IELTS Speaking Test Format

Eleven to fourteen minutes, face to face with a certificated examiner, in three parts that each ask something different of you. The whole interview is recorded, and the same four criteria apply throughout.

Format at a Glance

Part	Time	What happens
Part 1 — Introduction and interview	4–5 minutes	Identity check, then familiar questions about home, work, study and interests.
Part 2 — Long turn	3–4 minutes	A task card, 1 minute to prepare with pencil and paper, then speak for 2 minutes.
Part 3 — Two-way discussion	4–5 minutes	Abstract discussion of issues connected to the Part 2 topic.

The Speaking test may be taken up to a week before or after the other three papers. It is the same test for Academic and General Training candidates.

The Three Parts

Part 1 – Introduction & Interview

Four to five minutes of familiar questions about your life, home, work and interests. Short answers are the main thing costing marks.

Part 2 – Long Turn (Cue Card)

One minute to prepare, then two minutes speaking alone on a given topic. The only part where you are not interrupted.

Part 3 – Two-Way Discussion

Four to five minutes of abstract discussion linked to the Part 2 topic. Where a 6.5 becomes an 8.

The Four Marking Criteria

Each criterion is scored from 1 to 9 and the four are averaged to give your Speaking band:

Criterion	What the examiner is listening for
Fluency and Coherence	Speaking at a normal rate without undue hesitation, and linking ideas so they are easy to follow.
Lexical Resource	Range of vocabulary and the ability to paraphrase when the exact word will not come.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy	Variety of structures and how accurately you use them.
Pronunciation	Clarity, stress and intonation — whether you are easy to understand, not whether you sound British.

Accent is not marked. Intelligibility is. A strong regional accent costs nothing as long as the examiner never has to work to follow you.

Band-by-band detail is on the IELTS Speaking scoring page.

How to Prepare

Answer Part 1 questions in two or three sentences — answer, then a reason or example. One-word replies give the examiner nothing to mark.
Use the Part 2 preparation minute for nouns and names, not full sentences. You cannot read out a script at speed.
Treat the cue-card bullets as a running order. Candidates who finish early have almost always skipped the last one.
In Part 3, expect the examiner to disagree on purpose. Defend or qualify your position rather than abandoning it.
Record yourself and listen back for filler words. Hesitation, not grammar, is what most often holds fluency at band 6.

Practice questions for all three parts, with band 8 model answers, are on the IELTS Speaking samples page.

Written by Kirill O'Nayd

IELTS expert and educator at TestSucceed, with over a decade of experience preparing candidates for the Academic and General Training modules. Author of the Complete IELTS Preparation Course on Udemy ★★★★★★4.7