Cause, effect and reasons in IELTS Speaking Part 3

A LESSON PLAN FOR ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHERS

Useful language for giving reasons and logical arguments in IELTS Writing Task 2 presentation and practice through Speaking Part 3 questions of those kinds and brainstorming useful phrases.

By: Alex Case

Level: All Levels

Theme: Exam Traps and Tricks

Study Area: IELTS

Download Lesson Plan (PDF) 281 KB

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Lesson Plan Content:

Cause, effect and reasons in IELTS Speaking Part 3
with useful language for IELTS Writing Task 2
Take turns asking each other three questions from below.
Ask about questions you couldn’t make questions from, are not sure you answered correctly, etc, working together to rephrase the questions and/ or make answers each time.
Do the brainstorming stages below.
If your teacher tells you to, use these (parts of) words to help with the brainstorming.

Hints

a/ an -able/ -ible about as

-ed -est -ial for

happening have a(n) in in-

-ing most of on

-term the to to do

un-

Underline question stems which can be used to make similar questions on other topics.

Take turns asking each other questions using those question stems, on topics such as:

communication
psychology (choices, etc)
society (laws, competition, materialism/ consumerism, etc)
architecture, homes, towns, and local areas (houses and apartments, housework, interiors, cities, etc)
business and work (advertising, e-commerce, looking for work, local businesses, meetings, work-life balance, workplaces, etc)
science and technology (internet, social media, etc)
the environment and nature
food and drink (cooking, restaurant, etc)
health and fitness (keep fit, lifestyles, etc)
education (history, etc)
arts and media (movies, music, reading, theatre/ plays, TV, etc)
people and relationships (family, friends, children, neighbours, fame, skills, etc)
free time/ leisure (hobbies, shopping, games, etc)
travel and tourism (tourist attractions, commuting, international travel, driving, hotels, museums, the tourist industry, etc)
festivals and celebrations/ important events (marriage, national celebrations, parties)
finance (money, etc)
sports
time

Use the list of phrases below to help with your answers, then less help such as the hints above, and finally no help.

Use similar language to discuss your opinions on some Writing Task 2 tasks asking about causes, effects and/ or reasons.

IELTS Speaking Part Three questions on cause, effect and reasons

Take turns asking each other three questions from below, not looking below when it is your turn to answer, and not asking any questions which you can’t rephrase if you are asked to.

Are the effects of tax cuts generally long-lasting or only temporary, do you think?
Are there any negative ramifications of more business meetings taking part online?
Can giving pupils more freedom at school result in better academic results?
Can learning about the visual arts make a positive difference to people’s lives?
Can local governments play a major role in making their towns safer places to live in?
Can travelling abroad impel people to make necessary changes to their lifestyles, do you think?
Can you explain why football has become more popular in many places?
Can you recommend effective strategies for losing weight without harmful repercussions?
Can you suggest some reasons why some people who are not religious take part in religious ceremonies?
Can you think of any bad consequences of people learning about history through movies?
Do some people dislike the police just because of police officers’ portrayal in the arts and media?
Do you agree that tourism doesn’t necessarily bring more prosperity to local people?
Do you think companies can benefit from their employees working less?
Do you think competitive sport is good or bad for children?
Do you think it is possible for unfit middle-aged people to get fit?
Do you think later school times would be beneficial for teenagers?
Do you think robots will have an obvious impact on lifestyles in the near future?
Do you think shopping online is generally an effective way to save money?
Do you think smartwatches have had a good effect on people’s time management?
Do you think that a person’s personality could potentially affect their attitude to the environment?
Do you think that AI will have a profound effect on employment in the next ten years?
Do you think that global warming is responsible for most natural disasters nowadays?
Do you think that most economic growth in the future will be owing to advances in AI?
Do you think that studying science helps to make people more logical?
Do you think your government is doing enough to achieve full employment?
Does people having hobbies give rise to benefits for society?
Does people reading fiction in their teens have a lasting effect on their future lives, do you think?
Does the media have a clear influence on people’s shopping habits, do you think?
Have any recent changes in shopping seriously affected the economy?
Have developments in the housing market significantly affected young couples in your country?
How can more people be encouraged to watch live theatre?
How can people live with fame without it having a disastrous effect on their lives?
How do towns benefit from creating more parks?
How do you think cooking lessons at school can aid children in their future lives?
In general, are people more influenced by their education or by their families?
In what ways can local festivals be helpful for communities?
Is financial inequality an inevitable consequence of having a free society?
Is it always necessary to make new laws in order to respond to new crimes?
Is there a danger that advertising could cause bad products to become more popular?
Is your government doing enough to stop crime that is due to hacking, do you think?
Many countries have much higher divorce rates now than in the past. What could be some possible causes?
Modern society is often said to be consumerist. Why do you think this is?
Should salaries for politicians be higher so that poorer people can also enter politics?
Some people say that the main underlying reason for crime is poverty. Do you agree?
Some people think that attending a co-ed school generally leads to better personal relationships. What is your opinion?
Some people think that people having smaller families has brought about mostly harmful effects. Would you agree or disagree?
To what extent does management training affect how well companies are run?
What are the likely outcomes of people exercising at home instead of at the gym?
What are the probable repercussions of people donating money to their former universities?
What are the ways that social media can be used for positive purposes?
What can be the chief causes of the failure of independent restaurants and cafés?
What can be the main reasons why neighbours don’t have good relationships?
What can drive people to become obsessive about their favourite sports teams?
What could be done to convince more people to seek psychological help?
What could be the long-term consequences of people saving less money?
What could be the results of more people growing food on their balconies?
What do you think causes some people to be more competitive than others?
What do you think has an influence on people’s tastes in spectator sports?
What has had the greatest impact on people’s mental health in the last few decades?
What industries can be most adversely affected by transport strikes?
What is the appeal of texting people instead of phoning them?
What is the environmental impact caused by people living in the suburbs?
What kind of influence can parents have on their children’s future careers?
What knock-on effects can be caused by deforestation, do you think?
What motivates some people to avoid medicine from a doctor and choose natural remedies instead, do you think?
What reasons might people have for not recycling more?
What sort of impact can school meals have on children?
What things can make a protest successful?
What unintended consequences can business mergers have, do you think?
Which results of low infrastructure spending are most detrimental, in your opinion?
Why is it good to exercise more than once a week?
Would you say that kids getting a large amount of homework often has adverse effects on families?

Ask about questions you couldn’t make questions from, are not sure you answered correctly, etc, working together to rephrase the questions and/ or make answers each time.

Cause, effect and reasons language brainstorming

First of all with no help, write as many suitable words and phrases as you can in each category below.

Words and expressions that mean the same as “(to) cause something (to happen)”

trigger

Words and expressions that mean the same as “in order to”

for the purpose of

Words and expressions that mean the same as “make someone do something”

prompt someone to

Words and expressions that meant the same as “(an/ the) consequence(s)”

end result

Words and expressions meaning the same as “(to) have an effect on”

leave a mark on

Words and expressions meaning the same as “because (of)”

since

Collocations with “(a/ the) cause(s)”, “reason(s)”, etc

the root

Collocations with “(the/ an) effect(s)” and similar expressions

dramatic

Look above for ideas, brainstorm more, then compare with the suggested answers or as a class.