Cracking the IELTS Academic Reading Labeling Question

Cracking the IELTS academic reading labeling question can be a little tricky. Labeling questions come in all sorts of formats with diagrams and maps being the most common. Candidates need to locate information from the reading passage to correctly label the particular item correctly. Sometimes there are clues that can help in finding the correct answer while other times, it’s not so obvious. The following article provides a breakdown on how to attack the IELTS academic reading labeling question.

Understanding the Question

Labeling questions normally are located somewhere around the middle of the question series meaning that the candidate would have read some of the passage prior to seeing this type of question. The instructions are clear “Label the diagram below” with additional instructions that state “Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR NUMBERS from the passage for each answer”. The instructions are very specific. Note the following;

Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR NUMBERS

The candidate needs to ensure that the answer contains no more than 3 words and or a number. If four words are written, the answer will be marked wrong.

TIP

Another key point of interest is AND/OR NUMBERS. When this is in the instructions, it’s almost guaranteed numbers will be used as an answer choice.

Where to Start

Questions 4 to 7

Label the diagram below.

Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR NUMBERS from the passage for each answer.

Write your answers in boxes 4-7 on your answer sheet.

Q. 4 .............

Q. 5 .............

Q. 6 .............

Q. 7 .............

Choosing a starting point can be time consuming. Looking at this particular diagram, we can see there are labels already added to the diagram. One particular label stands out more than the others and that is the number 756 (feet). We need to focus on what I refer to as keywords, words that generally can’t be made into a synonym. What do I mean? Let’s have a look.

Entry – Entrance, Front Door

King’s Chamber – King’s Room, King’s Residence

756 feet - ?

Two of the three words can be written in different ways therefore, it could be challenging to find them in the passage. 756 feet on the other hand can’t making this particular label easy to locate and a good starting point to find answers for the missing labels.

The following link shows the entire passage.

Cracking the ielts academic reading-labeling from Raymond Ebertt

Using scanning and skimming skills, we can quickly find 756 feet in paragraph 5;

There are about 80 ancient pyramids in Egypt. The Great Pyramid at Giza, which King Cheops built as his tomb 5000 years ago, holds most interest. It stands with two other pyramids on a slight rise overlooking the River Nile. At the centre of the pyramid is the King's Chamber and leading down from there is a long narrow area known as the Grand Gallery. The pyramid covers 13 acres and contains 2,300,000 blocks of limestone, each weighing an average of 1.5 tons. Its pyramidal form has a perfectly square base with sides of 756 feet and a height of 481 feet. Situated directly below the King's Chamber is the Queen's Chamber and there are two air channels leading upwards from the centre of the pyramid to the outside.

Examining the diagram, we learn that 756 feet refers to the base or width of the pyramid. Learning this, we can now examine question 5. Notice how question 5 is similar in appearance with 756 feet. If 756 feet refers to the base or width, question 5 must refer to the height. Reading a bit further in the sentence, we see the reference of 481 feet as the height. This would be the correct label for question 5.

Tip

Good scanning and skimming skills are essential. Another important technique is what I refer to as the “sandwich” technique. A “sandwich” technique is reading a sentence before the keyword and after. This helps in assuring that the meaning of the content is clearly understood. Practice this technique when trying to locate specific information.

Using Content Clues

Content clues are crucial for answering questions, especially with labeling. Content clues provide details and guidance on where to look for a specific answer. This particular paragraph provides all the content clues to answer questions 4, 6 and 7. Let’s look at this following sentence from the paragraph.

At the centre of the pyramid is the King's Chamber and leading down from there is a long narrow area known as the Grand Gallery.

This sentence offers content clues for question 4. We learn that the King’s Chamber is in the center of the diagram and “leading down” takes us to the Grand Gallery. Some common content clues to look out for are prepositions of time and place. Here we can use “leading down” as a clue to what is found at question 4.

Questions 6 and 7 are also answered by using content clues. Studying this sentence, we can quickly determine the answer for question 6.

Situated directly below the King's Chamber is the Queen's Chamber and there are two air channels leading upwards from the centre of the pyramid to the outside.

Again, using the content clue “directly below” takes us to the Queen’s Chamber, the correct answer for question 6.

This leaves us with question 7 which is also found in the same sentence. The content clues of “from the center” and “to the outside” refers to question 7 that shows two areas that need 1 label.

Situated directly below the King's Chamber is the Queen's Chamber and there are two air channels leading upwards from the centre of the pyramid to the outside.

Using these prepositional phrases as content clues quickly guides you around the diagram and helps you to locate the answers effectively.

Final Thoughts

Not every labeling question will have numbers to use as keywords, but most will have a clear starting point. The idea behind answering labeling questions is to find reliable content clues that will provide you with details and information to answer the question. Use these techniques when answering labeling questions and you’ll see a remarkable improvement in answering labeling questions quickly and effectively.

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