Part 3: discussing abstract ideas
Part 3 is where band 7+ is won or lost. Learn to move from personal experience to society-level ideas, answer ‘why’ questions with chains of reasons and consequences, use examples from Bangladesh and other countries, and structure every answer with Answer – Explain – Example – Alternative view.
By the end of this lesson you will be able to:
- Understand what Part 3 assesses and how it differs from Parts 1 and 2.
- Shift answers from personal anecdotes to general, society-level ideas using abstract nouns.
- Answer ‘why’ questions with developed chains of reasons and consequences.
- Support points with examples from society in general, Bangladesh and other countries.
- Structure answers with Answer – Explain – Example – Alternative view (AEEA).
- Buy thinking time naturally, without silence or memorised clichés.
Part 3: where band 7+ is won or lost
After your cue card, the examiner moves into Part 3: a 4–5 minute two-way discussion of ideas linked to your Part 2 topic. If you talked about a teacher in Part 2, Part 3 might ask Why do some people choose teaching as a career? or How has technology changed the role of teachers?
Part 3 is designed to let you show that you can express and justify opinions, analyse, compare and speculate about issues in society, not just talk about your own life. The questions become more abstract as the discussion goes on, and the examiner may follow up with Why?, Can you give an example? or a challenge (But some people say…).
Many candidates who sounded like band 7 in Parts 1 and 2 slip to band 6 here, for three reasons:
- They answer as if it were Part 1: short and personal. ‘Yes, I think so, because I like it.’
- They list shallow reasons instead of developing one or two properly.
- They freeze when an idea doesn't come immediately, and the silence damages fluency.
Remember: you are not marked on your ideas or opinions, only on how well you express them. But you need some idea to produce the complex language the examiner is listening for. This lesson gives you a reliable method for finding and developing those ideas under pressure.
Part 1 vs Part 3: same test, different game
| Part 1 | Part 3 | |
|---|---|---|
Focus | You and your everyday life | People, society, your country, the world |
Typical questions | Do you like…? How often do you…? What's your favourite…? | Why do…? How has… changed? Should…? What will happen…? Is it better to…? |
Ideal length | 2–3 sentences (about 15–25 seconds) | 4–6 sentences (about 30–60 seconds) |
Typical language | Present simple, likes and dislikes, simple reasons | Cause and effect, comparison, conditionals, passives, hedging, abstract nouns |
Role of examples | Your own experience is the answer | Your own experience is, at most, one piece of evidence |
Examiner follow-ups | Limited: sometimes just ‘Why?’ or ‘Why not?’ | Flexible: ‘Why?’, ‘Can you give an example?’, ‘Do you think that will change?’ |
From ‘I’ to ‘people’: going general
Part 3 questions often contain you (Do you think…?), but they are asking for your view about people in general. The fix is to change the subject of your sentences.
| Personal (Part 1 style) | General (Part 3 style) |
|---|---|
| I like… | Most people / A lot of young people / Many families tend to… |
| My father says… | People of my parents' generation often believe… |
| In my house we… | In many Bangladeshi households… / In most developing countries… |
| I think it's good. | It benefits society in that… |
| My friends use TikTok. | There's a growing tendency for teenagers to… |
Generalising phrases: On the whole… / By and large… / Generally speaking… / In most cases… / There's a growing trend towards… / For the majority of people…
Abstract nouns make you sound analytical rather than chatty: convenience, affordability, job security, peer pressure, social status, urbanisation, inequality, access to education. Compare ‘People like it because it's easy and cheap’ with ‘Its appeal largely comes down to convenience and affordability.’
Personal experience still has a place, as evidence after the general point, not instead of it: ‘…Speaking from my own experience, most of my classmates…’
Mini transformation. Why do so many people prefer to shop online nowadays?
- Band 5–6: I like online shopping because I can order from my phone. Last week I bought shoes from Daraz. It was very easy.
- Band 7–8: I'd say convenience is the main driver. For a lot of people in big cities like Dhaka, a trip to a shopping centre can mean two hours stuck in traffic, so being able to order from your phone saves a huge amount of time. Online platforms can also undercut physical shops on price, because they don't have the same overheads. I've noticed that even my parents, who were very sceptical at first, now order most of their groceries online.
The AEEA technique: Answer – Explain – Example – Alternative view
- 1
A: Answer directly (1 sentence)
Give your position or main point in the first sentence. No long introduction, and don't repeat the whole question.
I'd say it's mainly because of the job market. / On the whole, yes, though perhaps less than people expect. / It depends largely on the age of the child.
- 2
E: Explain (1–2 sentences)
Give the reason, then push one step further to the consequence: because… which means… so… One reason developed in depth beats three reasons listed.
Even with a good degree, many graduates struggle to find well-paid work, so a foreign qualification is seen as a way to stand out.
- 3
E: Example (1–2 sentences)
Make the idea concrete at the level of society, Bangladesh or another country. Your own experience can come in here too, as evidence.
You can see how strong the trend is from the number of ‘study abroad’ consultancies that have opened across Dhaka.
- 4
A: Alternative view (1 sentence)
Show flexible thinking by acknowledging another angle, an exception or a condition, then (optionally) return to your view.
Having said that, for some young people it's less about careers and more about independence. / Of course, the picture is quite different in rural areas…
- 5
Know when to shorten it
AEEA is a toolkit, not a script. For a quick follow-up such as Why? or Is that true everywhere?, A + E is often enough (2–3 sentences). Use the full AEEA for the main questions, aim for roughly 30–60 seconds, and stop naturally. The examiner will move you on.
I think the main reason is the job market. Even with a good degree from a local university, a lot of graduates struggle to find well-paid work, so a foreign qualification is seen as a way to stand out and, for many, as a route to settling abroad permanently. On top of that, there's the appeal of a different style of education: universities in countries like Canada or the UK tend to emphasise research and independent thinking rather than memorisation. You can see how strong this trend is just from the number of IELTS centres and ‘study abroad’ consultancies that have opened all over Dhaka in the last decade. Having said that, I don't think it's only about careers. For some young people, it's simply about independence and adventure, and those who do come back often bring skills and contacts that benefit the country.
- A: Answer‘I think the main reason is the job market.’ A direct, slightly hedged answer in the first sentence, with no ‘That's a very good question’.
- E: Explain (reason → consequence)‘struggle to find well-paid work, so a foreign qualification is seen as a way to stand out’: cause and effect, plus a passive (‘is seen as’) that sounds analytical.
- Second reason, developed‘On top of that…’ adds one more reason and makes it precise with a contrast: ‘research and independent thinking rather than memorisation’.
- E: Example (Bangladesh level)Observable evidence from Bangladesh (the growth of consultancies) rather than an invented statistic.
- A: Alternative view‘Having said that, I don't think it's only about careers’ shows flexible thinking and ends on a balanced point.
- VocabularyAbstract nouns and collocations: job market, foreign qualification, independent thinking, settling abroad permanently, skills and contacts.
Listen: a band 8 Part 3 answer using AEEA
The reason chain: go deeper, not wider
When the examiner asks why, weaker candidates list: ‘Because of jobs, and education, and facilities, and many other reasons.’ That's four ideas and no development. Stronger candidates take one or two reasons and push each one two steps further.
Why is Dhaka so congested?
- Reason: Most jobs, universities and government offices are concentrated in the capital…
- Consequence: …so millions of people have moved there from other districts…
- Further consequence: …which means demand for roads and housing has grown far faster than the city can build them.
That single chain (around 40 words) already shows cause-and-effect language, a passive, a comparative and precise vocabulary. Add an example and an alternative view and you have a complete band 8 answer.
Ask yourself ‘So what?’ after every reason. The answer to so what? is your next sentence.
Answering ‘why’: language for reasons and consequences
| Function | Useful language | Example |
|---|---|---|
Giving the main reason | The main reason is probably… / It largely comes down to… / I'd put it down to… / It's mainly driven by… | It largely comes down to money: private tutoring has become almost essential. |
Two reasons, weighted | It's partly because… and partly because… / One factor is…, but a bigger one is… | It's partly cultural, but a bigger factor is the shortage of good public schools. |
Deeper cause | This stems from… / The root cause is… / At the heart of it is… | At the heart of it is a fear of falling behind. |
Consequence | As a result… / This means that… / …which in turn leads to… / The knock-on effect is… | Families move to cities, which in turn puts pressure on housing. |
Linking back to the question | That's why… / So, in short, … | That's why so many parents push their children towards medicine or engineering. |
An example bank: Bangladesh and the world
| Topic | A Bangladesh example | An international example |
|---|---|---|
Education | During the pandemic, schools in Bangladesh were closed for around a year and a half. Lessons were broadcast on television and online, which exposed a big digital divide between urban and rural students. | Finland starts formal schooling at age seven and sets relatively little homework, yet its system has long been admired internationally. |
Technology and money | Mobile financial services such as bKash let millions of people without bank accounts send and receive money, pay bills and get paid by phone. | Kenya's M-Pesa, launched in 2007, is the classic example of mobile money transforming everyday life. |
Transport | The Padma Bridge (opened in 2022) cut journey times between Dhaka and the south-west dramatically, and the Dhaka Metro Rail has turned some hour-long road journeys into trips of around twenty minutes. | Singapore controls traffic by making car ownership very expensive through a permit system; the Netherlands has more bicycles than people. |
Environment and disasters | Bangladesh's network of cyclone shelters and early-warning volunteers is widely credited with sharply reducing cyclone deaths since the 1970s. | The Netherlands, much of which lies below sea level, protects itself with a vast system of dykes, dams and storm-surge barriers. |
Work and the economy | The garment industry employs around four million people, a large proportion of them women from rural areas, and money sent home by Bangladeshis working abroad supports millions of families. | Germany's apprenticeship system combines paid work with training and is often cited as a model for keeping youth unemployment low. |
Health and ageing | Life expectancy in Bangladesh has risen to over seventy, helped by vaccination programmes and community health workers. | In Japan, almost three in ten people are aged 65 or over, which puts heavy pressure on pensions and healthcare. |
Culture and globalisation | Many young people in Dhaka follow Korean dramas and K-pop as closely as Bollywood, while traditional celebrations such as Pohela Boishakh remain hugely popular. | South Korea has turned its films, TV dramas and pop music into a major cultural export. |
Buying thinking time naturally
| Situation | Natural phrases | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
You need a few seconds | That's an interesting one; let me think… / Hmm, that's quite a tricky question. / I've never really thought about that, but… | ‘That's a very good question’ before every answer; five seconds of silence; a long ‘ummmm’ |
The question is unclear | Sorry, could you repeat the question? / Do you mean… or…? / When you say ‘…’, do you mean…? (In Part 3 the examiner can rephrase, so asking is safe.) | Guessing, and answering a different question |
You know little about the topic | I'm not an expert, but I'd imagine… / I don't know much about…, but my guess would be that… | ‘I don't know.’ (a dead end with no language to assess) |
The answer depends on something | Well, it depends on whether we're talking about cities or rural areas. / It varies a lot from person to person, but… | Saying ‘it depends’ and then stopping |
Organising your thoughts | There are a couple of reasons, I think. The first is… / Let me look at it from two angles… | Announcing three reasons and then forgetting the third |
Check: going general, AEEA and buying time
7 questions- 1
Put this answer to ‘Should children learn to cook at school?’ into AEEA order.
Drag the cards (or use the arrows) into the correct order.
- 1Yes, I think cooking should be part of the curriculum, at least at a basic level.
- 2In Japan, for instance, home economics is taught in schools, so children learn to prepare simple, balanced meals.
- 3That said, schools are already under pressure to cover a lot of academic subjects, so it might be more realistic as an after-school activity.
- 4It's a fundamental life skill, and children who can cook are less likely to rely on unhealthy fast food when they leave home.
- 2
‘Why do people enjoy watching sport?’ Which answer moves best from personal to general?
- 3
Match each phrase to its function in a Part 3 answer.
I'd say it's mainly because…It largely comes down to……which in turn leads to…Take Singapore, for instance.Having said that, … - 4
Choose TWO natural ways to buy thinking time.
Select 2.
- 5
‘Why has mobile banking become so popular in Bangladesh?’ Which is the strongest example?
- 6
IELTS Speaking is assessed on four criteria: Fluency and Coherence, Lexical Resource, Grammatical Range and Accuracy, and Pronunciation. Examiners assess how well you express your ideas, not whether they agree with them.
Candidates whose opinions match the examiner's opinions receive higher scores.
- 7
Traffic in Dhaka is terrible, in turn means that people lose hours of productive time every day.
Answer every question to check.
Band 6 vs band 8: ‘Why do people in many countries move from the countryside to cities?’
Band 6
Well, I think the main reason is jobs. In the city there are more job opportunities, especially in factories and offices, but in villages people mostly do farming and the income is not so good. For example, my uncle moved to Dhaka ten years ago because he got a job in a garment factory. Also, cities have better facilities like hospitals and schools, so people think their children will have a better future. So I think that's why many people move to cities.
Band 8
It's largely an economic question, I'd say. In most developing countries, agriculture simply can't absorb a growing rural population, and farm incomes are often precarious: one bad harvest or one flood can wipe out a family's savings. Cities, by contrast, offer wage jobs, and even low-paid factory work is at least regular. Bangladesh is a classic case. The garment industry around Dhaka and Gazipur has drawn millions of workers, many of them young women, from rural districts.
But it isn't purely about money. Cities also concentrate the best schools, hospitals and universities, so for many parents, moving is really an investment in their children's future.
Having said that, the pull of the city often comes at a cost (overcrowding, informal housing, families split between village and city), which is why some governments are now trying to develop smaller regional centres instead.
Both answers are relevant and fluent enough. The band 6 answer has one developed reason, basic linking (‘also’, ‘so’), a personal example only and general vocabulary (‘more job opportunities’, ‘income is not so good’). The band 8 answer generalises (‘In most developing countries’), builds reason–consequence chains (‘can't absorb… one bad harvest can wipe out…’), uses contrast (‘by contrast’), gives a national example with specific detail, adds a second reason with a signpost (‘But it isn't purely about money’), and finishes with an alternative view. Its vocabulary is precise (absorb, precarious, wipe out, concentrate, informal housing), and complex grammar appears naturally rather than for show.
Examiner: Do you think technology has improved education in Bangladesh?
Candidate: On the whole, yes, though perhaps less than people expected. The clearest benefit is access: a student in a small town can now watch lessons from excellent teachers on YouTube or practise maths on free apps, which simply wasn't possible fifteen years ago. That said, the school closures during the pandemic showed the limits. Lessons were broadcast on television and online, but many families in rural areas didn't have a smartphone or a stable connection, so the gap between richer and poorer students arguably widened.
Examiner: Why do you think that gap widened?
Candidate: Mainly because technology multiplies the advantages people already have. A child with a laptop, fast internet and educated parents can make the most of online resources, whereas a child sharing one phone with three siblings, in a home with frequent power cuts, simply can't keep up. So unless access is equal, technology tends to reward those who are already ahead.
Examiner: What could be done about that?
Candidate: I think the most practical step would be to invest in shared facilities rather than individual devices, such as well-equipped computer labs in schools or community centres with free Wi-Fi, because that's far cheaper than giving every child a laptop. Training teachers matters just as much. In many schools the equipment already exists, but nobody has been shown how to use it effectively.
- Main question: full AEEAA balanced answer (‘On the whole, yes, though…’), an explained benefit, a Bangladesh example and an alternative view (‘That said…’), about 45 seconds.
- Follow-up ‘Why?’: A + EShorter and focused. One reason (‘technology multiplies the advantages people already have’) developed with a ‘whereas’ contrast and a conclusion (‘So unless…’).
- Solution question‘the most practical step would be…’ gives a conditional-style proposal plus a reason (‘because that's far cheaper…’), then a second point signposted with ‘matters just as much’.
- Hedging‘perhaps less than people expected’, ‘arguably widened’, ‘tends to reward’: cautious, academic-sounding claims rather than absolutes.
- No repetitionEach answer adds new ideas and vocabulary instead of repeating the previous one. That's how you sustain a 4–5 minute discussion.
Speaking Part 3 practice
5 questions · up to 90s eachWhy do many young people today prefer office jobs to work in fields such as farming or manufacturing?
Listen to the question, then record your answer.
Tips for a band 7+ answer
- • Use AEEA for each main question: Answer, Explain, Example, Alternative view. Aim for 30–60 seconds per answer.
- • Start with a direct answer. Don't repeat the question or say ‘That's a very good question’ every time.
- • Talk about people and society (most young people, employers, governments) and bring in your own experience only as evidence.
- • Across your five answers, use at least one example from Bangladesh and one from another country.
- • If you need time, use a natural phrase (‘That's a tricky one; let me think…’) and then start with the idea you're surest of.
- • Afterwards, check your transcript: did you use reason chains (which means…, as a result…) and at least one ‘Having said that…’?
Final check: Part 3 abstract discussion
11 questions- 1
Roughly how long should a typical main answer in Part 3 be?
- 2
Which is the best first sentence for ‘Do you think people read fewer books today than in the past?’
- 3
It comes down to cost: most families simply can't afford private tutors.
- 4
Find and correct the mistake:
There are many reason why people move to cities.
- 5
Find and correct the mistake:
Most of people in my country prefers to live near their families.
- 6
In Part 3, the examiner may rephrase a question if you do not understand it, and may ask follow-up questions such as ‘Why?’ or ‘Can you give an example?’. In Part 1, the examiner can repeat a question but should not explain it.
In Part 3, it is acceptable to ask the examiner to clarify a question.
- 7
In Part 3, the examiner may rephrase a question if you do not understand it, and may ask follow-up questions such as ‘Why?’ or ‘Can you give an example?’. In Part 1, the examiner can repeat a question but should not explain it.
In Part 1, the examiner will explain any word in a question that you don't understand.
- 8
Match each everyday phrase to an abstract noun.
wanting things to be quick and easywhether people can pay for somethingknowing you won't lose your jobpeople moving from villages to citiesthe gap between rich and poor - 9
Choose TWO ways to make a Part 3 answer sound more general and analytical.
Select 2.
- 10
Which phrase best introduces an alternative view?
- 11
Build a reason chain for ‘Why do so many students in Bangladesh take private tuition?’ Put the parts in order.
Drag the cards (or use the arrows) into the correct order.
- 1Even in small district towns, coaching centres are packed every evening.
- 2which means teachers can't give students much individual attention,
- 3That said, for some families tuition is more about competition than genuine need.
- 4Class sizes in many schools are very large,
- 5so parents pay for private tutors to fill the gap.
Answer every question to check.
Part 3 takeaways
Vocabulary for discussing society
Saved as flashcards with a free accounturbanisation
noun/ˌɜːbənaɪˈzeɪʃn/
the process by which more and more people move to and live in towns and cities
নগরায়ণ
Rapid urbanisation has put enormous pressure on Dhaka's housing and transport.
affordability
noun/əˌfɔːdəˈbɪləti/
how cheap enough something is for people to be able to pay for it
সাধ্যের মধ্যে থাকা, সাশ্রয়ী হওয়া
The affordability of smartphones has brought the internet to millions of rural families.
job security
noun/ˈdʒɒb sɪˌkjʊərəti/
the confidence that you will not lose your job
চাকরির নিশ্চয়তা
Many graduates choose government jobs mainly for the job security.
knock-on effect
noun/ˈnɒk ɒn ɪˌfekt/
an indirect result of something that happens, which then causes other things to happen
পরোক্ষ প্রভাব
Higher fuel prices have a knock-on effect on the price of almost everything.
precarious
adjective/prɪˈkeəriəs/
not safe or certain; likely to get worse suddenly
অনিশ্চিত, ঝুঁকিপূর্ণ
For many farmers, income is precarious: one flood can wipe out a year's savings.
disparity
noun/dɪˈspærəti/
a large and often unfair difference between two things or groups
বৈষম্য, ব্যবধান
There is still a wide disparity between urban and rural schools.
infrastructure
noun/ˈɪnfrəstrʌktʃə(r)/
the basic systems a country needs, such as roads, bridges, power and water supplies
অবকাঠামো
The Padma Bridge is one of the biggest infrastructure projects in the country's history.
stem from
phrasal verb/ˈstem frɒm/
to be caused by or develop from something
থেকে উদ্ভূত হওয়া
Much of the stress students feel stems from intense competition for university places.
incentive
noun/ɪnˈsentɪv/
something that encourages a person to do something
প্রণোদনা
Tax breaks could give companies an incentive to hire more young people.
by and large
phrase/ˌbaɪ ən ˈlɑːdʒ/
used to say that something is generally true
মোটের ওপর, সাধারণভাবে
By and large, young people today are far more comfortable with technology than their parents.
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