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General advice

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GCSE > Spanish > Edexcel > GCSE Spanish Topic Summaries > EXAM ADVICE: Reading skils > General advice
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DIALOGUE EXAMPLES: The wider world

  • Typically, reading sections in tests and exams will have something like the following structure:
    • Section A: Answer in English - based on short Spanish texts
    • Section B: Answer in Spanish - based on longer and more complex Spanish texts
    • Section C: Translate a passage from Spanish to English
  • The extracts and texts will normally include lots of additional details but the questions will require you to focus on a specific detail. Make sure that you are able to pull out the specific detail being questioned by looking for key words in the extract, e.g if being asked about where a person lives, look for the keyword vivo (I live) or any other conjugated form of vivir (to live).
  • Solid knowledge of specific vocabulary related to each of the themes is crucial, but if it arises that you are unsure of any word, you can guess the vague meaning from its context. For example:
    • Es una ciudad tranquila gracias a las zonas peatonales. Tener aparcamientos en las afueras es bueno. Hacen falta caminos para bicicletas.
    • Suppose that for this extract we are unsure of the word caminos. From its context, we can see that it is something to do with bicycles and city infrastructure because it mentions bicicletas and zonas peatonales (pedestrian zones). We also know that there is something lacking for it because it says hacen falta (they are needed). Based on this information, we can speculate that the unknown word is something that is missing for bicycles, like a bicycle path, station/parking etc.
    • If we already know the words that refer to some of the ideas, like aparcamiento (parking), we are able to make a more educated guess that caminos means path.
  • Always have in mind that the texts often include words that you haven’t studied before. The exam knows this and it is trying to test your ability to understand unfamiliar words from the context around them.
  • Watch out for negatives: words such as tampoco may seem like they are affirming some given information when they are actually negating it. For example, tampoco soy fan de futbol (I am not a football fan either).
  • Recognise and use cognates. These are words that look and sound similar to their English translation e.g hospital, animal, importante. But also be careful of false friends like embarazada which means pregnant, not embarrassed.

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