Types of questions for the reading test

The reading test measures the user's efficiency and understanding of the written language.

Although each testing organization has own its standards about assessment methodology and certification processes, they all must follow the CERF guideline.

In it, there is a series of questions that each exam organization could follow according to its specific assessment purpose. Let's see some of the most common questions related to this area using some of our website content as an example.

Remember, according to the exam you are going to make, you may or may not find some of these  types of questions.

1. Multiple-choice cloze

An incomplete text mainly features this type of question. You are required to complete this text by clicking the multiple-selection button located in the gaps. When you do it, you have to choose the correct answer among the options given in this menu:

2. Open cloze

This is an incomplete text. The dismissed parts of the text have a one-word extension. You are required to write the correct word according to the context, tense and general idea given.

3. Word formation

Similar to the previous type of question, you will find an incomplete text with gaps between it. The difference is that here, you will have to use the root of a word and form the appropriate word to fill in the gap.

4. Multiple-choice text questions

You will be given a text that develops a basic idea. You have to answer six questions by choosing the correct option of the four given for each item and that are related to the main idea or topic of the text.

5. Text with paragraphs missing

This part presents an incomplete text. The extracted paragraphs are indicated with letters. At first glance, you will be able to see these paragraphs before the original text.

You have to relate each paragraph with each incomplete section of the text so that you can reconstruct the complete text correctly.

6. Multiple matching

There are four texts, mostly literature or journalistic extractions, about a particular topic. There are 10 questions related to the text. You must match each response to its corresponding query.

As a general characteristic, there is a 40-minute time range and a percentage value of 20% to 25% for this section.

 If you want to learn more about the specific score values according to each test, visit our Lesson 1: "English language exams".