So, often in IELTS Speaking, the examiner will ask a question, especially in Part 3, that you simply don’t know the answer too.
Of course, you can say
‘I don’t know’
…but you really want to show off your vocabulary, and if possible, develop your answer.
In this article we will look at some typically difficult questions, and how you can start to answer them, using something different from ‘I don’t know’.
Some of these phrases are also good fillers that can help give you more time to think on your feet and start developing a better answer.
Table of Contents
Tricky IELTS speaking questions
Look at some of these made up questions typical of the kind of questions you may get in IELTS Speaking Part 3:
Do you think computers make life easier?
Why do people dislike computers?
Will we use computers more in the future?
These kinds of questions are quite common and can also be quite tricky.
There are several reasons we may be ‘stuck for words’ in IELTS Speaking:
- We have no knowledge on the topic
- We don’t have the right vocabulary to give a good answer
- We need more time to think
For the first two cases, you need to prepare more ideas and vocabulary.
For the last case, you can gain time and show off some great vocabulary by using some different phrases.
Let’s look at 5 below.
I am not too sure!
Do you think computers make life easier?
I am not (too) sure, to be honest, but I reckon they do make life easier because…
I can’t say for sure, but….
Do you think computers make life easier?
I can’t say for sure, but it seems to me, that by and large, they do make life easier. Let me give you an example….
Off the top of my head, I would say…
Will we use computers more in the future?
Off the top of my head, I would say yes, we will. The reason I think so is because….
As far as I can see…
Do you think computers make life easier?
As far as I can see, they do. For instance they help us do our work more effectively, especially when it comes to preparing reports or presentations.
I’d hazard a guess that….
Why do some people dislike computers?
I’d hazard a guess that it’s because of their age. I mean a lot of older people don’t like computers because they don’t really understand how to use them.
What do you think, do computers make our lives easier?
Use a phrase from above and leave your answer in the comments below.
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10 thoughts on “Stop Saying, “I don’t know” in IELTS Speaking”
Hi I would like to learn English 1 on 1
Hi Marie, I am afraid at the moment, I don’t do one on one classes. Sorry!
Off the top of my head, I would say yes. As computer has diverse uses in our daily life and I reckon in future the uses of computer will be raised as compared to present time since computer is considered as blessings in education and research sectors.
Nice!
Just remember the article “the”
As THE Computer has…
compared to THE present time
since THE computer…
Thank you for your appreciation. I need a suggestion from you.. Whenever I write english I can use different linkers clause phrase incontrast I cant use them in my speaking. When I speak I couldnt find any linkers or conditional sentence immediately to say. So tell me how can I overcome this problem?
To be honest, it’s just practice. Make a list of some you like, and then have that list in front of you as you practice, and try to start using some. Don’t force it – you don’t always need to use them in every sentence.
Hi,Keith,The expression in the example 3 says”The reason I think so is because….” feels a little weird from my perspective.
I reckon it is kind of redudant. How do you think of that.
Thanks for your effort and resources.
I suspect you think so because I use “the reason + because”.
It is possible to drop the ‘because’, but I think it sounds fine here.
I can’t say for sure,but it seems to me all in all, that camputers make human life easier because they enable people to keep in touch with other friends or partnerships via internet. Also, they can be quite useful when it comes to do the hardest tasks in a record time, which saves a lot of time for people to spend it with their families.
Lovely answer!! (just note: ‘when it comes to DOING the hardest tasks’ 😁