IELTS Research Reports

An empirical investigation of the process of writing Academic Readingtest items for the International English Language Testing Systemwriters. Reflecting the international nature of the examination, Cambridge ESOL employs teams ofIELTS item writers in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and the USA.There are one or two commissions each year for each item writing team (IELTS 2007). The writersare commissioned to locate and adapt suitable texts ‘from publications sourced anywhere in the world’(IELTS 2007, 1). This work is carried out individually by item writers who may adapt their sources tomeet the requirements of the test. Khalifa and Weir (2009) list a number of reasons for an item writerto adapt an original text. These are drawn from the Item Writer Guidelines 2006 for general Englishexaminations (KET, PET, FCE, CAE and CPE) produced by Cambridge ESOL (the organisation thatis also responsible for producing IELTS) and include:■■■■■■■■■■■■cutting to make the text an appropriate lengthremoving unsuitable content to make the text inoffensivecutting or amending the text to avoid candidates being able to get the correct answersimply by word matching, rather than by understanding the textglossing or removing cultural references if appropriate, especially where culturalassumptions might impede understandingdeleting confusing or redundant references to other parts of the source textglossing, amending or removing parts of the text which require experience or detailedunderstanding of a specific topic.Item writers submit their material in draft form for review at a preliminary pre-editing meeting. Thismeeting involves the chairs of the item writer teams, experienced item writers and Cambridge ESOLsubject officers - members of staff with overall responsibility for the production, delivery and scoringof specific question papers. Green and Jay (2005) describe how ‘at this stage, guidance is given toitem writers on revising items and altering texts, and feedback is provided on rejected texts and/orunsuitable item types.’ This step is identified by the IELTS partners as an important element in itemwriter training because advice is given by the pre-editing team on reasons for rejecting or refining textsand on the suitability of proposed item types (IELTS 2007).Pre-edited material is returned to the item writer together with comments from the pre-editing panel.If the text has been evaluated as potentially acceptable for test use, the item writer then prepares anadapted version with accompanying items ready for inclusion in a test form. The modified material issubmitted to an editing meeting, which takes place centrally and, in addition to the writer concerned,involves Cambridge ESOL staff and the chair. According to the IELTS partners (IELTS 2007, 2) ‘itemwriters are encouraged to participate in editing meetings dealing with their material.’ because thisfurther contributes to their professional development as writers. Khalifa and Weir (2009) describe theaims of editing as follows:■■■■■■■■to check or re-check the quality of material against specifications and item writerguidelines.to make any changes necessary to submitted materials so that they are of an acceptablestandard.to ensure that the answer key and rubrics are appropriate and comprehensive.to further develop the skills of item writers in order to improve the quality of materialssubmitted and the input of item writers to future editing sessions.IELTS Research Reports Volume 11275