IELTS Research Reports

Construct validity in the IELTS Academic Reading testKennedy’s Vietnam policiesIn retrospect, JFK can be seen to have increased the American commitment in Vietnam.Many argue, however, that Kennedy would have resiled from extending the War. Examine theavailable evidence, including the views of Kennedy’s contemporaries and the historians whohave studied his presidency to assess the nature and impact of JFK’s Vietnam policies.Sample A26. Essay task - HistoryThis ‘global interpretative’ approach was also outlined by informants in interview:HISTORY: We require our students to read widely – both primary and secondary material.I stress to them that they need to do adequate reading otherwise they cannot respond to thequestions that we pose. I say “You might find a perfectly reasonable answer in a single bookon this topic, but you’re in no position to evaluate that unless you’ve read alternatives”.Accompanying such essay tasks in the subject manuals was a good deal of material covering issues ofappropriate use of sources and plagiarism, including the following from the History manual:Essay writing is an essential part of the learning process and a vital medium through which wecan assess your understanding of the subject. The essay must therefore be your own work. Thisdoes not mean you should not make extensive use of the work of others. However when youquote or paraphrase the explanations of others, you must acknowledge your sources in full.Figure 9. Advice concerning plagiarism – History course manualIn relation to essay writing, a number of informants spoke of the challenges of imparting to studentshow they should go about using reading material legitimately in their writing:MANAGEMENT: Using sources appropriately is a tertiary skill, and in teaching that wetry to inculcate some of the ideas of what plagiarism is … but we do often face issues withstudents on that score.ReportsAnother assignment-type requiring a ‘global-interpretative’ engagement was the report. In thefollowing example, a section of a linguistics research report task (cited earlier – Sample A18), studentsneeded to interpret the results of their study against the findings of a range of studies described earlierin the report.Speech act researchDiscussion & Conclusion (400-500 words). Analyse and interpret your findings: Why did it turnout like this? What is the reason for the differences you found? How do these results stand withrespect to some of the studies you reported in the introduction? End with a brief conclusion.Sample A27. Research project task (extract) – LinguisticsIn the following case study report from Business Studies, students needed to draw on certaindiscipline-related concepts (‘value configuration’, ‘business structure’) as a basis for analysing theeffectiveness (‘value’) of a specific business organisation.IELTS Research Reports Volume 11239