Advanced Use of English & Reading: Part 6

Here's a technique to help with this new question in the 2015 exam.

To try this example you'll need to access this webpage and go to pages 10 and 11.

Our objective is to simplify finding the information you need.

1. Ignore page 10 for now. Start on Page 11 and look at the four questions, numbered 37 to 40.

2. Find the key idea in each - this is usually connected to an opinion in the text.

Roll over below with your cursor to see our choices:

37. de Botton's confidence (about architecture)
38. the significance of de Botton's book
39. other architects share de Botton's concerns
40. the originality of de Botton's work

3. Now put those ideas into four new questions which you can apply to each text equally to get a clear concrete answer. 

Again, roll over to see our attempts.

37. What does each reviewer think of how confident De Botton's opinions are?
38. How important does each reviewer think De Botton's book is?
39. Does the reviewer think architects agree with De Botton?
40. How original does each reviewer think De Botton's book is?

Notice we've changed the focus. We're treating all the texts as equal, so we collect information from each and then make a decision from there.

4. Use page 10 to answer the questions you've written (or try using ours!). Be sure to write down all four answers to each question.

• Now look for the answer to your new Q.37 in all four texts and write down what you find for each one. You should find an "odd idea out". That's the correct answer!
• Try Q.38. Again, write down what you find. You should find two writers have the same opinion. One is B, the other is the correct answer.
• For Q.39 repeat the method you used for Q.37.
• For Q.40 repeat what you did for Q.38

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