The Discussion: opinions, reasons and the wider question
B2 → C1 · 50 minutes
From Your Life to the World
5 minutes
Part 1 asks about you. Part 3 asks about people in general. Try both versions of the same idea and notice how different the second one feels.
Part 1
"Do you enjoy cooking?"
Part 3
"Why do you think fewer young people cook at home these days?"
Answer this one out loud, for about forty seconds. Then press the button for another.
Why do you think people enjoy living in big cities?
Click for the next question
What usually goes wrong
Two things. Either the answer shrinks to a sentence, or it slides back into a personal story about your own family. Part 3 wants a general claim with your reasoning attached.
What Happens in Part 3
6 minutes
The shape of it
Length: 4–5 minutes
Topic: the wider version of your Part 2 card
Questions: five or six, getting harder as they go
Answers: roughly 30–45 seconds each — longer than Part 1, shorter than Part 2
The examiner may: interrupt to keep to time, and push you to justify what you have said. Both are normal, and neither means you are wrong.
What the examiner is listening for
Four things, each worth a quarter of your speaking mark.
1
Fluency and coherence. Can you keep going, and can the listener follow the order of your ideas? Pausing to find a better word is fine; pausing because you have lost the thread is not.
2
Lexical resource. Range, and whether the words fit. One well-placed expression beats five that nearly work.
3
Grammatical range and accuracy. Variety of structures as well as correctness. A perfectly accurate answer made only of short simple sentences has a ceiling.
4
Pronunciation. Not an accent test — the question is whether you are easy to understand. Word stress and sentence rhythm matter more than individual sounds.
What is not marked
Your opinions, your general knowledge, and whether your story is true. You can invent whatever you need.
How a set actually runs
If your card was about a skill you learned, the discussion might climb like this.
1
"What skills do children learn most easily?" — general, concrete
2
"Why do some adults find it harder to learn new things?" — reasons
3
"Do you think schools teach the right skills?" — opinion
4
"How might work change in the next twenty years?" — speculation
5
"Some people say experience matters more than qualifications. What is your view?" — evaluation
What if I have no opinion on the question?▼
You are not marked on the opinion, only on the English that carries it. Take either side and defend it, or say honestly that it depends — then explain what it depends on. That is a full answer.
What if I do not understand the question?▼
Ask. "Sorry, do you mean...?" costs you nothing. Answering a question you have misheard costs you a great deal.
Should I give both sides every time?▼
No. Doing it once or twice shows range; doing it every time makes you sound as though you are avoiding the question. Commit to a position, then acknowledge the other side when it genuinely helps.
Answer, Reason, Example
9 minutes
Every strong Part 3 answer has the same three moves, in the same order. Thirty to forty-five seconds, and then stop.
1
Answer. Say what you think in one clear sentence, straight away.
2
Reason. Say why. This is the sentence most candidates skip.
3
Example or consequence. Make it real, or say what follows from it.
Answer only
"Why do fewer people cook at home?" — "Because they are busy."
All three moves
"Mainly because work has spread into the evening. When people get home at eight, a delivery is not laziness, it is arithmetic. You can see it in how many small flats are now built without a proper kitchen at all."
Build the second and third moves
Each answer below stops after the first move. Write the reason and the example yourself — one sentence each, out loud first, then on the page.
Question
"Do you think people read less than they used to?"
Answer: "Less on paper, certainly, though I am not sure they read less overall."
Reason:
Example:
Question
"Should governments pay for people to study at university?"
Answer: "In part, yes, but I would tie it to subjects the country is short of."
Reason:
Example:
Reading: reason — "The reading has simply moved onto screens, and a lot of it is not counted as reading at all." Example — "My nephew claims he never reads, and he gets through an hour of articles on his phone every evening."
University: reason — "A country that needs nurses and cannot fill the places is paying for the shortage one way or another." Example — "Some countries already pay extra grants to students who train as teachers or nurses, and those courses fill up far more easily."
Your sentences will be different. Check yours for one thing only: does the reason actually explain the answer, or does it just repeat it?
Softening Your Claims
8 minutes
Part 3 asks about whole societies, and nobody can speak for a whole society. Careful language is not weakness here — it is precision, and examiners hear it as range.
Too absolute
"Everybody uses their phone too much. All young people are addicted."
Measured
"A lot of people probably use their phones more than they would like to. Among younger users it does seem to shade into something like dependence."
tend toon the wholeit seems to meby and largearguablythere is a case forI would imagineup to a point
Rewrite the overstatement
Soften each claim. One word or phrase is enough — do not rewrite the whole sentence.
1
"Children today have no patience." → "Children today have less patience than they used to."
2
"Working from home is better for everyone." → ", working from home suits most people better."
3
"That law will fail." → "I that law will struggle in practice."
4
"Tourism destroys old cities." → "There is saying tourism damages old cities."
1. tend to / probably · 2. On the whole / By and large · 3. suspect / would imagine · 4. a case for
The other side of the same skill
Softening is not the same as vagueness. "It depends" on its own says nothing; "it depends on whether the city can absorb the numbers" says a great deal. Always finish the thought.
The Four Question Types
9 minutes
Almost every Part 3 question is one of four kinds. Each one has its own grammar, and hearing which kind you have been asked is half the answer.
1. Comparison — then and now, here and elsewhere
Signalled by used to, these days, in your country. Wants comparative structures and the present perfect.
Thin"Yes, it is different. Before, families were together. Now they are not together."
Stronger"Family life has become more scattered than it was, largely because work moves people around far more than it did a generation ago. My parents both grew up in the same street they were born in, which would be unusual now."
2. Cause — why something is the way it is
Signalled by why do you think. Wants reasons in order of importance, not a list.
Thin"Because it is expensive. And people do not know how."
Stronger"The main reason is cost. On top of that, there is the simple fact that nobody is taught to do it any more — it disappeared from schools twenty years ago, so an entire generation never learned."
3. Speculation — the future, or an unreal situation
Signalled by will, might, do you think... in the future. Wants modals and conditionals, not certainties.
Thin"In the future there will be driverless cars. It will be very good and the traffic will be better."
Stronger"If driverless cars did become normal, city centres might end up with far less parking, which would change how those streets feel. I would expect the space to go to cafes and cycle lanes before anything else."
4. Evaluation — is this a good thing?
Signalled by some people say, do the advantages outweigh, what is your view. Wants a position, a concession and a reason.
Thin"It has advantages and disadvantages. Some people like it and some people do not like it."
Stronger"On balance I think it is positive, even though the early years are disruptive, because the alternative is standing still. The countries that resisted it are not the ones doing well now."
Name the type
Read each question and write which of the four it is. One word is enough.
A
"Do you think working hours will change much in the next twenty years?" — type:
B
"Why are some people unwilling to move to a new city for work?" — type:
C
"Some people say children should start school later. What is your view?" — type:
D
"Is family life in your country different from how it was fifty years ago?" — type:
A — speculation (use might, is likely to, I would expect)
B — cause (give the main reason first, then a second one)
C — evaluation (take a position, concede something, give a reason)
D — comparison (present perfect and comparatives)
Which Answer Scores?
7 minutes
The question: "Do you think governments should limit how much people travel by plane?"
A. "Yes, I think so. Because of pollution. Planes are very bad for the environment and the government should do something about this problem."
B. "Well, it depends. Some people think yes and some people think no. There are advantages and disadvantages to both sides of this issue, so it is difficult to say."
C. "I would rather they made the alternatives work first. Limits without a decent train network just punish the people who cannot afford another option, which is why France only banned short flights on routes where a fast train already existed."
What is wrong with A?▼
It has an answer and half a reason, then restates the question as if it were a conclusion. Twenty-five words, no example, and it ends early — which invites a harder question next.
B is longer. Why is it no better?▼
Because it is empty. "Advantages and disadvantages" with no advantage and no disadvantage named is a way of speaking without saying anything, and examiners recognise it instantly.
Why does C work?▼
A clear position in the first line, a reason that names who is affected, and a real-world example. It also disagrees politely with the premise of the question, which is exactly the move strong candidates make.
Full Practice
12 minutes
A full set of five questions on one topic, the way the examiner asks them — easy first, harder as they go. Forty seconds each.
Topic: Work and skills
What skills do children pick up most easily?
Why do some adults find it harder to learn new things?
Do you think schools teach the skills people actually need?
How might the way we work change in the next twenty years?
Some people say experience matters more than qualifications. What is your view?
Forty seconds per answer
0:40
Check yourself after each answer
1
Did you say what you thought in the first sentence?
2
Did the reason explain the answer, or only repeat it?
3
Was there anything concrete — a place, a number, a case you have seen?
4
Did you claim more than you can defend, or did you soften it?
5
Did you stop, or did you trail off hoping for rescue?
When you are challenged
If the examiner says "but some people would disagree", they are not correcting you. They are opening a door. Walk through it: That is fair, and I would still argue... or They have a point, though it depends on...
Review
5 minutes
What to take away
1
Answer, reason, example — in that order, in about forty seconds.
2
Talk about people in general, not only about your own family.
3
Soften big claims: tend to, on the whole, arguably.
4
Hear the question type — comparison, cause, speculation, evaluation — and use its grammar.
5
"It depends" is only an answer if you say what it depends on.
Test yourself
How long should a Part 3 answer be?▼
Thirty to forty-five seconds. Longer than Part 1, shorter than the long turn, and always finished rather than trailed off.
Which grammar does a speculation question want?▼
Modals and conditionals: might, is likely to, if that happened, we would... Certainty about the future sounds naive, not fluent.
The examiner disagrees with you. What do you do?▼
Concede what is fair and hold your position: That is true up to a point, but I would still say... Changing your mind completely costs nothing in marks, but changing it twice does.
Before the next lesson
Take one topic from the practice tab and record all five answers in one sitting, without stopping. Then listen for the answer you liked least, and rebuild it with a reason and an example.