Find the two lines that split them
Read the cards as a comparison, not a description. Here the budget covers both, so price can't decide it. Months of use and who can use it can.
CELPIP GymSpeaking courseLesson 5 · Speaking Task 5, comparing and persuading
Win on two points
The person you have to persuade turns up after you've chosen, with an option you've never seen. Pick for two strong reasons in the first minute, and the same two will beat whatever they bring.
6 minutes to read
1
Choose in the first minute
You get sixty seconds, and the option you like best isn't always the one you can defend. Find the two lines where the options sit furthest apart, score both options on them, and take the one that wins both. Keep those two lines in your head. Scroll to see why they pay off later.
Why it scores. A choice made for two clear reasons gives the next two minutes a plan, so your answer stays organized when the new option arrives.
Content/CoherenceTask Fulfillment
Score both on both lines
A rough result is enough. The tub runs all year and anyone can get in. The trampoline is packed away for winter, and it's for the kids.
Pick, and keep the two lines
Take the option that wins both and say the two lines to yourself. That's all you need from this minute.
A new option arrives
Preparation opens with someone who wants something else. The trampoline disappears, and so should every thought about it.
Run the same two lines
You don't need new reasons. Score the pool on the lines you already have, and your plan is ready with time to spare.
Say your two wins, to your brother
Talk to him, not the screen. Open with what he wants, take one line at a time, and finish on the two together.
Your pick
Cedar hot tub$3,900
- Open all year
- Steps built in
Trampoline$1,400
- Packed away for winter
- Kids only
Your brother's pick
Above-ground pool$3,100
- July and August only
- Four-foot ladder
12 monthsMonths we'd use it2 months
EveryoneWho can use itNot Grandpa
Out loudYou want something that gets us all outside, and that's exactly why I'd choose the hot tub. A pool is open for two months. The tub is open in January, and Grandpa can actually get in.
2
Compare on two criteria
Five reasons in sixty seconds is twelve seconds each, and twelve seconds holds little more than an adjective. Take two, and give each one three beats: the fact, how the other option does on it, and what that means for this person.
Why it scores. A comparison with a fact on each side is what the task asks you to do, and three beats fill the minute without padding.
Content/CoherenceTask Fulfillment
Five reasons, a few seconds each
- It's fun.
- It's relaxing.
- It's healthy.
- It looks nice.
- It's good value.
Two reasons, thirty seconds each
Months of use
- The factThe tub runs all twelve months.
- The other sideA pool's covered by September.
- So whatIn January we'd still be out there together.
Who can use it
- The factThe tub has steps built in.
- The other sideThe pool has a four-foot ladder.
- So whatGrandpa actually gets to join us.
3
Turn their preference into your reason
Look at what the new option offers and you'll see what this person cares about. Start there. Say their reason back to them, then show that your option gives them more of it. Their own reason is the one they can't easily wave away.
Why it scores. Persuading means answering what this person wants. It aims the whole answer at them, and that's the difference between persuading and listing what you like.
Task FulfillmentContent/Coherence
Your brotherI just want something that gets everyone outside.
YouYou want everyone outside, and that's exactly why I'd choose the hot tub. A pool does that for two months. The tub does it in January.
- You said…, and that's exactly why…
- If what matters most is…, then…
- I know you care about…, and this gives you more of it.
4
Argue against the new option, not the one you dropped
Once the new option appears, the one you turned down has left the screen, so let it leave your answer too. Every comparison now runs between your pick and theirs. If you hear yourself naming the dropped option, cut the sentence and aim again.
Why it scores. Nobody in the conversation is suggesting the option you dropped, so a sentence about it persuades no one.
Task Fulfillment
"The trampoline would only ever be for the kids."
"A pool would be covered up by September, and Grandpa couldn't get up the ladder."
The usual trap: arguing as if they're wrong
"You're wrong about the pool" makes someone defend it. Give them one point first, then turn. A person who's been agreed with once listens to the rest, and you sound like someone worth listening to.
The clock, spent well
60 seconds to choose, 60 to prepare, 60 to speak60 secondsChoosing: two lines where the options differ, and the one that wins both.
60 secondsPreparing: score the new option on the same two lines.
About 10 secondsOpen with what they want.
About 40 secondsYour two lines, their option against yours.
The last 10Finish on the two together.
Quick hacks for Task 5
Smaller than a move, and just as easy to forget on the day.
- ClockThree clocks in one task
Choose, prepare, speak: a minute each. Only the last is recorded, so use the first two without hurrying.
- ScreenRead the numbers first
Each option comes with a price and a few details. A difference you can say as a number is a reason ready to use: eight hundred dollars less, ten minutes closer.
- VoiceFamily or a boss: the prompt says which
Family gets "honestly" and "come on". A manager gets "I'd suggest" and "I think we'd find".
- Words"Both… but only…"
One sentence shape carries a whole comparison: both have parking, but only this one is covered.
- If it slipsPicked the weaker one? Stay with it
Your choice is fixed once the minute ends. Argue the two things it does well, and leave the rest alone.
Take this into the test
- 1First minute: two lines, and the option that wins both.
- 2Same two lines against the new option. Forget the one you dropped.
- 3Say their reason back: you said…, and that's exactly why…