Mir’s Steps to Conquering Unseens

STEP 1: READ THE INSTRUCTIONS IN ORDER TO IDENTIFY THE TEXT TYPE

The text might be an article, review, interview, report, announcement etc. In Module G (Summer 2009 Moed Beit), the following instruction was given.

If you don’t read the instruction, you may become confused when you reach question #3 and you may ask yourself “What report is being referred to?”

STEP 2: SCAN THE QUESTIONS IN ORDER TO FIND WHERE THE ANSWERS LIE

Most of the questions specify where the answers lie. You should scan and highlight this information before reading.

STEP 3: WRITE THE QUESTION NUMBER BESIDE THE INDICATED LINES OR PARAGRAPH

Preparing the unseen text for reading is an important step. You should write the question number beside the pertaining paragraphs. Questions that don’t specify where the answer is should be answered at the end. By taking this step, you can see which questions need to be answered and when. You can also see which paragraphs are most “mark-heavy”.

STEP 4: READ THE TITLE & PREDICT

You should not look up words from the title that are not understood. These words might be a name. This will become clear while reading the passage.

The following is a title from Module E (Summer 2008). Time shouldn’t be wasted searching for “Manuka” in the dictionary. The fact that it is a name becomes clear in the text .

STEP 5: READ ONE PARAGRAPH AT A TIME AND DO THE FOLLOWING FOR EACH:

* Read one sentence at a time, making sure that you understand each one before you read on.

* Use your dictionary to translate words you don’t understand. Always write the translation in Hebrew above the word.

* Do not shut your dictionary after finding the word. Leave it open on the page. You might need to look for another meaning of the same word.

* After finding the meaning of the word, always go back to the beginning of the sentence to translate the sentence again; otherwise, even though you have looked up the word, you won’t understand the meaning of the whole sentence.

* When you have understood the sentence, move on and do the same for the next one.

* After reading the whole paragraph, ask yourself “What was this paragraph about?” and jot down the answer (in Hebrew) in the margin.

STEP 6: ANSWER THE QUESTIONS THAT YOU WROTE BESIDE EACH PARAGRAPH.

FOR EACH QUESTION, DO THE FOLLOWING:
* Read the question carefully and make sure you understand exactly what it means and what the question is asking. Use your dictionary if there are words in the question that you don’t understand. Do not guess at the meaning of the question! Do not read only part of the question! Always read to the end of the question! If you don’t understand exactly what you are being asked, your answer will be wrong!!

* First, answer the question to yourself in Hebrew. This will ensure that the content of your answer is correct.

STEP 7: FOR QUESTIONS THAT REQUIRE WRITTEN ANSWERS, THERE ARE THREE DIFFERENT WAYS OF ANSWERING.

A) Copying the answer word for word from the passage.

B) Using the language of the text but making the necessary changes in grammar. (Changing parts of speech or word order.)

C) If you cannot use the language of the text, write in your own words. Keep it as brief and simple as you can.

STEP 8: YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO IDENTIFY THE FOLLOWING QUESTION TYPES:

Being able to identify the type of question and knowing how to approach it will help answer more accurately. Although the topic of each unseen changes , the question types remain the same.

* Multiple Choice Questions – always read and understand all the options. Sometimes two answers seem correct. Choose the better one. Circle only one answer.

*Two tick questions – In this type of question, you have to choose more than one answer. Usually two answers are required. Always read and understand all the options before making a choice.

* Open Questions – translate the question into Hebrew and figure out the answer in Hebrew before writing your answer in English. If the answer can be copied from the text, then do so.

* List Questions – translate the question into Hebrew and figure out the answer in Hebrew. If the answer can be copied from the text, then do so. Sometimes the answers to a list question will be a list of nouns. Sometimes you will answer in sentence form. When answering in sentence form, remember to start your answer with a subject. Do not start your answer with a verb unless it is the gerund form (verbing) or the infinitive form (to verb).

* Complete the sentence – the reason why the answer is begun for you, is in order to check if you know a certain grammatical structure. Do as above – translate the question into Hebrew. Translate the beginning of the answer into Hebrew as well. Before answering in English, answer in Hebrew. It is not very likely that you will be able to copy the answer from the text. You will probably have to make some grammatical changes.

* Yes/No & Justification – Pay attention to whether you have to justify your choice of Yes or No by copying a “word” or a “phrase” or a “sentence” from the text.

* Reference Questions – In these questions, you are asked what a certain pronoun refers to. Pay attention to the hints you are given. If you are asked what “it” refers to, your answer will be a singular noun. If you are asked what “them” or “they” refers to, your answer will be a noun in the plural. If you are asked what “its” or “their” refer to, your answers will be possessive nouns. Always check if your answer is correct by replacing the pronoun in the text with your answer.

* Finding Synonyms – In these questions, you are asked to find a word or phrase in the text that means the same as… First of all, you must understand the word or phrase you are looking for. Also, if you didn’t translate the word or phrase while reading the paragraph, you will have difficulty finding the answer and you will have to reread the paragraph. Use the hints that you are given. If you are asked to find a word meaning “crying”, you know that you are looking for a “verb + ing” structure. If you are asked to find a word meaning “babies”, you know that you are looking for a noun in the plural.

* Graphic Organizers – These questions ask you to fill in tables or flow charts. For example, you might have to fill in a flow chart of events that happened in chronological order, or a chart of cause and effect.

* Dictionary Questions – In these questions, you are asked to copy the dictionary definition (not “translation”) of a word. A definition will always be in English (a “translation” means to give the word in Hebrew). Certain words in English have a number of meanings. In such questions, you are asked to copy the one definition out of several that are listed in your dictionary which suits the way this word is used in the text.
Example: “I bought a record of the best songs of the Beatles.”
“He can jump very high. His record is 2 meters.”