What do you need to do?
Read a text and answer six questions about it. You choose missing words and a sentence, highlight answers, then choose the main idea and a title.
Keep in mindAll six questions share one timer. It does not restart.
What should your answer do?
Use what the text says to answer. A detail can be true without being the main idea. The main idea and title should describe the whole text.
How to answer
- Complete the Sentences: read each whole sentence before choosing its missing words.
Check the meaning as well as the grammar.
- Complete the Passage: choose the missing sentence.
Read the sentence before the gap and the sentence after it to check the connection.
- Highlight the Answer, twice: find the words that answer each question.
Select enough text to give the full answer, without adding unrelated sentences.
- Identify the Idea: choose the option that explains the main point of the whole text.
- Title the Passage: choose a title that covers the text as a whole.
Keep enough time for these last two questions.
Find the answer in the text
An original PrepEx teaching example.
The library now opens at seven so that people can borrow books before work. Why does the library open earlier?
Show answer and explanation
Example answer
Highlight: so that people can borrow books before work
Why this works
The question asks why, so you need the reason. At seven gives the time, but it does not explain the change. Match your answer to the question word.
This shows one highlighting question from a longer six-question set.
Common mistakes and how to fix them
- Choosing an answer because it sounds true in real life. Find support for it in this text.
- Highlighting a whole paragraph. Select just the words needed to answer the question fully.
- Choosing one small detail as the main idea. Ask whether the option explains the whole text.
How to improve your next answer
- For a wrong answer, find the sentence that explains the correct choice. Say why your choice did not fit.
- Notice which part used most of your time. Practise that part again before trying another full set.
Use your result to choose what to practise next
Look at the answers and feedback as well as the number. Choose one thing to work on, then try a new question.
A PrepEx score is a practice estimate, not an official DET score. Only Duolingo can give you an official test result.
Check the rules before test day
Read the official Interactive Reading guide and the current DET Test Structure. If the test changes, follow Duolingo's latest instructions.
Task instructions and timing checked September 21, 2026. The examples and study tips on this page were written by PrepEx.