Goals and the future: IELTS Speaking Part 3 questions & answers

Opening question

Warm-up: close to home

1. Cause and effect

   Why do some people achieve their goals while others give up?

   2
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   Sample answerBand 8Main causeAnother causeEffect

   1. Main cause→
   2. Another cause→
   3. Effect

   The difference often lies in how the goal is set in the first place, since people who break a big ambition into small, manageable steps get a steady sense of progress that keeps them going. Support matters as well, because it's much harder to give up when friends or family are checking in on you and genuinely care whether you succeed. Those who lack both tend to lose momentum after the initial burst of enthusiasm, and each abandoned goal makes the next one feel even less achievable.

   in the first place

   at the very beginning

   keeps them going

   helps them continue when things get hard

   lose momentum

   slowly lose energy and motivation

   87 words · about 38 seconds spoken

Development: society

1. Compare

   Do you think young people today are more or less ambitious than before?

   3
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   Sample answerBand 8ThenNowWhy it changed

   1. Then→
   2. Now→
   3. Why it changed

   My parents' generation tended to have fairly conventional ambitions, like a stable job, a house and a family, and they usually pursued them in that order. Young people today seem just as ambitious, if not more so, but their goals are far more varied, so you'll meet twenty-year-olds who want to start a business, travel indefinitely or build an online following. Part of the reason is that the traditional route no longer guarantees security, and the internet has made unusual careers visible, so it's natural that ambition has branched out in new directions.

   if not more so

   possibly even more

   in that order

   following exactly that sequence

   branched out in new directions

   spread into new and different areas

   93 words · about 40 seconds spoken

2. Pros and cons

   Is it better to plan carefully for the future or to live for the present?

   4
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   Sample answerBand 8UpsideDownsideOn balance

   1. Upside→
   2. Downside→
   3. On balance

   Careful planning certainly has its advantages, because things like saving for retirement or studying for a qualification only pay off if you start years in advance. The risk is becoming so fixated on tomorrow that you forget to enjoy the life you have now, especially as the future rarely turns out the way anyone expects. The sensible approach, I think, is to strike a balance, making wise long-term decisions but leaving enough room for spontaneity, since some of life's best moments are the ones nobody planned.

   only pay off

   only bring good results later

   strike a balance

   find a sensible middle position

   room for spontaneity

   space for doing things without planning

   86 words · about 37 seconds spoken

3. Opinion

   Should schools do more to help students plan their futures?

   5
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   Sample answerBand 8My viewWhyExampleBut

   1. My view→
   2. Why→
   3. Example→
   4. But

   I'd argue they should, because at the moment a lot of students leave school knowing plenty about algebra but next to nothing about how careers actually work. Teenagers are asked to make choices about subjects and courses that shape the next decade of their lives, often with no real idea of what different jobs involve day to day. Something as simple as inviting people from various professions to talk honestly about their work, or arranging a week of work experience, can open students' eyes to options they'd never considered. At the same time, schools shouldn't push sixteen-year-olds to lock themselves into a fixed plan, as most people change direction several times anyway.

   next to nothing

   almost nothing

   open students' eyes to

   make students aware of

   lock themselves into

   commit to something that is hard to change

   112 words · about 49 seconds spoken

Depth: the abstract and the future

1. Opinion

   How much control do you think people really have over their futures?

   6
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   Sample answerBand 8My viewWhyExampleBut

   1. My view→
   2. Why→
   3. Example→
   4. But

   Probably less than we like to believe, though more than pessimists would claim. So much depends on circumstances we don't choose, like the country we're born in, our family's income and the state of the economy when we leave school. Two equally hard-working graduates can end up in completely different places simply because one entered the job market during a boom and the other during a recession. That doesn't mean effort is pointless, because how we respond to those circumstances, whether we retrain, move or keep learning, is still very much within our control.

   less than we like to believe

   less than people want to think

   entered the job market

   started looking for paid work

   very much within our control

   something we can definitely influence

   94 words · about 41 seconds spoken

2. The future

   How do you think people's goals and dreams might change in the coming decades?

   7
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   Sample answerBand 8PredictionBecauseBut

   1. Prediction→
   2. Because→
   3. But

   I'd guess that more people will measure success by freedom and wellbeing rather than by status symbols like a big car or an impressive job title. Housing is becoming so expensive in many cities that traditional milestones like owning a home are out of reach for lots of young people, so they're redefining what a good life looks like. Of course, it's hard to predict, and if the economy becomes more stable again, people may well return to the dreams their parents had.

   status symbols

   possessions that show someone's wealth or importance

   out of reach

   impossible to get or afford

   may well

   it is quite possible that they will

   83 words · about 36 seconds spoken

3. What if

   If people could know their future, would they be happier?

   8
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   Sample answerBand 8If soResultWider effect

   1. If so→
   2. Result→
   3. Wider effect

   If we could see exactly how our lives would turn out, I suspect most of us would be less happy, not more. Good news would lose its excitement because we'd already know it was coming, and bad news would hang over us for years, so we'd effectively experience every disappointment twice. For society as a whole, the bigger problem is that people might stop trying altogether, since there's little point in working hard or taking risks if the outcome is already fixed.

   turn out

   develop or end in a particular way

   hang over us

   worry us continuously for a long time

   there's little point in

   it is hardly worth doing

   82 words · about 36 seconds spoken

4. Pros and cons

   Is success more about luck or effort, in your view?

   9
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   Sample answerBand 8UpsideDownsideOn balance

   1. Upside→
   2. Downside→
   3. On balance

   Effort is what people can actually influence, and in most fields, the ones who succeed have put in years of unglamorous practice that outsiders never see. It would be naive to ignore luck, though, because being in the right place at the right time, or meeting the right mentor, can open doors that talent alone never would. My feeling is that luck creates opportunities, but it's effort that allows people to recognise them and make the most of them, so the two are much more intertwined than the question suggests.

   would be naive to ignore

   it would be unrealistic or foolish to ignore

   open doors

   create opportunities

   make the most of them

   use them as fully as possible

   90 words · about 39 seconds spoken