IELTS Speaking Part 3 · media

Why do people trust some news sources more than others?

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

IELTS Speaking Part 3

Why do people trust some news sources more than others?

no preparation, about 1 minute to speak

A band 7 to 8 answer

About 124 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.
A band 7 to 8 answer

Familiarity does most of the work, which is not a flattering answer. People trust the source their household read, and the sense that it is reliable usually arrived long before any assessment of its reporting. Agreement is the second factor. A source that confirms what you already believe feels accurate, and one that contradicts you feels biased, and almost nobody experiences that as a preference rather than a judgement. What I think genuinely should build trust is visible correction. A publication that says plainly where it was wrong last week is demonstrating a process, and that is checkable in a way that tone and confidence are not. Unfortunately it also looks like weakness to a lot of readers, which is exactly the wrong incentive.

The words that earn marks

Each one links to how it is pronounced.

  • familiarity

    five syllables with the stress on the third

  • household

    compound noun placing the habit

  • assessment

    three syllables with the stress on the second

  • contradicts

    three syllables with the stress on the third

  • biased

    the precise adjective, two syllables

  • correction

    the noun that carries the argument

  • incentive

    three syllables with the stress on the second

How a strong answer is built

  1. 1Give the honest main cause first.
  2. 2Add the second factor and describe how it feels.
  3. 3Say what should build trust instead.
  4. 4Close with why it does not.

Sounds to watch

The ones this answer leans on most.

Straight answers

How long should my answer to “Why do people trust some news sources more than others?” 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.
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