Then she'll say:

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Now, I’d like you to talk about something together for about two minutes.

 

I’d like you to imagine that a town wants more tourists to visit. Here are some ideas they’re thinking about and a question for you to discuss.

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First you have some time to look at the task.

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The examiner shows you the task. You have 15 seconds to look at it.

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TIP! Andrea writes: Use this time to check you understand the central question and then focus on ONE of the options and think about something to say. You don't have time to think of ideas for all of them.

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Now, talk to each other about why these ideas would attract more tourists to the town.

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Again the examiner is reading the red parts from a script. The red words are always the same while the black ones depend on the topic.

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TIP! You can almost forget the examiner in this part as you will only be talking with your partner. Interaction is absolutely vital. If you haven't seen it yet, have a look at Interactive Communication in the Marking Criteria. In Part 2 you have to speak for a long amount of time but Part 3 is completely different as you should speak in small chunks and then let your partner speak, listen to what they say, respond with your ideas and move on.

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It doesn't matter who starts but one of you should say something like this to start the conversation:

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Shall I go first?

Do you want me to start?

Which one shall we start with?

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Then give a brief opinion of one of the topics and next ask you partner their opinion about it. They should agree or disagree, add a reason of their own and then move on to the next topic.

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So how do you do this?

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First, let's look at how NOT to do it:

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Student A: I think having more shops is a good idea so people can buy things. What do you think?

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Student B: I completely agree. And putting up security cameras is good because there will be less crime. What's your opinion?

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Student A: Yes, I totally agree...

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Andrea writes: As an examiner I hear exchanges like this all the time and although it's not terrible, it's boring, it's basic vocabulary and it sounds artificial. Luckily for you it's easy to improve quickly!

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Here's another version of the same conversation:

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Student A: Well, for me more shops is an excellent idea because people will come to the town if there are high quality goods on offer. Any ideas?

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Student B: Yep, good point! I was thinking exactly the same thing. On top of that it will help the local economy. What about security cameras? I always want to feel safe when I'm on holiday so for me they are crucial.

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Student A: I'm with you 100%.

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For a start it is much more informal yep and therefore more natural which is exactly what examiners want. On top of that (remember this connector to add information!) it has a much wider range of vocabulary.

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Notice that we aren't using What do you think? to end your turn because again, it's basic vocabulary. Here are some better options:

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Any ideas/thoughts?

What do you reckon?

What's your take?

How do you feel about this?

What do you make of it?

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Instead of using I think to give opinions, for me is used, which is better. Here are some other better alternatives to saying I think:

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I'd say...

In my eyes...

I reckon...

I guess...

The way I see it...

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TIP! You don't have to talk about all the options. In fact if you only talk about four, you'd be able to talk more in depth about them.

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Also notice the language used to agree is interesting - I'm with you 100%. Here are some other natural options to show agreement:

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Absolutely!/Exactly!/For sure!

Good point!

I was thinking the same!

Spot on!

I know/see what you mean.

You've got a point there.

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TIP! It's always a good idea to disagree with your partner at least once because if you agree all the time, it's boring and by disagreeing you could use richer language, such as:

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I'm not so sure about that

I'm not with you

Yeah, but...

I'd say the exact opposite

Not necessarily

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Moving on

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It's important to keep the discussion moving so when you've both spoken about one topic, to move on to the next topic you could say something like:

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What about...?

Moving on to...

Shall we talk about...?

Any ideas about..?

How do you feel about...?

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TIP! Try to NATURALLY interrupt your partner if you hear there's a pause in what they're saying. This is something we all do in real life, natural conversations.

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TIP! It's a good idea to link two or even three of the options together. In the above example, you could say:

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Shops and a nightclub would both be good for the economy. 

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Tip! If you don't understand one of the options then don't talk about it! If your partner talks about it and asks you about it you could say:

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Good point - I can't think of anything to add at the moment.

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TIP! If you get stuck and can't think of anything to say, try involving your partner. At the same time, if you see that your partner is having problems, you can help them. This is all a natural part of interactive communication. 

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After two minutes you'll have one minute to make a decision based on your discussion. You'll probably be asked to choose the best or the most/least important of the options. Using our example above the examiner might ask:

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Now you have about a minute to decide which option would be the most important.

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It's important here NOT to do this:

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Student A: I think we should choose security cameras so people feel safe.

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Student B: Yes, I agree.

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The problem here is that you you still have most of the minute left and nothing else to talk about! At the same time one minute is not long so don't discuss the options again in detail. A great way to start this part is to rule out one or two of the options. To rule out is a phrasal verb (that Cambridge love!) that means to eliminate. So you could say something like:

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We both said before that security cameras were a waste of time, so why don't we rule out this option?

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This is fantastic because you're reducing the number of options and secondly by saying we both said before you're showing that you understood what you said in part A. 

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We both said before that parks were a great idea because they are free and healthy so why don't we choose that option? 

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If your partner agrees, that's it! You've made a decision. However, similar to Part 2 (comparing the photographs), you need to keep speaking until the examiner says  Thank you so perhaps you could say Actually I think I'm going to change my mind because... or you could also use those spare seconds to confirm your choices: So to sum up, we both agree that the best option would be providing parks?

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You could also give your personal opinion:

 

Actually I'm not so keen on parks as they're boring. I'm gonna pick the nightclub because...

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TIP! YOU DON'T HAVE TO REACH A DECISION. The important thing is that you TRY to.

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TIP! You don't have to agree with your partner. If you choose two different things (or three) that's absolutely fine. There's no right or wrong choices. It really doesn't matter. Just make sure you give reasons for your choice.