How can cities reduce air pollution?
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
How can cities reduce air pollution?
no preparation, about 1 minute to speak
A band 7 to 8 answer
About 121 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.The measures that work are unpopular, which is the whole difficulty. Charging vehicles to enter the centre reduces traffic reliably, and every city that has done it has faced enormous resistance beforehand and very little afterwards, once people see the streets. Alongside that you need the alternative to already exist. Charging for driving without a decent bus service is simply a tax on people who cannot afford to move closer. I would add that construction and domestic heating are much larger contributors than most people assume, and they attract almost no political attention because there is no visible villain. And monitoring matters. A city that publishes street-level readings creates pressure that a city with one sensor on a roof does not.
The words that earn marks
Each one links to how it is pronounced.
- unpopular
four syllables with the stress on the second
- resistance
three syllables with the stress on the second
- alternative
four syllables with the stress on the second
- contributors
four syllables with the stress on the second
- villain
the exact noun for a visible culprit
- monitoring
four syllables with a clean ng ending
- readings
the precise noun for measurements
How a strong answer is built
- 1Name the difficulty before the measures.
- 2Give the most effective measure with evidence.
- 3Add the condition that makes it fair.
- 4Name an overlooked source and one more measure.
Sounds to watch
The ones this answer leans on most.
Straight answers
How long should my answer to “How can cities reduce air pollution?” 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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