Read in Daily Life — notices, emails, and the small words
What Read in Daily Life asks
- Emails, notices, timetables, advertisements and other short practical texts.
- The question is almost always what should the reader do — or what changed, or what is not allowed.
- These are short, so students read them too fast and answer from memory of a similar text.
The answer hides in small words
- A date, a room number, a price. And especially: except, unless, only, from Monday, after 6pm.
- Those words carry the answer far more often than the long sentences around them.
- Underline them as you read. One missed except reverses the whole meaning.
A notice says: 'The library is open daily from 8am, except Sundays.' It is Sunday morning. Is the library open?
One word reverses the sentence. These tasks are built around exactly this, which is why you mark exception words as you read.
Register tells you what is meant
- An email from a tutor is polite and indirect. You may wish to consider means do this.
- It would be helpful if you could is an instruction, not a comment.
- A notice is impersonal and direct: Students must, No access, Please note.
Your tutor writes: 'You may wish to consider submitting a draft before the deadline.' What is this?
Academic English is indirect. Politeness is not optionality, and reading it as optional is a common and expensive mistake.
A method that fits the clock
- Read the question first — you are looking for one thing, so know what it is.
- Read the text once, marking dates, numbers and exception words.
- Answer. Do not re-read the whole text to check; check the line you marked.
With about 30 minutes for about 50 items, what do you read first?
You are looking for one thing. Knowing what it is before you start is the difference between reading and searching.
How to practise
- Read one real practical text a day in English: a university notice, an airline email, a timetable.
- Ask yourself the test's own question every time: what would I have to do after reading this?
- Format facts checked on the ETS website on 13 September 2026.
Practising only academic passages prepares you for the whole Reading section.
Two of the three Reading tasks are not academic. Chinese candidates usually arrive strong on the academic passage and weak on notices and emails, because that is what school rewarded.