Aptis reading Test: General Tips and Strategies

Skimming and scanning:
You should be able to skim and scan passages to do well in 
APTIS. Skimming is reading a text quickly to get a general idea. To look at the topics of each 
paragraph and decide briefly what the paragraph is about. Scanning is looking for specific 
information. When you have read the questions you may find that there is a name or number in the 
text that will lead you to the answer. You would then skim the text looking for that word before 
reading the information around it in detail.
Getting used to difficult passages on a range of topics: 
Although most English tests do 
not require specific knowledge of a subject and will not you technical words, some passages can 
seem difficult. You can make sure that this becomes less of a problem by reading in English more 
and by reading texts similar in length and style to the ones you would find in the test. Doing this will 
help your writing as well.
Keywords:
Each question will have keywords to help you locate the information in the 
passage and find the right answer. Sometime they may be obvious like a date. You would then scan 
the text looking for the date. Often they are in the form of a synonym or similar phrase(sometimes 
called a ‘parallel phrase’). It might be- ‘Which person dislikes busy places? And there is a phrase 
‘John can’t stand crowds’. Therefore, the answer would be John.
Grammar:
Questions types such as sentence completion require that sentence is 
grammatically correct when you have put your answer in the right tense and/or have the correct noun 
+ verb agreement. In multiple-choice questions, if the grammar is not right, the answer is wrong. In 
writing, you will lose marks for basic grammar errors and so it is important to check your work after 
you have finished.
Develop your speed reading skills:
The test has a strict time limit which will challenge 
your ability. Remember that you are not reading a book or newspaper but just looking for 
information. Exam reading is different from reading in detail because you are only trying to answer 
some questions. Learn how to Skim and Scan texts and not to worry about unknown words.