How to do fill in the gap or gap fill questions : (academic or general) Questions: Step 1: 71 species of living turtles and tortoises were examined and a total of 34 ................were taken from the bones of their forelimbs. Step 2: The data was recorded on a 35 ................... (necessary for comparing the information). Outcome: Land tortoises were represented by a dense 36 .................. of points towards the top. Sea turtles were grouped together in the bottom part. Step 3: The same data was collected from some living 37 .................. species and added to the other results. Outcome: The points for these species turned out to be positioned about 38 .................. up the triangle between the land tortoises and the sea turtles. Step 4: Bones of R quenstedti and P talampayensis were examined in a similar way and the results added. Outcome: The position of the points indicated that both these ancient creatures were 39...................... Cambridge 9 ( can be retrieved from : ielts-mentor/reading-sample/academic-reading/644-ielts-academic-reading-sample-51-the-history-of-the-tortoise) ---> Lets start : -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 71 species of living turtles and tortoises were examined and a total of 34 ................were taken from the bones of their forelimbs. 1, Break down the question/analysis of the question: Step a- read the question carefully. Step -b Find out what is missing Step c-- be specific about what is missing--->adjacent/ neighbour words : 34 and were taken/ bones-forelimbs. So 34 SOMETHING were taken from the forelimbs-bones. 2, Location finding skills: a, Focus on The meaning of the sentence than some keywords (keyword matching would not work all the time) Try to find all words ( not some words) in the passage: I would track the verbs than nouns Verbs--> examined, taken Nouns--> species, turtles, tortoises,total,bones, forelimbs Remember: the missing word is a noun because it says a total of _______ were taken. Were taken is the verb and the subject is a total of _______. Subject normally contains article/s, preposition/s,adjective/s and noun/s. Here the subject has of---> a = article total = noun of = preposition ____ = should be a noun Whenever we use of it normally associated with another noun. We use of to fuse with another noun. For example name of the game name = noun 0f = prep game = noun (hope you got the usual sentence construction style) optional lessons: Learn sentence synthesis and diagramming. In my mind now: Verbs--> examined, taken Nouns--> species, turtles, tortoises,total,bones, forelimbs I will focus on verb now ( it is accurate than focusing on nouns because verb controls the meaning of a sentence, not the noun). I know numbers such as 71 are easy to identify but that may be the general location but we need the exact sentence in the para or location. Para 3 end and beginning of 4 : Location tracked: (general location) With turtles it is a little less obvious. One way to tell is by measuring the bones of their forelimbs. Walter Joyce and Jacques Gauthier, at Yale University, obtained three measurements in these particular bones of 71 species of living turtles and tortoises. They used a kind of triangular graph paper to plot the three measurements against one another. All the land tortoise species formed a tight cluster of points in the upper part of the triangle; all the water turtles cluster in the lower part of the triangular graph. 71, species, living turtles, tortoises (matching) examined = they used a kind of triangular paper to plot ( to plot = to determine and mark (points), as on plotting paper, by means of measurements or coordinates) This is the general location. ----- So the first clause of the question (71 species of living turtles and tortoises were examined) has matched against the passage. So that part of the passage should be eliminated because answer can not be there. If we see parts in the question in the passage, answer can not be there. We need the missing one. So we move on to the next clause of the question (: a total of ................were taken from the bones of their forelimbs). bones and forelimbs are stated in para 3 end. but where is the total of and were taken? A total = implied meaning ( I ate 3 burgers--> I ate a total of 3 burgers) Were taken = obtained A personalised example: John used your pencils (active) Your pencils were used by John (passive) Rephrased--> Your pencils were taken by John. Hope you got the trick. Do you understand now when I said always track the verbs. The matching words are eliminated and missing word is : three measurements. Look at the verb were taken and its position in the para obtained . The question is in the passive mode and the answer is in the active mode so we have to find the word or words after the were taken from the passage, not the word/s before were taken = obtained. This question is a summative one as the location of the question is not in one sentence but 2-3 sentences. If I was going behind forelimbs or bone, I would be at the end of para 3 and got the wrong answer forcefully. You need to practice this patiently. Once you have learnt this, you can fasten it up. This is not a short cut but a real exam method. I can do these all in 60-70 seconds. You should practice all these first and when you are ready, you would do it within one minute and 20 secs. You may need to pen first but gradually you can do all it in your head. No methods can beat this in terms of accuracy. I used a combination method. This is the best and it needs patience to learn. But only 1-3 days if you patient. You also should know basic grammar otherwise it would not work. If you do not know the basic sentence diagramming skills, then learn. What is verb, noun, adjectives or prepositions/articles. If you do not know those and its locations in a sentence, then your score may be less than 5-6 bands basically. Be patient my friend. You are the only one who blocks you learning, not me. I found it is hard to teach some students since they are very stubborn and unwilling to learn. They want just spoon-feeding, but when I am not with them, they are incapable. By and large, this is the summarised method of how to do GAP FILLS. You may try the other questions. If any help needed, I will do the rest to demonstrate it.
Posted on: Tue, 11 Nov 2014 06:42:30 +0000
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