IELTS

Speaking
Part 2
“
Talk with a partner for
several minutes. What do
you know about IELTS
speaking part 2?
 IELTS
Speaking
An overview
Format
￮ Part 1
￮ Interview – general, simple
questions
￮ Part 2
￮ Talk for 1-2 minutes
￮ Describe something

￮ Part 3
￮ Abstract questions
Marking
￮ Fluency
￮ Talking easily
￮ Few pauses

￮ Vocabulary
￮ Using collocations
￮ Using the correct word

￮ Grammar
￮ Range and accuracy
￮ Avoiding errors

￮ Pronunciation
￮ Can examiner understand you?
￮ Use correct intonation
 IELTS
Speaking
Part 2
Basic Overview
You will need to:
￮ Describe something
￮ Talk for 1-2 minutes

You will have:

￮ A cue card to look at
￮ 1 minute to make notes

You should:
￮ Talk about what’s on the
card
￮ Avoid going off-topic
￮ Talk slowly and calmly
￮ Stay within the time limit
Cue Card
You will be given a piece of paper that is called a “cue
card”. It will look like this:

Basic task

3 things to talk
about

One final
point, usually
“why”
Cue Card

Cue cards are always very similar, but the topics are
impossible to predict. Sometimes they can be very difficult.
Here are some more examples.

￮ Describe an expensive hobby you can’t pursue daily

￮ Describe a person you would like to study or work with
￮ Describe a shop that recently opened in your hometown
￮ Describe a prize you have won
￮ Describe a place you would like to visit one day
Making Notes
Example

You have one minute to think about your
answer and make notes.

The notes should not contain full sentences.

This takes too long.

Instead, write useful vocabulary and short

phrases.

It should help you remember what you want to

say, but you should speak from your mind.
Few words

Difficult
vocabulary

Structure

Important ideas
 Details

Examples

Useful vocab
Speaking
You should:
￮ Speak slowly but confidently.

￮ Don’t repeat yourself.

￮ Keep a logical structure.

￮ Use transition words.

￮ Use correct intonation.

Let’s look at
an example

Cue Card
Describe a sportsperson you admire.
You should say:
￮ who the person is

￮ what sport he or she does

￮ when did you first hear about this

person
and why you admire him or her.
Notes
￮ Leo Messi
￮ Argentina-> Barcelona
￮ Disability
￮ Awards
￮ 10 years ago
￮ Perseverance
 Answer from https://ted-
Answer ielts.com/describe-
sportsperson-admire/

My favourite sports person is Leo Messi. He’s a famous football

player, and some would say he’s the best football player in the
world. He started his career in Argentina, where he was born, but
moved to Barcelona, in Spain, when he was a teenager. He had
a disability, for which the Spanish team agreed to pay his
medical bills. Despite his health problems, Messi developed into
a modern legend. He has won numerous trophies over the
course of his career, including five “world footballer of the year”
awards – which is a world record. I remember first hearing about
him about ten years ago, when he was first making
headlines. His life story caught my attention just as much as his
incredible skills. I admire him because of his triumph over
adversity. I think that his inspiring story of perseverance is a
lesson for us all.
 Practice
Let’s look at more cue cards
Task
Work with a partner. Make notes on
the cue card, then time each other
and attempt to speak for 1-2 minutes.
Give feedback and help to your
partner when necessary.
Practice #1
Describe a close friend.
You should say:
￮ how long you have known this
person
￮ how you met

￮ what kind of person he/she is

and explain why you like him/her.

Practice #2
Describe your favourite restaurant.
You should say:
￮ where it is

￮ what it looks like inside and outside

￮ what kinds of foods they serve

and explain what makes this restaurant

so special to you and others.