Duolingo English Test (DET) Reading Skills Syllabus

Reading Skills syllabus — full chapter and topic list

Expand any chapter to see its topics and sub-topics. This is the whole examinable outline for Reading Skills in Duolingo English Test (DET), not a summary of it.

1. 1

   Read and Select (Real vs. Fake Words)

   3 topics

   • Recognizing valid English words
     • Common English spelling patterns
     • Identifying plausible-looking non-words
   • Morphological cues
     • Real prefixes and suffixes vs. invented affixes
     • Root recognition
   • Speed and accuracy under a timer
2. 2

   Read and Complete (Text Cloze)

   3 topics

   • Filling partial-letter gaps in passages
     • Using surrounding context to deduce words
     • Leveraging given starting letters
   • Grammatical agreement cues
     • Subject-verb agreement
     • Article, preposition, and pronoun fit
   • Collocation and idiomatic word choice
3. 3

   Interactive Reading

   4 topics

   • Complete the sentence (in-passage cloze)
   • Complete the passage (paragraph-level gap fill)
   • Highlight the answer (locate supporting text)
   • Identify the idea / title the passage
     • Main idea identification
     • Author purpose and tone
4. 4

   Reading Comprehension Strategies

   4 topics

   • Skimming for gist vs. scanning for detail
   • Inference and implied meaning
   • Understanding cohesion devices and reference
   • Managing unfamiliar vocabulary in context

Reading Skills flashcards for Duolingo English Test (DET)

18 of 50 cards from the Reading Skills deck — real questions with worked answers.

1. In the DET Reading section, what does the 'Read and Select' (real or fake words) task require you to do?

   Identify which words shown on screen are real, valid English words and select only those, ignoring the invented (fake) words.

2. What is a morpheme?

   The smallest unit of language that carries meaning, such as a root, prefix, or suffix (e.g., 'un-', 'happy', '-ness').

3. How do morphological cues help you decide if a word is real in the DET 'Read and Select' task?

   Real words combine valid roots with valid affixes following English word-formation rules; fake words often misattach affixes or use impossible morpheme combinations.

4. Give an example of a common English suffix that signals a noun.

   '-tion' (e.g., 'creation'), '-ness' (e.g., 'kindness'), or '-ment' (e.g., 'movement').

5. Give an example of a common English suffix that signals an adjective.

   '-ous' (e.g., 'famous'), '-ful' (e.g., 'careful'), or '-able' (e.g., 'readable').

6. Why is speed essential in the DET Reading section?

   Each item is individually timed; you must answer before the timer expires, so you must balance reading quickly with reading accurately and cannot revisit items.

7. What strategy best balances speed and accuracy on timed DET reading items?

   Use a quick first-pass strategy (recognize, decide, commit) rather than re-reading; trust well-practiced instincts and avoid over-analyzing each item.

8. In the DET 'Read and Complete' task, what is presented to the test-taker?

   A passage in which some words are partially shown with missing letters (gaps), and you must type the missing letters to restore each word.

9. What two skills are mainly tested by the partial-letter gap-fill (Read and Complete) task?

   Vocabulary/spelling knowledge and the ability to use surrounding context (semantic and grammatical) to predict the correct word.

10. When filling partial-letter gaps, what clue does the number of missing letter spaces give you?

    It indicates exactly how many letters the target word has, narrowing the possible words that fit both the visible letters and the context.

11. What is grammatical agreement?

    The requirement that related words match in features such as number (singular/plural), person, tense, or gender (e.g., subject-verb agreement).

12. How can subject-verb agreement help you fill a gap in a DET passage?

    The subject's number tells you the verb form: a singular subject needs a singular verb (e.g., 'she runs'), a plural subject needs a plural verb (e.g., 'they run').

13. What grammatical cue tells you a gap word should be plural?

    Plural determiners or quantifiers like 'many', 'several', 'these', or a plural verb agreeing with the noun signal a plural form.

14. What is a collocation?

    A pair or group of words that habitually occur together in natural English (e.g., 'make a decision', 'heavy rain', 'strong coffee').

15. Why is 'do a decision' wrong but 'make a decision' correct?

    English collocation convention pairs 'make' with 'decision'; using 'do' breaks the conventional collocation even though both are common verbs.

16. What is an idiom?

    A fixed expression whose meaning cannot be deduced from the literal meanings of its individual words (e.g., 'kick the bucket' meaning to die).

17. In a DET gap-fill, how do collocation cues guide word choice?

    The surrounding words restrict which word sounds natural; choose the option that forms the conventional collocation with adjacent words.

18. What is a cloze task?

    A reading task in which words are removed from a text and must be supplied using contextual clues; 'Complete the Sentence' is an in-passage cloze.

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Planning Reading Skills for Duolingo English Test (DET)

Reading Skills (Duolingo English Test (DET)) FAQ