Reading Selections with Multiple Choice Questions and Short Written Responses

What Does it Test?

In each OSSLT booklet, there are as many as four reading selections, featuring 4-8 multiple choice questions and between 0-2 short response questions. The purpose of this section is to test your reading comprehension.

Three Types of Reading Responses

1. Information Paragraph - A highly technical description of a topic or issue. It is usually 1-2 paragraphs in length. 2. News Report - An description of an event, answering: Who, What, Where, When, Why and How? It is usually a page in length. 3. Dialogue - A conversation between two people about a topic. It is usually 1-2 pages in length. In the end, the task is the same! You must show that you understand a piece of writing.

Three Types of Questions for Reading Responses

1. Explicit knowledge - The information is directly from the article 2. Implicit knowledge - The information must be inferred from the article (you need to read between the lines)
3. Making connections - The question asks you to connect ideas from the article/your personal experience together

Sample Multiple Choice Questions Taken from the 2009 OSSLT

How to Approach the Written Response Question

Sample of a Written Question Taken from the 2009 OSSLT