Votes for Women Reading Answers

The IELTS Reading section includes different passages followed by questions that test your ability to understand information, identify specific details, and recognise paraphrased ideas. “Topic” is one such IELTS Reading passage. 

These Votes for Women Reading Answers cover Questions 1 to 13, based on a passage from Cambridge IELTS. It's about the suffragette movement, and it centres on the WSPU, the group started by Emmeline Pankhurst and her daughters in 1903.

This page gives you the correct answer for each question, tells you the exact paragraph it comes from, and gives a plain explanation of why that's the right pick. It’s, not just a leapkey you have to take on faith.

Three question types run through this set. Q1-3 are sentence completions. Q4-10 are Yes, No, Not Given. Q11-13 are multiple choice. Each type wants something different from you: exact wording for the completion ones, careful reading for Yes/No/Not Given, and elimination skills for the multiple-choice.

One thing that helps a lot with Votes for Women IELTS reading answers is to check the word limit before you write your answer, and not after. Read it once, keep it in mind while you scan the passage, and you won't lose easy marks over it.

Votes for Women IELTS Reading Passage

This IELTS exam passage is what most Vote for Women Reading Answer searches are actually looking for: the suffragette movement in Britain, when women fought for the right to vote in the early 1900s. It's built around the WSPU, a group started in 1903 by Emmeline Pankhurst and her two daughters.

It doesn't talk much about marches or protests. It's more about strategy, the purple, white, and green colours they used, the two newspapers they ran, the merchandise they sold, and a big exhibition in 1909 that raised a lot of money in just ten days. All of this helped the group build a strong public image. The passage runs across 11 paragraphs and covers Questions 1 to 13.

Votes for Women IELTS Reading Passage

Paragraph 1: The Pankhurst family and various degrees of violence are most commonly associated with the suffragette movement, which fought for women's suffrage in the early twentieth century. The Museum of London has used its extensive archive to present a new perspective. A History of the Suffrage Movement in London, 1906–1914 in Purple, White, and Green.

Paragraph 2: The name alludes to the official colour scheme adopted by the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) to promote a uniform, worldwide image for the movement. The exhibition highlights the WSPU's groundbreaking corporate identity campaign, as well as the university's other organisational and commercial successes.

Paragraph 3: Mrs. Emmeline Pankhurst, along with her daughters Christabel and Sylvia, formed the WSPU in 1903 and began a well-informed campaign to advance women's suffrage. While women in New Zealand, Australia, and some states in the United States were already able to vote, a growing number of Britons wanted the same right.

Paragraph 4: When the WSPU adopted the colour scheme and adopted the slogan "Deeds not words," the movement quickly gained the unity and focus it had been lacking.

Paragraph 5: Rapid growth in membership occurred as women stopped attending meetings of competing, less focused organisations. In 1906, the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) established its headquarters in Charing Cross Road under the name Women's Press Shop. Despite the lack of radio, television, and widespread telephone use at the time, the WSPU's message had spread across the country, with members and branch officers located as far north as Scotland.

Paragraph 6: Communication was crucial to the success of the WSPU, and the newspapers it published, first Votes for Women and then The Suffragette, were instrumental in that effort. Both were widely distributed across the country and proved to be essential in keeping people abreast of the latest developments in the movement and the locations of important meetings, marches, and fundraisers.

Paragraph 7: Just as crucial for a burgeoning political movement was the newspaper's financial success. Large retailers like Selfridges and jewellery stores like Mappin & Webb were regular buyers of newspaper advertising space. These two, along with other like-minded businesses sympathetic to the cause, had quickly identified a direct way to reach a massive market of women, many of whom have disposable income.

Paragraph 8: When the WSPU realised it could make money off of the scheme's conception, they jumped on it. The organisation quickly expanded into selling a wide variety of purple, white, and green merchandize, including playing cards, board games, Christmas and greeting cards, and more. The concept of a company's name and logo being sold as merchandise was novel in the business world back in 1906.

Paragraph 9: In addition to the paper and merchandise sales, the WSPU engaged in a slew of other fundraising activities to bolster its "war chest" and cover operational expenses. The Woman's Exhibition, held in a Knightsbridge ice skating rink in 1909, was the most successful of these, raising the equivalent of £250,000 in 10 days.

Paragraph 10: Exhibits at London's Museum are primarily visual, with a vast collection on display. Copies of The Suffragette, campaign banners, and photographs line the walls, along with Mrs. shoes and various purple, white, and green mementos, against the soft hum of street sounds.

Paragraph 11: Photos capture the everyday struggles of a suffragette, from selling The Suffragette on street corners to chalking up pavements with details of an upcoming meeting to WSPU members on a self-proclaimed monster's march in official uniforms of a white frock decorated with purple, white, and green accessories.

Paragraph 12: The high quality of the postcards and greeting cards displayed in the windows demonstrates the depth of talent within the WSPU's ranks.

Paragraph 13: The political climate surrounding the suffragettes of the time period is laid bare for visitors in a short film assembled from vintage newsreels and cinematic footage. The show opens with a clip created by the "antis" (people who are against women having the right to vote) that portrays a suffragette as a ruthless harridan who bullies her poor, abused husband.

Paragraph 14: During a famous race, suffragette Emily Wilding Davison is seen in original newsreel footage throwing herself under King George V's horse.

Paragraph 15: Graphic display boards outlining the bills of enfranchisement of 1918 and 1928 that gave the adult female populace of Britain the vote show what was accomplished, even though the exhibition itself only covers the years 1906 to 1914. It shows how far ahead of their time the suffragettes were in terms of strategy, campaign marketing, and image construction. It shows how the suffragettes fought for equality and freedom with vigour and strength. As such, it serves as an example of the savviness displayed by women, who were once thought to have "brains too small to know how to vote" according to the opinions of several politicians.

Learn all about IELTS Reading Test

Votes for Women Reading Answers with Explanations

These answers on votes for women reading run across three formats, 13 questions in total. Q1-3 ask for sentence completion, Q4-10 are Yes, No, Not Given, and Q11-13 are multiple choice. Each answer below comes with the paragraph it's taken from, plus a plain reason for why that's the right pick. 

Questions 1-3 Sentence Completion Answers and Explanations

These three ask you to fill a gap using words straight from the passage. Stick to the word limit; that's usually where marks go missing here.

Question 1: Fill in the blank: the WSPU's newspaper made money partly through selling ______.

Answer: Advertising space

Location: Paragraph 6

Explanation: Big stores like Selfridges and jewellers like Mappin & Webb paid to advertise in the WSPU's paper. That's what kept it profitable, not just membership fees.

Question 2: Fill in the blank: the WSPU sold goods in their ______.

Answer: Colour scheme (purple, white and green)

Location: Paragraph 7

Explanation: Once the WSPU had its colours set, it used them everywhere. Playing cards, board games, greeting cards, all done up in purple, white and green.

Question 3: Fill in the blank: the most successful fundraising event was ______.

Answer: The Woman's Exhibition

Location: Paragraph 8

Explanation: This exhibition ran for just ten days in 1909 and raised a huge sum, roughly £250,000 in today's money. Nothing else the WSPU ran came close.

Questions 4-10 Yes, No, Not Given Answers and Explanations

This part checks if a statement matches, contradicts, or just isn't covered by the passage. Don't confuse "No" with "Not Given," that mix-up costs the most marks here.

Question 4: Statement: Women in Australia still couldn't vote in 1903.

Answer: No

Location: Paragraph 3

Explanation: The passage says Australia had already given women the vote by the time the WSPU formed. So this statement goes against what's written.

Question 5: Statement: The WSPU's two newspapers were its main way of reaching people.

Answer: Yes

Location: Paragraph 5

Explanation: The passage calls the newspapers the main channel the WSPU used to keep members updated on meetings, marches, and fundraisers.

Question 6: Statement: The WSPU's work stayed mostly around London and the south.

Answer: No

Location: Paragraph 3

Explanation: The passage mentions branch officers as far away as Scotland. So the group's reach went well past London.

Question 7: Statement: The newspapers mostly carried society news and gossip.

Answer: No

Location: Paragraph 5

Explanation: The papers were used to spread news about meetings, marches and fundraising events, not gossip or social chit-chat.

Question 8: Statement: Parliament pushed back hard against the 1909 Woman's Exhibition.

Answer: Not Given

Location: Paragraph 8

Explanation: The passage talks about how much the exhibition raised, but says nothing about how Parliament reacted to it.

Question 9: Statement: Some of the WSPU's merchandise can still be seen at the museum.

Answer: Yes

Location: Paragraph 9

Explanation: The passage mentions purple, white and green items from the movement being part of the museum's display today.

Question 10: Statement: People against the suffragettes made films opposing the movement.

Answer: Yes

Location: Paragraph 11

Explanation: The passage describes a short film, made by people against the suffragettes, that showed a suffragette in a harsh, unfair light.

Questions 11-13 Multiple Choice Answers and Explanations

These three ask you to pick one correct option out of a few. Read all the options first, then match each against the passage before deciding.

Question 11: What does the exhibition mainly focus on?

Answer: The WSPU's marketing and organisational achievements

Location: Paragraph 1-2

Explanation: The passage says the exhibition is built around how the WSPU created a unified public image, not just their protests or politics.

Question 12: What gave the WSPU's movement direction and unity?

Answer: Their slogan and colour scheme

Location: Paragraph 4

Explanation: The passage credits the slogan "Deeds not words" and the colour branding for pulling the movement together with a clear focus.

Question 13: What does the writer think of the museum's exhibition?

Answer: It's informative

Location: Final paragraph

Explanation: The passage closes by saying the exhibition shows how far ahead the suffragettes were in strategy and image-building, which points to an informative take, not a critical one.

How to Solve the Votes for Women IELTS Reading Passage

Most Votes for Women IELTS reading answers go wrong at the same few spots, since this passage runs on three question types that each trip students up differently. Getting a handle on all four points below covers most of what goes wrong here. 

1. Understand Yes, No, and Not Given Before You Start

Seven of the thirteen questions in this set are Yes, No, Not Given. That's over half the passage, so this format decides a big chunk of your score.
Here's what each one actually means:

• Yes – the passage backs the statement directly
• No – the passage says the opposite of the statement
• Not Given – the passage never mentions it at all

Take Q8 as an example. It asks if Parliament opposed the 1909 Woman's Exhibition:

• The passage tells you how much money the exhibition raised
• It says nothing about how Parliament reacted to it
• That gap makes the answer Not Given, not No

Most students mark it No anyway, just because it feels like Parliament should've had a problem with it. The passage never actually says that.

2. Watch for Paraphrasing in the Yes/No/Not Given Section

The passage almost never repeats the question's exact wording. A claim about dates or newspapers usually gets reworded before it turns into a question.
Example from Q4:

• Passage says: Australia had "already enfranchised women" by 1903
• Question says: women in Australia were still not allowed to vote in 1903

Opposite direction, so the answer is No.

Example from Q5:

• Passage says: The newspapers were the "main organs of communication"
• Question says: The two newspapers were the WSPU's main way of reaching people

Different words, same idea, so the answer here is yes.

3. Use the Word Limit Strictly for Note Completion

Q1 to Q3 ask for no more than three words, taken straight from the passage. Go over by even one word, and the answer's marked wrong, correct or not.

• Check the word limit before you start scanning
• Lift the exact words from the passage, don't reword them yourself
• Count what you've written before moving to the next question

Q2 catches the most people out here. Students write "purple, white, green" and go over the limit. "Colour scheme" alone fits and stays within it.

4. Eliminate Incorrect Options in Multiple Choice

Q11 to Q13 each give you a few options to pick from. Ruling out the wrong ones works faster than trying to prove the right one straight away.
Remove options that:

• Go against what the passage actually says
• Bring in details that the passage never mentions at all
• Sounds close, but only covers half the idea

Q13 is a clean example. One option makes the exhibition sound disappointing. The passage's closing lines actually praise the suffragettes' strategy and image-building, so that option's out right away.

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Common Mistakes in Votes for Women Reading Answers

A lot of students get answers to vote for women reading questions right in their head but still lose marks on paper. Usually, it's just small slips, not actual misreading. 

Mistake: Confusing Not Given with No

This is the big one. Seven questions in this passage run on Yes, No, Not Given, and this exact mix-up costs the most marks across all of them.

• Tip: ask if the passage actually contradicts the statement, or just never brings it up
• If it's missing, that's Not Given, not No
• Q8, about Parliament opposing the exhibition, is a common one that students get wrong this way

Mistake: Missing the Word Limit on Note Completion

Q1 to Q3 need answers of three words or fewer, straight from the passage. Go over, and the answer's marked wrong even if it's correct.

• Tip: count your words before moving to the next question
• Q2 is the usual trap, "purple, white, green" goes over, "colour scheme" doesn't
• Takes five seconds and saves the mark

Mistake: Choosing a Plausible-Sounding Multiple-Choice Option

Q11 to Q13 each have one option that sounds fair but has nothing backing it in the passage.

• Tip: go back to the exact paragraph and check the option against it
• Don't rely on what sounds reasonable on its own
• Q13's negative-sounding option is a good example; the passage never actually says that

Conclusion

Going through Vote for Women Reading Answers like this comes down to one thing mostly, telling No apart from Not Given without mixing them up. This passage comes from Cambridge IELTS, and once you know the reasoning behind each answer, not just the answer itself, the rest of the passage stops feeling tricky.

A few things matter most here:

• Spotting reworded lines instead of hunting for exact words
• Telling No and Not Given apart with confidence
• Sticking to the word limit on completion answers
• Ruling out options that sound right but aren't backed by the passage
• Checking your Vote for Women Reading Answer against the paragraph one more time before moving on

Quick answer key

• Q1 – Advertising space
• Q2 – Colour scheme
• Q3 – The Woman's Exhibition
• Q4 – No
• Q5 – Yes
• Q6 – No
• Q7 – No
• Q8 – Not Given
• Q9 – Yes
• Q10 – Yes
• Q11 – The WSPU's marketing and organisational achievements
• Q12 – Their slogan and colour scheme
• Q13 – It's informative

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