IELTS Speaking: review of tips

Here's a quick review of my main tips for each part of the speaking test:

Part 1
Keep it simple; there's no need to show off in this part. Give a short, direct answer and a reason for your answer. Then stop. If necessary, smile at the examiner to show that you are ready for the next question; if you keep speaking, the examiner will interrupt you. Answer using full sentences, and try not to hesitate; just say the first thing that comes into your head.

Part 2
Before the exam, prepare ideas for the six main topics. Focus on vocabulary, not grammar or linking. In the exam, try to note down as many ideas as you can during the 1-minute preparation time - hopefully you'll be able to use ideas that you have already prepared. You don't have to cover all of the points on the task card, but it helps you to structure your answer if you do. Say as much as you can for each point, and use a real example or story at the end of your description if you need to fill time. Keep going until the examiner stops you.

Part 3
Practise "3-step" answers: 1) answer the question 2) explain your answer 3) give an example. There's also a 4th step that you can sometimes use. By following these steps, you ensure that your answer "moves forward" instead of becoming repetitive - most people repeat the same ideas when they try to give a long answer, and the steps will help you to avoid this.

PS. I'll publish my next speaking video in the next few days.

Comments

[auau]

Thanks to your phenomenal video, I got 8.0 in the speaking section!

[bharat jaiswal]

I agree this ideal is really helpful for ielts speaking tast .

[Bee]

Hello simon
I bought all your video lessons and your ebook. I took Ielts exam more than 20 times, but every time I get 6.5 in writing. I corrected my essays online by 3 different websites and teachers . They marked and corrected my essays. Most of the time they gave me 7 on the way to 7.5 marks. But in real exam it is 6.5 . Most of the time 6.5, nor 6 neither 7 . I don't know what to do .
Any suggestions .

[Bee]

Hello simon
I bought all your video lessons and your ebook. I took Ielts exam more than 20 times, but every time I got 6.5 in writing. I corrected my essays online by 3 different websites and teachers . They marked and corrected my essays. Most of the time they gave me 7 on the way to 7.5 marks. But in real exam it is 6.5 . Most of the time 6.5, nor 6 neither 7 . I don't know what to do .
Any suggestions .

[novice]

@auau

congratulations with such amazing score! what about overall band?

[Huynh Minh]

@Bee: omg you took the ielts exam so much, did you get it for the admission of studying abroad?

[auau]

@novice

Thanks. My overall score was 7.5, I wasn't very good at listening and writing:-(

[bee]

@huynhminh

doctor

[emmanuel]

Hi everyone, please if you are asked :where do you leave? what's the answer? is it asking about the environment ie street,road or geographical area or is it asking about accommodation; flat,house etc.
please feel free to respond. thanks

[Bee]

emmanuel

About your address man .
4 Hebert road , harrow . Delhi , India
It is a very nice area , nice neighbours , like it 0r dos like ir

[sjm]

Bee

1. Are the people marking your writing IELTS examiners? Are you sure?

2. Are you only giving them Task 2, or also Task 1?

3. Are you sure you can write a Task 1 with no more than 7 grammatical and lexical errors combined?

4. Are you sure you can write a Task 2 with no more than 10 grammatical and lexical errors combined?

[Jackie]

Anyone of friends have any listening materials about geneicl engineering e.g organic ,bioproducts,

[Jackie]

By the way if you are major science or agriculture would u please offer the vocabulary referance

[Lala]

Sjm

Do they count the mistakes and give u a band according to that ?
Say , if u made two mistakes in task 2 your band will be 8.5 five mistakes 8 more than ten mistakes <7 ??

Are you sure you can write a Task 1 with no more than 7 grammatical and lexical errors combined?

Are you sure you can write a Task 2 with no more than 10 grammatical and lexical errors combined?

Simon I am confused .

Will u please clarify these ielts marking rules in detail ?
In speaking test how many times should we ask the examiner to repeat the question or redefine them? How many times are we allowed to self -correct? For example I often use wrong tense then correct myself .

[sjm]

Lala

The marking criteria is all online and I suggest you look at it. IELTS, like all language tests, looks at frequency of errors, and in particular, we are looking for 'error free sentences' (both grammatical and lexical). Therefore, the number of errors (and how serious they are) is a major factor in your score. Because the 7 level requires 'frequent error free sentences' (around 40% to 50%), as a very general guide you can think that errors in the 10 range might lead to a 7 in grammar and vocabulary in Task 2.

When people come to me and ask me why they are not getting a 7 in writing, I always start with frequency of errors, because this is the easiest thing for examiners to notice. If you can't produce a lot of error free sentences, then you are not likely to achieve 7 in both GR and LR.

For your speaking questions, you can ask the examiner to repeat the question as many times as you want, but the examiner is only allowed to 'explain' or 'redefine' the questions in Part 3. As for self-correcting, there is no problem at all if you do, but if you do it often then it could affect your fluency score.

[James Z.]

Thanks for inspirational comments. Happy Easter, sjm!

[bee]

@SJM

your advices are amazing.

i corrected my essays by 3 different teachers.
two of them are well known websites, but i do not want to mention their names because it will be a kind of marketing for them, which i do not want to do so here. boddi and advatage .

the third one was a teacher in EHWC college, but i am not sure they are real examineres or no.

thirdly can you suggest somebody for me to correct my essays?

WAITING FOR YOUR REPLY.

thanksssssss

[emmanuel]

@ bee,ask Simon to refer you to somebody,even though he doesn't do that,he has trusted fellows that can check your essays.
I'll suggest that you put in more effort in terms of time and lots of work before writing again.Identifying your WEAK POINT(S) is key to your preparation and success.
Wish you all the best.

[Bee]

Thanks
Emmanuel

Once I asked from simon, he gave me an email address to contact.
I tried a lot but that person did not reply back.
Let's hope for best

[Lala]

@Sjm

Thx you for your speedy reply Sjm :)

Bee's story scared me a bit .It seems Grammar Nazis are at their finest when they are marking his ielts essay . How come he got the same indestructible 6.5 at his 20 more attempts ? I am sure he would have been working hard to improve .

I wish examiners realize that language existed before grammar enthusiasts, and people still understood each other just fine. Grammatical rules should be descriptive, not prescriptive on Ielts .

Bee , I believe in you , you will get that 7 soon . The whole world knows YOU are the No.1 royalty with the hardest working ethic . Who can ask for a more dedicated worker than a BEE .... Wish u the best :)

[Simon]

Bee,

I'm sorry to hear that you didn't hear back from one of my colleagues. I can make sure that you get a response - just email me if you'd like to try again.

By the way, it might be a good idea to try re-evaluation if you keep getting 6.5, just to see what happens.

[sjm]

Bee

I'm sure Simon will help you with marking.

Here is some general advice:

1. Focus on Task 1. People often get their essays marked, but we see constant problems with Task 1, and Task 1 is 'more influential' than Task 2 because the penalties are higher. We have had many students who focused on Task 2, but they were always missing key features in Task 1, or not providing a sufficient overview. If you are not achieving at least a 7 in Task 1, then an overall 7 in writing is very difficult.

2. I'm not saying that markers need to be examiners, but if people are giving you scores they may not be accurate. Markers, however, must be native speakers (or level 9 non natives) because they simply must be able to identify ALL your errors and inappropriate vocabulary. In our experience, 'websites' often employ people who are under the 9 level to mark writing, and they do not highlight all errors.

3. When you receive writing back from a marker (with ALL errors identified), count how many sentences are perfect. If you find that 25% of sentences are perfect, then you are unlikely to get a 7 in both GR and LR.

The purpose or marking and feedback is to improve. Every time someone marks something, you need to use that feedback to produce your next piece of writing. More than anything, make sure you increase your perfect sentences to at least 50%.

[James Z.]

Hi sjm,

Your advice is more than amazing, especially for the first one. I've never attached much importance to task 1 and almost every time I did it promptly. I start to focus on task 1 recently.

Thanks for your valuable words.

[Simon]

Great advice Sjm! Thanks again.

[Rahi]

Hi sjm,

Can you please tell me the maximum number of errors (grammatical / spelling) count to get at least Band 7 on Task 1 (for general).

BR
Rahi

[Erdal]

Hi,Simon

In ielts speaking part 3, examiner Just asked ne 3 or 4 question? Is it normal ? Because in preparing tests, speaking part 3 have more question than My exam

[Simon]

Yes, that's normal Erdal. Don't worry.