ICFE Reading Paper Part 3 – teacher’s notes

Description
This activity uses sample tasks to familiarise students with the requirements of Part 3 of the
Reading Paper. Students also consider a strategy for tackling the task, as well as considering
some typical student errors in this task type.

Time required: 30 minutes

Materials  Student’s Worksheets 1, 2, 3 and 4 (one copy for each student)
required:
 Sample Tasks 3A and 3B
Aims:  to introduce Part 3 of the Reading Paper and the type of question
focus in this task
 to raise awareness of the different types of vocabulary knowledge
required to complete this task successfully
 to raise awareness of common types of error made by candidates in
completing the task: misspellings, wrong choice of word, wrong part
of speech, etc.
 to practise Part 3 of the Reading Paper.

Procedure
1. Refer students to Sample Task 3A and elicit what they have to do in this Part 3 of the
Reading Paper (candidates must find the correct form of a given word to fit into a gap
in a short text).
2. Give out Student’s Worksheet 1. As a warm-up to the type of word-building activity
this involves, ask students to complete questions 1 and 2 (which relate to the example
0 DEVELOP in Sample Task 3A).
Ask students to check their answers in pairs and then check with the whole class (see
key below).
3. Refer students Student’s Worksheet 2. You are now going to look at the kind of
strategy they should adopt when completing this task. Emphasise the importance of
getting an idea of the context by reading the whole text once before starting the task.
4. Ask students to answer the questions in a) and then check answers (see key below).
Elicit how to decide on the part of speech needed by asking the following questions:
 What kind of word do you need if the previous word is ‘a’? (a noun)
 Can you think of other words which usually precede a noun? (Nouns often
come after a determiner, e.g. a, an, the, such, this, my- or an adjective -e.g.
dramatic, healthy).

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  When do we use adjectives? (to describe nouns)
 What is their position in a sentence? (before nouns, e.g. a healthy situation, or
after certain verbs, e.g. it is difficult)
 When do we use adverbs? (to “modify” or “qualify” a verb -e.g. the situation
improved dramatically)
 What position do they have in a sentence? (after a verb)
Elicit example sentences to illustrate each of these patterns.
5. Ask students to read b), c) and d) and answer the questions in each. Feed back (see
key below). For b) point out that both British and American spellings are acceptable,
i.e. globalisation/globalization. For d), point out that only single word compounds are
possible.
6. Refer students Student’s worksheet 3 and Sample Task 3B. Students work in pairs
or small groups to answer questions 1 and 2. Feed back (see key below) You may
want to feed back on question 1 before students move on to question 2. Point out that
 these are the typical types of error students make in this exercise
 sometimes more than one answer may be possible [though rarely] as in Sample
Task 3B question 35.
7. Ask students to complete the summary on Student Worksheet 4 in pairs and then
check answers with the whole class (see key below).

Suggested follow-up activities (and answers)

1. Do activities in class that focus on particular spelling patterns in English, e.g.
adjectives ending in -ic (systematic) end in -ally in the adverb form (systematically).
2. Do activities in class focusing on suffix spelling contrasts e.g. -er (banker) vs. -or
(auditor)
3. Do activities in class focusing on negative prefixes for adjectives, e.g. im-, in-, un-, ir-,
dis-, etc. and for verbs, dis-, mis-, etc.

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ICFE Reading Paper Part 3 – answer keys

Key to Student’s Worksheet 1

Verb Noun Adjective

developing [process]
development [process]
e.g. poorer or developing countries
e.g. economic development ,
a new development
developed [result]
develop e.g. highly developed economies
developer [person/agent]
e.g. a property developer developmental [study/science]
e.g. developmental process,
developmental psychology

Key to Student’s Worksheet 2

a) 25 noun 26 noun 27 noun

28 adverb 29 noun 30 noun
b) 26 Globalisation rather globalism is the answer, because the context of the text
suggests the writer is referring to an ‘economic reality’ rather than a ‘set of ideas’.
30 Efficiency rather than inefficiency is the answer because the context of the text lists
this among other positives : lower cost of capital , higher economic growth.
c) 27 Expansion rather than expansions fits the context because of agreement with third
person singular verb becomes.
d) breakaway, breakdown, breakeven, breakout, breakthrough, breakup
online, offline
spreadsheet

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Key to Student’s Worksheet 3

1. 31 b 32 d 33 e 34 f 35 a 36 c c
2. / 31 variety 32 innovation 33 commitment
Sample
Task 34 independence 35 procedure(s) 36 sceptical
3B

Key to Student’s Worksheet 4

Exercise 1
a. form an appropriate word to complete each gap using the given base words
b. There are 12 items.
c. only one
d. Yes. Spelling mistakes are not allowed.
e. on the separate answer sheet

Exercise 2
1. Read the text to get a general idea of what it is about.
2. Decide which part of speech is required.
3. Think about whether you need a positive or a negative form, a singular or a plural, or
the most appropriate form of the verb.
4. Check spelling.
5. Read everything again and check all your answers.
6. Write your answers on the separate answer sheet.

Key to Sample Task 3A

25 stability 26 globalisation/globalization 27 expansion
28 increasingly 29 willingness 30 efficiency

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ICFE Reading Paper Part 3 – Student’s Worksheet 1

1 How many different words can you make from the word DEVELOP? Make a list.

2 Now complete this table. Pay careful attention to the examples in each box.

verb noun adjective

__________________ [process] __________________ [process]
e.g. economic ... , a new ... e.g. poorer or ... countries
___________________ [person/ ____________________ [result]
develop agent]
e.g. highly ... economies
e.g. a property ...
______________ [study/science]
e.g. ... process, ... psychology

Now look at the Example in Sample Task 3A and see if this is the word you would
have chosen from your box.

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ICFE Reading Paper Part 3 – Student’s Worksheet 2

How should you approach the Reading Part 3 task?

• Always quickly read through the whole text to get an idea of what it is about.
• In making decisions about the correct form of a word in a gap, you need to consider
the context of the word in the text. In the ICFE exam, the texts will all be finance-
related, so this is one feature of context that should guide you.
• Follow these steps before making your choice for each gap.
a) Decide what part of speech the word in the gap is: noun, verb, adjective or adverb.
Do this for questions 25–30 in Sample Task 3A and write your answers below:
Example 0 noun
25
26
27
28
29
30
b) Think about the meaning of the word in the gap.
 If you think of two possible words, decide which one best fits the context. E.g.
question 26 (Sample Task 3A) globalism or globalisation?
 Also think about whether the positive or negative form of the word best fits the
context, e.g. question 30 (Sample Task 3A) efficiency or inefficiency?
c) Think about grammatical endings.
 For verbs, decide if you need a specific part of the verb (infinitive, past
participle etc.)
 For nouns, decide if you need a singular or plural form, e.g. question 27
(Sample Task 3A) expansion or expansions?
d) Finally keep in mind that the word you need might be a compound. For example,
you may need to make the WORLD into worldwide.
Can you think of other compounds formed by these words?
break
line
sheet

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ICFE Reading Paper Part 3 – Student’s Worksheet 3

1. Look at this set of student answers for questions 31–36 from Sample Task 3B. Each one
is incorrect for a different reason. Decide what the student error is from the list [a–f]
below.

Student answer Type of error

31 variation a. incorrect spelling

32 innovator b. wrong choice of word (meaning)

33 commitments c. wrong part of speech

34 dependence d. wrong choice of word (type of noun)

35 proceedure e. incorrect grammatical ending

36 sceptically f. wrong choice of word (positive/negative

meaning)

2. Now decide on the correct answer for each gap.

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ICFE Reading Paper Part 3 – Student’s Worksheet 4

Exercise 1
Answer the following questions about Reading Part 3:

a. What do you have to do?

b. How many items are there?

c. How many words per gap

should you write?

d. Is spelling important?

e. Where should you write your

answers?

Exercise 2
Put the steps you should follow when dealing with Reading Part 3 in the correct order:

Think about whether you need a positive or a negative form, a singular or a plural,
or the most appropriate form of a verb.

Decide which part of speech is required.

Read everything again and check all your answers.

Read the text to get a general idea of what it is about.

Check spelling.

Write your answers on the separate answer sheet.

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ICFE Reading Paper Part 3 – Sample Task 3A
Questions 25 – 30

Read the following introduction to a book about international standards of accounting.

Use the words in the box to the right of the text to form one word that fits in the same
numbered gap in the text.
For each question 25 – 30, write the new word in CAPITAL LETTERS on your answer sheet.
There is an example at the beginning (0).
Example:
0 D E V E L O P

IMPLEMENTING INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS

A financial reporting system supported by strong governance,

high-quality standards and sound regulatory frameworks is key
to economic (0) ………. . Indeed, high quality standards of

financial reporting, auditing and ethics underpin the trust that

investors place in financial and non-financial information and, 0 DEVELOP
thus, play an integral role in a country’s economic growth and 25 STABLE
financial (25) ………. .
26 GLOBAL

As the forces of (26) ………. prompt more and more countries 27 EXPAND
to open their doors to foreign investment, and as business 28 INCREASE
(27) ………. across borders becomes common, both
29 WILLING
the public and private sectors are (28) ………. recognising the
30 EFFICIENT
benefits of having a widely understood financial framework
supported by strong, globally accepted auditing standards.

The benefits of a global financial reporting framework are

numerous and include: greater comparability of financial
information for investors; greater (29) ………. on the part of
investors to invest across borders; lower cost of capital; greater
(30) ………. in the allocation of resources; and higher economic
growth.
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ICFE Reading Paper Part 3 – Sample Task 3B

Questions 31 – 36

Read the following extract from a website about the future of accountancy.
Use the words in the box to the right of the text to form one word that fits in the same
numbered gap in the text.
For each question 31 – 36, write the new word in CAPITAL LETTERS on your answer sheet.

THE FUTURE FOR ACCOUNTANCY

The profession’s future is certain to be more structured,

ever more governed by global standards and under more

scrutiny from a (31) ………. of national and international bodies.

Therefore accountants, particularly those working in small and 31 VARY
medium practices, must change their mindset. They must 32 INNOVATE
start leading change; embrace (32) ………. ; continuously
33 COMMIT
improve their skills; invest in technology and demonstrate
34 DEPENDENT
a fundamental (33) ………. to professional ethics.
35 PROCEED
Audit will be subjected to unprecedented scrutiny and auditors
36 SCEPTIC
will have to expect to report on the (34) ………. of their
judgement and their lack of bias. Auditors will have to

expect that they will be reporting on an organisation’s

internal control (35) ………. , but will also have to move
rapidly to include detection of fraud as part of their audit
report, otherwise markets will remain (36) ………. about the
value of audit.

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