A Place in the Countryside You Enjoyed Visiting

Part 3 follow-up questions

These are the discussion questions examiners asked after this cue card. Sample answers are shown where available.

1. 1. What are the possible disadvantages of living in the countryside?

   May–Aug 2026
   Compare Band 6.5 / 7.0 / 7.5 for this question

   Band 6.5

   The plain opener 'The biggest problem is that help is far away' states the position immediately, with no hedging, which is typical of a 6.5 answer.

   The biggest problem is that help is far away. Khánh's grandmother fell in her yard last year, and nobody noticed for forty minutes. Then it took two more hours for a doctor to arrive, but in the city an ambulance only takes fifteen minutes. Also, schools and jobs are not as good in the countryside, and the internet is often slow. Everyone knows each other there, which is nice but can feel too close. Young people move away, so villages get older every year.

   Why this band

   • FC“Also, schools and jobs are not as good in the countryside” — New ideas are simply bolted on with 'Also', a basic additive linker. The 7.0 version instead opens with 'Beyond emergencies, I'd say', signalling a real shift of topic rather than just adding another item to a list.
   • LR“help is far away” — This is modest, everyday vocabulary that gets the meaning across but stays generic. The 7.5 version upgrades the same idea to 'how far away help really is' and later to 'claustrophobic', choosing more precise, evaluative words.
   • GRA“nobody noticed for forty minutes” — A short, simple past-tense clause with no subordination. The 7.5 rewrite folds the same fact into a longer sentence with an embedded clause, 'lay there for forty minutes before a neighbour noticed her', showing more controlled complexity.

   Band 7.0

   The opening hedge 'Honestly, the sharpest disadvantage is' softens a strong claim just enough to sound like natural spoken reflection rather than a flat announcement.

   Honestly, the sharpest disadvantage is distance from help. Khánh's grandmother fell in the yard last year and lay there for forty minutes before anyone noticed, and it took two more hours before a doctor reached her, whereas in Da Nang that's a fifteen-minute ambulance ride. Beyond emergencies, I'd say education and jobs are limited, the internet is patchy, and the close social life, though warm, means everyone knows your business. To be fair, young people naturally drift to the city, so villages are ageing. So the beauty outsiders admire can mean floods and hard physical work for the people who actually live there.

   Why this band

   • FC“Beyond emergencies, I'd say education and jobs are limited” — This pivots the topic with a phrase rather than the bare 'Also' of 6.5, and the hedge 'I'd say' adds a spoken quality that 7.5 replaces with a tighter colon-led list instead.
   • LR“close social life, though warm, means everyone knows your business” — The parenthetical 'though warm' is an evaluative aside that goes beyond 6.5's plain 'which is nice but'. It is a little less compact than 7.5's paired adjectives 'warm but claustrophobic'.
   • GRA“lay there for forty minutes before anyone noticed” — The subordinating conjunction 'before' links two events smoothly, a step up from 6.5's two separate simple sentences, though it is still less densely packed than 7.5's appositive clause.

   Band 7.5

   The appositive '— a wait that would be a fifteen-minute ambulance ride in Da Nang —' compresses a whole comparison into one embedded clause, the compact grammar typical of a 7.5 response.

   The sharpest disadvantage, without question, is how far away help really is. Khánh's grandmother fell in the yard last year and lay there for forty minutes before a neighbour noticed her, and a further two hours passed before a doctor arrived — a wait that would be a fifteen-minute ambulance ride in Da Nang. Beyond emergencies, there's limited education, thin job prospects, patchy internet, and a social life that's warm but claustrophobic: everyone knows your business, which comforts some and suffocates others. Young people drain away toward the cities, leaving villages to age quietly. And the very scenery that visitors romanticise often translates, for the people who actually live inside it, into floods, isolation and relentless physical labour.

   Why this band

   • FC“there's limited education, thin job prospects, patchy internet, and a social life that's warm but claustrophobic” — A single sentence chains four ideas in parallel structure, replacing 6.5's separate 'Also' sentence and 7.0's hedge-led version with something more economical and fluent.
   • LR“warm but claustrophobic” — A precise, slightly idiomatic contrast pair, sharper than 6.5's plain 'nice but... too close' and more compressed than 7.0's 'though warm... your business'.
   • GRA“a wait that would be a fifteen-minute ambulance ride in Da Nang” — A compact appositive noun phrase stands in for a full clause, demonstrating flexible grammar beyond both 6.5's simple clauses and 7.0's subordinate clause with 'before'.

2. 2. Do you think more people visit the countryside today than in the past?

   May–Aug 2026
   Compare Band 6.5 / 7.0 / 7.5 for this question

   Band 6.5

   The short declarative 'Nobody called that tourism' delivers the contrast in four plain words, characteristic of 6.5's direct, unembellished style.

   Yes, I think more people visit now, but for different reasons. My parents only went to the countryside because they came from it, so visiting the village meant visiting family. Nobody called that tourism. Now there is a homestay sign at the end of Khánh's grandparents' lane, and city couples with no village of their own go there just for the scenery. Better roads and social media made the countryside a destination. But fewer people have family in a village now, so the old kind of visiting is disappearing.

   Why this band

   • FC“But fewer people have family in a village now, so the old kind of visiting is disappearing” — This is a single linear sentence chained with 'But...so'. The 7.5 version instead closes with a balanced antithesis, 'more visitors overall — but increasingly they're guests', which does more work in the same space.
   • LR“go there just for the scenery” — A plain, generic verb choice. The 7.5 rewrite uses the more natural collocation 'book weekends there purely for the scenery', which sounds like something an actual traveller would say.
   • GRA“Better roads and social media made the countryside a destination” — A simple subject-verb-object sentence in the past tense. The 7.0 version upgrades this to present perfect with a longer subject list, 'Cars, better roads and social media have turned rural areas into destinations'.

   Band 7.0

   The hedge 'to be fair' right before conceding that 'the old kind of visiting is slowly fading' softens the claim in a way 6.5's flat statement never does.

   Honestly, more people visit, but I'd say for quite different reasons than before. My parents' generation only ever went to the countryside because they came from it — visiting the village simply meant visiting family, and nobody would have called it tourism. Now there's a homestay sign at the end of Khánh's grandparents' lane, and city couples with no village of their own book weekends there just for the scenery. Cars, better roads and social media have turned rural areas into destinations. At the same time, fewer people still have relatives in a village, so, to be fair, the old kind of visiting is slowly fading.

   Why this band

   • FC“At the same time, fewer people still have relatives in a village” — A cohesive time marker pivots to the counterpoint, which is more developed than 6.5's plain 'But', though still less compact than 7.5's semicolon-free antithesis at the close.
   • LR“book weekends there just for the scenery” — The collocation 'book weekends' is more idiomatic than 6.5's generic 'go there', though 7.5 sharpens it further to 'book weekends there purely for the scenery'.
   • GRA“nobody would have called it tourism” — The modal perfect 'would have called' expresses a hypothetical judgement about the past, a level of control above 6.5's flat simple past 'Nobody called'.

   Band 7.5

   The closing antithesis 'more visitors overall — but increasingly they're guests rather than returning children' delivers the whole argument in one balanced, idiomatic line.

   More people visit than in the past, though for a rather different reason. My parents' generation went to the countryside only because they came from it; visiting the village meant visiting family, and nobody would have dreamed of calling it tourism. Now there's a homestay sign nailed up at the end of Khánh's grandparents' lane, and city couples with no village to call their own book weekends there purely for the scenery. Cars, smoother roads and social media have quietly rebranded rural areas as destinations. At the same time, fewer and fewer people have living relatives in a village, so the old kind of visiting is fading out even as the new kind expands. So yes, more visitors overall — but increasingly they're guests rather than returning children.

   Why this band

   • FC“So yes, more visitors overall — but increasingly they're guests rather than returning children” — A compact concluding antithesis ties the whole answer together, well beyond 6.5's simple closing sentence and 7.0's softer 'slowly fading'.
   • LR“quietly rebranded rural areas as destinations” — 'Rebranded' is a precise, slightly figurative verb choice, sharper than 6.5's 'made... a destination' and 7.0's more neutral 'turned... into destinations'.
   • GRA“nobody would have dreamed of calling it tourism” — The semicolon-joined clause and the modal perfect 'would have dreamed' show flexible, controlled grammar beyond 6.5's short sentences and 7.0's plainer 'would have called'.

3. 3. What are the most popular places in the countryside for people in your region to visit?

   May–Aug 2026
   Compare Band 6.5 / 7.0 / 7.5 for this question

   Band 6.5

   The word 'Basically' signals the closing summary in the simplest way possible, doing the job without any real stylistic flourish.

   Around Da Nang, popular places fall into a few groups. First, the mountains — Bà Nà, now a theme park, and the Hải Vân pass, where people ride motorbikes for the view. Then there is heritage, like the Mỹ Sơn ruins and villages near Hội An, such as Trà Quế, where you can see vegetables growing and eat them. Rivers and waterfalls get busy on hot Sundays. Rice fields in Quảng Nam are also popular with photographers. Basically, people want something to see or eat, not just plain countryside.

   Why this band

   • FC“First, the mountains” — A minimal sequencing marker organises the list. The 7.5 version instead opens with 'The mountains come first', folding the sequencing into the sentence itself rather than bolting it on.
   • LR“where people ride motorbikes for the view” — Plain, functional wording. The 7.5 rewrite prefers 'ride purely for the views unfurling below', adding a more vivid, almost cinematic verb choice.
   • GRA“Rice fields in Quảng Nam are also popular with photographers” — A short, simple sentence with no elaboration. The 7.0 version extends the same fact into one longer sentence joined with 'and', giving more information without starting a new sentence.

   Band 7.0

   The hedge 'I'd say' before a fairly confident claim about photographers is a small spoken cushion that 6.5's flatter 'are also popular' does not bother with.

   Honestly, the popular spots around Da Nang cluster into a few clear types. The mountains come first — Bà Nà, turned into a theme park, and the Hải Vân pass, which people ride purely for the views. Then there's heritage: the Mỹ Sơn ruins in the jungle, and villages around Hội An like Trà Quế, where you can watch vegetables being grown before eating them. Rivers and waterfalls fill up on hot Sundays, and I'd say the rice country in Quảng Nam is quietly popular with photographers at planting and harvest time. So the pattern, to be fair, is that people want something to see or eat, not countryside for its own sake.

   Why this band

   • FC“Then there's heritage:” — The colon introduces a list smoothly within one sentence, more fluent than 6.5's separate short sentence 'Then there is heritage, like'.
   • LR“watch vegetables being grown before eating them” — The passive construction 'being grown' is a slightly more sophisticated phrasing than 6.5's simple 'see vegetables growing', though 7.5 pushes further with 'an hour later' for vivid specificity.
   • GRA“which people ride purely for the views” — A relative clause with 'purely for' adds nuance beyond 6.5's plain 'where people ride motorbikes for the view', though it is still less densely packed than 7.5's version with 'unfurling below'.

   Band 7.5

   The closing line 'plain countryside for its own sake rarely earns the trip' turns a flat observation into a memorable, almost aphoristic judgement.

   Around Da Nang the popular spots cluster neatly into a few types. The mountains come first — Bà Nà, now reinvented as a theme park, and the Hải Vân pass, which people ride purely for the views unfurling below. Then there's heritage: the Mỹ Sơn temple ruins buried in jungle, and the villages ringing Hội An, like Trà Quế, where you can watch vegetables being grown and then eat them an hour later. Rivers and waterfalls in the hills west of the city fill up reliably on hot Sundays, and the rice country in Quảng Nam draws a quiet but devoted crowd of photographers at planting and harvest time. The pattern, really, is that people want something to see or eat — plain countryside for its own sake rarely earns the trip.

   Why this band

   • FC“The mountains come first” — The sequencing is built into the grammar of the sentence itself rather than tacked on as a separate marker, more fluent than 6.5's bare 'First, the mountains'.
   • LR“now reinvented as a theme park” — 'Reinvented' is a more precise, slightly figurative verb than 6.5's plain 'is now' and 7.0's 'has been turned into', capturing the sense of transformation more vividly.
   • GRA“a quiet but devoted crowd of photographers” — A compact noun phrase with two contrasting adjectives packs a comparative judgement into a few words, a flexibility beyond 6.5's short factual sentence and 7.0's plainer 'quietly popular with photographers'.

4. 4. What changes could make the countryside more attractive for people to live in?

   May–Aug 2026
   Compare Band 6.5 / 7.0 / 7.5 for this question

   Band 6.5

   The short sentence 'That one bridge helped more than any campaign' makes a strong claim in the plainest possible words, with no qualifying language at all.

   I think two things need to change: distance and income. A new bridge near the village replaced an old ferry two years ago and cut the trip to the district hospital in half. That one bridge helped more than any campaign. Fast internet is the second thing. Fibre reached the commune office last year, but not the houses yet, so remote work still cannot reach the village. If there was also a good school, a real doctor, and some jobs outside farming, many people would stay instead of leaving.

   Why this band

   • FC“I think two things need to change: distance and income” — A direct thesis statement opens the answer. The 7.5 version phrases the same idea more actively as 'I'd fix the two things that quietly drive people away', turning a static list into a verb-led claim.
   • LR“That one bridge helped more than any campaign” — Plain vocabulary states the point clearly. The 7.5 rewrite reaches for 'that one piece of concrete achieved more than any awareness campaign ever could', which is far more vivid and specific.
   • GRA“Fibre reached the commune office last year, but not the houses yet” — Two short clauses joined with 'but'. The 7.0 version instead uses a semicolon to link a cause-and-effect pair, 'fibre reached the commune office last year but still hasn't reached the houses, so remote work can't reach the village either', in one continuous thought.

   Band 7.0

   The hedge 'I think you need to' softens what is otherwise a fairly confident, structured argument, keeping the tone conversational rather than lecturing.

   Honestly, I think you need to fix the two things that push people away: distance and income. A new bridge near the village, built two years ago, replaced a ferry crossing and halved the journey to the district hospital — that single piece of concrete probably did more than any government campaign. Fast internet is the second lever; fibre reached the commune office last year but still hasn't reached the houses, so remote work can't reach the village either. I'd add a good secondary school, a clinic with a doctor who actually lives there, and some jobs beyond farming, and I think many people who currently leave would choose to stay.

   Why this band

   • LR“Fast internet is the second lever” — 'Lever' is a slightly figurative word choice for a spoken response, a step above 6.5's flat 'Fast internet is the second thing', though not as fully developed metaphorically as 7.5's parallel phrasing.
   • FC“that single piece of concrete probably did more than any government campaign” — The hedge 'probably' softens the claim compared with 6.5's blunt 'helped more than any campaign', while 7.5 drops the hedge again for a more assertive, polished version of the same idea.
   • GRA“fibre reached the commune office last year but still hasn't reached the houses, so remote work can't reach the village either” — A single sentence links cause and effect across two clauses with 'but' and 'so', more fluent than 6.5's two separate short sentences on the same point.

   Band 7.5

   The closing line 'it just needs to stop punishing people for choosing it' turns a policy list into a memorable, personified final image.

   I'd fix the two things that quietly drive people away: distance and income. A new bridge near the village went up two years ago, replacing a rickety ferry crossing and halving the journey to the district hospital — that one piece of concrete achieved more than any awareness campaign ever could. Fast internet is the second lever; fibre reached the commune office last year but stops short of the houses, and until it doesn't, remote work simply can't reach the village either. Add a decent secondary school, a clinic staffed by a doctor who actually lives there, and a handful of jobs beyond farming, and plenty of people who currently drift away would stay. The countryside doesn't need to become a city; it just needs to stop punishing people for choosing it.

   Why this band

   • FC“The countryside doesn't need to become a city; it just needs to stop punishing people for choosing it” — A semicolon-joined pair of contrasting clauses gives the answer a rounded, deliberate ending, well beyond 6.5's plain closing sentence and 7.0's more matter-of-fact 'would choose to stay'.
   • LR“that one piece of concrete achieved more than any awareness campaign ever could” — 'Achieved' and 'ever could' add emphasis and idiomatic weight that 6.5's flat 'helped more than' and 7.0's hedged 'probably did more than' don't reach for.
   • GRA“Add a decent secondary school, a clinic staffed by a doctor who actually lives there, and a handful of jobs beyond farming, and plenty of people who currently drift away would stay” — An imperative conditional structure ('Add X, and Y would happen') compresses a whole cause-and-effect argument into one flexible sentence, more advanced than 6.5's separate conditional 'If there was also... many people would stay'.

5. 5. Why do some people choose to live in the countryside?

   May–Aug 2026
   Compare Band 6.5 / 7.0 / 7.5 for this question

   Band 6.5

   The plain opener 'One reason is that country life feels more real' states the position without any hedge, which is typical of the direct 6.5 style.

   One reason is that country life feels more real. A former colleague left our studio at thirty-two to keep bees on a farm outside Hội An. When I asked why, she said she wanted work with a visible result — plant, tend, harvest, sell — instead of answering emails. Other people want quiet, more space for their children, or lower costs so they can work less. Some never left and cannot imagine living anywhere else. And now some people work remotely, so they no longer need to live in the city at all.

   Why this band

   • GRA“Other people want quiet, more space for their children, or lower costs so they can work less” — A simple list joined with commas and 'or'. The 7.5 version varies the sentence with a semicolon-free string of near-parallel clauses that flow more naturally, 'Others crave quiet, or space for their children, or lower costs that let them work fewer hours'.
   • LR“country life feels more real” — A vague, generic claim. The 7.0 and 7.5 versions replace it with a specific, borrowed phrase from the colleague herself — 'a life with visible cause and effect' — which is far more precise.
   • FC“And now some people work remotely, so they no longer need to live in the city at all” — The final idea is tacked on with 'And', a simple additive link. The 7.5 version instead frames the same group as 'a growing tribe who work remotely and have finally realised the city was only ever useful for its office', which reads as a considered closing point rather than an afterthought.

   Band 7.0

   The hedge 'to be fair' inserted mid-sentence before the final claim softens what could otherwise sound like a sweeping generalisation.

   Honestly, I think it's usually about wanting work and life to make more sense. A former colleague of mine quit our studio at thirty-two to keep bees on a smallholding outside Hội An, and when I asked why, she said she wanted a life with visible cause and effect — plant, tend, harvest, sell, rather than a chain of emails about a button. Others want quiet, or space for children, or lower costs that let them work less. Some never left in the first place and can't imagine why anyone would. And there's a growing group who work remotely and have realised, to be fair, that the city was only ever useful for the office.

   Why this band

   • FC“Honestly, I think it's usually about wanting work and life to make more sense” — The hedge 'Honestly, I think' frames the whole answer as a personal reflection, a more natural spoken opening than 6.5's flat 'One reason is that'.
   • LR“a chain of emails about a button” — A vivid, specific image borrowed almost directly from the colleague's own words, more precise than 6.5's vague paraphrase 'just answering emails'.
   • GRA“Some never left in the first place and can't imagine why anyone would” — The phrase 'in the first place' adds a small connective nuance that 6.5's plainer 'Some never left and cannot imagine living anywhere else' doesn't include.

   Band 7.5

   The closing line 'that city life costs more than it gives back' turns a list of individual motives into a single, sharp unifying idea.

   A former colleague of mine quit our studio at thirty-two to keep bees on a smallholding outside Hội An, and when I asked why, she said she simply wanted her work to make sense — plant, tend, harvest, sell, rather than a chain of emails about a button. That's one reason: the countryside offers a life with visible cause and effect, something a lot of city jobs quietly strip away. Others crave quiet, or space for their children, or lower costs that let them work fewer hours. Some never left at all and genuinely can't imagine why anyone would. And there's a growing tribe who work remotely and have finally realised the city was only ever useful for its office. The motives differ, but they share one suspicion: that city life costs more than it gives back.

   Why this band

   • FC“The motives differ, but they share one suspicion: that city life costs more than it gives back” — A tightly constructed concluding sentence ties together several separate reasons into one idea, more sophisticated than 6.5's loosely connected final sentence and 7.0's plainer close.
   • LR“something a lot of city jobs quietly strip away” — 'Strip away' is an evaluative, almost literary verb choice, well beyond 6.5's plain 'feels more real' and 7.0's more neutral 'make more sense'.
   • GRA“Others crave quiet, or space for their children, or lower costs that let them work fewer hours” — The verb 'crave' plus a relative clause ('that let them work fewer hours') gives this list more grammatical texture than 6.5's plain comma list and 7.0's simpler 'want... that let them work less'.

6. 6. What kinds of problems are caused by a declining population in rural areas?

   May–Aug 2026
   Compare Band 6.5 / 7.0 / 7.5 for this question

   Band 6.5

   The plain first sentence 'The problems make each other worse' states the main idea directly before any examples are given, in typical 6.5 fashion.

   The problems make each other worse. In Khánh's village, the school merged with the next commune's school because there were not enough children. That meant a longer trip for the children who stayed, so more families left. Fields are left empty because nobody under fifty works them anymore, so less food is grown. Services close too, like the bus route and the clinic, because there are not enough people to pay for them. The people left behind are mostly old, and there is nobody to look after them.

   Why this band

   • GRA“That meant a longer trip for the children who stayed, so more families left” — Two short clauses chained with 'so'. The 7.5 version links three cause-and-effect steps in a single relative-clause chain, 'which meant a longer trip for the ones who remained, which pushed still more families to leave', which is more compact.
   • LR“Fields are left empty because nobody under fifty works them anymore” — Plain vocabulary. The 7.0 and 7.5 versions use the more precise agricultural term 'fields go fallow', which is a more specific and technically accurate collocation.
   • FC“Services close too, like the bus route and the clinic” — A simple listing sentence. The 7.5 version instead uses a dash-like interruption, 'Services close — the bus route, the clinic —', which reads more like natural spoken emphasis than a flat list.

   Band 7.0

   The verb 'compound' in the opening sentence is a more precise, almost technical word choice than 6.5's plain 'make each other worse'.

   Honestly, I think the problems tend to compound each other. In Khánh's village, the school merged with the next commune's because there weren't enough children left, which meant a longer trip for the ones who remained, which in turn pushed more families to leave. Fields go fallow because nobody under fifty is around to work them, so food production drops and the landscape itself starts to change. Services close too — the bus route, the clinic — simply because the numbers no longer justify keeping them. The people left behind are mostly elderly, and, to be fair, there's often nobody around to care for them.

   Why this band

   • GRA“which meant a longer trip for the ones who remained, which in turn pushed more families to leave” — A chain of two relative clauses ('which... which') shows more grammatical range than 6.5's short 'That meant... so', though it is a touch less economical than 7.5's version of the same chain.
   • LR“Fields go fallow because nobody under fifty is around to work them” — 'Go fallow' is a precise agricultural collocation, more specific than 6.5's generic 'are left empty', matching the level of detail in 7.5's identical phrase.
   • FC“Services close too — the bus route, the clinic —” — The dash-set examples interrupt the sentence for emphasis, a more natural spoken rhythm than 6.5's flatter 'like the bus route and the clinic'.

   Band 7.5

   The closing metaphor 'a collection of houses waiting to be sold' gives the whole answer a memorable, slightly bleak final image.

   The problems compound each other in a fairly grim chain. In Khánh's village the school merged with the next commune's because there weren't enough children, which meant a longer trip for the ones who remained, which pushed still more families to leave. Fields go fallow because nobody under fifty is left to work them, so food production drops and the landscape itself quietly changes shape. Services close — the bus route, the clinic — because the numbers no longer justify keeping them running. The people left behind are old, and there's often no one left to care for them. Beyond a certain size, a village stops being a community altogether and becomes little more than a collection of houses waiting to be sold.

   Why this band

   • FC“Beyond a certain size, a village stops being a community altogether and becomes little more than a collection of houses waiting to be sold” — This closing sentence introduces a new, more abstract idea as a final flourish, something neither 6.5's list-style ending nor 7.0's plainer close attempts.
   • LR“the landscape itself quietly changes shape” — 'Quietly changes shape' is a more figurative, precise phrase than 6.5's flat 'less food is grown' and slightly more polished than 7.0's near-identical 'starts to change'.
   • GRA“which meant a longer trip for the ones who remained, which pushed still more families to leave” — The repeated relative pronoun 'which' creates a controlled chain of consequence in one flowing sentence, showing more flexible grammar than 6.5's two short separate sentences on the same idea.

7. 7. Do you think the countryside's main role in the future will be agriculture or tourism?

   May–Aug 2026
   Compare Band 6.5 / 7.0 / 7.5 for this question

   Band 6.5

   The plain phrase 'its real job is food' sums up the whole position in five simple words, direct and unembellished.

   I think agriculture will still be the main role, even though tourism will get more attention. Khánh's uncle's fields are a small part of a system that feeds many people, and no amount of homestays changes the fact that someone has to grow the rice. Tourism will matter more in beautiful places like coasts and mountains, and it can help a village survive. But most countryside is just flat farmland, and its real job is food. I expect farming will become more mechanised, with tourism only a small extra in a few places.

   Why this band

   • GRA“I think agriculture will still be the main role, even though tourism will get more attention” — A single clear thesis statement with 'even though'. The 7.5 version compresses the same contrast into a two-word opener, 'Agriculture, by a long way, though tourism will undeniably get more of the attention', which is punchier.
   • LR“no amount of homestays changes the fact that someone has to grow the rice” — Clear but plain phrasing. The 7.0 and 7.5 versions use 'no number of homestays changes the arithmetic', where 'arithmetic' is a more precise, figurative noun choice for the same idea.
   • FC“But most countryside is just flat farmland, and its real job is food” — A short, blunt closing-style sentence. The 7.5 version extends the same idea with the more emphatic 'that no tourist is ever going to photograph, and its job will remain food, full stop', adding conversational emphasis.

   Band 7.0

   The hedge-led answer 'Honestly, I'd say agriculture, by quite a distance' softens a strong opinion into something that still sounds like natural speech.

   Honestly, I'd say agriculture, by quite a distance, even though tourism will get more attention. Khánh's uncle's fields are one small piece of a system that feeds a hundred million people, and no number of homestays changes the arithmetic that someone still has to grow the rice. Tourism will matter more in the beautiful parts — coasts, mountains, heritage villages — and it can be the difference between a village surviving or slowly emptying out. But most countryside is ordinary flat farmland that no tourist wants to photograph, so its job stays the same. I'd expect farming that's more mechanised and less labour-intensive, with tourism a useful sideline rather than the main story.

   Why this band

   • FC“the difference between a village surviving or slowly emptying out” — A balanced two-option phrase ('surviving or... emptying out') gives the sentence rhythm, more developed than 6.5's simpler 'help a village survive'.
   • LR“no number of homestays changes the arithmetic that someone still has to grow the rice” — 'Arithmetic' is a precise, slightly figurative noun for an unavoidable fact, more vivid than 6.5's plain 'the fact that'.
   • GRA“ordinary flat farmland that no tourist wants to photograph” — A relative clause adds a specific, visual detail beyond 6.5's flatter 'just flat farmland', matching the level of detail 7.5 reaches for with 'ever going to photograph'.

   Band 7.5

   The blunt closing phrase 'and its job will remain food, full stop' uses an idiomatic emphatic marker that neither 6.5 nor 7.0 reaches for.

   Agriculture, by a long way, though tourism will undeniably get more of the attention. Khánh's uncle's fields are one small cog in a system that feeds a hundred million people, and no number of homestays changes the arithmetic that someone still has to grow the rice. Tourism will matter more in the genuinely beautiful corners — coasts, mountains, heritage villages — and it can mean the difference between a village surviving or quietly emptying out. But most countryside is ordinary flat farmland that no tourist is ever going to photograph, and its job will remain food, full stop. What I'd expect is farming that grows steadily more mechanised and less labour-intensive, with tourism surviving as a valuable sideline in a minority of places rather than the main role anywhere.

   Why this band

   • GRA“Agriculture, by a long way, though tourism will undeniably get more of the attention” — The fragment-style opener drops straight into the answer without a subject or verb, a more confident, compressed structure than 6.5's full sentence 'I think agriculture will still be the main role'.
   • LR“one small cog in a system that feeds a hundred million people” — 'Cog' is a precise, figurative metaphor for a minor but essential part, more vivid than 6.5's plain 'a small part' and 7.0's near-identical 'one small piece'.
   • FC“and its job will remain food, full stop” — The idiomatic tag 'full stop' adds emphatic, natural closure to the sentence, a stylistic flourish beyond both 6.5's plain statement and 7.0's more neutral 'so its job will stay the same'.

8. 8. Do you agree or disagree that people who live in the countryside are different from those who live in cities?

   May–Aug 2026
   Compare Band 6.5 / 7.0 / 7.5 for this question

   Band 6.5

   The final sentence 'The place shapes the person, but it does not create a different kind of person' states the conclusion in short, balanced, plain clauses.

   I agree a little, but it's about habits, not real nature. Khánh's uncle tells a story from beginning to end without interruptions, and expects the same from you. In my studio, we interrupt each other within seconds. That's a real difference, caused by a slower life with fewer strangers. Country people are often more patient and more careful about change. But if you put a city person in the village for a year, they would probably learn the same habits. The place shapes the person, but it doesn't create a different kind of person.

   Why this band

   • FC“In my studio, we interrupt each other within seconds” — A separate short sentence contrasts with the previous one. The 7.5 version instead joins both halves with 'whereas' in a single sentence, which reads more fluently as one comparison rather than two facts.
   • LR“Country people are often more patient and more careful about change” — A simple two-item list with 'and'. The 7.5 version expands this into a four-item list — 'more patient, more tuned to the seasons, more dependent on neighbours, and more wary of change' — with more varied, precise adjectives.
   • GRA“But if you put a city person in the village for a year, they would probably learn the same habits” — A standard first-conditional sentence. The 7.5 version replaces 'if' with a more idiomatic imperative structure, 'drop a city person into the village for a year and they'd absorb most of it soon enough', which is a more flexible grammatical option.

   Band 7.0

   The phrase 'a small version of the claim' is a precise, slightly abstract way of hedging agreement that 6.5's plainer 'I agree a little' doesn't quite reach.

   I'd agree with a small version of the claim — different in habits, rather than in nature. Khánh's uncle tells a story from beginning to end with no interruptions, and expects the same from you, whereas in my studio we interrupt each other within seconds. That's a difference, produced by a life with more time and fewer strangers. Rural people tend to be more patient, more tied to the seasons, and more cautious about change, since change rarely brings good news. But put a city person in the village for a year and they'd probably pick up most of it. So the place shapes the person; it doesn't create a different kind of person.

   Why this band

   • FC“whereas in my studio we interrupt each other within seconds” — The subordinator 'whereas' merges what would be two separate sentences at 6.5 into a single comparative sentence, a more fluent structure.
   • LR“more tied to the seasons” — A precise, specific image tied to rural life, more vivid than 6.5's generic 'more careful about change' as a description of rural temperament.
   • GRA“put a city person in the village for a year and they'd probably pick up most of it” — An imperative-plus-result structure ('put X... and Y') is a more flexible option than 6.5's standard 'if' conditional, though it still keeps the hedge 'probably' that 7.5 drops.

   Band 7.5

   The idiom 'I'd sign up for' replaces a plain 'I agree with', giving the opening a slightly more natural, conversational register.

   Different in habits, not in nature — I'd sign up for a small version of the claim. Khánh's uncle tells a story from beginning to end with no interruptions, and expects the same courtesy from you; in my studio, by contrast, we interrupt each other within seconds. That's a genuine difference, produced by a life with more time on its hands and fewer strangers passing through it. Rural people tend to be more patient, more tuned to the seasons, more dependent on neighbours, and more wary of change, since change has rarely brought them good news. But drop a city person into the village for a year and they'd absorb most of it soon enough. The place shapes the person; it doesn't manufacture a different kind of person.

   Why this band

   • FC“in my studio, by contrast, we interrupt each other within seconds” — The semicolon plus 'by contrast' creates a tightly balanced single-sentence comparison, more economical than 6.5's two separate sentences and slightly tighter than 7.0's 'whereas' version.
   • LR“a life with more time on its hands and fewer strangers passing through it” — The personified idiom 'time on its hands' is a more idiomatic, vivid phrase than 6.5's flat 'a slower life' and 7.0's plainer 'a life with more time'.
   • GRA“The place shapes the person; it doesn't manufacture a different kind of person” — The semicolon-joined pair with the precise verb 'manufacture' shows more compact, controlled grammar than 6.5's comma-joined 'but' sentence on the same idea.

9. 9. What kinds of people enjoy visiting the countryside?

   May–Aug 2026
   Compare Band 6.5 / 7.0 / 7.5 for this question

   Band 6.5

   The plain closing sentence 'Older people often enjoy it most' adds a final point without any explanation, in typical direct 6.5 style.

   Three of us went from the office one weekend, which was interesting. Two of us loved it — we both stare at screens all day and wanted something slow and physical. The third person was bored by lunchtime and went home early, because she needed noise and activity. So I think people who enjoy the countryside are usually people who already have enough of the city, like tired office workers, parents who want their kids to see animals, and photographers. People who need constant excitement usually don't enjoy it. Older people often enjoy it most.

   Why this band

   • LR“The third person was bored by lunchtime and went home early” — A simple past-tense narrative sentence. The 7.5 version sharpens the same fact with the idiom 'bored stiff by lunchtime on day one', which is far more vivid and specific.
   • FC“So I think people who enjoy the countryside are usually people who already have enough of the city” — The transition 'So I think' is functional but plain. The 7.0 version instead opens with 'So I'd say the people who enjoy the countryside tend to be those who', a slightly more hedged and natural-sounding equivalent.
   • GRA“like tired office workers, parents who want their kids to see animals, and photographers” — A straightforward comma list of three items. The 7.5 version extends this list to four items with more specific, evaluative phrasing, such as 'anyone nursing a rural childhood they miss', which needs a relative clause rather than a single noun.

   Band 7.0

   The word 'revealing' to describe the split among colleagues is a more precise, reflective choice than 6.5's plain 'interesting to watch'.

   Honestly, three of us went from the office that first weekend, and the split was revealing. Two of us loved it — both people who spend all day at screens and were genuinely starving for something slow and physical. The third was bored by lunchtime on day one and went home, because she needed noise and options. So I'd say the people who enjoy the countryside tend to be those who already have enough of the city to want its opposite: overworked professionals, parents who want their children to see a duck, photographers, anyone with a rural childhood they miss. People who thrive on stimulation generally don't feel the same pull, to be fair.

   Why this band

   • LR“were genuinely starving for something slow and physical” — The intensifier 'genuinely' plus the figurative verb 'starving' is more vivid than 6.5's flat 'wanted something slow and physical', though 7.5 goes further still with 'quietly starving'.
   • FC“People who thrive on stimulation generally don't feel the same pull, to be fair” — The hedge 'to be fair' at the end softens what would otherwise be a blunt generalisation, unlike 6.5's flat closing statement with no such cushioning.
   • GRA“those who already have enough of the city to want its opposite” — The infinitive clause 'to want its opposite' adds a layer of consequence within a single sentence, more grammatically developed than 6.5's simpler relative clause 'who already have enough of the city'.

   Band 7.5

   The simile 'needing noise and options the way some people need coffee' turns a simple observation into a memorable, idiomatic image.

   Three of us went from the office that first weekend, and the split was oddly instructive. Two of us loved it — both people who spend all day glued to screens and were quietly starving for something physical and unhurried. The third was bored stiff by lunchtime on day one and went home, needing noise and options the way some people need coffee. So the people who genuinely enjoy the countryside tend to be those who already have plenty of city in their system and want its opposite: overworked professionals, parents keen for their children to see a real duck, photographers, anyone nursing a rural childhood they miss. People who thrive on stimulation generally don't take to it at all. And older visitors often enjoy it most of everyone, simply because it's the world they still remember.

   Why this band

   • FC“needing noise and options the way some people need coffee” — A simile adds a whole extra layer of characterisation to the sentence, something neither 6.5's plain 'she needed noise and things to do' nor 7.0's version attempts.
   • LR“glued to screens” — The idiom 'glued to screens' is more vivid than 6.5's plain 'stare at screens all day' and slightly punchier than 7.0's 'spend all day at screens'.
   • GRA“already have plenty of city in their system and want its opposite” — The idiom 'in their system' functions almost like a compressed metaphor within a longer relative clause, showing more flexible grammar than 6.5's plainer 'already have enough of the city'.