A: Compare and contrast

In this group of exercises you will practise comparing and contrasting.

TIP:

It is quite likely that in either Part 2 or Part 3 of the speaking test, you will need to compare or contrast. This is one of the areas in which you can demonstrate the range of grammatical and lexical structures you are able to use.

1. Comparative and superlative adjectives.

Check that you remember how to form comparative and superlative adjectives. Type in the boxes to complete the charts.

Note: For most adjectives of two or more syllables you can use less as well as more.

For example: less useful, less interesting


2. Using not as...as.

Instead of a comparative adjective, the form not as...as... can be used.

For example: London is colder than Barcelona.
Barcelona isn't as cold as London.

Type in the boxes to complete the examples, so that the second sentence has the same meaning as the first. (Do not use contractions in this exercise.)

Note: If you want to describe two things that are similar, you can use the form as...as.

For example:

It's as big as Los Angeles.
He's as important to me as my father.

Also, there are many adverbs that can be added in front of adjectives to modify your statements. For example: much, not much, a little, a bit, significantly, marginally, a lot, slightly, rather and far.

For example:
The weather in April is usually much/far better than in February.
There isn't much difference between the weather in April and May.
The city centre is a little/bit busier during the week.
The classes are marginally/slightly longer in secondary school.
My new phone is a lot/significantly bigger than my old one.
London is rather more expensive than Madrid.

3. Comparative sentences.

Now play the Sentence Casino game. Are the sentences grammatically correct or incorrect?

  • You start with 20 points.
  • Decide how many points you want to bet.
  • When you are correct, you win double the points.
  • When you are incorrect, you lose the points.

How many points can you win?

B: Narratives

In this group of exercises you will focus on and practise narratives.

TIP:

In the IELTS interview, it is possible that you will be asked to tell a story or anecdote, or talk about an event in your past. In these cases, the genre in which you will be speaking is probably going to be a narrative genre.

1. An anecdote.

Watch an extract of a candidate, Alex, telling an anecdote in Part 2 of the speaking test. The anecdote is about a party he attended. Put the events and facts in the correct order.

Now watch the video again. Turn on and read the subtitles.

2. A narrative story.

Now you will analyse and practise a narrative story. Look at the pictures below and try to imagine what the correct order might be to tell the story.

Now listen to the story and put the pictures into the order that they are mentioned.



3. A narrative story.

Now read the paragraphs below and put them into the correct order. The first paragraph is in place for you. Remember, you can refer to the pictures in the previous exercise.

4. A narrative story.

Now read the story again. Write the verbs (in parentheses) in the correct form.

5. Events in a story.

Look at the following sentences from the story and put them into chronological order (that is, the order in which they took place in real time).

6. Reconstructing a story.

Choose the correct option to reconstruct the story.

7. Prepare your story.

Now think of a favourite pet that you had (or, if you haven't had any pets, a favourite object).

Try to remember a few details about the pet (how you decided to have a pet, where you got it, what it was like, one or two events...).

Write down five to ten verbs that you might use to tell the story of your pet.

Now write the story, ensuring that you use a combination of the past simple, past continuous and past perfect.

At the end of the module, you will have a tutorial and your tutor will ask you to tell your story.