This is the IELTS Energy Podcast Episode 1555.
What is the best structure for speaking part three?
Welcome to the IELTS Energy Podcast from All Ears English downloaded more than 35 million times, with examiner trained IELTS whiz, Aubrey Carter and Lindsay McMahon, the English adventurer.
If you are stuck with a low score, our insider method will help you get the score you need to unlock your dreams.
Get your estimated band score now with our two minute quiz at allearsenglish.com slash my score.
In part one of this series, we gave you a winning structure for preparing for speaking part three.
In today's episode, let's put this structure into place for higher scores on the toughest part of the speaking test.
Are you still translating from your native language into English in your head?
Are you always getting confused between the different grammar tenses?
Let's figure out what you need to work on.
Find your current English level with our five-minute quiz at allearsenglish.com slash fluency score.
Hey there, Aubrey.
What's going on?
Hi, Lindsay.
I'm great.
How are you?
Good.
Aubrey, when's the last time you got into an argument with someone?
Have you been recently in an argument?
It's been a while.
It's a great question.
I feel like I got into an argument with one of my kids.
I remember what it was.
It was about a Christmas gift that she wanted.
And instead of just saying no, I was like trying to give her all of the reasons that it wasn't a good idea.
She wanted an electric scooter.
Okay, fine.
So I'm trying to give her all the reasons.
And then she kept coming back with, you know, so it wasn't like a heated argument.
But we definitely were because she kept coming back with all of the rebuttals to everything.
That's so hard.
Oh, my gosh, scooters are great.
I'm on team scooter.
Well, I want her to ride her bike, though.
I'm like, I don't know if she gets enough exercise during the day.
So I'm team keep riding your bike exercise.
Yeah, that's fair.
That's fair.
We have a scooter sharing program here in Denver.
So I'm constantly riding scooters around Denver.
You can just pick it up almost like a bike share program.
Yeah, it's super cool.
We used those when we were in Austin.
We just like rented the little scooter and went all over the town.
It's such a great idea.
It's amazing, because sometimes it's just a little too far to walk, but you don't want to take a lift and you don't want to drive.
So you just take a scooter.
Yeah, so good.
Exactly.
Well, so anyway, interesting.
The reason we're talking about arguments here is maybe not for that type of argument, but if you are really in an argument with someone, especially if you're trying to sort of debate with them about something, you usually try to structure your ideas so that your argument, your reasons, are more solid and more powerful, wouldn't you say?
Yeah.
Yeah, I think so.
That's why we are doing a series here of episodes, right?
And this is a part two.
Is this part two, Aubrey, in our series here?
Exactly, right?
In part one, we taught you a structure for speaking part three answers.
We're going to share that again today here and provide examples using the three steps we taught.
So stay to the end if you missed it.
We'll share that episode.
You can definitely listen to these out of order, but you'll definitely want to go back and listen to that one to get more details.
Yeah.
So just to kind of recap here, step one is to follow a strategy.
We have to have a strategy for speaking part three.
Exactly right.
And the strategy we taught is this structure to first give your opinion, then support that opinion with specific reasons, details and examples, and then give a short, one sentence summary, if there's time.
And step two would be to write out your answers.
We taught you in that episode to write out what you're going to say, right?
Exactly.
And then, when you're ready, step three practice first by yourself, practice reading the answers you have written down and then practice answering spontaneously with a speaking partner or a teacher.
So you're giving yourself these chances to build confidence and fluency before you put yourself in these more high stakes situations.
OK, so now we're going to go into action here and get some examples.
So I'm going to ask you, Aubrey, a part three question.
Are you ready for this?
Yeah.
So what we're first going to do, I'm going to answer one a little more spontaneously later in the episode.
So stay tuned for that.
But first, I've pulled a couple here and we're going to kind of show how you could answer them.
And then I think we can first sort of talk out our ideas and experiences, because a lot of part three questions, if you've never thought about it before you might really struggle to just answer on the fly, right?
You don't have any time to prepare like you do for part two.
So first we're going to take a part three question and kind of talk about our ideas a little bit and then share a possible band nine answer.
Okay.
All right.
So here is the part three question.
Do you think neighbors today have less interaction with each other than in the past?
It's a good question, right?
Yes, right.
And this is interesting.
If you just immediately start talking about your neighbors now and maybe what it was like in the past, you might do fine.
But you'll definitely be able to Answer in a more organized, higher scoring way if you follow this structure and if you've thought about this before right.
Yes, I love it.
So where would we start here?
So what do you think, Lindsay?
What's your personal experience with this?
Yeah, I do.
I think it's true.
I think the pandemic had some kind of an effect on our social skills interactions on a societal level.
And then I think even before the pandemic, it was already kind of decreasing.
Yes, absolutely.
Right.
We see TV shows like Friends and some of the Seinfeld where neighbors are like really close friends.
And we don't see that as much anymore.
No, you really don't.
When I lived in New York, I didn't know any of my neighbors.
Like I would kind of say hi to them, but I didn't really try to get to know them.
No, it's true.
It's a bygone era, as we say, right?
Exactly.
That's a great phrase.
It means like it's a thing of the past.
It really has changed, at least in the United States.
Curious if this is cultural, maybe this is different where you lived.
There is no wrong answer here, right?
You're sharing your own thoughts.
What have you experienced?
So, even though it's speaking part three, you are definitely going to draw from your personal experience.
Yeah, the key is how robust is this kind of brainstorming stage, right?
Exactly, right.
So Lindsay, I have kind of prepared a band nine answer here.
Do you want to share it for us?
Yeah, here it is.
So here's what I could say.
Again, the question is do you think neighbors today have less interaction with each other than in the past?
I could say without a doubt, interaction among neighbors has significantly decreased, mainly because modern life is much faster and more private.
In the past, neighborhoods function almost like small communities, where people borrow tools or shared meals.
Today, technology has replaced a lot of that face-to-face contact.
In our modern age, the average person is busy with work and family obligations, so they simply have less time to socialize.
Sad.
It is sad, but what a good answer, right?
Really high scoring here.
You can tell this person has thought about it before or is really good, because a lot of people are better at just organizing their thoughts and speaking really coherently on the fly.
But this is difficult in a second language.
So the more you're able to, you know, think about all of these different issues, the better prepared you'll be for these answers.
Yes, exactly.
So that would be an example of spending some time thinking and then writing something out.
Exactly.
Right.
So you could write that out and then practice reading it.
Right.
Try to vary your tone.
You do not want to just use a monotone.
Make sure you're using linking phrases.
If you go back and if you don't have any linking phrases, add a couple.
Here we had without a doubt.
And in our modern age and today.
So we've got some linking phrases, right?
Practice reading it, varying your tone.
Go back and add.
We talked about this in the last episode, but go back and add even more high scoring vocabulary.
Yep.
And remember, guys, this is not something you're doing on test day, right, Aubrey?
On test day, we're not writing out our answers before responding.
No, you don't have that option.
You don't have it, but this is practice.
This is an intermediate step we want you to insert in your practice process your preparation right Aubrey.
Exactly, yes, because there's a lot to think about when you're coming up with answers on the fly.
It's difficult to use all of the linking phrases and vocabulary and interesting intonation.
So if you start by writing out an answer, add vocabulary, make it as good as you can, practice speaking that, then move to those spontaneous answers.
You're going to be so much more confident and you're building fluency as you work on those skills.
Yeah, exactly.
Don't expect to be able to right away, you know, run that marathon when you're just training, right?
I think we talked about this before.
You have to take those intermediate steps.
Okay, exactly.
Let's do one more.
For a part three question, that is, what qualities make someone a good neighbor?
This is maybe what I would have written out.
I'll go ahead and read it.
Above all, a good neighbor is considerate, communicative, and respectful.
For instance, they pay attention to noise levels, keep shared spaces clean and are willing to help during emergencies.
Another important quality is openness.
When neighbors are friendly and easily to approach, small issues can be discussed before they turn into conflicts.
Ultimately, good neighbors strike a balance.
They respect your privacy, but are friendly and helpful when it's appropriate.
Sounds like a good answer.
Right.
You've got these linking phrases, right?
Above all, for instance, ultimately with introductory sentences here, with your clauses, so that everything's linking together and flowing really smoothly.
And for your summary sentence.
At the end, the word ultimately is a great way to essentially recap what you've said, right?
Exactly, right?
Ultimately, good neighbors strike a balance.
Yes.
So if you had written out this answer right, one step is to go back and think about what vocabulary is too common that I could improve, right?
And if ever you see good or bad, that's one example.
Here I had Above all, a good neighbor.
And another interesting thing is this is taken straight from the question.
So if the question is what qualities make someone a good neighbor, you want to try to restate that.
Try not to say the question exactly.
Think of all the better ways to say good, right?
So what could we say?
An excellent neighbor.
Um, an ideal neighbor, that would be even better, right?
So do this with your question, write out your answer, then go back and look at it.
What higher scoring vocabulary could you add?
Do you have linking phrases?
If not add them, what low scoring words could you replace?
Yeah, it's a good process.
And again.
So that way, by the time you do get to test day and you're doing this automatically, you're just answering verbally.
You already have gone through these processes of practicing.
So you know how to identify those vocab opportunities right away before you even say the word.
Exactly.
If you feel yourself about to say good, you can replace it, because then you will have been practicing answering spontaneously as well.
And you'll practice that using those high scoring words instead.
Yeah, that's really good.
Good stuff.
Have you taken any IELTS practice tests yet?
What kind of scores are you getting?
As IELTS experts, we know exactly what you need to do no matter where you're starting from.
For example, if you're around a bound five, you need to improve your overall English before doing a lot of test practice.
There are specific activities that you should be doing at every level, whether it's band five, six or higher.
Take a quiz and get free advice. allearsenglish.com slash myscore.
All right, Aubrey, we are in another question.
We're here for another example.
All right.
I'm going to do this one spontaneously.
So this is the, you know, further along in our strategy here.
We've been writing out answers.
We've been improving them, practicing them.
Then you get to where you're going to start answering spontaneously.
And don't get down on yourself.
Record them.
Give yourself feedback or get feedback from a speaking partner or a teacher and just constantly working to improve.
Okay.
All right.
So let me ask you the question and then we'll get your spontaneous answer.
Spontaneous, but after much practice, right?
Exactly.
Right.
Okay.
How can governments encourage people to build stronger communities?
Honestly, I feel the best way is creating shared public spaces.
Parks, libraries, and community centers naturally bring people together.
A perfect example is something called the Riparian Preserve not far from my home.
It has several lakes with these beautiful pathways.
People come and rollerblade or just walk.
It's actually next to a library, another amazing shared public space, but people gather there.
They're having picnics.
They're chatting with friends.
They're meeting new people.
There's a couple of ramadas that people can rent to have parties.
And, all in all, if governments provide a lot of spaces like that where a community can gather, it definitely leads to stronger bonds among community members.
Nice.
I like it.
I like the way you summarized clearly the phrase all in all is a summary phrase.
So I can expect you to kind of wrap it up and recap what we've said, which is a great use there at the end.
You were very specific.
You named the preserve an example in your community.
I love that.
Yeah, and this is great to do for a speaking part three question.
If you're going to give this as your answer, for example, creating shared public spaces, how much more detail will you be able to provide if you share one that you know about?
You've seen what happens there.
You've seen people gathering.
You can share the activities that happen there.
So always, whenever possible, draw from your personal experience, even in speaking part three.
Yeah.
And we talk about in speaking part two, you share a story, but it's not the same.
Here we're answering the societal question on a more analytical level, but we're pulling in the example to add colorful details.
But then we're zooming out again with our summary.
All in all, we're broadly speaking about society again, right?
Exactly.
Yes.
This is a great structure.
Keep in mind, you may not have time for that summary sentence.
Don't let that throw you off.
Like if the examiner hasn't stopped you and you still have time.
Rephrase what you're saying can summarize in one sentence
But if not, if the examiner says thank you and asks the next question, just be ready to listen for the next question.
They might need to ask a certain amount of questions before the time's up.
So they may need to interrupt you.
Yeah.
I think one question our listeners might have towards the end of the episode Aubrey is at what point in our prep should we be at the point where we're just automatically answering without going through the writing out process?
Is it two weeks before?
Oh, yeah.
Good question.
One week before?
This will depend a lot on how much time you have to prepare, right?
Yeah, of course.
If you have six months before you're taking the IELTS exam...
You're going to want to spend more time doing these initial writing out answers, practicing making your answers as good as possible.
30 days before taking the exam, you want to start spontaneously answering these questions.
So if you only have 30 days to study, you could do these together, right?
Practice writing them out, improving them, but also start spontaneously answering questions right away.
And so 30 days, and that's also assuming that we are essentially coming back to IELTS five to six days a week, right?
I mean, this is heavy lifting when it comes to prep.
Yes, definitely.
Take that day off.
Take the time you need.
Don't let yourself get overwhelmed.
But you're going to need to put in some time in order to have the practice you need to get your score.
Yeah.
And that's why in our course, Three Keys IELTS, we organize everything for you.
You don't have to think through this.
You don't have to gather information from each episode.
You just join our course, follow the daily study plan, which is clearly organized for you, right?
We'll tell you when to do certain things.
And to get into the course, guys, that's allearsenglish.com slash K-E-Y-S.
Aubrey, what's another episode?
What would be part one again?
If you missed it, scroll up.
Episode 1552 was called How Should I Practice for Speaking Part 3.
That's where we dive in more detail into this structure and how to use it.
All right.
That's great stuff.
So clearly.
I think my takeaway here is that we're just being incredibly intentional about our preparation.
Right.
We're not just panicking and just trying to answer the questions.
We're giving our mind space to build the skill.
So on test day, we're also not going to panic.
Exactly right.
You want to feel prepared and confident.
So these steps are going to get you there.
Right.
You're going to feel like you have built the skills you need and you're ready when you get these questions on test day.
Awesome.
Sounds good, Aubrey.
Great stuff.
And I'll see you back here very soon.
Awesome.
See you next time.
Bye.
Thanks for listening to IELTS Energy.
Hit subscribe now, and don't forget to find your estimated band score at allearsenglishcom.
Slash my score.
This one goes out to the busy bees who want to sell their car.
CarMax has your back.
Hey, multitasker.
Crushing multiple tasks.
Getting an offer in your car is one of those tasks, but this task is a pretty easy task.
Because you just got a real offer in like two minutes with CarMax.
Task completed.
Nice job doing that task.
Want to sell your way?
Want to drive?
CarMax.
Yay to Bruce, the streaming king.
With quantum fiber in the net, he's gonna binge.
He wants more.
He's got to have more.
More bedtime true crime.
More podcasts in the shower.
Quantum fiber Wi-Fi has the power.
More, more, more.
Fast internet speeds.
Got the geeks to go big.
Bring them the game.
Run!
Switch today at quantumfiber.com.
Limited availability, service and speed in select locations only.
