IELTS Speaking : Part 3

IELTS Speaking Part 3 question types

The following is a list of common question types that are used in the IELTS Speaking test, particularly in Part 3:

Giving a personal opinion
These questions usually present you with a situation and ask you to express your opinion on it: Who should be responsible for teaching children about money management?
Evaluating
These questions ask you to analyse a proposition in some way, e.g. positives and negatives, advantages and disadvantages: How important is it to manage your personal finances?
Making a prediction
These questions often focus on how something will change in the future: Do you think we will stop using cash at any point?
Past versus present
How were things different in the past? How have things changed? For example: How has shopping changed in the last ten years?
Hypothesising
Talking about imaginary or theoretical situations: How would life be different if cars were banned?
Cause and effect
Saying why something happens or happened or what the effects of something are: Why do you think some people find it so hard to save money?

It is useful to become familiar with these question types so that you can practise them and learn language that relates to them. Of course, some questions in the IELTS Speaking test are a combination of these different question types.

Questions 1-7

A common question type in IELTS Speaking Part 3 is How important is...? / Is it important to...? There are a number of useful phrases that you can use when answering questions that relate to the importance of something rather than just responding with It is (not) important. Using these phrases will help improve your Lexical Resource mark.

Answer the questions:

1How important is it to learn to be financially responsible?

Model answer:

2How important is it to be safe when shopping online?

Model answer:

3How important is it for people to pay their taxes?

Model answer:

4How important is it for children to be taught about basic financial management?

Model answer:

5How important is it to pay back your credit card on time?

Model answer:

6Is it important to repay money you borrow from friends and family promptly?

Model answer:

7Should physical money be replaced with virtual money?

Model answer:

Questions 8-13

In IELTS Speaking Part 3, you may need to explain why you believe something is true, either from a personal perspective or from a wider social perspective. There are a number of adverb discourse markers that can help you achieve this. Using a variety of these can help improve both your Lexical Resource and Fluency and Coherence marks.

Answer the questions:

8How much money is enough for someone to live on?

Model answer: