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Aptis General · Speaking · Part 4 · B2

Speaking Part 4: three answers in a row with structure (B2)

Aptis General Speaking Part 4 at B2 level: what you are asked, one-minute notes, a three-answer structure and an explained model, with mini-quizzes.

7 min video (Spanish narration)6 mini-quizzesB2

1/6What you are asked to do

In Part 4 of the General Speaking you are asked three questions about an abstract topic, with one minute to prepare and two minutes to answer all three in a row. It is the only part of General where the Speaking can reach C1.

The questions move from something personal to general ideas. And one detail of how the exam scores: before how good it sounds, what counts is whether you have answered all three questions. If you leave one unanswered, your score drops.

  • 1. Tell me about a time when technology helped you solve a problem.
  • 2. How do you feel about using so much technology in everyday life?
  • 3. In what ways do you think technology will change the way people live in the future?

Check what you have learnt

You need 2 out of 3
1.How much time do you have in Part 4 to prepare and to answer?
2.What happens if you leave one of the three questions unanswered?
3.What kind of questions are there in this part?

2/6One-minute notes

In the preparation minute do not write sentences: write key words. One line per question, with three things: your idea, a reason and an example. With that you have the skeleton; you add the rest as you speak.

  • 1. navigation app · lost in a new city · arrived on time
  • 2. comfortable · too much time on the phone
  • 3. work from home · artificial intelligence

Check what you have learnt

You need 2 out of 3
1.What do you write in the preparation minute?
2.What three things does the note for each question contain?
3.What do you gain from having notes for the three questions?

3/6Structure across three questions

Each question gets its own block, and each block has three pieces: your direct answer, a reason and an example. Between one block and the next, a marker that says which one you are on: As for, Finally or simply First, Second and Third. That way the examiner can follow you and you do not get lost.

This is a B2 model. You can see the structures that lift it to C1 in the C1 model answer lesson.

Check what you have learnt

You need 2 out of 3
1.How is the answer to each question organised?
2.What are markers such as “As for” or “Finally” for?
3.Where can you see the structures that lift this model to C1?

4/6Filling the time

Share the time equally between the three questions, so as not to spend it all on the first. If you run out of things to say, you have three resources: a second example, a contrast with on the other hand or looking to the future with I think that in the future.

What you should avoid is answering too quickly and falling silent before the time is up: use the full two minutes.

Check what you have learnt

You need 2 out of 3
1.If you run out of things to say, which resource is valid?
2.Which expression serves to contrast?
3.What should you avoid doing?

5/6B2 model answer

The model answer responds to the three questions in order, each in its own block. In the first it tells how the phone's navigation app let it arrive on time for an appointment in a city it did not know; in the second it contrasts comfort with too much time spent on the phone; and in the third it looks to the future.

  • As for how I feel about it, I think it's mostly positive, but I have some doubts.
  • On the one hand, technology makes life more comfortable. On the other hand, I spend too much time on my phone.
  • Finally, about the future, I think technology will change our lives a lot.

Check what you have learnt

You need 2 out of 3
1.How did technology help in the first answer?
2.What contrast does it make in the second answer?
3.How does the third answer close?

6/6Why it works

Our reading: the model answers the three questions, each in its own block, and each block has an answer, a reason and an example. The markers As for and Finally say which question you are on. And there is already more than a basic B2: a conditional, a contrast with on the one hand… on the other hand and several connectors.

What separates it from C1 is more variety and more precision in the structures.

Check what you have learnt

You need 2 out of 3
1.Which sentence introduces the example in the second answer?
2.Which conditional appears in the model?
3.According to the video, what does this model lack to reach C1?

·Practice

To practise: take three questions on a topic you have not prepared, take a minute of notes with key words and answer in one go, with the clock running. Then check whether you have answered all three, whether each block has a reason and an example, and whether you have used the full time.

Put it all together

Now, practise

Take three questions on a topic you have not prepared, take a minute of notes with key words and answer in one go, with the clock running. Check that you have answered all three.

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