In this post, we'll explore key language items and skills that are being tested in the Linguaskill General Reading test by Cambridge English. This will give us the basic foundation needed to prep for the test.
The Cambridge Linguaskill General Reading test is a fully online, computer-based, and adaptive English test. With a total test time of 60 minutes, the test is to be completed by answering anywhere between 10-20 questions, or until you have answered sufficient questions for Linguaskill to determine your level.
| question type | difficulty level | number of questions |
|---|---|---|
| One-question multiple choice Candidates read a notice, label, text message or email containing a short text and choose the sentence or phrase that most closely matches the meaning of the text. There are three possible answers. |
Easy | Variable |
| One-question multiple-choice gap-fill Candidates read a sentence with a missing word (gap) and choose the correct word to fill the gap. There are three or four choices for each gap. |
Easy | Variable |
| Two-question multiple choice Candidates read a text and answer two multiple-choice questions. The questions are in the same order as the information in the text. |
Easy to Medium | Variable |
| Five-question multiple choice Candidates read a longer text and answer five multiple-choice questions. The questions are in the same order as the information in the text. |
Medium | Variable |
| Five-question multiple-choice gap-fill Candidates choose the right word or phrase to fill the gaps in a text. There are three or four choices for each gap. |
Medium | Variable |
| Missing sentence text completion Candidates read a text from which five sentences have been removed and fill each gap by choosing the appropriate sentence from eight options. |
Medium to Hard | Variable |
| Multiple text matching Candidates read across four texts in order to find the relevant information to match to prompts or questions. |
Medium to Hard | Variable |
| Missing paragraph text completion Candidates read a text from which five sections have been removed and fill each gap by choosing the appropriate paragraph from six options. |
Hard | Variable |
| Five-question open gap-fill Candidates read a short text in which there are some missing words (gaps) and write the missing word in each gap. |
Hard | Variable |
Liguaskill General Reading tests your understanding of written English across a wide array of general, everyday topics.
To do well in the test, you must have sufficient vocabulary and grammar skills to understand the texts that are presented to you, and in what order information should be arranged logically and coherently.
Make sure to read our test guides on these specific language skills:
You can also find these guides in the navigation menu, under Linguaskill General Core Skills.
