Academic/General Training Module by Adam Smith First Published in 2015

 IELTS
 JOURNAL 
 
83 
surface-dwelling beetles, including a South African species, cut perfectly-shaped balls 
from the pat, which are rolled away and attached to the bases of plants.
For maximum dung burial in spring, summer and autumn, farmers require a variety of 
species with overlapping periods of activity. In the cooler environments of the state of 
Victoria, the large French species (2.5 cms long), is matched with smaller (half this 
size), temperate-climate Spanish species. The former are slow to recover from the 
winter cold and produce only one or two generations of offspring from late spring until 
autumn. The latter, which multiply rapidly in early spring, produce two to five 
generations annually. The South African ball-rolling species, being a sub-tropical 
beetle, prefers the climate of northern and coastal New South Wales where it 
commonly works with the South African tunneling species. In warmer climates, many 
species are active for longer periods of the year. 
Glossary 
1. dung: the droppings or excreta of animals 
2. cow pats: droppings of cows 
 
 

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 IELTS
 JOURNAL 
 
84 
10. Diagram label completion 
 
Task Type & Format 
In this task type, candidates are required to complete labels on a diagram which 
relates to a description contained in the text. The instructions will make it clear 
how many words/ numbers candidates should use in their answers, e.g. ‘NO 
MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from the passage’, ‘ONE WORD 
ONLY’ or ‘NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS’. If candidates write more than the 
number of words asked for, they will lose the mark. Numbers can be written 
using figures or words. Contracted words will not be tested. Hyphenated words 
count as single words. The answers do not necessarily occur in order in the 
passage. However, they will usually come from one section rather than the 
entire text. The diagram may be of some type of machine, or of parts of a 
building or of any other element that can be represented pictorially. This task 
type is often used with texts describing processes or with descriptive texts. 
Task Focus 
This task type assesses the candidate’s ability to understand a detailed 
description, and to relate it to information presented in the form of a diagram.