IELTS Speaking: Part 3

ScottsEnglish · March 2016

Speaking Part 3 is a difficult part of the test to prepare for. The reason is because you can be asked almost any question that is linked (thematically) to what you spoke about in Part 2 and the examiner is looking for longer, detailed, thoughtful responses .

Imagine you are asked (in Part 2) to speak about an elderly person who has influenced your life for good.

What kinds of questions could you be asked in Part 3? Well, basically anything related to elderly people! Here are some examples to show what I mean:

speculate on whether or not numbers of elderly people will increase or decrease in the future
talk about the role of elderly people in your society
comment on the facilities in your town for elderly people - are they suitable?
describe the advantages and disadvantages of having a large, elderly population base
compare the number of elderly people today with numbers in the past

As you can see, the questions are almost endless in relation to the topic! How do you prepare for such a speaking test? Try this:

1. Become knowledgeable about a diverse range of global topics. You do this by reading widely each and every day.
2. Locate some Part 3 Speaking test questions. Record your responses to the question and have an advanced English speaker provide you with feedback.
3. If you get stuck, apply P-P-F to the topic. Speak about what you know about the topic in the PAST, PRESENT and FUTURE.

Read this sample answer to the first bullet point above:

In the past, the number elderly people was not as large as we have in our country today. In fact, in the present, the number of elderly people is increasing slowly. I think there are a number of reasons for this but, in my opinion, probably the biggest factor is improved medical standards. The elderly in our society are living longer because of improvements in medicine. I think that in the future, as medicine continues to improve, we might see an even greater increase in the number of elderly in my country.

Consider the other questions above. Try to write a similar answer to our sample answer in a comment box below.