Lesson: IELTS speaking tasks

Expressing a preference

Look at the following expressions. Understand them. You will have to use each one of them to provide an answer to the questions that follow. If you are not familiar with the subject matter of the question, make something up.

1. I prefer A to B because...
2. If I have a choice, I will... (a real possibility)
3. If I had a choice, I would... (not a real possibility, just wishing)
4. For me, A is much more attractive / interesting / preferable than B because...
5. I would much rather do / have / eat / listen to A than B...

I prefer A to B because...

1. Cell phones nowadays run two very popular operating systems. They are Android, which is used by Samsung, Motorola and others, and iOS, which is used by the iPhone and iPad. Tell me which one you prefer and why.
2. Oranges are cheat and delicious fruits, while may not be so cheap but are equally as delicious. Tell me which one you prefer and why.

If I have a choice, I will...

1. When you check in at the airport you may be asked to choose between a window and an aisle seat. If you have a choice, what will it be?
2. On your best friend's birthday he gave you the choice of calling him or sending him a card. If you have a choice, what will it be?

If I had a choice, I would...

1. You had to go to a party with a friend, but you were very tired and wanted to go home. If you had a choice, what would you do?
2. You got fired from work, but one week later they realized they made a mistake and wanted to hire you again. If you had a choice, what would you do?

For me, A is much more attractive / interesting / preferable than B because

1. Imagine you have to choose between spending 3 months working as a police officer or 1 week on vacations in China. Tell me which one is more attractive to you and why.
2. Imagine you can choose between studying English and Botany. Tell me which one is more interesting to you and why.
3. Imagine you can choose between going to jail for 10 years or leaving your whole life behind and escaping to another country. Tell me which one is more preferable and why.

2. Narrating When I was a high school student, I went to Guizhou to visit some friends. After I graduated from high school, I ... During my visit to Guizhou last year, I... Last year during the Spring Festival, I went to Guizhou to visit some friends. (Also use "Whenever" or "While")

3. Comparing and Contrasting A is much better / worse than B. A is not nearly as good as B. A is not quite as important as B. A is almost as tall as B, but not quite. When I compare these two items, it's clear that...

4. Suggesting Maybe, Perhaps, Possibly One possibility that I can think of is... Another idea to think about is...

5. Expressing Opinions It seems to me that... This is only my opinion but... After a lot of thought, I have come to the conclusion that... I've never thought about this question much before, but it seems to me that...

6. Justifying Opinions The reason I believe this is... The most important evidence supporting my belief is...

7. Speculating I'm not sure what might happen, but one possibility is... It's hard to predict the future, but I suppose it / we might...

8. Analyzing There are several points to consider, first of which is... We can break this question down into several parts. First... Let's look at this step by step. To begin with...

9. Summarizing Altogether, there were... In the end, they had to... When we consider all the factors... Considering all of these ideas, maybe the best thing would be to...

10. Conversation Repair Maybe I'm not making myself clear. I want to say that... What I mean to say is... What I'm trying to say is... Another way to put it is...