Reading B – Questions about recommendations
The reading B test has several common question types that are important to practice. One common question type, which usually asks about the final paragraph, is shown below.
“What is the principal recommendation of paragraph 7?”
As we have discussed in previous posts, it is always important to practice the common question types in Reading B because they make up about half of the exam. With recommendation questions, it is always important to choose the answer that is a recommendation – this sounds obvious, but there are a few tricks to look out for. For something to be a “recommendation”, it needs to use words like “should” or “must” in the text – if the sentence doesn’t have this, then it usually a statement, not a recommendation. Let’s look at a sample question.
“For healthy women with no family history of breast cancer, weighing up the relative benefits and harms of breast screening can be difficult. “Whether you think that the possible benefit is worth the risks I think varies between people,” says Barratt. “For an individual, the most likely outcome of going to screening is absolutely nothing will happen at all – no benefit and no harm,” she says. Women should be given enough information to make an informed decision about whether the small chance of a very large benefit – having your life saved – outweighs the risk of being over-diagnosed and false positives. A 2012 study found that few women were aware of over-diagnosis in breast cancer screening. Evaluation of breast screening in light of evolving evidence is also essential, according to Nickson. “The cost effectiveness and the health benefits of large programs should always be continuously reviewed and evaluated. You don’t just set the ship off and let it go.”
What is the main recommendation proposed by this paragraph?
a) breast cancer screening should be a difficult choice for healthy women
b) women with no family history of breast cancer should not be screened
c) breast cancer experts should reach a consensus on the best approach to screening and treatment
d) women should be aware of the relative risks and benefits of breast cancer screening
There are a few tricks here that are common to these question types. Note that all the answers themselves are phrased as recommendations (using “should”), but the statements they correspond to in the text are not all phrased as recommendations. This is the first common trick in recommendation questions. Answers A and B are wrong, because the corresponding statements in the text do not use the word “should”, and so they are not recommendations. The second trick is that the question asks for the “main” recommendation; answers C and D are both given as recommendations in the paragraph, but answer C is only really mentioned briefly at the end, and is not the main topic talked about in this paragraph. Answer C is thus not as good an answer as D, because D is the main topic covered in this paragraph and so the main recommendation.
As we’ve said, getting good at recognising and dealing with the common question types is an important skill for Reading B. If you get a “main/principal recommendation” question, make sure you pick something that is a recommendation, and is the focus of the paragraph.
Improving your OET Listening skills
The listening component of the Occupational English Test can be difficult for some students. This can be due to the difficulty of the topic, the speed of the speakers or the fact that they miss some answers. Here are some tips to help you improve your listening skills.
1. Practice as much as you can!
This seems obvious but it is best tip I can offer. The more you listen, the better you will get at comprehending what is being said, the better you will get at note-taking and the better you get will at answering the questions quickly.
2. Use the preparation time wisely
You have 1 minute before Part A of the listening audio and then another 1 minute preparation time before Part B. This time should be used to look through the paper, underline key words (more on this later) and try to predict what is coming in the conversation.
3. Identify key words
Use the preparation time to underline or highlight specific words in the questions which you will listen out for. This allows you to predict what the speaker will say. Please note that they won’t necessarily use the same words as what is written in the question – they may use synonyms or the question has paraphrased the speaker’s sentence. This makes it all the more worthwhile to identify the key words PRIOR to the audio beginning.
4. Use the pauses BETWEEN questions.
This time is there for you to complete the previous question and read the next question. Again, you should start to predict what you are likely to hear, even before the recording continues.
Starting the Conversation in OET Speaking
More often that not, the roleplayer will ask you to begin the conversation during the speaking exam of the OET. Therefore, it is vital you know how to introduce the situation confidently and – more importantly – appropriately. This will leave the markers with a good first impression from the very beginning.
The key to the introduction is: consider the SETTING of the conversation. I will give examples of appropriate introductions in the various settings.
Community Health Centre / Community Clinic
In this setting, you may assume you have not met the patient before. Therefore, you could introduce yourself and your role:
“Hi, my name is _____ and I am the community nurse here today…”
Then you can ask one of the following:
“What can I do for you today? / “How can I help you?” / “What brings you here today?” / “What seems to be the problem today?”
Hospital Ward / Emergency Department
In this setting, you may know the patient and some details. For example:
“Hi, I’ll be the nurse looking after you. I can see from your notes that _____.”
You could then also ask:
“How are you feeling?” / “What can I do for you?” / “How are you going?”
Home Visit
In this setting, you have arrived with a CLEAR role and purpose. This should be presented in your introduction:
“Hi, my name is _____ and I am the nurse from the local hospital. Today I’m here to discuss/talk about/show you how to….”
These are examples of the three settings you will get – make sure you practice all of these https://disabilityarts.online/levitra-20mg/ during your preparation for the OET speaking test!
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