It
is quite obvious that Part Three is the most demanding section of the speaking
lest. This is because the questions and topics are more complex than Part One
and Part Two.
There
is a specific reason for the increased difficulty in Part Three. An experienced
examiner can accurately award a speaking score midway through Part Two. At the end
of Part Two, if your examiner has decided that you are a speaking 6, he or she
will then use Part Three to push you to your language limit – e.g., push you
"linguistically" to see if you can actually get 7.
Part
Three seems difficult because the examiner is pushing you to your
"linguistic limit".
Generally
speaking, most people’s score stay the same after Part Three. In other words,
the examiner decided that you were a 6 after Part Two, and your performance in Part
Three didn't make him change his or her mind.
In
some circumstances, the score may be reduced in Part Three. This usually
happens with candidates who have recited a lot of Part One and Part Two
content, they usually find that it is not possible to use recited content in
Part Three.
More
importantly, it is possible to use Part Three to increase your score. If you
fully understand the functions of Part Three questions, you can produce
language that should increase your score.
In
this chapter we will focus on one particular strategy for dealing with Part Three
questions.
It
is also important to remember that your actual opinion is not being marked in
Part Three.
Many
people like to call Part Three a "discussion". I would rather not use
this word because it gives us the idea that content is important. As with all
parts of the speaking test, you are being marked on your linguistic ability - NOT
your ideas or content.
