31 High-Scoring Formulas To Answer The IELTS Speaking Questions - Jonathan Palley, Adrian Li, Oliver Davies

Looking back at your past time of speaking English or your latest conversation with a foreigner, did you encounter any of the following problems: so embarrassed that you were empty-minded? thinking of many aspects but not knowing which one to begin with? knowing the answer but unable to express it in English fluently?

31 High-scoring Formulas to Answer the IELTS Speaking Questions can help IELTS candidates solve the problems of “not knowing what to say” and “not knowing how to say it” in the Speaking test. These 31 high-scoring formulas are designed based on effective strategies to deal with actual IELTS Speaking test questions. They cover nearly all topics in the real Speaking test. Mastering them enables the candidates to answer every question naturally and confidently in order to get the highest score possible at their level of proficiency.

Take one common question in the IELTS Speaking test as an example, “How often do you play sports?” So many candidates would answer “Yes, I play sports every day.” The answer may sound grammatically correct, but it fails to earn them a decent score on the IELTS Speaking test. In fact, with this type of question, it is expected that candidates would apply the order of forming responses similar to the following model:

Step 1: Forming the answer

Say how frequently you do the activity the examiner asks you about.

Explain why you do it that frequently.

Step 2: Applying language skills to elicit the answer

Use a range of different adverbs of frequency correctly.
I play badminton very often.
I never go skiing.

If candidates follow the recommended steps of forming the answer, their responses will be more coherent and well structured. Based on this high-scoring formula, an expected response may be “I play sports a few times a week. Usually I play basketball with my friends, but sometimes I play football instead. I think team sports are a great way to socialise and keep fit.” Compared to the answer “Yes, I play sports every day,” this response is clearly richer and more detailed in content, and more accurate and natural in using language expressions.

Once you have mastered this high-scoring formula, all questions which start with “How often…?” will be solved easily. For example, “How often do you eat in restau­rants?, How often do you go for a long walk?, How often do you take public transport?”, etc.

Just in the same manner, a good grasp of 31 essential high-scoring formulas in this book can allow candi­dates to answer every IELTS Speaking test question with confidence and great effectiveness.