Reading Skills

Usually the easiest questions in DSE. Answers can often be copied directly — but watch for synonyms in the question stem, and replace any pronouns with their referents.

• Keywords: Give / Name / When / Who / Where / What
• Identify keywords in the question and look for synonyms in the specified paragraph.
• Answers are usually a single word or a short phrase — may be proper nouns.
• Copy carefully. Make no spelling mistakes.

• You may need to calculate: 'a quarter' = 25%; 'all but one' = Total − 1.
• Identify quantity words: almost half, one-fifth, over three-quarters.
• Watch for trend words: increased/decreased, rose/declined, doubled, remained constant.

• Check the total mark to decide how many items to choose if the question doesn't specify.
• Look out for synonyms. 'Taking an overseas trip' in the text = 'travelling abroad' in the question.

Which of the following is NOT found in the suspect's backpack? Put a tick (✓) in the box.

• Describe the pictures in your own words before searching the text.
• Pay attention to details — notice how pictures differ from one another.

• The length of the answer line shows the expected length of the answer.
• Study the organisational features: title, headings, column/row names.
• Notice how information is rearranged: chronological order, cause and effect, problem and solution.
• Answers can be copied directly, but may need small grammar changes to fit the blank.

Common but tricky. Rarely can you find the referent within the same sentence — you usually need to read the previous sentence(s), and sometimes even infer the referent.

• Read the sentence(s) immediately before the reference word.
• Use the pronoun's gender (he/she/it) and number (singular/plural) as clues.
• If a noun is needed, convert a sentence into a noun phrase:
  • Use a gerund (verb + -ing form)
  • Add '(the fact/idea) that …' before the clause
  • Add 'what/when/who/where/why/how …' before the clause
• Do not copy a whole sentence from the text as an answer.
• Sometimes you need to read after the reference word — the writer may define the word later.
• Very rarely, you may need to infer the referent (e.g. 'you' in a feature article may mean 'people in general').

• The question asks for a subtle linking word/phrase, not an obvious discourse marker like 'despite' or 'in addition'.
• E.g. 'foodwise' signals a change of topic more implicitly.
• Pay attention to how ideas are linked and developed within the paragraph.

Easier if you already know the words, but contextual clues can help you make a good guess even when you don't.

• Read the keywords: 'similar meaning' / 'synonym'; 'opposite meaning' / 'antonym'; 'a word' = ONE word; 'a phrase' = TWO OR MORE words.
• Your answer must match the part of speech of the word given: noun → noun, verb (same tense) → verb.
• Watch out: 'exciting' can be both adjective and verb; 'safe' can be adjective or noun.
• Prefixes/suffixes hint at meaning: anti-, un-, dis-, -acy, -ance, -able, etc.

• Eliminate obviously wrong answers.
• Replace the word in the text with each option to see which fits best.
• Very often, the most literal meaning will not be correct — e.g. 'bank' probably does not mean a financial institution in an exam text.
• Determine if the word is positive, negative, or neutral — the correct option must match.
• Read the whole paragraph — the writer may explain the meaning in the next sentence.

• Often asks for an idiom (usually 2–4 words) or a phrasal verb (verb + particle).
• Do not copy a whole sentence as an answer.

• Read sentences near the word and guess from contextual clues.
• Use your own words to explain the meaning.
• For idioms, use the literal meaning + context to infer the intended meaning.
• Replace the word with your answer to check that it fits.

• You need to come up with the word yourself.
• Check the part of speech, tense, and plurality — your answer must match.
• If you know the word: think of a synonym and test it in context.
• If you don't know the word: use contextual clues in the paragraph to infer the meaning, then find a word that fits.
• Replace the word with your answer to verify meaning and grammar.

Consistently gets the most correct answers in DSE. Tests factual understanding and occasionally inferencing skills.

• Identify indicators (keywords) in each statement, then find their synonyms in the text.
• True: the indicators are synonymous with the text.
  • 'Paul Smith is 16 years old' and 'Paul is a teenager' → True.
• False: the indicators contradict the text.
  • 'Mr Lee is in his thirties' and 'Lee is an adolescent' → False.
• Not Given: indicators don't 100% match, or the statement overgeneralises.
  • 'The book is a current bestseller' — we don't know if it is currently a bestseller → Not Given.
• Watch for these overgeneralising words — they often signal False: always, never, only, most, a few, more/less, earlier/later, if …

Harder than referencing — instead of copying, you must use your own words to answer using inferencing skills.

• Keywords: suggest, imply, implication(s), why …?, can be inferred, most likely, probably, may, might
• Answers CANNOT be copied directly — answer in your own words.
• You may quote some words from the text, but you must always explain the meaning/purpose of what you quoted.
• If unsure what a statement implies, study the writer's views and attitudes.
• This is a reading exam — your answer must be based on the text, not original ideas.

• Both entities being compared must be mentioned. Mentioning only one entity → no mark.
• Similarity: use 'Both' — e.g. 'Both Doraemon and Ironman are fictional characters.'
• Difference: use 'but' or 'however' — e.g. 'Doraemon is short but Ironman is tall.'

A variation of inferencing — you must understand the writer's opinion. Note that 'positive' and 'negative' are typically not accepted; use specific attitude/tone words.

• The attitude must be correct before your explanation can earn marks.
• The attitude is often not directly stated — infer it from word choice, examples, and structure.
• Positive word choice: a step forward, conducive to, encouraging, motivate, zealous
• Negative word choice: cold-blooded, crime, disrupt, harm, fed up with, unfair

• Determine if options are positive, negative, or neutral — the tone must match.
• Ask yourself: What is the writer's word choice / point of view / level of formality? How does the writer feel, and how do they want the reader to feel?

• Study the given examples — they tell you what is expected (e.g. 'acceptable' is an adjective, so your answer is probably also an adjective).
• You may need to use your own words, especially when the opinion is inferred.
• Grammatical accuracy is essential — incorrect grammar may cost you marks.

• This is a reading exam — choose the stance for which you can find evidence in the text.
• Give a direct 'Yes' or 'No' as your stance — no Yes/No → no mark.
• Opinions must be supported by text evidence. Common-sense evidence not in the text → no mark.
• Use 'According to the text …' to introduce evidence.
• Make sure your evidence matches your stance and is relevant to the question.

• Both reasons must be found in the text — even common-sense reasons not stated in the text won't be accepted.
• The points of view may not be explicitly stated — infer from the title, subtitle, and first/last paragraphs.
• If the evidence is clear, quote it with quotation marks.
• If not clear, use your own words to present the supporting reason.

Among the most difficult questions — requires a thorough understanding of the whole text, plus familiarity with text types and writers' purposes.

• Look for a topic sentence — usually the first or last sentence of the paragraph.
• The correct option contains the most keywords from the topic sentence, often as synonyms.
• Watch out: exam setters include exact keywords as distractors in wrong options.
• The paragraphs before and after may also help.
• For short-response questions, use your own words and do not include examples.

• Consider: format (title? subtitle? by-line? date?), formality, target audience, purpose of writing, main idea.
• Learn features of common text types: feature articles, news articles, editorials, magazine articles, reviews, reports, interviews.

• Consider target audience and text type.
• For short-response questions, use function verbs: to support / illustrate / prove / emphasise / compare / summarise / encourage readers to …
• Common purposes: to describe, explain, inform, persuade, argue, entertain.

• Finish reading the whole text first.
• Focus on topic sentences — first or last sentence of each paragraph.
• Be aware of distractors: same keywords don't always mean a match.
• Options use synonyms of keywords from the paragraphs.
• Match the easiest pairs first, then tackle the rest.
• Focus on main ideas, not specific details or examples.

• Read the whole text before attempting.
• Read the original title and subtitle to grasp the main idea.
• Refer to the first and last paragraphs.
• Focus on main ideas — examples and specific details do not make good titles.

• The sentences contain synonyms of key words from the source paragraph.
• When matching quotes to people, highlight names in the text as you read.

• Identify key words in the summary and find their synonyms in the text — the answer is usually nearby.
• Identify the part of speech needed. Answers must be grammatically correct.
• Use the '3C' strategies:
  • Copy — a word from the text can be copied without any changes.
  • Change — a word can be copied, but part of speech, tense, or plurality needs adjusting.
  • Create — no exact word exists in the text; use contextual clues to write your own.
• Check carefully how many words you can use per blank.

• Quickly scan the whole text to locate the mentioned events.
• Pay attention to adverbials of time: eventually, in the … century, after, until.
• Notice the text structure — does it use chronological order?

• If you use extra ticks beyond what's allowed → no mark for ALL ticks.
• If you underline the wrong word or don't underline the mistake → no mark for the correction.
• Mistakes are false information — very often the antonym of the key word in the text.
• Pay attention to: figures/numbers/dates; comparatives (more/less) and superlatives (most/least); words with an obvious antonym.

• Watch for synonyms and paraphrasing of statements in the text.
• Look for connections between the statement and the speaker's background: age, occupation, expertise.
• Often you need to make inferences — the opinion may not be directly stated in the text.
• Infer the writer's opinion from the title, subtitle, and first/last paragraphs.

Statistically the most challenging question type — fewer than 10% of DSE candidates answer these correctly. Tests literary devices: simile, metaphor, personification, onomatopoeia, hyperbole, irony, sarcasm, puns, and understatement.

• Irony = a contrast between what is expected and what actually happens.
• Your answer must contain two parts: a cause + an unexpected effect.
• Highlight the contrast using connectives: but, while; or keywords: supposedly, is meant to, happen to, actually, turns out that.
• Use your own words to explain the irony.

• A metaphor compares two things without 'like' or 'as' (those words signal a simile).
• Look for two things being compared.
• Sometimes the writer will not name the thing being compared to — e.g. using 'the cloud' throughout to mean 'the Internet'.
• Identify the similar characteristics between the two things, and describe them in your own words.

• Dichotomy: a contrast between two things presented as opposed to each other.
• Dilemma: a situation where a difficult choice must be made between two alternatives.
• Your answer must include both entities or situations mentioned in the text.