IGCSE English Language 0500

Topic: Reading

Objective: Select and Use Information for Specific Purposes

This section focuses on developing your ability to identify and extract specific information from a given text. You will need to understand the text's main ideas, locate relevant details, and use that information to answer specific questions or fulfill particular tasks. This involves skills like skimming, scanning, identifying keywords, and understanding the author's purpose.

Key Skills

• Skimming: Quickly reading the text to get a general understanding of the topic and main ideas.
• Scanning: Quickly searching the text for specific keywords or information.
• Identifying Keywords: Recognizing words that are crucial to understanding the text's meaning.
• Understanding Author's Purpose: Determining why the author wrote the text (e.g., to inform, persuade, entertain).
• Locating Specific Details: Finding precise information within the text.
• Inferring Meaning: Reading between the lines to understand implied information.

Strategies for Success

1. Read the Question Carefully: Understand exactly what information is being asked for.
2. Preview the Text: Quickly look at headings, subheadings, and images to get an overview.
3. Identify the Main Idea: Determine the central message of the text.
4. Look for Keywords: Pay attention to words that are repeated or emphasized.
5. Use Context Clues: Use surrounding sentences to understand unfamiliar words or phrases.
6. Note-Taking: Jot down key information as you read.
7. Check Your Answers: Ensure your answers are directly supported by the text.

Types of Questions

Question Type	Example	Skill Tested
Direct Recall	What is the capital of France?	Locating specific details
Finding Supporting Evidence	What evidence does the author provide to support the claim that...?	Locating specific details and understanding author's purpose
Identifying Key Information	Which of the following sentences best summarizes the main idea of the paragraph?	Identifying keywords and understanding main idea
Inferring Meaning	What can you infer about the character's feelings based on their actions?	Inferring meaning
Comparing and Contrasting	How does the author present X in comparison to Y?	Locating specific details and understanding author's purpose

Example Text and Questions

Suggested Text: A short article about the benefits of reading.

Question 1: According to the article, what is one of the benefits of reading?

Answer: (Answer should be a direct quote or paraphrase from the text)

Question 2: What does the author mean by the phrase "opens up new worlds"?

Answer: (Answer should be based on inferring meaning from the context)

Practice

To further develop your skills, practice answering questions on a variety of texts. Focus on understanding the question type and using the appropriate strategies to locate the required information. Regularly reviewing past papers is also highly recommended.