IELTS Speaking Part 3: how to develop your answers

What happens in Part 3

The Speaking test is a recorded face-to-face interview in 3 parts that lasts 11 to 14 minutes (ielts.org). It is the same for IELTS Academic and General Training. Part 3 comes straight after your Part 2 talk and stays on the same theme, but the questions move from you to people and society. Unlike Part 2, there is no minute to prepare: the examiner asks, and you answer.

Here is how the three parts compare, with the typical answer length we measured in GoPrep mock tests.

The 6 types of Part 3 question

Part 3 questions look endless, but most of them ask you to do one of six things. Recognise the type, and you know which language to reach for. The examples are our own, all on one Part 2 theme: a museum or gallery you visited.

How long should a Part 3 answer be?

IELTS gives no official length for a Part 3 answer: the examiner fits several questions into 4 to 5 minutes. Here is how long learners talked per Part 3 question in their first full GoPrep mock test, next to their Speaking scores.

A 4-step answer: Answer, Reason, Example, Limit

A 40 to 60 second answer is not a longer list of ideas. It is one idea with more support. These 4 steps build it, and you can say them in about 40 seconds.

Question (Part 3, cause): Why do so many young people move from villages to big cities?

The same Part 3 answer at band 6, 7 and 8

One future question, answered three ways. These are practice examples written for this guide. A single answer never gets a band, so the labels mean "shows band 6 features", and so on. These written examples illustrate coherence, vocabulary and grammar; fluency and pronunciation need audio, and one error does not decide a band.

Question (Part 3, future): Will people still visit museums in 20 years, or will they just look at art and history online?

Shows band 6 features

I think yes, people will still go to museums. Because museums is interesting and you can see the real things. Online is also good, for example you can see pictures on the internet, it is very easy and free. But I think it is not the same. When I was child I visited a museum in my city and it was very interesting for me. So I think museums will not disappear, maybe less people will go.

The answer gives brief reasons and examples, but does not explain them fully. The personal memory is not clearly connected to the prediction about future museum visits. The words are general (interesting, good, easy), with basic errors (museums is, less people), though the meaning is clear.

Shows band 7 features

I think they will, although probably not in the same numbers. The main reason is that seeing a real object is a different experience from looking at a photo of it. When you stand in front of an ancient sculpture, you notice its size and texture, which a screen can't really show. That said, museums will have to change. Younger people are used to interactive content, so museums that only puts objects behind glass might struggle to attract them. Many museums already offer virtual tours, and I think that will continue, but mainly as a way to make people want to visit in person.

This follows the 4 steps: an answer with a limit (although), a reason, an example, then the other side (that said). Words like texture and struggle to attract are precise without being rare. One basic slip remains (museums that only puts instead of put): band 7 still allows a few basic errors.

Shows band 8 features

I'd say yes, but the reason people go will probably shift. At the moment, a lot of visits are about access: a museum is often the only place to see a particular painting or artefact. Once high-quality digital versions are freely available, that reason largely disappears, so museums will need to offer something a screen can't, whether that's the scale of a real object, a talk from a curator or simply a quiet space to think. Many museums already run evening openings and hands-on workshops rather than relying on their collections alone. So if anything, I suspect online access will turn museums into places people visit for the experience rather than the information.

The whole answer develops one idea, why people visit will change, and each sentence moves it forward: now, a condition (once…), evidence, a conclusion. What lifts it is flexible structures and precise expression, not simply the absence of one slip.

When you don't know what to say

Some Part 3 questions will be about things you have never thought about. That is expected: speculating means reasoning out loud when you don't know the answer. Silence gives the examiner nothing to rate; a guess in good English does.

The examiner may also push back with a follow-up such as Is that always true? Treat it as an invitation to add a limit, not a sign that you were wrong. After Mainly because that's where the jobs are, you could say: Not always. Some people move back once they can work remotely, so it really depends on the kind of job they do.

Practise Part 3 in 10 minutes a day

Part 3 improves when you answer unprepared questions out loud and check what's missing.

1. Pick 3 questions of different types from the table above, or write your own on any Part 2 topic.
2. Answer each one straight away, without notes, and record yourself.
3. Time each answer. Under 40 seconds? Find the missing step: a reason, an example or, if it fits, a limit.
4. Count the times you say I. If the whole answer is about you, open with People tend to… or In my country… next time.
5. Answer the same question again, adding the missing step. Then compare the two recordings.

Where to go next

Part 3 builds on the rest of the test. For the long turn that sets its topic, see Speaking Part 2 cue cards. For shorter answers about yourself, read Speaking Part 1, and for a plan across all three parts, our IELTS Speaking tips.

Tell the quiz your target score, exam date and hardest part of IELTS, and GoPrep will build a personal study plan around your answers.