IELTS Speaking Part 2: how to answer a cue card at band 7

In Part 2 of the IELTS Speaking test the examiner gives you a cue card with a topic and three or four prompts. You have one minute to prepare and make notes, then you speak for up to two minutes. The examiner may ask one or two short questions at the end. Many students lose marks here not because their English is weak, but because they stop after 40 seconds or memorise an answer that does not quite fit.

Use the minute well: keywords, not sentences

You do not have time to write sentences, and reading sentences aloud sounds unnatural. Write four or five keywords for each prompt, plus one personal detail or example. That is enough to keep you talking.

A structure that always works

1. Opening (10 seconds): say what you are going to talk about.
2. Prompts 1 to 3 (about 70 seconds): answer each prompt with a detail or a short story.
3. The “explain” prompt (about 30 seconds): this is where band 7 answers stand out. Give reasons and feelings, not just facts.
4. Closing (10 seconds): a simple reflection, such as what you learned or whether you would do it again.

Sample cue card

Describe a person who has inspired you. You should say: who this person is, how you know them, what they have done, and explain why they inspire you.

Sample notes (written in one minute)

• Who: aunt, Saima, teacher, Bahawalpur
• How: lived with us 2 yrs, helped me with maths
• Done: studied at night while working, MA at 40, opened girls' tuition centre
• Why: never too late, patient, gives back

Sample answer (extract)

“I’d like to talk about my aunt, Saima, who is a schoolteacher in Bahawalpur. I got to know her really well when she lived with my family for a couple of years while I was in secondary school, and to be honest, she was the reason I stopped being afraid of maths…

…What inspires me most is that she never thought it was too late to learn. She finished her master’s degree when she was forty, studying late at night after a full day of teaching. Later she opened a small tuition centre for girls who couldn’t afford private lessons. Whenever I feel like giving up on my own studies, I remember how tired she must have been, and it really motivates me to keep going.”

What makes this a band 7 answer

• It flows naturally with linking phrases such as “to be honest” and “what inspires me most is”.
• It uses precise vocabulary (“motivates”, “couldn’t afford”) without sounding memorised.
• It mixes tenses correctly: past for the story, present for feelings now.
• It gives reasons and a personal reaction, not just a list of facts.