IELTS Speaking / IELTS speaking Part 3
IELTS speaking Part 3: thinking out loud, under follow-up
Part 3 has no card and no preparation minute. It is the four minutes where 6.5 becomes 7 — or does not.
Updated August 2026Part 3 takes your Part 2 topic and lifts it out of your life: you described a skill you learned, now — should schools teach practical skills? Is lifelong learning realistic for working people? The examiner asks four to six questions in a two-way discussion, follows up on what you actually say, and pushes back at least once. There is no card, no preparation minute, and no personal story to lean on, which is why Part 3 decides more borderline scores than any other part: it is the only place the test watches you build an opinion in real time. The questions follow six recurring patterns — compare, society-level, evaluate, speculate, justify under push-back, and values — and each has a practisable answer shape. This page covers all six with worked examples, and the answer structure that survives follow-ups.
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Practise Part 3 under follow-up
An AI examiner runs the real three-part format out loud — warm-up questions, a long-turn question, then discussion with follow-ups — and shows you where fluency, vocabulary or grammar cost you, before test day.
Practise Part 3 under follow-up2 free coaching sessions · available until used · no card needed · no subscriptionThe process
- 1Expect the theme, not the question: Part 3 grows from your Part 2 topic — predict the abstract angle while you finish your long turn.
- 2Answer in three moves: position, reason, example — then stop; the examiner wants dialogue, not a speech.
- 3When pushed back, concede something before defending: ‘That is partly true, but...’.
- 4Use hedges deliberately: ‘it depends’, ‘in most cases’, ‘to some extent’ — they are descriptor features, not weakness.
- 5If a question is too abstract, ground it: ‘In my country, for example...’.
- 6Never answer in one sentence — a bare ‘yes, I agree’ forces the examiner to drag you.
What Part 3 is testing
Building an opinion in real time, with no card and no preparation minute to fall back on — the one skill no other part of the test isolates.
The six question patterns
Compare, society-level reasoning, evaluate, speculate, justify under push-back, and values — recognising which pattern a question follows makes it far easier to structure an answer on the spot.
The three-move answer
Position, reason, example — then stop and let the examiner respond. A three-move answer survives a follow-up question naturally, because there is already a clear position to defend or extend.
Push-back is a gift
Conceding a point before defending your position — ‘that’s partly true, but...’ — paired with hedging language like ‘to some extent’ or ‘in most cases’, is exactly the flexible reasoning higher-band descriptors reward, not a sign of weakness.
From your card to the discussion
Part 3 always grows out of your Part 2 topic, lifted into abstract territory — describe a skill you learned becomes should schools teach practical skills. Predicting that link means you are never hearing the theme for the first time.
Real questions
Grouped by area.
Compare
Society
Evaluate
Speculate
Push-back
Values
Pricing
FAQs
How many questions are in Part 3?
Usually four to six over 4-5 minutes, but the examiner follows your answers, so no two Part 3s run identically.
Is Part 3 connected to Part 2?
Yes — always the same territory made abstract; you can predict the theme.
What if I have no opinion?
Take a side anyway and reason from an example — the test scores language under pressure, not the quality of your politics.
Can I disagree with the examiner?
Yes — push-back questions invite it; a reasoned, hedged disagreement is exactly what the format wants.
Why do strong candidates fail Part 3?
One-sentence answers — fluent speakers who answer briefly give the examiner nothing to score at length.
Sources
More IELTS speaking guides
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