AEIS comprehension strategies

Comprehension is where AEIS candidates' English really shows. For students still building the language, the strategy isn't more vocabulary lists — it's a reliable way to read for meaning, locate answers, and respond to exactly what's asked.

Read for gist, then for detail

Read the passage once for the overall meaning — what it's about, what happens, the writer's stance — before touching the questions. Then, for each question, go back and read the relevant part closely. This two-pass approach stops you getting lost in unfamiliar words and keeps the whole picture in view.

Handle unfamiliar words

In a second language you'll meet words you don't know. Don't freeze — use the surrounding sentence to infer the likely meaning, and keep reading. For vocabulary-in-context questions, the answer is the sense the word carries here, which the surrounding text usually makes clear even if the word is new to you.

Answer precisely

Read the question for exactly what it asks and answer that — no more, no less. For 'in your own words' questions, paraphrase rather than copy; for inference, give the clue plus your reasoning. Match the length of your answer to the marks. Many marks are lost not to weak English but to answering a slightly different question.

Build reading stamina

The best long-term preparation is regular reading in English — graded readers, news for young people, stories slightly above the comfort level. It grows vocabulary in context and builds the stamina to stay focused through a full passage, which is exactly what the exam demands.