[ACE THE TEST] IELTS Speaking Test Review on February 11, 2022

IELTS Speaking Part 1

IELTS Speaking Part 1: Mirrors

Example

1. How do you feel about looking at yourself in the mirror? How often do you do it?

I​​ look at myself in the mirror everyday when I wake up; it’s sort of my morning ritual. I work in a professional environment, so I need to make sure I don’t look like a mess before leaving for work. At least I have to check if my hair is tidy, my makeup looks decent and my clothes are not wrinkled.

• Morning ritual (n): thói quen buổi sáng 
• Leave for work: đi làm 
• Wrinkle (v): làm nhăn

2. Do you usually carry a mirror with you?

Yeah, sure. As a woman, I often keep a small mirror in my purse in case I need to touch up during the day. It’s like girls’ secret weapon.

• Touch up (v): chỉnh trang 
• Secret weapon (n): vũ khí bí mật 

3. Do you believe mirrors are an essential decoration?

I think the mirror is a very useful decorative item. With a beautiful wooden frame, it can nicely complement a living room or a bed room, adding a more vintage look to it. However, with more modern design, it may serve the purpose of creating the illusion that the space is bigger than it actually is, and this technique is often used within small houses, coffee shops or restaurants.

• Illusion (n): ảo ảnh

IELTS Speaking Part 2

IELTS Speaking Part 2: Describe a time when you receive something for free.

You are required to:

• What it was?
• Who you received it from?
• Where you received it?

Example

And describe your emotions about it

I guess free gifts can always bring a huge smile to people’s faces, and speaking of a particular experience of receiving such a gift, I would like to share with you about the time when I won a pair of sneakers 2 years ago.

As a shopaholic, it has been many times when I received discount coupons, complimentary gifts and free sample products on purchase at various retail outlets, shopping malls and online shopping sites but they are pretty trivial. At the time my friends and I were doing my shopping at a popular shopping mall and decided to drop by my all-time favorite sportswear brand – Adidas. They were having some promotions going on, and the staff told me that if I made a purchase of over $150, I would get the chance to win a pair of spanking new sneakers on spinning the random picker wheel.

After making my purchase of 2 t-shirts and a pair of socks, I gave it a try without any hopes of winning such a huge gift. But beyond all of my expectations, the spinning arrow stopped right at the first prize. The result left me flabbergasted, as I didn’t think I would ever win a game of chance. The staff congratulated me on being the third winner of the game, and I was wreathed in smiles on hearing such news. Then, the employee who was attending me at the counter, asked me about my foot length so they can find me the pair that best suited my size.

Well, needless to say, I was deliriously happy to receive such a valuable gift, whose price was about the cost of my shopping bill. The shoes were sturdy and strong, with an extremely delicate and feminine design. I tried them on right off the bat to see if they are comfortable and fell in love with them not long after that.

That was probably the first time I receive something by a stroke of luck and it was such a big windfall to me.

Vocabulary

• Bring a smile to one’s face: làm ai đó cười
• Shopaholic (n): tín đồ mua săms
• Spanking new (adj): mới toanh
• Random picker wheel (n): vòng xoay may mắn
• Give s.th a try: thử làm gì đó
• Flabbergasted (adj): ngạc nhiên, bất ngờ 
• Game of chance (n): trò chơi may rủi 
• Be wreathed in smiles: tươi cười
• Deliriously happy: vô cùng hạnh phúc
• Sturdy (adj): chắc chắn
• Delicate (adj): tinh tế
• Feminine (adj): nữ tính 
• Right off the bat: ngay lập tức
• Fall in love with s.o/s.th: cảm thấy yêu ai/ cái gì 
• By a stroke of luck: bằng sự may mắn
• Windfall (n): của trên trời rơi xuống 

→ Speaking about winning a pair of shoes while shopping. Always remember to use simple past tense to narrate the story, combined with conditional sentences, relative clauses,... In addition, using idioms and phrases helps make the speech more lively and natural.

IELTS Speaking Part 3

IELTS Speaking Part 3: Example

1. Do you believe individuals should personally fund their higher education? Why? 

People should, of course, pay for their further education because mastery in any field will help them climb the career ladder. Attending university or college teaches people how to pursue their passions while also surviving in a competitive society. Individuals would have the opportunity to develop their personalities during higher education.

But the tuition fees can cost an arm and a leg nowadays, therefore financial aid, such as scholarships and study loans, would, on the other hand, be of tremendous support to those in need. Those who are fully competent for higher studies should not be overlooked by the government just because of their humble financial background.

• Climb the career ladder: thăng tiến trong công việc
• Cost an arm and a leg: rất đắt đỏ
• Fully competent: hoàn toàn có khả năng
• Overlook (v): làm ngơ, khó lơ 

→ Emphasize that funding for university/graduate studies is crucial as it provides numerous development opportunities. However, those capable of learning but lacking financial means should also receive support from the government and educational institutions. 

2. What is the reason behind companies frequently offering gifts to their clients?

The main reason for businesses offering gifts is to serve commercial purposes. Some gifts serve to let people sample or try out their new product lines. A little tube of hand lotion as a giveaway, for instance, is just an incentive so that the store can gladly sell people a bigger tube of it.

Other gifts can be forms advertisements. Some companies give people t-shirts or shopping bags with logos and they become walking promoters for their brands, which is extremely helpful in enhancing brand awareness.

• Incentive (n): vật khuyến khích 
• Brand awareness (n): sự nhận diện thương hiệu 

→ Offering gifts to customers is a way to enhance attractiveness and brand recognition, encouraging customers to return and use the products. Providing specific examples makes it easier to develop ideas and clarify them. 

3. Why do consumers enjoy receiving complimentary gifts from businesses?

I think gifts are loved by everyone. It’s because paying for things simply involves lots of effort and hard work which people are all trying to avoid. Offering them free items may suggest that the company’s customer service is showing deep understanding towards its customers’ financial burden.

In other cases, a free reward may not be great in monetary value, but customers often feel overwhelmed after receiving it, as it makes people believe they will make their money back one way or another. On the side of the businesses, providing people with something useful at zero cost is​ a great strategy to get potential customers to engage with the business, and thereby also to increase the reach of business.

• Financial burden (n): gánh nặng tài chính 
• Monetary value (n): giá trị về tiền 
• One way or another: bằng cách này hay cách khác