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IELTS Speaking Exam

Part 3 – The discussion questions
In this part of the exam you are expected to answer discussion questions
related to your topic from part 2. However, these questions are more abstract
and you are expected to give opinions and explain why you have these
opinions. You are not expected to have expert knowledge on the subject, but
you are expected to be aware of global social situations and issues. This
means you should be aware of what is happening in the world around you and
be prepared to discuss it.

I completed a Speaking Exam Part 2 topic related to celebrations so I’m going

to look at some possible Part 3 questions that could follow on from this topic.

How do I
answer these
questions?

As the questions in this part of the exam can be long and complex, it’s
important that you focus on the key words in the question.

Have a look at these questions. Notice which words are important for you to
focus on when you answer.

1. How important is it for families to get together and celebrate?

2. Can you compare the importance of family relationships to that of

friendships?

3. Can you comment on the effect on society of changing family

relationships?

4. How do you think this might develop in the future?

Copyright © 2010 - 2012. My IELTS Teacher. All rights reserved.

There is no time limit in this section. You are just expected to answer the
question, making sure you give reasons for your answers.

You are not graded according to your opinions. You can express any opinion
you feel, as long as you can explain your reason for it! You are graded on
your ability to answer the question and the language you use.

Also when you have finished answering the question make sure the examiner
understands you have finished. Don’t say “…..and..er…” at the end as the
examiner will then expect you to continue! You can finish by using a quick
summary sentence of your ideas, or by saying something like…

“ I think that’s all. ”

“ That’s all I can think of for now. ”
“ I think that answers the question. ”

Click here to listen to my responses to the four questions listed earlier.

Now let’s look at some of the language I used…

1. How important is it for families to get together and celebrate?

Organising ideas and giving opinions

Well…I actually think…

The main reason is that these days…
I think another reason is that we…

I also used simpler phrases a number of times, such as:

…because of…
…so that…
…again…

Interesting and varied vocabulary

…we spend so much time apart…

…the demands of our jobs…
…coming together…
…the kinds of lives that we lead…
…it becomes quite stressful on a daily basis…

Grammar

Present simple - …we spend so much time apart from each other…
Subject using gerund form – …coming together is a really important part of life…
Defining Relative clause - …the kinds of lives that we lead…
Zero conditional using ‘when’…when you come together as a group,…that time
helps you to relax and enjoy life…

Copyright © 2010 - 2012. My IELTS Teacher. All rights reserved.

Finishing response

So yeah, I actually think it’s really important.

2. Can you compare the importance of family relationships to that of

friendships?

Organising ideas and giving opinions

Yes, family relationships are important…

I think some people believe they are more important than…
However, personally, I think…
The reason for that is because…
…whereas when I’m with my family…

Interesting and varied vocabulary

...relationship…
…real character…
…responsible…

Grammar

Comparative structures - …they are more important than general friendships…

…more of my real character…
…whereas when I’m with my family I feel I’m a quieter person…
Present simple - …I have a different relationship with my friends…

Phrases to allow thinking time

Ooh that’s quite a hard question for me…

Finishing response

From my point of view, friendships are more important, but I know other
people believe that family’s more important.

Copyright © 2010 - 2012. My IELTS Teacher. All rights reserved.

 3. Can you comment on the effect on society of changing family
relationships?

Organising ideas and giving opinions

Right…well...I think in some countries…

…in response to…
What I mean by this is…
As a result of that…
I believe…
…but then in other countries…

Interesting and varied vocabulary

…society…
…family values…
…responsible social behaviour…
…poor upbringing…
…is leading to more aggression and more violence
…important part of the culture…

Grammar

This question allows for more variety by comparing past to present.

Present perfect…you can see where society has changed…
Expressing probability…I think this might be in response to the change in family…
Present continuous passive…children are not being taught…
Defining Relative clause…in those countries where family has now become less
important…
Comparing - …you see less of these kinds of results…

Finishing response

So yeah, I think society is changing, and I think at least part of that reason is
something to do with the change in family relationships.

4. How do you think this might develop in the future?

Organising ideas and giving opinions

I think some people would say in the future…

…it might be possible to change…
As I said before…
I think we might reach a point where…
…might actually lead to better…
…so, you know, in some ways people…

Copyright © 2010 - 2012. My IELTS Teacher. All rights reserved.

Interesting and varied vocabulary

…optimistic person…
…worse…
…situation…
…disrespect towards your elders…
…there’s a kind of backlash in society…
…the importance of family…
…religion in a culture…
…how it brings people together…
…work together as a community…

Grammar

2nd conditional main clause - …some people would say in the future it’s going to
get worse…
Prediction structure - it might be possible to change the situation…
Defining Relative clause - …we might reach a point where there’s a kind of
backlash…
Comparing – …lead to better family relationships…
…where now…there are problems on the street…

Finishing response

So, you know, in some ways people, I think, will say it’ll get worse, but I’d like
to think that by the time I’m a grandparent things might have changed again.

When you look at the four responses overall, you can see that there is a wide
variety of grammar. As some questions will allow you to show more variety
than others, the speaking exam is graded according to your response to all 3
parts (the interview, the 2-minute topic and the discussion questions), rather
than to specific questions.

These responses also show a huge range of organisational phrases which is

essential for clear discussions and expressions of ideas. Additionally, each
response ends with a clear summary of ideas – this shows the examiner that
you have finished your answer.

There are so many phrases that you can use to organise your answers in this
section of the exam. Below are some more ideas organised into their
functional groups. The best plan is to learn a few from each group and start
using them as you practice and prepare for the exam. In this way, you will be
able to use them easily and naturally when you need to.

Copyright © 2010 - 2012. My IELTS Teacher. All rights reserved.

Sentence starters / Organisational language / Linking phrases

Give explanations One reason is…

The main reason is…
This might be because…
That’s why…
This can lead to…
As a result…
So…
It can have a positive/negative
influence on…because…
Make suggestions One thing we could do is…
People should…
Maybe we could…
One possible solution is…
I would suggest…
Compare things (or compare now to …better than…
the past/future) …far more difficult than…
Compared to the past, people are
more….
Many people prefer…
People today….whereas in the past
they…
Make predictions In the future…
By the time…
We’ll probably…
It might be possible to…
It might lead to…
Agree or disagree Yes, absolutely because…
Yes, definitely because…
I’m not sure…
Maybe, but…
I don’t think so because…
Definitely not, because…
Give opinions I think…
I believe…
In my opinion…
Personally, I think…
Many people claim that…

If you would like to practice doing a part 2 topic followed by part 3 questions
then click on these links below:

1. To practice doing Part 2 topics click here.

2. If you would like to listen to Part 3 questions related to the topics above,
click here.

3. If you would like to read the Part 2 topics and Part 3 questions,
click here.

Copyright © 2010 - 2012. My IELTS Teacher. All rights reserved.

What should you do if you have problems with
the questions?

What happens
if you don’t
hear?

(or don’t listen – we all ‘turn off’ sometimes and don’t listen!)
You must ask the examiner to repeat the question.

Do not try to answer if you don’t know or remember the question – you
will lose marks because the examiner thinks you don’t understand.

Try using any of the following…

“ I’m sorry, can you repeat the question? ”

“ I didn’t hear sorry, can you repeat that? ”
“ I’m sorry? ”

Asking the examiner to repeat a question is OK – just try not to do it too many
times or you will start to lose points.

What happens if
you don’t
understand a
word?

Is this word important?

Can you understand the question without this word?

Yes, then answer the question.

No, then you need to do something about it.

Eg. How important is it for families to get together and celebrate?

If you don’t understand get together does it affect your understanding?

How important is it for families to XXXXXX and celebrate?

Copyright © 2010 - 2012. My IELTS Teacher. All rights reserved.

There are enough key words to help you understand this question – How
important, families, celebrate.
Some of you may be able to guess the meaning of get together and replace it
with a word you know, such as join, meet, come together etc.

The same is true for the following question:

How do you think this might develop in the future?

Knowing that you are going to talk about this (the effect of changing family
relationships) and the future is enough for you to answer. Others of you may
be able to replace develop with change.

However, you may hear a question where you really need to know the
meaning of a specific word in order to answer the question correctly.

You have 2 options.

1. You can try to guess the meaning of the word, and then ask the
examiner if you are correct.

Eg. Do you think certain advertisements do not convey the truth about
their products?

You could say – Do want me to talk about how advertisements sometimes

tell lies?

Or you could say – By convey, do you mean tell?

2. You can ask the examiner for help. The examiner can’t really give
you an explanation but there’s a possibility they can re-phrase the
question. If not, they will move on to another question.

You could say - I’m sorry, I’m not sure I understand convey – can you re-
phrase the question?

As before, try not to do this more than once.

However, it is far better for you to show the examiner that you are dealing with
the situation (as this is what happens in real life) rather than trying to vaguely
answer something. If you don’t really understand the question your answer
will be confusing, and the examiner will know that you don’t have any
strategies to cope with difficult situations like this in real life.

If you’d like more help with your IELTS preparation please visit my
website www.myieltsteacher.com

Copyright © 2010 - 2012. My IELTS Teacher. All rights reserved.