Before you download the PDF, be warned: using phrases incorrectly hurts your score.
1. The "Clunky" Problem
2. Overusing Signposting
3. Wrong Register (Formality)
Looking at a list is not enough. To move these phrases into your active memory: Before you download the PDF, be warned: using
| Topic | Speaking Phrase | |--------|----------------| | Environment | “One pressing issue is…” | | Technology | “This has revolutionised the way we…” | | Education | “The core purpose of schooling is…” | | Health | “A sedentary lifestyle has led to…” | | Work | “Achieving a healthy work-life balance is…” |
Here, you must speak for two minutes. Storytelling phrases and structure words are vital.
Common prompts and model phrases to expand answers
Fillers & discourse markers (to sound natural) Describing stability / fluctuation
Strategies
In the speaking test, fluency is key. Using natural "discourse markers" gives you time to think without saying “ummm.”
Introducing the visual
Describing an upward trend
Describing a downward trend
Describing stability / fluctuation
Making comparisons