Have you thought about how you should start your Part 1 Speaking answers?
It’s vital that you don’t begin all answers the same.
Today we’ll answer a listener question about this.
We’ll share strategies for how to begin your answers.
Today’s question
This question was left as a common on YouTube.
Hi. I’m Yoshi from Japan. Thank you for always making such helpful videos! I learn so much from them. I have a question about speaking English. I notice that I always end up using the same sentence structures, like starting with “I think…” or relying on “because…”, “Gerund + is ~”, and “It is [adjective] to do ~”. I tend to stick to these familiar patterns. Do you have any advice on how to break out of this routine and expand my phrasing?
This is a common struggle for many IELTS students.
Avoiding repetition
Though yours may be different, like Yoshi, you likely find yourself repeating phrases.
You have sentence starters and linking phrases you’re comfortable with that you find yourself repeating.
The key is how you launch your answer, and it’s vital that you have a lot of options!
You can learn these as chunks.
We’ll provide templates that you can fill in with details depending on the question.
#1: Answer directly right away
Instead of “I think…” say one of the following:
- Personally, …
- I’d say…
- In my case, …
If asked about work you can say, “Personally, I prefer working from an office because there are fewer distractions.”
If asked about a favorite restaurant: “I’d say Mickey’s on 4th is by far the best restaurant in my city.”
#2: Start with “What…” structures
These are very useful for moving beyond “Gerund + is…”.
Instead of “Living in a city is convenient,” you can say, “What I like about living in a city is the convenience.”
- What makes city life appealing is the range of entertainment options.
- What concerns me most is the cost of housing.
- What tends to happen is that people become more dependent on technology.
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#3: Start with a strong evaluation
Instead of “It is important to exercise regularly” use one of these:
- There’s no doubt that…
- There’s a strong case for…
- A significant concern is…
If asked about exercise or mental health, you can answer “There’s no doubt that exercise can improve both physical and mental well-being.”
If asked about online privacy: “A significant concern is the amount of personal data companies collect.”
#4: Start with a personal experience
- In my experience, …
- I’ve found that…
- I’ve noticed that…
If asked about work, you can say “I’ve found that I get much more work done in the morning.”
If asked about travel: “I’ve noticed that traveling with friends is more enjoyable than traveling alone.”
#5: Start with a contrast
This is great for producing more sophisticated Part 3 answers.
- At the same time, …
- Nevertheless, …
- While that’s true, …
If you are asked about children attending college far from home, you can share an advantage and follow it up with: “Nevertheless, there are some disadvantages to moving out right away.”
If asked about education, you can share about a new method and follow it up with: “At the same time, I can understand why some people prefer traditional classroom methods.”
Takeaway
Your Fluency & Coherence score depends on your ability to show your fluency.
One way to do this is to use variety in how you being IELTS Speaking answers.
Vocabulary repetition must also be avoided for a high Lexical Resource score.
Use today’s sentence starters to boost both of these scores.
For all the strategies you need on IELTS, sign up for our online IELTS course.
What questions do you have from today’s episode?
Please leave a comment below.
