Expertise Reading Answers

Jan 23, 2023

Expertise Reading Answers contains 13 questions that are to be answered in 40 minutes. IELTS topic- Expertise Reading Answers deals with information experts and novices.Expertise Reading Answers contains three IELTS reading question types. They are writing the correct answer and identifying whether the statements can be inferred. Candidates need to skim through the passage for the best answer. They can also refer to IELTS Reading practice papers.

Check: Get 10 Free Sample Papers
Check: Register for IELTS Coaching - Join for Free Trial Class Now

Section 1

Read the Passage to Answer the Following Questions

Expertise Reading Answers

Becoming an Expert

Expertise is commitment coupled with creativity. Specifically, it is the commitment of time, energy, and resources to a relatively narrow field of study and the creative energy necessary to generate new knowledge in that field. It takes a considerable amount of time and regular exposure to a large number of cases to become an expert.

An individual enters a field a study as a novice. The novice needs to learn the guiding principles and rules of a given task in order to perform that task. Concurrently, the novice needs to be exposed to specific cases, or instances, that test the boundaries of such heuristics. Generally, a novice will find a mentor to guide her through the process. A fairly simple example would be someone learning to play chess. The novice chess player seeks a mentor to teach her the object of the game, the number of spaces, the names of the pieces, the function of each piece, how each piece is moved, and the necessary conditions for winning or losing the game.

In time, and with much practice, the novice begins to recognize patterns of behavior within cases and, thus, becomes a journeyman. With more practice and exposure to increasingly complex cases, the journeyman finds patterns not only with cases but also between cases. More importantly, the journeyman learns that these patterns often repeat themselves over time. The journeyman still maintains regular contact with a mentor to solve specific problems and learn more complex strategies. Returning to the example of the chess player, the individual begins to learn patterns of opening moves, offensive and defensive game-playing strategies, and patterns of victory and defeat.

When a journeyman starts to make and test hypotheses about future behavior based on past experiences, she begins the next transition. Once she creatively generates knowledge, rather than simply matching superficial patterns, she becomes an expert. At this point, she is confident in her knowledge and no longer needs a mentor as a guide - she becomes responsible for her own knowledge. In the chess example, once a journeyman begins competing against experts, makes predictions based on patterns, and tests those predictions against actual behavior, she is generating new knowledge and a deeper understanding of the game. She is creating her own cases rather than relying on the cases of others.
The Power of Expertise

An expert perceives meaningful patterns in her domain better than non-experts. Where a novice perceives random or disconnected date points, an expert connects regular patterns within and between cases. This ability to identify patterns is not an innate perceptual skill; rather it reflects the organization of knowledge after exposure to and experience with thousands of cases. Experts have a deeper understanding of their domains than novices do, and utilize higher-order principles to solve problems. A novice, for example, might group objects together by color or size, whereas an expert would group the same objects according to their function or utility. Experts comprehend the meaning of data and weigh variables with different criteria within their domains better than novices. Experts recognize variables that have the largest influence on a particular problem and focus their attention on those variables.

Experts have better domain-specific short-term and long-term memory than novices do. Moreover, experts perform tasks in their domains faster than novices and commit fewer errors while problem solving. Interestingly, experts go about solving problems differently than novices. Experts spend more time thinking about a problem to fully understand it at the beginning of a task than do novice, who immediately seek to find a solution. Experts use their knowledge of previous cases as a context for creating mental models to solve given problems.

Better at self-monitoring than novices, experts are more aware of instances where they have committed errors or failed to understand a problem. Experts check their solutions more often than novices and recognize when they are missing information necessary for solving a problem. Experts are aware of the limits of their domain knowledge and apply their domain's heuristics to solve problems that fall outside of their experience base.
The Paradox of Expertise

The strengths of expertise can also be weakness. Although one would expect experts to be good forecasters, they are not particularly good at making predictions about the future. Since the 1930s, researchers have been testing the ability of experts to make forecasts. The performance of experts has been tested against actuarial tables to determine if they are better at making predictions than simple statistical models. Seventy years later, with more than two hundred experiments in different domains, it is clear that the answer is no. if supplied with an equal amount of data about a particular case, an actuarial table is as good, or better, than an expert at making calls about the future. Even if an expert is given more specific case information than is available to the statistical model, the expert does not tend to outperform the actuarial table.

Theorists and researchers differ when trying to explain why experts are less accurate forecasters than statistical models. Some have argued that experts, like all humans, are inconsistent when using mental models to make predictions. A number of researchers point to human biases to explain unreliable expert predictions. A number of researchers point to human biases to explain unreliable expert predictions. During the last 30 years, researchers have categorized, experimented, and theorized about the cognitive aspects of forecasting. Despite such efforts, the literature shows little consensus regarding the causes or manifestation of human bias.

Section 2

Solution and Explanation

Questions 14-18

Complete the flow chart.
Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer.

Write your answers in boxes 14-18 on your answer sheet.
From a novice to an expert

Novice:

needs. 14...................and................... to perform a given task; exposed to specific cases;

guided by a 15..................... Through learning

starts to identify 16............... within and between cases;

Journeyman:

often exposed to 17.................. cases;

contacts a mentor when facing difficult problems

Create predictions and new 18...................

Expert

performs task independently without the help of a mentor

Question 14.

Answer: guiding principles and rules
Supporting Sentence: The novice needs to learn the guiding principles and rules of a given task in order to perform that task.
Keywords: novice needs, guiding principles and rules, perform that task
Keyword Location: Paragraph A, lines 1-2
Explanation: Paragraph A states that a person begins their field of study as a novice. To complete a task, a novice must learn the guiding principles and rules of that task. So according to the sentence in the question, the word “guiding principles and rules” is the right answer to be filled here.

Question 15.

Answer: mentor
Supporting Sentence: Generally, a novice will find a mentor to guide her through the process
Keywords: novice, mentor, to guide
Keyword Location :Paragraph A, line 4
Explanation: Paragraph A states that a novice will typically find a mentor to help her through the procedure. Someone learning to play chess would be a fairly straightforward example. The beginning chess player looks for an instructor who can teach her the rules of the game, the number of squares, the names of the pieces, their functions, how to move each piece, and the requirements for winning or losing. So according to the sentence in the question, the word “mentor” is the right answer to be filled here.

Question 16.

Answer: pattern
Supporting Sentence: In time, and with much practice, the novice begins to recognize patterns of behavior within cases
Keywords: novice begins, recognize patterns
Keyword Location: Paragraph B, line 1
Explanation: Paragraph B states that the novice eventually develops into a journeyman after much practise and learning to recognise patterns of behavior within cases. The journeyman discovers patterns not only within cases but also between cases as they gain experience and exposure to more complex cases. So according to the sentence in the question, the word “pattern” is the right answer to be filled here.

Question 17.

Answer: Complex
Supporting Sentence: The journeyman still maintains regular contact with a mentor to solve specific problems and learn more complex strategies
Keywords: mentor, learn, complex strategies
Keyword Location :Paragraph B, lines 5-6
Explanation: Paragraph B states that the journeyman still keeps in touch with a mentor on a regular basis to work out specific issues and learn complex tactics. Using the chess player as an example, the person starts to learn patterns for opening moves, offensive and defensive game strategies, and patterns for wins and losses. So according to the sentence in the question, the word “Complex” is the right answer to be filled here.

Question 18.

Answer: Knowledge
Supporting Sentence: Once she creatively generates knowledge, rather than simply matching superficial patterns
Keywords: creatively, generates knowledge
Keyword Location: Paragraph C, lines 2-3
Explanation: Paragraph C mentions that a journeyman enters the subsequent transition when she begins to formulate and test hypotheses about potential future behavior in light of previous encounters. She only becomes an expert once she actively creates knowledge rather than just superficially matching patterns.So according to the sentence in the question, the word “Knowledge” is the right answer to be filled here.

Questions 19-23

Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 2?

In boxes 19-23 on your answer sheet, write

TRUE if the statement is true
FALSE if the statement is false
NOT GIVEN if the information is not given in the passage

Novices and experts use the same system to classify objects.

Answer: False
Supporting Sentence: A novice, for example, might group objects together by color or size, whereas an expert would group the same objects according to their function or utility.
Keywords: novice, group objects, color or size, expert would group, function or utility
Keyword Location: Paragraph D, lines 6-8
Explanation: Paragraph D clearly mentions that novices use a particular way to group objects while experts use another attribute. Therefore the given statement is false.

A novice's training is focused on memory skills.

Answer: Not Given
Explanation: This statement cannot be inferred from the passage.

Experts have higher efficiency than novices when solving problems in their own field.

Answer: True
Supporting Sentence: Moreover, experts perform tasks in their domains faster than novices and commit fewer errors while problem solving.
Keywords: experts perform tasks, faster than novices
Keyword Location: Paragraph E, lines 1-2
Explanation: From the supporting sentence, it is clear that experts are more efficient at problem solving. Therefore the given statement is true.

When facing a problem, a novice always tries to solve it straight away.

Answer: True
Supporting Sentence: novice, who immediately seek to find a solution
Keywords: novice, immediately seek, solution
Keyword Location: Paragraph E, lines 4-5
Explanation: Paragraph E states that in order to fully understand a problem before beginning a task, experts take more time than novices, who rush to find a solution. From this, the given statement is true.

Experts are better at recognizing their own mistakes and limits

Answer: True
Supporting Sentence: Better at self-monitoring than novices, experts are more aware of instances where they have committed errors or failed to understand a problem.
Keywords: Better at ,self-monitoring, than novices, more aware, committed errors
Keyword Location: Paragraph F, lines 1-2
Explanation: From the supporting sentence it is clear that experts are better in identifying their own errors or mistakes. Therefore the given statement is true.

Questions 24-26

Complete the following summary of the paragraphs of Reading Passage 2.

Using NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the Reading Passage for each answer.

Write your answers in boxes 24-26 on your answer sheet.

Using NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the Reading Passage for each answer.

Write your answers in boxes 24-26 on your answer sheet.

Though experts are quite effective at solving problems in their own domains, their strengths can also be turned against them. Studies have shown that experts are less. 24........................ at making predictions than statistical models. Some researchers theorise it is because experts can also be inconsistent like all others. Yet some believe it is due to 25..................., but there isn't a great deal of 26....................as to its cause and manifestation.

Question 24.

Answer: accurate
Supporting Sentence: Theorists and researchers differ when trying to explain why experts are less accurate forecasters than statistical models.
Keywords: experts, less accurate, forecasters
Keyword Location: Paragraph F, lines 1-2
Explanation: From the supporting sentence it is clear that experts are low in accuracy at making predictions than novices. Therefore the word “accurate” is the right answer to be filled here.

Question 25.

Answer: human bias
Supporting Sentence: A number of researchers point to human biases to explain unreliable expert predictions.
Keywords: human biases, explain, unreliable expert predictions.
Keyword Location: Paragraph H, lines 3-4
Explanation: The supporting sentence makes it clear that human biases is a reason why experts have low accuracy in predictions. Therefore the word “human bias” is the right answer to be filled here.

Question 26.

Answer: consensus
Supporting Sentence: Despite such efforts, the literature shows little consensus regarding the causes or manifestation of human bias.
Keywords: little consensus, regarding the causes
Keyword Location: Paragraph H, last two lines
Explanation: Therefore the word “consensus” is the right answer to be filled here according to the supporting sentence.

Read More IELTS Reading Related Samples