Answers and Discussion
- Did you read the whole passage before trying to answer the questions?
You should read the whole passage first and then read the section that the questions relate to in more detail.
- Did you note key words in the statements that you could check?
This will help you to locate the area of the passage containing the answer. Of course, it is also important to think of the meaning of the given statement as a whole.
- Did the key words appear in any part of the passage enabling you to answer the question?
Most probably the passage offered a paraphrase confirming or denying the statement. In the case of a ‘not given’ answer, you probably located an area of the passage dealing with the topic of the statement and were able to establish that nothing was said to confirm or deny the statement.
- Did the areas containing the answers appear in order in the passage?
The areas containing the answers will usually be in order in the passage, so that students should not need to keep returning to the beginning of the passage to check each statement. Even in the case of ‘not given’ statements, the information that relates to the topic of the statement will usually occur in order.
- What skills did you feel you needed to complete this task?
You probably found that you needed to locate the relevant area as quickly as possible, to distinguish fact from opinion, and to read the passage carefully to check whether it confirmed or contradicted the statement, or whether it did neither.
