IELTS Speaking: 'band 9' example

Here's my 'band 9' example for yesterday's IELTS speaking question:

click here to listen

These are some of the best words and phrases that I used. Look them up in a dictionary if you're not sure what they mean:

• desirable location
• it stands out
• a famous landmark
• it's distinctive
• spectacular views
• the best vantage point

Comments

[salwa]

Thank you Simon for helping us
I have question related to the reading
I have problem with heading question,Can you just tell me what is the most effective way to choose the correct answer

[alice]

Thanks a million..

[ruth]

Simon, you do help us a lot and I really appreciate your efforts to answer all our questions :)

can you please advise me, can I say:
I AGREE WITH BOTH ATTITUDES WITH SOME EXEPTIONS?
By this I mean that both of them are overall right but have some wrong aspects.

Thank you in advance

[Ahmad]

The tallest building I know is Khalifa’s Tower in Dubai. I saw it last year, when I was on a groupic trip that was organized by my college. This skyscraper, with a height of 355 m, is a result of a joint efforts of local and global architectures and I found it a unique one . Actually, it is a multipurpose building. from the brushier introduces this lofty, I found that it accommodate tow five starts hotels, TV antennas, satellites receivers used for phones companies and several local radios senders in addition to some prestigious offices.
This gigantic building has totally changed the view of Dubai, in other words khalifa’s Tower is now another name for trade and tourism, what Dubai is famous for. Looking at the dark blue coloured tallest building, tourist and traveller now easily recognize where this place is? The moving- restaurant that located in its 44 floor let visitors to see almost entire city just within the time they eat their lunch or dinner or simply drink Arabic tea and cookies. Because of this, now many visitors not only save handful money they used to spend on taxies to have a tour of the city, but also save time to enjoy other activities. I with my classmate bought some precious needed electronics and gifts because of this saved amount.
I recommend enjoying of its moving restaurant to those who are short in time, or can’t afford to find how Dubai looks like.

[Simon]

Hi Salwa,

Have a look at the link below.

http://ielts-simon.com/ielts-help-and-english-pr/2010/08/ielts-reading-paragraph-headings.html

...

Hi Ruth,

You could say that, but I'd probably write "I agree to a certain extent with both points of view" or "There are some good arguments to support both points of view".

...

Thanks for sharing Ahmad. Good ideas!

[Linh]

Hi Simon!
I have a question for you.
I do not have any idea about topic : a project. Can you give me some idea?

Any can i talk about English as a skil in decribing useful skill topic

Thanks

[Simon]

Hi Linh,

A project can be something you did at school, college, university (e.g. a piece of work, study or research) or it can be something you did as part of your job.

Yes, I think you could use English as a useful skill.

[kelsey]

Hi Simon,

could you please explain more about the vocabulary that candidates should use in the ielts test?

since i am a bit confused that if i want to score higher in speaking part, does it mean that i need to use more complex words? cause i saw some other band 9 sample answers,they used some fancy words i have never seen
before.

Also,sometimes i don't know if a word is for written English or spoken English.
Could you give me any advice about how to distinguish them or any resources like the review of amazon which could be a good resources for learning spoken English.

[Echebiri Ijeoma]

hi simon,pls for a couple of yrs i ve nt worked,i had a baby so ve been into material bussiness.If am asked about my work or stuies how best can i respond to this?Secondly if am asked my hometown how best shall i reply,because,am Nigerian,presicely from Mbaise,Imo State.Presntly i stay in Lagos,former capital of Nigeria.

[Pavittar Sandhu]

Hello sir, I want to take sample of this que card. Describe the time when yo were most busy in your life.

You should say:

when it waswhat you were busy inhow long you were busy

and explain how you managed it.

[rubal]

What is time and space in writing text

[Anna Pham]

is it really "band 9"? He was used word "gret" twice and don't have much academic words.

[Simon]

Hi Anna,

The speaking test is not really 'academic' - tasks like 'describe a building' or 'describe a hobby' are not academic, university-level tasks.

Also, remember that band 9 is supposed to mean that you are close to 'native speaker level', and that IELTS is a test for learners of English. I'm a native speaker, so I should easily be at band 9 level. When native English speakers take the IELTS speaking test, they almost always get a band 9 without too much effort.

If you thought that my description wasn't difficult enough for band 9, the good news is that IELTS speaking is easier than you expected! As I've said before, you don't have to be Shakespeare to get a band 9.

PS. "Get" is so normal in spoken English, that an examiner won't even notice that you said it. In fact, it might even help to make your English sound more natural.