.      Identifying the Writer’s views and claims (YES/NO/NOT GIVEN)

Notice that it is the Writer’s views and claims that are asked to be identified and the responses are YES/NO/NOT GIVEN. Test-takers’ errors include writing TRUE instead of YES on the answer sheet – actually, this is a fairly common error because these two tasks, at times, are presented in sequential order. It seems like such an easy thing to remember, but test-takers often get confused between the different prompts and the answer sheet.

NOTE: BE AWARE! Do not answer TRUE/FALSE on the answer sheet for the prompt that asks for the Writer’s view of YES/NO/NOT GIVEN.

Do the following statements reflect the claims of the writer in the reading passage?

YES – If the statement reflects the claims of the writer

NO – If the statement contradicts the claims of the writer

NOT GIVEN – If it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this

So, the answer statements will now either ‘reflect the claim of the writer’ or not, or it will not be mentioned. Again, you will be asked to follow the MEANING of what is being said (not keywords – keywords can help locate the area in the text you are to read)

Likewise, the procedure will be similar, but as found in section one:

Read the answer statement and understand what information you are looking for:

Procedure:

1. Scan the text to locate the area (usually just one sentence) of the answer statement
2. Read the sentence above and below your targeted sentence
3. Ask yourself if the information matches or is the opposite only.
4. If you cannot answer positively (YES) or the opposite match (NO), read the three sentences again
5. If you cannot answer, answer Not Given on your answer sheet.

 

Test takers will have to ask some questions about the author’s text to be sure that the answer they choose is correct.

Quickly ask:

1. What is the author’s purpose (to entertain, to persuade, or to inform)?
2. What is the author’s point of view? (Does he or she support or not support what is stated? – this can be tricky!)
3. What is the tone? (what words are being used to describe the situation in the text – Is the author positive/upbeat? Are negative words being used to describe the situation? Is the author indifferent or just content reporting the facts?)

For example:

1. The Blackhawk people come from the eastern origins.
2. The territory of the Blackhawk is located between the Canadian Cree and the Iroquois. On the southeast, their territory is bordered by the Caribbean. Relatively little is known of the origin of these people, though they are said to have come from somewhere in the East. (passive voice – are said)

The author’s purpose: informative

The author’s point of view: seems to support the location

The author’s tone is Neutral – no words reflect

For this answer, you can not positively state that the author supports the answer statement because he/she does state ‘Relatively little is known’ and that the Blackhawks ‘are said’ to come from the east. This passive form of the language suggests that the author is unsure. Likewise, the author does not completely disagree with the statement or state the opposite in terms of meaning (they come from the West). Therefore, the only answer is NOT GIVEN.

PASSIVE Voice is often used in this way on the IELTS Reading Test to force test takers to make false inferences – or to make a false conclusion based on ‘leading information’.

Note the difference between the Active and Passive sentences below.

Active: Relatively little is known of the origin of these people, though they come from somewhere in the East.

Passive: Relatively little is known of the origin of these people, though they are said to have come from somewhere in the East.

In the active sentence above, the subordinate clause affirms that ‘they come’, subject – the pronoun ‘they’ is active – because we know ‘who said it’ – assume the narrator/author, from somewhere in the east. However, with the passive form ‘they are said’, the author has stepped out of the way of his or her authorial voice and leaves ‘who’ or whoever said this inconclusive – the reader does not know ‘who’ said where the Blackhawks come from.

NOTE: BE AWARE THE ‘PASSIVE FORM’ IS COMMONLY FOUND IN IELTS READING TEST STATEMENTS.

 

For the following 6 questions (2 – 7), please answer YES/NO or NOT GIVEN

1. The author believes the price to pay for watching sports is too excessive.
2. Somehow, in becoming big-business entertainment, sport has gone awry. What to do? Well, we can pay more attention to local athletics and events such as the Special Olympics. We can refuse to pay ridiculous high-ticket prices.

 

iii.                Some teenagers are effortlessly recruited into gangs because they have not done well at school.

3. Children who do well in school seem to receive strong and consistent love and support from their families. On the other hand, many antisocial adolescents appear not to have been given much tender, loving care during their childhood. In their desire to be included in a group, some teenagers are easily seduced into gangs.
4. The earth is getting warmer because the levels of oxygen are dropping.
5. Unfortunately, the Earth is getting warmer and warmer. The levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere are the highest they have been in the last 650,000 years. Never has the Earth been in such danger of severe climate change. Clearly, the levels of carbon dioxide are causing that change.
6. The author believes that social media is simple to use and has many functions.
7. With three-quarters of American adults on social media today, it may be difficult to imagine life without it. What an easy platform for personal connections, employment opportunities, marketing, and advertising – to name just a few of its uses. But some wish that it had never been invented.
8. The author believes that despite the advantages of credit card use, too many people are in debt because of them.
9. For most of us today, it would be difficult to imagine shopping had the credit card not been invented. Without that rectangular piece of plastic, our lives would be quite different. Were there no credit cards, we would have to pay for everything with cash or checks. We would never spend more than we have. Perhaps that would not be a bad thing. But for credit cards, significantly fewer people would be in debt today.

vii.              The author believes that the most populous city in 2025 will be New Delhi

7. In 2000, the most populous urban area in the world was Tokyo, and in 2025 it will still be Tokyo. By that time, the population of Tokyo will have gained 4,000,000 million people, but the population of two cities in India, Bombay and New Delhi, will have grown by a lot more, by more than 10 million people each. In 2025, Bombay will have more than 26 million people.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Answers:

1. NOT GIVEN (see above Blackhawks)
2. YES – the author of the text is in agreement (to pay ridiculous high-ticket prices is synonymous with the price to pay for watching sport is too excessive)
3. NOT GIVEN – because there is no correlation between school grades and gang/group behaviour – it only mentions children that have received tender loving care usually do well in school – the meaning of the answer statement is not found (do not assume or make inferences)
4. NOT GIVEN – the text does not mention oxygen at all (don’t make inferences as the meaning has to be found in the text).
5. YES – the meaning is the same through the synonymous use of “is simple to use and has many functions” with “What an easy platform for personal connections, employment opportunities, marketing, and advertising”.
6. YES – because we can assume “too many people are in debt” equates with “significantly fewer people would be in debt”. The meaning is the same as found in the text.
7. NO – the text states the direct opposite: “the most populous urban area in the world was Tokyo, and in 2025 it will still be Tokyo”.

Note:  like True, False, and Not Given, the answers for YES, NO, and NOT GIVEN follow in order, so if you have located the first answer, the next question will be found in the text after the place where the first answer was found, etc.