Reading Comprehension in the Eighth Grade Exam
The part of the exam that checks reading is usually about 30% of all points to be earned. It’s not just about knowing vocabulary, but primarily about strategy and the ability to search for information. Check what types of tasks you will encounter in the paper!
1. Matching
This is an exam classic. It involves matching headings to paragraphs, sentences to gaps in the text, or people to descriptions of places/items.
- Challenge: One heading or sentence is always provided additionally and does not match any element.
- Strategy: Look for synonyms! If the heading has the word „money”, in the text you will probably find „price”, „cost”, or „cheap”.
2. Multiple Choice
You read a text (often there are two shorter texts) and answer questions by choosing option A, B, or C.
- Challenge: Distractors. These are incorrect answers that contain keywords from the text but twist its meaning.
- Strategy: Do not select an answer just because „the word fits”. Check if the entire sentence logically aligns with the text.
3. Gapped Text
You receive a text with sentences removed. Your task is to insert them back into the correct places.
- Challenge: You need to look at what is before and after the gap. The sentence must fit grammatically and logically into the context.
- Strategy: Pay attention to pronouns (he, she, it, they). If a sentence starts with „But he didn’t…”, there must have been mention of some man earlier.
4. Mediation
This is an open task, often considered the most difficult. You must read a text in English and fill in the gap in a note, email, or announcement in Polish (or vice versa).
- Challenge: You need to convey the information precisely while maintaining linguistic correctness.
- Strategy: Watch the word limit and ensure that your answer grammatically fits with the rest of the sentence in the target language.
Good luck! Break a pen! 🖋️