Question Type 1: Basic Description Questions

Part Three and Score Adjustment

It is quite obvious that Part Three is the most demanding section of the speaking lest. This is because the questions and topics are more complex than Part One and Part Two.

There is a specific reason for the increased difficulty in Part Three. An experienced examiner can accurately award a speaking score midway through Part Two. At the end of Part Two, if your examiner has decided that you are a speaking 6, he or she will then use Part Three to push you to your language limit – e.g., push you "linguistically" to see if you can actually get 7.

Part Three seems difficult because the examiner is pushing you to your "linguistic limit".

Generally speaking, most people’s score stay the same after Part Three. In other words, the examiner decided that you were a 6 after Part Two, and your performance in Part Three didn't make him change his or her mind.

In some circumstances, the score may be reduced in Part Three. This usually happens with candidates who have recited a lot of Part One and Part Two content, they usually find that it is not possible to use recited content in Part Three.

More importantly, it is possible to use Part Three to increase your score. If you fully understand the functions of Part Three questions, you can produce language that should increase your score.

In this chapter we will focus on one particular strategy for dealing with Part Three questions.

It is also important to remember that your actual opinion is not being marked in Part Three.

Many people like to call Part Three a "discussion". I would rather not use this word because it gives us the idea that content is important. As with all parts of the speaking test, you are being marked on your linguistic ability - NOT your ideas or content.