Tips and techniques for IELTS Speaking Cue Cards
Who doesn’t want to be a leader? You must have known world’s great leaders like Nelson Mandela, Barak Obama, Mahatma Gandhi. If you are motivated to see them, speaking part 2 is for you. You are having a couple of minutes to go on speaking and showcase your speaking skills; the string of the kite is in your hand—the full control is in your hand. So this is the best chance for you to impress the examiner. Nonetheless, some of you might be scared of this part 2 alternatively called Cue-Card or task card simply because it’s you alone who have to sail the boat. You’re the leader of this phase—imagine this way; trust me, cue cards will never seem hard if you possess this mindset. Reading this article, you will be capable of dramatically boosting your IELTS Speaking score with tips and techniques, having access to recent cue-card samples, knowing strategies to extend your answers, and how to make full use of the 1-minute preparation time given to you.
How long does IELTS Speaking Part 2 last?
IELTS Speaking Part 2 lasts for 3 to 4 minutes.
How much time do you need to speak on the task card for?
- 1 minute for preparing yourself for what you’re going to say.
- 1-2 minutes to speak about the topic.
What is a task card like?
Describe a famous person you are interested in.
You should say:
- Who is the person?
- How did you know about the person?
- What was the person like before the person became famous?
- And explain why you are interested in the person?
Is it mandatory to cover all the bullet points?
Although it’s recommended that you follow the bullet points as you speak, having spoken to a few IELTS examiners I would say it’s not mandatory. As long as you are on the topic, no examiners can cut your marks even if you don’t cover all the bullet points.
How to go on speaking if you stumble halfway through the cue-card?
From my experience of teaching IELTS in two renowned institutes, I have noted that in spite of being fluent, students sometimes stumble dealing with cue-cards. In order for you to do well, I would recommend you not stop until the examiner stops you. However, if you find it too difficult to continue speaking on the cue-card during the exam, you can add your opinion or how you feel about it. If you think that way, you can easily extend your answers. Apart from that, you can tell a story. Telling a story related to the topic is the best way to buy time during the exam. Even if the examiner can understand that your story is made up, the examiner has nothing to do with lessening the marks because the examiner has to give marks on your language, not your content. So, during your practice, make the habit of developing your cue-card answers with a story built within it. If you consider the topic above (Describe a famous person you’re interested in) and need to build a story on it, you could put, for example,
” I first knew him through reading a newspaper, and when I met him in person, I was confused if I’m daydreaming. Then with immense curiosity, I approached him and had a chat with him. During that time, I found him pretty amicable and down to earth. After a couple of months, I met him again in a program and thought he would not recognize me but to my utter surprise he could recognize me, I was mesmerized to see this positive attitude.” When you can master the art of storytelling, trust me cue cards will be much easier for you. If you perform up to the mark in Cue-card section, chances of you achieving a higher band will go up to 90%. ”
Let’s look at a sample answer of a good answer.
- Describe a company nearby you where it employs many people.
You should say
- What it is?
- How many people it employs?
- What it does?
- How you feel about it?
Sample answer: Actually, there are numerous companies in and around my home town such as industries, banks, and educational institutes. Anyway, the one I am going to talk about is the garment industry, which is in my hometown and employs a lot of people. It is Square Fashion Ltd., which is basically a Cotton and Textile Mills. This mill was established in the early 90s. Even if I first knew about it from a senior of mine, I discovered its work culture and principles, and I have found it pretty employee-friendly.
Approximately around 5,000 people work in this Mill and I guess they are proud to be part of this organization. The employer-employee bonding is very encouraging. They provide many facilities to their employees. They provide housing at a very low cost and conveyance to their employees. They also provide healthcare facilities for their employees. They have a school where the children of their workers can study free of cost. Furthermore, they give bonuses and perks to their employees from time to time.
The Mill manufactures cotton fabric. Developed countries like the USA, Australia, and Canada buy their products regularly. Famous brands like Puma and G-Star belong to this company. People of cross-socio economic people work there harmoniously. Therefore, this is the company that impacts a lot at the home and abroad.
Why is it a good sample?
Looking closely, you could figure out several connectives as in, actually, anyway, furthermore. If you consider sentence variation, you would see that a range of structures can be identified in this sample where there is a combination of simple, complex and compound sentences. It’s worth Band 7 to 8.
Let’s look at a poor sample answer.
I know a company which is near my home. Its name is Tajrin Fashion. It is a good company. There are maybe 200 workers. It makes garment products and sells its products abroad. I personally like this company because this is a good company. It pays well to the workers. I know it is important to have lots of companies to develop a country. For a country, it is important to make profits to increase the economy. The more companies there are, the better economy there will be. As this is a famous company, I like it a lot.
Why is it a poor sample answer?
There is no sentence variation. When I consider the assessment criteria ‘Grammatical Range and Accuracy, this sample answer lacks complex and compound sentences. Again, there is no coherence in this sample answer because this answer goes off-topic from the sentence “I know it is important to have lots of companies………”. The cue card asks you to describe a company, not your country. Besides, almost no cohesive devices are in use here. The vocabularies do not include low-frequency words or less common words which makes the assessment criteria ‘Lexical Resource’ pretty loosely fulfilled. So, it’s worth not more than a band 5.5. Finally, it’s most likely that this answer will not touch the margin of 2 minutes.
Why is it a poor sample answer?
I know a company which is near my home. Its name is Tajrin Fashion. It is a good company. There are maybe 200 workers. It makes garment products and sells its products abroad. I personally like this company because this is a good company. It pays well to the workers. I know it is important to have lots of companies to develop a country. For a country, it is important to make profits to increase the economy. The more companies there are, the better economy there will be. As this is a famous company, I like it a lot.
Why is it a poor sample answer?
There is no sentence variation. When I consider the assessment criteria ‘Grammatical Range and Accuracy, this sample answer lacks complex and compound sentences. Again, there is no coherence in this sample answer because this answer goes off-topic from the sentence “I know it is important to have lots of companies………”. The cue card asks you to describe a company, not your country. Besides, almost no cohesive devices are in use here. The vocabularies do not include low-frequency words or less common words which makes the assessment criteria ‘Lexical Resource’ pretty loosely fulfilled. So, it’s worth not more than a band 5.5. Finally, it’s most likely that this answer will not touch the margin of 2 minutes.
A list of sample Cue-Cards that appeared in the recent IELTS Speaking test is as follows.
There is no sentence variation. When I consider the assessment criteria ‘Grammatical Range and Accuracy, this sample answer lacks complex and compound sentences. Again, there is no coherence in this sample answer because this answer goes off-topic from the sentence “I know it is important to have lots of companies………”. The cue card asks you to describe a company, not your country. Besides, almost no cohesive devices are in use here. The vocabularies do not include low-frequency words or less common words which makes the assessment criteria ‘Lexical Resource’ pretty loosely fulfilled. So, it’s worth not more than a band 5.5. Finally, it’s most likely that this answer will not touch the margin of 2 minutes.
- Describe a company nearby you where it employs many people.
You should say:
- What it is?
- How many people it employs?
- How the employees feel?
- And explain how you think of it?
- Describe something that you are interested to learn or improve.
You should say:
- What it is?
- How you will learn or improve it?
- Why you are interested in it?
- And explain how you feel about learning it?
- Describe a time when you moved to a new home or school.
You should say
- When you moved?
- Where you moved to?
- Why you moved?
- And how you felt about it?
- Describe a foreign person who you have known that you think is interesting?
You should say:
- Who is the person?
- How you knew the person?
- What kind of person se/she is?
- And explain why you think the person is interesting?
- Describe a piece of local news that people are interested in.
You should say:
- What the news is?
- How you know about this news?
- What the story was?
- And explain why it is interesting to you?
- Describe a politician you know
You should say:
- Who the politician is?
- How you knew the politician?
- What the politician did?
- Explain how you comment on the politician?
- Describe a time you got up early.
You should say:
- When you got up?
- What you did?
- Why you got up so early?
- Explain how you felt about it?
- Describe a business person you admire.
You should say:
- Who this person is?
- How you know this person?
- What business the person does?
- And explain why you consider this person as a successful business person?
- Describe a time when you helped a friend.
You should say:
- When it happened?
- How you helped him/her?
- Why you helped him/her?
- And explain how you felt about it?
- Describe your favorite curtain.
You should say:
- What it is
- Where you saw it
- What it looks like
- Describe a foreign person who you have known or you think is interesting
You should say
- Who is the person?
- What kind of person he/she is?
- And explain why you think the person is interesting?
- Describe an exciting book that you enjoy reading
You should say
- When you read it?
- What type of book it is?
- What it is about?
- And explain why you think it is exciting?
- Describe a person who solved a problem in a smart way
You should say
Who this person is?
What the problem was?
How the person solved it?
And explain why you think the person did it smartly?
- Describe a law on environmental protection.
You should say
- What it is?
- How you learned about it?
- Who benefits from it?
- And explain how you feel about this law?
- Describe a piece of equipment that is important in your home.
You should say
- What you use it for
- How you got it
- With whom you use it
- And explain why it is essential
- Describe a time you were friendly to someone you didn’t like
You should say
- When and where it happened?
- Who s/he was ?
- Why you did not like this person?
- And explain why you were friendly to him/her on that occasion?
- Describe a natural talent (sport, music etc)
You should say
- What it is?
- When you discovered it?
- Why you want to improve it?
- And explain how you feel about it?
- Describe a bicycle/ motorcycle/car trip you would like to go on.
You should say
Who you would like to go with?
Where you would like to go?
When you would like to go?
When you would like to go?
And explain why you would like to go by bicycle/motorcycle/car?
- Describe a good service you received
You should say
- What the service was?
- When and where you received it?
- Who you were with?
- And explain why you think it was a good service?
- Describe a habit your friend has and you want to develop
You should say
- Who your friend is?
- What habit your friend has?
- When you notice this habit?
- And explain why you want to develop this habit?
- Describe a gift that you would like to buy for your friend
You should say
- What gift you would like to buy?
- Wo you would like to give it to?
- Why you would like to buy a gift for your friend?
- And explain why you choose that gift?
- Describe something you cannot live without (not a computer/phone)
You should say
- What it is?
- What you do with it?
- How it helps you in your life?
- And explain why you can’t live without it?
- Describe a rule that you do not like.
You should say
- What it is ?
- Why you do not like it?
- How others feel about the rule?
- And explain whether you have followed the rule?
- Describe a story you remember someone told you
You should say
- What the story was about?
- Who told you this story?
- Why you remember it?
- And how you feel about it?
- Describe a cafe you like to visit.
You should say
- Where it locates?
- How the café looks like?
- What kind of food and drink there are?
- And explain why you like to go there?
- Describe a skill that was difficult for you to learn
You should say
- What it is?
- When you learnt it?
- Why you learnt it?
- And explain why you think it is difficult for you to learn?
- Describe a special cake you received from others
You should say
- When it happened?
- Who you got the cake from?
- And explain why it is a special cake?
- Describe a course that impressed you a lot.
You should say
- What the course was about?
- Where you took the course?
- What you learnt from this course?
- And explain why it impressed you a lot?
- Describe a skill that you learned from older people
You should say
- What the skill is?
- Who you learned it from?
- How you learned it?
- How you feel about it?
- Describe a person who impressed you most when you were in primary school.
You should say
- Who the person is?
- How you knew the person?
- Why the person who impressed you most?
- And how you feel about the person?
- Describe a creative person whose work you admire.
You should say
- Who the person is?
- How you knew the person?
- What creative things the person has done?
- Explain why you think the person is creative?
- Describe a toy you got in your childhood.
You should say
- When you had the toy?
- Who gave you the toy?
- What it was like?
- How you felt about the toy?
- Describe e person who contributes to society.
You should say
- Who this person is?
- How you knew him/her?
- What type of work he/she does?
- And explain why you think he or she contributes to society?
- Describe a business person you admire.
You should say
- Who this person is?
- How do you know this person?
- What business the person does?
- And explain why you consider this person as s successful business person?
- Describe a time when you waited for something special that would happen
You should say
- What you waited for?
- Where you waited?
- Why it was special?
- And explain how you felt when you were waiting?
- Describe an ambition that you haven’t achieved
You should say
- What it is
- Why you haven’t achieved it?
- What you did?
- And explain how you felt about it?
- Describe a time when received good news
You should say
- What it was?
- When it was?
- Who you first knew it from?
- And explain how you felt hearing this news?
- Describe a building that you know and impress you.
You should say
- Where it is?
- When you saw it?
- Why it impresses you?
- And explain how do you feel about it?
- Describe a puzzle (jigsaw, crossword etc) you have played
You should say
- What was it?
- Where you played it?
- When you played it?
- And explain how did you feel about it?
- Describe a time when got lost in a place you didn’t know about.
You should say
- Where it is?
- When it is?
- How you handled it?
- And explain what you felt about it?
Seven tips to boost your Speaking band score.
- Improve your fluency by regular practice
- Get a good understanding of the Speaking band descriptors and follow them
- Get a full understanding of the Speaking assessment criteria
- Improve topic-specific vocabulary so that you never fall short of vocabulary
- Try improving your fluency
- Get feedback from someone who is sound knowledge about IELTS Speaking.
- Speak naturally and never mimic any accent that you are not good at.
If you’ve read throughout this article, you must have discovered all that needs to be done for elevating your Speaking score. Please make note of what you have learned from this blog and apply accordingly. Now you’re so close to making your dream come true. I wish you all the best with your IELTS test!
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