IELTS speaking cue cards: how Part 2 works and 24 original cards to practise
An IELTS cue card is the task card you get in Speaking Part 2. IELTS says the examiner gives you a card with a topic, you have one minute to prepare with a pencil and paper, then you speak for up to 2 minutes. The card always has a topic, three bullet points and a final question.
A cue card is the prompt for the long turn in the IELTS Speaking test. This page explains what is on the card, how the minute of preparation works, where the test owners publish real sample tasks, and how to practise. It also gives you 24 cue cards of our own, grouped by theme, because IDP itself advises making your own.
What an IELTS cue card is
The task card for Speaking Part 2, handed to you by the examiner.
People call it a cue card, a speaking card or a topic card. IELTS calls it a task card. The long turn is the second of three parts in the face-to-face Speaking test.
"Part 2 is the individual long turn. The examiner gives you a task card which asks you to talk about a particular topic. The card tells you what points you should include in your talk and instructs you to explain one aspect of the topic."
| What you want to know | What the owners say |
|---|---|
| What do I get? | The examiner gives you a task card which asks you to talk about a particular topic. |
| What is on it? | Every task card will have a topic that you will have to describe followed by three bullet points, and a final question. |
| How long do I prepare? | You have one minute to prepare your talk, and the examiner will give you a pencil and paper to make notes. |
| What should I note down? | You should take notes on the three bullet points and on the final question. |
| How long do I speak? | The examiner will tell you when to start your talk and will remind you that they will stop you after 2 minutes. |
| What happens next? | They may then ask you one or two questions on the same topic. |
| How long is Part 2 in all? | Part 2 lasts 3-4 minutes, including the preparation time. |
The lines come from ielts.org and from two IDP pages: its long turn article and its free practice page. For the whole test, ielts.org gives the total: "Time allowed: 11-14 minutes". Part 2 is the individual long turn, so it is the part you can rehearse entirely on your own.
The Speaking test is the same for Academic and General Training, so the cards are not split by test type. The British Council says: "The Speaking test is the same for both IELTS Academic and IELTS General Training."
How a cue card is built
A topic, three bullet points and a final question.
Every card has the same shape. Knowing the shape means you can plan your notes before you have even read the topic.
"Every task card will have a topic that you will have to describe followed by three bullet points, and a final question."
Here is the shape as a blank, with our own wording for each part. This is a template of ours, not a real task.
- The topic line. It starts with Describe and names a person, place, thing, event or experience. It tells you what to talk about.
- Bullet one, two and three. Each is a short prompt such as who, where, when, how long or what. They are there to give you something to say if you run short of ideas.
- The final line. It usually begins with And explain, and asks for a reason, a feeling or a result. This is where you show you can give an opinion, so keep time for it.
IDP gives a simple note-taking trick for the minute, which we quote in full in our long turn method page. In one line: use the question words on the card (where, how long, what, why) as columns.
Where the owners publish sample cards
Free, from the test owners, and worth doing first.
The IELTS owners publish sample Speaking tasks on ielts.org, and the British Council and IDP publish their own. These are the right place to start.
| Where | What it offers |
|---|---|
| ielts.org, Academic sample tasks page | Speaking sample tasks (PDF, 1.31 MB, 7 pages) |
| British Council, free speaking practice page | Speaking sample tasks (PDF, 0.46mb) |
| IDP, free speaking practice questions | Have a go at this sample task for IELTS Speaking, Part 2: |
| British Council, with a booking | When you book your IELTS test with the British Council, you’ll be able to access more than 40 practice tests covering every skill. |
"get familiar with the Speaking test format and what each part involves"
"Have a go at this sample task for IELTS Speaking, Part 2:"
The ielts.org page and the British Council page give you the same kind of material: sample tasks in a PDF. IDP's page lists a prompt, a recording and a transcript for its Part 2 sample.
Cue card lists by year and PDF downloads
What exists, and what the owners advise.
Searches for "IELTS cue cards" with a year added, or with "PDF" added, ask for a list of the cards that will appear this year. We read the pages the test owners publish while writing this one. None of them lists the cards that will come up in a given year. What they publish is the format of the card, the timing, and sample tasks.
The owners' own Speaking sample-tasks PDFs are the ones to start with, and they are listed in the section above. Their pages describe all three Speaking parts, so check inside for the long-turn card. For everything else, IDP's long-turn article gives three sample topics and then tells you to make up your own cards:
"Once you have practised these topics, make up your own topic cards thinking about familiar topics connected to education, transport, sport, health, the environment, tourism, history, music, leisure activities, hobbies and so on."
That advice is what the bank below is built on. Our cards are original. They are not copied from any list, any prep company or the owners' samples, and we do not claim they will appear in a test.
24 original IELTS cue cards
Our own cards, by theme. Not from the test, and not copied from any list.
There are eight themes and three cards in each. Each card has the same shape as the real task: a topic, three bullet points and a final line. Work through one theme at a time, or pick a card at random.
People
You should say:
how you know them
what you usually talk about
how often you see them
and explain why you get on well.
You should say:
who the person is
what they taught you
where the lessons took place
and explain how the skill has been useful.
You should say:
who they are
what kind of humour they have
when you last laughed with them
and explain why their humour works.
Places
You should say:
where it is
how you found it
what you do there
and explain why it helps you think.
You should say:
where it is
what it looks like
what it is used for
and explain why it interests you.
You should say:
where it was
what you expected
what you found
and explain why it surprised you.
Objects
You should say:
what it was
what was wrong with it
who fixed it
and explain why you did not replace it.
You should say:
who it was for
what you chose
how you decided on it
and explain how the person reacted.
You should say:
what it is
when you wear it
how you got it
and explain why it matters for that activity.
Events and experiences
You should say:
what the occasion was
who was there
what you did
and explain what made it memorable.
You should say:
what you were waiting for
how long you waited
what you did while waiting
and explain how you felt when it ended.
You should say:
where you were going
what went wrong
how you found your way
and explain what you learned from it.
Skills and learning
You should say:
what the subject was
who taught it
what happened in the lesson
and explain why it stayed with you.
You should say:
what the skill is
how you would learn it
how long it might take
and explain why you want to learn it.
You should say:
what it was
where you found the information
how you practised it
and explain whether it was easier than learning in person.
Media and technology
You should say:
what it is
when you use it
what you use it for
and explain how your life would change without it.
You should say:
what it was about
where you watched it
what you learned
and explain whether you would recommend it.
You should say:
who sent it
what it said
when you received it
and explain why it mattered to you.
Work and community
You should say:
what the job is
what the work involves
whether you know anyone who does it
and explain why it would not suit you.
You should say:
what it is
who goes
what they do together
and explain why it is good for the community.
You should say:
what the event was
what you did
who you worked with
and explain how you felt afterwards.
Health, nature and habits
You should say:
what the habit was
why you wanted to change it
how you did it
and explain what difference it made.
You should say:
where it is
when you go there
what you do there
and explain why it is special to you.
You should say:
what the meal is
how you make it
when you eat it
and explain why you think it is good for you.
How to practise with a card
A three-minute drill, then listen back.
IDP describes a drill you can do alone with a phone. Its steps are quoted here, and the extra steps after them are ours.
- Set up your timer to time yourself for 3 minutes (1 minute preparation, 2 minutes long turn).
- Listen to your recording and pay attention to breaks, pauses, hesitations and the use of fillers.
Our routine, built on those two steps:
- Pick a card from the bank. Do not read ahead to choose an easy one. The real test hands you the card you get.
- Start the timer. For the first minute, write short notes only. Put the three bullet points and the final line as four headings, then add two or three words under each.
- Speak for the full two minutes. Record it. If you finish early, keep going on the last bullet with an example, a detail or a feeling, because the aim is two minutes of connected speech.
- Listen once without notes, then again with the criteria below open. Mark the three places where you paused longest.
- Repeat the same card the next day. Keep the same story and change only the words that felt weak.
- Move on to the next theme after two cards, so your vocabulary does not narrow to one topic.
Check your recording against the four criteria
The owners' wording, with a question for each.
ielts.org says the examiner uses four criteria. Use the same four when you listen back.
| Criterion | What ielts.org says it assesses | Question to ask yourself (ours) |
|---|---|---|
| Fluency and coherence | Fluency and coherence assesses how well you can speak at a normal speed without too much hesitation. | Did I keep a steady pace, and did I use words like first, then, because and so to link my points? |
| Lexical resource | Lexical resource assesses the range of vocabulary you use and how accurately and appropriately you use vocabulary to express meaning. | Did I repeat the same word, or did I find another way to say it? |
| Grammatical range and accuracy | Grammatical range and accuracy assesses the range of grammar you use and how accurately and appropriately you use it. | Did I use more than one tense, and did I use one or two longer sentences correctly? |
| Pronunciation | Pronunciation assesses your ability to speak in a way which can be understood without too much effort. | Could a stranger follow every sentence without replaying it? |
We do not turn those answers into a band score. A recording cannot tell you that. Use them to decide what to change in the next attempt.
Five mistakes people make with cue cards
And what to do instead.
- Ignoring the final line. It is the part that asks for an opinion. Plan time for it in the notes, so it does not get one rushed sentence at the end.
- Writing sentences in the minute. You have a minute, not a script. Single words and numbers are enough.
- Memorising an answer. A rehearsed answer for a card you will not get is wasted effort. Memorise phrases for linking and extending, not whole stories.
- Stopping at one minute. A short answer leaves the examiner waiting. Keep an example or a detail in reserve for each bullet.
- Practising only the topics you like. The card you get may be about a job you would not want or a place you have not been. Practise the awkward ones.
Common questions
It is the task card the examiner gives you in Speaking Part 2. IELTS says it asks you to talk about a particular topic and tells you what points to include. Every card has a topic, three bullet points and a final question, according to IDP.
One minute. IELTS says you have one minute to prepare your talk, and the examiner will give you a pencil and paper to make notes.
Up to 2 minutes. IDP says the examiner will tell you when to start and will remind you that they will stop you after 2 minutes. The examiner may then ask one or two questions on the same topic.
IDP says not to worry: the examiner will interrupt you at the 2-minute mark, and if you have not finished, you have already shown that you can speak at length.
The owners' pages we read publish sample Speaking tasks, not a list for a given year. ielts.org offers a sample-tasks PDF of 7 pages, and the British Council offers its own sample-tasks PDF.
Start with the owners. ielts.org lists Speaking sample tasks as a PDF of 7 pages, and the British Council lists its own Speaking sample tasks PDF. Their pages describe all three Speaking parts, so check inside for the long-turn card. IDP shows sample Part 2 tasks with a recording and a transcript.
No. The British Council says the Speaking test is the same for both IELTS Academic and IELTS General Training.
Yes, once you have tried the owners' samples. IDP says to make up your own topic cards on familiar topics such as education, transport, sport, health, the environment and tourism. Our cards above are one place to start.