The seven common question types that appear in IELTS speaking part 3 are:

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?

Grammatical Structures

Opinion

One thing you should not do is start every sentence with ‘I think…’ or ‘In my opinion…’ The
IELTS examiner will be looking for how you vary your language. Below are a number of
ways you could do that:

 As I see it,

 Personally,

 For me,

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.

Evaluate

In these kinds of question 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.

 No doubt about it.

 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 beg to differ.

 I’d say the exact opposite.

 That’s not always true.

 That’s not always the case.

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.

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.

Cause and Effect  

You may also be asked to discuss what has caused a certain situation and what effects this
has. This language will also help you in IELTS writing task 2.

To talk about cause and effect you can use:

 …because…

 …as a result….

 …resulted in…

 …as a consequence…

 …due to….

 …caused…

 …led to….

 …means that….

These are just some examples and the form of the words may change depending on the words
around them in the sentence. Only use them if you are sure your sentences are grammatically
correct.

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?

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.

Compare and Contrast  

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

Some comparative adjectives are irregular:

Good- better

Bad- worse

Far- further

For short adjectives, add –(e)r. If they end in –y change to –ier. For example:

Hard- harder

Cheap- cheaper

Easy- easier

Lazy- lazier

For longer adjectives, use more. For example:

More difficult

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.

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.

Technique #1- Paraphrase Question

A good way to extend your answer is respond with a paraphrase of the examiner’s question.
Paraphrasing is when you repeat the sentence but with synonyms so that it has the same
meaning.

This technique is very effective because it not only gives you time to think in a natural way,
but it also focuses your mind on answering the question.

For example:

Examiner: What can people do to try and reduce water pollution?

Student: So, what can individuals do to ensure water is kept clean? I think….

Examiner:  How can events like the Olympics improve international relations?

Student: Hmmmm, how can sport bring people from different countries closer together? I
believe…

Again, this should not be used for every answer and only when you think it is appropriate.

Technique #2- Explain why

Many students state their opinion but don’t extend their answer by stating why they feel that
way. Some students have told me that they are afraid of patronising the examiner and assume
he or she will know why they have stated their opinion. Assume that the examiner has no
knowledge at all about the topic. Pretend you are speaking to a child who knows nothing of
the topic and this will help you explain how you feel.

Example:

Examiner: What can people do to reduce water pollution?

Student: I believe the best way to keep water clean is to curb water use at home. (Why?) The
vast majority of water is used in the home, (why?), for cooking, cleaning and washing,
(why?) therefore by reducing the amount of water we use, (why?) the government can
conserve the water supply and keep it clean.

By asking ourselves ‘why’ we continue to explain our opinions and this leads to more
developed answer.
Technique #3- Give Examples

This seems an obvious one but it is something many students don’t do. In order to really
develop your answer an example is normally needed. A lot of my students complain that they
don’t know or can’t think of any examples. If you can’t think of one just make one up. You
will not lose any marks for making up an example and this will only lead to you gaining
marks for giving a well developed answer.

A good technique is to use an example from a newspaper article or recent study.

Example:

Examiner: Have the modes of transport people use in your country changed much over the
last few decades?

Student: Absolutely, they have changed a lot. In the past most people used bicycles, but now
they predominantly use motorbikes. For example, a recent survey found that 72% of people
in Ho Chi. Minh City now own a motorbike.

I just made that statistic up and it is perfectly acceptable for you to do the same thing in the
IELTS speaking test. The examiner will never disagree with you or ask you to prove any of
your examples.

Technique #4- Make Concessions

We make a concession by admitting that there are limits to our opinion or there may be
another side to the argument. We use words like ‘however’, ‘on the other hand’ and ‘despite
this’ to make concessions.

Some students don’t like doing this because they think it weakens their argument or opinion.
In fact, by showing you are aware of other opinions you actually strengthen your argument.

Example:

Examiner: To what extent do you think advertising affects people’s shopping habits?

Student: Personally, I don’t think that it affects the way people shop at all. When people
need something they make up their own mind rather than thinking about adverts. However, it
must have some influence, if companies pay lots of money for ads.

Phrases that can be used include (if you need time to think the answer):

That’s a difficult question, let me think for a second.

That’s a very interesting question, let me think.

It’s very difficult to know exactly, but I think/but I believe/perhaps….

I don’t really know for sure, but I would say….

The examiner needs to know that you are capable of using a wide range of structures. Don’t
worry about inserting as many structures as possible into your answers because they will ask
you specific questions to test specific grammar structures. Let’s look at the examples above:

 How have mobile phones changed the types of relationships people make?

– opinion/past/present

 Some people think that children should not be allowed to use mobiles, do you

agree?- evaluating someone’s opinion

 How has mobile phone use changed in the last 10 years.- past to present (perfect

tenses)

 How will mobile phones change in the future?- future/prediction

 If you could add any new feature to a smart phone, what would it be?- hypothetical