Top Tips for OET Reading Test

Indian healthcare professionals aspiring to work in English-speaking locations such as the UK and Canada must demonstrate their proficiency in listening, reading, writing and speaking in English. The OET Test is specifically designed for healthcare professionals, making it the favoured healthcare test for doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals in the sector.

This Story also Contains

1. Understanding the different components of the OET Test
2. Preparing for Part A
3. Preparing for Part B
4. Preparing for Part C
5. Developing a reading habit for success

We are proud OET offers a globally recognised certification accepted for registration, migration and licensing by over 550 organisations worldwide, including regulatory bodies in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the US and the UK.

Of the four components featured in the OET Test (Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking), we know Indian test takers find the Reading sub-test the most challenging. With this in mind, here are some of the best strategies for achieving success on the OET Reading sub-test.

Understanding the different components of the OET Test

To prepare for the OET Test, you must understand the different components of the test. Unlike other language proficiency tests on the market, the OET Test has specifically been developed for 12 healthcare professions. Each section includes real-life healthcare workplace scenarios to assess your reading, writing, listening and speaking skills.

The OET Reading sub-test is 60 minutes in duration, consists of three parts (parts A, B and C) and 42 questions to answer in total.

Preparing for Part A

Test takers have 15 minutes to complete Part A of the OET Test.

To be prepared for this section, you will need to practise reading through a few medical texts quickly in a short period of time. This tests your ability to evaluate and understand information. The four texts are all on one medical theme and are typical of those you will refer to when deciding on a treatment pathway for a patient you are caring for.

We therefore recommend that all potential test-takers practise the following:

• Learn how to skim text: You will need to be able to get an overall understanding of the text without having to read every single word. Try picking up a particular text (it can be any kind) and skim the contents, reading only the titles, headings, subheadings, first sentences, dot points and the labels images.

• Answering chronologically: The first set of questions in this section are very quick to answer, you can simply choose A,B,C or D because you are not required to read any of the four texts in detail. Some Test Takers do not realise that these preliminary questions set you up with a good understanding and overview of the content for the rest of Part A, so it’s important to answer them in order.

• Watch out for your handwriting and spelling: Take care of both, as you will lose marks if your handwriting is either illegible or you have spelled something incorrectly. Remember, you only need to copy the word or phrase from one of the texts. Spending a couple of extra seconds making sure you have done this correctly will save you from losing marks unnecessarily.

OET Reading pdf free download

Preparing for Part B

Test Takers have 45 minutes in total to complete Part B and C of the OET Test.

In Part B, you will be required to read six short extracts from common workplace communications, to test your ability to read for purpose, detail and understand the main ideas. The texts are typical of those you will find on your staffroom noticeboard or electronically communicated updates from your hospital managers.

We recommend Test-Takers practise the following to ensure a solid understanding of how to complete Part B:

• Get comfortable with finding the main point: Read short healthcare workplace texts and pause to think about what action you are required to take or what change has been described. These types of texts have a purpose to inform staff about correct policies and procedures to follow.

• Find your own answer first: Once you read the question, go straight to the text, ignoring the three answer options and read to find the part of the text that answers the question. The advantage of doing this is that you avoid being distracted by the answer options and that you answer the question that has been given. Once you have found what you think is the answer, it should be easy to match it to one of the answer options.

Preparing for Part C

Finally, Part C of the Reading sub-test requires you to read two longer texts and complete eight multiple choice questions for each. You will need to leave yourself at least 35 minutes for Part C.

The purpose of Part C is to demonstrate your understanding of both the explicit and implicit meaning of language. Amongst other things, this section will also test your ability to identify tone and attitude within a piece of written text. The texts are typical of those you read as part of your professional development that might be shared with you by the regulator for your profession or in online journals to which you or your hospital subscribe.

Therefore, the most critical things to practise are:

Expanding your vocabulary: There is a correlation between the amount of vocabulary you have and your ability to understand written text. You will also find that your vocabulary knowledge impacts the pace at which you read. Therefore, learning new words is an essential part of your success in the Reading section of the OET Test.

Slowing down: Unlike Part A, you can not skim in Part C. Instead, for this section, we would recommend you take your time slowly reading through the critical sentences in the paragraph you are working with to ensure you have a complete and thorough understanding.

Developing a reading habit for success

In order to master the OET Reading sub-test, test takers should not underestimate the importance of engaging in regular reading practice from the OET Sample Test. Understandably, it can be less enjoyable to read when you are juggling busy lives and many priorities. Similarly, reading can feel hard when you are feeling stressed about reading in English to a proficient level to meet regulatory requirements. However, the best thing you can do is get into the habit of reading small amounts each day.

We believe that to develop a reading habit (or any successful habit), test takers need to break the goal up into manageable portions. For example, rather than telling yourself to read a whole book in English every week, perhaps make a commitment to reading something written in English for 5-10 minutes each day.

Similarly, to build and maintain your reading habit, we would recommend that you read materials that you both enjoy and that are relevant to you. For example, you could read a novel or memoir written in English about a healthcare professional’s life, or a newsletter from a healthcare organisation based in an English-speaking country. Ahead of the Reading sub-test it is important that you’re getting exposure to different kinds of texts.

Authored by Amit Upadhyay, Regional Director – South Asia, OET