Paper 2 (Reading) strategies for success
Why strategies matter
- Paper 2 is not just about reading quickly, it is about reading effectively.
- The examiners want to see that you can find the main idea, pull out details, and understand implied meaning, not just translate words line by line.
- Having clear strategies helps you manage time, stay focused, and avoid losing marks on small mistakes like misreading a question or panicking over unfamiliar vocabulary.
1. Skim first
- Look at the title, headings, subheadings, and text layout.
- Ask yourself: What’s the text type? What’s the overall topic?
- This builds a quick mental map before you dive in.
- Don’t overthink at this stage.
- You’re just orienting yourself.
2. Scan second
- Read the questions first and underline keywords.
- Then scan the text to locate where those keywords (or synonyms) appear.
- Think in synonyms.
- If the question says young people, the text might say teenagers.
3. Read actively
- As you go through the passage, underline connectors (e.g., however, therefore, despite, in addition).
- These words show the logic of the argument and help you separate facts from opinions.
- Connectors often signal the answer.
- For example, however may introduce the opposite viewpoint the question is asking for.
4. Use context clues
- Don’t panic if you don’t know a word. Look at the sentence around it:
- Is it positive or negative?
- Is it describing a person, place, or action?
- Use grammar clues too. If it’s after “to,” it’s probably a verb.
- The IB rarely tests rare vocabulary directly, it tests whether you can work it out.
5. Check wording carefully
- Watch out for traps:
- “What is the writer’s attitude?” asks for tone (positive, critical, neutral).
- “What is the writer’s argument?” asks for the main claim or position.
- Reread the question stem twice before answering
- Many mistakes come from misreading, not misunderstanding.
- Exam checklist
- Skim and scan before deep reading
- Highlight keywords in questions and text
- Watch for connectors and discourse markers
- Do not panic about unknown words; use context
- Match your answer to the question type (word, phrase, sentence)
- Leave time to review your answers at the end
Practice Task
An extract from The Commuter’s Diary
By the time Maya reached the platform, the train was already five minutes late. She sighed, clutching her reusable coffee cup like a talisman against the damp morning. Around her, commuters fidgeted, checking their phones or staring blankly at the rails. The digital board flickered with yet another delay notice, though no one seemed surprised.
Maya’s job in the city demanded punctuality. She worked in the communications department of a non-profit, designing campaigns to raise awareness about urban pollution. Ironically, the train line that carried her to work each day was often choked with diesel fumes that lingered in the tunnels. She sometimes thought it was a test: how committed could she really be to environmental change if she arrived to meetings smelling faintly of exhaust?
When the train finally pulled in, Maya squeezed into a carriage, pressed between a businessman muttering about the stock market and a student revising flashcards. She pulled out her notebook, trying to sketch ideas for her latest project on green spaces in cities. But her pen hovered uselessly above the page. Outside the window, grey apartment blocks slid past, broken only by the sudden, stubborn splash of a community garden someone had planted beside the tracks. The sight stirred her imagination, she scribbled quickly, the words tumbling out: “Hope grows even in concrete.”
She smiled faintly, though the man next to her shot her a puzzled look. By the time the train rolled into the city, Maya had half a campaign drafted. She closed her notebook and tucked it away, bracing herself for the long walk through the crowded station.
Questions
- What challenge does Maya face at the beginning of the extract?
- How does her commute connect to the themes of her work?
- What effect does the community garden have on her?
- Suggest one possible theme this extract explores.
- How would you describe the writer’s tone towards Maya’s situation: frustrated, hopeful, or neutral?
Solution
- The train is late, causing delays in her commute.
- She works on pollution awareness, and her train journey exposes her daily to diesel fumes, highlighting the issue firsthand.
- It inspires her creatively, sparking the idea for her campaign slogan.
- Hope and resilience in difficult or polluted environments; finding inspiration in small acts of change.
- Hopeful, as the garden inspires her despite the frustrations of commuting.
- In the real exam, do not try to understand every single word.
- Focus on matching the question keywords to the text and showing you grasp the gist, detail, and tone.
- If a word is unfamiliar, use the surrounding context to infer meaning instead of freezing.
- Precision and efficiency matter more than perfection.
