UNIT 6 - LESSON 4

unit 6 lesson 4

READING TASK: Short answer questions

READING TASK: Short answer questions

In this unit, you will learn:

• read for details
• skim for general information
• identify the focus of the question
• understand paraphrase in the incomplete sentences
• learn reading strategies and tips

Description

IELTS Reading short-answer questions are very similar to sentence completion questions. Again, you should respond to questions using words directly from the text. You're also given a word limit (for example: write no more than two words). The only difference is that you must obviously complete sentences in sentence completion. In addition, in short-answer questions, you may be required to either complete sentences or answer questions, such as: When answering short-answer questions, keep the word limit in mind. Many IELTS test takers are caught off guard by the word limit: even if the answer is logically correct, if the number of words exceeds the limit, it receives 0 points.

Images taken from www.freepik.es

Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer. 5. Which animal has the most fat? ..................

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Always follow the order of the text

Useful information about short-answer questions on IELTS Reading:

• You should complete statements or answer questions with words taken from the text.
• You're given a word limit.
• Questions follow the order of the text.

Questions and statements are not simply paraphrases of the text. However, they retain the original meaning and contain some key words, allowing you to find the answers in the text. It is important to note that if you are asked to complete a sentence with no more than two words, you can write one or two words; a three-word answer is automatically incorrect.

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Images taken from freepik.es

Taken and adapted from https://ielts-up.com/reading/short-answer-questions-lesson.htmlhttps://ielts-up.com/reading/short-answer-questions-lesson.html

Answering strategy:

Read the question and find the paragraph, which is likely to contain the answer. Use key words to navigate.

• Skim over the text.
• Read attentively the paragraph you’ve found, searching for the answer.
• Once you've found the answer, check if it doesn't exceed the word limit.
• Repeat this strategy with other questions.
• If you prefer, you can read the text by passages.

Tips:

• Make sure your response does not exceed the word limit. It is extremely important.
• You can benefit from the order of the questions. The answer to question 4 will be found in the text between the answers to questions 3 and 5.
• Some answers are likely to be included if the text introduces new terms.

Images taken from freepik.es

ummm, what is the word limit?

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Taken and adapted from https://ielts-up.com/reading/short-answer-questions-lesson.htmlhttps://ielts-up.com/reading/short-answer-questions-lesson.html

Sample reading text

Read the passage and answer.

The fattest animals

As the largest animal in the world, the blue whale also has the most fat. In a 1968 study involving 49 different species of mammal from across the US and Brazil, researchers deduced that the blue whale had the highest percentage of body fat – more than 35%. With the whales weighing in at up to 180 tonnes, that’s easily a record-breaking amount of fat for one animal. But if we look at things proportionally, you might be surprised by some of the world’s full-fat species. We’ll begin with blubber, the fat rich tissue belonging to marine mammals that has myriad benefits for streamlining, buoyancy, defence, insulation and energy storage. In waters further north live bowhead whales. To survive in these frosty, remote waters, they have a layer of blubber almost half a meter thick. In his studies, Dr Craig George found blubber mass ranged from 43% to 50% of the body mass of yearling whales.

PAUSE THE VIDEO HERE AND READ THE PASSAGE.

Answer the questions

Answer the questions with NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS:

1. Which animal has the most fat?______________ This question is quite simple as the answer lies in the first sentence of the text.

different species

body fat

blue whale

¡Correct!

NEXT

ANSWER THE QUESTIONS WITH NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS:

2. How is called tissue of marine mammals that is rich with fat? After we've read the text, we can see that fatty tissue of marine mammals was mentioned somewhere in the second passage. Okay, we scan the second passage for the answer.

insulation

buoyancy

blubber

¡Correct!

NEXT

Answer the questions with NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS:

3. Which marine animals need a thick layer of fat to survive in cold waters? _______________ As questions follow the order of the text, we can assume that answer should be somewhere in the third paragraph.

bowhead whales.

blue whale

blubber mass

¡Correcto!

SIGUIENTE

¡Good job, it is completed!

SIGUIENTE

¡Now, it is time to pratcice!