Linear Text is the most common type of reading. It focuses on the arrangement of the words, both grammatically and stylistically.
Examples are:
Story
Speech
Letter
Newspaper
Report, etc.
Non-linear Text is an information which is presented in pictorial or diagrammatic
form. This tests your ability to select and report the main features, to describe and
compare data, identify significance and trends in factual information, or to describe a
process. It requires you to write a summary of at least 150 words in response to a
particular graph.
