IELTS Speaking Exercise: General to Specific Answers

Students speak very simple sentence and receive low scores:

For example:

• This is job is significant. 
• My city is exciting to see. 
• I like to eat hamburgers. 
• I will go to a university

These answers will get you a Band 4 or Band 5. To increase your score to the next level, you need to explain WHY. Most students don’t obtain a high score because they fail to explain WHY. If you explain WHY, the grader will love your complete, well-rounded responses.

1. "This job is very significant for our business. (a very general sentence).
2.  If you perform this job very well, we will be able to expand into the new regions of the southeast and this will triple our profits. (a very specific sentence).

Now let's look at the other three examples. Instead of "My city is exciting to see", could say:

1. My city, Salvador, Bahia is very exciting to see. (rather general).
2. Some of the reasons I say this include the fact that we have beaches, a blended culture, and wonderful night entertainment. (Very specific.).

Instead of saying "I like to eat hamburgers", you could say:

1. I like to eat hamburgers more than any other food.. (general).
2. I first discovered hamburgers when a friend took me to McDonalds and ever since then, I take every opportunity to have one! (specific).

Finally, instead of saying "I will go to a university", you should say something like this:

1. I hope to go to an American university in the future. (general).
2. American universities are so much better than what we have in my country because they offer such a wide range of majors to choose from and at this time I am unsure about what I want to study! (specific).