Should every child learn to write computer code?
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
Should every child learn to write computer code?
no preparation, about 1 minute to speak
A band 7 to 8 answer
About 126 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.Some of it, and I would be careful about the justification. The vocational argument, that they will all need it for work, is probably wrong, and it was the same argument used for a number of subjects that turned out not to matter. The better reason is that writing even a small program is the clearest possible demonstration that software is made by people and can be different. A child who has never done it experiences a phone as a fact of nature. The other benefit is that code gives immediate and unambiguous feedback, which very little school work does. It is either wrong or it runs, and there is no arguing with it, which teaches a kind of debugging that transfers well beyond a computer.
The words that earn marks
Each one links to how it is pronounced.
- justification
five syllables with the stress on the fourth
- vocational
four syllables with the stress on the second
- demonstration
four syllables with the stress on the third
- unambiguous
five syllables with the stress on the third
- immediate
four syllables with the stress on the second
- debugging
the precise noun for finding errors
- transfers
the verb, stressed on the second syllable
How a strong answer is built
- 1Agree partly and flag the weak argument.
- 2Explain why the usual reason is unreliable.
- 3Give the better reason.
- 4Add a second benefit about feedback.
Sounds to watch
The ones this answer leans on most.
Straight answers
How long should my answer to “Should every child learn to write computer code?” 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
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