Plant your flag
Your side, in the question's own words, then your two reasons in a few words each. Ten seconds, and the listener already has a map of the next eighty.
CELPIP GymSpeaking courseLesson 7 · Speaking Task 7, expressing opinions
State it, prove it twice, land it
Having an opinion is the easy part. Marks go at second seventy, when the reasons run out and the answer circles. Build it like a bridge: your side on one bank, two reasons holding it up, one weak spot braced, and your side again on the far bank.
5 minutes to read
One answer, 1:30, to scale
1
Your view in the first sentence
No warm-up and no "that's an interesting question". Take the question's own words, say which side you're on, and name your two reasons in the same breath. The thirty seconds of preparation buy four words on your pad: your side, reason one, reason two, and the other side's best point. Scroll to build one answer.
Why it scores. A listener who knows your side from the first breath can place every sentence after it.
Content/CoherenceTask Fulfillment
First reason, then a scene
One short sentence for the reason, and the rest for a person, a number and what happened. The reason is the pier. The scene is what lets it carry weight.
Second reason, a different scene
Start with "Second", so nobody has to work out where you are, and use a different person from the first.
Brace the weak spot
Let the objection land, then show why the bridge holds: one sentence for them and one for you.
Land on the far bank
The same flag as at the start, in different words. If the clock cuts off your last word, you've still said your view twice.
Do you think restaurants should replace tipping with higher menu prices? Explain your reasons.
0:10 of 1:30- View0:10
- Reason, example0:35
- Reason, example1:00
- Concede1:15
- Land1:30
I think restaurants should replace tipping with higher menu prices, for two reasons: what tips do to the people serving you, and what they do to the person paying.
2
Two reasons, two examples
Under each reason, build a small scene with three things in it: a person, a number, and what happened to them. Keep it small and exact: your cousin, forty dollars, one Tuesday. Two reasons with scenes last the distance, and four without them don't.
Why it scores. A general claim is over in one sentence. A scene gives you something specific to say for the whole span, and it shows the listener why the reason matters.
Content/CoherenceTask Fulfillment
A reason alone"Tips make pay unpredictable."
A reason with a scene"My cousin waits tables. On a rainy Tuesday she takes home forty dollars, on a sunny Saturday two hundred, and she can't plan a month like that."
3
One concession
At about the one-minute mark, give the other side its best point in one sentence, then answer it in the next, using the objection you wrote on your pad. One is enough: a second starts to sound as if you've changed your mind.
Why it scores. Weighing the other side shows the view has been thought through, and words like "admittedly" and "even so" tie ideas together in a way a plain list never can.
Content/CoherenceVocabulary
Their best point, in one sentence"Some people say tips reward good service."
Your reply, in the next"That's a fair point, but a restaurant can pay bonuses to its best staff."
- Some people say…
- Admittedly, …
- That's a fair point, but…
- Even so, …
4
Finish on your view
At 1:15 on the clock, begin your ending, whatever you're in the middle of. If it means dropping the end of an example, drop it. Start with "So that's why", give your side in new words, fold both reasons into one breath, and end on a plain picture of how things would be.
Why it scores. An answer that lands sounds like one that always knew where it was going, and the listener hears your view one last time instead of a trailing "so, yeah".
Content/CoherenceListenability
"…and, um, yeah, so that's it."
"So that's why I'd get rid of tipping. A fixed price would give staff a steady income and give customers no surprises. You'd just read the menu and pay what it says."
- Your view, in new words
- Both reasons in one breath
- One plain picture to end on
The usual trap: sitting on the fence
"It depends" feels safe and sounds wise, but the task asks what you think. Pick a side in the first sentence, even one you only half believe.
The clock, spent well
30 seconds to prepare, 90 to speak30 secondsPreparing: your side, two reasons, their best point.
10 secondsYour view and both reasons, in one breath.
About 50 secondsA reason, then its small scene. Twice.
About 15 secondsTheir best point, and your answer to it.
The last 15"So that's why", and land.
Quick hacks for Task 7
Smaller than a move, and just as easy to forget on the day.
- WordsGive the question a place
An abstract question gets an abstract answer. Before you start, put it in a town, a school or an office you know.
- Words"For one thing… for another"
A pair of signposts tells the listener how many reasons are coming, and when the first one is over.
- VoicePause after your view
One beat of silence after the first sentence sounds sure of itself, and gives you a breath before the long part.
- If it slipsNo example comes? Say "imagine"
"Imagine a student who works weekends." An invented person does the job of a real one.
Take this into the test
- 1On your pad: your side, reason one, reason two, their best point.
- 2Side first. Then a person, a number and what happened, twice.
- 3At 1:15, say "So that's why" and land.