IELTS Speaking Part 2: Long Turn (Cue Card)

One minute to prepare, two minutes alone, and no examiner to rescue you — the clearest sample of your English in the whole test.

1. What Part 2 Is

The examiner hands you a task card with a topic and three or four prompts. You get one minute to prepare, with pencil and paper, and then speak for two minutes without interruption. One or two short follow-up questions may follow.

2. Format and Timing

Stage	Time
Preparation	1 minute, with pencil and paper
Your talk	2 minutes
Follow-up questions	Up to 1 minute
Total	3–4 minutes

This is the only part where you are not interrupted, which makes it the clearest sample of your unaided English in the whole test.

3. What Is Actually Tested

Speaking at length on a given topic, organising ideas logically and using appropriate language — without a conversation partner to prop you up.

4. Strategies That Work

Use the minute for nouns and names, not sentences. You cannot read a script at speaking speed.
Write one or two words against each bullet so you have a running order.
Spend the most time on the final bullet — almost always the explain why, and the richest language.
Do not stop at ninety seconds. Keep going until the examiner stops you.
If you run dry, add a contrast: how it used to be, or how someone else sees it.

5. Worked Example

A cue card

Cue card: A house or apartment you would like to live in

You should say:

where it is / Where it would be
what you would (like to) do there
who you would (like to) live therewith

and explain why you would like to live in this place.

The bullets are a running order, and the last one — almost always the explain why — carries the most language. Candidates who run dry at ninety seconds have usually spent all their time on the first bullet.

6. Common Mistakes

Finishing after a minute because the last bullet was skipped.
Writing full sentences in the preparation minute and then reading them aloud.
Forcing a memorised topic onto a card it does not fit — obvious and heavily penalised.
Spending ninety seconds on the first bullet.

7. Questions People Ask

What if I finish before two minutes?

Add detail: a contrast with the past, another person’s view, or why it mattered. Silence is the worst option.

Can I keep my notes?

You can use them while you speak, but they are collected afterwards and never marked.

Does it matter if I go off topic slightly?

A little drift is normal. Abandoning the card entirely is not, and it costs marks.

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