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Speaking Starters
1. Expressing a Preference
I prefer A to B because...
If I have a choice, I will... (a real possibility)
If I had a choice, I would... (not a real possibility, just wishing)
For me, A is much more attractive / interesting / preferable than B because...
I would much rather do / have / eat / listen to / A than B...
2. Like
A thing I really like is

Something I really like is .

I think its great .

I believe that its fantastic .

In my opinion its amazing .

3. Dislike
Personally, I cant stand .

To be honest, I dont like .

In my opinion its awful .

Im not really that keen on .

4. Narrating
When I was a high school student, I went to Hai Long Bay to visit some friends.
Last year during the Spring Festival, I went to Hoi An to visit some friends.
After I graduated from high school, I ...
During my visit to Hanoi last year, I...
(Also use "Whenever" or "While")
5. Two sided arguments
Well, it depends .

Well, on the one hand...but on the other hand

6. Comparing and Contrasting

A is much better / worse than B.

A is not nearly as good as B.

A is not quite as important as B.

A is more important than B.

A is almost as tall as B, but not quite.

A is more useful than B

When I compare these two items, it's clear that...

Comparing A and B, I guess that its obvious that A is more important than B because
7. Suggesting/ Implying
Well, maybe, Perhaps, Possibly,

One possibility that I can think of is ...

Another idea to think about is ...

8. Expressing Opinions (=I think)
Actually, I've never thought about this question much before, but it seems to me that...
Well, after a lot of thought, I have come to the conclusion that...
Ive never really thought about that but .

This is only my opinion but...

As far as Im concerned .

It seems to me that...

My opinion is that .

I guess

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I suppose

I believe that

In my view .

I tend to think

Personally .

I would say.

9. Justifying Opinions (=the reason why)

The reason being

The reason I believe/say this is...

The most important evidence supporting my belief is... [formal] There are many reasons for this. First,
One of the main reasons I believe this/ say that is

Just because ..[informal]

Since.

This may be because.

This could be why

This is probably because

A possible reason for this is .

10. Speculating
I'm not sure what might happen, but one possibility is...

Its quite possible that .

It's hard to predict the future, but I suppose it / we might...

Well, maybe .

To be honest, I dont know but I imagine that .

I guess that

Actually, Im not sure but I suppose that .

It may well be that .

I suppose that
11. Analyzing (includes language for cause and effect)
There are several points to consider, the first of which is...
I think there are three main reasons for this. First...
Well, I guess one can look at that issue three different ways. To begin with...
12. Summarizing
Altogether, there were...

In the end, they had to...

When we consider all the factors...

Considering all of these ideas, maybe the best thing would be to...
13. Conversation Repair
What I mean/meant to say is ...

What I'm trying to say is ...

By that I mean .

I suppose another way to put it is ...

Let me put it another way .

To put it differently .

In other words

By that, I mean.

Maybe I'm not making myself clear. I guess what I want to say is ...
14. Asking the examiner
By . Do you mean .

Are you asking me to say .?

Im sorry. What does .. mean?

I didnt quite catch that.

What was that again?

15. Adverbs
Actually

Personally

Honestly

Obviously

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16. Modals
Can

Should

Could [softening]

Words and Phrases banned in my lessons:

I think

In my opinion

of course

besides

famous (check a thesaurus for many alternatives]

Might [softening]