In this post I’m going to share with you a video of a ‘Band 6.5’ candidate talking about a well-known person in Part 2 of the IELTS Speaking test. Below the video I’ve included the examiner’s comments. If you are aiming for Band 7 or higher, this should give you an idea of what the examiners are looking for.
Examiner’s comments
This candidate is able to speak at length without loss of coherence. Although some hesitations and reformulations occur, there is not much repetition across his long turn. He sequences the information appropriately and links ideas using a range of discourse markers. He also uses a range of vocabulary, including less common items (legend; background; inspired; creativity; style), with some flexibility and awareness of collocation (a pop icon; fight for their rights).
Although there are inappropriate word choices, these do not impede comprehension and the range lifts the rating to a higher band. He also uses a range of complex structures and embedded clauses, with some flexibility. Although his tenses are not always accurate in this part, error-free structures are still frequent.
He has a strong accent and regularly produces ‘f’ for ‘th’. In this part of the test, however, he only mispronounces individual words (leegend; founds for funds), and although his stress patterns are sometimes distorted by intrusive fillers (ehm), his speech is generally clear.
Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0DYAYAV6Xk
You can find many more model and sample answers in the IELTS Speaking Masterclass, an online training course including videos, eBooks and audios.
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