IELTS Research Reports

An empirical investigation of the process of writing Academic Readingtest items for the International English Language Testing SystemclearThe guidelines areclear (Anne)Finding texts can beconfusing (Anne)CONFUSINGTrying to read preeditingteams’ mindscan be confusing(William)Texts can beconfusing(Elizabeth)Some tasksconfusing forcandidates (William)‘We used to fill ina form identifyingwhat each itemwas testing – itwas confusing butalso really usefulin focussing themind on what itemsare actually doing’(Elizabeth)interestingThe topic and thetexts – I have learnta lot (William)Final stages of itemwriting – proofreading (Elizabeth)More interestingthan businessEnglish texts (Anne)Proof reading(Jane)DULLyou get to grips withtexts that you mightnot otherwise read(Anne)Texts must beengaging to keepyou interested for aday (Jane)MCQ can be quiteinteresting andcreative (Anne)Making sure thateverything fitstogether (William)timeconsumingFinding the texts(All)Editing can be‘deathly’ whenyou are workingwith other’s textthat Is problematic(William)Depends on timeof day (Anne) andteam (Elizabeth)If it’s the right text, itcan be quick (Anne,Jane)QUICKSometimes rewritingis easier alonethan by committee(Wiliam)rewardingMaking it work(William)Pretest reviewacceptance(William)Improving thequality of the sourcetext (Anne)Often we are ineffect creating anew text – fit for adifferent purpose(William)UNREWARDINGIELTS Research Reports Volume 11295