IELTS speaking cue cards 2026: 700+ Part 2 topics with sample answers

The card the examiner hands you in Speaking Part 2. It names a topic, such as a person, place, object or event, and lists three or four points to cover. You talk about it on your own, then the examiner moves on to Part 3 questions on the same theme.

One minute to prepare, with a pencil and paper. Then you speak for one to two minutes; the examiner stops you at two. Aim to use the full two minutes.

Topics rotate in sets that change roughly every four months, and cards on people, places, objects, events and experiences recur in new wording. Practising a range of categories matters more than memorising specific cards.

No. The examiner hands you one card and you talk about that topic. That is why it pays to practise across categories (people, places, objects, events and experiences) rather than a shortlist of cards.

Go back to the card and add detail to a point you covered quickly: a specific example, how you felt, or how things have changed since. The examiner stops you at two minutes, so aim to still be talking when that happens.

No. Examiners recognise memorised speech and score it down on fluency and coherence. Use the answers to see how a strong candidate covers each bullet and adds detail, then build your own from a real memory.