One of the things you will need in order to have a better performance in the speaking section of the IELTS test is your ability to use a range of different phrases and expressions to perform different functions. In this post and the following, I will try to introduce some useful ones.

Here is a list of “fillers” which are suitable to be used in the test. Fillers are a set of words which can give you the opportunity of filling the gaps you face during speaking. For example, you are speaking and you forget a word. Instead of pausing and hesitating, you can add these words to your speaking to give it a flow.

And here is the list of them:

I mean, ,

You see, ,

Well, let me see, ,

If you see what I mean, ...

Let’s get this into perspective, ,

You know,

Well,

Uh,

Another set of phrases I found useful is the set of words which you can use to give your opinion. Expressing opinions is a very handy tool in the test, and you will need to talk about your opinions most of the time, so I believe these expressions will come to save you!

Here they are:

In my opinion...

As far as I'm concerned,

From my point of view,

As I see it,

I think / reckon / presume...

In my view,

It would seem to me that...

It seems to me that...

I feel...

I believe...

I figure that...

To my mind,

What I think / mean / believe is that...

I mean that...

I may venture that...

As for me,

For my part,

I'd say that...

The expressions are followed by some marks. Here is the meaning of them:

A comma means that there should be a pause.

A double comma means that there should be a longer pause.

Three dots means that you should continue what you are saying without a pause or hesitation.

Well, I hope you can use them in your speaking. In the next post, I will present you with some expressions on how to express agreement and disagreement.