IELTS Speaking Part 2: How to Answer Any Cue Card (with Band 7 Sample Answers)
A simple method for IELTS Speaking Part 2: how to use your one minute of preparation, structure a two-minute talk, and keep going when you run out of ideas. Includes three band 7 sample answers.
What happens in Speaking Part 2
Part 2 is the "long turn" of the Speaking test. The examiner gives you a task card (often called a cue card) with a topic and three or four prompts underneath. You get one minute to prepare, with a pencil and paper to make notes. Then you speak on your own for one to two minutes. When the time is up, the examiner will stop you, and may ask one or two short follow-up questions before moving on to Part 3.
A typical cue card looks like this:
Describe a skill you learned that you think is useful. You should say:
- what the skill is
- when and how you learned it
- how often you use it
and explain why you think this skill is useful.
For many candidates, Part 2 is the most stressful part of the test. In Part 1 the examiner keeps the conversation moving; in Part 2 it is just you and a silent examiner. The good news is that Part 2 is also the most predictable part. The format never changes, so a clear method works on almost any card.
Why the full two minutes matters
The examiner scores Part 2 with the same four criteria as the rest of the test: Fluency and Coherence, Lexical Resource, Grammatical Range and Accuracy, and Pronunciation. There is no separate mark for "length", but a talk that stops after 40 seconds gives the examiner very little evidence of what you can do. It is hard to show a range of vocabulary and grammar in five sentences.
So your aim is simple: keep talking, naturally and on topic, until the examiner stops you. Being interrupted at two minutes is a good sign, not a problem. You will not lose marks for it.
How to use your one minute of preparation
One minute is not enough time to write sentences, so don't try. Write keywords only, one line for each prompt on the card, plus one or two extra details you can add.
For the "useful skill" card above, your notes might look like this:
| Prompt | Keywords |
|---|---|
| What the skill is | touch typing, 10 fingers, no looking |
| When and how | 2nd year uni, free website, 15 min/day, 6 weeks |
| How often | every day, emails, reports, essays |
| Why useful | speed x2, less tired, focus on ideas not keys |
| Extra | used to be slowest in group; now people ask me to take notes |
A few tips for these 60 seconds:
- Choose your story in the first five seconds. Don't waste time looking for the "best" or most impressive example. A simple, true story is easier to talk about.
- Pick something you know a lot about. You need two minutes of material. A skill you use every day is better than one you tried once.
- Add details that create sentences. Times, places, people, numbers and feelings give you things to say. "6 weeks" turns into a sentence; "learned it" does not.
- Note one comparison or change. "Before vs now" gives you a natural reason to use different tenses.
A four-step structure for the talk
Follow the order of the prompts. It gives your talk a clear shape and stops you from forgetting a point.
1. Introduce (about 10 seconds). Say what you are going to talk about in one or two sentences. Do not repeat the whole card.
I'd like to talk about touch typing, which basically means typing with all ten fingers without looking at the keyboard.
2. Tell the story (about 40–50 seconds). Cover the "when, where, how" prompts with real detail. This is where you use past tenses naturally.
3. Describe the present (about 20–30 seconds). How often, how it affects your life now. Present simple and present perfect fit here.
4. Explain and reflect (about 30–40 seconds). The "explain why" prompt is the most important one, so save time for it. Give two reasons, and an example for at least one.
If you finish all four steps and the examiner has not stopped you, you can add a short look back or a look ahead: "If I'm honest, I wish I'd learned it earlier..." or "Next, I'd like to..."
Band 7 sample answer 1: a useful skill
I'd like to talk about touch typing, which basically means typing with all ten fingers without looking at the keyboard.
I learned it in my second year at university. At the time, I was probably the slowest typist in my study group. I used two fingers and kept looking down at the keys, so writing a long assignment took me forever. A friend recommended a free typing website, so I decided to practise for about fifteen minutes every evening. The first week was honestly frustrating, because I was even slower than before. But after around six weeks, something clicked and I stopped thinking about where the keys were.
These days I use it constantly. I write emails and reports at work, and I type up notes in meetings, so it's something I rely on almost every hour of the day.
As for why it's useful, I'd say there are two main reasons. The first is obviously speed. I'm roughly twice as fast as I used to be, which saves me a lot of time every week. The second reason is less obvious: because I don't have to think about my fingers anymore, I can focus completely on what I'm trying to say. Funnily enough, my colleagues now ask me to take the notes in meetings, which is quite a change from my university days.
Why this works: it follows the prompts in order, it uses past, present and present perfect naturally, and it contains less common but natural phrases such as took me forever, something clicked and rely on. It also ends with a personal touch instead of simply stopping.
Band 7 sample answer 2: a place
Describe a place you visited that you would like to go back to. You should say: where it is, when you went there, what you did there, and explain why you would like to go back.
I'm going to talk about a small coastal town I visited a few years ago with two friends from school. It's about four hours by train from the city where I grew up, so it isn't somewhere you'd go for a day trip.
We went in early autumn, just after the summer crowds had left, which turned out to be perfect timing. The weather was still warm, but the beaches were almost empty. We spent most of our time walking along the cliffs, and in the evenings we ate at a tiny family-run restaurant near the harbour. The owner remembered us after the first night and kept recommending dishes that weren't on the menu.
What I'd really like to go back for is the pace of life there. Where I live, everyone seems to be in a rush, and I'm guilty of that too. In that town, nobody looked at their phone at dinner, and people actually stopped to chat in the street. It made me realise how rarely I just sit and do nothing. I'd also love to go back with a better camera, because, to be honest, my photos didn't do the place justice.
Notice that the candidate never names the town. You don't need famous places or impressive facts. The examiner is assessing your English, not your travel history.
Band 7 sample answer 3: a person
Describe a person who has influenced your career or studies. You should say: who this person is, how you know them, what they did, and explain how they influenced you.
The person I'd like to describe is my first manager, who I worked under for about three years when I joined a small marketing agency straight after graduating.
She was quite demanding, and at first I found her slightly intimidating. She would return my drafts covered in comments, and she rarely accepted the first version of anything. But what I didn't appreciate back then was that she always explained why something wasn't working, instead of just rewriting it herself.
The biggest thing she did for me was to let me present to a client on my own after only six months. I was terrified, and I made a couple of mistakes, but she sat in the meeting, let me finish, and gave me honest feedback afterwards.
Looking back, she influenced me in two ways. Firstly, she taught me to take criticism as information rather than as a personal attack, which has made me much better at my job. And secondly, now that I manage a small team myself, I've found myself doing exactly what she did: giving people responsibility a bit earlier than they expect.
What to say when you run out of ideas
Even with good notes, your mind can go blank around the one-minute mark. These techniques give you more to say without leaving the topic:
- Add a "before and after". "Before I learned it... Now..." This works for skills, places, people and objects.
- Describe a specific moment. Zoom in on one scene: what you saw, heard or felt.
- Compare. "Compared with other places I've been..." or "Unlike most teachers I had..."
- Give your feelings at the time and now. "At first I was nervous, but looking back..."
- Say who else it affected. Family, friends, colleagues, classmates.
If you lose your place, a natural filler is much better than silence: "Let me think how to put this..." or "What else can I say about it... oh yes,". Use them once or twice, not in every sentence.
Common Part 2 mistakes and how to fix them
- Reading the card aloud. "I will describe a skill I learned that I think is useful. I should say what the skill is..." This adds nothing. Fix: start with your own introduction sentence.
- Spending the whole minute writing full sentences. You end up with half a script for the first prompt and nothing for the rest. Fix: keywords only, one line per prompt.
- Using a memorised answer that doesn't fit the card. Examiners notice when a talk sounds rehearsed or drifts away from the question, and it can affect your score. Fix: prepare stories, not scripts, and adapt them to the exact prompts.
- Rushing. Nervous candidates often speak very fast, finish in 60 seconds, then panic. Fix: slow down and add details; speed is not the same as fluency.
- Forgetting the "explain" prompt. It is usually the last line, and many people run out of time before they reach it. Fix: keep an eye on your notes and move on from the story in time.
- Looking down at your notes the whole time. Glancing at them is fine, but reading them breaks your rhythm. Fix: keywords are short for a reason; one glance per prompt is enough.
Build a small "story bank"
Cue card topics are wide, but they fall into a few groups: people, places, objects, events, experiences and activities. Instead of memorising answers, prepare one or two flexible stories for each group. One story can often answer several cards.
For example, the touch-typing story above could also answer:
- Describe something you learned that took a long time.
- Describe a time you were proud of yourself.
- Describe a piece of advice you followed.
Write each story as keywords, not full text, and practise telling it out loud in different ways. The aim is to know the details well enough that you can shape them to whatever card you get.
How to practise Part 2 effectively
- Time yourself strictly. One minute to prepare, then speak until a two-minute timer goes off. Practising without a timer gives you a false picture.
- Record every attempt. Listen back for long pauses, repeated words ("very", "good", "thing") and missing prompts.
- Repeat the same card. Do it once, review, then try it again the next day. The second attempt is where you notice real progress.
- Get feedback on all four criteria. Your talk might be fluent but grammatically weak, or accurate but too simple. On Wono IELTS you can practise Part 2 cards with a real one-minute preparation timer and get an estimated band for each criterion, so you know exactly what to work on next.
Part 2 rewards preparation more than any other part of the Speaking test. Learn the method, build your story bank, and practise with a timer. Two minutes will soon feel shorter than you expect.
Keep reading
Related articles
IELTS Speaking Part 1: 30 Sample Questions and How to Answer Them
The IELTS Speaking Part 1 questions that come up most often, with band 7 sample answers and the mistakes you should avoid.
30-Day IELTS Study Plan: From Band 6 to Band 7+
A structured 30-day IELTS study plan. From a baseline level test, daily Speaking and Writing practice, to full mock tests. Built for a band 7 or higher target.
IELTS Speaking Band Descriptors Explained: What the Examiner Assesses
A breakdown of the four IELTS Speaking criteria: Fluency and Coherence, Lexical Resource, Grammatical Range and Accuracy, and Pronunciation. What separates band 6, 7 and 8.