Describe a piece of advice you would give a new student.
A strong long turn names the subject in the first sentence, spends most of the two minutes on the last bullet — the why — and arrives at a prepared final line rather than trailing off.
The question, as the examiner gives it
Describe a piece of advice you would give a new student.
You should say
- what the advice is
- who it is for
- why you would give it
- and explain whether anybody gave it to you
60 seconds to prepare, up to 2 minutes to speak
A band 7 to 8 answer
About 194 words at a natural pace — roughly what 120 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.The advice I would give somebody starting university is to go to the office hours of at least two lecturers in the first month, before you need anything, which is the single most useful thing nobody told me. It is for any student, but particularly the ones who are quiet, because they are exactly the people who will not do it. Why I would give it is straightforward. Those hours are almost always empty, the lecturer is usually pleased somebody came, and once they know your name every subsequent interaction is different. When I eventually needed a reference in my final year, the two people I asked were the two I had spoken to in that way, and it was not close. Did anybody give it to me? No, and that is the point. I found out by accident in my third year, because a friend dragged me along to one, and I have thought since that the whole system quietly rewards students who already know how it works. I have given this advice to three people now and one of them actually did it, which is a better rate than most advice achieves.
The words that earn marks
Each one links to how it is pronounced.
- lecturers
three syllables with the stress on the first
- straightforward
compound adjective, clear and economical
- subsequent
three syllables with the stress on the first
- interaction
four syllables with the stress on the third
- reference
the academic sense of the noun
- dragged
past tense with an audible ending
- rewards
the verb that carries the closing criticism
How a strong answer is built
- 1State the advice in one concrete sentence.
- 2Say who most needs it and why.
- 3Justify it with a real consequence.
- 4Answer the last bullet, and draw a wider point.
Sounds to watch
The ones this answer leans on most.
Straight answers
How long should my answer to “Describe a piece of advice you would give a new student.” be?
You get 60 seconds to make notes and then speak for up to two minutes without interruption. Aim to still be talking at ninety seconds: finishing at forty is the commonest way to lose marks on this part.
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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