[Speaking Test] Do accents play a part?

[hell911]

do we need to improve our accent for this part of the test?

 

[nicholas30]

your speech should be clear and confident

 

[Saeid2011]

your speech should be clear and confident

yes definitely!!!!

 

[OhCanadiana]

do we need to improve our accent for this part of the test?

Pronunciation is very important (pure accent less so unless it impacts pronunciation). Take a look at the scoring guides: http://www.ielts.org/PDF/UOBDs_SpeakingFinal.pdf