Information Retrieval
whatisinformationretrieval
Information retrieval is when you are asked to find the correct answer to a question.
It is important to consider the number of marks the question is worth.
- You must find as many points as the question is worth.
- You need to write in full sentences.
factvsopinion
Facts are true and cannot be disputed.
Opinions are personal viewpoints on a topic.
Mostly for information retrieval, you will be required to identify facts. It is useful to use a highlighter in the examination.
A good technique is to read the question that requires an answer, prior to reading the article. This allows you to find the answer as you are reading the text.
exampletextandquestions
Consider the following text from the Edexcel Anthology for A:
From Beyond the Sky and the Earth: A Journey into Bhutan, Jamie Zeppa
_When Zeppa was 24 years old she left Canada to teach in Bhutan. This memoir grew out of an essay she wrote about her early days in the country. _
Mountains all around, climbing up to peaks, rolling into valleys, again and again. Bhutan is all and only mountains. I know the technical explanation for the landscape, landmass meeting landmass, the Indian subcontinent colliding into Asia thirty or forty million years ago, but I cannot imagine it. It is easier to picture a giant child gathering earth in great armfuls, piling up rock, pinching mud into ridges and sharp peaks, knuckling out little valleys and gorges, poking holes for water to fall through.
It is my first night in Thimphu, the capital, a ninety-minute drive from the airport in Paro. It took five different flights over four days to get here, from Toronto to Montreal, to Amsterdam to New Delhi to Calcutta to Paro. I am exhausted, but I cannot sleep.
From my simple, pine-paneled room at the Druk Sherig hotel, I watch mountains rise to meet the moon. I used to wonder what was on the other side of mountains, how the landscape resolved itself beyond the immediate wall in front of you. Flying in from the baked-brown plains of India this morning, I found out: on the other side of mountains are mountains, more mountains and more mountains again. The entire earth below us was a convulsion of crests and gorges and wind-sharpened pinnacles.
Just past Everest, I caught a glimpse of the Tibetan plateau, the edge of a frozen desert 4,500 meters above sea level. Thimphu’s altitude is about half of that but even here, the winter air is thin and dry and very cold.‘
- 1. How old was Zeppa when she left Canada?
- She was 24 years old.
- 2. Provide 2 facts about Thimpu
- 7. Provide 2 facts about Thimpu (2 marks) Thimpu is the capital and a ninety-minute drive from the airport in Paro.
- 3. How many flights did it take to arrive?
- It took 5 flights
- 4. What is the hotel called?
- The hotel was called Druk Sherig hotel
- 5. How high is the Tibetan plateau?
- Your answer should include: The altitude is 4 / 500 metres.