OET Reading Part B Question Types Explained

OET Reading Part B Multiple-Choice Questions
There is only one type of question in Part B: multiple choice. The questions in this section test various aspects of text understanding and can be broadly classified into two broad categories:

Main Idea Questions: Focus on the big purpose or purpose of the text.
Detail-Oriented Questions: require locating information of specificity, steps for an instructional sequence, recommendations in guidelines 

Questions to find the purpose of the Text

Text for which Purpose questions can assess your skills in making the inference like why a particular text was written. The answer options often reflect different purposes, such as:

To instruct or guide
To provide a directive and note changes in policy.
Warning or reminder

Example Question:
A memo with new infection control policies might contain:
 
What is the main purpose of this memo?
a) To notify of new patient admission
b) To notify of infection control updates
c) To report on an outbreak that has recently occurred

Specific Information
Detailed questions require the candidates to locate and interpret specific bits of information. These might include:

Steps in a process
Key terms of a policy
Specific instructions for staff

Sample Question:
A workplace policy on storing medication might question:

When the expiry date of the medicine cannot be explicitly observed, what should be done about it?
a) Give back to the supplier
b) Report it to the supervisor
c) Dispose of immediately