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OET Reading

March 9, 2024

For healthcare professionals aiming to ace the Occupational English Test, mastering OET Reading Part C is a pivotal step. This section doesn’t just test your comprehension of written English; it dives deeper, evaluating your ability to infer the author’s meaning—a skill that’s crucial both in the exam and your professional life. It’s essential for OET candidates to master this skill to distinguish between an objective presentation of facts and a subjective interpretation influenced by personal beliefs or established viewpoints.

Let’s embark on a journey to understand what it entails, why it’s essential, and how you can sharpen this skill to excel in Reading Part C and beyond.

OET READING Tips for PART C

Authors, especially in healthcare texts, aim to persuade or influence readers while allowing them to feel they’re forming their opinions independently. They achieve this through strategic language choices, selecting vocabulary that leans towards the perspectives they endorse. Understanding these nuances enables readers to critically evaluate the content, a crucial ability in healthcare where the interpretation of research findings and professional recommendations can significantly impact patient care.

How To Prepare For OET Reading Part C

Adjectives and adverbs are tell-tale signs of an author’s stance. Even unfamiliar words can be decoded using context clues, helping you gauge whether the sentiment is positive, negative, or neutral. For example, describing a medical procedure as “innovative” suggests approval, while “controversial” signals potential scepticism or debate.

Persuasive language aims to convince the reader of a particular viewpoint or action. For example, in an article advocating for a new pharmaceutical drug, you might encounter phrases like “ground-breaking results” or “unprecedented success rates.” These terms are designed to generate enthusiasm and confidence in the product. Let’s consider another example: An author might describe a new therapy as “a leading-edge treatment offering unparalleled benefits.” This phrase is laden with positive connotations, suggesting the author’s favourable stance toward the therapy. In contrast, consider the following sentence:

While Healix-T has been hailed as a step forward, its exorbitant cost and lack of accessibility place it out of reach for the majority of patients who need it most. 

The author’s focus on “exorbitant cost and lack of accessibility” indicates a critical perspective on the drug’s practicality and equity.

Let us look at another example:

Unlike its predecessors, Healix-T has not demonstrated a significant improvement in patient outcomes, raising questions about its clinical value.”

By comparing the drug unfavourably to previous treatments and questioning its “clinical value,” the author conveys a negative opinion about its effectiveness.

Now, look at the following sentence and discern the attitude of the author – Is the author disappointed or impressed here?

The initial excitement over Healix-T has been tempered by the subsequent reports of its limited action against more aggressive symptoms.

The correct answer is: disappointed.  The phrase “tempered by” implies a let-down or disappointment, reflecting a shift from positive to negative sentiment.

Try again with this example:

Healix-T offers a marginal benefit at best, hardly justifying the fanfare surrounding its release.

The author here describes the the benefit as “marginal” and the response “hardly justifying the fanfare” minimizes the drug’s positive aspects and portrays the response as excessive, revealing the author’s negative stance.

Let’s imagine we’re analysing a healthcare research article about a new diabetes medication. Consider how the following statements might reflect the author’s attitude:

Patients who switched to Metacure experienced a remarkable reduction in HbA1c levels.

The use of “remarkable” here serves to convince the reader of the drug’s efficacy.

While proponents of Metacure tout its benefits, they conveniently overlook its steep cost.

The phrase “conveniently overlook” suggests a critical stance towards those promoting the drug, highlighting an aspect they may be downplaying.

Let us now try to attempt a OET Reading Part C type of question:

Consider a text discussing a novel treatment for a chronic condition:

While the latest regimen for Chronic Condition Z has been met with enthusiasm in some quarters, others caution against its widespread adoption without further long-term studies.

Questions for Practice:

What is the author’s attitude toward the adoption of the new regimen for Chronic Condition Z?

A. Fully supportive of immediate widespread adoption.

B. Optimistic but recognizes the need for caution.

C. Doubtful of its effectiveness.

D. Neutral, merely presenting different viewpoints.

The phrase “met with enthusiasm in some quarters” implies:

A. The treatment is universally accepted.

B. There is a division in the medical community’s reception of the treatment.

C. The treatment is revolutionary and without drawbacks.

D. The medical community is cautiously optimistic about the treatment.

To know the answers, please use the WhatsApp button on this website to request answer key and more guidance tutorials on OET.

Don’t forget to consider the cumulative message across sentences and paragraphs. What perspective is the author advocating for? How does each sentence contribute to building this viewpoint? The OET Reading Part C exam questions themselves can guide you, using verbs like “suggest,””illustrate,” or “highlight”.  These indicate the need to delve deeper into the text’s implied meanings.

By practicing these OET Reading strategies, you can enhance your ability to discern the subtle cues authors use to express their attitudes and opinions, a competency that will serve you well in the OET and your professional interactions within the healthcare field.

For more insights and strategies to tackle OET Reading, OET Study Materials and OET Sample tests and OET tips, keep exploring our blogs on this website. Khaira Education provides best OET coaching and our goal is to empower you with the knowledge and skills to succeed in your OET journey and beyond in your healthcare career.

October 28, 2020

There are a lot of unwanted nerves while attempting OET Reading Part A because of the rigid time constraint.

In the exam hall, wearing a wristwatch or bringing a watch of any kind is not allowed. However, the invigilators in the examination hall will tell you precisely the amount of time left after a few intervals.

***Important – Don’t waste your time looking at the clock of the exam hall repeatedly. It can make you lose focus and worry unnecessarily. When the invigilator gives out a warning for the last remaining 5 minutes, grasp the information. But, do not lose your calm and continue with the test.

Skills required to attempt the questions in Part A & Part B are quite different.

In Part A, you have to skim and scan under a limited time. Whereas, in Part B, you have to read the given text to comprehend distinct attributes. It means you should be able to recognize slight but suggestive variance between the given paragraph and the MCQ options.

OET Reading Part A to Part B

It is essential for you to consciously pacify down your brain when the invigilators start collecting your Part A booklets and distribute Part B & C booklets. By the time you complete your OET Reading Part A, your mind becomes very active. If you then begin with your Part B in this mind state, it is highly likely you may end up making errors. It’s because you will be going through the content in Part B text rapidly.

So, what you should do?

  • Avoid letting your initial questions go to waste.
  • Compose yourself, take a breather and slow yourself down gradually.
  • You should keep in mind that unlike Part A (where the ratio of time given and questions is against you), Part B is not about how fast you go on and complete is.
  • You have sufficient 45 whole minutes to go through Part B & C texts and answer the questions.
  • Give a good amount of time for per question roughly 2 minutes) and focus on every little detail mentioned in the texts.
October 28, 2020

There are certain skills you are required to use while attempting your OET Reading module. You will find the respective skills used for each part in the OET Reading module in this blog.

OET Reading Part A 

For Part A, you will get a reading booklet which will not include Part B & C. There is a time constraint for Part A, which is 15 minutes, in which you need to complete all the 20 questions. It is extremely essential to calm yourself down and utilize these skills for proper time management

You can start by giving roughly two minutes for Scanning – which is going through Part A texts by superficially reading them. What this will do is that when you move on to answering your very first question, you will have an idea of content written in all four subtexts. As a result, you will not have to lose time in going through the texts again and again (which you cannot afford in Part A). 

Once you have done the Scanning, another skill that will help find out your answers is Skimming – where you point out the keywords in a question statement. After first scanning and then figuring out the keywords, you will directly move on to the text you think the answer is in and try to look for keywords to find out your answer.

(It is important not to focus on any non-essential information).

For instance: you need to figure out in which text the following information is embedded – 

The recommended dose of Amlong is 5 mg for patients with mild hypertension.

Now, let’s assume if Text D has all the management information. If you have done your scanning right, you will directly move on to Text D instead of wasting time in reading all the subtexts. Ultimately, you can figure out that in the statement, the keyword is Amlong 5 mg. Now, in Text D, you will try to find the same keyword and co-relate it with the statement once you have found it.

OET Reading Part B

In Part B of the OET Reading module, there are short texts (roughly 100-140 words). In that, you need to look for main points in the form of an idea or detailed meaning and gist.

One additional factor that can help you in deciphering your answer is understanding the use of VERBS in Part B. Verb manipulation is easy and is evident in texts and question options. If understood correctly, it can help you find out your answer.

For instance: The senior nurse told the intern nurses to help the doctor in the Medical Intensive Care Unit in checking the patients. 

The question for the above written statement would be: 

What did the senior nurse do?

  1. Delegate her responsibilities to intern nurses 
  2. Ordered the intern nurses to assist the doctor in ICU in operating the patients 
  3. Authorize the intern nurses to make their own decisions 

So, what will be the right answer according to you?

Figured out?

Okay, let us discuss! 

So, the correct answer would be option A. Delegate her responsibilities to intern nurses.

Why? Because delegate is a verb which means giving part of your job responsibility to someone or your subordinates, which is what the nurse in senior position was doing. 

Option B cannot be the answer as there is a change in the verb (action form) used in the statement and answer option. The statement clearly said – assist the doctor in checking the patients NOT operating the patients.

Option C cannot be the answer as the senior nurse did not authorize the intern nurses to make their own decisions, rather she was making decisions for them.

OET Reading Part C

The texts in OET Reading Part-C are lengthy and requires you to read long texts. You then need to comprehend different ideas and point of views of people as well as the author.

For Part C, you can use Inference – deductive skills to find out the answer with the help of proper reasoning and evidence. 

***It is paramount to keep in mind that skills are limited to use in respective parts only. You CANNOT use Reading Part A skills in Part B & C and vice versa. To score good, you need to alter the skills you are using with each part.