How to answer part3a preparation technique1.give longer answers (25-30 seconds at least).2. Ideas are not important as long as you are not far from the point.3. Give example or alternative all the time if you are lack of idea.4. Speak the language you r familiar with even if the question is hard, never say.5．Combine some contents, the content you use to answer the question could be quoted.6. Good start, sometimes you get stuck in the beginning, you need have good sentence in the beginning particularly if the question is hard to answer.7. Practice the parts focusing on the skill not the idea.Classify the part3A-comparing past and present questions(compare between children and adult, young people and old people, today and past, manand woman, city and country city...)talk about one 2 ideas for one side then 2 ideas about the other side then give example,you need learn how to compare using comparison structure, for example for one hand...but on the other hand, compared with ...In part 3 of IELTS speaking, you might be asked to compare the past with the present.The examiner will be listening to your use tenses. For example:Are there any differences between the types of people who were seen as celebrities in the past and those who are celebrities nowadays?Yes, I think there have been some big changes in the types of people who become famous. In the past, before the invention of television, I suppose there were very few national or international celebrities; maybe kings and queens, military, political and religious leaders were the only household names. With the advent of TV and radio, performers such as actors and musicians became more well-known. However, we now seem to have a completely new breed of celebrity as a result of 'reality' television programmes; these are people who don't really have any special skills as performers, but who are famous for just being themselves.Another example: comparing the cost of living in city and countryside Firstly, the cost of living in cities is much higher. Housing is much more expensive in cities compared to rural areas; everything costs more. I think life in cities is more difficult. There are more people, so there's more competition for jobs. Life is a lot slower in rural areas, everyoneknows each other and there's a sense of community. I don't think rural areas experience the social problems that you find in cities, like crime and homelessness.B-yes and no question(do you think we should study English, do you like this or that,….etc. You can say yes and explain why then say why not and explain why with exampleOr you can say it depends then explain both why sometimes yes and why sometimes notthen give example,C-benefitsThis questions can be like why do you or people like to do this? What benefits can we getfrom … ? do you think balabla is important? What are the advantages of …?Some general common sentences and expressions can be often used 1-it could develop people’s social and communication skills2-it could broaden people’s horizon3-raising people’s awareness4-create a harmonious atmosphere5-unique and stimulating experience6-it could help confidently have high spirit7-it is much entertaining to actively interest people.C-qualitiesquestion (what are the qualities of good teacher, good friend, good movie star...etcfor this kind of question, you need select several qualities from the following qualitiesalmost 9-10 and during the answer u need choose one quality from among 2 or 3 qualitiesto explain in details and in the end of the answer you may choose an example to detailmore if the examiner doesn’t stop you. Qualities..............: he or she should speak more than one language, wise, bodylanguage, voice, eye contacts, good appearance, experience, well-qualified or educated,knowledgeable, wise, interesting, humorous, good manners, honest, sincere, kind,responsible, reliable, helpful, good communication skills, sociable, conservative, Able,Accepting, Accurate, Achieving, Adaptable, Adorable, Adventurous, Affectionate, Alert,Alive, Altruistic, Amazing, Ambitious, Analytical, Appreciative, Appealing, Artistic,Assertive, Astonishing, Attentive, Attractive, Aware, Awesome, Balanced, Beautiful,Blissful, Blooming, Bountiful, Brave, Breath-Taking, Bright, Calm, Capable, Careful,Carefree, Caring, Cautious, Centered, Certain, Charitable, Charming, Cheeky, Cheerful,Chirpy, Civic-Minded, Clean, Colorful, Competitive, Clear-Thinking, Communicative,Compassionate, Compatible, Competitive, Complete, Confident, Conscientious,Considerate, Consistent, Content, Co-operative, Courageous, Conscientious, Courteous,Creative, Cuddly, Curios, Cute, Decisive, Delicate, Delicious, Delightful, Dependable,Desirable, Determined, Devoted, Disciplined, Discrete, Discriminating, Dynamic, Easy-Going, Eager, Efficient, Elegant, Empathetic, Enduring, Energetic, Enlightened,Enthusiastic, Excellent, Exciting, Experienced, Fair-Minded, Faithful, Farsighted,Feeling, Flexible, Flourishing, Focused, Forgiving, Fortuitous, Free, Fresh, Friendly,Frugal, Funny, Generous, Gentle, Good, Glorious, Graceful, Gratuitous, Great, Groovy,Handsome, Happy, Harmonious, Healthy, Heavenly, Helpful, Hopeful, Humble,Humorous, Honest, Humble, Idealistic, Imaginative, Having Integrity, Independent,Industrious, Innovative, Insightful, Inspirational, Interesting, Intelligent, Intense,Intuitive, Inventive, Invigorating, Joyful, Juicy, Just, Kind, Leading or Leader, Learned,Loving, Loyal, Lucky, Luscious, Luxurious, Macho, Magical, Manly, Magnificent,Masculine, Mature, Moral, Motivating, Natural, Neat, Needed, Noticeable, Nurturing,Obedient, Objective, Open, Optimistic, Original, Organized, Outgoing, Outstanding,Passionate, Patient, Peaceful, Perceptive, Persevering, Persistent, Persuasive, Playful,Poetic, Polite, Popular, Powerful, Practical, Precious, Precise, Profound, Progressive,Proud, Professional, Punctual, Pure, Purposeful, Questioning, Quick-witted, Ravishing,Realistic, Refreshing, Reliable, Resilient, Resourceful, Respectful, Responsible, Rich,Romantic, Rosy, Seductive, Selfless, Self-Aware, Self-Confident, Self-Disciplined,Sensitive, Serene, Sexy, Sharp, Simple, Sincere, Sizzling, Skilled, Smart, Smooth, Soft,Special, Spectacular, Spiritual, Splendid, Spontaneous, Stable, Steadfast, Strategic,Stunning, Strong, Strong willed, Stylish, Successful, Supportive, Supreme, Sympathetic,Tactful, Talented, Tasty, Tenacious, Tender, Terrific, Thinking, Thorough, Thoughtful,Thrifty, Thriving, Tolerant, Tough, Trusting, Trustworthy, Unassuming, Understanding,Unwavering, Uplifting, Useful, Valuable, Verbal, Vibrant, Vital, Warm, Wholesome,Willing, Wise, Worthy, Youthful, PromptHere are other qualitiesHard working, Ethical, Always listening, Asking the right questions, Sincere, Creative,Full of empathy, Positive, Organized, Attentive to detail, Thoroughly prepared, Goodhumored, Focused, Resourceful, Informed about his products, Informed about hisindustry, Informed about his competitors, Thick skinned, resilient, Aggressive, Flexible,Quick thinking, Tough minded, Skilled in writing, Skilled in marketing, Skilled in math,Skilled in reading, Well rounded, Emotionally balanced, Self confident, Passionate abouther work, Willing to take risks, Competitive, Patient, Practical, Persistent, A strategist, Atactician, Curious, Generous :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::D-examples questions( what are some examples of environmental problems, examples of tv programsexample of traditional events, ) here you need introduce some several example andexplain each example in one or two sentences and in the end give a general example ,E-solving problems questions( how to solve, tackle, handle, protect, improve, develop, protect, preserve...)-Gov, 2-mass media 3-education 4-individualsgov: Gov should legislate some new laws and rule to punish people and organization2-mass media: should raise the awareness of the public let them know how to protect...3-education : we should educate our students how to .4-individuals: every individual is responsible for himself to cooperate with Gov. toprotect ...:::::::::F- Children question,**how to teach children....* how can children learn…Such kind of questions could be easily answered by talking about both parts 1-parentsrole at home 2-school and give example about yourself when you were a child* do u think children should learn something,*Do you think Children should do something ( watch tv, watch ads, do sports, learnforeign languages…etc?Such questions could be answered by saying it depends sometimes yes and sometimesnot then you will explain when or why yes and when or why not and give example aboutyourself when you were a child ::::::::::: :::::::::::::::::G-Give an opinion. questionIn my opinion cities need to be well-planned. Good public transport can definitely makelife easier because there are so many people and it can be really stressful just to movearound. Public areas like parks are also important because people need space to relax,and I think cities should be made into healthier places to live and work. ::::::::::::::::::H-Imagining question:I imagine cities will be less polluted because we'll have electriccars and better public transport. More people might work from home so maybe citieswon't be so busy. But I think there will probably still be problems because more andmore people are migrating to cities. So I'm not so optimistic about issues like crime,homelessness and unemployment.::::::questions about the futureMany students worry too much about grammar. For speaking parts 2 and 3, it's moreimportant to worry about the quality of your answers. The best way to improve thequality of your answers is by adding detail.Example:Describe your best friend. Say when you met him/her.Short answer about when we met:I met my best friend at school when I was 11 years old.Detailed answer about when we met:I met my best friend at school when I was 11 years old, so we've known each other for ...years. I remember we sat next to each other in my first science lesson at secondaryschool, and we had to work together to do an experiment. We got on straight away, andwe've been friends ever since.Notice that by adding more information I've also used more/better vocabulary andgrammar.::::::::::::::::::::When the examiner asks a question like the one below, you know that you are beingtested on your ability to express ideas in the future tense.How do you think the design of homes will change in the future? Example answer:I don't think there will be much change in terms of what houses look like from theoutside. In this country, people still like traditional brick or stone houses. Having saidthat, the design of apartment blocks will probably continue to develop, with more andmore experimental or futuristic buildings made of glass and metal. I imagine that it willbe the insides of homes that change the most; houses will no doubt be full oftechnological devices to make our lives easier. Maybe we'll have things like voicecontrolleddoors, lights and appliances.IELTS Speaking Part 3: explain, alternative, exampleIn part 3 of the speaking test, you need to give longer, detailed answers.A good way todo this is by organizing your answers according to the following steps:1. Idea: answer the question directly.2. Explain: give a reason or explain your answer in more detail.3. Alternative: explain an alternative (e.g. the opposite) to your answer.4. Example: give an example to support your answer.5. Another idea: sometimes you think of another idea while you are speaking. Justadd it on the end of your answer.You can give a really good answer without including all five steps, but you might find ituseful to practise including all five, as I've done here:Why do you think some people prefer to buy products from their own countries ratherthan imported items?(idea) I suppose it’s because those people want to support the economy of the countrythey live in. (explain) If they buy something that was made in their own country, theyknow that they are contributing to the salaries of workers within the same country,(alternative) whereas if they buy imported items, a foreign company and its employeeswill benefit. (example) For example, if I buy some meat that originates from a local farmrather than a farm in another country, I’m helping one of my fellow citizens to carry on inbusiness. (another idea) Also, I think that trust is an issue; people might feel that theycan trust domestically produced items more than imported ones. ::::::::if you don't know the answerHow do you answer a question when you don't know anything about the topic?There are 2 things you can do:1. Be honest and explain why you don't know2. Guess, and tell the examiner that you are guessingExample question:How has technology affected the kinds of music that young people listen to?My answer, using both tips above:(1) To be honest I don't really know the answer to that because I'm completely out oftouch with what young people are listening to, and I'm not a fan of pop music.(2) However, I suppose that technology must have affected music. Maybe young peopleare listening to music that has been made using computer software instead of real musicalinstruments like the piano or guitar.:::::::::;;IELTS Speaking Part 3: longer answersHere are 3 techniques to help you give longer, more detailed answers: Keep asking yourself "why?"IELTS Advice: 'deep' answersThe technique I used above is really useful because it helps you to give a 'deep' answer.It's a deep answer when you take one idea and develop it, and you're likely to get a higherscore if you can do this. Unfortunately, many candidates give 'shallow' answers; theymention a few different ideas, but fail to develop any of them in detail. Practise explaining just one idea in as much detail as you can. The ability to do this couldreally benefit your speaking and writing scores.Question:Do you think that school children should be encouraged to have their own ideas, or is itmore important for them to learn what their teachers give them? Answer:I think that we should definitely allow children to be creative and have their own ideas.(why?) Children need to develop the ability to think for themselves and solve problems(why?) because as adults they will not always have somebody to guide them or tell themwhat to do. (alternatives?) If we don't allow children to have their own ideas, they willbe less successful in the adult world; they will be too reliant on others. (example?) Adoctor, for example, might encounter a situation that he or she hasn't been trained for, butwill still be expected to make a decision that could save someone's life. Examples for more long answersHere are two more answers using the techniquesWhat do you think are the most important qualities for friends to have? Maybe the most important things are that friends need to share common interests and behonest with each other. (why?) Friends are people we spend a lot of time with, so itdefinitely helps if they enjoy doing the same activities or talking about the same topics aswe do, and of course we need to be able to trust our friends, so honesty is vital for a goodfriendship. (alternatives / example?) I think I would struggle to become friends withsomeone who didn’t have anything in common with me, or who wasn’t reliable ortrustworthy.How important do you think it is for a person to spend some time alone? I’d say that it’s essential to spend a bit of time alone, even if it’s just a few minutes a day.(why?) When you have a few minutes to yourself, it’s a chance to take stock and reflecton things. (why?) Most of us live such busy lives that our brains need time to catch upevery now and then. (example / alternatives?) Personally, I try to have a bit of “metime” every day; I’ll go for a coffee or find a quiet place to sit and read the newspaper. IfI never had any time alone, I think I’d go mad! :::::::::::::Additional advice: presented by an examiner colleague………) Improving the English language skills that are needed for Part 3As for language skills, the examiner is looking at your more advanced vocabulary; yourmore advanced grammar, your knowledge of the more advanced language functions andyour more advanced coherence skills.Questions that the examiner asks for information are used both as a way to test yourmore advanced vocabulary and your ability to develop that question by continuing to talkafter you have answered the basic question. This, "continuing to talk" is something like,"adding your comments", even though the question did not ask for comments but justseemed to asked for information only. An example is: "What are some examples ofmodern technology used in classrooms today?" If your answer includes vocabulary suchas, "an overhead projector", you are showing higher-level vocabulary than thevocabulary needed for most Part 1 questions. If you add your own opinions about howuseful these items are, or extra information about how different the situation is todaycompared to when your parents were young, then you are speaking in "discussion mode".In other words, first answer the basic question but always look for opportunities or waysto add more, such as your opinions, to your answer.The two web pages mentioned above cover the topic of what language skills are needed.Some people study the English that is needed for Part 3 but they still have problemsactually using it in Part 3, especially for the more difficult questions. This is wherelanguage partners are most useful. It's not easy to practice discussion-style speaking whenyou just talk to your bedroom wall. You really should practice discussions with anotherperson. When you do that, point out any weaknesses in the logic of your partner or ask afurther question such as why they said that, or mention how your opinion might bedifferent to your partner's and explain why. This is "discussion".However, this is not so easy, even if you have an ideal language partner.I suggest youkeep in mind the idea of, "step by step" progress. Obviously, answering a question ordiscussing a topic in your own language is a step that comes before doing those things inEnglish. Now, if you are trying to prepare for the IELTS test in a short period of time,e.g., two months or less, you probably don't have much time to discuss and answer thePart 3 questions in Chinese. But if you do your preparation the ideal way, i.e., over manymonths, then I suggest you print out some Part 3 questions given in my class and elsewhere (or use the Part 3 example questions from an IELTS Speaking textbook), then youand your partner first ask each other these questions in Chinese, and answer inChinese! After that, you will be in a much better position to do the same in English, withthe same questions.But this leads to a further problem: Many people say, "I've never thought about thatquestion (or that topic) before" or, "I don't know anything about that topic" or, "I can'teven answer that question in Chinese". From here, we now go to the second side topreparing yourself for Part 3; improving your knowledge base. Improving yourknowledge base is, of course, a companion activity to improving your vocabulary.b) Improving your knowledge baseEven if your English language skills are quite good, if you have no ideas or opinions orvery little knowledge about a topic, it will be difficult for you to talk about that topic. TheIELTS Speaking test is not a knowledge test or an I.Q. test but if you have good generalknowledge about the topics and questions that are frequently used in all the four IELTStests, you are rewarded for this by finding it easier to say something and if you knowvery little, you are disadvantaged. This is because the makers of the IELTS tests expectprospective university students to have a certain "basic level" of general knowledge.One way to improve your general knowledge is to use the "search engines" of theinternet, such as Baidu and Google, to find articles on the internet that increase yourknowledge base. And, if you really know little or nothing about a topic, you should startby doing that in your own language, Chinese, before moving on to articles on the internetwritten in English. As you read, pay attention to any specific statistics or numbers. If youcan answer a question in Part 3 by including a statistic or number, that usually leaves agood impression with examiners – when you're discussing a topic, facts like that are verysuitable. Not only that, examiners love to learn something new.How should you search the internet? Well, if you can't summarize the topic into a fewwords, quite often just copying the exact Part 3 question into the search engine willyield useful results. Try it! It will usually at least take you to reading materials on thattopic, even if it doesn't exactly answer the question. If the English is too advanced, justuse the Google translation function. That will give you knowledge and ideas in Chinese,which is a beginning.Below are some topics that are frequently used in Part 3. Often, several of these topics arecombined. For example, differences between the attitudes of young people and old peopletowards the news.changesocietychild development / how to raise a childeducationinformation and communication / types of information / the media (both theentertainment media and the news media) / newshuman relationshuman psychology / people's motives and feelings / personality types values, attitudes and beliefs / the formation of or sources of values, attitudes andbeliefs / the influences that can cause changes in attitudes, values and beliefsmale-female differencesdifferences between young people and old peoplethe problems of old peoplethe environmentpersonal qualities needed for different vocations (different careers or differentkinds of work)skills / the formation of skills / skills needed for different kinds of workculture (including your national culture)arthistoryscience and technologyworkleisureFor all of these topics, you should include the following:different 'types of' or categories within this topic. (For example, for "society"there is the sub-category of "social class".)the importance of this topic / importance to society / importance for you,personallyyour personal feelings and opinions about this topicsocial problems or controversial questions connected to this topic / the causes andresults of these problems / possible solutions to these problemschanges in this topic in the past few decades / the sources of or causes of thesechangeslikely future changes in this topic in the next few decades / the sources of orcauses of these changesmale-female differences connected to this topicold-young people differences connected to this topicrural-urban differences connected to this topicthe role of government in this topic / the responsibilities of government towardsthis topicFor the topic of "government", I suggest that you sit down and try to put into words (inChinese, at first), what you think the general purpose of government is, i.e., why weneed to have government and, from that, what you think the general responsibilities ofgovernment are or should be. Once you are able to express a philosophy about thegeneral responsibilities of government, you will then be able to quite easily express whatyou think the specific responsibilities of government are to any particular social question.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------c) Preparing answers for the known or probable Part 3 questions that are in usenow.For many of you, this will be your main way to study for Part 3 and for some of you, thiswill be your only way to study for Part 3. If it is your only way, I think you are making amistake because you will actually be better prepared for more Part 3 questions if youspend some time studying the information about the different given above and Learningsome different "models" to use for certain types of questions will allow you to beflexible, i.e., to make your own answers to many different questions in the speaking test,in a natural way.Even though preparing for the Part 3 questions from this file should not be your only wayto prepare for Part 3, it is common sense that it will be part of your preparation, andperhaps the major part. You still need practice all questions given to you in my classfollowing my tips ,,,, here are some helpful tipsFirstly, You need step by step move forward to practice every class questionsgiven to you, ! then I suggest you handle this large volume of information by firstreading through all the questions in that Part 3, just to understand the questionsand to get a feel for the different points of discussion that seem to exist within thatPart 3. Don't think about answers to the questions yet. Of course, make sure youlook up the meaning and usage of any new words that you see in the questions,including the pronunciation of these words.Some of you will go to "model answers" in certain IELTS Speaking textbooksand memorize those answers as answers for the Part 3 questions given to you inthe class,. memorizing 100% is a dangerous practice because examiners are veryskillful at recognizing memorized answers. And they don't like answers that areobviously 100% or almost 100% memorized. As well as that, they want you tospeak your answers, not someone else's answers. And they don't want to see thatyou obviously knew that the question was in the test before you did the test. Justuse parts of those model answers, not the complete model answers.The best idea is to think of some ideas or points to say, prepare some vocabularyand memorize just a few short parts of your answer. When you practice youranswer, speak it a little differently (hopefully, better) each time you practice it andspeak it naturally, as if you were in a real conversation with someone. Don'tpractice speaking it in a "flat", monotonic way, like a robot who is reproducingprogrammed language.Some people actually speak better in Part 3, and get a better score, when theyhave no idea what questions are in the test. This is because they speak naturally.So try to avoid "over-preparing" (过度准备)your answers.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Conclusions:。
