C1 Advanced Speaking Parts 3 & 4 Sample Answers

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These are high-scoring sample answers for the following Cambridge C1 Advanced Speaking Parts 3 and 4. Read them to understand what you need to talk about and the kind of answers you need to give for a good C1 Advanced speaking score.

C1 Advanced Speaking Part 3

Question

C1 Advanced Speaking Parts 3 and 4 Sample Answers

Sample Answer – Discussion

There is two minutes to discuss how each part influences the central question.

A/ In this day and age, I think technological knowledge is absolutely essential. The rate of change of technology, the rate technology is advancing, is quite incredible, to be quite honest with you. And so, there needs to be the people in the workplace that understand what’s going on, and in each company, there should be somebody who knows how things work, who to contact if they don’t know how to fix it, and so on. What do you think about that?

B/ I couldn’t agree more, to be quite honest with you. I think it’s the same in some respect to communication skills. You know, there’re so many new ways to communicate these days, not just face to face, but, you know, video calls. There’s chat, messaging, there’s all sorts of apps like Facebook Messenger, Telegram, Weixin and so on. There’s also Skype and Zoom, not to mention the way people communicate over social media. What do you think about that?

A/ I completely see your point. I think to some extent, one of the reasons that people need a quality, like patience, is because of all these different aspects of technology and of communication, because these, you know, things are wonderful when they work correctly, but if somebody does something wrong or presses the wrong button by accident, then things can go completely haywire. And so a bit of patience is absolutely essential. Wouldn’t you say?

B/ Yes, I would.

Sample Answer – Reaching a Decision

There is one minute for the candidates to reach a decision about which activity needs the most concentration.

B/ As far as I’m concerned, the most important thing is communication skills. The way I see it is, if people can communicate what they mean clearly and concisely, then it doesn’t matter which problem or issue they are trying to solve, some kind of solution will be reached. What would you say to that?

A/ I completely agree with you. I think determination, patience and independence are excellent skills to have, but if you can’t express what you mean, then they are meaningless. As for technological knowledge, it’s just changing all the time.

B/ I couldn’t agree more.

Sample Answer Video

No decision in this video

C1 Advanced Speaking Part 4

One candidate is asked a Part 4 question, then the other one is asked to give a shorter opinion on it too.

Questions

Which is more important in any job: qualifications, personality or practical experience?
What type of jobs should be most highly-valued and paid? Why?
Do you think it’s better to do one job all your life or change jobs frequently? Why?
Should there be a compulsory retirement age or should people be allowed to work as long as they like? Why/Why not?
Do you think that people can be taught to be good leaders in the workplace? Why/Why not?
Some people say that it doesn’t matter what job you do – the most important thing is to enjoy doing it. What do you think?

Sample Answers

Question – Which is more important in any job: qualifications, personality or practical experience?

Sample answer – I am a firm believer that personality is the most important thing out of these three things. I think it doesn’t matter how well qualified someone is or how much experience they have or if they have both. If they don’t have the personality to drive forward and try and improve and get the job done, the job that needs done, when it needs done, then they’re virtually useless in most jobs, in my opinion. I believe that, of course, people should have qualifications and experience. In some jobs, there is nothing better than experience. But having the personality to actually turn up and do the job that’s expected.

Question – What type of jobs should be most highly-valued and paid? Why?

Sample answer – This is a tricky question to answer, in my opinion. I would like to say that teachers should be highly paid but imagine if they were like footballers and were transferred between schools or their pay dropped because they had a personal issue. Doctors, of course, are another profession, but if their pay is too high, then it becomes too expensive for the average person to be treated. Currently, there are many highly paid but unpopular jobs, such as CEOs or even financial market traders. I think if perceptions and pay changed, there will always be a certain type of people who will aim for the highest paid, regardless of if it is valued or not.

Question – Do you think it’s better to do one job all your life or change jobs frequently? Why?

Sample answer – Personally speaking, I think people should try the various jobs they would like to have before settling down to one job for most of their lives. If someone had the same job from leaving school to retirement, they may regret it and their final years at work may be miserable. I am of the opinion that those who constantly seek to change their jobs just for a slightly higher salary or to get away from hated colleagues are deeply unhappy and should try to get to the root of their problems.

Question – Should there be a compulsory retirement age or should people be allowed to work as long as they like? Why/Why not?

Sample answer – If the birthrate remains relatively constant, then as far as I can see there would be no reason for people to work longer than need be. If, however, there were less workers entering the workforce, it may be essential for willing retirees to either keep working or return to work. I they did keep working, though, there would be a tendency for them to shun new working practices for the ones they are used to. This cause friction with younger work mates, so perhaps it could be argument for them to only act in an advisory or even part-time role.

Question – Do you think that people can be taught to be good leaders in the workplace? Why/Why not?

Sample answer – As far as leadership is concerned, I am convinced that it is not just something that can be taught but comes from experience. Saying that, the workplace would e the ideal place to learn leadership, rather than at university or other tertiary education. Shadowing someone senior would teach them about how to persuade, suggest and deal with people as well as learning how to make important decisions. the problem from the company’s perspective, though, would be to make sure such prospective leaders didn’t leave for another company.

Question – Some people say that it doesn’t matter what job you do – the most important thing is to enjoy doing it. What do you think?

Sample answer – It’s a balance in my view. Some people could take this to extremes and love a job that doesn’t pay enough to support their family. I don’t think that is uncommon, but I think the trick is to learn to enjoy what you have rather than constantly seek it out. For me, one of the most important aspects of a job is how long it takes me to commute. If that is restrictive, say an hour each-way, then I would actively look for something much closer to home, whether I enjoyed my job or not.