Ielts speaking strategies

Yes, they should because it is unhealthy .

+ What is the 2 ^nd general reason? Why is it unhealthy?

It contains a lot of fat, calories, sugar, and high cholesterol.

+ What is the 3 ^rd general reason? Why are these things problems?

As a result (linking phrase) , when children eat fast food too much, they may become overweight. In fact, it may lead to obesity.

+ What is the 4 ^th general reason? Why is obesity a problem?

This may leads to (linking phrase) serious diseases such as diabetes, cancer or heart diseases.
Why do we care about obesity?
Because it could cause obesity and heart disease. It may kill people.
+ What is the conclusion?
Therefore (linking phrase) , it’s a good idea for parents to make sure that their kids eat healthy food instead of fast food.
Well, all what I am doing here is that I am ending with a concluding statement. And what is my concluding statement? A paraphrase of what I’ve said already . That works.
Overall, all I am doing to answer the question is that I am taking these simple sentences and I am linking them with phrases like “as a result”, “for example”, “this may lead to” . So, this is the general idea of what I organize here. It gets a little bit more complicated. However, I will say most of what we have learnt for part 1 speaking is going to serve you here. You are going to need comparisons , types of people , these kinds of adjectives (healthy, unhealthy,..) Let me tell you that being organized this way will help you overcome your grammar problems. Organization overcomes grammar, and the good news is this is exactly the same method that you are going to need for task 2 writing. Answer the question, and then give the examiner an explanation.
Example: what are the advantages of studying abroad?
Better education (great facilities like libraries, laboratory, and comfortable dormitory) – why are they helpful? (To prepare people for the future careers)
Answer: there are a lot of advantages when studying abroad, for example, they offer better facilities. To be specific, the university offers high tech laboratory, modern library…as a result, students may be better prepared for their future career.
Example: what kind of gifts do people typically give in your country?
Answer: We give presents for different national holidays. To be specific, during this national holiday (Mid-autumn festival) , boys and girls usually give their parents, grandparents X (flowers and cakes) . However, in this holiday (Lunar New Year) at the end of the year, parents give their children lucky money. On the other hand/meanwhile, we may give presents for private celebrations such as birthday, wedding or even graduation party.
Nice, well-organized answer and your sentences are short . In addition, I’m linking those sentences with certain phrases such as “for example”, “to be specific”, “as a result”, “this may lead to”, “however”, “on the other hand/meanwhile” . Remember, you must have the main idea before explaining .
So, what we have here is a range of questions, and some of them do look a lot like part 1 speaking. However, understand that in part 3 speaking, the examiner wants more explanation , they want more comparison , and you are going to use the same structures that you use in part 1 speaking so you could build your answer.

LANGUAGE FOR GIVING AND SUPPORTING OPINIONS

To express your opinions like a native, you must:

1. 
   Introduce and give your opinions clearly.
   
2. 
   Support your opinions with reasons or examples.
   

It’s very easy to learn a variety of different ways to express your opinion when being asked a question. Look at these examples:
I think that (I think that Apple makes the best phone.)
I don’t think that (I don’t think that public transport should be free of charge.)
I believe that (I believe that this business will be profitable.)
I don’t believe that (I don’t believe that people can be persistent and productive if they don’t like what they do.)
I am convinced that (I am convinced that parents should limit the amount of fast food that their children eat)
As far as I am concerned (As far as I am concerned, parents should limit the amount of fast food that their children eat)
When it comes to native speaker expressions for giving and supporting opinions, I want you to be thinking about 2 things: one is that I want you to keep it simple
. The language that I gave you above is meant to supplement your ideas , but it will not replace your ideas, and it will not replace your organization as well. The other thing I want you to be always thinking about and remember is the “party scenario method” , you should always be asking simple follow-up questions.

Should people use public transportation?

Yes, I think they should mainly because the traffic here is so dangerous for example the traffic jam can cause impolite behaviors and because some people don’t follow the rules, then that causes a lot of collisions. As a result,…..
To support your opinion, you can also use common sense language , general statistics , or expert and opinions in your speaking.
COMMON SENSE LANGUAGE:


Everyone knows that fast food is unhealthy.
Everyone knows that you should wear a helmet when you ride a motorbike. Everyone knows that driving a car without a seat belt is very dangerous.
It’s common knowledge that fast food can cause obesity. It’s common knowledge that obesity may lead to diabetes.

GENERAL STATISTICS:

Thousands of people suffer from diabetes.
Increasing numbers of people who suffer from diabetes. The number of people who suffer from diabetes is growing. There are thousands of chemicals in fast food
There are hundreds of ways that fast food can kill you

EXPERT AND OPINIONS

According to doctors,…. According to researchers,….. According to the latest research,…. According to medical studies,…..
According to what I saw in the news last night,…… According to what I read in the newspaper last week,….. According to what my uncle told me,……
PRACTICE QUESTIONS

1. 
   Do you think the Internet should be censored?
   
2. 
   What do you think about governments investing money in space travel?
   
3. 
   Is city life suitable for children?
   
4. 
   Are films showing too much sex and violence these days?
   
5. 
   Should people be concerned about the increasing population?
   
6. 
   Has fast food had any positive effects on society?
   
7. 
   Do you feel parents should limit their children’s time spent using technology?
   
8. 
   Do celebrities make too much money?
   
9. 
   Should teenagers have to learn life skills such as sewing, cooking, and basic repairs in school?
   
10. 
    Is it a good idea for governments to issue heavy fines to people who litter?