Part 2 is the one part of the Speaking test where you speak alone. You get a card, one minute to prepare and about two minutes to talk. This guide covers what IELTS says about the task, how to use the preparation minute, how to keep going without repeating yourself, and four practice cue cards from the ScoreFluent bank.

ScoreFluent is not affiliated with IELTS, or with the British Council, IDP IELTS or Cambridge University Press & Assessment, who jointly own it. Every rule below links to its primary source.

What is the IELTS Speaking Part 2 cue card task?

IELTS calls Part 2 the individual long turn. The examiner gives you a task card that asks you to talk about a particular topic. The card tells you what points to include and instructs you to explain one aspect of the topic.

  • Preparation: one minute, with a pencil and paper for notes.
  • Speaking: you should be able to keep talking for 2 minutes, according to IELTS's format page. IELTS's Speaking sample tasks card says “one to two minutes”. The examiner asks you to begin and stops you when the time is up.
  • After your talk: the examiner may ask one or two questions on the same topic.
  • Total: Part 2 lasts 3–4 minutes, including the preparation time.
  • Versions: the same on Academic and General Training.

IELTS says the part tests your ability to speak at length on a given topic, using appropriate language and organising your ideas logically. You will need to think about your own experiences.

Checked 15 and 16 October 2026 against IELTS: Academic Speaking format and IELTS: General Training sample test questions.

How is the long turn marked?

Certificated IELTS examiners assess your speaking throughout the test on four criteria: fluency and coherence, lexical resource, grammatical range and accuracy, and pronunciation. IELTS says each carries equal weighting and the average gives your Speaking score (IELTS: scoring in detail). The public descriptors add that a candidate is rated on their average performance across all parts of the test, so Part 2 has no score of its own.

The long turn is where the fluency descriptors show most clearly. At Band 7 a candidate is "able to keep going and readily produce long turns without noticeable effort". At Band 6 the descriptor reads "Able to keep going and demonstrates a willingness to produce long turns", though coherence may be lost at times through hesitation, repetition or self-correction. Read them in the IELTS speaking band descriptors (PDF).

For how the criteria become one band, see IELTS scoring. For the other parts of the test, see IELTS Speaking.

What should you do in the one-minute preparation time?

Notes, not sentences. This plan is our suggestion, not an IELTS rule:

  1. First 10 seconds: read the topic and choose the experience. Take the first real one that fits. Do not search for a perfect one.
  2. Next 40 seconds: write keywords beside each point on the card, two or three words each. Add one extra detail you can say about each: a name, a place, a number, a feeling.
  3. Last 10 seconds: decide your opening sentence and how you will end. Write "end:" and one word.

Treat the final point on the card as the longest. The card instructs you to explain one aspect of the topic, and an explanation needs more thought than a description. Give it a reason and an example.

How do you keep talking for two minutes?

Spread your time across the points on the card. About 30 seconds for each of three points is a workable guide, with an opening and closing sentence making up the rest. Then add detail rather than length:

  • Concrete detail. Who, where, when and what you saw, heard or ate.
  • Feelings and reasons. "I felt nervous because..." fills time with meaning.
  • A short contrast. "At first... but later..." gives the talk a shape.
  • A reflection at the end. "Looking back, I think..." closes the talk and uses the explain point.

If you finish a point early, add a detail from your notes. Do not repeat what you have said. If the examiner stops you mid-sentence, that is normal. IELTS says the examiner stops you when the time is up.

What if you have no real experience of the topic?

IELTS says you will need to think about your own experiences, so use a real one where you can. Pick the nearest match. A card about a long journey can be a bus trip to a relative. A card about a teacher can be a coach or a tutor.

If nothing fits, borrow details from something you saw or heard about. The four published criteria assess your language. None of them mentions whether the story is true. What matters is that your talk is organised, detailed and easy to follow.

Which mistakes cost marks in Part 2?

  • Stopping early. IELTS's format page says you should be able to keep talking for 2 minutes (its sample card says one to two), and Band 6 and 7 both refer to producing long turns.
  • Reading sentences from your notes. Notes should prompt you, not script you.
  • Skipping the explain point. The card instructs you to explain, so leave time for it.
  • A list of events with no detail. "I went there, then I went there" gives you nothing to be assessed on.
  • Long pauses for a word. Paraphrase instead. IELTS lists alternative vocabulary as part of Lexical Resource.
  • A memorised speech. The public descriptors list memorised utterances among the lowest-band features, and a prepared speech rarely fits the card you are given.
  • Rushing. A fast talk can finish well before two minutes and leave you with nothing to say.

Practice items from the ScoreFluent bank (not real exam questions)

These four cue cards come from our practice bank. They are not IELTS exam questions. In the app each card has a one-minute preparation timer and a two-minute speaking timer.

Card 1. Describe a meal that you remember well.

You should say:

  • when and where you had the meal
  • who you ate it with and what you ate
  • and explain why the meal was so memorable

Card 2. Describe a time when you helped someone solve a problem

You should say:

  • who the person was and what their problem was
  • how you helped them find a solution
  • why you decided to get involved and help

Card 3. Describe a teacher who has had a strong influence on you.

You should say:

  • who the teacher was and what subject they taught
  • what they were like as a person
  • and explain how they influenced you

Card 4. Describe a person you know who speaks a foreign language very well.

You should say:

  • who the person is
  • how they learned the language
  • and explain what you admire about the way they speak it

Try card 3 with a timer before you read the example below. Cards 1, 3 and 4 end with an "and explain" point. Card 2 ends on a "why" point. Either way, plan the ending first.

What does a two-minute talk look like?

Here are keyword notes and a talk for card 3. They show structure, not a script to memorise.

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Illustrative answer written for this guide: the preparation notes

Who and what: Ms Ortega, chemistry, age 15. Person: strict but fair, patient, everyday examples (bread). Influence: failed test, she re-taught me, study method, chose science. End: grateful, still message her.

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Illustrative answer written for this guide: the talk (about 250 words, roughly two minutes at a steady pace)

I would like to talk about my chemistry teacher, Ms Ortega, who taught me when I was fifteen.

She taught chemistry at my secondary school, and she was the first teacher who made the subject make sense to me. In the first term I was struggling, and I failed my first test.

As a person, she was strict but very fair. She never raised her voice, but everyone knew she expected us to prepare properly. What I remember most is that she was patient. If someone did not understand, she would explain the idea again in a different way, usually with an example from everyday life. She once showed us how bread rises to explain a chemical reaction, and I have never forgotten it.

After my failed test, she stayed behind with me for twenty minutes and went through every mistake. She did not just give me the answers. She asked me questions until I could find them myself. By the end of the year, I had one of the highest marks in the class.

She influenced me in two ways. First, she changed how I study. I now try to understand a topic rather than memorise it. Second, she is the reason I chose to study science at university, which I probably would not have done otherwise.

I am very grateful to her, and I still send her a message every year to thank her.

Notice the order. The opening names the person. The next paragraphs follow the card's points in order. The "influence" point gets the most space and ends with a reflection. We have not marked this talk and it carries no band.

How does ScoreFluent mark Part 2 practice?

You get a card, a one-minute preparation timer and a two-minute speaking timer, then a practice estimate for your recording against the four published criteria. It is a practice estimate, not an official IELTS band or an examiner's mark.

Our IELTS speaking estimate is provisional and uncalibrated. It has not been checked against examiner-scored recordings. Use it to find what to fix, such as stopping early or long pauses, and not as a prediction of your band.

Reading and listening practice is free. Speaking and writing examiner reports use credits. New accounts start with 40 free credits, credits never expire and there is no subscription. See pricing, then start with 40 free credits →

Where do these facts come from?

Checked 15 and 16 October 2026:

The preparation plan, time guide and the illustrative notes and talk are our own technique and are labelled as such.

Next: Part 1, the interview and Part 3, the discussion. Back to the IELTS hub or all IELTS task-type guides.

Questions students ask

How long is IELTS Speaking Part 2?

Part 2 lasts 3–4 minutes including the preparation time. You get one minute to prepare and you should be able to keep talking for 2 minutes (IELTS: Academic Speaking format).

How long do I get to prepare for the IELTS cue card?

One minute. The examiner gives you a pencil and paper to make notes (IELTS: Academic Speaking format).

How long do I have to speak in Part 2?

IELTS's format page says you should be able to keep talking for 2 minutes, while its sample task card says 'one to two minutes'. The examiner asks you to begin and stops you when the time is up (IELTS: Academic Speaking format; IELTS: Speaking sample tasks).

What is on the IELTS Speaking cue card?

A topic and the points you should include in your talk. The card also instructs you to explain one aspect of the topic (IELTS: Academic Speaking format).

Does the examiner ask questions after my Part 2 talk?

They may ask you one or two questions on the same topic. Then Part 3 begins, which is a discussion of issues related to the Part 2 topic (IELTS: Academic Speaking format).

Is Part 2 marked separately from Parts 1 and 3?

IELTS's public Speaking descriptors say a candidate is rated on their average performance across all parts of the test, so Part 2 does not produce a score of its own.

What does Part 2 test?

IELTS says it tests your ability to speak at length on a given topic, using appropriate language and organising your ideas logically. You will need to think about your own experiences (IELTS: Academic Speaking format).

Do I have to tell a true story in Part 2?

IELTS says you will need to think about your own experiences, so use a real one where you can. None of the four published Speaking criteria mentions whether the story is true; they assess your language.

Should I write full sentences in the preparation minute?

No, because one minute is too short for sentences. We suggest keywords for each point on the card and a note of how you want to end; that is our advice, not an IELTS rule.

Is the cue card task the same on Academic and General Training?

Yes. IELTS says the Speaking test is the same for both IELTS Academic and IELTS General Training (IELTS: General Training sample test questions).

Does ScoreFluent give an official band for a cue card talk?

No. ScoreFluent gives a practice estimate, and our IELTS speaking estimate is provisional and uncalibrated. ScoreFluent is not affiliated with IELTS.

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