IELTS Research Reports

Construct validity in the IELTS Academic Reading test2 questions and tasks set in examinations, tests etc3 assignment tasks, set as part of the major assessment requirements on courses.In the analysis that follows, we draw on the same framework used to analyse the IELTS reading tasktypes, involving an allocation of each task to a category in the schema. This was done both throughprocesses of moderation between members of the research group, and also through reference toinformants’ descriptions of these tasks in interview. The findings of this section are organised aroundthe four analytical categories, viz:■■■■■■■■local – literalglobal – literallocal – interpretativeglobal – interpretativeLOCAL + LITERALIn our corpus, we could find many examples of tasks that required a mainly ‘local – literal’ form ofengagement with reading material. It is significant to note also that such examples were present in allthe discipline areas covered in the study. The following two items are presented as samples from thecorpus fitting this ‘local – literal’ configuration.Read Chapter 8 of The Gecko’s Foot – Bio-inspiration: Engineered from Nature, and take notesaround the following questions.1. What is meant by the concept of ‘ordered crumpling’? Why, according to the author, is thisconcept useful?Sample A1. Weekly exercise task - Architecture(A1 denotes that this is an Academic task, and this is the first task.)2. Postmodernists basically believe that:a) All texts are closed b) Most texts are closedc) All texts are open d) Most texts are opene) All of these depending on the circumstancesSample A2. Exam question - Media StudiesThe first example, Sample A1, is from a set of exercise questions, prescribed as part of the weeklyreadings in the Architecture subject. This task, as the rubric states, requires students to produce ashort summary (“notes”) of a specific concept from the readings (‘ordered crumpling’), along with anaccount of its ‘usefulness’ – as described by the passage’s author. This focus on explication of a singleconcept clearly fits with a more ‘local and literal’ engagement with material. Such interpretation wasconfirmed by the lecturer, who described the purpose of “basic comprehension-style” tasks like this asbeing “to help students come to grips with material and to get a grasp of key concepts in the subject”.The lecturer went on to explain that in her subject such concepts were then typically drawn on in somepractical way – in this case, it was to explore in tutorial discussion the issue of “how certain patterns innature can be applied to design”.IELTS Research Reports Volume 11229