IELTS Research Reports

Construct validity in the IELTS Academic Reading testType of engagementLiteralInterpretativeWhereas the ‘literal’ element of our binary refers to the unitary act of comprehending the propositionalcontent of a text, there are arguably many different ways that one might engage with texts ‘interpretatively’.These might include, for example, as Alderson (2000, p 320) suggests:■■■■■■■■identifying the function of a piece of writingrecognising an authors presuppositions and assumptionsdistinguishing fact from opinionrecognising an intended audience and point of view.Catherine Wallace (1999, p 109), working within a more ‘critical literacy’ paradigm, provides adifferent list of skills, including:■■■■■■■■understanding the hidden messages in textsidentifying how texts persuade one to behave or thinkappreciating how texts are written for different audiencesappreciating how texts might be read in different ways by different audiencesThe present study resisted any effort to draw up a definitive, a priori list of these interpretative modes,and indeed to try to establish any hierarchical relationship between them. Instead, the approachemployed was to rely on the broad brush distinction drawn between ‘literal’ and ‘interpretative’ formsof reading, and to assess whether reading tasks set for students (either on the IELTS reading test, or inacademic study) seemed, on the face of it, to require more of one form of engagement than the other.Summary of analytical frameworkThe two dimensions of the analytical framework – level of engagement and type of engagement –are represented on the matrix shown in Figure 1 below. The level of engagement dimension, whichdescribes a continuum from more ‘local’ to more ‘global’ engagement, refers to the level of text withwhich a reader needs to engage to respond to a task. At the extreme left of the axis (most local) wouldbe tasks requiring engagement at the level of ‘word’; at the extreme right of the axis (most global)would be tasks requiring engagement with multiple texts.The type of engagement dimension, which describes a continuum from more ‘literal’ to more‘interpretative’ engagement, refers to the way (or ways) a reader needs to engage with a text torespond to a task. At the top of this axis (most literal) would be tasks requiring a basic comprehensionof textual material; at the bottom of the axis (most interpretative) would be tasks requiring a highlycritical, and personal engagement with texts.IELTS Research Reports Volume 11195