OET’s guide: 10 minutes
OET suggests answering the six Part B questions in 10 minutes or less and leaving at least 35 minutes for Part C, roughly two minutes per Part C question.
Reading Part B
OET Reading Part B: workplace texts and purpose questions
Part B gives you six short workplace texts, such as a policy extract, a memo or an email, with one question on each. This guide shows you how to find a text’s purpose quickly, test every option against the whole text and avoid the distractors that catch strong readers.
What OET Reading Part B tests
Candidates often expect Part B to be easy: short texts, only three options. Yet careful readers lose marks here to options that are almost right.
The format, from OET
Part B has six short extracts of about 100–140 words, taken from the healthcare workplace: for example a hospital policy, a memo, an email, a notice, a guideline or an extract from a manual. Each extract has one multiple-choice question with three options, A, B or C. The six questions are independent, and Part B carries 6 of the 42 Reading marks.
The skills, from OET
OET lists three: the main idea (the overall point of the extract), the purpose (why the text was written) and detail (recognising the important information). A question may be a complete question or an incomplete sentence for you to finish.
Why Part A habits fail here
Part A rewards fast scanning for matching words. In Part B, OET warns that a repeated word in an option does not make it correct, and that the right option usually uses synonyms rather than the text’s exact words. Its guide also notes that distractors are partly covered in the text.
No clinical knowledge required
OET says you are not required to draw on external knowledge of the topic: the answer is stated in the text, and the text supports the whole option. An option that describes good practice but is not in the extract is still wrong.
Timing within Parts B and C
Reading lasts 60 minutes. Part A has a strict 15 minutes and its materials are collected. Parts B and C then share the remaining 45 minutes, so every minute you spend on Part B comes out of Part C.
Our split: about 90 seconds a text
A few seconds on the context line and question, under a minute reading for the point, then the rest proving one option. If you pass two minutes, choose the best survivor, flag it and move on.
Never leave a blank
On paper you shade the circle; on computer you click the option. OET says you will not lose marks for an incorrect answer, and there is no extra time at the end to check, so answer as you go.
A five-step method for purpose and detail questions
Steps 1, 2 and 4 follow OET’s own advice for Part B: read the context sentence, read the question with the options covered, decide your answer, then check it in the text.
Language that signals purpose
- Action or new rule: “Please ensure…”, “With effect from…”, “Staff are reminded that…”, “This guideline sets out…”
- Background, not purpose: “Following…”, “As a result of…”, “In response to…”
Language that signals strength
- Obligation: must, are required to, mandatory
- Advice: should, are advised to, recommended
- Limits: may, unless, only if, except, not mandatory
1. Read the context line
It names the text type. Emails and memos usually state their purpose early and the action near the end. Policies and guidelines set out a rule, then conditions and exceptions. Notices say what, when and who.
2. Classify the question
Cover the options. Is it purpose (“The email is mainly intended to…”), main idea (“This extract is about…”) or detail (“What must staff do if…”)? Turn an incomplete sentence into a question.
3. Read for the point
Read the whole extract quickly and say in one sentence who is writing to whom, what is changing and what the reader must do. For purpose questions, look for the sentence that asks the reader to do or know something.
4. Predict, then open the options
Hold your one-sentence answer and look for the option that means the same thing, usually in different words. Never choose an option just because it repeats the text’s vocabulary.
5. Prove every part
Check who, what, when, any condition and the strength of the claim. If one element is missing or changed, the option is wrong. If time allows, find the reason each other option fails.
Practice example: one workplace email, three questions
Practice example only. This email, the wards and the questions were invented by OET with Dr Hesham for teaching. They are not from an OET paper. In the real test each Part B text has one question; here we ask three so you can see a purpose question and two detail questions on the same text.
Practice text (invented): an email to ward nurses about a policy change
To: Nursing staff, Wards 4 and 5
From: Clinical Nurse Educator
Subject: Insulin and patient transfers
Following two recent incidents in which insulin doses were delayed during patient transfers, the trust’s insulin policy has been revised. From 1 March, a patient on a variable-rate insulin infusion who moves between wards must be accompanied by a registered nurse, and the receiving nurse must check the infusion rate against the current prescription before the transferring nurse leaves. Subcutaneous insulin doses due within one hour of a transfer should be given before the patient leaves the ward, unless the prescriber has documented otherwise. The revised policy is on the intranet. E-learning on the changes is recommended, but it is not mandatory for staff who have completed insulin training in the past year.
Practice questions
1. The main purpose of this email is toA) explain why recent incidents involving insulin occurred.
B) inform staff of new requirements for transferring patients on insulin.
C) remind staff to complete training on insulin administration.
2. What must happen when a patient on a variable-rate insulin infusion moves ward?A) A prescriber must review the infusion before the transfer.
B) The infusion must be stopped until the receiving ward has checked it.
C) The receiving nurse must confirm that the rate matches the prescription.
3. Nurses who completed insulin training in the past yearA) do not have to complete the new e-learning.
B) must read the revised policy before 1 March.
C) may transfer patients on infusions without a second check.
Question 1: purpose. Answer B
Predict: “to tell nurses about new rules for moving patients on insulin.”
A fails, background not purpose. “Following two recent incidents” is the reason for the change. The email never explains why the incidents happened.
B survives. “Has been revised” plus two “must” rules are new requirements, in different words.
C fails, minor point and wrong strength. Training appears only in the last sentence, and it is recommended, not required.
Question 2: detail. Answer C
Focus: “must”, “variable-rate infusion” and “moves ward”.
A fails, word match in the wrong sentence. “Prescriber” is in the text, but in the sentence about subcutaneous doses, and only for documenting exceptions.
B fails, clinical common sense. It sounds cautious, but the email never says to stop the infusion.
C survives. “Check the infusion rate against the current prescription” is paraphrased as “confirm that the rate matches”.
Question 3: detail. Answer A
Focus: the group named in the stem, recently trained nurses.
A survives. “Recommended, but not mandatory” means they do not have to do it.
B fails, right date, wrong rule. 1 March is when the transfer rules start. No deadline is given for reading the policy.
C fails, contradiction. The rate check applies to every transfer; training changes only the e-learning.
Key takeaway
Every wrong option above shares words with the text: incidents, training, prescriber, 1 March. None survives a check of the whole option. Predict the answer first, then accept only the option whose every part you can point to in the extract.
Common Part B traps and how to beat them
When you review a Part B set, label each wrong answer with one of these.
Word matching
The option repeats the text’s vocabulary but changes the meaning. Match ideas, not words.
Half right
One part of the option is in the text and the other is not. Read the sentence you think holds the answer more than once and check every element.
Background taken for purpose
Purpose questions often include an option built from the opening “Following…” sentence. Ask what the writer wants the reader to do or know now.
Changed strength
“Recommended” becomes “must”; “some patients” becomes “all patients”. If the option is stronger or wider than the text, reject it.
Good practice, not the text
An option a senior colleague would agree with is tempting. If the extract does not say it, it is not the answer.
Right rule, wrong scope
The rule is real but applied to the wrong staff group, ward, date or situation. Underline who and when in the stem.
A practice routine for Part B
The routine below builds on OET’s preparation advice: summarise short workplace texts, build grammar for dense sentences, and analyse why each wrong option is wrong.
Daily: three texts
Answer three Part B texts at about 90 seconds each. Then write one sentence for each: the main idea or the action it requires. Finally, write the reason each wrong option fails.
Twice a week: Parts B and C
Sit both parts in 45 minutes, aiming to finish Part B within 10. The Part C inference guide covers the longer texts.
Weekly: grammar for dense texts
OET points to relative clauses, conditionals, participle clauses and long noun phrases. Rewrite one complex policy sentence as two plain ones.
Always: an error log
Count your mistakes by trap type, not by question. Combine Part B work with Part A scanning and the wider Reading tips.
Official sources
Every test-format fact in this guide was checked against these official OET pages on 2 November 2026. OET can update its guidance, so check them again before your test date.
OET Reading Part B FAQ
Short answers to the questions candidates ask most about this part of the test.
How many questions are in OET Reading Part B?
Part B has six short workplace texts of about 100 to 140 words each, with one three-option multiple-choice question per text. It is worth 6 of the 42 Reading marks.
How long should I spend on Reading Part B?
Parts B and C share 45 minutes. OET suggests answering the six Part B questions in 10 minutes or less so that you leave at least 35 minutes for Part C.
What kinds of texts appear in Reading Part B?
Short texts from the healthcare workplace, such as a hospital policy, a memo, an email, a notice, a guideline or an extract from a manual. A context sentence tells you the text type before you read.
Should I use my clinical knowledge in Part B?
No. OET says you are not required to draw on external knowledge of the topic. The answer is stated in the text, so an option that is clinically sensible but not in the extract is wrong.
Do I lose marks for a wrong answer in OET Reading?
No. OET says you will not lose marks for an incorrect answer, so choose the best remaining option rather than leaving a question blank.
Reading practice
Practise Part B against the 10-minute target
Work on Part B texts one at a time, then sit Parts B and C together under the 45-minute limit and log every lost mark by trap type.