This is a question I always get from students when teaching IELTS. Many students find themselves struggling with how to start an answer. It’s incredibly common to have a mind blank or become tongue tied in any kind of nerving wrecking situation such as your IELTS interview. This is why I’ve come up with some great phrases in which to get yourself started as well as buy yourself some time to think about your answer.

The first and most useful technique is to simply use the words given to you in the question and paraphrase. For example, ‘What is your favourite hobby?’ You can simply reply by starting, ‘Well, my favourite hobby is… Tennis…’ If you find yourself struggling to think of an idea, be creative, make something up. No one is going to check that you are telling the truth.

If you are completely lost and have no idea how to answer the question, start by defining the concepts and words in the question. For example, if your interviewer asks you ‘Is being a non-vegetarian immoral?’ Start by defining the words, for example your response could be ‘Well, being a vegetarian means that you don’t eat meat from an animal. In addition, if something is immoral this means it goes against your values and beliefs’. Another way you could start would be to use your own personal experience. So alternatively you could start by saying ‘Well, I am not a vegetarian myself, I enjoy eating meat. Personally, I don’t think there is anything immoral about eating meat. In my opinion it is all about choice, personal preference and your own values.’

When it comes to the discussion section after your Task Card monologue, the questions being asked get trickier. To suggest your engagement with the difficult topic and buy yourself some time, why not say, ‘Well, that’s a really interesting question. I would have to start by saying…’. Using this phrase will have bought you a good couple seconds to think up an answer.

Below are some useful phrases to remember when you find yourself in a sticky spot in the interview. Furthermore, starting your answer with any of the phrases below instead of ‘umm-ing’ and ‘aah-ing’ will make you sound far more academic.

Well, in my opinion…
I’d like to start by saying…
That’s a really interesting question…
If I have to give an example from my personal experience, I would say that…
Actually, I’m glad you asked me that…
I personally believe that…
From my point of view…
I’d like to discuss…
To begin with…
First of all…
From my perspective…
Well, to answer your question…
What an intriguing question…
Well, I don’t have much personal experience with the subject/topic, however I believe…
I would like to begin by stating that…

Finally always remember that taking a pause to think about your answer is completely acceptable and even encouraged. It is always better to take a moment to think and compose your answer as opposed to panic and say the first thing that pops into your head. Memorize some of these phrases so that you always have something to get you started.Larry Lim writes for ICON+, an IELTS Singapore test preparation specialist. To learn more about available IELTS (International English Language Testing System) courses and fees in Singapore, you may visit www.icon-plus.com to get in touch with their counselors for more information.

Larry Lim writes for ICON+, an IELTS Singapore test preparation specialist. To learn more about available IELTS (International English Language Testing System) courses and fees in Singapore, please visit http://www.icon-plus.com

Author Bio: Larry Lim writes for ICON+, an IELTS Singapore test preparation specialist. To learn more about available IELTS (International English Language Testing System) courses and fees in Singapore, you may visit www.icon-plus.com to get in touch with their counselors for more information.

Category: Education
Keywords: ielts singapore, english, language, english test