because", in the "If I were… I would…" shape. Two sentences. Done.
⭐ Test yourself: matching
Match each question type to its golden rule
Choose the right rule for each question. Then press Check.
False statement question
Title / "mainly about" question
"Explain the expression" question
Reading in one line
Meet the text, answer in order, copy a detail (do not say "not"), copy the exact word, guess hard words from around them, judge people by what they do, and finish with a short answer that has a reason. The marks are in the text. Go and take them.