One of the biggest problems I find with people’s IELTS Speaking Part 3 answers is they seem to think it is ok to give answers that a) are really speaking Part 1 answers or b) are totally disorganised and almost impossible to follow. To address this, I have written this article showing how to improve these two common errors.
1/ Most (not all) of your answers should be general, not only about you or your life as in IELTS Speaking Part 1.
2/ Organise your answers. This will benefit both you and your listener.
Giving General Answers
Let’s start with answering more generally. This means if there you are asked a question, such as ‘When do you think children start to have their own opinions?’ You shouldn’t talk about what you did when you were a child or what your niece or nephew does. You should talk about children in general.
Of course, you can’t know everything about children unless maybe you work for the education department or have studied Child Development at university. So what can you do?
First, use natural expressions to indicate that you’re not an expert. Then, use the children you know to represent groups of children.
Rather than saying:
My four-year old niece has become very opinionated recently……….
Say:
It is quite common for four-year olds to make their opinions clear to their family, although they can be shy with others.
So, use your experience, but talk about it as a general trend.
Examples
Q – Why do some people like to visit historical sites?
Common answer
A – Personally, I love to go to places like that because I can really imagine what life was like many years ago. My sister-in-law also loves visiting these places with the kids. She thinks it teaches them the history of our country, but it usually means that she can chill out while they run around discovering facts about the past. My brother never goes, though. He gets really bored.
General Answer
As far as I can gather, people like to visit such places for different reasons. Some like to try and imagine what life was like many years ago. Others take their children because they think it teaches them about history. Often the parents can just chill out while the kids run around discovering facts about the past. Others, though, think these places are really boring.
Q – How do people give young people and old people advice?
Common Answer
In different ways I think. I usually have to sit down with my very young sister and be srious with her if I want to give her advice she will remember. I need her to remember me telling her, then she won’t forget. As for my parents, though, I need to give them lots of examples of how other people have had good experiences of the subject.
General Answer
In different ways I think. With young kids, in my opinion it is usually better to sit down with them and be serious if they are to remember the advice. As for older people, though, I think they need to get lots of examples of how other people have had good experiences of the subject.
Organise your Answers
A great way to do this is to organise your spoken answers in the same way as an IELTS writing Task 2 paragraph.
When I write an essay body paragraph, I write:
Topic sentence, supporting sentence, example, supporting sentence 2 and a concluding sentence.
Organising answers like this makes it easier for the examiner to follow you, even if you make a mistake.
Having a template like this or the ones below makes it easier for you to give good answers.
For example:
Q – What do you think of the phenomenon of people queuing in restaurants for more than an hour?
A – In my opinion, it defeats the purpose of going out for a meal for two main reasons. Firstly, as far as I’m concerned, people go out for a meal to go somewhere relaxing to enjoy eating special food with friends or family, not stand around hoping others will finish their food quickly. For example, if someone went out for a birthday meal and had to wait for over an hour, it is quite likely that they would be looking intensely at those eating, and so spoiling their experience too. Secondly, waiting for so long often means people get irritated with each other or the restaurant because they are so hungry. Saying that, though, I sometimes think these queues add to the restaurant’s allure. Personally, I usually have a plan B because I am not very sociable when I am so hungry.
Ways to Organise Your Answers
It is important to remember that you can choose how to answer your questions. The following are just to give you more choices how to answer different questions, so you make a better impression on the examiner.
There are various ways …., firstly, secondly, finally (add an example if you like)
Q/ What do people need to sacrifice for success? – I think they have to make various sacrifices. Firstly, they often need to sacrifice much of their social life so they can meet the right kind of people or carry on working. Secondly, it is quite common for relationships to suffer or for families to break up when someone is working hard to be successful. For example, A partner who is left at home, may feel neglected and look elsewhere for comfort. Finally, as far as I know, it is not uncommon for such people’s physical health to suffer.
Regarding A, as for B, comparing A to B, I would say …… (+ example if needed)
Q/ Which is more likely to be successful, family businesses or large corporations? – Regarding family businesses, I would say that although they do much less business, they have a willing workforce and an ability to make decisions and take action quickly. On the other hand, larger conglomerates or corporations, have many employees who only care about their salary, and they also have to consult their financiers and directors before they make any decisions, so action is much slower. On the whole though, from the way I see it, these larger corporations are more likely to succeed because more often than not, their staff are all focused on their job and so many issues can be tackled at the same time. This is often not the case with family businesses.
In the past ……., In the present, however…. (+ example if needed)
Q/ Do you think service is better now than in the past? – In the past, I think people just did their job, whether it was selling a newspaper in a shop or repairing your car. It was just a job. These days, however, everything is analysed, so some both business owners and their customers realise the benefits of providing a good service, which in turn will bring in more customers through reviews and recommendations. The internet has had a huge impact on service, with prospective customers being able to check reviews online before making a purchase.
It really depends on how I’m feeling / the weather / how much money I have (+ example if needed)
Q/Do you think music and dancing are a must at a party? – I usually do, but it really depends on what kind of party it is. If it is a party for a newly born baby or an elderly person’s birthday party, it would be totally inappropriate to have music and dancing. However, if for most other parties, it gives people a chance to do something, avoid chatting to some people, or to find a quiet space away from it al which would be considered rude in any other circumstances.
If they do A, then ….. However, if they do B, then ….. (+ example if needed)
Q/ Should students learn to cook at school? – I think so. If they don’t, it would make them rely on buying meals or relying on someone else to cook for them. If they do, apart from leaving school with a practical skill that will serve them well for most of their lives, it will also give them a sense of independence, which should be good for their confidence and self-esteem. For example, a shy student going to stay at university would probably not have to suffer the chaos of the refectory if they could cook for themselves in peace and quiet.
How to Practice
Think about how you structure your IELTS Writing Task 2 essay paragraphs, then practice putting your speaking Part 3 answers into this format.
As usual, it takes time to get right, and it is fine to have favourite phrases to do this.
NOTE – You will get asked three or four questions in Part 3. Don’t answer them all in exactly the same way. Doing this sounds great the first time, but tiresome after the third or fourth time.