Task 5: Comparing and Persuading

Part 1: Choose

• Read the situation and identify the priorities.
• Compare both options by category: price, location, time, features, or restrictions.
• Choose the option you can defend with clear reasons.

Part 2: Persuade

• Read the new proposal.
• Keep your original choice.
• Find two comparisons relevant to the person.
• Prepare a respectful recommendation.

Describing your option is not enough. Compare it with the new alternative and explain why it better fits the situation.

You can follow this sequence:

1. Briefly acknowledge a positive aspect of the other option.
2. Present your recommendation.
3. Compare two features and explain their importance.
4. Close with a clear invitation.

Keep the acknowledgement brief. Do not spend much of your response praising an option you did not choose.

"The hotel is certainly closer to downtown. However, I still think the cabin is a better fit for our group because it costs less and gives us more usable space."

The complete forms are correct. Approximations can make comparison easier, but make clear that you are approximating and do not hide an important fact. Bucks is informal; use it only when it fits the relationship.

A useful adjective must be accurate and specific:

• cheaper than, more affordable than
• closer to, farther from
• larger than, more spacious than
• more convenient for

Sizable means considerable in size, but is not a comparative form.

Situation: Your friends are planning a three-night trip. In Part 1, you chose a cabin for $900 because it has three bedrooms, a kitchen and free parking. In Part 2, your friend suggests a downtown hotel for $1,499.99. It has two rooms, breakfast included and a central location. Persuade your friend that the cabin is more suitable.

Possible notes: hotel central + breakfast / cabin saves about $600 / 3 bedrooms / kitchen + parking / group comfort.

Hi Alex, I can see why you like the downtown hotel's convenient location. Still, I think the cabin is a better fit for our group.

It costs nine hundred dollars, while the hotel is about fifteen hundred. That leaves us roughly six hundred dollars for transportation and activities. The cabin also has three bedrooms instead of two, so everyone would have more space.

We would also have a kitchen, so we could prepare a few meals and reduce our expenses further. Free parking would be useful because we are planning to drive.

The hotel has good features, but the cabin matches our budget and group size better. I really think we should book it. What do you think?

What to notice: The example acknowledges a real advantage, compares verifiable figures, and connects each difference to the group's needs. It does not dismiss the other option with general adjectives.

Which sentence turns price into a relevant reason?

What should you do during the first 60 seconds of Task 5?

Use the trip situation again.

1. Defend the cabin for a group that wants to save money.
2. Respond again as if the group's priority were staying close to attractions.

The information does not change; the priority you select does. Record each response with 60 seconds of preparation and up to 60 seconds of speaking.

When reviewing, check:

• Did I compare both options?
• Did I use the figures without changing them?
• Did I connect the advantages to the group's priority?
• Was my recommendation firm and respectful?

Go further: Practise with the option you find harder to defend. This trains flexibility rather than a memorized answer.