【DSE English】Paper 1 Reading + Paper 3 Integrated Skills

Finding keywords is the #1 skill for scoring in Reading and Integrated Skills — do you know how yet? Lots of people ask about English Paper 1 & 3 point-hunting tips, so let's break it down, starting with Paper 1.

Reading comprehension tests your vocab size — the best fix? Learn more synonyms for common words.
Try googling "[word] synonyms" (like for "happy" or "good") — pick useful ones you've seen and jot them in a notebook. Link to synonyms tool

Many short/long questions just paraphrase a sentence from the text.
Hunt the matching sentence: Questions often swap synonyms but keep prepositions (in, of, on) the same. Scan for those preps (or underline them), match nearby synonyms — boom, you've got your answer range. Underline it!

Teachers say "find keywords" — usually proper nouns, names, unique items that only appear in this text (can't paraphrase easily). Spot rare/weird/standout words in questions? Underline and search directly.

After keywords: Answers are usually 1 sentence before/after. Check the subject (who/what/where) in the question — scan your underlined spots + adjacent sentences for matching subjects to pinpoint.
Pro tip: Copy answers verbatim (no rewording!), and one sentence rarely fits two Long Qs — use that to narrow scope.​

I note answers + sources while listening (ugly handwriting's fine). During check time, fix tense/plural, then copy to lines.
If your handwriting's bad, do the same. Post-listening, skim Integrated if time — but don't stress if checking takes longer.​

Skip B1 elimination (not worth it — you might miss audio anyway). Focus on B2 Page 1 (if doing B2).
My hack: 3-color highlighters — red for Task 1, yellow Task 2, blue Task 3. Forever consistent!
Quick-scan Page 1 with the right color: underline genre, sources, etc. Finish coloring as audio starts.​

On listening script, highlight topics per task. Even useless big topics? Note a phrase — don't zone out and miss the next.
Tree-branch notes: Main topic → subpoints (times/places/people/reasons/details). Double-alert for those triggers.
Fast hands? Scribble everything messy, then color-code useful bits post-audio.​
.

Don't skip Task 1 Page 1 — it has background (names/roles/orgs).
Pink highlighter for Task 1 guidance (segmented into 3 parts). Flip tasks, note data file numbers on each (e.g., "DF2 for Task 2").
Every task has a core theme ❗️ (e.g., event details, complaint response, speech prep) — grab it from guidance's first 1-2 lines.
Ex: 2018 Task 8 compares Gameztart vs Acorn Grant. Search data for theme-related keywords ±1 sentence.​

Next guidance lines: Skip filler (is/the/of) for criteria/details (e.g., 2018: advantages/disadvantages/decisions/needs).
Hunt question words (what/why/when), proper nouns (names/places/events/times/⭕️numbers⭕️) — that's your content, even if not exact wording (e.g., cost as disadvantage, comp date as decision).
Guidance may refer to another data — treat it the same.

Review all Task-marked data (inc. listening script!). Half should be red — now yellow-highlight copy steps in guidance.
Skip red stuff, finish Task 3 highlighting → brainless copy-paste with grammar tweaks. 🙂 Good luck!