Introduction
In the IELTS reading note completion task, you must complete the blanks in the sentences, which are part of incomplete notes. To complete the blanks you must read and utilize the information given in a text. This task is not a difficult task, don’t let the name fool you it is just like the fill-in-the-blanks tasks we all have been used to throughout our schooling days.
IELTS Reading note completion sample task
Economic Apartheid
A new report from the World Institute for Development Economics Research of the United Nations University shows that wealth creation is remarkable, one might say, criminally, unequal. Follow this hierarchy at the top of the wealth pyramid: the richest 1 percent of adults alone owned 40 percent of global assets in the year 2000; the richest 2 percent owned more than half of global household wealth, and the richest 10 percent of adults accounted for 85% of the world total. That leaves very little for the remaining 90 percent of the global population. Could it be any worse? Yes, the rich are still getting richer, more millionaires are becoming billionaires.
As to the world’s lower class: the bottom half of the world’s adult population owned barely 1 percent of global wealth, defined as net worth: the value of physical and financial assets fewer debts. Over a billion poor people subsist on less than one dollar a day. Every day, according to UNICEF, 30,000 children die due to poverty – that’s over 10 million children killed by poverty every year! Global economic apartheid is killing people.
Here are data showing some of the variations among nations. Average wealth amounted to $144,000 per person in the U.S. in 2000, not as good as the $181,000 in Japan, but better than most others: $127,000 for the U.K., $70,000 for Denmark, $37,000 for New Zealand, $1,400 in Indonesia and $1,100 in India. Averages, of course, are very deceiving.
The statistical measure of inequality is the Gini value, which measures inequality on a scale from zero (total equality) to one (complete inequality). For income, it ranges from .35 to .45 in most countries. Wealth inequality is usually much higher, typically between .65 and .75. This reflects the greater difficulty in accumulating wealth (capital) than increasing income. Two high wealth economies, Japan and the United States show very different patterns of wealth inequality, with Japan having a low wealth Gini of .55 and the U.S. having around .80. The incomes of the top fifth of the Japanese population are only three times that of the bottom fifth, compared to nine times in the U.S. Japan has little economic apartheid compared to the U.S., yet both countries have a huge number of wealthy people. Of the wealthiest 10 percent in the world, 25 percent are American, and 20 percent are Japanese. These two countries are even stronger among the richest 1 percent of individuals in the world, with 37 percent residing in the U.S. and 27 percent in Japan. The point is that despite high numbers of very wealthy people, economic apartheid is absent in Japan and abysmal in the U.S.
We can explain the difference between Japan and the U.S. People can save and accumulate wealth for future economic security or can borrow and spend like mad to accumulate possessions. According to a 2006 report, only 41 percent of American families save regularly, making wealth creation difficult. America’s national savings rate – which includes corporate savings and government budget deficits – is only about 13.6% of gross domestic product, compared to 25 percent in Japan.
U.S. economic apartheid shows that a self-proclaimed great democracy with considerable personal freedom can risk deep social instability from class warfare as it approaches a two-class system. We need to see economic apartheid as lethal and repulsive as racial apartheid.
Questions 1- 7
Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/ OR A NUMBER from the passage for each answer.
Global Wealth Distribution
- According to a UN report, the world’s wealth distribution is drastically 1 ________
- In 2000, the wealthiest 1% had 40% of global wealth, while 10% owned 2 _________
- In contrast, just 1% of riches was shared by the 3_________
- More than a billion people survive on less than a dollar daily.
- Poverty causes the death of more than 4 _______ children annually.
Wealth imbalance among nations:
- In 2000, per capita wealth in Japan and America were $181,000 and $ 144,000 respectively, but a mere $1100 in India.
- Inequality is measured in terms of 5 ______, which ranges from 0 to 1.
- Japan has less 6 _______ than the U.S. though both have a large number of very rich people.
- Americans tend to save less, leading to less wealth accumulation.
- The U.S. example indicates that more 7 ______ can result in serious social imbalance.
IELTS Reading note completion tips
Look for clues
The question will have certain clues, so look out for those clues, e.g. the title of the passage provides information about what’s the main idea of the text.
Lookout for synonyms
A synonym is a similar meaning word. Look out for synonyms in the text as you will not find exact word-to-word matches.
Answers appear in the same order as the text
A saving grace about these questions is that the answers will appear in the same order in the text.
IELTS Reading Note Completion Strategy
Read the question
Read the question carefully to see how many words are needed to answer the question. In the example above, you must select NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from the text to answer each question.
Look for clues
Look at the text carefully and identify any clues. Start by looking at the heading, this will tell you what the topic is. Then read and understand each sentence of the note. This will give context to what you need to search for in the text.
Skim the text
Skim through the text to understand the meaning of each paragraph. You need to focus on what each paragraph conveys. This understanding of the topic of the text and each paragraph will come in handy when you search for the answers in the next steps.
Read the sentences
Read the sentences with gaps and understand their meaning. This will help you identify what you need to search for in the text.
Read the text
When you skimmed the text earlier, you identified each paragraph’s meaning. Use that knowledge to search for the keywords needed to fill the gaps in the notes. look for synonyms as you will not find a word-to-word match.
Check your answer
Check your answer to make sure it is grammatically correct.
Correct answers
1 unequal
2 85%
3 bottom half
4 10 million
5 Gini value
6 economic apartheid
7 personal freedom
Work out the answers
As a first step, I first read the question carefully to identify that the answer should be no more than two words or a number. Then I looked at the heading of the text to identify the topic of the text. Then I skimmed through the text to understand the meaning of each paragraph. Next, I read through the notes to understand what each sentence meant.
1. According to a UN report, the world’s wealth distribution is drastically 1 ________
For the first sentence, we have to look at what has happened drastically to the world’s wealth distribution.
In the extract below you will note that criminally has been used as a synonym for drastically. It says that the wealth creation is criminally unequal, so unequal is the correct answer.
A new report from the World Institute for Development Economics Research of the United Nations University shows that wealth creation is remarkable, one might say, criminally, unequal.
2. In 2000, the wealthiest 1% had 40% of global wealth, while 10% owned 2 _________
For the second sentence we have to identify what the wealthiest 10% owned in the year 2000.
In the extract below you will note richest has been used as a synonym for wealthiest and accounted is used as a synonym for owned. It says that the richest 10 percent of adults accounted for 85% of the world’s total. 85% is the correct answer.
the richest 1 percent of adults alone owned 40 percent of global assets in the year 2000; the richest 2 percent owned more than half of global household wealth, and the richest 10 percent of adults accounted for 85% of the world total.
3. In contrast, just 1% of riches was shared by the 3_________
For this sentence, we have to identify who shares 1% of the riches.
In the extract below you will note that owned is used as a synonym for shares and wealth is used as a synonym for riches. The answer is bottom half.
As to the world’s lower class: the bottom half of the world’s adult population owned barely 1 percent of global wealth.
4. Poverty causes the death of more than 4 _______ children annually.
For the fourth sentence, we have to identify the number of children that die annually due to poverty.
In the extract below you will note that killed is used as a synonym for death. The correct answer is 10 million as that is the annual figure.
Every day, according to UNICEF, 30,000 children die due to poverty – that’s over 10 million children killed by poverty every year! Global economic apartheid is killing people.
5. Inequality is measured in terms of 5 ______, which ranges from 0 to 1.
For the fifth sentence, we have to identify what is used to measure inequality and has a range of 0 to 1.
In the extract below you will notice that scale is used as a synonym for range. The Gini value is the correct answer.
The statistical measure of inequality is the Gini value, which measures inequality on a scale from zero (total equality) to one (complete inequality).
6. Japan has less 6 _______ than the U.S. though both have a large number of very rich people.
For the next sentence, we have to identify what is it that Japan has less than the US even though both have a large number of very rich people.
In the extract below you will notice that less is used as a synonym for little. Economic apartheid is the correct answer.
Japan has little economic apartheid compared to the U.S., yet both countries have a huge number of wealthy people.
7. The U.S. example indicates that more 7 ______ can result in serious social imbalance.
For the seventh sentence, we have to identify what is it that can result in serious social imbalance when it is more.
In the extract below you will notice that considerable has been used as a synonym for serious. Personal freedom is the correct answer.
U.S. economic apartheid shows that a self-proclaimed great democracy with considerable personal freedom can risk deep social instability from class warfare as it approaches a two-class system.