IELTS Reading: Short Answer

In IELTS short answer questions you will have to answer questions about a
reading passage in three words or less.  The words in your answer will come
directly from the reading passage. 

Tips--1
 Read the instructions carefully to see how many words you can write.
 Pay attention to question words (who, what, when, where, why, which
and how).
o who = person or group
o what = thing
o when = time
o where = place
o why = reason
o which = thing
o how = way of doing something
Tips--2
 Read the instructions carefully - these tell you how many words you can use (a
maximum of three in this case).
 In IELTS short answer questions you should use words from the text rather than
your own, and don't change the words.
 Quickly read through all of the questions so you can get an idea of what
information you will have to find in the text.
 Use key words from the question to help you skim the text quickly to find the
information. For example, in the first one, you need to look for "type of care".
 Remember though that synomys will also be used in the text, so you must be
careful when you look for the information.
 Read the section of the text where you know the answer is carefully to see which
words will answer the question.
 Your answer must make sense grammatically to be correct.

2. Short Answer questions will usually tell you to write your answers in NO MORE
THAN THREE WORDS. So you can answer with one word, two words or three
words but no more. However, this is not always the case. So you should always
check what the questions ask you to do.
To prepare for the Short Answer questions:
• You have to apply both skimming and scanning techniques to be able to answer
the questions in time.
• Skim all the questions quickly. As you do this:
    » underline the key words.
    » decide what information you need to find in the text.
    » look out for question words like ‘where’ and ‘who’ which indicate
    » you should find out for specific things like places and people.
• Go back to the first question and decide what part of the text you need to read.
• Read the part carefully to find the answer.
• You may use your own words. You don’t have to write a complete sentence but
it does have to be grammatically correct.
• If you don’t know the meaning of any of the words in the questions,find it using
a dictionary, write it down in your notebook and try to reuse it over and over
again.
• The answer could be one word, two words or three words but not four or more.
If you think you need more than three words your answer is probably incorrect.
 Question Types: Short answer questions.

There are 2 types of short answer questions in the IELTS reading exam.

     1)  Questions
     2)  Lists
These questions will usually tell you to write your answers in NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS. So
you can answer with one word, two words or three words but no more. However, this is not always
the case, so check the rubric carefully.
 
For these questions, like the multiple choice questions, you have to apply both skimming and
scanning techniques. Also, note that the answers should not require a hyphenated word (e.g. non-
smoker) or a contraction (e.g. They’ve). If the answer requires a number, you can write it as a
numeral (e.g. 6) or a word (e.g. six) or a combination of a numeral and a word (e.g. 6 million).
 
 Type 1 (Question type)
Answer the following questions using NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS.

1. How old was Spencer when he did his first degree?

2. Which teacher was instrumental in Spencer’s success?

 Type 2 (List type)

List FOUR reasons for Spencer being a child prodigy.
Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer. Write your answers in
boxes 3-5 on your answer sheet.
3 .................................
4 .................................
5 .................................
Instructions to answer the short-answer Question:
  Read the instructions carefully.
 Skim all the questions quickly. As you do this:
     » Underline the key words. Decide what information you need to find in
the text.
     » Look out for question words like ‘where’ and ‘who’ which indicate
     »You should listen for specific things like places and people.
 Go back to the first question and decide what part of the text you need to read.
 Read the part carefully to find the answer.
 You may use your own words. You don’t have to write a complete sentence but it does have
to be grammatically correct.
Remember:
• If you don’t know the meaning of any of the words in the questions, look at the
other questions. They might have some associated vocabulary in them to help
you guess the meaning.
• The answer could be one word, two words or three words but not four or more.

If you think you need more than three words your answer is probably incorrect.