In this post I’m going to share with you a video of a ‘Band 7’ candidate answering a question about hobbies in Part 3 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 can maintain the flow of conversation without noticeable effort, although he has a rather slow delivery, with some hesitation. He uses a range of reference markers fluently and naturally to give cohesion (It’s likely that they will; so that helps). Overall, however, his topic development is limited and he does not extend his responses sufficiently to reach Band 8. His vocabulary is appropriate but he does not use an extensive range.
Examples of good collocation and idiomatic usage (the job ladder) are not as frequent as they would be at higher bands, and are sometimes not well-integrated or result in awkward expressions (everything in excess is not good; to provide themselves; want to go higher, higher on the job ladder). A range of structures is used, but there is not enough complexity to raise the performance above Band 7. The level of accuracy is high, with only a few minor errors, but the candidate stays within a safety zone and this has an impact on his range of structures.
The candidate has only a slight accent that has very little impact on his English pronunciation. He is able to use a wide range of phonological features to convey meaning effectively (it’s not that difficult to play) and to make precise distinctions (more popular vs. most popular).
This is a high-level candidate who seems to play safe. In doing so, he fails to produce sufficient language to be awarded a higher band.
Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZKWewLjkWY
One thing you can learn from this
The examiner repeatedly comments that this candidate ‘stays within a safety zone’. This means that he believes the candidate is capable of getting a higher band.
This is an important remark. If you only need Band 7, ‘playing safe’ (keeping your answers simple and free of mistakes, avoiding the use of complex language structures, not fully extending your responses) might be a good strategy. However, if you need Band 7.5 or higher, you will need to ‘take more risks’ in your speaking.
This FREE eBook Shows You What Kinds of Tasks and Questions to Expect in the IELTS Speaking Test.
Thanks Nestor
What if my I don’t use any idiom dont use tough words but pretend natural and the most worst part didn’t understand a question in part 3 ask the examiner to repeat but again can’t understand and answered wrongly 🙁 also if my grammar is not that good but sufficient enough 🙁 how much band should be given to me then ?? Plzzz clear my mind 🙂
If you misunderstand questions, only use common vocabulary in your answers you will certainly get less than Band 7. If you need Band 7, It is okay to make some grammar mistakes as long as they are not serious mistakes that make it difficult to understand what you are trying to say. I can’t say exactly what band you would get. It depends how frequent and serious your mistakes are.