BestMyLingo BestMyTest
keyboard_return Exit
keyboard_arrow_left

IELTS® Academic Reading Practice 30

settings  Settings
App Settings
close
close
BestMyTest IELTS courses are developed by certified instructors from around the world. If you have questions about your lessons or English, our team is happy to help you here.

Get 5 ask questions free today

 
schedule20:00

This reading practice simulates one part of the IELTS General Reading test. You should spend about twenty minutes on it. Read the passage and answer questions 28-40.

Subscribe to take the test

lock_open Start free trial
Section AIn the scientific hierarchy, social scientists are often looked down on by their peers in the natural sciences. Natural scientists do experiments to test their theories, and if they cannot, they try to look for natural phenomena that can replace actual experiments. Social scientists, it is ...
Subscribe to unlock all academic-reading content

lock_open Start free trial
Questions 28-34
The reading passage has seven sections, A-G.

Choose the correct heading for sections A-G from the list of headings below.

Write the correct number i-xi in boxes 28-34 on your answer sheet.

List of Headings
  1. Groups working towards systematic review of studies
  2. Why some early social science methods lost popularity
  3. US National Reading Panel
  4. Randomized trials in medicine
  5. Early social experiments producing little evidence of positive outcomes
  6. The changing nature of medical trials
  7. A low regard for the social sciences
  8. An example of lack of rigorous testing
  9. An investigative study that may lead to a new system
  10. A new policy in criminal justice
  11. The amount and effects of randomized trials in social sciences

28. Section A

29. Section B

30. Section C

31. Section D

32. Section E

33. Section F

34. Section G

The answer is vii. Section A discusses the perception that social scientists are regarded as less credible than natural scientists. It says social scientists are often looked down on by natural scientists because they are seen as lacking rigorous experimental methods. This reflects a low regard. The entire section supports Heading vii: "A low regard for the social sciences."

Associated Text:
In the scientific hierarchy, social scientists are often looked down on by their peers in the natural sciences. Natural scientists do experiments to test their theories, ... Social scientists, it is widely believed, do not subject their own hypotheses to any such rigorous treatment.

The answer is iv. Section B describes the standard of evidence required for medicines, notably the use of randomized control trials. It covers how medical studies are structured to ensure results and why randomized trials are the gold standard in medicine, fitting heading iv: "Randomized trials in medicine."

Associated Text:
Most governments require those selling medicines to demonstrate evidence their safety and effectiveness. The accepted gold standard of evidence is a randomized control trial, in which a new drug is compared with the best existing therapy (or with a placebo, if no treatment is available).

The answer is viii. Section C uses the example of the 'whole-language' approach, showing how it was widely adopted without evidence from randomized trials—an example of policy made without rigorous testing, which matches heading viii: "An example of lack of rigorous testing."

Associated Text:
Unfortunately, the educational theorists who pushed the whole-language notion so successfully did not wait for evidence from controlled randomized trials before advancing their claims.

The answer is ix. Section D describes a trial in English courts where criminals are randomly assigned either to normal sentencing or to restorative justice, and the purpose is to assess if this approach works, with the possibility of broader adoption. This matches heading ix: "An investigative study that may lead to a new system."

Associated Text:
The purpose of the trial is to assess whether such restorative justice limits re-offending. If it does, it might be adopted more widely.

The answer is ii. Section E covers the early adoption of experimental and randomized methods in social science, their decline in popularity, and suggests reasons like little evidence of positive results and philosophical resistance. This fits heading ii: "Why some early social science methods lost popularity."

Associated Text:
This loss of interest can be attributed, at least in part, to the fact that early experiments produced little evidence of positive outcomes. Others suggest that much of the opposition to experimental evaluation stems from a common philosophical malaise among social scientists...

The answer is xi. Section F states the number of experimental studies in social sciences and gives examples of evaluated programs, then discusses positive community impacts, which fits heading xi: "The amount and effects of randomized trials in social sciences."

Associated Text:
there exist some 11,000 experimental studies within the social sciences (compared with over 250,000 in the medical literature). Randomised trials have been used to evaluate the effectiveness of driver-education programmes, job¬training schemes, classroom sizes...

The answer is i. Section G focuses on the Campbell Collaboration, an organization that systematically reviews social science studies, similar to the Cochrane Collaboration in medicine. This matches heading i: "Groups working towards systematic review of studies."

Associated Text:
This is where a group called the Campbell Collaboration comes into play. This independent non-profit organization is designed to evaluate existing studies, in a process known as a systematic review.

Questions 35-39
Do the following statements agree with the information given in the reading passage? In boxes 35-39 on your answer sheet, write

TRUE   if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE   if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN   if there is no information on this.

35. Social sciences are generally regarded as less credible than natural sciences

36. Some criminals in England are agreeing to take part in a trial designed to help increase their chances of re-offending

37. There was more use of randomized trials in medicine than in social sciences after 1940s.

38. Rigorous testing is currently required before implementing any related social policy

39. More research funding is provided for natural sciences than for social sciences

The answer is TRUE. Section A explicitly states, "In the scientific hierarchy, social scientists are often looked down on by their peers in the natural sciences." This means social sciences are regarded as less credible by comparison.

Associated Text:
In the scientific hierarchy, social scientists are often looked down on by their peers in the natural sciences.

The answer is FALSE. Section D describes a trial in England where offenders are randomly assigned to restorative justice programs to test whether it limits re-offending. The intention is to decrease—not increase—re-offending rates.

Associated Text:
The purpose of the trial is to assess whether such restorative justice limits re-offending. If it does, it might be adopted more widely.

The answer is NOT GIVEN. The passage mentions the number of randomized studies in social sciences versus medicine, but does not compare use directly after the 1940s or state that medicine used more after this period.

Associated Text:
there exist some 11,000 experimental studies within the social sciences (compared with over 250,000 in the medical literature).

The answer is FALSE. Section E mentions several factors limiting the growth of evidence-based social policy, such as loss of interest and funding, and explicitly says few social initiatives are evaluated in such studies before introduction, so rigorous testing is not currently required.

Associated Text:
few education programmes or social initiatives are evaluated in carefully conducted studies prior to their introduction. ... limitations on the funds available for research.

The answer is NOT GIVEN. While funding is mentioned as a limiting factor for social science research, the passage does not compare research funding between natural and social sciences directly.

Associated Text:
A more pragmatic factor limiting the growth of evidence-based education and social services may be limitations on the funds available for research.

Question 40
Complete the short answers below.

Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer.

Write your answers in 40-40 on your answer sheet.

40. What is the approach in which one of the responses to a crime is to organize a meeting between the victim and the offender?

The answer is restorative justice. Section D explains that the approach, which involves a meeting between victim and offender to discuss restitution, is called restorative justice.

Associated Text:
Those who agree to participate will be assigned randomly either to sentencing as normal or to participation in a conference in which the offender comes face-to-face with his victim and discusses how he may make emotional and material restitution.

Answer Sheet
1
N/A
2
N/A
3
N/A
4
N/A
5
N/A
6
N/A
7
N/A
8
N/A
9
N/A
10
N/A
11
N/A
12
N/A
13
N/A
14
N/A
15
N/A
16
N/A
17
N/A
18
N/A
19
N/A
20
N/A
21
N/A
22
N/A
23
N/A
24
N/A
25
N/A
26
N/A
27
N/A
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
Score Summary
0 / 1
Multiple Choice
Matching Sentence Endings
Note Completion
Table Completion
Flow Chart Completion
Summary Completion
Multiple Selection
Short Answer
Matching Headings
Matching Features
Matching Information
Identifying Information
Identifying Viewer Claims
Sentence Completion
Diagram Labelling
Hello!   :)

Submit your academic reading answers to auto generate this report.
Keywords In The Practice
Related Words
No Vocabulary Linked To Practice
IELTS reading LessonsCompleted: 0 / 73
play_circle_outlineWelcome to IELTS Tutor
play_circle_outlinePresent, Past, Future Simple, and Future in the Past Tense
Tips to improve your reading speed
To get a high score on the IELTS reading section, you need to have a fast reading speed. To have a fast reading speed, you need to improve your vocabulary and practice dissecting sentences. One strategy to dissect a sentence is to look for the subject and verb of the sentence. Finding the subject and verb will help you better understand the main idea of said sentence. Keep in mind, a common feature of a IELTS reading passage is to join strings of ideas to form long compound sentences. This produces large chunks that students have a hard time absorbing. Do not get overwhelmed by its length, just look for the subject and verb, the rest of the ideas will flow.

Keep in mind, having a slow reading speed makes skimming or scanning a reading passage more difficult. The process of quickly skimming through a reading passage for specific keywords or main ideas is a requirement for you to employ successful reading strategies to improve your IELTS reading score. In other words, skimming and scanning are critical skills to ensure you complete all questions in the allotted time frame.
IELTS Reading Strategies
Once you can read and comprehend a passage with a rate of, at least, 220 words per minute, you'll be ready to start implementing our strategies. All too often, students spend too much time reading the passages and not enough time answering the questions. Here is a step by step guide for tackling the reading section.

  1. Step 1: Read questions first

    One of the most common mistakes that candidates make when approaching the reading exam is reading every single word of the passages. Although you can practice for the exam by reading for pleasure, "reading blindly" (reading without any sense of what the questions will ask) will not do you any favors in the exam. Instead, it will hurt your chances for effectively managing your time and getting the best score.

    The main reason to read the questions first is because the type of question may determine what you read in the passage or how you read it. For example, some question types will call for the "skimming" technique, while others may call for the "scanning" technique.

    It is important to answer a set of questions that are of the same question type. You'll need to determine which question type you want to tackle first. A good strategy would be to start with the easier question type and move on to more difficult question types later. The Easiest question types are the ones where you spend less time reading. For example, the Matching Heading question type is an easier one because you only need to find the heading that best describes the main idea of a paragraph. An example of a difficult question type would be Identifying Information. For this question type, you'll need to read each paragraph to find out if each statement is TRUE, FALSE, or NOT GIVEN according to the passage.

    Here is a table that lists the difficulty levels for each question type. Use this table as a reference when choosing which question type you want to tackle first.

    Difficulty level Question Type
    Easy Sentence Completion
    Short answer
    Medium Matching Features
    Multiple choice
    Matching Headings
    Summary, Table, Flow-Chart Completion
    Difficult Matching Sentence Endings
    Matching Information
    Identifying Information (TRUE/FALSE/NOT GIVEN)
    Identifying Viewer's claims (YES/NO/NOT GIVEN)

  2. Step 2: Read for an objective

    After you've read the questions for the passage, you will be able to read for an objective. What does this mean? For example, if you come across a question that includes the year "1896", you can make a note of when this year comes up in the text, using it to answer the question later on. There are two reading techniques that will help you stay on track with reading for an objective. The first one, skimming, is best defined as reading fast in order to get the "gist", or general idea, or a passage. With this technique, you are not stopping for any unfamiliar words or looking for specific details. The second technique, scanning, is best defined as reading for specific information. With this technique, you are not reading for the overall gist, but rather, specific information. Notice how each of these techniques has a specific objective in mind. This will help you find information more quickly.

  3. Step 3: Take notes

    As you're reading for an objective, you should also be making notes on the margins of the passage, placing stars next to key information, or underlining things that you believe will help you answer the various questions. This will make it easier for you to check back when you are asked certain things in the questions. Choose whichever note-taking system is right for you - just make sure you do it!

  4. Step 4: Answer wisely

    After you've read the questions, read the passage, and have taken any appropriate notes, you you should have located the part of the text where you where you need to read carefully. Then just read carefully and think critically to determine the correct answer.

IELTS Reading Question Types

The IELTS reading test contains many different question types:

Matching HeadingsIELTS Reading Lesson: Matching Headings
Matching InformationIELTS Reading Lesson: Matching Information
Matching FeaturesIELTS Reading Lesson: Matching Features
Summary CompletionIELTS Reading Lesson: Summary Completion
Identifying InformationIELTS Reading Lesson: Identifying Information
Identifying Writer's claimsIELTS Reading Lesson: Identifying Writer's claims
Multiple ChoiceIELTS Reading Lesson: Multiple Choice
Short AnswerIELTS Reading Lesson: Short Answer
Match Sentence EndingIELTS Reading Lesson: Match Sentence Ending
Sentence CompletionIELTS Reading Lesson: Sentence Completion
Table CompletionIELTS Reading Lesson: Table Completion
 
star_border
close
close
Review Packages

Total: $160 USD
Package: Review Package Ultimate
Total: $80 USD
Package: Review Package Superior
Total: $40 USD
Package: Review Package Premium
Total: $20 USD
Package: Review Package Basic

Total: $96 USD
Package: Review Package Ultimate Speaking
Total: $48 USD
Package: Review Package Superior Speaking
Total: $24 USD
Package: Review Package Premium Speaking
Total: $12 USD
Package: Review Package Basic Speaking

Total: $72 USD
Package: Review Package Ultimate Writing
Total: $36 USD
Package: Review Package Superior Writing
Total: $18 USD
Package: Review Package Premium Writing
Total: $9 USD
Package: Review Package Basic Writing

Only premium members can use reviews.

Become premium member