How do you decide whether something is worth buying?
A strong Part 1 answer puts the actual answer in the first clause, adds one reason or one example, and stops. Two or three sentences, roughly forty seconds.
The question, as the examiner gives it
How do you decide whether something is worth buying?
no preparation, about 45 seconds to speak
A band 7 to 8 answer
About 68 words at a natural pace — roughly what 45 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.I have a rule that anything above a certain amount waits a week, and about half the time I have forgotten about it by then, which answers the question neatly. For the things that survive the week, I look at how often I would actually use them, not how much I want them. Reviews I mostly ignore now, because it is hard to tell which ones are genuine.
The words that earn marks
Each one links to how it is pronounced.
How a strong answer is built
- 1State the rule first, concretely.
- 2Say what the rule reveals.
- 3Give the criterion you apply afterwards.
- 4Close by rejecting one common method.
Sounds to watch
The ones this answer leans on most.
Straight answers
How long should my answer to “How do you decide whether something is worth buying?” be?
About 45 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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