IELTS Research Reports

An empirical investigation of the process of writing Academic Readingtest items for the International English Language Testing SystemElizabeth UK1 AUS1 NZ1Not necessarily just due toexperience - guidelines havebecome more preciseYes - writing well for anypaper is an ongoing,developmental experience.Sometimes I wonder - I stillhave end up with a lot ofwork to do on my items.Yes, definitely.Most have been accepted Yes. Most have been accepted Yes, somewhat, though hasalways been fairly high.Item writer guidelinesI might use Google to checkup on details of input textcontent where this seemsunclearI always refer to theguidelines when I am writing.The Specimen materials aredated so I don’t use these.What materials are thereapart from the Guidelines?Item writer guidelinesI may also use a Thesaurusto provide synonyms e.g. inmultiple choice questions.Access to appropriatepublished materials on theinternet e.g. if I had access toundergraduate/postgraduatesitesIt might be useful to havemore good ‘models’,particularly for some of thetrickier task types.A better insight into howcandidates take the testmight be helpful.Item writers do not normallysee their own material atpre-editing for IELTS orother Cambridge ESOLexaminationsNone. nil 100%usually 100% Most, say 85%. 100% 100%variable Ditto. 100% noProductiveI am usually chairingthese meetings. Fromthat perspective, they runsmoothly, writers are veryexperienced and make veryuseful contributions.A tremendous struggle,but great. We have a reallyterrific team.Very positive and useful.IELTS Research Reports Volume 11337