IELTS Speaking Part 2 Demystified: Speak for 2 Minutes Like a Pro!

IELTS Speaking Part 2

The IELTS Speaking Part 2 is mostly known as IELTS cue cards. The Speaking Part 2 is all about your confidence and ability to speak for no less than 1 minute, up to a maximum of 2 minutes. After a conversation, it may seem daunting to give a short speech all on your own, and if you have never done that, I can understand your frustration.

Once your Speaking Part 1 is over, your examiner will then proceed with showing you a cue card. This is where you see a topic, alongside 3 to 4 bullet points. Then your examiner will say something like this:

“This is the IELTS Speaking Part 2. You will now see a cue card. You will have 1 minute to think, and prepare any notes. You may use pencil and paper to jot write some notes. Once your 1 minute is up, you will have to speak on the topic for no less than 1 minute. When your 2-minute time is up, I will stop you.”

Here are some tips for Cue Card Preparation:

1. The moment you see the card, do NOT delay. Immediately start preparing. It is NOT compulsory to speak on all the bullet points, but you MUST speak on the main topic that you will get. Do not deviate from it.
2. The examiner will let you know when to start and he/she will not interrupt you until you speak for 2 minutes.
3. Speaking for less than 1 minute will lead to a penalty, hitting your Speaking Band Score. Hence, you should speak for no less than 1 minutes.
4. Topics are general in nature, such as food, museum, your daily life, etc. None of the topics require prior knowledge. Hence, memorizing answers on the most popular cue cards online, is not going to help you.
5. Speaking is all about your confidence, fluency, and pronunciation.
6. Your accent does NOT matter in any part of Speaking.
7. Unless the examiner asks you to speak up, do not tell the examiner that you are ready to speak.
8. You must use complete 1-minute of your preparation time to write and plan your response.
9. Think of other details and examples relevant to your personal life so that you don’t run out of ideas.
10. Only write a few bullet points for preparation, because 1 minute preparation time is not enough to write complete sentences.

PS: Here’s a sample Part 2 speaking practice demo on the British Council website.

Here are some common IELTS Cue Card Topics:

Museum:

Describe a museum you recently visited or would like to visit. You should say:

• When you visited the museum.
• Describe the museum.
• How you felt after going there.
• Describe your experience of the visit.

Exercise:

Describe an exercise that you like, have participated, or would like to participate in. You should say:

• What is the exercise?
• How is it done?
• When you first tried it?
• And explain why is this a good exercise.

Sample Notes and Preparation – Exercise

1. What is the exercise?
   1. Table Tennis
   2. Playing for the last 5 years
2. How is it done?
   1. Requires 2 players
   2. played with 10 or 20 points
   3. 1-game, or 3-game tournaments
3. When you first tried it?
   1. In school
   2. I scored miserably
4. And explain why is this a good exercise.
   1. You sweat a lot
   2. Improve your focus
   3. Adrenaline and rush
   4. Removes body fat

Sample Response – Exercise

Here is a sample response on the topic:

I have been playing table tennis ever since I was a kid in the high school. I remember first time my friend introduced me to the table, ping pong balls and the small racket, I though to myself, how am I going to play it? So the first few racket strokes, I always missed the ball, but soon after I got hold of it and started enjoying it. Then, everyday me and my friend would play during our recess.

It requires minimum of 2 players and can be played in pairs of 2 for a maximum of 4 players. It requires a lot of focus, and after playing it for the first few minutes, I started sweating profusely. That’s when I realized it is a high intensity exercise, designed to make you fit by losing your stubborn fat.

Any sort of high intensity exercise is imperative in our lives, and if anyone ever gets a chance of playing it, they should try it. It improves blood circulation, and allows you to make quick decisions in life because it dramatically boosts your response time.

Read more:

What is IELTS Speaking?

IELTS Speaking Part 1

IELTS Speaking Part 3