IELTS Speaking Part 3 features follow-up questions based on the topic card and short speech that you give in Part 2. Read on for information, tips, and practice materials for IELTS Speaking questions, Part 3. (And you can go here for a guide to IELTS Speaking topics that could appear in Part 3, or Parts 1 and 2!)
What happens in IELTS Speaking Part 3?
Part 3 of the IELTS Speaking exam should feel like a smooth transition from Part 2. The first topic of IELTS Speaking Part 3 will always relate to the topic of your Part 2 monologue in some way. Yet, this time you will not have any time to prepare your responses. Instead, your responses will be conversational, similar to the responses you give in IELTS Speaking Part 1.
Take a few minutes to look at these official Part 3 questions and responses (here is the transcript) to get a good sense of what will happen.
As you might imagine, the number of questions you receive in IELTS Speaking Part 3 depends on how much you say in your responses. If your answers are very short, you may get a lot of questions. If you speak with more depth, you will receive fewer questions. In general, you can expect that the examiner will cover 2 – 3 different IELTS speaking topics in Part 3.
Part 3 Questions and Sample Responses
Part 3 questions can be tough to answer because they require detailed and complex answers. What does help, though, is that they will be a logical extension of your Speaking Part 2 topic card. To give you an example of what to expect, let’s first revisit the first example topic card from our article on IELTS Speaking Part 2. From there, we’ll look at some possible Part 3 3 follow-up questions.
IELTS Speaking Topic Card
You should say:
- to whom you gave the advice
- what the advice was
- whether that person took your advice
and explain why you gave the person that advice.
IELTS Speaking Part 3 Follow-Up Questions, With Sample Answers
- ANSWER: I think it’s usually better to take advice from family, especially parents. Your friends may not have as much experience or wisdom as your parents. At the same time, advice from peers can be useful for your shared situations with them. For instance, classmates may give better advice about school.
What are some situations where you feel it’s especially important to ask other for advice?
- ANSWER: In my opinion, it’s particularly important to take advice when you’re making a decision that could affect other people. For instance, if you are thinking of moving to a new place and you have kids who must move with you, that’s an important time to take advice. But if you’re moving alone, you can make the decision alone.
Do you think you give particularly good advice?
- Often, yes, I think my advice is pretty good. But part of giving good advice is knowing when you simply shouldn’t give advice. If I have doubts about how good my suggestions are, I won’t make them, or I’ll emphasize to friends or family that my suggestion is just my personal opinion.
More Example Questions from Speaking Part 3
Below, we’ll look at some additional example questions that you might see in Part 3 of the IELTS Speaking Interview. This time, we’ll focus just on the part three questions, with 11 example topic categories. But if you want to see the original topic cards that would precede these questions, check out the first 11 topic cards in our post for IELTS Speaking Part 2 questions. (Also note that these IELTS Speaking Part 3 questions come from our IELTS Speaking Topics PDF. Click the button below to get a free PDF with more topics for all three parts of IELTS Speaking!
1. Free Time
- Do you feel that nowadays people are busier on the weekends?
- Does the average person have enough free time?
- In your country, what days and times are people most likely to have free time?
- During spare time, is it more important to be productive or have fun?
- What causes some people to work on the weekends?
2. School
- What level of schooling has the most interesting classes?
- Do you think students should be allowed to choose the classes they take, even when they’re young?
- Is it more important for a class to be memorable or informative?
- How long should one class period last?
- Why are some classes more memorable than others?
3. Travel
You should say:
- Why do some people prefer driving their own car to public transportation?
- What method of international travel is the most enjoyable?
- Do you think people travel more nowadays?
- Is it beneficial to travel a lot?>
- When is the best time of year to travel long distances?
4. Work
- Is it better to try to get one’s ideal job or to be satisfied with any good job?
- How important is formal training and education for finding a good job?
- Do you think it is common for people to change their mind about their dream job?
- Do you think parents influence the jobs that their children dream of?
- Why are certain jobs more desired than others?
5. Family
- In your culture, are family traditions common?
- Why is tradition so important in some families?
- How important is it to preserve traditions for new generations?
- In modern times, do we focus on tradition too little?
- What kinds of traditions help bring families together?
6. Hometown
- Does your hometown have many places for young people to go?
- Is it better to spend time in one’s hometown or explore new places elsewhere?
- Are public spaces or private businesses better places to visit for fun?
- How much time should a person spend visiting places they enjoy going to?
- Why do you think some people prefer to stay at home instead of visiting places outside their home?
7. Friends
- Is it better to have many casual friends or a few very close ones?
- What are the important qualities in a best friend?
- How much time should people spend with their closest friends?
- Are close friends as important as family?
- Do you think most people make good decisions when choosing their friends?
8. Seasons
- Is it better to have four seasons or to live in a place without winter?
- What are some popular pastimes for the colder season in your home country?
- Is it better to stay indoors or get outside during colder seasons?
- What is your favorite seasonal food?
- In your culture, which season has the most holidays?
9. Food
You should answer:
- How often should people snack between meals?
- What are some unhealthy snacks that should be avoided?
- Is it more difficult for people to eat healthily nowadays?
- Today, do you think people eat more instant food than they used to?
- Is it important that people learn how to prepare their own food?
10. Music, Movies, Books, Television
You should answer:
- Does music today have better quality than older music?
- What qualities can help a song become popular?
- In your hometown, where can people go to see live music?
- Why are certain styles of music more popular than others?
- How much does popular music influence culture?
11. Recreation, Exercise, Sports
- Is it more enjoyable to play a sport or watch sports?
- Should children play competitive sports in school?
- When is the best time to watch sports games?
- Why are some sports more interesting than others?
- Where do people usually watch sports in your home country?
To succeed in IELTS Speaking Part 3, you must remain calm and focused on the examiner’s questions. Your only job is to demonstrate your English abilities by responding with as much detail as you can. Your goal should be 1) to provide a direct and clear answer to each question and, 2) to support each answer with at least 1 or 2 examples or details. When you’ve finished speaking, your examiner may ask you a follow-up question, or she may change the topic entirely! Just follow the examiner’s lead wherever the conversation goes. Good luck!
And be sure to look at the IELTS Speaking “big picture,” as seen in our Complete Guide to IELTS Speaking. Also consider using this article and our complete guide as a supplemental resource if you follow one of our IELTS study plans; we even specifically recommend these two blog posts in our one-week IELTS study schedule.
Leave a Reply