How Did Writing Begin Reading Answers, IELTS Passage

How Did Writing Begin Reading Answers: The IELTS Reading passage "How Did Writing Begin Reading Answers" explores the origins and evolution of writing, from early symbolic communication to structured scripts like Sumerian cuneiform. This passage includes three main question types: Multiple Choice, Matching Information, and Summary Completion, testing your ability to identify key details, interpret historical perspectives, and complete missing information.

Here, we provide 14 IELTS Reading questions based on this passage to enhance your comprehension skills and boost your IELTS Reading band score.

Free IELTS Reading Practice Tests, Cambridge Sample Test PDF

How Did Writing Begin Reading Answers Passage

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1-14 which are based on the Reading the Passage below.

How did Writing Begin

1. The Sumerians, an ancient people of the Middle East, had a story explaining the invention of writing more than 5,000 years ago. It seems a messenger of the King of Uruk arrived at the court of a distant ruler so exhausted that he was unable to deliver the oral message. So the king set down the words of his next messages on a clay tablet.ielts-reading logo

2. A charming story, whose retelling at a recent symposium at the University of Pennsylvania amused scholars. They smiled at the absurdity of a letter which the recipient would not have been able to read. They also doubted that the earliest writing was a direct rendering of speech. Writing more likely began as a separate, symbolic system of communication and only later merged with spoken language. ielts-reading

3. Yet in the story the Sumerians, who lived in Mesopotamia, in what is now southern Iraq, seemed to understand writing’s transforming function. As Dr Holly Pittman, director of the University’s Center for Ancient Studies, observed, writing ‘arose out of the need to store and transmit information … over time and space’.

4. In exchanging interpretations and information, the scholars acknowledged that they still had no fully satisfying answers to the questions of how and why writing developed. Many favoured an explanation of writing’s origins in the visual arts, pictures becoming increasingly abstract and eventually representing spoken words. Their views clashed with a widely held theory among archaeologists that writing developed from the pieces of clay that Sumerian accountants used as tokens to keep track of goods.

5. Archaeologists generally concede that they have no definitive answer to the question of whether writing was invented only once, or arose independently in several places, such as Egypt, the Indus Valley, China, Mexico and Central America. The preponderance of archaeological data shows that the urbanizing Sumerians were the first to develop writing, in 3,200 or 3,300 BC.ielts-reading logo

6. These are the dates for many clay tablets in an early form of cuneiform, a script written by pressing the end of a sharpened stick into wet clay, found at the site of the ancient city of Uruk. The baked clay tablets bore such images as pictorial symbols of the names of people, places and things connected with government and commerce. The Sumerian script gradually evolved from the pictorial to the abstract, but did not at first represent recorded spoken language. ielts-reading

7. Dr Peter Damerow, a specialist in Sumerian cuneiform at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science in Berlin, said, ‘It is likely that there were mutual influences of writing systems around the world. However, their great variety now shows that the development of writing, once initiated, attains a considerable degree of independence and flexibility to adapt to specific characteristics of the sounds of the language to be represented.’

8. Not that he accepts the conventional view that writing started as a representation of words by pictures. New studies of early Sumerian writing, he said, challenge this interpretation. The structures of this earliest writing did not, for example, match the structure of spoken language, dealing mainly in lists and categories rather than in sentences and narrative.

9. For at least two decades, Dr Denise Schmandt-Besserat, a University of Texas archaeologist, has argued that the first writing grew directly out of a system practised by Sumerian accountants. They used clay tokens, each one shaped to represent a jar of oil, a container of grain or a particular kind of livestock. These tokens were sealed inside clay spheres, and then the number and type of tokens inside was recorded on the outside using impressions resembling the tokens. Eventually, the token impressions were replaced with inscribed signs, and writing had been invented. ielts-reading

10. Though Dr Schmandt-Besserat has won much support, some linguists question her thesis, and others, like Dr Pittman, think it too narrow. They emphasise that pictorial representation and writing evolved together. ‘There’s no question that the token system is a forerunner of writing,’ Dr Pittman said, ‘but I have an argument with her evidence for a link between tokens and signs, and she doesn’t open up the process to include picture making.’ielts-reading logo

11. Dr Schmandt-Besserat vigorously defended her ideas. ‘My colleagues say that pictures were the beginning of writing/ she said, ‘but show me a single picture that becomes a sign in writing. They say that designs on pottery were the beginning of writing, but show me a single sign of writing you can trace back to a pot – it doesn’t exist.’ In its first 500 years, she asserted, cuneiform writing was used almost solely for recording economic information, and after that its uses multiplied and broadened.

12. Yet other scholars have advanced different ideas. Dr Piotr Michalowski, Professor of Near East Civilizations at the University of Michigan, said that the proto-writing of Sumerian Uruk was ‘so radically different as to be a complete break with the past’. It no doubt served, he said, to store and communicate information, but also became a new instrument of power. ielts-reading

13. Some scholars noted that the origins of writing may not always have been in economics. In Egypt, most early writing is high on monuments or deep in tombs. In this case, said Dr Pascal Vernus from a university in Paris, early writing was less administrative than sacred. It seems that the only certainty in this field is that many questions remain to be answered.

How Did Writing Begin Reading Answers Sample Questions 

IELTS Reading Multiple Choice Questions (Q.1 – 4)

1. According to the Sumerian story, why was writing invented?
A) To record historical events accurately
B) Because a messenger was too tired to deliver a message
C) To create a symbolic form of communication
D) To replace oral storytelling

2. What was the main function of early Sumerian writing?
A) To record spoken language directly
B) To create literature and storytelling
C) To store and transmit information over time and space
D) To communicate with deities through sacred inscriptions

3. Why do scholars find the Sumerian story of the invention of writing amusing?
A) Because it describes writing as a completely new concept
B) Because it assumes that the recipient could read the message
C) Because it contradicts the known historical facts
D) Because it claims that writing developed before language

4. What is Dr. Schmandt-Besserat’s main argument about the origin of writing?
A) Writing evolved from pictorial art and visual symbols
B) Writing developed from an economic record-keeping system using clay tokens
C) Writing emerged to preserve sacred inscriptions on monuments
D) Writing was first created by Sumerian rulers to exert power

Matching Information (Q. 5 – 10)

Match the following statements with the correct scholar from the passage.

5. Believed that writing was primarily used for economic purposes in its early stages.
6. Argued that writing did not initially represent spoken language.
7. Disagreed with the idea that pictorial representations led directly to writing.
8. Suggested that writing was used as a new form of power.
9. Emphasized the importance of pictorial representation and writing evolving together.
10. Stated that Egyptian writing was initially used for sacred inscriptions rather than administration.

A) Dr. Pascal Vernus
B) Dr. Piotr Michalowski
C) Dr. Denise Schmandt-Besserat
D) Dr. Holly Pittman
E) Dr. Peter Damerow

IELTS Reading Summary Completion (Q. 11 – 14)

Complete the summary using NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage.

Scholars have debated the origins of writing, with some arguing that it emerged from (11) ________, while others claim it evolved from economic record-keeping systems. The earliest known writing, found in (12) ________, consisted of pictorial symbols used for government and commerce. Dr. Schmandt-Besserat suggested that writing developed from (13) ________, where shapes represented goods and later transformed into inscribed signs. Meanwhile, researchers like Dr. Pascal Vernus noted that in Egypt, writing initially appeared on (14) ________, suggesting a sacred rather than administrative purpose.

How Did Writing Begin Reading Answers with Explanations 

1. According to the Sumerian story, why was writing invented?

• Answer: B) Because a messenger was too tired to deliver a message

• Location in Passage: Paragraph A

• Reference: "It seems a messenger of the King of Uruk arrived at the court of a distant ruler so exhausted that he was unable to deliver the oral message. So the king set down the words of his next messages on a clay tablet."

• Explanation: The Sumerian story suggests that writing was invented as a practical solution when a messenger was too exhausted to deliver a verbal message.

2. What was the main function of early Sumerian writing?

• Answer: C) To store and transmit information over time and space

• Location in Passage: Paragraph C

• Reference: "As Dr. Holly Pittman, director of the University’s Center for Ancient Studies, observed, writing ‘arose out of the need to store and transmit information … over time and space’."

• Explanation: Writing was initially developed as a means of recording and communicating information rather than representing spoken language.

3. Why do scholars find the Sumerian story of the invention of writing amusing?

• Answer: B) Because it assumes that the recipient could read the message

• Location in Passage: Paragraph B

• Reference: "They smiled at the absurdity of a letter which the recipient would not have been able to read."

• Explanation: Scholars found it amusing because, in the story, writing was invented to send a message, but the recipient might not have been able to read it.

4. What is Dr. Schmandt-Besserat’s main argument about the origin of writing?

• Answer: B) Writing developed from an economic record-keeping system using clay tokens

• Location in Passage: Paragraph I

• Reference: "For at least two decades, Dr. Denise Schmandt-Besserat, a University of Texas archaeologist, has argued that the first writing grew directly out of a system practised by Sumerian accountants. They used clay tokens, each one shaped to represent a jar of oil, a container of grain or a particular kind of livestock."

• Explanation: Dr. Schmandt-Besserat argued that writing originated from an accounting system using clay tokens before evolving into written symbols.

5. Believed that writing was primarily used for economic purposes in its early stages.

• Answer: C) Dr. Denise Schmandt-Besserat

• Location in Passage: Paragraph K

• Reference: "In its first 500 years, she asserted, cuneiform writing was used almost solely for recording economic information, and after that its uses multiplied and broadened."

• Explanation: Dr. Schmandt-Besserat emphasized that writing was originally used for economic record-keeping before expanding to other uses.

6. Argued that writing did not initially represent spoken language.

• Answer: E) Dr. Peter Damerow

• Location in Passage: Paragraph H

• Reference: "The structures of this earliest writing did not, for example, match the structure of spoken language, dealing mainly in lists and categories rather than in sentences and narrative."

• Explanation: Dr. Damerow believed that early writing was not a direct representation of speech but functioned as a categorization system.

7. Disagreed with the idea that pictorial representations led directly to writing.

• Answer: C) Dr. Denise Schmandt-Besserat

• Location in Passage: Paragraph J

• Reference: "‘My colleagues say that pictures were the beginning of writing,’ she said, ‘but show me a single picture that becomes a sign in writing.’"

• Explanation: Dr. Schmandt-Besserat rejected the idea that writing evolved from pictures, arguing instead that it came from clay tokens.

8. Suggested that writing was used as a new form of power.

• Answer: B) Dr. Piotr Michalowski

• Location in Passage: Paragraph L

• Reference: "It no doubt served, he said, to store and communicate information, but also became a new instrument of power."

• Explanation: Dr. Michalowski stated that writing was not only for record-keeping but also a tool of power.

9. Emphasized the importance of pictorial representation and writing evolving together.

• Answer: D) Dr. Holly Pittman

• Location in Passage: Paragraph I

• Reference: "They emphasize that pictorial representation and writing evolved together."

• Explanation: Dr. Pittman suggested that pictorial representation and writing developed simultaneously rather than one leading directly to the other.

10. Stated that Egyptian writing was initially used for sacred inscriptions rather than administration.

• Answer: A) Dr. Pascal Vernus

• Location in Passage: Paragraph M

• Reference: "In Egypt, most early writing is high on monuments or deep in tombs. In this case, said Dr. Pascal Vernus, early writing was less administrative than sacred."

• Explanation: Dr. Vernus pointed out that early Egyptian writing was used for religious inscriptions rather than administrative purposes.

11. Scholars have debated the origins of writing, with some arguing that it emerged from

• Answer: visual arts

• Location in Passage: Paragraph D

• Reference: "Many favoured an explanation of writing’s origins in the visual arts, pictures becoming increasingly abstract and eventually representing spoken words."

• Explanation: Some scholars suggested that writing evolved from pictures becoming abstract symbols.

12. The earliest known writing, found in

• Answer: Uruk

• Location in Passage: Paragraph F

• Reference: "The preponderance of archaeological data shows that the urbanizing Sumerians were the first to develop writing, in 3,200 or 3,300 BC... found at the site of the ancient city of Uruk."

• Explanation: The earliest writing was discovered in Uruk, an ancient Sumerian city.

13. Dr. Schmandt-Besserat suggested that writing developed from

• Answer: clay tokens

• Location in Passage: Paragraph I

• Reference: "They used clay tokens, each one shaped to represent a jar of oil, a container of grain or a particular kind of livestock."

• Explanation: Dr. Schmandt-Besserat argued that writing evolved from clay tokens used in economic record-keeping.

14. Meanwhile, researchers like Dr. Pascal Vernus noted that in Egypt, writing initially appeared on

• Answer: monuments

• Location in Passage: Paragraph M

• Reference: "In Egypt, most early writing is high on monuments or deep in tombs."

• Explanation: Early Egyptian writing was primarily used for sacred inscriptions on monuments rather than administration.

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