What Paper 2 Reading is: Paper 2 is the receptive-skills paper (Listening + Reading), worth 50% of your SL grade. The Reading section gives you three written texts (an article, a blog, an interview… built on the themes), worth about 40 marks (around one hour).
It is marked objectively against an answer key — your answer is simply right or wrong. And unlike listening, the text stays in front of you, so you can re-read it.
- reading comprehension
- showing you understand a written text by answering questions on it
- the text
- the passage you read — an article, blog, interview, advert…
- answer key
- the fixed list of correct answers the examiner marks against
- objective marking
- marking where each answer is simply right or wrong, not judged on style
- to locate
- to find the exact line in the text that answers the question
- to justify
- to prove your answer by quoting the line from the text
The answer is in the text: In Reading the answer is always somewhere in the text — your job is to locate it, not to recall it. You never need outside knowledge, and because the text stays visible you can always go back and check.
The reading section at a glance: Here is everything the Reading section asks of you on one page: how many texts, how many marks, how long, and the question types you'll meet. Notice the one big advantage — you can re-read.
| Aspect | Reading comprehension (SL) |
|---|---|
| What it tests | understanding written texts |
| Texts | 3, based on the themes |
| Marks | about 40 |
| Time | around one hour |
| Can you re-read? | yes — the text stays in front of you |
| Question types | find-the-exact-words · gap-fill from a word list · multiple choice · True/False + justify · 'find the word/phrase that means…' · heading-match · short answer |
Re-reading is your advantage: Unlike Listening — where the audio plays and is gone — in Reading the text never disappears. If you're unsure, go back to the exact line. There is no reason to answer from memory.
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THE GOLDEN RULE — copy the exact words: Most Reading answers must be copied EXACTLY from the text.
When a question says "answer using the words as they appear in the text", a paraphrase (saying the same thing in your own words) scores ZERO — even if it's correct. Find the exact word or phrase and copy it.
So your job is simple: locate the line, copy the right part.
The five quick rules
- Copy, don't reword. Lift the exact words from the text — paraphrasing loses the mark.
- Complete, but no extra words. Give the whole answer, but add nothing irrelevant — extra wrong info can lose the mark.
- True/False = tick AND quote. You only get the 1 mark if you give the True/False answer AND a justification copied word-for-word from the text.
- Spelling slips are OK — as long as the meaning is still clear, a small spelling mistake doesn't cost you the mark.
- One answer per box. In multiple choice, put exactly ONE letter in the box; two answers scores zero.
DO this
- Copy the exact words from the text.
- Keep the answer complete but tightly focused.
- For True/False, write the tick AND the quote.
- Put one clear letter in each multiple-choice box.
DON'T do this
- Reword the answer in your own English (= 0 marks).
- Pad the answer with extra, irrelevant detail.
- Give True/False with no quoted justification.
- Put two letters in a multiple-choice box.
| Question type | What it asks you to do |
|---|---|
| find-the-exact-words | copy the precise word(s) from the text — no rewording |
| gap-fill from a word list | choose the right word from a given list to fill each gap (there are extra words) |
| multiple choice | tick the ONE correct option, A / B / C / D |
| True/False + justify | decide True or False AND quote the line that proves it |
| find the word/phrase that means… | locate the word in the text that matches a given meaning, and copy it |
| heading-match | match each paragraph to the heading that best fits it |
Why "copy exactly" matters: The examiner marks against a fixed answer key. When the key says "the words as they appear in the text", a perfectly good paraphrase still scores zero — so train yourself to find the line and copy it.
This is how Paper 2 Reading works: Here is a short text — the kind Paper 2 (Reading) gives you. The text stays in front of you, so you don't memorise it: you locate the answer and copy the exact words. Read it once for the gist, then we'll take one question through the routine together.
A new library: The Hillside School has opened a new library in the centre of town. It is open from Monday to Saturday, from nine in the morning until eight in the evening.
As well as books, it offers free computers and a quiet study room. To use the library you need a card. School students get the card for free; other local residents pay five pounds a year. The head teacher explains that the aim is for the whole community to read more and for young people to have a calm place to do their homework.
- to open / has opened
- to start operating / has started operating
- a card
- a small official card that lets you use a service
- free / free of charge
- costing no money
- local residents
- the people who live in the area
- the aim
- the goal — what something is trying to achieve
Finding the answer — and copying it exactly
One question, step by step
- Read the question — "According to the text, how much do local residents who are not school students pay to use the library? Answer using the words as they appear in the text."
- Locate the line. Scan for "pay" / "residents": "other local residents pay five pounds a year."
- Copy the exact words — five pounds a year. Because the question says "the words as they appear in the text", you copy them exactly — rewording it as "a small yearly fee" would score zero.
Locate, copy, don't recall: For an "according to the text" question, find the exact line that proves your answer and copy the relevant words — never answer from memory or reword them.
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Where marks are lost: Most Reading marks are lost not to hard English but to careless technique: rewording an answer that should be copied exactly, answering from memory, copying a whole paragraph instead of the part that answers the question, or giving True/False with no quote. Compare the two columns.
Good practice
- Copy the exact words the text uses.
- Locate the precise line that proves your answer.
- Answer the exact question that was asked.
- For True/False, give the tick AND the quote.
Typical mistakes
- Reword an answer that asked for the exact words (= 0 marks).
- Answer from memory or guess without checking the text.
- Copy a whole paragraph instead of the relevant part.
- Give True/False with no justification, or two letters in one box.
Beware the look-alike word: Wrong multiple-choice options are often built from a word that appears in the text but doesn't answer the question. Always check the whole line in context — a single familiar word is not proof.