Often the writing section B can pose a challenge to those who find comprehension difficult.

There are a few hurdles to pass with this section. In this month I will cover the first hurdle. That is the difficulty of the subject matter.

If students are not familiar with the subject matter, it may be very difficult to gage immediately the general nature of the article. In this respect, I advise all my students to familiarise themselves with three common topics that come up.

First is the top causes of morbidity and mortality in Australia. These can include cardiovascular diseases, common cancers and preventable lifestyle diseases like diabetes and injury.

Second is the Australian health system and the current affair issues specific to Australia. This will require looking up of news and health journal articles.

Third is the indigenous and rural health issues in Australia and all the other social challenges that influence their health.

Once a topic is known as is the case in all things, familiar topics are much more easier to comprehend. I also advise that as you are researching these topics, to keep a vocabulary book of all the common terms, names, acronyms that come up repeatedly as you are reading and try to memorise them.

On top of these common topics mentioned above, often latest break throughs in medical research or new discoveries in report form are included in these reading tests.

In our course we also go through some of the common medical study methods, and the advantages and disadvantages of each as a way to familiarise with how journalists analyse or criticise these findings.

Megan Lee

OET Teacher – SLS