4.1. How Part 1 Works
Catch the question word, answer in one sentence, add a reason and one detail, then stop.
Now, in this first part, I'd like to ask you some questions about yourself.
Let's talk about your hometown.
- Where is your hometown?
- What do you like most about it?
- Has it changed since you were a child?
- How often do you go back there?
The short version
4 to 5 minutes, about ten short questions on two or three topics.
Every question is about you: where you live, what you do, what you like.
3 or 4 sentences per answer: the answer, a reason, one detail. About 20 seconds.
In Part 1 the examiner can repeat a question but cannot explain it.
What you have to do
The examiner asks you short questions about your own life: your home, your work or studies, your free time. There are about ten questions on two or three topics, and the part lasts four to five minutes. You answer each one in three or four sentences, about 20 seconds. You are marked on four things: fluency, which means keeping going without long pauses, vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation. Nobody marks your opinions or your facts, so the true answer is always the right one.
The three-sentence answer
Every Part 1 answer has the same shape. Sentence one answers the question: the yes, the no, or the fact. Sentence two gives a reason: because I finish work at six. Sentence three adds one detail, which is an example or a limit: except on Fridays. Three sentences at a normal pace take about 20 seconds, which is what the examiner wants.
Step by step
- 1Listen for the question word first
Every question has a word near the start that tells you what your first sentence must contain. Do you wants a yes or a no. How often wants a frequency: most weekends, about once a month. What kind wants a type with a name: crime novels, street food. Why wants a because. Catch that word and you know what to say before the question has ended.
- 2Decide what to say first: the answer, then a reason, then one detail
Say the answer in one sentence: Yes, most days. Then the reason: because the bus stop is outside my flat. Then one detail: a day, a route, a dish, or a limit such as except in the rain. Stop there. Three sentences is a complete answer.
- 3Use the question's own words to start the answer
Begin with the words you have just heard, so you never sit in silence. How often do you cook? becomes I cook about four nights a week... What kind of films do you like? becomes The kind of films I like are... The first half of the sentence is free. By the end of it, you have found the second half.
- 4What not to say
Not a one-word answer: Yes. uses up a question without showing any English. Not a memorised opening: That is a very interesting question fits every question and answers none. Not a Part 2 story: a two-minute answer about your hometown steals time from the other questions.
- 5If you are stuck, buy time, then give the simplest true answer
Hold the turn with a short phrase: Off the top of my head..., I've never thought about it, but... Then give the simplest true answer, even a dull one: I don't really have a favourite season. Add one detail: though I like the first cold week of autumn. True and short beats invented and long.
How often do you go to the cinema?
Not very often, honestly, maybe four or five times a year. The nearest cinema is two bus rides away, so I usually wait for films to come to a streaming service. The exception is anything with a big battle in it, because that looks wrong on a laptop.
The first sentence answers how often with a number. The second gives the reason, the third adds one exception. Three sentences, about 20 seconds, and nothing the speaker had to invent.
Quiz time5 questions
Each drill gives you one examiner question and works on one step. Practise the judgement, not the whole answer.
Listen for the question word
Four questions the examiner might ask. Match each question to what the first sentence of its answer must contain.
Read thisDo you play any sports? How often do you exercise? What kind of music do you like? Why do you like it?
Answer, reason, detail
Three candidates answer this question. Choose the answer that gives the answer, a reason and one detail.
Read thisDo you like cooking?
Which answer has all three parts?
Use the question's words to start
This candidate froze. Say the opening again, starting with the words of the question, then finish the sentence with a true answer of your own.
Read thisWhat kind of books do you like reading?
Books... er... I don't know... many kinds.
Set up your learning path at the top of this lesson to get band-specific feedback.
Buy time, then answer
The candidate has gone blank on this question. Choose what they should say next.
Read thisDid you enjoy studying history at school?
Which reply buys time and keeps the answer going?
One question, out loud
Answer this question in three sentences, about 20 seconds: the answer, a reason, one detail. Start with the question's own words if you need a moment.
Read thisHow often do you see your friends?
How often do you see your friends?
Record your answer (30s maximum)
0:00 / 0:30
Set up your learning path at the top of this lesson to get band-specific feedback.
Full answers
Below is a different question, about public transport, with a complete three-sentence answer. Read it once for the shape, then record your own answer to a new question.
Do you use public transport?
Do you use public transport?
I use the bus most weekdays. It is slower than a car, but I can read for twenty minutes and I do not have to park. I still walk if the stop is more than two changes away.
Three sentences, about twenty seconds at a normal pace. One person, one route, one qualification. Not a speech about cities.
Your turn to speak2 questions
Find the limit
Look at the bus answer above.
Which sentence puts a limit on the yes?
Your turn: record it
A new question, the same shape. Record three or four sentences: answer first, then a reason, then one detail. Do not start a memorised speech.
What do you usually do in the evenings?
Record your answer (40s maximum)
0:00 / 0:40
Set up your learning path at the top of this lesson to get band-specific feedback.
Tips
- Twenty seconds is the target, not the minimum
Three sentences at a normal pace is about 20 seconds. If you are still talking at 40, you have started a Part 2 answer, and the examiner will cut in.
- The true answer is the easy one
You do not need an interesting life. I don't really cook with a reason and a detail scores the same English as a story about a restaurant. Invented answers run dry after one sentence.
- Ask them to repeat, not to explain
Sorry, could you say that again? is fine and costs nothing. What do you mean? gets you the same question a second time, because the examiner cannot explain in Part 1.
Recap
Catch the question word (do you, how often, what kind, why) and it tells you what the first sentence contains.
Answer in sentence one, give a reason in sentence two, add one detail in sentence three, then stop.
If you are stuck, buy time with a short phrase and give the simplest true answer.
Next: the topics that come up most, and how to prepare without scripting.