IELTS SPEAKING PART 3

I. 7 Common Question Types

1. Opinion– What do you think about ‘this’? Remember to say why you think that way and give
examples.
2. Evaluate– What do you think about someone else’s opinion?
3. Future– What do you think will happen in the future?
4. Cause and Effect– What caused ‘this’ and/or what effects has ‘it’ had?
5. Hypothetical– Talk about imaginary or unreal situations.
6. Compare and Contrast– Talk about the difference and/or similarities between two things.
7. Past– How were things different in the past and how have they changed?

*Extend your answer by giving example: example có thể là về mình, về người xung quanh hoặc 1
nhóm người:
In my case, … / My friends… / People from Saigon …

A. Opinion
You can start with
• As I see it,
• Personally,
• For me,
• I think…
If you feel very strongly about something you could use:
• I’m convinced that….
• I’m certain that….
• I’m sure that….
If you are less sure about your opinion you could give a weaker opinion by using:
• I guess that…
• I suppose that….
• I’d say that…..

Example Question
What are some of the ways people can help others in the community?
As I see it, there are many ways one can help the needy, but the best way is by making charitable
donations. People can choose a charity and simply donate a sum of money and leave it to them to
help others in need. For instance, I recently gave money to an orphanage. I don’t have time to help
them personally, so I’ll leave it up to them to use the money as they see fit.

B. Evaluate
In these kinds of questions you will be asked what you think about someone else’s opinion. We will
therefore need to use expressions that allow us to agree or disagree.
For agreement we can use:
 • I couldn’t agree with you more.
• That’s so true.
• That’s for sure.
• That’s exactly how I feel.
• I suppose so./I guess so.
• You/they have a point there.
For disagreement we can use:
• I don’t think so.
• I’m afraid I disagree.
• I totally disagree.
• I’d say the exact opposite.
• Not necessarily.
• That’s not always true.
Remember that you will have to extend your answers with explanations and examples.

Example Question
Some people say that people helped others more in the past than they do now. Do you agree or
disagree?
I don’t think so. When it comes to my parents’ generation I think they are quite sceptical about
helping other people in the community, but my generation are regularly doing things to improve it,
such as volunteering for various environmental and charitable organisations. Young people are
actively encouraged to help out in the community and I don’t think this happened in the past, so I’m
afraid I’d disagree.

C. Future
You are often asked to predict how a certain topic will change in the future.
For making future predictions we normally use ‘will + verb’, however this is quite simple and the
examiner will be looking for your ability to use more complex structures to predict the future. More
complex structures could include:
• X plans to…..
• It is predicted that….
• X intends to….
• I foresee…..
• It is foreseeable….
• Conditionals- If X + verb…..
• It is likely that…
• It is probable that….
• It is unforeseeable that….
• I envisage….

As always you will have to explain why you think this will occur in the future. You may also want to
use future conditionals to extend your answer.

Example Question
Some people say that working from home will be quite common in the future. Do you agree?
It is foreseeable that more people will work from home in the future. If the internet becomes faster
and there are more programs, such as Skype, that allow people to work from home more easily, I’d
predict that more people will stay at home. If you think about it, most people don’t need to be
physically present to do their jobs and I envisage that face to face meetings will be a thing of the
past.

D. Cause and Effect

To talk about cause and effect you can use:
• …because…
• …as a result….
• …resulted in…
• …due to….
• …caused…
• …led to….
• …means that….
Only use an expression if you are sure your sentences are grammatically correct: be SIMPLE!

Example Question
How does advertising influence what people choose to buy?
I think advertising has a big influence on what people purchase and often leads to them always
sticking with the same brand. For example, I always drink Coca Cola and I believe this is because I
grew up watching all those ads on TV and I instinctively buy it as a result. I mean, why would
companies spend so much money on adverts, unless it led to more sales?

E. Hypothetical
The second conditional is used to talk about ‘unreal’, ‘unlikely’ or ‘impossible’ situations. You might
get asked a question about an ‘unreal’ situation, for example ‘If you were mayor of your city, what
would you do to improve it?’
The grammar we use for this is:
If + (subject 1) + past participle, then (subject 2) + would + verb

Example Question
If you could choose any country to live in, where would you choose?
If I could live in any country, I would probably choose Australia. The weather is great; the people are
super friendly and just imagine living beside all those beaches. If I could choose another country, it
would have to be Italy, for the architecture, the culture and its fascinating history.

F. Compare and Contrast

To compare two things, use a comparative adjective + than e.g. He’s taller than his sister.

Example Question
Do you think primary school children should learn a second language or should they wait until
secondary school?
It’s obvious that the earlier children start a language the easier it becomes in later life. However,
some parents might think that subjects like maths are more important than languages at primary
level. They may also think that a foreign language is less important than their first language and this
should be prioritised.

G. Past
• We may use the present perfect continuous to talk about something that started in the past
and continues up until the present. Example: They have been developing the city centre for
the past five years. For this tense we use the structure has/have + been + present participle
(verb-ing).
• Used to + infinitive to talk about past habits or states that are now finished.
• Would + infinitive to describe past habits.
• Past simple to talk about things you did in the past that you no longer do or are no longer
true.
• Past continuous to talk about the background of a story or how you felt at a particular time.
• Past perfect to say something happened before something else in the past.

Example Question
How has teaching changed in your country over the past few decades?
In the past, teachers simply lectured students and the students just listened to what they said.
We were given lots of facts to learn and there was no room for creativity or freedom of expression.
I remember learning lots of things without thinking about the theory behind it. Now, there’s been a
movement towards students thinking for themselves.

PRACTICE FOR TRANG

SET 1
1. Opinion– What do you think about ‘this’? Remember to say why you think that way and give
examples.

Do you think teachers are paid enough?

2. Future– What do you think will happen in the future?

How do you think the way we eat will change in the future?

3. Cause and Effect– What caused ‘this’ and/or what effects has ‘it’ had?

Why do some students dislike studying at school?

4. Compare and Contrast– Talk about the difference and/or similarities between two things.

What is the difference between young people and old people’s favourite TV drama? Why?

5. Past– How were things different in the past and how have they changed?

How do you think traveling today is different from what it was several decades ago?
SET 2
1. How have mobile phones changed the types of relationships people make?
2. Some people think that children should not be allowed to use mobiles, do you agree?
3. How has mobile phone use changed in the last 10 years?
4. How will mobile phones change in the future?
5. If you could add any new feature to a smart phone, what would it be?

SET 3

• Why do some people lose contact with their childhood friends?

• How do people in your country make friends these days?
• Why is it hard to maintain friendships?
• Why is it easier to make friends on the internet than in reality?
• What qualities do you think are important in a friend?
• Do you think it is a good idea to borrow money from a friend? Why or why not?
• What factors may result in the breakdown of a good friendship?
• Friendship is the most important relationship. Do you agree? Why? Why not?

SET 4

• Why do you think that some local singers or musicians aren’t as successful as some from
other countries?
• Do you think the Internet has affected the music industry? In what ways?
• Do you think there will be further changes in the music industry in the future?
• Do you think the music young people listen to in your country is becoming more globalized?
Why/Why not?