Question Type 1: Basic Description Questions

Question Type 5: “Wh- / How Often” Questions

This question type is very common in Part One. Look at the following examples:

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  How often do you go to the cinema?
  
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  At what time of day do you usually read?
  
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  Where do you usually buy your clothes?
  
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  Who do you spend your weekends with?
  
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  When do you listen to music?
  

The problem with these questions is that many candidates give very direct "information-focused" responses. It is quite common for candidates to respond to these questions in the following way:

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  Maybe once a week.
  
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  In the evenings before I sleep.
  
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  In New World Department store.
  
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  My parents or my friends.
  
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  At weekends and in the evenings.
  

As we have discovered, it is almost impossible to achieve a high score with this style of answer. The key to these questions is to answer the question with two or three different responses. Example:

“How often do you go to the cinema?"

"Well to be honest, I think I would have to say that it really depends. Like for instance, if I have the money, then it‘s quite possible that I will watch a movie in the cinema, two or three times a month. You know cinema tickets are pretty pricey in China. Whereas in contrast, if I’m broke, it‘s more likely that I watch movies at home on DVD: you probably know that DVDs are quite cheap here, especially compared to the price of a cinema ticket."

The key to the answer is the structure "it depends". If you use this, you can produce a "situational contrast" which allows you to use contrast language (linking words).

The first step is too select an opening phrase:

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  Well to be honest...
  
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  Well in truth...
  
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  Actually to be fair...
  
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  Well in all fairness...
  
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  In actual fact...
  
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  In fact, in all honesty...
  

Now select a "depends" phrase:

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  ...I think I would have to say that it really depends.
  
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  ...I suppose I would have to maintain that it kind of depends really.
  
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  ...I imagine that it would depend on the situation.
  
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  ...I guess my answer would be determined by different conditions.
  

Now select a linking phrase:

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  Like for instance...
  
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  More precisely like...
  
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  Like more specifically...
  
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  Like, to be more direct...
  
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  You know like, to be exact...
  

Notice that all of these linking phrases include the word "like". In these structures "like" is a conjunction used as a meaningless filler word. This is very typical of informal native-speaker English.

It is important to get the next step exactly right. The success of this structure relies on the following conditional grammar structure:

Select one of the following:

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  If (situation A)... then I will most likely...
  
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  If (situation A)... then it's quite possible than I will...
  
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  If (situation A)... then as a consequence I will probably...
  
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  If (situation A)... then I guess it’s quite likely that I will
  

Your answer is going to compare two different situations or conditions. These can be quite flexible. Here are some possible ideas to use: