How to Actually Improve Your OET Reading A Score
Let me guess.
You've taken OET Reading Part A multiple times.
And you keep getting the same disappointing score.
10 out of 20. Maybe 12 if you're lucky.
You practice. You do sample tests. You read medical texts.
But nothing changes.
Sound familiar?
Today I'm going to tell you exactly why you're stuck and what you need to do differently to actually improve your score.
Why You're Not Improving
Here's the brutal truth:
Doing more practice tests without changing your approach won't improve your score.
You can do 50 practice tests. But if you're using the same wrong strategy every time, you'll get the same wrong results.
Let me ask you something:
When you practice Reading Part A, do you analyse WHY you got questions wrong?
Or do you just check your score, feel disappointed, and move on to the next practice test?
Yeah. That's what I thought.
The Real Problem (And It's Not What You Think)
Most students think they're bad at Reading Part A because:
Their English isn't good enough
They don't know enough medical vocabulary
They're too slow
Sometimes those things are true.
But usually? The real problem is your strategy is wrong.
You don't have a systematic approach. You're just winging it and hoping for the best.
What You Need to Do Instead
If you want to actually improve your Reading Part A score, you need to do three things:
1. Learn the Correct Strategy
Stop doing practice tests without a proper strategy.
You need to understand:
The two-phase approach (overview + answering)
How to allocate your 15 minutes properly
What each question type is really asking for
How to scan effectively (not just read faster)
This isn't about working harder. It's about working smarter.
I've written a complete guide on the exact strategy you need to use for Reading Part A. You can read it here: [OET Reading A Strategy]
Seriously. Read that article first. Then come back and continue with the rest of this one.
2. Practice With Purpose (Not Just Practice More)
Once you have the right strategy, you need to practice it deliberately.
Here's what that means:
Every time you do a practice test:
Use a timer (always, no exceptions)
Follow the strategy exactly (2-minute overview, then 13 minutes for questions)
Track which questions you get wrong
Analyse WHY you got them wrong
That last part is crucial.
When you get a question wrong, ask yourself:
Did I look in the wrong text?
Did I miss a synonym or paraphrase?
Did I spend too long on this question?
Did I change my answer when I shouldn't have?
Did I use my own words instead of words from the text?
Write down your mistakes. Look for patterns.
If you always struggle with gap-fill questions, that tells you something.
If you always run out of time on the last 5 questions, that tells you something.
If you keep missing paraphrases, that tells you something.
3. Build Your Weak Areas Systematically
Once you know your patterns, work on them specifically.
If you're weak on synonyms and paraphrasing:
Create a list of common medical synonyms
Practice spotting paraphrases in texts
Review questions where you missed paraphrases
Work through a medical vocabulary book systematically (I recommend Test Your Vocabulary for Medicine and Check Your English Vocabulary for Medicine: All you need to improve your vocabulary)
If you're weak on time management:
Practice the 2-minute overview until it becomes automatic
Do timed drills for individual questions (45 seconds each)
Use interim time checks (where should you be at minute 5? minute 10?)
If you're weak on specific question types:
Practice that question type separately
Understand what the question is really asking for
Learn the specific technique for that question type
The Improvement Cycle
Here's the cycle you need to follow:
Learn the strategy → Read the strategy guide
Practice with the strategy → Do a timed practice test
Analyze your mistakes → Identify patterns
Target your weak areas → Work on specific skills
Test again → See if you've improved
Repeat → Keep going until you hit your target score
Most students just do step 2 over and over.
Practice test. Check score. Feel bad. Do another practice test.
That's not improvement. That's just repetition.
How Long Does It Take?
If you follow this approach properly?
Most students see improvement within 2-3 weeks of focused practice.
Not just doing more tests. Focused, strategic practice.
But you need to:
Practice regularly (ideally every day or every other day)
Follow the strategy consistently
Analyze every practice test
Work on your specific weaknesses
Specific Activities to Improve Your Reading A Score
Now let me give you concrete activities you should be doing alongside your practice tests.
Because yes, the strategy matters. But you also need to build the underlying skills.
Activity #1: Do Word Searches (Yes, Really)
I know what you're thinking. "Word searches? Are you serious?"
Dead serious.
Word searches train your eyes to scan quickly and locate specific words in a sea of text.
That's exactly what you need for Reading Part A.
Do medical-themed word searches for 5-10 minutes daily. You can find them online or in puzzle books.
This simple activity trains your brain to:
Scan quickly without reading every word
Spot target words faster
Ignore irrelevant information
After a few weeks, you'll notice your scanning speed has improved dramatically.
Activity #2: Read More (But Not Just OET Materials)
You need to increase your reading speed overall.
But don't just read more OET practice materials.
Read general medical articles. Medical journals. Health news. Medical blogs.
Read about different medical topics:
Cardiology
Neurology
Pharmacology
Public health
Medical procedures
Patient care
The more you read, the faster you become. The more medical contexts you're exposed to, the easier it is to understand Reading Part A texts quickly.
Aim for 15-20 minutes of general medical reading daily.
Not OET preparation. Just reading.
Activity #3: Build Your Medical Vocabulary Systematically
Here's the thing about Reading Part A:
If you don't know the vocabulary, you'll struggle. Period.
You need to actively work on building your medical vocabulary.
Get a good medical vocabulary book and work through it systematically.
I recommended some books above – they're specifically designed for healthcare professionals preparing for English exams.
Work on them for 15-20 minutes daily:
Learn new terms
Practice using them in context
Focus on synonyms and related terms
Review regularly
The better your vocabulary, the faster you can understand texts and spot paraphrases.
Your Weekly Improvement Schedule
Here's what a week of focused improvement should look like:
Daily (20-30 minutes):
5-10 minutes: Word search
15-20 minutes: Read general medical articles OR work on vocabulary book
Every Other Day (45-60 minutes):
Do a full Reading Part A practice test (timed)
Analyse your mistakes thoroughly
Identify patterns
Work on specific weaknesses
This combination of skill-building activities and strategic practice is what creates real improvement.
Stop Fooling Yourself
Remember what I said in my previous article about using a timer? (If you haven't read it, you can read it here >>> 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝘀 𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗢𝗘𝗧 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗽 (and you don't even realise it) )
The same applies here.
Don't practice without timing yourself.
Don't ignore your mistakes.
Don't keep doing the same thing and expect different results.
If you're getting 10 out of 20, something needs to change.
And that something is your approach.
The Bottom Line
You can improve your OET Reading A score.
But you need to stop just doing more practice tests and start practicing strategically.
Learn the correct strategy first. Then practice it deliberately. Analyze your mistakes. Target your weak areas.
That's how you actually improve.
Want to know the exact strategy you should be using? Read my detailed guide here: [OET Reading A Strategy]
Then come back and start implementing the improvement cycle I've outlined above.
Stop repeating the same mistakes. Start improving systematically.
You've got this.
Now go do the work.
