Can problem solving actually be taught?
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
Can problem solving actually be taught?
no preparation, about 1 minute to speak
A band 7 to 8 answer
About 123 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.Partly, and I think what can be taught is narrower than the phrase suggests. General problem solving in the abstract is probably not teachable. What is teachable is a set of habits that apply across domains, such as writing the problem down before attempting it, checking whether somebody has solved it already, and breaking it into the smallest part you can actually test. Those are learnable and most people never encounter them explicitly. The other half is domain knowledge, and there is no shortcut there. You cannot solve a difficult problem in engineering without knowing engineering, however good your habits are. So my answer would be that the method can be taught and the material has to be earned, and both are necessary.
The words that earn marks
Each one links to how it is pronounced.
- abstract
the adjective, stressed on the first syllable
- teachable
a compact adjective, better than can be taught
- domains
the precise noun for fields of knowledge
- explicitly
four syllables with the stress on the second
- shortcut
compound noun that lands the point
- material
four syllables with the stress on the second
- necessary
four syllables with the stress on the first
How a strong answer is built
- 1Answer partly and narrow the question.
- 2List what is genuinely teachable, concretely.
- 3Name the part that cannot be taught.
- 4Summarise the position in one sentence.
Sounds to watch
The ones this answer leans on most.
Straight answers
How long should my answer to “Can problem solving actually be taught?” 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.One question a day until your test
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