Ielts speaking--how to improve your bandscore

Definitely. Fashion has changed in recent times. When I was young, I saw a lot
of women wearing ankle-style skirts and blouses, which had a conservative
touch to them and were in dull colours. However, these days, women prefer
wearing constricted and short skirts, low-cut necklines, and slits that allow
women to move freely. But the fashion style in my younger years appeals to my
taste more than the current one.

Sometimes, examiners ask other questions containing two different words like
adults and children: ‘If you think there is a difference between A and B, do you
prefer A to B?’ These phrases and words signal that you have to use contrasting
and comparing sentences.
There are numerous ways suggested to answer compare questions. Let’s just
focus on answering one question and pay attention to how varied the ways in
giving the answers are.
Question: Are the houses in the rural parts of the Philippines the same as houses
in the cities?

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Answer 1:
Most people who live in the countryside are poor and they are farmers, so most
of their houses are simpler and cheaper than those of the people in the urban
areas.
In the answer, there is a use of comparative adjectives simpler and cheaper than.
Answer 2:
Cities in the Philippines are crowded, so land is expensive, and most people live
in apartments, which are generally new and costly to buy, whereas people in the
countryside live in small houses in a village where they have a yard to raise
animals and plants for a living.
The answer contains a device that shows opposing points.
Activity A
Underline the keywords in the following. How would you answer each
question? The first one is done for you.
1. Compare how adults spend their leisure time with how children spend their
leisure time. (I will compare the different activities or types of activities
adults do in their free time with the youth.)
2. What do you think are the advantages (and disadvantages) of bicycles
compared to cars?
3. Do you usually write letters to people, or do you usually use a cell phone
or e-mail?
4. Which instrument do you think would be better to study, the piano or the
violin?
5. How do you think transportation will change in your country in the next
twenty years?
6. What changes would you like to see take place in entertainment in your
country over the next few years?
7. Can you tell me something about your favorite dish?
8. Could you tell me about how you spent your spare time in your childhood?
9. Describe your favorite book.
You should say the following:
Who wrote it?
When did you read it?

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Why did it impress you?
How did it influence you?
10. What is the most famous type of film in your country?
Answer
2. What do you think are the advantages (and disadvantages) of bicycles
compared to cars? (I will be exploring the good side of bicycles over cars.)
3. Do you usually write letters to people, or do you usually use a cell phone or
email? (I have to talk about the way I communicate to people, and I have three
options to choose from: letters, phone, and e-mail. After making a choice, I
should be explaining the benefits of using (my choice) over the other
communication tools.)
4. Which instrument do you think would be better to study, the piano or the
violin? (I have to choose between the piano and the violin and state the reasons
showing that the piano is better than the violin or vice versa.)
5. How do you think transportation will change in your country in the next
twenty years? (I will be talking about the changes in transportation in the future.)
6. What changes would you like to see take place in entertainment in your
country over the next few years? (I am going to speculate about the changes in
entertainment in the future.)
7. Can you tell me something about your favourite dish? (I will mention my
favourite dish, when I eat it, what the ingredients are, and how often I eat it.)
8. Could you tell me about how you spent your spare time in your childhood? (I
will talk about the activities I did during my free time when I was a child.)
9. Describe your favourite book. You should say the following:
Who wrote it? (I will mention the author’s name)
When did you read it? (Talk about the time of the day, season of the
year, and any expression pertaining to time.)
Why did it impress you? (What’s in the book that made me fall for it?)

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How did it influence you? (Talk about realization, changes, and some
actions felt and taken after reading the book.)
10. What is the most famous type of film in your country? (Mention the most
popular movie genre in your country.)