In Part 2 of IELTS speaking, candidates are asked to speak about something in particular for between 1 and 2 minutes. Be prepared to speak for as long as you can; the examiner will indicate when the time limit has been reached.
In the IELTS speaking test, candidates receive a cue card (like the one shown below) with some key points or questions – and are allowed 1 minute to plan and prepare their response.
To do well in the IELTS speaking test it’s a good idea to do two things:
- Quickly organize your ideas
- Make some notes on the key points to include in your answer
IELTS Speaking Tips for answering Part 2 questions
- Check the wording of the cue card statement and questions carefully
- Identify and underline key words
- Check the grammar used – verb tenses
- Take quick notes to help organize your response
Now let’s do an example: here is an IELTS cue card:
Describe a park or garden that you have visited and liked.
You should say:
- its name
- where it was
- what it looked like
- what people did (or, were doing) there
and explain why you liked it.
Follw-Up Question: How do you think these types of gardens contribute to community belonging and happiness?
First, identify and circle or underline the key words in the statement and bullet points to help you to structure your answers.
Be sure to use synonyms wherever possible to increase your range of vocabulary used in the answers.
Quickly check the grammar.
In this case the cue card asks you to "describe a park or garden in your city". It uses the present perfect tense (have visited) and past simple (liked). These refer to an experience in the past.
For this question it’s also possible to use the past progressive (continuous tense) to describe the activities the people were doing when you visited the garden i.e. while you were there.
IELTS Speaking Tips – Making Notes
Here is how to organize your ideas quickly based on the key points mentioned in the cue card.
| Name | Paradise Grove Gardens |
| Location | city center, main square |
| Appearance | really large, well laid out, fountains, lawns, flowers, trees, |
| Reasons for liking | Very beautiful, tranquil, lovely weather that day, lots of color, interesting watching the people |
| Activities | walking, relaxing, reading, playing with dog, playing guitar, strolling with baby, taking pictures, |