Do people repair things any more, or simply replace them?
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
Do people repair things any more, or simply replace them?
no preparation, about 1 minute to speak
A band 7 to 8 answer
About 128 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.Mostly they replace, and I think the reason is economic rather than cultural. When a repair costs sixty per cent of a new item and comes with no guarantee, replacing is the rational choice, and blaming people for making it seems misplaced. What has genuinely disappeared is the infrastructure. There were four people in my area who mended electrical goods when I was a child and there is now one, so even a person who wants to repair something has nowhere to take it. Interestingly, there is a small movement in the other direction, repair cafes and a certain amount of legislation in Europe, and I am cautiously optimistic about it. The economics still have to change though, and at the moment they point firmly the other way.
The words that earn marks
Each one links to how it is pronounced.
- guarantee
three syllables with the stress on the third
- rational
three syllables with the stress on the first
- misplaced
the precise adjective for blame aimed wrongly
- infrastructure
four syllables with the stress on the first
- mended
the British verb for repairing, with an audible ending
- legislation
four syllables with the stress on the third
- cautiously
adverb that hedges the optimism precisely
How a strong answer is built
- 1Answer, then locate the cause correctly.
- 2Defend the individual choice.
- 3Name what has actually been lost.
- 4Add the counter-trend, hedged.
Sounds to watch
The ones this answer leans on most.
Straight answers
How long should my answer to “Do people repair things any more, or simply replace them?” 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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