IELTS Speaking Part 3: opinions

Having opinions is really important for IELTS Speaking Part 3. Even if your grammar is excellent, you will not get a high score if you don't know what to say.

For example, do you have an opinion about whether governments should protect old buildings?

Here are some possible opinions:

• Historic buildings are part of a country’s heritage.
• Old buildings are often considered to be works of art.
• They give character to cities, and attract tourists.
• We identify countries by architectural symbols, like the pyramids in Egypt.
• Governments should spend money on looking after historic buildings.
• They need regular repairs and maintenance.

These opinions come from my 'Ideas for IELTS Topics' ebook. The sentences above are what a native speaker might say (i.e. band 7-9).

Comments

[etak]

Dear Simon;

I thank you for all your helps.I take my results today.I get 6 overall band.It is enough for now.

Thanks for your valuable works...

Emin from Turkey

[Chakir]

Dear Simon

This is my first comment in your amazing web-site which help a lot to get a 6 overall band . I didn't study a proper IELTS course but I studied by myself through your web site I was in rush because I had less than one month to prepare for my IELTS exam .I'm very happy because they accept me in their extended master which I'll study 6 months before starting my course I mean I'll have extra 6 months to improve my English . Here is the detail of my Note : LST 5.5 , Reading 6 , Speaking 6.5 , Writing 5
could you tell me your opinion about my resul.For information I was in London for 6 months I studied just General English . Before I went to London I couldn't say one
sentence neither make one correct sentce.
I'm looking forward to taking another Exam to see if i can improve my score

[Astri Kartika El Nur]

Hi Simon,

Your amazing advice have helped me a lot, especially to give new ideas and opinion of a topic. Early morning before i took my exam in 17 Sept, i read all your writing and speaking section, because my previous score was only 5.5 for both. Surprisingly, when i checked for the result yesterday i got 7.5 overall and 6.5 for writing and 7.0 for speaking (i really knew what to say :D ). Great. I love this site very much.

Thanks simon. you have made my day.
Astri, Jakarta, Indonesia

[Rr]

Hi Simon I am going to take exam .I find difficulty to describe dream house. What problems would be with that house can u pls help me . Thanx I lookforward to hear from u

[sulaiman]

Yes I do. For example, the government in the UK has a programme in making deals with the landlords of the listed buildings around the country in order to keep them . motivation in the design of these buildings is not allowed . selling of these properties is prohibited . governments motivate the landlords to donate these properties to the council after their death .it is important to mention the great help carried out by authorities to these landlords in terms of transport for shopping and fun ,and,helping them in their health needs. through the nhs.

[deepika]

My dream house

Everbody have a dream about their future house.For me it is the same.

I am fascinated by extraordinary houses like palaces with extensive decorations.Not only that but also i have developed a taste for architecture which could be seen in Egypt.And i am looking for a wonderful mix of old and new architecture for my dream place.I would build my house with white cube and i would love to live under a roof which made out f glass.This make my dream very easy as i am able to watch the sky at night without going out.And i hate to live in cramped conditions ,so i already had decided to construct my palace cosy.And i am depressed by the less variety of the nature.So i am comfort with tranquilled countryside or beach area.Most probably my dream house would build there.

And it should have more room for gardnning. I want to wake up by the bird twittering every morning and i enjoy watching butturfly flttering.What's more i love sniffing flowers.specially roses. So i love to maintain a rose garden next to my house

[deepika]

hi simon,

when listening test and reading test ask answers to circle them how we copy our answes to answer sheet?
should we circle them in the answer sheet?
or should we write only letter?
(specially multiple questions and picking pictures)

[Simon]

Congratulations Emin! I'm glad my lessons helped.

...

Hi Chakir,

Your results are very good considering you had so little time to practise and learn the language. Of course, the main thing is that you got on the course you wanted. Well done!

...

Hi Astri,

That's great news - what an improvement! Thanks for your positive feedback.

...

Hi Rr,

It doesn't matter exactly what you say - maybe you could say that your dream house would be near the beach, or have a swimming pool and tennis court, but that it might be expensive to run and difficult to keep clean!

Also, have a look at Deepika's ideas above.

...

Good ideas Sulaiman and Deepika.

...

Deepika,

The question will always tell you to write the letter - it will never tell you to circle the answer.

[deepika]

thanks simon for your kind response

[ID]

hello Simon
i had speaking yesterday and the topic was: describe photography that you remember, when it was taken, who took it, what is there, why you like it
P.S. it was very difficult for me, i tried to connect it to common topic such as place but i failed, i had a pause about 20 second, so can you tell how much is 2 part important&

[Kathy]

In some countries historical buildings are destroyed to make room for new buildings. Discuss, what is your opinion?
Over recent years it has become a common trend to get rid of older, historical buildings in favor of newer, modern designs. Although there are some advantages to this trend, I believe that these buildings should be protected and preserved as will be explained below.
On the one hand, it may be argued that this trend is inevitable since population numbers are rapidly growing, and higher, more efficient structures are needed to keep up with the rising population density. Many city councils are trying to resolve the matters by replacing historical, expensive in maintenance structures by modern, more capable designs. As a result, most major cities throughout the world are becoming modern places comprising numerous skyscrapers and tall designs.
However, I believe that we should be preserving older, historical structures. Older designs are considered to be far more superior to the modern ones; they have a lot of character and usually there is a lot of history behind them. We should be upholding the traditions of the past and ensure that they are handed down to younger generations. Most historical buildings are national treasures and are fascinating tourist attractions; they draw our attention and make us think about the past. Most people take pride in them and these designs are considered to be the heritage from previous centuries.
To conclude, as discussed above it is justifiable that big metropolises destroy older buildings; however, it seems to me that if we allow the distraction of historical buildings, national traditions and heritage will disappear along with them.

[Simon]

Hi ID,

Part 2 is quite important, so a big pause will affect your score. Just try to learn from the experience - if you don't get the score you need, I'm sure you'll do better next time.

PS. You had the right idea about describing a photo of a place - maybe you could talk about a holiday and the photos you took on it.