In Parts 2 and 3 of the IELTS Speaking Test, you often need to compare people, places,
or things. This means you should talk about the similarities and differences between
two things, and maybe also say which one you prefer. Remember to give reasons and examples
to support your opinions. Let’s take a look at an example of how a candidate compares
two things in this part of the discussion.
Examiner: Right, you’ve been talking about a film that you have seen, and I’d just
like to ask you one or two more general questions related to this. Let’s start by talking
about watching films. How would you compare watching films in the cinema to watching DVDs
at home?
Candidate: Hmm, that’s a difficult question, because I do both, I mean, I sometimes watch
films at home on DVD, and I also go to the cinemas fairly regularly. I guess I like watching
films at the cinema more than watching DVDs, because I love the bigger screen and the great
sound that you get at the cinema. On the other hand, watching a DVD at home is more convenient,
because you can watch it whenever you want, and you can stop it anytime, go back, go forward,
you know.
So as you heard in this example, the candidate used a range of grammatical structures to
compare watching a film at home to watching a film at the cinema. For example, he said
‘I like watching films at the cinema more than watching DVDs’ and ‘On the other
hand, watching a DVD at home is more convenient’. There are many grammatical structures that
you can use to compare people, places or things. Let’s look at a few useful ones.
So imagine an examiner asks you to compare living in the city with living in the country?
What would you say?
In this case, comparative structures are very useful. For example ‘Living in the city
is more convenient than living in the country’, or ‘Living in the country is quieter than
living in the city’. And here is the structure.
Alternatively, you can use the structure ‘A is not as adjective as B’. For example,
‘Living in the country is not as convenient as living in the city’, or ‘Living in
the city is not as safe as living in the country’.
You can also show similarity between two things by using the word ‘both’. For example,
‘Both the city and the country can be a good place to live’.
Here are some useful structures to show contrast. When talking about differences between
two things, you can use the words ‘while’ or ‘whereas’ to connect two contrasting
statements. For instance, ‘The cost of living in the city can be very high, whereas it tends
to be quite low in the country’. You can use the phrases ‘In contrast’ or
‘On the other hand’ to show contrast. For example, ‘The cost of living in the
city can be very high. On the other hand, it tends to be quite low in the country’.
Remember that it is important to show a range of grammar in the IELTS Speaking Test, and
also to use grammar as accurately as possible. Brushing up on different ways to compare
and contrast is very useful for the IELTS Speaking Test, particularly in Part 3.