IELTS Speaking Part 3 · consumerism

Are expensive branded goods worth what they cost?

A strong Part 3 answer takes a position in the first clause, supports it with one reason and one concrete case, and then names where it stops being true. Around a minute.

The question, as the examiner gives it

IELTS Speaking Part 3

Are expensive branded goods worth what they cost?

no preparation, about 1 minute to speak

A band 7 to 8 answer

About 127 words at a natural pace — roughly what 60 seconds holds.

Answer it yourself first

Record your own answer first. A model you have read three times comes out with a flattened rhythm, and examiners are trained to hear exactly that. Read it afterwards for the vocabulary and the shape, not to memorise the sentences.
A band 7 to 8 answer

It depends entirely on what you are buying, and I would separate two categories that get confused. Some expensive things are genuinely better made and last three times as long, and over a decade they work out cheaper, which is an argument about quality rather than luxury. Then there are goods where the price is almost entirely the name, and the manufacturing is indistinguishable from something a quarter of the cost. I would not say those are worthless, because people are buying a signal and the signal does work socially, which is a real thing to buy. What I would say is that it should be called what it is. The frequent claim that a bag costs nine hundred because of the craftsmanship is usually not true.

The words that earn marks

Each one links to how it is pronounced.

How a strong answer is built

  1. 1Refuse the general answer and split the question.
  2. 2Take the defensible case first.
  3. 3Take the other case and be fair to it.
  4. 4Close with the honest objection.

Sounds to watch

The ones this answer leans on most.

Straight answers

How long should my answer to “Are expensive branded goods worth what they cost?” be?

About 60 seconds. Long enough for the answer plus a reason or an example, short enough that the examiner can get through the rest of the set.

Should I memorise the model answer?

No. Record your own version first, then read the model for the shape and the vocabulary. A memorised answer changes rhythm and pace noticeably, and examiners are trained to hear it — it usually costs more than the better wording gains.

Does sayit score this answer?

It scores what a microphone can observe: an estimate from fluency and pronunciation only — not an official band, and not a mark for vocabulary or grammar.

What the band on your result means

An estimate from fluency and pronunciation only — not an official band, and not a mark for vocabulary or grammar.
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