1. How to complete the English Reading exam if you cannot read very well.
Exam Tips for EMSA
How to complete the English Reading exam if you cannot read very well.

2. Find your practice tests

3. First: READ THE QUESTION
Make sure you understand what is being asked.
Reading the question first also helps you to look for the key words in the text.

4. Second: SKIM FOR MAIN IDEA
At 2 pm on 5 December 1945, five US bombers took off from Fort Lauderdale in the USA for a training flight in perfect weather. Shortly afterwards, the pilots radioed that their flight instruments were all malfunctioning. Two hours after take-off, all contact with the planes was lost. A reconnaissance plane was immediately dispatched to search for the missing planes. Within 20 minutes, radio contact with it had also been lost. No trace of any of the planes was ever found. In all, six planes and 27 men had vanished into the air. What is this text about?

5. The disappearance of the six planes was far from being the first mysterious incident in the area: for years, navigational problems and strange magnetic forces had been reported. The disappearance was not even the greatest disaster within the triangle. The Cyclops, a 19,000-ton US ship was sailing from Barbados to Norfolk, Virginia. In March 1918, when it vanished with its crew of 309 from the surface of he ocean without making a distress call and without the slightest wreckage ever being found.

6. The losses of boats and planes in that area defy explanation
The losses of boats and planes in that area defy explanation. The disasters are the origin of a new phrase in the English language – the Bermuda Triangle and this phrase has entered legend. The Bermuda Triangle has been called the Devils’ Triangle, the Triangle of Death, the Graveyard of the Atlantic. It has swallowed up 140 ships and planes and more than 1,000 people. Today many airmen and sailors are still afraid of that area of the Atlantic Ocean.

7. Third: SCAN FOR DETAILS
Look for dates, numbers, names, and KEY WORDS from the question! The disappearance of the six planes was far from being the first mysterious incident in the area: for years, navigational problems and strange magnetic forces had been reported. The disappearance was not even the greatest disaster within the triangle. The Cyclops, a 19,000-ton US ship was sailing from Barbados to Norfolk, Virginia. In March 1918, when it vanished with its crew of 309 from the surface of he ocean without making a distress call and without the slightest wreckage ever being found.

8. Fourth: USE YOUR WHOLE BRAIN
Don’t ignore what you know from other subjects or other parts of the test. Remember what you’ve read or studied!

9. Fifth: NARROW DOWN YOUR CHOICES
If you cannot decide the best answer, start by eliminating the ones that are definitely wrong.

10. Sixth: USE CONTEXT CLUES
Try to figure out the meaning of a word from the text around it. This is also a good way to check your answer.

11. Seventh: CHECK YOUR WORK
If you have time, go back and check. ONCE.
Don’t obsess over every little thing. Second guessing yourself doesn’t help.

12. How to complete the English Writing exam.
Exam Tips for EMSA
How to complete the English Writing exam.

13. Step 1: PUNCTUATION COUNTS
Every sentence ends with a full stop. .
Every sentence begins with a capital letter.
Capital Letter

14. If there is no verb, THERE IS NO SENTENCE!
Step 2: USE YOUR VERBS!
Every sentence has a verb.
If there is no verb, THERE IS NO SENTENCE!
So use your linking verbs if there is no action:
I am I was I want/think/feel/like
She is She was She wants/thinks/feels/likes
You/We/They are You/We/They were You/We/They want/think/feel/like

15. Step 3: MAKE A PLAN
On the side or back of your exam, or wherever there is space, plan what you want to say.
You can make a list.
You can just write some words to remind you.
You can write an outline:
Introduction (1 paragraph)
Body (1-3 paragraphs)
Conclusion (1 paragraph)

16. Step 4: PRACTICE! Read the topic sentence: Set a timer for 25 minutes.
Tourism is a growth industry in the UAE. Write a report explaining the pros and cons of the growth in tourism.
Some people say it is more important to have money than friends. Do you agree or disagree?
The world has changed dramatically in the last one hundred years, and how we live now is very different to life in What do you think life will be like in 2109? Why?
Set a timer for 25 minutes.
Write!
Then give your writing to someone else to check.
Tomorrow…do it again!