Reading: Understand And Respond To Written

The Reading paper is the one component where your English is not being judged at all. Both mark schemes say it in the same sentence: the mark is awarded if you have satisfactorily communicated your understanding, even though the response may contain some errors in the quality of language used. Spelling, grammar and elegance earn nothing here and cost nothing. Sixty marks are available for understanding four passages, and nothing else.

That should make it the easiest paper on the qualification, and for most candidates it is the one where the largest number of marks are left on the table. This lesson explains why. It sets out the four strands of AO1 and which of the four texts assesses which, counts the question families across both papers on file so you know what is coming, and then works the three question types that decide the grade: the multi-select collation, the inference item, and the whole-text question that closes every passage.