Frequently asked questions

Why isn’t there a link between the Reading and Writing modules?

Until 1995, a strong thematic link existed between the Reading and Writing Modules (for both Academic and General Training). This link was removed in the 1995 IELTS Revision Project because it increased the potential for confusing assessment of writing ability with assessment of reading ability (Charge and Taylor 1997). Monitoring of candidates’ writing performance suggested that the extent to which they exploited the reading input varied considerably. Some candidates drew heavily on the written content of the reading texts, apparently treating the writing task as a measure of their reading ability; as a result many risked masking their actual writing ability. Other candidates chose to articulate their own ideas on the topic, making very little reference to the reading input or forging artificial connections for the sake of the task. In some cases, cultural background meant that candidates were confused about whether to articulate their personal point of view on a topic or to reflect the more ‘authoritative’ view expressed in the reading text(s).

Such variation in response to the linked reading/writing task made the achievement of fair assessment at the marking stage very difficult. Removal of the link between the IELTS Reading and Writing Modules resulted in a more equitable form of task design. It also made it easier to control comparability of task difficulty across the many different test versions which need to be produced each year to meet the demands of candidature volume and security.

(An earlier link between the field-specific Reading/Writing modules and the Speaking module had been removed as part of the ELTS/IELTS Revision Project in 1989 for reasons explained in Alderson and Clapham 1993, Clapham and Alderson 1997).