Aptis reading Test: General Tips and Strategies

APTIS Speaking Part 3: Questions, Model Answers, Tips and Techniques 
In this post we will provide you with multiple sample questions, models answers and useful tips and techniques to 
prepare for APTIS speaking part 3. 
In Part 3 of the speaking you are asked to describe, compare and provide reasons and give your explanations of 
what you see. 
In this part, there are two photographs and you will again be asked two questions. As in part 2, your answers 
should be 45 seconds long. 
For the further details please visit British Council website here.
Example Question #1: 
Part 3: In this part of the test, you are going to look at two pictures and I will ask you two questions about it. You 
will have 45 seconds for each response. Begin speaking when you hear this sound. 
Tell me what you see in the photographs. 
1- What do these people have in common? 
2- Which of these achievements is more special? Why? 
If you would like to access to more simulated APTIS speaking tests then please visit our exam library here.
What grammar do you need? 
Comparing words like on one hand…, while on the other hand. 
Words the talk about similarities Both are…/Similarly, the pictures are…/… is the same as…/He or she looks 
like… 
Comparatives. The people in picture one look more/…er than in picture two. 
Present continuous to describe actions happening in the picture. In the second photo, a man is standing on a rock. 
Relative clauses are excellent for adding information and show that you have a good level. 
Here are the two pictures. 
Question 1. What do these people have in common? 
At first, the two pictures do not seem to have much in common. The strategy for the first question can be similar to 
part 2 and you can compare the pictures. 
You shouldn’t spend too much time describing them individually but compare them. 
Example: 

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In the first picture, there is a choir may be in a church whereas in the second picture there is just one person who is 
standing outside on a rock. 
Expanding the answer 
In these two photographs, it is difficult to find any similarities. But are very obvious and it is easy to miss them. 
For example, they are probably doing these activities because it makes them happy. 
You can then talk about why it may make them happy and what being in church and being on a rock in looking at 
an amazing view have in common. 
After that, you could move on to what gives you happiness. Is it better, or different, or the same to be happy alone 
or with other people? 
A sample answer for these pictures would be 
In the first picture, there is a choir may be in a church whereas in the second picture there is just one person who is 
standing outside on a rock. I imagine that in both pictures that the people are happy. I guess that they all feel 
something spiritual when they are in these places even though in the first picture the people are together and in the 
second picture the person, who looks like a man is on his own. For me, being on my own in a special place gives me 
a deeper feeling and although I like people, it’s special to be alone with nature. 
This answer is 108 words. 
Question 2. Which of these achievements is more special? Why? 
Think about the question 
For this question we need to think about what we need to do. You can do this by analyzing the keywords. Here, 
the question words (starting ‘Wh…’) are important because they give you the points you should cover. 
There are two question words: Which… and Why…? 
The second key phrase is: more important. 
Therefore, you must choose one and say why you think it is more special. You could lose points if you don’t do 
this. 
Language you need 
Opinion. Like many questions you should give your opinion. So, you will need the correct functional vocabulary 
for opinions. 
Comparisons. You will probably have to make comparisons, and if you don’t, you can extend your answers in 
other parts of the test by comparing things. 
Contrasting words. You will need words like on one hand…while on the other hand…/however/while. 
Answering the question 
This is not an easy question because the first picture doesn’t look very special, but the second picture does. You 
should say something about the first picture though and you could ask yourself: ‘What have the people achieved?’ 
In the first photograph the people had to learn to sing, practice hard and work in a team. In the second photo the 
person had develop the strength to climb, learn to work on their own and rely on themselves. 
There isn’t a correct answer, but you need to cover all the points in the question. 
A sample answer for this question would be 
Although I think that learning to sing in a choir is a fantastic achievement and takes a lot of practice and 
teamwork. And while in believe that singing is a talent that you are born with rather that something you can learn. For 
me, the bigger achievement is the climber’s. You have to be much physically fitter and it takes a lot of courage to go 
out and climb a mountain all on your own. Even though singers spend hours practicing and have to learn to work 
together, I would say that the sense of achievement you get after climbing a mountain is much greater than delivering 
a successful performance. 
Example Question #2: 
Part 3: In this part of the test, you are going to look at two pictures and I will ask you two questions about it. You 
will have 45 seconds for each response. Begin speaking when you hear this sound. 
Tell me what you see in the photographs.

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1 What kind of people do these activities? 
2 Which of these activities requires more talent? Why?
Example Answer To Sample Questions #2 
Tell me what you see in the photographs. 
In these pictures, I can see two artists. In the first picture, we can see a young woman. She is a painter and she is 
working at the moment. She is looking for a brush or a colour to add to her work. In the second picture, we see 
another artist, but this one is a dancer. He is standing on his hand, doing a pose as a part of a routine Etc. 
1. What kind of people do these activities? 
i.e. I think creative people do these activities. In the first picture, we see a painter. She needs to think about what 
she wants to put on the canvas and then mix colours and styles. The dancer also needs to express himself with 
different styles but with using his body. Etc. 
2. Which of these activities requires more talent? Why? 
i.e. It’s hard to say. I think maybe the dancer requires more talent because he has to train his body every day to 
move like that. I think painting takes less practice. Etc.
Example Question #3: 
Part 3: In this part of the test, you are going to look at two pictures and I will ask you two questions about it. You 
will have 45 seconds for each response. Begin speaking when you hear this sound. 
Tell me what you see in the photographs.
How do you think shopping has changed in the last 5 or 10 years? 
1. Do you think shops, as we know them, will exist in 10 years?
Example Answer To Sample Questions #3 
Tell me what you see in the photographs. 
The first picture shows a town center and by the looks of it, this is one of the main shooping streets it’s quite a 
small town and the streets are fairly quiet. There are umbrellas in the street and I think that there may be market. In 
the second picture we can see the inside of a supermarket. In the foreground there is a shopping trolley and we are 

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looking down the aisle of the supermarket from the perspective of the shopper. The trolley is almost full. I think that 
whoever is pushing the trolley is in the aisle buting beauty products. 
1. How do you think shopping has changed in the last 5 or 10 years? 
I would say that the biggest change in shopping has been the internet and online shopping, particularly the growth 
of Amazon and supermarket deliveries. As a consequence, the way we do our shopping is completely different. At 
first, supermarkets only sold food but started selling other things like clothes, now you can buy almost anything in a 
big supermarket. Then downloads started and people stopped buying CDs and DVDs, I remember buying my first 
MP3 on Amazon, and then you could buy more or less anything online. Many places do next day delivery and so you 
don’t even have to wait for it. 
2. Do you think shops, as we know them, will exist in 10 years? 
I guess that the trend will continue and that more and more people will buy things online. If you at 10 years old 
today, then the internet will be the place you go to when you want something. People will probably continue those 
habits and many shops will become virtual shops. I think that shops, like we have today, will still exist though. 
Maybe they will be more specialist, or maybe people will go to them for a different experience. For example, many 
people still prefer paper books to eBooks and a lot of these people love spending time looking around a bookshop.