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Don’t repeat every word in the question

Don’t repeat every word in the question

February 25, 2014 By Nestor 1 Comment

In the IELTS Speaking test, try not to repeat every word the examiner uses when you start to answer a question. In other words, don’t be a parrot! You should avoid doing this because it sounds unnatural and you can easily make grammatical mistakes. In this post I will give you an example of what I mean.

Imagine the examiner asks you:

Examiner: How have shopping habits changed in your country in recent years?

Some candidates try to repeat all the examiners’ words, for example:

Candidate: *How shopping habits have changed in my country in recent years is …*

Firstly this sentence is grammatically incorrect. Secondly, it sounds unnatural. If a friend asked you such a question, you would never answer in this way.

It is better to begin your answer in a simple, natural way. For example:

  • I think shopping habits have changed a lot in my country. …
  • I think people are shopping more than in the past.
  • Well, I think people in my country have become very cautious about shopping. This is because …

Gaining time to think

It is okay to repeat the examiner’s question word for word if you want to gain time to think. For example:

Candidate: Hmm…how have shopping habits changed in my country in recent years? Well, I think …

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Filed Under: General tips, IELTS Speaking Tips Tagged With: IELTS speaking test strategies

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Elizabeth.Pawsan says

    February 26, 2014 at 4:28 pm

    very useful tips.

    Reply

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