MAIN RULES OF IELTS SPEAKING -------------------------------------------- Don’t memorise answers - Lots of people think that the best way to do well in the speaking test is to remember scripted answers and simply use these in the test. This is a bad idea because memorised answers are very obvious and examiners are trained to spot them. You will not only lose marks, the examiners may also ask you more difficult questions to test your English and establish your real level.
Don't worry about the examiner’s opinion -I was surprised when some students told me that you can only do well on the speaking test if the examiner agrees with your opinion. Nothing could be further from the truth. Examiners are not concerned with your opinion; they just want you to demonstrate your speaking ability. Focus on giving a fluent answer that responds to the question and is grammatically correct.
Don't insert lots of ‘big’ words -A common misconception is that you must have very long, ‘complicated’ words in every sentence to get a high score on the test. If you listen to how native speakers talk, this just doesn't happen, unless you are at a conference of university professors. You should try to show the examiner that you have a wide-ranging vocabulary, but you should not try to use words you don’t fully understand. If you try to use ‘complicated’ words you don’t fully understand, it is very likely that you will make mistakes and lose marks.
I tell my students to use the 100-per-cent rule: if you are not 100-per-cent sure about the meaning and form of a word, don’t use it.
Don't show off your grammar -This point is connected to the previous one. Many candidates feel that they need to show the examiner how amazing their grammar is in order to get a high mark. Again, the danger here is trying to use grammar you are not 100-per-cent sure about and then losing control of the sentence. There is no point in using the future perfect continuous tense if it is not appropriate to do so. Think about the tense you need to use when practising, and familiarise yourself with functional language for giving opinions, contrasting views, emphasising, and so on.
