The OET Reading exam is designed to test your ability to understand professional and academic healthcare texts. To succeed, you need to develop the right reading strategies and practice with real medical texts.
Here’s how to master OET Reading and improve your score!
The texts in the OET Reading exam come from professional and academic healthcare sources, and they can be based on any of the 12 OET professions. That’s why it’s essential to familiarize yourself with different medical topics during your preparation.
Self-study tip: Regularly read medical articles and guidelines from various healthcare professions to expand your knowledge and improve your comprehension skills.
Reading Part A requires you to find information quickly. The key is to:
✅ Skim the text to get an overview
✅ Scan for keywords to locate specific details fast
✅ Practice under time pressure – You only have 15 minutes
Reading Part B focuses on short workplace-related texts like guidelines, manuals, and policies. To succeed, you need to:
✔️ Identify the main idea of the text
✔️ Understand the writer’s purpose
✔️ Recognize how each paragraph connects
Reading Part C tests your ability to understand longer texts, infer meaning, and identify viewpoints.
Pro Tip: Hide the answer options first and focus only on the question. This helps you find key ideas without getting distracted by incorrect options.
Improving your reading skills will help you:
✔️ Become a fluent reader of medical texts
✔️ Understand complex paragraphs faster
✔️ Get familiar with OET-style vocabulary
✔️ Handle unfamiliar topics with confidence
✔️ Answer OET Reading questions faster and more accurately
📌 Skimming & Scanning Practice in OET Reading Part A
📌 Workplace Documents for OET Reading Part B
📌 Medical Articles for OET Reading Part C
Want to see these strategies in action? Watch our full video for practical examples and expert tips.
Get a FREE handout summarizing these key reading strategies, plus extra practice tips! Click here to download:
Specialist Language Courses (SLC) are dedicated to helping healthcare professionals excel in the OET. Our expert-led courses focus on the specific language skills and test strategies needed to succeed. With personalised coaching, practice tests, and targeted exercises, we ensure you build the confidence and competence required for each OET sub-test. Join SLC to boost your chances of achieving the scores you need and advancing your healthcare career
Back to Menu ↩ The OET Speaking sub-test for Medicine is your opportunity to demonstrate the clinical communication and linguistic skills you use every day
Given the weather forecast – a rare explosion of sunshine and warmth in the UK – and that I only live 5 minutes from Brighton
We’re excited to share an inspiring article by Sam Pepper, originally published in ESOL Matters, now republished on our platform!
Get updates and get the latest materials on Medical English, OET and IELTS
