Simon’s Advice on Speaking Part 1

Student's question:
I've gone through your speaking answers, and I rarely found linking phrases like 
"I suppose I should 
begin by highlighting the fact that..."
or 
"the point I'd like to begin with is that..."
. Don't you think such 
phrases are the sign of a high score? 
Here's my answer:
Good question. No, I don't use those phrases because examiners are not impressed by them. Even a 
beginner can learn linking phrases, and if it were that easy, everyone would get band 9. The sign of a 
high score is 'real content' (
topic-specific vocabulary
), not memorised phrases. 
Posted by 
Simon
 in 
IELTS Speaking
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Friday, February 03, 2012 
 
IELTS Speaking Part 1: emails and handwriting 
At work or in your studies, do you often write things?
Yes, I write a lot of emails as part of my job. I work for a company that has offices in several 
countries, so we use email to communicate. 
How often do you send e-mails?
I probably write between 5 and 10 work emails every day, and I send emails to friends or family a few 
times a week. 
Do you prefer to write by hand or on a computer?
It depends what I’m doing. I prefer the computer for most things because it’s faster and you can save 
or copy things, but I still like making notes or writing ideas down by hand. 
Do you think computers might one day replace handwriting?
No, I think we will always write by hand as well. I think it’s an important skill, and schools will continue 
to teach children to write by hand before they learn to type. 
Posted by 
Simon
 in 
IELTS Speaking