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IELTS / Guides / Speaking · Part 1: interview
IELTS Speaking · Guide

IELTS Speaking Part 1: how to give natural answers about familiar topics

Part 1 is a short interview in which the examiner asks about your home, work or studies and then about two other familiar topics. It is a warm-up for you but the first impression for the examiner, and it is assessed like every other part. It tests whether you can talk about everyday matters naturally and at a sensible length.

About Speaking practice

Format

  • The first stage after the examiner checks your identity: about 4 to 5 minutes and roughly 10 to 12 questions in all.
  • Three topics: first your work, studies or home, then two others such as free time, food, shoes, keys or the sky. The pool of topics is refreshed several times a year and sometimes includes unusual ones.
  • A live conversation with an examiner, face to face or sometimes by video call. Speaking is the one part of IELTS not taken on a computer, and it is recorded.
  • Marked on four equally weighted criteria: Fluency and Coherence, Lexical Resource, Grammatical Range and Accuracy, and Pronunciation.
  • There are no right answers and you do not need to tell the truth. The examiner is judging your language, not your life.

Strategy

  1. Answer the question in your first sentence: 'Yes, I do' or 'Not really'. Skip openers such as 'That is a very interesting question', which use up time and say nothing.
  2. Add a reason or detail, then an example or a contrast. 'Do you like cooking? Quite a lot, actually. It helps me relax after work, and at weekends I try new recipes. I'm not much good at baking, though.'
  3. Aim for two to four sentences, roughly 10 to 20 seconds. Stop when you have said something worth saying; the examiner will move on.
  4. Match your tense to the question: present for habits and opinions, past for 'when you were a child', future for plans. Using the right tense is part of the grammar mark.
  5. Paraphrase the key word in the question rather than repeating it. 'What do you like about your hometown?' might become 'The best thing about the place I grew up in is...'
  6. For an odd topic, give yourself a moment with a natural opener such as 'That's not something I think about much, but...' and then say something true or plausible.
  7. Vary your extensions: a reason (because), a contrast (although), a past experience (when I was younger) or a wish (I'd love to). Use ideas from your life, but do not recite memorised answers.
  8. If you do not catch a question, ask: 'Sorry, could you repeat that?' This is natural and does not lose marks.

Common traps

  • Giving one-word or one-sentence answers. They give the examiner little to assess, and Fluency and Coherence suffers.
  • Giving very long answers. The examiner has a set of questions to cover, and a two-minute reply to 'Do you like shoes?' sounds rehearsed and will be interrupted.
  • Memorising answers. Memorised speech differs in speed and intonation from natural speech, examiners are trained to recognise it, and they may change the topic.
  • Saying only 'I've never thought about it' to an unusual topic and stopping. An imaginative answer shows more language than a refusal.
  • Using the wrong tense, such as present simple for 'When you were a child, did you like drawing?'

Practise it inside a real Speaking section

Practice on PrepFreely is always a complete section, so you meet this question type in the same place and proportion as on test day. Random sections never repeat until you've done them all. Every answer is explained.

Practise Speaking Take the Speaking course

FAQ

How long should my answers be?

About two to four sentences, or 10 to 20 seconds. That is enough to give a reason and an example without sounding rehearsed.

Can I ask the examiner to repeat a question?

Yes. 'Could you repeat that, please?' is natural and does not lose marks, although asking every time would affect how smoothly the conversation flows.

Do I have to tell the truth?

No. The examiner assesses your language, not the facts. It is fine to invent an answer if that lets you speak more fluently.

Is Part 1 marked separately?

No. You receive one score for each of the four criteria across the whole test, so Part 1 contributes to the same assessment as Parts 2 and 3.

What if I get a topic I have never thought about?

Say so naturally and carry on: 'I haven't really thought about it, but...' Then give a reason or an example, even an invented one.

More IELTS Speaking guides

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