The IELTS Speaking test in 14 minutes: three parts and how to use the minute before Part 2

Short answers are polite, and they give the examiner almost nothing to mark.

Three parts, one conversation

Speaking is a face-to-face conversation with a trained examiner, and it is recorded. It lasts 11 to 14 minutes. On computer, it may fall on the same day as the other skills or on another day your centre arranges, so treat it as its own appointment.

What is being marked

The examiner marks four equally weighted criteria: fluency and coherence, lexical resource, grammatical range and accuracy, and pronunciation. None of them rewards a short reply. Each of them needs enough speech to assess.

Part 1: answer, then add

"Do you prefer mornings or evenings?" can be answered with one word. A stronger answer takes the same breath: "Mornings, definitely. My head is clearest before nine, so I do my hardest work then." It answers at once, gives a reason and adds a detail the examiner can hear you handle.

A reply that never answers, such as "That is an interesting question, and people have different opinions", is fluent but empty.

Part 2: use the minute for words, not sentences

You get one minute and a task card. Write four or five key words, one for each point on the card. Do not try to write the talk. There is no time, and reading a script makes your speech sound unnatural.

Choose the example you will use with care, one you can keep alive for two minutes. If the card asks about a skill you learned as an adult, a story with a beginning and an end, such as learning to drive after a failed first attempt, fills the time better than a skill you barely practised. An unusual topic that you cannot extend is a poor trade.

Part 3: move from your life to ideas

The questions leave your own experience and ask about people in general. "Why do some adults stop learning new skills?" does not want your biography. It wants a general reason with an example, such as time disappearing once work and children arrive. A personal story told fluently is still a personal story, and it answers a different question.

A daily routine that works

Speaking improves with use, so short and frequent beats long and rare.

1. Speak for five minutes a day on a familiar topic and record it.
2. Listen back for pauses, repeated words and answers that stopped too soon.
3. Once a week, practise Part 2 with a one-minute timer and key words only.
4. Include a real person in some sessions, not only an app.