A2 · Practical document
Finding rules and advice in a practical information page
Read for meaning first. Then return to the text for vocabulary, language choices, and evidence.
Before you read
Build the context out loud.
- When did you last visit a doctor or a clinic? How did you make the appointment?
- What documents do people usually bring to a first appointment in your country?
- What questions do you have before you visit a new place for the first time?
First pass: keep moving when one word is unfamiliar. Dotted words open optional help; every word also appears in the vocabulary bank below.
Eastside Community Clinic
Your first visit: questions and answers
Open Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m., and Saturday, 9:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m.
Do I need an appointment?
For most visits, yes. You can make an appointment by phone or on our website. We also have walk-inOpen to people who come without an appointment.Useful chunks: walk-in hours · walk-in patient hours every weekday from 8:00 to 10:00 a.m. Walk-in patients have to wait for a free nurse, so you should arrive early.
What do I have to bring?
You must bring a photo ID. Please also bring a list of any medicine you take, including vitamins. If you have health insuranceA plan that you pay for, which then pays some costs, for example when you are sick.Useful chunks: health insurance · insurance card, bring your card. You don’t have to have insurance to see a doctor here. Our front desk can explain our lower prices for patients without insurance.
When should I arrive?
Please arrive 15 minutes early. All new patients have to completeTo write all the information that a form asks for.Useful chunks: complete a form · complete the health form a short health form. If you arrive more than 15 minutes late, we will probably ask you to choose a new time.
What if I have a fever or a bad cough?
Call us before you come. A nurse will ask you a few questions on the phone. You should wear a mask in the waiting room to protect other patients.
Can I get help in my language?
Yes. We have free interpretersPeople whose job is to change spoken words from one language into another.Useful chunks: a free interpreter · ask for an interpreter for Spanish, Arabic, and Vietnamese, and free phone interpreters for many other languages. Tell us your language when you make your appointment. You don’t have to bring a family member to translate.
What should I do in an emergency?
We are not an emergency roomThe part of a hospital where people go for very serious and sudden health problems.Useful chunks: go to the emergency room · not an emergency room. If you have chest pain or serious trouble breathing, call 911 immediately.
How do I cancel an appointment?
Please call at leastNot less than the number or amount that follows.Useful chunks: at least 24 hours · at least once a week 24 hours before your appointment. Then another patient can use your time.
Original text written for Thomas’s Classroom Reading Lab.
Words in context
Useful vocabulary and chunks
Learn the word with the partners it naturally keeps.
walk-in
Open to people who come without an appointment.
walk-in hours · walk-in patientinsurance
A plan that you pay for, which then pays some costs, for example when you are sick.
health insurance · insurance cardcomplete
To write all the information that a form asks for.
complete a form · complete the health forminterpreters
People whose job is to change spoken words from one language into another.
a free interpreter · ask for an interpreteremergency room
The part of a hospital where people go for very serious and sudden health problems.
go to the emergency room · not an emergency roomat least
Not less than the number or amount that follows.
at least 24 hours · at least once a weekCheck your reading
Comprehension check
Choose the answer best supported by the text. Check your choices when you finish the whole set.
01Who can see a nurse without an appointment?
02Which statement about insurance is true?
03Why should new patients arrive 15 minutes early?
04Marta has a fever and wants to see a doctor. What should she do first?
05Which statement about language help is true?
06Leo has an appointment at 10:00 a.m. tomorrow, but he can’t go. What is the latest time he can call to cancel?
Language in the text
Necessary, not necessary, or a good idea
The clinic uses must and have to for things that are necessary, don’t have to for things that are not necessary, and should for advice. Don’t have to does not mean that something is wrong. It means the patient can choose.
Must shows a firm rule. A patient cannot skip this.
Have to also shows that something is necessary. It often describes a rule from an organization.
Insurance is not necessary, but patients who have it can still use it.
Should gives advice. It is a good idea, and the reason follows.
Check your reading
Language focus check
Use the surrounding meaning, not only the shape of one sentence.
01Insurance is not necessary at this clinic. Choose the correct sentence.
02A photo ID is necessary. Choose the correct sentence.
03Which sentence gives advice, not a rule?
04Choose the correct question about the health form.
Read like a writer
How an FAQ page answers real worries
The page is organized around questions that a nervous new patient might ask. Each answer is short, practical, and gives the most important information first.
Questions in the patient’s voice
Readers can scan the bold questions and find their own worry quickly.
What do I have to bring?
Direct answer first
The reader gets a clear yes or no before the extra details.
For most visits, yes.
A clear safety limit
The page says what the clinic cannot do, so patients make a safe choice in a serious situation.
We are not an emergency room.
From reading to speaking
Build your response
Work through the stages in order. Answer before opening the model.
01GistWho is this page for, and what is its purpose?
Useful ways to begin
Compare with a model response
This page is for new patients at Eastside Community Clinic. It helps them prepare for their first visit and avoid problems.
02Main pointsWhat are three things a new patient must or has to do?
Useful ways to begin
Compare with a model response
A new patient must bring a photo ID. They also have to complete a short health form, and if they can’t come, they have to call at least 24 hours before.
03ReactIs this clinic easy for a newcomer to use? What would you add to the page?
Useful ways to begin
Compare with a model response
I think it is easy because it has free interpreters and patients don’t have to have insurance. I would add information about parking and the bus stop near the clinic.
Speak
Take a position
Explain the rules of a place you know, such as your gym, office, or school. Say what people must do, what they don’t have to do, and what they should do.
Write
Make the reading useful
Write a 90-word FAQ for a place you know. Write three questions and short answers. Use must or have to, don’t have to, and should at least once.