Question Type 1: Basic Description Questions. Ielts speaking test. Part 1

· Do people wear special clothes at weddings in your country?

· Is watching TV a popular activity in your country?

· Do you think it is important to play sports / do physical exercise?

· Is fast food popular in your country?

· Is healthy eating important?

· Can you play a musical instrument?

· Do you think it‘s important for children to learn to play a musical instrument?

· Is food expensive in your country?

· Is education free in your country?

· Do you think you are an ambitious person?

A common problem with these questions is that many candidates begin their answer with a direct "Yes" or "No" and then or more details to explain their answer.
This is not wrong, but these answers are often too simple in grammar structure and lack the essential linking phrases.
A better answer is to answer BOTH "Yes" and "No". By doing this you will produce a response with better quality language structures.
Look at the following example:
"Is healthy eating important?"
"Yes, healthy eating is important, because..."
If you answer in this way, you are limiting your answer to a fairly basic structure.
Now look at the next example:
"Well in actual fact, if I think about it. I guess that in many ways it's fairly important; especially when you consider that a healthy diet can help to prevent a variety of diseases and health problems such as diabetes and obesity. But you also have to understand that eating unhealthy food in moderation is not overly harmful. In fact unhealthy food is often tastier than healthy food so I guess it’s fine to eat a little junk food now and then. So all in all I guess my answer would have to be yes and no."
It is possible to use this type of structure for many, but not all, "Yes / No" questions.
Look at the list of questions at the beginning of this section and decide which ones you would be able to answer with this structure.
The structure can be built in this way. First, use an opening phrase:

•