Candidates often prepare by memorising answers to likely questions. That works against you, because one of the four criteria specifically rewards natural, unrehearsed speech.
The four criteria
- Fluency and coherence — can you keep going, and does it hold together?
- Lexical resource — range and precision of vocabulary
- Grammatical range and accuracy — variety of structures, and how often they are correct
- Pronunciation — can you be understood without strain?
Each is worth 25%. A perfect accent with one-word answers scores badly.
Fluency is not speed
It means continuing without long unnatural pauses, and connecting ideas. Hesitating to find a word is fine — hesitating to translate a whole sentence is not.
Useful connectors: because, although, which means, on the other hand, for example, in fact.
Vocabulary: precision over difficulty
Using a rare word incorrectly scores worse than using a common word well. Examiners reward the right word, not the impressive one.
"The traffic was terrible" is fine. "The vehicular congestion was insurmountable" is not better.
Grammar: show range
Deliberately include a conditional, a past tense, and a future form somewhere in your answers. Speaking only in present simple caps this criterion regardless of accuracy.
Pronunciation: clarity, not accent
You are not scored on sounding British. You are scored on whether stress, rhythm and individual sounds let a listener follow you easily.
Part 2: the long turn
One minute to prepare, two minutes to speak. Use the minute to write four bullet points, not sentences. Then speak to the bullets.
Do not stop early in Part 2. Speaking for the full two minutes is itself part of the assessment.
