Short answers — find the right fact, then count · Réponses courtes — trouver le bon fait, puis compter
Finding pages faster does not make every word correct
- An archive’s search trial can improve while uncertain transcriptions remain. Answer the fact requested rather than substituting a nearby benefit.
This invented archive project is original practice material. Read the passage once, then answer from it rather than from what you know about archives.
In 2021, staff at Elm Town Library began digitising donated field notebooks. Each notebook was photographed before its pages went through text recognition. The originals stayed in a climate-controlled storeroom; researchers used scans. Volunteers added place names to a searchable index, but they did not correct the notebooks' spelling. To test the index, staff selected 60 notebooks and asked 12 students to find references to river floods. In the first trial, students found relevant pages in an average of nine minutes. After the index was added, the average fell to three minutes. The project team called this an improvement in access, not proof that every transcription was accurate. The search page therefore kept a button for reporting doubtful words.
The passage contains a sequence: preparation → index → search trial → result → remaining limitation. The questions will follow that sequence.
An archive keeps records; a short answer has less room for words.
In which year did the library begin digitising notebooks? · En quelle année la bibliothèque a-t-elle commencé à numériser les cahiers ?
The first sentence states 2021. A date remembered from another project is irrelevant. · La première phrase indique 2021. Une date retenue d'un autre projet est sans pertinence.
Locate the fact the question asks for
Assume the instruction says NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER FROM THE PASSAGE.
What year did digitisation begin? → 2021. The first sentence contains the date.
Where were the original notebooks kept? → storeroom. Climate-controlled describes the room; the question asks where the originals stayed. Climate-controlled storeroom is also a valid two-word answer: the correctly hyphenated adjective counts as one word. Adding a would make three and exceed the limit.
Short-answer questions ask for factual details. The official format guide says the answers follow the text's information order, so the next answer should normally be found further down.
Where were the original notebooks kept? NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS FROM THE PASSAGE. · Où étaient conservés les cahiers originaux ? PAS PLUS DE DEUX MOTS DU TEXTE.
Storeroom identifies the location; climate-controlled storeroom is also copied from the passage and fits two words because climate-controlled is one correctly hyphenated word.
Count words and numbers after finding the fact
How many notebooks were selected for the test? → 60. The passage also says 12 students took part; 12 answers a different question. Match the noun beside the number before you copy it.
What kind of event did the students search for? → river floods. These are two words from the passage. Flooding near the river may sound equivalent, but it is not copied from the text and is too long for the stated limit.
How long did finding pages take after the index was added? → three minutes (or 3 minutes). Do not copy the earlier nine minutes: after · après makes the later measurement the one that answers the question.
How many NOTEBOOKS were selected for the index test? · Combien de CAHIERS ont été sélectionnés pour le test d'indexation ?
60 notebooks were selected. Twelve counts students; nine measures the earlier search time in minutes. · 60 cahiers ont été sélectionnés. Douze compte des étudiants ; neuf mesure le temps de recherche précédent en minutes.
What kind of event did the students look for? NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS FROM THE PASSAGE. · Quel type d'événement les étudiants cherchaient-ils ? PAS PLUS DE DEUX MOTS DU TEXTE.
The passage says 'references to river floods'. Those two words name the event exactly. · Le texte mentionne « références aux inondations fluviales ». Ces deux mots nomment exactement l'événement.
Do not turn a faster search into perfect accuracy
The search became faster, but the team did not claim every transcription was accurate. A likely trap is answering a question about accuracy with the time reduction. They measured access time and still provided a way to flag doubtful words.
Check the noun and · et time qualifier together. Here 60 notebooks differs from 12 students, and after the index differs from before the index.
Because search time fell, the team concluded that every transcription was accurate. · Parce que le temps de recherche a diminué, l'équipe a conclu que chaque transcription était exacte.
The passage explicitly separates improved access from transcription accuracy and keeps a way to report doubtful words. · Le texte sépare explicitement l'accès amélioré de l'exactitude de la transcription et conserve un moyen de signaler les mots douteux.
A four-check routine
- Underline the question word (when, where, how many, what · quoi).
- Find the matching sentence, using the order of the questions to narrow the search.
- Copy the shortest answer that names the right thing; keep any word needed to make it precise.
- Count words and numbers against the instruction, then check spelling.
An answer is complete when it identifies the requested fact, comes from the passage, and fits the printed word limit. A related fact is still the wrong answer.
Source checked on 23 September 2026: official IELTS Academic Reading guide, short-answer questions.
A faster search is a different outcome from accurate text
- The archive trial falls from nine minutes to three. That is a six-minute reduction in finding pages. It does not prove that the transcribed notebook words are all correct.
- The report button still invites users to flag doubtful words. A question about accuracy needs that limit, not the attractive time improvement.
- Do not substitute a nearby measured benefit for an unmeasured claim. Match the question’s noun and time qualifier to the passage.
- Locate the requested fact, copy a precise answer and check the instruction.
- Apply the distinction to the transfer check below. These are original teaching cases, not official items or band predictions.
Match the distinctions in this worked case.
The report button still invites users to flag doubtful words. A question about accuracy needs that limit, not the attractive time improvement.
What does the faster trial establish in the passage?
The archive trial falls from nine minutes to three. That is a six-minute reduction in finding pages. It does not prove that the transcribed notebook words are all correct. The report button still invites users to flag doubtful words. A question about accuracy needs that limit, not the attractive time improvement.