2.4. How to Spend the Hour
Leave with a minute by minute plan for the Reading hour.
The short version
60 minutes, and not a minute more.
There is no extra time at the end.
Type or choose each answer on screen as you find it.
Save enough time for the last text.
There is no extra time at the end
The hour includes typing or choosing every answer on screen. There is nothing to copy afterwards, and no extra time. So put in each answer as soon as you find it.
A plan for the hour
Split the hour between the texts before you start. Then you always know whether you are ahead or behind.
Academic: three passages, one hour
- 20 min · Passage 1
The most approachable. Aim to finish a little early.
- 20 min · Passage 2
Longer sentences and harder vocabulary.
- 20 min · Passage 3
Usually the hardest. Keep the full twenty minutes for it.
Total: 60 min
General Training: short to long, one hour
- 15 min · Section 1
Short everyday texts. These should be your quickest marks.
- 20 min · Section 2
Workplace texts. Longer, but still fact based.
- 25 min · Section 3
One long article. It needs the most time of the three.
Total: 60 min
If you fall behind
- Move on when a question sticks
Mark it, leave it, keep going. One stubborn question is never worth a whole text.
- Protect the last text
The final text carries about a third of the paper. Running out of time there costs far more than a few unfinished questions earlier.
- Fill every box before the hour ends
In the last minute, guess anything still empty. Nothing is taken off for being wrong.
Quiz time3 questions
Three quick questions on timing.
The hour
Choose the number of minutes.
How many minutes do you get for Reading?
Extra time
Choose the right amount.
How much extra time is there at the end of Reading?
When to answer
Choose the best moment.
When should you put in an answer?
Recap
The hour includes typing or choosing your answers. There is no extra time.
Split the hour between the texts before you start.
Protect the last text. It carries about a third of the marks.
Next: the three reading skills that every question type depends on.