A Time When Someone Asked You for Your Opinion

Part 3 follow-up questions

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

1. 1. To what extent do online opinions reflect the general opinions of society?

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

   Band 6.5

   Closes with a plain, direct two-part conclusion, without the more polished parallel structure the higher bands use.

   Only partly, and the difference can be big. Vy's café got three angry one-star reviews in its first month, all from one family who had to move tables, while hundreds of happy regular customers said nothing online at all. Online opinions come mostly from people with strong feelings, either very happy or very angry, or people who enjoy arguing. Most people are busy and don't post anything. Algorithms also make the loudest opinions look more common than they really are. So online opinion shows strong feelings, but not what most people actually think.

   Why this band

   • FC“So online opinion shows strong feelings, but not what most people actually think.” — This closing sentence states the balanced conclusion plainly and directly, in keeping with 6.5's simple style. 7.0 softens this into two parallel noun phrases ('a useful early warning... a poor guide'), and 7.5 extends the same pairing with an added evaluative frame, giving the ending more rhetorical shape.
   • LR“people who enjoy arguing” — This is plain, functional vocabulary. 7.5 upgrades the same idea to 'those who simply enjoy arguing', a small but more precise addition, and surrounds it with a fuller, more idiomatic list overall.
   • GRA“Vy's café got three angry one-star reviews in its first month, all from one family who had to move tables, while hundreds of happy regular customers said nothing online at all.” — This single long sentence already uses 'while' to balance two groups, reasonably advanced for 6.5. 7.5 extends the same sentence further with an added dash-linked interpretive clause, showing a longer, more developed unit.

   Band 7.0

   Adds the hedge 'Honestly' and the intensifier 'pretty dramatic' to the opening, giving it a more spoken, considered tone.

   Honestly, only partly, and the gap can be pretty dramatic. Vy's café got three furious one-star reviews in its first month, all from one family who'd been asked to move tables, while hundreds of happy regulars said absolutely nothing online. I'd say online opinion over-represents people with time, strong feelings, and a reason to type — the very pleased, the very upset, and people who enjoy arguing. Most of society, meanwhile, is busy, moderate and silent. Algorithms then amplify whatever gets a reaction, so the loudest views end up looking like the common ones. It's a useful early warning, but a poor guide to what most people actually think.

   Why this band

   • FC“Honestly, only partly, and the gap can be pretty dramatic.” — The hedge 'Honestly' plus the intensifier 'pretty dramatic' gives this opening more spoken colour than 6.5's flatter version. 7.5 achieves a similarly confident tone without the hedge, using 'genuinely dramatic' instead, a marginally stronger single-word intensifier.
   • LR“the very pleased, the very upset, and people who enjoy arguing” — This is a clear, parallel list using plain intensifiers. 7.5 keeps a very similar list but adds 'simply' before 'enjoy arguing', a small refinement that sharpens the same idea.
   • GRA“Algorithms then amplify whatever gets a reaction, so the loudest views end up looking like the common ones.” — This uses 'so' to link cause and effect in one sentence, correct and fluent. 7.5 keeps a nearly identical structure but replaces 'looking like' with the more vivid 'masquerading as', a stronger verb choice within the same grammatical frame.

   Band 7.5

   Closes with a hedge inserted mid-sentence and a dash-balanced pair of noun phrases, giving the conclusion a deliberate, weighed rhythm.

   Only partly, and the gap can be genuinely dramatic. Vy's café picked up three furious one-star reviews in its first month, all from a single family who'd been asked to move tables, while hundreds of perfectly happy regulars said absolutely nothing online — the internet, in other words, only heard the angry three. Online opinion over-represents people with time, strong feelings and a reason to type: the very pleased, the very upset, and those who simply enjoy arguing. Most of society, by contrast, is busy, moderate and silent. Algorithms then amplify whatever provokes a reaction, so the loudest views end up masquerading as the common ones. Online opinion, I'd say, is a useful early warning of what some people feel intensely — and a poor guide to what most people actually think.

   Why this band

   • FC“Online opinion, I'd say, is a useful early warning of what some people feel intensely — and a poor guide to what most people actually think.” — This closing inserts the hedge 'I'd say' mid-sentence and balances two parallel noun phrases around a dash, giving the conclusion a more deliberate, weighed rhythm than the plainer endings at 6.5 and 7.0. It reads as a carefully constructed final judgement rather than a simple final fact.
   • LR“masquerading as the common ones” — 'Masquerading as' is a vivid, precise metaphor for something falsely appearing to be something else, well beyond the plain 'looking like' used at 6.5 and 7.0. It shows the kind of natural, image-based vocabulary expected at 7.5.
   • GRA“while hundreds of perfectly happy regulars said absolutely nothing online — the internet, in other words, only heard the angry three” — This clause adds a dash-linked restatement that interprets the fact just given, rather than simply stating it. That extra interpretive layer, built through flexible punctuation, is more ambitious than the single-clause sentences at 6.5 and 7.0.

2. 2. How effective are international organisations, such as the United Nations, at managing differing views?

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

   Band 6.5

   Closes with a short, plain sentence using basic grammar, unlike the higher bands' more balanced closing structures.

   They are good at bringing different views into one room, but weak at solving them. I watched a climate summit with a colleague, and she kept asking, 'but who can make them do it?' That's the limit — these organisations can persuade and coordinate, but they can't force a powerful country to do anything it refuses. They work well on shared problems and give small countries a voice. When the biggest members disagree, the organisation becomes more like a stage than a referee. Still, it's better than no room to talk at all.

   Why this band

   • FC“That's the limit — these organisations can persuade and coordinate, but they can't force a powerful country to do anything it refuses.” — This states the central limitation directly in one sentence, suiting 6.5's plain style. 7.0 extends the same list with a third verb ('persuade, coordinate and embarrass'), and 7.5 adds the intensifier 'flatly' to the refusal, both giving the same point more precision.
   • LR“the organisation becomes more like a stage than a referee” — This is a clear, effective metaphor, already fairly vivid. 7.5 compresses the equivalent idea into 'slides from referee into mere stage', a more economical and dynamic verb-led version of the same image.
   • GRA“Still, it's better than no room to talk at all.” — A short, simple closing sentence with basic grammar. 7.5 extends a similar closing idea into a longer sentence with two balancing adverbs, showing more controlled sentence-final modification.

   Band 7.0

   Adds the hedge 'Honestly' and 'pretty weak' to the opening, giving it a more spoken, considered quality than a flat statement.

   Honestly, they're effective at bringing different views into one room, but pretty weak at actually settling them. I watched a climate summit with a colleague who kept asking, 'but who can make them do it?', and that's the limit — these bodies can persuade, coordinate and embarrass, but they can't compel a powerful country to do anything it refuses. Where they work well is on problems everyone agrees are shared, like disease or refugee camps, and in giving small nations a voice they'd otherwise lack. Where they fail is when the biggest members disagree, and the organisation becomes a stage rather than a referee. That's a modest achievement, but a real one.

   Why this band

   • FC“Honestly, they're effective at bringing different views into one room, but pretty weak at actually settling them.” — The hedge 'Honestly' plus 'pretty weak' gives this opening a more spoken, considered quality than 6.5's flatter statement. 7.5 achieves a similarly weighed tone without the hedge, using 'considerably weaker' instead, a more formal and precise intensifier.
   • LR“these bodies can persuade, coordinate and embarrass” — This three-verb list is a precise, functional description. 7.5 keeps the same list, showing that at the top two bands a well-chosen list can recur while the surrounding sentence grows more demanding.
   • GRA“Where they work well is on problems everyone agrees are shared, like disease or refugee camps, and in giving small nations a voice they'd otherwise lack.” — This sentence fronts 'Where they work well is...' for emphasis, then adds a second coordinated clause, a fairly advanced structure. 7.5 keeps this same fronted structure but extends the list to three items with a dash instead of 'like', showing marginally denser detail within an identical frame.

   Band 7.5

   Closes with the paired adverbs 'admittedly' and 'nonetheless', framing the concession with more rhetorical balance than the plainer endings below.

   Effective at bringing differing views into one room, I'd say, but considerably weaker at actually settling them. I watched a climate summit stream with a colleague who kept asking, 'but who can make them do it?' — and that's the honest limit: international bodies can persuade, coordinate and embarrass, but they can't compel a powerful country to do anything it flatly refuses. Where they genuinely excel is on problems everyone agrees are shared — disease, aviation rules, refugee camps — and in giving small nations a voice they'd otherwise never have. Where they fail is precisely when the biggest members disagree, and the organisation slides from referee into mere stage. That's a modest achievement, admittedly, but a real one nonetheless.

   Why this band

   • FC“That's a modest achievement, admittedly, but a real one nonetheless.” — The paired adverbs 'admittedly' and 'nonetheless' frame this closing concession with more rhetorical balance than the plainer versions at 6.5 and 7.0. It reads as a carefully weighed final judgement rather than a simple final fact.
   • LR“slides from referee into mere stage” — This is a vivid, dynamic metaphor using the verb 'slides' to suggest gradual decline, more economical and evocative than the static 'becomes more of a stage than a referee' used at the lower bands. It shows the kind of natural, image-based vocabulary expected at 7.5.
   • GRA“Where they genuinely excel is on problems everyone agrees are shared — disease, aviation rules, refugee camps — and in giving small nations a voice they'd otherwise never have.” — This sentence keeps the fronted 'Where... is' structure from 7.0 but extends the example list to three items using a dash and intensifies the final clause with 'otherwise never have'. This incremental layering within a shared grammatical frame is characteristic of the top band's control.

3. 3. Why do some people not like giving their opinion?

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

   Band 6.5

   States the final reframing plainly, without the comparative structures the higher bands use to sharpen the same claim.

   Mrs Hoa's husband had strong opinions about the café, but he showed them by leaving the room. For some people, giving an opinion feels like starting a fight, so they avoid it. Others are scared of being wrong in public, or of being blamed if something goes wrong. In some cultures, giving an opinion above your position can seem rude. Some people don't feel strongly and don't like being pushed to pretend. And some people have shared opinions before and been punished for it. So staying silent is often a choice, not really an empty mind.

   Why this band

   • FC“So staying silent is often a choice, not really an empty mind.” — This closing sentence states the reframing directly in plain terms, fitting 6.5's simple style. 7.0 restructures the same contrast with 'less... than', and 7.5 sharpens it further with 'not... at all, but', both giving the final claim more precision and weight.
   • LR“giving an opinion feels like starting a fight” — This is a clear, functional metaphor. 7.5 upgrades the equivalent phrase to 'voicing an opinion feels like picking a fight', using the slightly more vivid verbs 'voicing' and 'picking' for the same image.
   • GRA“In some cultures, giving an opinion above your position can seem rude.” — A short, simple conditional-style sentence, correct and clear. 7.5 extends a similar idea with an added consequence clause, showing a longer, more developed sentence for the same point.

   Band 7.0

   Reframes the closing idea with a 'less... than' comparative structure instead of a plain restatement.

   Honestly, Mrs Hoa's husband had very strong views on the café and expressed them entirely by leaving the room, which is one common style — for some people, stating an opinion feels like starting a fight they'd rather avoid. Others are simply afraid of being wrong in public, or of being blamed if things go badly. In more hierarchical settings, giving an opinion above your station can seem rude, so people learn silence. Some don't feel strongly and dislike being pushed to pretend. And a few have offered opinions before and were punished for it. So silence is often less an absence of opinion than a calculation about what it'll cost.

   Why this band

   • FC“Honestly, Mrs Hoa's husband had very strong views on the café and expressed them entirely by leaving the room, which is one common style” — The hedge 'Honestly' at the very start gives this opening a more personal, spoken quality than a bare statement of fact. 7.5 drops the hedge but reaches a similarly confident tone through the more formal word 'recognisable' in place of 'common'.
   • LR“Others are simply afraid of being wrong in public” — This is plain, direct vocabulary for the fear described. 7.5 replaces 'afraid' with 'wary', a slightly more precise and understated word for the same feeling.
   • GRA“So silence is often less an absence of opinion than a calculation about what it'll cost.” — This uses a 'less... than' comparative structure to reframe the idea, correct and reasonably sophisticated. 7.5 restructures the same idea with 'not... at all, but', a marginally more emphatic variant of the same underlying contrast.

   Band 7.5

   Adds a second coordinated clause ('and never quite unlearn it') beyond what either lower band attempts in the same sentence.

   Mrs Hoa's husband had very strong views on the café and expressed them entirely by leaving the room, which is one recognisable style: for some people, especially older men here, voicing an opinion feels like picking a fight they'd rather sidestep. Others are simply wary of being wrong in public, or of being held responsible if things go badly. In more hierarchical settings, offering an opinion above your station can seem outright rude, so people learn silence early and never quite unlearn it. Some genuinely don't feel strongly and resent being pushed to pretend otherwise. And a few have voiced opinions before and paid for it, at work or at home. So silence is often not an absence of opinion at all, but a quiet calculation about what it will cost.

   Why this band

   • FC“So silence is often not an absence of opinion at all, but a quiet calculation about what it will cost.” — The added intensifier 'at all' and the adjective 'quiet' before 'calculation' give this closing claim more emphasis and imagery than the plainer versions at 6.5 and 7.0. It reads as a more deliberately crafted final statement.
   • LR“voicing an opinion feels like picking a fight they'd rather sidestep” — 'Sidestep' is a precise, physical metaphor for avoidance, more vivid than the plain 'avoid' used at 6.5. It shows the kind of natural, image-based vocabulary that marks 7.5 lexical resource.
   • GRA“so people learn silence early and never quite unlearn it” — This adds a second coordinated clause onto an already complete sentence, extending the idea beyond what either lower band attempts. That willingness to keep building a sentence with additional, precisely judged clauses is characteristic of 7.5 grammar.

4. 4. What kinds of things do people often write about in online reviews?

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

   Band 6.5

   Opens with a short, direct statement, without the spoken hedges the higher bands add.

   Less about the product than you might expect. I once went through the café's reviews for Vy, and about forty mentioned how the staff treated them, a dozen mentioned the price, and only three said anything about the coffee itself. People mostly write about how they were made to feel — welcome, ignored, cheated, or surprised — and whether reality matched what was promised. They also write about speed, cleanliness, and noise, and anything that went wrong. Photos are replacing words. Five-star reviews tend to be short, while one-star reviews are long and emotional.

   Why this band

   • FC“Less about the product than you might expect.” — This is a short, direct opening statement, typical of 6.5's plain style. 7.0 adds the hedge 'Honestly', and 7.5 moves a similar hedge to the end ('if I'm honest'), both giving the opening a more natural, spoken rhythm.
   • LR“I once went through the café's reviews for Vy” — 'Went through' is a plain, functional verb. 7.5 upgrades this to 'trawled through', a more vivid and precise verb for a thorough, effortful search, showing wider lexical range for the same action.
   • GRA“Five-star reviews tend to be short, while one-star reviews are long and emotional.” — This uses 'while' to balance two contrasting review types in one sentence, correct and reasonably fluent. 7.5 extends the same contrast with a third adjective on each side and replaces 'while' with a semicolon, showing tighter, more developed punctuation.

   Band 7.0

   Adds the hedge 'Honestly' to a natural, spoken opening, in place of 6.5's bare statement.

   Honestly, less about the product than you'd expect. I once went through the café's reviews for Vy, and about forty mentioned how the staff had treated them, a dozen mentioned price, and only three said anything at all about the coffee. People mostly write about how they were made to feel — welcome, ignored, cheated, surprised — and about whether reality matched the promise. They also write about speed, cleanliness, noise, and anything that went noticeably wrong. Photos are increasingly replacing words, too. Five-star reviews tend to be short and vague, while one-star reviews are long, specific and emotional.

   Why this band

   • FC“Honestly, less about the product than you'd expect.” — Adding 'Honestly' up front gives this a more natural, spoken opening than 6.5's bare statement. 7.5 reaches a similarly natural effect by placing a nearly identical hedge at the end of the sentence instead, a subtly more relaxed, conversational placement.
   • LR“only three said anything at all about the coffee” — This is a clear, emphatic way of stating the surprising fact. 7.5 rephrases the equivalent idea as 'just three, in total, said anything about the coffee itself', inserting the phrase 'in total' for extra emphasis within a very similar structure.
   • GRA“Five-star reviews tend to be short and vague, while one-star reviews are long, specific and emotional.” — This sentence balances two three-adjective lists across a 'while' clause, a well-developed parallel structure. 7.5 keeps the identical two lists but replaces 'while' with a semicolon, a marginally tighter and more formal way of joining the same balanced contrast.

   Band 7.5

   Closes with a semicolon instead of 'while', giving the final contrast a tighter, more clipped rhythm than the lower bands.

   Rather less about the product than you'd expect, if I'm honest. I once trawled through the café's reviews for Vy, and roughly forty mentioned how the staff had treated them, a dozen mentioned price, and just three, in total, said anything about the coffee itself. People mostly write about how they were made to feel — welcome, ignored, cheated, surprised — and about whether reality lived up to the promise. They also dwell on speed, cleanliness, noise, and anything that went visibly wrong, in often excruciating detail. Photos are increasingly elbowing words aside. Five-star reviews tend to be short and vague; one-star reviews are long, specific and emotional.

   Why this band

   • FC“Five-star reviews tend to be short and vague; one-star reviews are long, specific and emotional.” — Using a semicolon instead of 'while' to join this final contrast gives the closing a tighter, more clipped rhythm than the looser conjunction used at 6.5 and 7.0. It reads as a more confident, compact way of delivering the same balanced observation.
   • LR“increasingly elbowing words aside” — 'Elbowing words aside' is a vivid, physical metaphor for photos displacing text, well beyond the plain 'replacing words' used at 6.5 and 7.0. It shows the kind of natural, image-rich vocabulary that marks 7.5.
   • GRA“They also dwell on speed, cleanliness, noise, and anything that went visibly wrong, in often excruciating detail.” — This sentence adds a trailing adverbial phrase after an already complete list, extending the sentence further than the equivalent versions at 6.5 and 7.0. That capacity to keep building a sentence with additional precisely judged detail is a hallmark of 7.5 grammar.

5. 5. Does it take many decades for nations to change long-held views?

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

   Band 6.5

   Closes with a short, plain sentence joined by 'and', unlike the higher bands' more calibrated final clauses.

   Often it takes about as long as it takes for people to be replaced. In my family, my grandmother's views on women working never changed, my mother's changed a little, and my sister has the opposite view. So the nation's opinion moved mostly because new people arrived with new views, not because old people changed their minds. Some changes happen faster — a war or a scandal can shift a country's opinion in a year. But deep views about family or religion move slowly. So decades is usually about right, and sometimes it takes even longer.

   Why this band

   • FC“So the nation's opinion moved mostly because new people arrived with new views, not because old people changed their minds.” — This states the mechanism plainly with a 'not because' contrast, suiting 6.5's direct style. 7.0 embeds the same contrast inside a longer dash-linked sentence, and 7.5 keeps that structure but adds a further phrase, giving the point slightly more polish.
   • LR“my grandmother's views on women working never changed” — This is plain, functional wording. 7.5 upgrades the equivalent phrase to 'never budged an inch', a vivid, idiomatic intensifier for the same idea of total resistance to change.
   • GRA“So decades is usually about right, and sometimes it takes even longer.” — A short closing sentence joined by 'and', correct and simple. 7.5 keeps a very similar structure but adds 'on average' and replaces 'even longer' with the more precise 'closer to centuries', showing a marginally more developed final clause.

   Band 7.0

   Softens the opening with 'Honestly' and embeds the mechanism inside a dash-linked sentence rather than a separate one.

   Honestly, it often takes roughly the time it takes for people to be replaced. In my family, my grandmother's views on women working never changed, my mother's shifted halfway, and my sister holds the opposite view — the nation's opinion moved, but mostly through generations arriving with new views rather than old people actually changing theirs. Some shifts are faster, admittedly: a war, a disaster or a scandal can turn a nation's mind within a year, and technology has sped this up too. But deep views about family, religion and outsiders tend to move at the speed of funerals and births. So decades is about right, and sometimes it's centuries.

   Why this band

   • FC“Honestly, it often takes roughly the time it takes for people to be replaced.” — The hedge 'Honestly' softens this claim into a more considered, spoken opening than 6.5's flatter statement. 7.5 drops the hedge and instead adds the reflexive 'themselves', achieving a similarly weighed tone through precision rather than a spoken aside.
   • LR“Some shifts are faster, admittedly” — 'Admittedly' is a precise, concessive adverb reused identically at 7.5, showing that at the top two bands a well-chosen discourse marker can recur while the surrounding sentence structure grows more demanding.
   • GRA“the nation's opinion moved, but mostly through generations arriving with new views rather than old people actually changing theirs” — This clause uses 'rather than' to contrast two mechanisms within one dash-linked sentence, a fairly advanced structure. 7.5 keeps an almost identical structure but replaces the ending with a more natural, idiomatic phrasing of the same contrast.

   Band 7.5

   Adds the qualifier 'on average' and the more precise 'closer to centuries', giving the closing more careful calibration.

   Often it takes roughly the time it takes for people themselves to be replaced. In my own family, my grandmother's views on women working never budged an inch, my mother's shifted halfway, and my sister holds the polar opposite view — the nation's opinion moved, but mostly through generations arriving with new views rather than old ones changing their minds. Some shifts happen faster, admittedly: a war, a disaster or a scandal can turn a nation's mind within a single year, and technology has accelerated everything by exposing people to entirely different ways of living. But deep views about family, honour, religion and outsiders tend to move at the speed of funerals and births. Decades is about right on average, and sometimes it's closer to centuries.

   Why this band

   • FC“Decades is about right on average, and sometimes it's closer to centuries.” — The added qualifier 'on average' and the more precise 'closer to centuries' give this closing more careful calibration than the plainer versions at 6.5 and 7.0. It reads as a more considered, statistically-minded final judgement.
   • LR“never budged an inch” — This is a vivid, physical idiom for total resistance to change, well beyond the plain 'never changed' used at 6.5 and 7.0. It shows the kind of natural, image-based vocabulary that marks 7.5 lexical resource.
   • GRA“the nation's opinion moved, but mostly through generations arriving with new views rather than old ones changing their minds” — This sentence uses 'rather than' to contrast two mechanisms within a dash-linked structure, closely matching 7.0's grammar but with a more idiomatic final phrase. That fine-tuned variation on an already complex shared structure is characteristic of the top band's control.

6. 6. Do people give their opinions about products and services more frequently nowadays?

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

   Band 6.5

   Uses the plain intensifier 'many' rather than the stronger 'far' the higher bands reach for.

   Much more often, and about many more things. My mother went sixty years without ever complaining to a shop, and last year wrote her first review — of a rice cooker, four stars — because the app asked her to and it took thirty seconds. Now every purchase ends with a request for a rating, so giving an opinion has become a normal step instead of something brave. People also review things nobody used to review, like a doctor or a bus route. The amount of opinion is huge now, and businesses depend on it.

   Why this band

   • FC“Much more often, and about many more things.” — This short opening states the intensified claim plainly, suiting 6.5's direct style. Both higher bands replace 'many' with 'far', a marginally stronger, more natural intensifier for the same claim.
   • LR“The amount of opinion is huge now” — This is a plain, general statement. 7.5 replaces it with 'the sheer volume is staggering now', a noticeably more vivid and precise pair of words for the same idea.
   • GRA“Now every purchase ends with a request for a rating, so giving an opinion has become a normal step instead of something brave.” — This uses 'so' to link cause and effect in one sentence, correct and fluent. 7.5 keeps a very similar structure but adds a trailing clause about baffling shopkeepers 'a generation ago' to a related later sentence, extending the overall argument further than either lower band.

   Band 7.0

   Adds the hedge 'Honestly' and repeats the stronger intensifier 'far' rather than 6.5's plainer 'much... many'.

   Honestly, far more often, and about far more things. My mother went sixty years without ever complaining to a shop, and last year wrote her first review — of a rice cooker, four stars, with a note about the lid — simply because the app asked her to and it took thirty seconds. Every purchase now ends with a request for a rating, so opinion has become a routine step rather than an act of courage. People also review things nobody thought to review before: a doctor, a bus route, a public toilet. Whether the opinions are more considered is another matter, but the sheer volume is enormous now.

   Why this band

   • FC“Honestly, far more often, and about far more things.” — The hedge 'Honestly' plus the repeated intensifier 'far' gives this opening more conviction than 6.5's plainer 'much... many'. 7.5 achieves a similar effect without the hedge, adding 'if I'm honest' at the end of the sentence instead, a subtly more natural placement.
   • LR“opinion has become a routine step rather than an act of courage” — This is a precise, idiomatic contrast. 7.5 varies it slightly to 'a routine reflex rather than an act of courage', swapping 'step' for the more vivid 'reflex', a small but telling upgrade.
   • GRA“Whether the opinions are more considered is another matter, but the sheer volume is enormous now.” — This uses 'but' to contrast two related claims in one sentence, correct and reasonably developed. 7.5 extends a very similar sentence with an additional trailing clause about baffling shopkeepers 'a generation ago', adding a further layer of comparison beyond what 7.0 includes.

   Band 7.5

   Extends the closing contrast with a trailing clause comparing today to a past generation, something neither lower band reaches for.

   Far more often, and about far more things, if I'm honest. My mother went sixty years without ever once complaining to a shop, and last year wrote her first review — of a rice cooker, four stars, with a note about the lid — purely because the app asked her to and it took all of thirty seconds. Every purchase now ends with a request for a rating, so opinion has become a routine reflex rather than an act of courage. People also review things nobody thought to rate before: a doctor, a bus route, a public toilet. Whether the opinions are any more considered is another matter entirely, but the sheer volume is staggering now, in a way that would have baffled shopkeepers a generation ago.

   Why this band

   • FC“Whether the opinions are any more considered is another matter entirely, but the sheer volume is staggering now, in a way that would have baffled shopkeepers a generation ago.” — This closing sentence extends the contrast made at the lower bands with an additional trailing clause comparing today to a past generation, giving the conclusion more historical depth. Neither 6.5 nor 7.0 reaches this far beyond the immediate comparison.
   • LR“purely because the app asked her to” — 'Purely because' is a precise, slightly more formal intensifier than the plain 'because' used at 6.5 or 'simply because' at 7.0. It shows a small but deliberate step up in register for the same causal link.
   • GRA“My mother went sixty years without ever once complaining to a shop, and last year wrote her first review — of a rice cooker, four stars, with a note about the lid — purely because the app asked her to and it took all of thirty seconds.” — This sentence embeds a dash-set appositive list in the middle of a long coordinated sentence, managing considerably more detail in one unit than the shorter equivalent at 6.5. That capacity to sustain a long, multi-part sentence without losing clarity is a hallmark of the grammatical range expected at 7.5.

7. 7. Do people express their opinions more strongly online than they do face-to-face?

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

   Band 6.5

   Ends the argument with a plain relative clause, unlike the higher bands' more developed final sentences.

   Much more strongly, and I've actually seen proof of this. One of the café's angriest one-star reviewers came back in person a month later and was polite, even shy, and ordered the same drink she had called undrinkable online. A screen removes the face that would normally make us softer, so nobody sees the effect. Online also rewards the strongest opinions, because mild comments get no reaction. Face-to-face, people read each other and adjust what they say, which usually avoids conflict. The internet removes that and then people wonder why everyone sounds so angry.

   Why this band

   • FC“Much more strongly, and I've actually seen proof of this.” — This short opening claim is stated plainly with a simple 'and' link, suiting 6.5's style. Both higher bands replace 'seen proof of this' with the more vivid 'seen/watched the proof', a slightly more confident, idiomatic phrasing of the same claim.
   • LR“A screen removes the face that would normally make us softer” — 'Make us softer' is a plain, functional phrase. Both higher bands replace it with the more natural verb 'soften us', a tighter, more idiomatic way of expressing the identical idea.
   • GRA“Face-to-face, people read each other and adjust what they say, which usually avoids conflict.” — This sentence uses a relative clause to add a result, correct and reasonably fluent. 7.5 extends this into a longer sentence with a further dash-linked contrast about the internet, adding an extra layer that neither 6.5 nor 7.0 attempts in the same sentence.

   Band 7.0

   Adds the hedge 'Honestly' and upgrades 'seen proof of this' to 'seen the proof', a more confident, idiomatic version of the same claim.

   Honestly, much more strongly, and I've actually seen the proof. One of the café's angriest one-star reviewers came back in person a month later and was perfectly polite, even shy, and ordered the exact same drink she'd called undrinkable online — the same person, two completely different volumes. A screen removes the face that would normally soften us, since nobody sees the effect of their words and there's no risk of an awkward silence. Anonymity adds even more to that. Online also rewards the strongest version of an opinion, since mild ones get no reaction at all. Face-to-face, people read each other and adjust, which is largely how conflict gets avoided.

   Why this band

   • FC“Honestly, much more strongly, and I've actually seen the proof.” — The hedge 'Honestly' gives this opening a more personal, spoken quality than 6.5's flatter version. 7.5 achieves a similarly confident tone without the hedge, using the stronger intensifier 'considerably' and the more vivid verb 'watched' instead.
   • LR“the same person, two completely different volumes” — This is a precise, effective metaphor for the contrast in tone. 7.5 extends the same metaphor slightly with 'at two entirely different volumes', adding the preposition 'at' for a marginally more natural, idiomatic phrasing.
   • GRA“A screen removes the face that would normally soften us, since nobody sees the effect of their words and there's no risk of an awkward silence.” — This sentence uses 'since' to give a reason, followed by a coordinated second clause, a fluent and developed structure. 7.5 keeps the same basic content but replaces the comma-plus-since with a semicolon, a marginally tighter and more formal way of connecting the same two ideas.

   Band 7.5

   Closes by personifying the internet as an actor that causes and is puzzled by the problem, unlike either lower band's more literal ending.

   Considerably more strongly, and I've actually watched the proof happen. One of the café's angriest one-star reviewers came back in person a month later, perfectly polite, even faintly shy, and ordered the exact same drink she'd once called undrinkable online — the same person, at two entirely different volumes. A screen removes the face that would normally soften us; nobody sees the effect of their words, and there's no risk of an awkward silence to check them. Anonymity piles on top of that. Online also rewards the loudest version of an opinion, since mild ones simply get no reaction. Face-to-face, people read each other and adjust, which is largely how conflict gets defused before it starts — the internet strips that away and then wonders why everyone sounds so angry.

   Why this band

   • FC“the internet strips that away and then wonders why everyone sounds so angry” — This closing personifies the internet as an actor that both causes and is puzzled by a problem, giving the ending a sharp, slightly satirical edge. Neither 6.5 nor 7.0 personifies the internet this directly; both describe the effect more literally.
   • LR“conflict gets defused before it starts” — 'Defused' is a precise, vivid metaphor, borrowed from bomb disposal, for preventing conflict, well beyond the plain 'avoids conflict' used at 6.5 and 7.0. It shows the kind of natural, image-rich vocabulary that marks 7.5.
   • GRA“A screen removes the face that would normally soften us; nobody sees the effect of their words, and there's no risk of an awkward silence to check them.” — This sentence uses a semicolon to join two independent clauses and adds a further purpose phrase at the end, managing more layers of reasoning in one unit than either lower band. That density, built through flexible punctuation, is characteristic of 7.5 grammar.

8. 8. In what jobs do people often need to give their opinion?

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

   Band 6.5

   Gives just one example of an opinion-forbidden job, where the higher bands build a fuller three-item list.

   Mine, for one — as a designer, I get asked 'what do you think of this?' many times a day, and being paid for an honest answer is most of the job. Consultants, critics and advisers are similar, since their opinion is the product. Doctors and lawyers give opinions that have real consequences, and are held responsible for them. Teachers give opinions on work constantly — my sister marks essays she disagrees with and has to keep the two separate. What's interesting is that some jobs, like a customs officer, don't allow personal opinion at all.

   Why this band

   • FC“Mine, for one — as a designer, I get asked 'what do you think of this?' many times a day, and being paid for an honest answer is most of the job.” — This opening sentence uses a dash to introduce the personal example directly, a clear and effective structure for 6.5. Both higher bands keep this same dash structure almost unchanged, showing that at this level the technique itself can already be strong; the real differences appear in the surrounding vocabulary and the closing sentence.
   • LR“Doctors and lawyers give opinions that have real consequences” — 'Have real consequences' is a plain, functional phrase. 7.5 upgrades the equivalent idea to 'dispense opinions with real consequences', using the more formal, precise verb 'dispense' for a stronger register.
   • GRA“What's interesting is that some jobs, like a customs officer, don't allow personal opinion at all.” — This is a single sentence giving one example, correct but limited. Both higher bands extend the same idea into a longer sentence with a three-item dash-set list and a 'where' clause explaining the underlying skill, showing considerably more developed structure for the same point.

   Band 7.0

   Signals a deliberate shift with 'though' before the concluding observation, rather than 6.5's plainer 'What's interesting is that...'.

   Mine — a designer is asked 'what do you think of this?' twenty times a day, and being paid for an honest answer is most of the job. Consultants, critics and advisers are the same, since their opinion is essentially the product. Doctors and lawyers give opinions that carry real consequences, and they're held responsible for them accordingly. Teachers give opinions on work constantly — my sister marks essays she disagrees with and has to keep the two apart. What's interesting, though, is the jobs where opinion is actually forbidden — a customs officer, a referee, an accountant — where the whole skill is applying rules without letting your view show.

   Why this band

   • FC“What's interesting, though, is the jobs where opinion is actually forbidden — a customs officer, a referee, an accountant — where the whole skill is applying rules without letting your view show.” — This closing observation is introduced with the concessive 'though', signalling a deliberate shift in direction after the main argument, a step beyond 6.5's plainer 'What's interesting is that...'. 7.5 keeps this same shift but adds 'genuinely' and a final summarising sentence, extending the reflection even further.
   • LR“their opinion is essentially the product” — 'Essentially' is a precise, natural intensifier for this claim. 7.5 varies this to 'effectively is the product', swapping the adverb for one that modifies the verb more directly, a small but deliberate grammatical variation on the same idea.
   • GRA“Doctors and lawyers give opinions that carry real consequences, and they're held responsible for them accordingly.” — This sentence adds the adverb 'accordingly' to close the clause, a small but effective way of tying the result back to the cause. 7.5 extends a similar sentence further with a comparative clause, adding an extra layer of comparison beyond what 7.0 attempts.

   Band 7.5

   Adds a final reflective sentence applying to both kinds of job discussed, something neither lower band includes.

   Mine, for one — a designer gets asked 'what do you think of this?' twenty times a day, and being paid for an honest answer is essentially the whole job. Consultants, critics, editors and advisers of every stripe are much the same, since their opinion effectively is the product. Doctors and lawyers dispense opinions with real consequences, and they're held accountable for them in a way most professions never are. Teachers give opinions on work constantly; my sister marks essays she personally disagrees with and has to keep the two firmly apart. What's genuinely interesting, though, is the jobs where opinion is explicitly forbidden — a customs officer, a referee, an accountant — where the whole skill lies in applying rules without ever letting your view show. Both kinds turn out to be harder than they look.

   Why this band

   • FC“Both kinds turn out to be harder than they look.” — This final sentence steps back from the specific examples to state a general reflection that applies to both types of job discussed, giving the whole answer a clear sense of arriving at a conclusion. Neither 6.5 nor 7.0 includes this kind of summarising final observation; both stop at the last example given.
   • LR“their opinion effectively is the product” — This is a precise, almost paradoxical way of collapsing the distinction between a person's opinion and what they're paid for, more economical than the plainer 'is essentially the product' used at 7.0. It shows the kind of tight, natural phrasing that marks 7.5 lexical resource.
   • GRA“Doctors and lawyers dispense opinions with real consequences, and they're held accountable for them in a way most professions never are.” — This sentence adds a comparative relative clause onto an already complete sentence, extending the reasoning further than either lower band. That capacity to keep building a sentence with additional, precisely judged comparison is a hallmark of 7.5 grammar.

9. 9. How important is it to have international conferences to discuss global issues, such as the environment?

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

   Band 6.5

   Ends with one 'so' result clause, whereas the higher bands add a further sentence extending the argument.

   Important, but not really because of the speeches. The plan to protect Da Nang's beach from erosion got funding after a regional conference put coastal cities on the agenda and put our officials with people who had money and knowledge. Conferences work by connecting problems to resources, and by making countries commit in front of each other. The environment is an example, because no country can fix climate change alone, and without a shared table, there's no way to share it. The weak point is that promises made at conferences are cheap, so results often disappoint.

   Why this band

   • FC“Important, but not really because of the speeches.” — This short opening states the qualified answer plainly, in keeping with 6.5's direct style. 7.0 softens this with the hedge 'Honestly' and 'though', and 7.5 adds 'themselves' plus a trailing 'if I'm honest', both giving the same opening more nuance.
   • LR“Conferences work by connecting problems to resources” — 'Connecting' is a plain, functional verb. 7.5 upgrades this to 'tethering problems to resources', a more vivid, physical metaphor for the identical idea.
   • GRA“The weak point is that promises made at conferences are cheap, so results often disappoint.” — This uses 'so' to give a simple result, correct and clear. 7.5 extends a similar sentence with an additional coordinated clause about enforcement and a whole new final sentence about the alternative, showing considerably more developed argument.

   Band 7.0

   Softens the opening with 'Honestly... though' and adds 'enforcement is thin' as a second cause, beyond 6.5's single reason.

   Honestly, important, though not really for the speeches. The plan to protect Da Nang's beach from erosion actually got funding after a regional conference put coastal cities on the agenda and put our officials in a room with people who had both money and expertise — conferences work by connecting problems to resources and by making countries commit to things in front of each other. The environment is probably the clearest case, since no single nation can fix the climate alone, and without a shared table there's no way to divide the burden. The weakness is that promises made at conferences are cheap and enforcement is thin, so the results often disappoint.

   Why this band

   • FC“Honestly, important, though not really for the speeches.” — The hedge 'Honestly' combined with the concessive 'though' gives this opening a more careful, spoken quality than 6.5's flatter version. 7.5 reaches a similarly qualified tone by moving a nearly identical hedge to the end of the sentence, a marginally more natural placement.
   • LR“people who had both money and expertise” — This is a clear, functional pairing. 7.5 keeps the same pairing but adds 'actually' before it, a small intensifier that sharpens the same point without changing the core vocabulary.
   • GRA“conferences work by connecting problems to resources and by making countries commit to things in front of each other” — This sentence uses a parallel 'by... and by...' structure, correct and fluent. 7.5 keeps the same parallel structure but replaces 'connecting' with the more vivid 'tethering' and drops 'to things', a marginally tighter and more image-based variant.

   Band 7.5

   Adds a whole new closing argument about the failed alternative, giving the ending far more weight than either lower band.

   Important, though rarely for the speeches themselves, if I'm honest. The plan to protect Da Nang's beach from erosion only got funding after a regional conference put coastal cities on the agenda and put our officials in a room with people who actually had money and expertise — conferences work by tethering problems to resources and by making countries commit in front of each other. The environment is perhaps the clearest case, since no single nation can fix the climate alone, and without a shared table there's simply no way to divide the burden fairly. The weakness is that promises made at conferences come cheap and enforcement stays thin, so results often disappoint. But the alternative — every country deciding alone — has already been tried, and that's largely how we got here.

   Why this band

   • FC“But the alternative — every country deciding alone — has already been tried, and that's largely how we got here.” — This final sentence adds a whole new argument — that the alternative to conferences has already failed — giving the answer a stronger, more complete sense of closure than either lower band. Neither 6.5 nor 7.0 reaches this far; both end on the simpler observation that promises are cheap.
   • LR“tethering problems to resources” — 'Tethering' is a vivid, physical metaphor for firmly connecting two things, well beyond the plain 'connecting' used at 6.5 and 7.0. It shows the kind of natural, image-rich vocabulary that marks 7.5.
   • GRA“The weakness is that promises made at conferences come cheap and enforcement stays thin, so results often disappoint.” — This sentence uses two parallel verb phrases joined by 'and' before the 'so' result clause, a more balanced and rhythmic structure than the single clause used at 6.5. This kind of deliberate internal parallelism within a result sentence is a marker of the wider grammatical range expected at 7.5.