IELTS SPEAKING BOOST | FASTRACK EDUCATION

STRATEGY FOR IELTS SPEAKING PART 3

Part 3 = Discussion

✓ This part lasts between 4 and 5 minutes

✓ It includes from 3 to 6 main questions

Please note:
Part 1 is about yourself and your experience.
Part 3 is about other people, society and more abstract concepts.

PART 3 TOPICS
Advertising Marriage & Children
City & Countryside Money
Culture Parenting
Decisions Reading
Education Retirement
Environment Science & Technology
Generation gap Social media
Health & Fitness Teenagers
Internet Transportation
Language Travel

1. Answer questions directly

Ask the examiner to repeat the question or explain any words you don’t
understand

2. Choose easy ideas over smart ideas. Don't overcomplicate your answers
It doesn’t matter if your answer reflects your true opinion or not

3. Give long extended answers

4. Don’t give a list of points. Choose one or two ideas and develop each of
them in depth

5. Avoid talking about yourself. Talk about people in general

6. Use linking words

7. Don’t know what to say? Buy yourself some time

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DON’T KNOW WHAT TO SAY?

That’s a difficult/interesting/tricky question. I would say that…

What a question! To be honest, I’ve never thought about it before. If I was

forced to say, I would guess…

I haven’t considered that before, but one thing that comes to my mind is…

Frankly speaking, that’s not a topic I’ve been thinking much about. Off the
top of my head, I would say…

Without knowing too much about this topic, I would say….

I suppose people may have very different opinions about this topic. I’m
inclined to say…

…well, basically, I’m not sure what else I could say on this subject.

…to be honest, I haven’t thought about it before so that’s as much as I can

say.

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TWO STRUCTURES TO ANSWER ANY PART 3

QUESTION

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ANSWERS WITH SEVERAL IDEAS

Advantages – Disadvantages
What are the advantages of online learning?
Are there any disadvantages?

Reasons
Why do you think some people choose to listen to audiobooks instead of
reading real books?

Solutions
How can teachers use technology to make their classes more interesting?
How do people use their smartphones?
What kinds of programmes are popular on TV?

Prediction about the future

Do you think in the future people will no longer do business face-to-face and
only use the internet?

Other questions
How do people use their smartphones?
What kinds of programmes are popular on TV?

Answer with several ideas:

How do people use their smartphones?

Opening • I don’t even know where to start!

• First and foremost, I’d say it’s a means of communication.

Idea 1 • I mean, it connects us to other people, be it through a
Explanation telephone call, a video chat, or an email.
Example • For instance, people can easily see and talk to their
nearest and dearest living on the other side of the world,
without even paying anything for it! It’s just incredible!

Idea 2 • Apart from connecting us to other people, smartphones

allow us to work or study wherever we are.
Explanation
• People can listen to books, edit their websites or respond to
Example
customer queries – all from their smartphone.

Idea 3 • And of course, it’s an important source of entertainment

Explanation
Example with all the music, videos and games.

Ending • These days, it seems it would be easier to find what people

can’t do on a smartphone!

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QUESTIONS ABOUT YOUR OPINION

One-sided opinion = Answer with several ideas

What subjects are more important, maths and science or arts and music?

• Well, I’d say that if we’re talking about subjects at school or

Opening university, then indeed, mathematics and science are more
important.

• Maybe I’m wrong, but it seems to me that it would be

harder to study chemistry or physics without a teacher’s
Idea 1 guidance than, let’s say, painting.
Explanation • And that’s because science requires the use of precise
Example rules, while art is more about one’s perception.
• For instance, one can find many part-time art or music
classes, but sciences are mainly taught at universities.

Idea 2
Explanation • In addition, it’s easier to find a job for STEM graduates.
Example

Ending • However, that’s an opinion of a person who’s never studied

art.

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Balanced opinion | Two contrasting views

What is more important, to have a healthy diet or to exercise regularly?

Opening •I think it’s impossible to select one over the other. Our
health depends on a balanced diet as much as it does
(Your opinion)
on exercise. Let me explain.

View 1 •Someone who eats organic, nutritious food, but has a

Explanation weak heart because he or she never exercises, won’t
Example live very long.

View 2
Explanation •But the opposite is also true. Working out at the gym
and eating junk food won’t keep you healthy for long.
Example

Ending •That’s why diet and exercise should go hand in hand

and complement each other.

ANSWER WITH TWO CONTRASTING VIEWS

Past and present

Are people today as polite as they were in the past?
Do you think it’s safer to travel now than in the past?

Past and present = Answer with two contrasting views

Are people today as polite as they were in the past?

Opening •It seems it depends on what group of people we’re

talking about, what’s their level of education, social
(Your opinion)
status and so on.

•In the past, let’s say, two hundred years ago, the
View 1 (Past) manners in society were much more formal than today.
Explanation •I suppose aristocrats were elegant and courteous, while
Example most working-class people or peasants had very simple
manners.

View 2 (Present)
Explanation •Today, education has been democratized and most
people are quite polite.
Example

Ending •However, the standard of good manners today is

perhaps lower than in the past.