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Duolingo English Test (DET) Reading Skills Syllabus

The Reading Skills syllabus for Duolingo English Test (DET) in full: 4 chapters, 14 topics and 10 sub-topics, every one listed below, plus 50 Reading Skills flashcards with answers.

4Chapters
14Topics
10Sub-topics
50Flashcards

Reading Skills syllabus: all 4 chapters

Expand any chapter to see its topics and sub-topics.

  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. 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. 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. 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

Duolingo English Test (DET) Reading Skills flashcards — 50 questions with 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.

  19. In the DET 'Complete the Sentence' task, what must you do?

    Choose, from multiple choices, the word or phrase that best fills a single blank within a sentence so the sentence is grammatically and meaningfully correct.

  20. What is the difference between the 'Complete the Sentence' and 'Complete the Passage' DET tasks?

    'Complete the Sentence' fills one blank in a sentence with a word/phrase; 'Complete the Passage' selects the correct sentence to fill a gap at the paragraph level.

Show the other 30 Reading Skills flashcards

  1. In the 'Complete the Passage' (paragraph-level gap fill) task, what makes an answer correct?

    The chosen sentence must fit logically and cohesively with the sentences before and after it, maintaining the paragraph's meaning and flow.

  2. What does the DET 'Highlight the Answer' task require?

    You read a passage and a question, then highlight (select) the exact phrase or sentence in the passage that answers the question.

  3. What is the key strategy for the 'Highlight the Answer' task?

    Scan the passage for the specific supporting text that directly answers the question, rather than choosing a paraphrase or general idea.

  4. What does the DET 'Identify the Idea' / title task ask you to do?

    Select the title or main idea that best summarizes the whole passage, capturing its central theme rather than a minor detail.

  5. How do you distinguish the main idea from a supporting detail?

    The main idea is the overall point the whole passage develops; supporting details are specific facts, examples, or reasons that back up that point.

  6. What is skimming?

    Reading quickly over a text to grasp its general gist or main idea without focusing on every word.

  7. What is scanning?

    Reading quickly to locate specific information (a name, date, number, or keyword) without reading the whole text.

  8. When should you skim versus scan a DET reading passage?

    Skim to identify the main idea or title; scan to find the specific supporting text for 'Highlight the Answer' or detail questions.

  9. What is an inference in reading?

    A conclusion drawn from evidence and reasoning in the text rather than from information stated explicitly.

  10. How do you answer an implied-meaning (inference) question correctly?

    Base the conclusion strictly on clues in the text plus logic; avoid choices that go beyond the evidence or contradict the passage.

  11. What are cohesion devices?

    Words and phrases that link sentences and ideas together, such as conjunctions, pronouns, and transition words (e.g., 'however', 'therefore', 'this').

  12. What is reference in cohesion, and give an example?

    Using a word to point back to something mentioned earlier; e.g., the pronoun 'it' or 'they' referring to a previously named noun.

  13. What does the transition word 'however' signal?

    A contrast or contradiction with the preceding statement.

  14. What does the transition word 'therefore' signal?

    A result or logical conclusion that follows from the preceding statement.

  15. What does the transition word 'furthermore' (or 'moreover') signal?

    Addition of further supporting information consistent with the preceding statement.

  16. How do you manage an unfamiliar word in a DET passage?

    Use context clues, word parts (prefix/root/suffix), and the overall sentence meaning to infer its likely meaning instead of stopping.

  17. What is a context clue?

    Information in the surrounding text (definition, example, synonym, antonym, or general sense) that helps you guess an unknown word's meaning.

  18. Which prefix means 'not' or 'opposite', and give an example?

    'un-' (e.g., 'unhappy'), 'in-/im-' (e.g., 'incorrect', 'impossible'), or 'dis-' (e.g., 'disagree').

  19. What does the prefix 're-' typically mean?

    'Again' or 'back' (e.g., 'rewrite' = write again, 'return' = go back).

  20. What does the suffix '-ly' usually indicate about a word?

    It typically forms an adverb from an adjective (e.g., 'quick' becomes 'quickly').

  21. In the 'Read and Complete' task, why should you read the whole sentence before filling a gap?

    The full sentence provides grammatical and meaning context that determines which word fits the partial letters shown.

  22. What grammatical cue helps choose between a verb's tenses in a gap?

    Time markers and the tense of surrounding verbs (e.g., 'yesterday' signals past tense, 'now' signals present).

  23. What is the gist of a passage?

    Its overall, general meaning or main message, obtained by skimming rather than detailed reading.

  24. Why are articles ('a', 'an', 'the') useful grammatical cues in cloze tasks?

    They signal that a noun follows and indicate definiteness ('the' = specific/known) or first mention ('a/an' = nonspecific), guiding word choice.

  25. What part of speech must a gap usually be if it follows an article and an adjective?

    A noun (e.g., 'the large ___' expects a noun).

  26. How do you avoid picking a 'distractor' answer in DET multiple-choice reading items?

    Eliminate options that are grammatically wrong, contradict the text, or are only partly true; choose the option fully supported by the passage.

  27. What does it mean that a correct DET 'Highlight the Answer' selection must be 'directly supported'?

    The highlighted text itself must explicitly state or contain the answer, not merely relate to the topic generally.

  28. When two words both fit a gap grammatically, what decides the correct one?

    Meaning and collocation: choose the word that makes the most natural and contextually accurate sense with its neighbors.

  29. Why can word-part analysis confirm a word is fake in 'Read and Select'?

    If a root or affix combination violates English morphology (e.g., an impossible prefix-root pairing), the word is not a valid English word.

  30. What reading approach combines speed and comprehension for DET passages?

    First skim for the main idea, then scan back to the specific lines needed for detail or highlight questions, minimizing full re-reading.

Duolingo English Test (DET) Reading Skills FAQ

What is in the Duolingo English Test (DET) Reading Skills syllabus?

Duolingo English Test (DET) Reading Skills is split into 4 chapters: Read and Select (Real vs. Fake Words), Read and Complete (Text Cloze), Interactive Reading and Reading Comprehension Strategies. Together they contain 14 topics and 10 sub-topics.

How many chapters are in Duolingo English Test (DET) Reading Skills?

4 chapters, containing 14 topics and 10 sub-topics. The largest chapter is Interactive Reading, with 4 topics.

Are there flashcards for Duolingo English Test (DET) Reading Skills?

Yes — a 50-card Reading Skills deck, printed in full in the flashcards section of this page and available in the Examius app with spaced repetition. The free plan covers one exam of your choice, including its flashcards; Examius Pro, a one-time purchase, unlocks every other exam and deck.