Many reading questions about notices, leaflets and adverts are not about the main fact. They test whether you notice the condition attached to it: who can do something, when, and only if what else is true.
This skill opens reading for specific information. It is the first step before dates, references and distractors, which the next lessons cover.
What is a condition, and how do I spot one?
A condition is a small word or phrase that limits a rule. The fact is still in the sentence, but it now applies to fewer people or fewer situations.
Watch for these signals: only, unless, if, provided that, as long as, except, must, cannot, at least, no more than. When you see one, stop and ask, “Who or what does this limit?”
A method for scanning
- Read the question first and underline the person, the action and any numbers.
- Scan the notice for those topic words, not for the answer itself.
- Read the whole sentence around each match, and the sentence after it, because conditions often sit in a follow-up clause.
- Circle the condition word and check each fact about the person against it.
- Answer only what the notice allows, not what seems reasonable.
Worked example
Kampung Seri Library: Holiday Robot Workshop Children aged 10 to 13 may join the robot-building workshop on Saturday 14 June. Places are free for library members. Non-members pay RM15. Please bring a laptop if possible. The library can lend up to ten laptops, but only to members who reserve one in advance. Doors open at 9.30 a.m. Latecomers arriving after 10.00 a.m. cannot be admitted.
Question: Nadia is 12 and is not a library member. She has no laptop. Can she borrow one from the library on the day, and what will she pay to join?
Step 1, underline the person: age 12, not a member, no laptop.
Step 2, scan for “laptop”: the sentence “The library can lend up to ten laptops, but only to members who reserve one in advance.”
Step 3, find the conditions: “only to members” and “reserve one in advance”. Nadia fails both.
Step 4, scan for cost: non-members pay RM15. Nadia’s age fits the 10 to 13 range, so she may join.
Answer: No, she cannot borrow a laptop. She will pay RM15 to join.
The mistake to watch for
Mistaken answer: “Yes, she can borrow one, because the library can lend up to ten laptops.”
The student stopped at the main fact. The word but in that sentence signals that a limit follows, and the limit removes Nadia from the group who can borrow.
The fix is simple: after you find the main fact, read to the full stop and ask, “Is there a but, only, unless or if here?”
Check yourself
Use this notice for all three questions.
Taman Harmoni Pool. The pool is closed on Mondays except during school holidays. Children under 12 must be accompanied by an adult. Lockers need a RM1 coin, which is returned when the key is handed back.
1. A 10-year-old wants to swim on a Tuesday during term time. Can she go alone?
Show answer
No. Children under 12 must be accompanied by an adult, and she is 10. The day of the week is not the problem here, because the pool is only closed on Mondays.
2. Is the pool open on a Monday in the school holidays?
Show answer
Yes. The notice says it is closed on Mondays except during school holidays, so the exception makes it open.
3. A swimmer uses a locker and hands the key back. How much does the locker cost in the end?
Show answer
Nothing. The RM1 coin is returned when the key is handed back, so the cost is RM0 as long as the key is returned.
Where this leads next
Once conditions feel familiar, the next skill is to separate a date from a deadline, because notices often mix several dates. You can then test yourself on the mixed practice set. The summary selection studio is useful for practising how to pick only the points a question needs.
If you understand notices in class but still lose marks to small words in timed reading, that pattern is something our teachers look for in online one-to-one English as a Second Language tuition.