Part 3 is the last part of IELTS Speaking and, for many candidates, the hardest. In Part 1 you talk about yourself and in Part 2 you speak from a card; in Part 3 you discuss wider issues with the examiner: society, the future, causes and effects. This article covers the Part 3 question types, an answer structure that fits any of them, full sample answers and the difference between band 6 and band 7 on the official band descriptors. The overall Speaking format is at /articles/ielts-speaking-parts and Part 2 cue cards at /articles/ielts-speaking-part-2-cue-cards.
What makes Part 3 different
- According to ielts.org, Part 3 lasts 4-5 minutes: you and the examiner discuss issues related to the Part 2 topic in a more general and abstract way.
- The whole Speaking test takes 11-14 minutes, is face to face with an examiner and is recorded.
- The main shift is from “I” to “people” and “society”. If Part 2 asked about a skill you learned, Part 3 asks which skills schools should teach.
- The score covers the whole test: the band descriptors say a candidate is rated on their average performance across all parts. Still, Part 3 is the easiest place to show complex ideas, long turns and a range of grammar.
6 question types
| Type | Sample question | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Opinion | Do you think schools should teach money skills? | A clear position + reason + example |
| Comparison | How has this changed since your parents’ time? | Past and present: “used to”, “whereas”, “nowadays” |
| Future | Will this be different in twenty years? | Prediction: “is likely to”, “I expect”, “probably” |
| Cause | Why do some people avoid learning new things? | Two reasons, one with an example |
| Pros and cons | What are the pros and cons of learning online? | Both sides, then your own conclusion |
| Solution | What could be done to encourage older people? | 1-2 specific ideas and why they would work |
A 4-step answer structure
- 1. Direct answer: give your view in the first sentence (“I’d say...”, “To some extent, yes.”).
- 2. Reason: “because”, “since”, “the main reason is...”.
- 3. Example: something specific from your life or your country. A concrete example is what separates a real answer from a memorised one.
- 4. Qualify or contrast: “On the other hand...”, “That said...”, “It depends on...”. This shows you can reason, not just list.
- If you need time to think, do not go silent: start with something like “That’s an interesting question, I haven’t really thought about it before, but...”. The band 8 descriptor describes hesitation used to prepare content rather than to find words.
- There is no set length, but a one-sentence answer is too short: the four steps usually give 4-6 sentences.
Sample questions and answers: “skills”
These questions could follow the Part 2 card “Describe a skill you learned that is useful in your daily life”. The answers were written for Trylab as a model of band 7+ language.
Q: Which skills do you think schools should teach but often don’t? - A: I’d say practical money skills, like planning a budget or understanding how a loan works. Most of us leave school able to solve equations, but not able to plan a month’s spending, and that’s something everyone needs as soon as they start earning. In my last year a teacher spent one lesson explaining interest, and honestly, that single lesson turned out to be more useful than a whole term of some other subjects. So even one short course a year would make a real difference.
Q: Is it better to learn a skill from a teacher or from online videos? - A: It depends on the skill, really. For something like cooking or editing photos, videos are brilliant, because you can pause them and rewatch the tricky part as many times as you need. But where feedback matters, say, speaking a language or playing an instrument, a teacher is hard to replace, since a video can’t tell you what you’re doing wrong. Ideally, I suppose, people would combine the two: pick up the basics online and then have a teacher correct the details.
Q: How has the way young people learn skills changed compared with your parents’ generation? - A: The biggest change is probably access. My parents mostly learned from whoever was around them, a relative, a neighbour or a master in a workshop, so what they could learn depended on where they lived. Nowadays a teenager in a small town can watch the same tutorials as someone in London. On the other hand, I’d argue my parents’ generation was more patient. They stuck with one skill for years, whereas we tend to jump to the next thing as soon as it gets difficult.
Q: Do you think machines will make some skills unnecessary in the future? - A: To some extent, yes. Purely routine skills, such as typing up documents or doing basic calculations, are already handled by software, and that’s likely to continue. However, I don’t think it makes learning pointless. If anything, skills like explaining an idea clearly or working in a team will become more valuable, precisely because machines find them harder. So rather than disappearing, the list of important skills will simply shift.
Q: What could be done to encourage older people to learn new skills? - A: Well, I think the main barrier isn’t ability but confidence. A lot of older people assume they’re too old to learn, especially anything to do with technology. So short classes in places they already visit, like the mahalla centre or a local library, could help, because the setting feels familiar. Another idea is to get grandchildren involved. My grandmother only learned to make video calls because my cousin sat with her for a couple of evenings, and now she uses them every day.
- Each answer responds to the question in its first sentence, then gives a reason and a personal example.
- Vocabulary: “hard to replace”, “if anything”, “precisely because”, “stuck with”, “pick up the basics” - less common but natural.
- Grammar: conditionals (“would make a real difference”), contrast (“whereas”), likelihood (“is likely to”).
- Do not memorise them: they show a structure. Examiners notice memorised speech and move on to a different question.
Band 6 vs band 7 on the official criteria
Source: IELTS Speaking band descriptors (ielts.org). One rule to remember: to get a band, you must fully fit the positive features of that band.
| Criterion | Band 6 | Band 7 |
|---|---|---|
| Fluency and Coherence | Willing to produce long turns, but coherence is sometimes lost through hesitation or repetition | Produces long turns readily, without noticeable effort; uses discourse markers flexibly |
| Lexical Resource | Enough vocabulary to discuss topics at length; generally paraphrases successfully | Some less common and idiomatic items, with awareness of style and collocation |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | A mix of short and complex forms; frequent errors in complex structures that rarely block meaning | A range of structures used flexibly; error-free sentences are frequent |
| Pronunciation | Generally understood without much effort; control of intonation varies | All the positive features of band 6 and some of band 8 |
Practise Part 3 like a mock test
- Take 3 questions per topic: one opinion, one comparison, one future or solution question. Record your answers and listen back.
- As you listen, count one-sentence answers, “um”, “er” and restarted sentences. Bring the numbers down on the next try.
- Technology: Do people rely too much on their phones nowadays? Should children be allowed to use social media? How might technology change the way people work in the next twenty years?
- Cities: What are the main problems of living in a big city? Why do so many young people move from villages to cities? What would make public transport more attractive?
- Free time: Do people have more free time now than in the past? Why do some people prefer to spend their free time alone? Should employers do more to help staff rest?
- Environment: Whose job is it to protect the environment, the government’s or individuals’? Why do some people ignore environmental problems? What could schools do to change that?
- Trylab has a Speaking mock (/ielts/speaking): the questions are read aloud, you answer into your microphone and the timer runs itself. AI gives an estimated band on the four official criteria: on the Pro plan, with 1 AI score on the free plan. You sign in through the Telegram bot.
