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Reading > Guided Practice > Viewpoint questions
Viewpoint questions are used to test your ability to recognise the writer’s or other people's opinions on a topic in the passage. The IELTS Reading test uses this question type to test your ability to distinguish fact from opinion.
The following statement is a fact:
A fact is a piece of information that has been discovered or proved true.
Over 20% of Australia’s population is foreign-born.
The following statement is an opinion based on the above fact. The words that show the writer’s opinion are in bold:
An opinion is a statement that reflects a person’s individual viewpoint on a topic. Opinions or viewpoints are often based on facts, which is why some readers find it difficult to distinguish between fact and opinion. You need to look for other words that help to indicate a personal opinion.
Australia has a good balance of different cultures in its society.
The question types that are used to test your understanding of the writer’s viewpoints are:
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Click on the tabs at the top of the page to learn more about Viewpoint question types, and the skills they test. Alternatively you can click on Next to go to Yes/No/Not Given questions.
Reading > Guided Practice > Viewpoint questions
Yes/No/Not Given questions test your ability to understand views or opinions of the writer or of different people mentioned in the passage. Yes/No/Not Given questions are similar to True/False/Not Given questions because you need to decide if the statement is:
However, Yes/No/Not Given questions usually refer to the writer’s opinion on topics, while True/False/Not given questions refer to facts in the passage.
To answer this type of question you need to follow the overall reading strategies we reviewed before. However, there are a few specific strategies which are important to remember for Yes/No/Not Given questions. Click on Reading Strategy 3.1 to read these strategies.
You may like to review the overall reading strategies before looking at the specific strategies.
NOT GIVEN questions are usually the hardest because the information in these questions is often very similar or related to details in the passage. However, the answer is NOT GIVEN if the question presents information that:
You can use the following abbreviations Y, N, and NG but make sure you write each letter clearly on the Answer Sheet. You can also write Yes, No, and Not Given.
Read the passage Marketing to children (Part 2) again and answer Questions 1 to 3. Type in Yes, No or Not Given for each answer.
| A | Concerns about the way children are being targeted by advertising and marketing have been raised because it is believed that young children do not understand advertising and its intent. Stephen Frith says that children don’t understand persuasive intent until they are 8 or 9 years old and that it is unethical to advertise to them before then. According to Karpatkin and Holmes from the Consumers Union, “Young children, in particular, have difficulty in distinguishing between advertising and reality in ads, and ads can distort their view of the world.” |
|---|---|
| B | At the same time, Richard Mizerski, an Australian professor of marketing observes: “children’s cognitive structures are only beginning to form and they are most sensitive to external influences.” This is especially a problem when advertisements appear on school walls and posters and book covers and gain legitimacy from the supposed endorsement of the school so that children think they must be true. |
| C | One study by Roy Fox, Associate Professor of English Education at the University of Missouri-Columbia, found that children watching athletes in television commercials thought that the athletes paid to be in the advertisements to promote themselves rather than the products. They believed children in the advertisements were real rather than paid actors and they often confused advertisements with news items. Generally they did not understand the commercial intent and manipulation behind advertisements. |
| D | Children over 8 or 9 years pay less attention to advertisements and are more able to differentiate between the ads and TV programs, says Mizerski, but they are also easy prey for advertisers. Around puberty, in early adolescence, children are forming their own identities and they are “highly vulnerable to pressure to conform to group standards and mores” (Roy Fox 1996). At this age they feel insecure and want to feel that they belong to their peer group. Advertising manipulates them through their insecurities, seeking to define normality for them; influencing the way they “view and obtain appropriate models for the adult world.” In this way, advertisements actively encourage them to seek self-esteem through consumption (Roy Fox 1996). |
| E | It is for these reasons that marketing to children should be carefully restricted. In particular advertisements aimed at children under the age of 9 years old, including on the internet and during children’s television programs, should be banned. Such advertising subsidises the cost of these services at the cost of our children’s values, sense of well-being, health and integrity. Moreover, the future of the planet is at stake if we allow advertisers and marketers to turn children into hyper consumers of the future. |
Questions 1-4
Do the following statements agree with the views in the passage? Write:
| YES | if the statement agrees with the views in the passage |
| NO | if the statement contradicts the views in the passage |
| NOT GIVEN | if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this |
Example: Advertisements displayed in school libraries are especially harmful to children.
The correct answer is Not Given
Feedback:
You can locate information related to this question by matching the key words in the question to their synonyms or words with similar meaning in Paragraph B. You might have thought the answer was: Yes. However, this is not correct since there is no mention of school libraries in this section.
Passage:
B At the same time, Richard Mizerski, an Australian professor of marketing observes: “children’s cognitive structures are only beginning to form and they are most sensitive to external influences.” This is especially a problem when advertisements appear on school walls and posters and book covers and gain legitimacy from the supposed endorsement of the school so that children think they must be true.
1 Young kids do not recognise the main purpose of an ad.
The correct answer is Yes
Passage:
C
One study by Roy Fox, Associate Professor of English Education at the University of Missouri-Columbia, found that children watching athletes in television commercials thought that the athletes paid to be in the advertisements to promote themselves rather than the products. They believed children in the advertisements were real rather than paid actors and they often confused advertisements with news items. Generally they did not understand the commercial intent and manipulation behind advertisements.
Feedback:
You can locate information related to this question by matching the key words in the question to their synonyms or words with similar meaning in Paragraph C. The highlighted words in the question match the ones in the Paragraph C. Therefore, the answer is Yes.
2 Feeling a part of a group is unimportant for young adolescents.
The correct answer is No
Feedback:
You can locate information related to this question by matching the key words in the question to their synonyms or words with similar meaning in Paragraph D. When you read intensively, you understand that adolescents think 'Feeling part of a group' (i.e. a feeling of belonging to a group) is important not unimportant as they 'want' to belong to this group.
Passage:
D
Children over 8 or 9 years pay less attention to advertisements and are more able to differentiate between the ads and TV programs, says Mizerski, but they are also easy prey for advertisers. Around puberty, in early adolescence, children are forming their own identities and they are “highly vulnerable to pressure to conform to group standards and mores” (Roy Fox 1996). At this age they feel insecure and want to feel that they belong to their peer group. Advertising manipulates them through their insecurities, seeking to define normality for them; influencing the way they “view and obtain appropriate models for the adult world.” In this way, advertisements actively encourage them to seek self-esteem through consumption (Roy Fox 1996).
3 TV commercials which target children in their teens should not be allowed.
The correct answer is Not Given
Feedback:
You can locate information related to this question by matching the key words in the question to their synonyms or words with similar meaning in Paragraph E. When you read intensively, you understand that the author thinks that ads aimed at children under 9 years should be banned or not allowed; but there is no mention of what should be done with programs aimed at children in their teens.
Passage:
E
It is for these reasons that marketing to children should be carefully restricted. In particular advertisements aimed at children under the age of
9 years old, including on the Internet and during children’s television programs, should be banned. Such advertising subsidises the cost of these services at the cost of our children’s values, sense of well-being, health and integrity. Moreover, the future of the planet is at stake if we allow advertisers and marketers to turn children into hyper consumers of the future.
Reading > Guided Practice > Viewpoint questions
Matching Viewpoint questions ask you to match a person's name to their opinion (viewpoint). You need to match statements (usually numbered 1, 2, 3, etc.) to a person's name in a box (usually labelled A, B, C, etc.).
To answer this type of question you need to follow the overall reading strategies we reviewed before. However, there are a few specific strategies which are important to remember for Matching Viewpoint questions. Click on Reading Strategy 3.2 to read these strategies.
You may like to review the overall reading strategies before looking at the specific strategies.
Distracters are statements that may contain some key words but they do not relate to or are not the viewpoint expressed.
Read the passage Marketing to children (Part 2) again and answer Questions 1 to 3. When you have finished, click on the Check button to see the answers.
| A | Concerns about the way children are being targeted by advertising and marketing have been raised because it is believed that young children do not understand advertising and its intent. Stephen Frith says that children don’t understand persuasive intent until they are 8 or 9 years old and that it is unethical to advertise to them before then. According to Karpatkin and Holmes from the Consumers Union, “Young children, in particular, have difficulty in distinguishing between advertising and reality in ads, and ads can distort their view of the world.” |
|---|---|
| B | At the same time, Richard Mizerski, an Australian professor of marketing observes: “children’s cognitive structures are only beginning to form and they are most sensitive to external influences.” This is especially a problem when advertisements appear on school walls and posters and book covers and gain legitimacy from the supposed endorsement of the school so that children think they must be true. |
| C | One study by Roy Fox, Associate Professor of English Education at the University of Missouri-Columbia, found that children watching athletes in television commercials thought that the athletes paid to be in the advertisements to promote themselves rather than the products. They believed children in the advertisements were real rather than paid actors and they often confused advertisements with news items. Generally they did not understand the commercial intent and manipulation behind advertisements. |
| D | Children over 8 or 9 years pay less attention to advertisements and are more able to differentiate between the ads and TV programs, says Mizerski, but they are also easy prey for advertisers. Around puberty, in early adolescence, children are forming their own identities and they are “highly vulnerable to pressure to conform to group standards and mores” (Roy Fox 1996). At this age they feel insecure and want to feel that they belong to their peer group. Advertising manipulates them through their insecurities, seeking to define normality for them; influencing the way they “view and obtain appropriate models for the adult world.” In this way, advertisements actively encourage them to seek self-esteem through consumption (Roy Fox 1996). |
| E | It is for these reasons that marketing to children should be carefully restricted. In particular advertisements aimed at children under the age of 9 years old, including on the Internet and during children’s television programs, should be banned. Such advertising subsidises the cost of these services at the cost of our children’s values, sense of well-being, health and integrity. Moreover, the future of the planet is at stake if we allow advertisers and marketers to turn children into hyper consumers of the future. |
Questions 1–4
Look at the following people and the list of opinions below.
Match each person (A–E) with the viewpoint that they express.
1 Older children can be easily influenced by advertisements.
The correct answer is C
Feedback:
You can locate the answer by matching the key words in the question to their synonyms or words with similar meaning in Paragraph D. By reading the first two sentences of this paragraph, you can see that, according to Mizerski, older children can be influenced by ads in the same way as younger kids. Note that being 'easy prey' means being easily influenced.
Passage:
D
Children over 8 or 9 years pay less attention to advertisements and are more able to differentiate between the ads and TV programs, says Mizerski, but they are also easy prey for advertisers. Around puberty, in early adolescence, children are forming their own identities and they are “highly vulnerable to pressure to conform to group standards and mores” (Roy Fox 1996). At this age they feel insecure and want to feel that they belong to their peer group. Advertising manipulates them through their insecurities, seeking to define normality for them; influencing the way they “view and obtain appropriate models for the adult world.” In this way, advertisements actively encourage them to seek self-esteem through consumption (Roy Fox 1996).
2 Advertisements make children believe that purchasing products will make them happier.
The correct answer is D
Feedback:
You can locate the answer by matching the key words in the question to their synonyms or words with similar meaning in Paragraph D. Note that the phrase purchasing products has the same meaning as to consume. Therefore, the word 'consumption' can help you find the answer to this question. Also a high self-esteem makes people happier. As a result, it can be concluded that through self-esteem people can feel happiness. This is Fox’s opinion.
Passage:
D
Children over 8 or 9 years pay less attention to advertisements and are more able to differentiate between the ads and TV programs, says Mizerski, but they are also easy prey for advertisers. Around puberty, in early adolescence, children are forming their own identities and they are “highly vulnerable to pressure to conform to group standards and mores” (Roy Fox 1996). At this age they feel insecure and want to feel that they belong to their peer group. Advertising manipulates them through their insecurities, seeking to define normality for them; influencing the way they “view and obtain appropriate models for the adult world.” In this way, advertisements actively encourage them to seek self-esteem through consumption (Roy Fox 1996).
3 Advertising to children under 8 or 9 years is morally wrong.
The correct answer is A
Feedback:
You can locate the answer by matching the key words in the question to their synonyms or words with similar meaning in Paragraph A. Note that the phrase morally wrong has the same meaning as 'unethical'. By reading the second sentence of this paragraph, you can see that, according to Frith, advertising to children before they are 8 or 9 is morally wrong.
Passage:
A
Concerns about the way children are being targeted by advertising and marketing have been raised because it is believed that young children do not understand advertising and its intent. Stephen Frith says that children don’t understand persuasive intent until they are 8 or 9 years old and that it is unethical to advertise to them before then. According to Karpatkin and Holmes from the Consumers Union, “Young children, in particular, have difficulty in distinguishing between advertising and reality in ads, and ads can distort their view of the world.”
4 Advertisements can change the way children see things.
The correct answer is B
Feedback:
You can locate the answer by matching the key words in the question to their synonyms or words with similar meaning in Paragraph A. Note that the verb to distort means to misrepresent something. Therefore, the phrase 'distort their view of the world' has the same meaning as change the way children see things. This is Karpatkin and Holmes’s opinion.
Passage:
A
Concerns about the way children are being targeted by advertising and marketing have been raised because it is believed that young children do not understand advertising and its intent. Stephen Frith says that children don’t understand persuasive intent until they are 8 or 9 years old and that it is unethical to advertise to them before then. According to Karpatkin and Holmes from the Consumers Union, “Young children, in particular, have difficulty in distinguishing between advertising and reality in ads, and ads can distort their view of the world.”
You do not need to write each person's name on your Answer Sheet. You just need to write the letter that corresponds.
Now let's look at Summary Completion questions. 
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