Comprehensive guide covering essential IELTS preparation strategies and techniques to help you achieve your target band score.
Originally published April 2023. Last reviewed 3 July 2026.
Locked Doors Open Access
The word, ‘security’, has both positive and negative connotations. Most of us would say that we crave security for all its positive virtues, both physical and psychological – its evocation of the safety of home, of undying love, or of freedom from need. More negatively, the word nowadays conjures up images of that huge industry that has developed to protect individuals and property from invasion by ‘outsiders’, ostensibly malicious and intent on theft or wilful damage.
Increasingly, because they are situated in urban areas of escalating crime, those buildings which used to allow free access to employees and other users (buildings such as offices, schools, colleges or hospitals) now do not. Entry areas which in another age were called ‘Reception’ are now manned by security staff. Receptionists, whose task it was to receive visitors and to make them welcome before passing them on to the person they had come to see, have been replaced by those whose task it is to bar entry to the unauthorized, the unwanted or the plain unappealing.
Inside, these buildings are divided into ‘secure zones’ which often have all the trappings of combination locks and burglar alarms. These devices bar entry to the uninitiated, hinder circulation, and create parameters of time and space for user access. Within the spaces created by these zones, individual rooms are themselves under lock and key, which is a particular problem when it means that working space becomes compartmentalized.
To combat the consequent difficulty of access to people at a physical level, we have now developed technological access. Computers sit on every desk and are linked to one another, and in many cases to an external universe of other computers, so that messages can be passed to and fro. Here too security plays a part, since we must not be allowed access to messages destined for others. And so the password was invented. Now correspondence between individuals goes from desk to desk and cannot be accessed by colleagues. Library catalogues can be searched from one’s desk. Papers can be delivered to, and received from, other people at the press of a button.
And yet it seems that, just as work is isolating individuals more and more, organizations are recognizing the advantages of ‘team-work’; perhaps in order to encourage employees to talk to one another again. Yet, how can groups work in teams if the possibilities for communication are reduced? How can they work together if e-mail provides a convenient electronic shield behind which the blurring of public and private can be exploited by the less scrupulous? If voice-mail walls up messages behind a password? If I can’t leave a message on my colleague’s desk because his office is locked?
Team-work conceals the fact that another kind of security, ‘job security’, is almost always not on offer. Just as organizations now recognize three kinds of physical resources: those they buy, those they lease long-term and those they rent short-term – so it is with their human resources. Some employees have permanent contracts, some have short-term contracts, and some are regarded simply as casual labour.
Telecommunication systems offer us the direct line, which means that individuals can be contacted without the caller having to talk to anyone else. Voice-mail and the answer-phone mean that individuals can communicate without ever actually talking to one another. If we are unfortunate enough to contact organizations with sophisticated touch-tone systems, we can buy things and pay for them without ever speaking to a human being.
To combat this closing in on ourselves we have the Internet, which opens out communication channels more widely than anyone could possibly want or need. An individual’s electronic presence on the Internet is known as a ‘Home Page’ – suggesting the safety and security of an electronic hearth. An elaborate system of 3-dimensional graphics distinguishes this very 2-dimensional medium of ‘web sites’. The nomenclature itself creates the illusion of a geographical entity, that the person sitting before the computer is travelling, when in fact the ‘site’ is coming to him. ‘Addresses’ of one kind or another move to the individual, rather than the individual moving between them, now that location is no longer geographical.
An example of this is the mobile phone. I am now not available either at home or at work, but wherever I take my mobile phone. Yet, even now, we cannot escape the security of wanting to ‘locate’ the person at the other end. It is no coincidence that almost everyone we see answering or initiating a mobile phone-call in public begins by saying where he or she is.
Questions 15-18
Choose the correct letter A, B, C or D.
According to the author, one thing we long for is
A. the safety of the home
B. security
C. open access
D. positive virtues
Access to many buildings
A. is unauthorized
B. is becoming more difficult
C. is a cause of crime in many urban areas
D. used to be called ‘Reception’
Buildings used to permit access to any users
A. but now they do not
B. and still do now
C. especially offices and schools
D. especially in urban areas
Secure zones
A. do not allow access to the user
B. compartmentalise the user
C. are often like traps
D. are not accessible to everybody
Questions 19-24
Complete the summary below using words from the box.
The problem of physical access to buildings has now been (19)………………………………by technology. Messages are (20)………………………………with passwords not allowing (21)…………………………to read someone else’s messages. But, while individuals are becoming increasingly (22)……………………………..socially by the way they do their job, at the same time more value is being put on (23)………………………………….However, e-mail and voice-mail have led to a (24)…………………………………opportunities for person-to-person communication.
Reducing off
Computer
Other people
Isolating
Teamwork
Decrease in
Similar
Solved
No different from
Overcame
Physical
Protected
Combat
Developed
Cut-off
Questions 25-27
Complete the sentences below with words taken from Reading Passage 2. Use NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer. 25 The writer does not like………………………………. 26 An individual’s Home Page indicates their………………………………on the Internet. 27 Devices like mobile phones mean that location is…………………………..
Comprehensive guide covering essential IELTS preparation strategies and techniques to help you achieve your target band score.
Originally published April 2023. Last reviewed 3 July 2026.
The Creativity Myth
A. It is a myth that creative people are born with their talents: gifts from God or nature. Creative genius is, in fact, latent within many of us, without our realising. But how far do we need to travel to find the path to creativity? For many people, a long way. In our everyday lives, we have to perform many acts out of habit to survive, like opening the door, shaving, getting dressed, walking to work, and so on. If this were not the case, we would, in all probability, become mentally unhinged. So strongly ingrained are our habits, though this varies from person to person, that sometimes, when a conscious effort is made to be creative, automatic response takes over. We may try, for example, to walk to work following a different route, but end up on our usual path. By then it is too late to go back and change our minds. Another day, perhaps. The same applies to all other areas of our lives. When we are solving problems, for example, we may seek different answers, but, often as not, find ourselves walking along the same well-trodden paths.
B. So, for many people, their actions and behavior are set in immovable blocks, their minds clogged with the cholesterol of habitual actions, preventing them from operating freely, and thereby stifling creation. Unfortunately, mankind’s very struggle for survival has become a tyranny – the obsessive desire to give order to the world is a case in point. Witness people’s attitude to time, social customs, and the panoply of rules and regulations by which the human mind is now circumscribed.
C. The groundwork for keeping creative ability in check begins at school. School, later university and then work, teach us to regulate our lives, imposing a continuous process of restrictions which is increasing exponentially with the advancement of technology. Is it surprising then that creative ability appears to be so rare? It is trapped in the prison that we have erected. Yet, even here in this hostile environment, the foundations for creativity are being laid; because setting off on the creative path is also partly about using rules and regulations. Such limitations are needed so that once they are learnt, they can be broken.
D. The truly creative mind is often seen as totally free and unfettered. But a better image is of a mind, which can be free when it wants, and one that recognises that rules and regulations are parameters, or barriers, to be raised and dropped again at will. An example of how the human mind can be trained to be creative might help here. People’s minds are just like tense muscles that need to be freed up and the potential unlocked. One strategy is to erect artificial barriers or hurdles in solving a problem. As a form of stimulation, the participants in the task can be forbidden to use particular solutions or to follow certain lines of thought to solve a problem. In this way they are obliged to explore unfamiliar territory, which may lead to some startling discoveries. Unfortunately, the difficulty in this exercise, and with creation itself, is convincing people that creation is possible, shrouded as it is in so much myth and legend. There is also an element of fear involved, however subliminal, as deviating from the safety of one’s own thought patterns is very much akin to madness. But, open Pandora’s box, and a whole new world unfolds before your very eyes.
E. Lifting barriers into place also plays a major part in helping the mind to control ideas rather than letting them collide at random. Parameters act as containers for ideas, and thus help the mind to fix on them. When the mind is thinking laterally and two ideas from different areas of the brain come or are brought together, they form a new idea, just like atoms floating around and then forming a molecule. Once the idea has been formed, it needs to be contained or it will fly away, so fleeting is its passage. The mind needs to hold it in place for a time so that it can recognise it or call on it again. And then the parameters can act as channels along which the ideas can flow, developing and expanding. When the mind has brought the idea to fruition by thinking it through to its final conclusion, the parameters can be brought down and the idea allowed to float off and come in contact with other ideas.
Questions 1-5
Reading Passage 1 has five paragraphs, A-E.
Which paragraph contains the following information? Write the correct letter A-E in boxes 1-5 on your answer sheet. NB You may use any letter more than once.
the way parameters in the mind help people to be creative
the need to learn rules in order to break them
how habits restrict us and limit creativity
how to train the mind to be creative
how the mind is trapped by the desire for order
Questions 6-10
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
According to the writer, creative people
A. are usually born with their talents
B. are born with their talents
C. are not born with their talents
D. are geniuses
According to the writer, creativity is
A. a gift from God or nature
B. an automatic response
C. difficult for many people to achieve
D. a well-trodden path
According to the writer
A. the human race’s fight to live is becoming a tyranny
B. the human brain is blocked with cholesterol
C. the human race is now circumscribed by talents
D. the human race’s fight to survive stifles creative ability
Advancing technology
A. holds creativity in check
B. improves creativity
C. enhances creativity
D. is a tyranny
According to the author, creativity
A. is common
B. is increasingly common
C. is becoming rarer and rarer
D. is a rare commodity
Questions 11-14
Do the following statements reflect the claims of the writer?
In boxes 11-14 on your answer sheet write
YES if the statement agrees with the information in the passage
NO if the statement contradicts the information in the passage
NOT GIVEN if there is no information about the statement in the passage
Rules and regulations are examples of parameters.
The truly creative mind is associated with the need for free speech and a totally free society.
One problem with creativity is that people think it is impossible.
Essential strategies and practice techniques for this IELTS Reading question type. Learn how to manage time and improve accuracy.
Originally published April 2023. Last reviewed 3 July 2026.
You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 14-26, which are based on the Reading Passage below.
Therapeutic Jurisprudence Reading Answers
A Therapeutic jurisprudence is the study of the role of the law as a therapeutic agent. It examines the law’s impact on emotional life and on psychological well-being, and the therapeutic and anti-therapeutic consequences of the law. It is most applicable to the fields of mental health law, criminal law, juvenile law and family law.
B The general aim of therapeutic jurisprudence is the humanizing of the law and addressing the human, emotional and psychological side of the legal process. It promotes the perspective that the law is a social force that produces behaviours and consequences. Therapeutic jurisprudence strives to have laws made or applied in a more therapeutic way so long as other values, such as justice and due process, can be fully respected. It is important to recognise that therapeutic jurisprudence does not itself suggest that therapeutic goals should trump other goals. It does not support paternalism or coercion by any means. It is simply a way of looking at the law in a richer way and then bringing to the table some areas and issues that previously have gone unnoticed. Therapeutic jurisprudence simply suggests that we think about the therapeutic consequences of law and see if they can be factored into the processes of law-making, lawyering, and judging.
C The law can be divided into the following categories: (1) legal rules, (2) legal procedures, such as hearings and trials and (3) the roles of legal actors – the behaviour of judges, lawyers, and of therapists acting in a legal context. Much of what legal actors do has an impact on the psychological well-being or emotional life of persons affected by the law, for example, in the dialogues that judges have with defendants or that lawyers have with clients. Therefore, therapeutic jurisprudence is especially applicable to this third category.
D Therapeutic jurisprudence is a relatively new phenomenon. In the early days of the law, attitudes were very different and efforts were focused primarily on what was wrong with various sorts of testimony. While there were good reasons for that early emphasis, an exclusive focus on what is wrong, rather than also looking at what is right and how these aspects could be further developed, is seriously shortsighted. Therapeutic jurisprudence focuses attention on this previously under-appreciated aspect, encouraging us to look very hard for promising development and to borrow from the behavioural science literature, even when this literature has nothing obviously to do with the law. It encourages people to think creatively about how promising developments from other fields might be brought into the legal system.
E Recently, as a result of this multidisciplinary approach, certain kinds of rehabilitative programmes have begun to emerge that look rather promising. One type of cognitive behavioural treatment encourages offenders to prepare relapse prevention plans which require them to think through the chain of events that lead to criminality. These reasoning and rehabilitation-type programmes teach offenders cognitive self-change, to stop and think and figure out consequences, to anticipate high-risk situations, and to learn to avoid or cope with them. These programmes, so far, seem to be reasonably successful.
F From a therapeutic jurisprudence standpoint, the question is how these programmes might be brought into the law. In one obvious sense, these problem-solving, reasoning and rehabilitation-type programmes can be made widely available in correctional and community settings. A way of linking them even more to the law, of course, would be to make them part of the legal process itself. The suggestion here is that if a judge or parole board becomes familiar with these techniques and is about to consider someone for probation, the judge might say. ‘I’m going to consider you but I want you to come up with a preliminary relapse prevention plan that we will use as a basis for discussion. I want you to figure out why I should grant you probation and why I should be comfortable that you’re going to succeed. In order for me to feel comfortable, I need to know what you regard to be high-risk situations and how you’re going to avoid them or cope with them!
G If that approach is followed, courts will be promoting cognitive self-change as part and parcel of the sentencing process itself. The process may operate this way; an offender would make a statement like ‘I realise I mess up on Friday nights; therefore, I propose that I will stay at home on Friday nights. Suddenly, it is not a judge imposing something on the offender. It’s something that the offender has come up with him or herself, so he or she should think it is fair. If a person has a voice in his rehabilitation, then he is more likely to feel a commitment to it, and with that commitment, presumably, compliance will increase dramatically.
Questions 14-20
Complete the notes below.
Choose NO MORE THAN ONE WORD from the passage for each answer.
NOTES: Therapeutic Jurisprudence
Therapeutic Jurisprudence:
study of the law as a therapeutic 14……………. and the therapeutic and 15………….. consequences of the law.
Goal:
the 16 ………… of the law, but NOT at the expense of 17…………….. and due
process.
Applicable to:
especially applicable to the role of legal 18………………… such as judges and lawyers
Therapeutic jurisprudence = new attitude
1. It asks people to seek out 19………………… developments, not problems.
2. It urges people to think 20……………… and borrow from other fields.
Questions 21-23
Complete the sentences.
Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer.
21 One aspect of cognitive behavioural treatment includes the preparation of ……………. by offenders.
22 The treatment requires offenders to consider the……………. that lead to a crime being committed.
23 Treatment programmes encourage offenders to recognise… ……………. before they happen, and know what to do in case they do happen.
Questions 24-26
Do the following statements agree with the information given in the Reading Passage?
In boxes 24-26 on your answer sheet, write
TRUE if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this
24 The use of rehabilitative programmes has been proved to greatly reduce the chance of a criminal re-offending.
25 Therapeutic jurisprudence aims to make cognitive behavioural treatment a part of the legal process itself.
26 Offenders might be encouraged by judges to take part in deciding what their punishment should be.
Essential strategies and practice techniques for this IELTS Reading question type. Learn how to manage time and improve accuracy.
Originally published April 2023. Last reviewed 3 July 2026.
You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1-14, which are based on the Reading Passage below.
Persistent Bullying Reading Answers
How can it be prevented? Peter Smith, Professor of Psychology at the University of Sheffield, directed the Sheffield Anti-Bullying Intervention Project, funded by the Department for Education.
Here he reports on his findings.
A Bullying can take a variety of forms, from the verbal – being taunted or called hurtful names – to the physical – being kicked or shoved – as well as indirect forms, such as being excluded from social groups. A survey I conducted with Irene Whitney found that in British primary schools up to a quarter of pupils reported experience of bullying, which in about one in ten cases was persistent. There was less bullying in secondary schools, with about one in twenty-five suffering persistent bullying, but these cases may be particularly recalcitrant.
B Bullying is clearly unpleasant, and can make the child experiencing it feel unworthy and depressed. In extreme cases it can even lead to suicide, though this is thankfully rare. Victimised pupils are more likely to experience difficulties with interpersonal relationships as adults, while children who persistently bully are more likely to grow up to be physically violent, and convicted of anti-social offences.
C Until recently, not much was known about the topic, and little help was available to teachers to deal with bullying. Perhaps as a consequence, schools would often deny the problem. ‘There is no bullying at this school’ has been a common refrain, almost certainly untrue. Fortunately more schools are now saying: There is not much bullying here, but when it occurs we have a clear policy for dealing with it.’
D Three factors are involved in this change. First is an awareness of the severity of the problem. Second, a number of resources to help tackle bullying have become available in Britain. For example, the Scottish Council for Research in Education produced a package of materials, Action Against Bullying, circulated to all schools in England and Wales as well as in Scotland in summer 1992, with a second pack, Supporting Schools Against Bullying, produced the following year. In Ireland, Guidelines on Countering Bullying Behaviour in Post-Primary Schools was published in 1993. Third, there is evidence that these materials work, and that schools can achieve something. This comes from carefully conducted ‘before and after’ evaluations of interventions in schools, monitored by a research team. In Norway, after an intervention campaign was introduced nationally, an evaluation of forty-two schools suggested that, over a two-year period, bullying was halved. The Sheffield investigation, which involved sixteen primary schools and seven secondary schools, found that most schools succeeded in reducing bullying.
E Evidence suggests that a key step is to develop a policy on bullying, saying clearly what is meant by bullying, and giving explicit guidelines on what will be done if it occurs, what records will be kept, who will be informed, what sanctions will be employed. The policy should be developed through consultation, over a period of time – not just imposed from the head teacher’s office! Pupils, parents and staff should feel they have been involved in the policy, which needs to be disseminated and implemented effectively.
Other actions can be taken to back up the policy. There are ways of dealing with the topic through the curriculum, using video, drama and literature. These are useful for raising awareness, and can best be tied into early phases of development, while the school is starting to discuss the issue of bullying. They are also useful in renewing the policy for new pupils, or revising it in the light of experience. But curriculum work alone may only have short-term effects; it should be an addition to policy work, not a substitute.
There are also ways of working with individual pupils, or in small groups. Assertiveness training for pupils who are liable to be victims is worthwhile, and certain approaches to group bullying such as ‘no blame’, can be useful in changing the behaviour of bullying pupils without confronting them directly, although other sanctions may be needed for those who continue with persistent bullying.
Work in the playground is important, too. One helpful step is to train lunchtime supervisors to distinguish bullying from playful fighting, and help them break up conflicts. Another possibility is to improve the playground environment, so that pupils are less likely to be led into bullying from boredom or frustration.
F With these developments, schools can expect that at least the most serious kinds of bullying can largely be prevented. The more effort put in and the wider the whole school involvement, the more substantial the results are likely to be. The reduction in bullying – and the consequent improvement in pupil happiness – is surely a worthwhile objective.
Questions 1-4
The reading passage has six sections, A-F.
Choose the correct heading for sections A-D from the list of headings below.
Write the correct number, i-vii, in boxes 1-4 on your answer sheet.
List of Headings
i The role of video violence
ii The failure of government policy
iii Reasons for the increased rate of bullying
iv Research into how common bullying is in British schools
v The reaction from schools to enquiries about bullying
vi The effect of bullying on the children involved
vii Developments that have led to a new approach by schools
1 Section A
2 Section B
3 Section C
4 Section D
Questions 5-8
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
Write the correct letter in boxes 5-8 on your answer sheet.
5 A recent survey found that in British secondary schools
A there was more bullying than had previously been the case.
B there was less bullying than in primary schools.
C cases of persistent bullying were very common.
D indirect forms of bullying were particularly difficult to deal with.
6 Children who are bullied
A are twice as likely to commit suicide as the average person.
B find it more difficult to relate to adults.
C are less likely to be violent in later life.
D may have difficulty forming relationships in later life.
7 The writer thinks that the declaration ‘There is no bullying at this school’
A is no longer true in many schools.
B was not in fact made by many schools.
C reflected the school’s lack of concern.
D reflected a lack of knowledge and resources.
8 What were the findings of research carried out in Norway?
A Bullying declined by 50% after an anti-bullying campaign.
B Twenty-one schools reduced bullying as a result of an anti-bullying campaign.
C Two years is the optimum length for an anti-bullying campaign.
D Bullying is a less serious problem in Norway than in the UK.
Questions 9-13
Complete the summary below.
Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 9-13 on your answer sheet.
What steps should schools take to reduce bullying?
The most important step is for the school authorities to produce a 9 ………………. which makes the school’s attitude towards bullying quite clear.
It should include detailed 10 ………………. as to how the school and its staff will react if bullying occurs.
In addition, action can be taken through the 11 ……………….
This is particularly useful in the early part of the process, as a way of raising awareness and encouraging discussion.
On its own, however, it is insufficient to bring about a permanent solution.
Effective work can also be done with individual pupils and small groups.
For example, potential 12 ………………. of bullying can be trained to be more self-confident.
Or again,in dealing with group bullying, a ‘no blame’ approach, which avoids confronting the offender too directly, is often effective.
Playground supervision will be more effective if members of staff are trained to recognise the difference between bullying and mere 13 ……………….
Question 14
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
Write the correct letter in box 14 on your answer sheet.
14 Which of the following is the most suitable title for the Reading Passage?
Comprehensive guide covering essential IELTS preparation strategies and techniques to help you achieve your target band score.
Originally published April 2023. Last reviewed 3 July 2026.
You should spend less than 20 minutes on Questions 1-8, which are based on the Reading Passage below.
Emergency Procedures
Revised July 2011
This applies to all persons on the school campus.
In cases of emergency (e.g. fire), find the nearest teacher who will: send a messenger at full speed to the Office OR inform the Office via phone ext. 99.
PROCEDURE FOR EVACUATION
1 Warning of an emergency evacuation will be marked by a number of short bell rings. (In the event of a power failure, this may be a hand-held bell or siren.)
2 All class work will cease immediately.
3 Students will leave their bags, books and other possessions where they are.
4 Teachers will take the class rolls.
5 Classes will vacate the premises using the nearest staircase. If these stairs are inaccessible, use the nearest alternative staircase. Do not use the lifts. Do not run.
6 Each class, under the teacher’s supervision, will move in a brisk, orderly fashion to the paved quadrangle area adjacent to the car park.
7 All support staff will do the same.
8 The Marshalling Supervisor, Ms Randall, will be wearing a red cap and she will be waiting there with the master timetable and staff list in her possession.
9 Students assemble in the quad with their teacher at the time of evacuation. The teacher will do a head count and check the roll.
10 Each teacher sends a student to the Supervisor to report whether all students have been accounted for. After checking, students will sit down (in the event of rain or wet pavement they may remain standing).
11 The Supervisor will inform the Office when all staff and students have been accounted for.
12 All students, teaching staff and support personnel remain in the evacuation area until the All Clear signal is given.
13 The All Clear will be a long bell ring or three blasts on the siren.
14 Students will return to class in an orderly manner under teacher guidance.
15 In the event of an emergency occurring during lunch or breaks, students are to assemble in their home-room groups in the quad and await their home-room teacher.
Questions 1-8
Complete the sentences below.
Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the text for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 1–8 on your answer sheet.
1 In an emergency, a teacher will either phone the office or …………………. .
2 The signal for evacuation will normally be several …………………. .
3 If possible, students should leave the building by the …………………. .
4 They then walk quickly to the …………………. .
5 …………………. will join the teachers and students in the quad.
6 Each class teacher will count up his or her students and mark …………………. .
7 After the …………………. , everyone may return to class.
8 If there is an emergency at lunchtime, students gather in the quad in …………………. and wait for their teacher.
