IELTS Energy 1638: Launching Answers Part 2: Break Away From Boring

This is an IELTS Energy Podcast Episode 1638, Launching Answers Part 2, Break Away from Boring. Welcome to the IELTS Energy Podcast from All Ears English, downloaded more than 35 million times with examiner-trained IELTS whiz Aubrey Carter and Lindsay McMahon, the English adventurer. If you are stuck with a low score, our insider method will help you get the score you need to unlock your dreams. Get your estimated band score now with our two minute quiz at allearsenglish.com slash my score.

Boring answers are not only dull, but also damaging to your score. Find out in this part two of our two part series, how to get better answers by buying time with high level vocabulary and strategies.

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That's allearsenglish.com slash business. Hey there, Lindsay. How are you today? Doing great, Aubrey. What's new for you? Not too much. I have a question about conversations.

Do you ever find a conversation getting boring? Yeah, I think we talked about this a few weeks ago, right? Sometimes it's funny because I will maybe meet someone and it feels like things are going to be really robust, like we're really going to connect. And then all of a sudden, it's like an airplane losing fuel.

All of a sudden, it's like... And then it's just like down on the runway. Right. I love that comparison. It's so true. Right. And then you're like, especially if you felt like there was such potential, you're so excited.

And then you feel that happening. You're like, how can I revive this? It's like you need a fibrillator to like get energy in it. And you can tell on both sides, sometimes it's the case.

We both thought it was going to be great and just didn't turn out to be that great. I don't know, but it can happen on IELTS too. That's the point, right, Aubrey? It can happen on IELTS.

Exactly. Yes, right? So you've got to avoid repetition with how you start your answers. You've got to switch it up, right? Both to keep it interesting and to boost your scores.

This is vital if you are using the same vocabulary, same phrases to start each answer, right? That affects both your fluency score and your vocabulary score. Yeah. And don't get us wrong, guys.

Don't get confused here. On IELTS, you're not having a conversation with the examiner, right? Don't want to make sure that we're not giving the wrong impression.

But we use that as an example. It can happen in conversation and it can happen when you're hearing your own answers, essentially. Exactly, right? The same way.

And when you're having those conversations and you feel yourself being a little boring or using that same vocabulary, it's the same on IELTS. But unfortunately, in that case, it's more high stakes because it will pull down your scores.

Yes. So you want to kind of keep yourself entertained in a way here while you're giving your answer. Wow, that was a smart, you know, smart word to use. Keep going and you build that energy, that momentum for yourself, right?

So don't expect the examiner to like respond spontaneously to you or anything like that. Don't don't have that expectation. I could see how someone going into IELTS for the first time might expect that.

They might expect more of an interview conversation. Yes, that's something I think that surprises a lot of students, right? The examiner's not going to respond. They're asking you questions.

You're going to get, they're not supposed to get any reaction from them at all. So yes, plan on. That's probably what's trickiest is to be interesting still. Use interesting intonation and vocabulary, even when you're getting nothing from the examiner.

Because most of us need energy from someone else to kind of feed off that, to create that energy. So that's why practice, practice, practice is huge. Mark tests, right? Doing it by yourself.

Sometimes you have to do that to learn how to generate that energy. Okay. And one thing that can really help is to have sort of templates, chunks, ways to start answers that you can practice using. And then you just fill in the details for the different answers.

So this is actually part two of a series. You can listen to these out of order. So stay to the end. We'll give you details about part one. We're giving you lots of different ways to start answers and phrases for each one.

So you can practice these and you'll have a whole arsenal full of interesting ways to start your speaking answers. So powerful. Such great templates here.

Let's start with the first one, Aubrey. The first strategy. Yes. What would it be? So the first one is to start your answer by acknowledging another perspective, right?

Very interesting, right? Yeah. And this is especially useful when discussing controversial topics, right? So we'll give you three phrases here. You could say,

I can see why some people argue that. And so what you're doing, this is also kind of a filler, is to first share the other side of the issue while you're kind of gathering your thoughts because you could then agree with that or share that you feel the opposite. Right.

I love that. So I can see why some people argue that XYZ is a good starter. Another good starter, and this one is a great opportunity for pronunciation points, right? There is some truth to the idea that we could take this in a few different ways.

There is some truth to the idea that you're showing that you're probably going to disagree. Right. Right. Exactly. Or I can understand the appeal of...

So most of these do set you up to be able to disagree. But it's interesting how often when you're asked a question, it's controversial. If it's something you haven't really decided yet... what you think, right?

The examiner doesn't care about your actual opinion. They just need to hear you use great vocabulary, great phrases. So you could start with something like this to give yourself a little bit of time, right? These are chunks that if you memorize them word for word, then you can plug in the ideas after.

Exactly. So essentially, and I love what you said, buy yourself time to think. So you don't really, if you've memorized or even more than memorized them, really embodied them in a sense, and you truly know what they mean, you can spit them off in just on autopilot to begin. And then you can be thinking in the background.

Exactly. is what we're saying. Exactly. That's really huge for all of these in this entire series. All of these phrases, you've got to practice them so much that they are just second nature.

You can say them without thinking because they are all bigger chunks that have to be said word for word. You could very easily mess up the vocabulary, the grammar. So definitely practice these. Once you've got them down, they're all a great filler phrase.

This is a lot of time for you to be thinking of what you want to say next. Yeah. Do we want to have any examples here, Aubrey? Any more examples? Yeah, I'll share here one.

If I were asked about social media, I might say, I can see why some people argue that social media brings people closer together. However, I think it can also have the opposite effect. Right. So good.

So you're thinking that whole time, right? Until you start with however, right? And I might have gotten a question that I haven't really decided if it's like, you know, what are the benefits of social media or what, you know, something like that. Maybe I hate social media and I'm like, okay, I need a little time to think I'm going to use this chunk to give myself that time.

And it would be okay. This is interesting. It would be okay. I think you can tell me if this is right or wrong, Aubrey, to pivot. Let's say you don't have your answer, you know, I agree or I disagree yet.

And you start with, I can see why some people argue that social media brings people closer together. And actually, I totally agree. Absolutely. Right?

You could do that. You could pivot. Maybe you started off thinking you disagree, but you actually realize, hey, I'm going to argue the agreement side. And then you kind of...

So the examiner is going to see that you sort of pivoted in real time and that's probably okay. Definitely. That shows a lot of flexibility. And you heard how Lindsay did that.

The trick is to do it the same way because native speakers do this. But notice how she said, and actually, because it would be like the words you're using kind of are leading toward us assuming that you're going to disagree. But then when you have that, and actually, I do agree with that. That totally works.

So you'd want to add that to show the pivot. I mean, that feels very high scoring to me doing something like that. It's interesting intonation. It's great vocabulary.

This is boosting all of your scores. Oh yeah. So here's another example. What about, yeah. What if I asked you, what if you got a question about working out at a gym versus exercising outside?

All right. You could say, I can understand the appeal of running outdoors, but I've always preferred a treadmill at a gym. So I can understand the appeal of running outdoors that whole time I'm thinking.

Right. Because maybe you've never thought about it. Maybe you're not a huge exerciser and you're like, I don't know. What do I think? Sure. Or it might not be so much that you're trying to come up with your opinion.

It's also giving you time to think of great vocabulary. Maybe think of a related idiom. If you have this chunk, which really is just filler at that point, gives you time to think of great vocab. And it's important to bring in your own life examples.

I mean, you don't have to. You can make things up, but it's easier if you tell the truth, like what's actually true for you, right? Yes, absolutely. What would be number two?

Start with a condition or a qualification. What do we mean by that? Exactly. So this... Often is actually going to be more in the middle of an answer.

So if you are answering a part three question, for example, and you give like a reason, but then you want to qualify your reason and give like the condition that would make it true. So for example, that largely depends on, so you're giving some kind of answer. And then in order to provide more details, you can use these chunks.

So that largely depends on is one. And then you could also say in some cases, dot, dot, dot, right? Or generally speaking. Yeah. So these are great for expanding answers, right?

Those part three questions where you're needing to answer for a full minute. Sometimes you can dive right in and start answering, but then can you give enough detail? So this is a great chunk and also it transitions between ideas. So this is a great linking phrase to add more information.

And it adds high level vocabulary points, right? So that largely depends on that's very high level, right? A lot of native speakers don't use the phrase, the term largely. It's very high level.

So I love it. What would be an example to put these into sentences? Yeah. Yeah. So if I got a question about work-life balance, for example, I might say that largely depends on the person.

Some people thrive under pressure while others find it overwhelming. So this is where I could start the answer with one of these, right? I'm giving kind of this qualification like, well, my answer would depend on, and this is a higher scoring way to do that.

Love that. Or maybe you got a question about changes in technology. You might say, generally speaking, young people tend to be more open to new technology. Okay.

Yeah. So this is interesting where we often do want to sort of qualify our opinion. We're not wanting to say this is always true, right? So we have these great phrases where we'll hedge a little bit, right?

Generally speaking, this is true. Love it. What's another strategy, Aubrey, that we might do? All right. So one is to start with a time. So this provides those linking phrases you need in order to boost your vocab as well as fluency and coherent scores.

So for example, these days or nowadays or a specific time like over the past few decades. And then the details you're sharing, you're giving details about the time as well. Yeah. So here's what it might look like if you're asked about crime.

These days, I can't check my newsfeed or turn on the TV without seeing a report about local crime. Okay. So these days. Or if you're asked how you like to spend a weekend on part one, you might say, nowadays, you're not going to catch me at a club.

I much prefer to stay home and spend time with a couple of close friends. So you can see how these are useful all over the IELTS exam, right? None of them are too formal. You're just using a linking phrase to provide time before you start your answer.

Buying time. So incredibly important, Aubrey. So important. Yeah. Can I be honest with you for a second? AI can fix your grammar. It can even rewrite your email.

But at work, you're talking to people. And in that moment, AI can't speak for you. That takes practice out loud with real people. That's why I love our personal coach plan in our Business English course.

Bring your questions to our live weekly Q&A and get direct feedback from Aubrey on your assignments. Every student also gets Open Conversation Club up to twice a week, plus our very first live course kickoff with Aubrey and me next week. This week only, you can save up to $100 on Business English with a 30-day money-back guarantee. It ends Sunday at midnight New York time.

Go to allearsenglish.com slash business. That's allearsenglish.com slash B-U-S-I-N-E-S-S. Okay, we're back with another strategy and that is to start with a reason. Okay?

Yes. So our listener that asked this question initially when you hear part two or part one, you'll hear this, was letting us know that they found themselves starting with because a lot. And there are a lot of higher scoring ways, templates, chunks that you can use instead. So we're going to provide three here.

If you're about to say because, instead you could say this is largely due to or a major factor is. These are quite formal, so they're especially great for part three.

Love that. Love that. And then what about if we're asked about public transportation? What could that look like? All right. I might say there are very few options for public transit where I live.

A major factor is that the city is incredibly spread out. Yeah, this is true for me. And this is interesting. If you look at these two sentences, you could say, you know, because, you know, the

There are very few options for public transit because the city is spread out. That's much lower scoring. If you have these phrases instead to link ideas and boost your vocabulary, it's much higher scoring. I mean, keep in mind, guys, what gets you above a seven or higher is not sounding like the student that came before you and the student that's coming after you, right?

Exactly, right. You want less common vocabulary. Mm-hmm. So these are great to go with. All right. The fifth way to buy that time is to start with an example.

We want to avoid saying, for example, oh my God, this is so common in the ESL world, for example. Yes. Yeah. When students are taking practice IELTS exams, we often hear this a lot.

For example, starting every example, you want to avoid that. There's so many other ways to say this. I even hear, for example, when someone's not even providing an example, I hear it almost as like a transition word or a linking word sometimes. It's really weird.

It's everywhere. Yeah. Interesting. Let's get away from it. Let's get away from it. What else can we do instead? Yeah. So here are some chunks. And of course, only use these if you actually are providing an example.

Right. So clear evidence of this is that I don't know if I've ever heard a student say that. Honestly, it's just less common. Right. So this is a great high score.

Very impressive. Or this is particularly evident in this is even to take that noun evidence and change it to evident the adjective there. That's really high scoring.

Or you can see this and then continuing the sentence. So let's give an example here. So you're asked about a way technology has changed society. You might say, clear evidence of this is seen in how much people are glued to their cell phones.

Yes. Yeah, right. Look at how much more rare that seems instead of like, for example, people are on their cell phones a lot, right? This is much higher scoring.

Or if you're asked about healthcare, you know, maybe you'll say this is particularly evident in the healthcare system where individuals from different socioeconomic backgrounds can have very different experiences. So this clearly you would have already shared some details about something that you had noticed in the healthcare system. And then this is a great way to start an example. Yes, really good stuff.

Guys, going over to IELTS Energy 1636, Launching Answers Part 1, Break Away from the Boring. Love that. That is a recommendation for your next step. Aubrey, what's our takeaway for today?

Yes, this is so vital with both... installments of this series, you have so many options for how to begin sentences, filler phrases that'll help you think, help you buy time, as well as linking phrases, often to use in the middle of a phrase. So you need to practice all of these to switch it up, right? It's not just about not being boring, but it's about keeping your scores higher.

Your vocabulary and fluency scores are dependent on you not being repetitious. Yes, we need smart strategies here. And this is a good one right here. Really good stuff.

Guys, hit the follow button right here in IELTS Energy and we'll see you next time. All right. Awesome. See you next time. Bye. Bye. Thanks for listening to IELTS Energy.

Hit subscribe now and don't forget to find your estimated band score at allearsenglish.com slash my score.