The key to a successful score

 

The key to achieving a successful score in the speaking section of IELTS is giving CREDIBLE EXTENDED ANSWERS.

Providing CREDIBLE EXTENDED ANSWERS means supporting the initial answer one may give to a potential question by means of additional sentences that convey certain language functions. Basically the answers to the questions in the speaking section, be it in part one, part two, or part three, are made of two types of sentences. That is, some questions look for facts while some others look for opinions.

 Therefore, the ways one should extend the answer is divided into two different types because supporting opinions is different from supporting facts. Fact type answers are usually given to question asking about one’s personal life, career, and so on. This type of questions look for information that exists in real like one’s name, job, home town, studies, family, and so on.

 For example: 1. Where do you come from? 2. How many people are there in your family? 3. What do you do? Do you study or work? 4. What is the staple food in your country? 5. How many employees does your company employ at the moment? 6. What are your duties as nurse? 7. What are your working hours like? 8. When do you usually take a day off? 9. Who is your favorite sport person? 10.Does your first name have a special meaning?

Opinion type answers, on the other hand, are usually given to questions asking about what one may think, believe, or desire regarding some facts that, here, can be something, somewhere, someone, and so on.

It is crucial to know that opinion type answers are, themselves, divided into two sub-types: a) Free choice response b) Paired choice response. The free choice response questions give the candidates a wide spectrum of choices to choose from while the paired choice response offers two options of preference ,and the candidate has to choose( prefer) one option and then support his or her choice.

 

 

example: (free choice response) 1. Do you like where you are living at the present time? 2. What do you think is the most serious problem in your city? 3. Why do many people tend to go to universities these days? 4. What changes would you like to make in your personal life? 5. What does your dream house look like? 6. Why are you preparing for the IELTS test? 7. What are the characteristics of a good teacher? 8. If you suddenly got $10 million, what would you spend it on? 9. What are the features of a good car? 10.How do you think the family unit today is different from family unit in the past?

 For example: (paired choice response) 1. Do you prefer to live in a large or a small house? 2. Would you rather take the IELTS test or the TOEFL test? 3. Do you think it is better to work alone or work in a group? 4. Do you like to play sports or watch sports? 5. Is it better to have a career that pays a great deal of money or a career that allows you time with your family? 6. Do think parents should be strict or permissive? 7. Which one would you choose as gift to give? A watch or a book? 8. Where would you like to visit more? A historical place or a modern city? 9. Do you think it is better to marry before or after the age of 25? 10.If your friend makes a mistake, is it better to correct the friend or to ignore the mistake?

Each of the mentioned questions above should be covered in the way that is intended, unless the candidate does not want to be given credit for the response and, as a result, lose valuable marks. It means the examiners look for one or some certain language functions by asking certain questions. so, just extending the answer in a lucky way or by accident cannot serve you the best results. So, the first and the most important step in the speaking section of IELTS is to decode the question to determine what the intended outline is. Questions in the speaking section of IELTS usually give clear clues about what your answer should be and how your answer should be constructed.

.