Updated Test Format for OET Reading Section in September 2018 The Occupational English Test (OET) will be updated on September 2018 (registrations open on the 21st of June) to meet the increasing demands of the healthcare sectors. As one of the components of the OET, the reading sub-test will be updated by adding tasks that reflect professional-to-professional communication, such as consulting with a colleague. For exam takers reviewing in OET classes, learning the updated reading section is essential as it helps improve their preparation and achieve their score goal.
To help nurses and other medical professionals hone their OET review training, here are the changes in the test format and guidelines of the OET reading sub-test:
Old version of the OET Reading section The old version of the reading sub-test consists of two parts (Part A—Summary Task and Part B—Multiple-choice questions) and takes about 60 minutes. The topics in the reading test are based on fundamental healthcare interest and are accessible to candidates across all professions. Moreover, the purpose of this OET sub-test is to test your ability to skim and scan on different reading materials.
Updated version of the OET Reading section The updated version of the reading sub-test will now include new task types and a new broader range of reading materials such as policy or procedure documents. As per the old test format, it will still be relevant for all healthcare professions and will test your ability in understanding texts and source information from multiple texts. Furthermore, the texts used in the updated OET reading sub-test will reflect more on a variety of reading materials encountered by people working in healthcare sectors. The updated reading sub-test will take 60 minutes to complete and includes three parts as follows:
Section
Duration
Task The first part of the updated OET reading section will assess your ability to analyze texts quickly, and answer
Part A
15 Minutes
various task types, such as matching exercises and short-answer questions, as well as sentence and note completion. Part B evaluates your skills on examining six short documents that healthcare
Part B
professionals might encounter in the workplace;
you must also answer one 45 Minutes
question for each document. The last part of the test measures your ability to inspect two long presentation
Part C
passages, and you need to answer one question for each passage.
Total Time:
60 Minutes
How is the OET Reading sub-test result being updated? The reading section will be reported on a scale from 0 to 500, alongside the usual OET grades (A to E). By adding a numerical score alongside the A to E OET grade, you will be given a clearer and more in-depth view on how you performed on the updated reading sub-test. Now that you have learned the updated reading sub-test, begin your OET journey by enrolling in any JRooz OET classes. For more OET test-taking strategies and updates, check out our blog today!