IELTS Speaking Part 1: Introduction and Interview

The easiest questions in the test, and the ones candidates most often under-answer into a band 5.

1. What Part 1 Is

After checking your identity, the examiner asks familiar questions about your life — where you live, what you study or do, your free time, your family. It lasts four to five minutes and covers two or three topics.

2. Format and Timing

Feature	Detail
Time	4–5 minutes
Topics	2–3 familiar subjects
Question style	Direct and personal
Preparation time	None

3. What Is Actually Tested

Giving opinions and information on everyday topics fluently and naturally. The questions are easy on purpose — the examiner needs enough language from you to start placing you on the scale.

A one-word answer is not modest, it is a missing sample. If you say nothing, there is nothing to mark.

4. Strategies That Work

Answer in two or three sentences: the answer, then a reason or an example.
Do not deliver a speech either. Part 1 is a conversation, and ninety-second answers sound rehearsed.
Use natural tenses. Questions about your childhood want past tenses — a free chance to show range.
Say something even if the topic bores you. "Not really, but my sister does" is a complete answer.
Avoid memorised openings. Examiners hear them constantly and they lower the Lexical Resource score.

5. Worked Example

Part 1 topic questions

Topic: Trust

Who do you trust most?
What kind of people do you trust?
Have you ever lost trust in somebody?

A band 5 answer to the first question is My mother. A band 7 answer is the same idea plus a reason and an example, delivered without visible effort — two or three sentences, not a speech.

6. Common Mistakes

One-word answers that give the examiner nothing to assess.
Over-long answers that turn a conversation into a monologue.
Memorised phrases recycled regardless of the question.
Asking the examiner to repeat every question — occasionally is fine, habitually is not.

7. Questions People Ask

Can I ask the examiner to repeat a question?

Yes, and it is not penalised. Asking for every question, though, reads as a comprehension problem.

Do I have to tell the truth?

No. You are marked on language, not on the accuracy of your biography.

Is Part 1 the same for Academic and General Training?

Yes. The Speaking test is identical for both.

Practise this task with real material on the IELTS Speaking samples page, or review how it is marked on the Speaking scoring 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