IELTS Speaking Part 2

Describe a famous sports venue you would like to visit: IELTS cue card with sample answer

An IELTS cue card for Speaking Part 2 with a Band 8 sample answer, the one-minute plan behind it, the vocabulary that lifts it and the Part 3 follow-up questions the examiner can ask next.
  • 265 words
  • A place
  • 1 minute to prepare
  • 2 minutes to speak

The cue card

Describe a famous sports venue you would like to visit.

You should say:

  • →What and where it is
  • →How you know about it
  • →What you would like to do there
  • →And explain why you would like to visit it

One minute to prepare, then speak for one to two minutes. Prefer to practise without recording? Run the clock on any card with the IELTS speaking timer.

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A place

How to answer this cue card: a one-minute plan

  1. 1

    Pick a venue you genuinely know something about, so you can add one or two real facts without guessing figures.

  2. 2

    Use 'would' and 'I'd like to' throughout, since it is a future wish, and include one 'if' sentence.

  3. 3

    Connect the visit to a person or memory; a personal reason is much easier to extend than 'it is famous'.

Model answer

Band 8 sample answer

Band 8265 words, about two minutes at a natural pace. Details are invented; use your own.

The venue I'd love to visit is Melbourne Cricket Ground in Australia, which locals apparently call the G. I'm a cricket fan from Kolkata, and I'm a commerce student, so at the moment it's very much a dream rather than a plan.

I first knew about it from watching matches on TV with my father. He's been obsessed with cricket his whole life, and the big Boxing Day Test match there is something we watch together every year, even though it starts at an awful time in the morning for us in India. I've also watched documentaries about the stadium's history, so I know it's one of the oldest and largest cricket grounds in the world.

If I went, I'd want to watch a full day of a Test match, ideally India playing Australia. I'd like to arrive early, sit somewhere high up to see the whole oval, and take in the atmosphere with nearly a hundred thousand people. I've also read there's a sports museum inside, so I'd spend a few hours there too.

The main reason is that I want to experience something I've only ever seen on a screen. On TV it looks enormous, but I want to feel that scale, hear the crowd for myself and see how the players look in real life. There's also a personal side to it. My father has never travelled abroad, and I'd really love to take him with me once I start earning. Watching a match there together, after all those early mornings on our sofa, would mean a lot to both of us.

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7 words

Useful vocabulary for this cue card

  • venue

    A place where an event happens.

  • obsessed

    Thinking about something all the time.

  • oval

    An egg-shaped area, such as a cricket field.

  • take in

    Experience and fully notice something.

  • scale

    The size of something.

  • abroad

    In or to a foreign country.

  • earning

    Getting money for work.

5 questions

Part 3 follow-up questions

  1. 1Why do people travel long distances to watch sport?
  2. 2Are big sports events good for the cities that host them?
  3. 3Should tickets for major matches be cheaper?
  4. 4Why do some sports become more popular than others?
  5. 5How has television changed the way people experience sport?

Answer each in three to five sentences: position, reason, example, limit. See how to answer IELTS Speaking Part 3.

Frequently asked questions

How should I start the cue card "Describe a famous sports venue you would like to visit."?+

Pick a venue you genuinely know something about, so you can add one or two real facts without guessing figures.

How long should I speak on an IELTS cue card?+

You get one minute to prepare, then speak for the full two minutes, about 220 to 280 words at a natural pace. The examiner will stop you at two minutes, which is a good sign, not a problem.

How is the cue card scored?+

Part 2 is not scored on its own. Your whole Speaking test gets one band from four criteria: fluency and coherence, vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation. The cue card is where the examiner hears whether you can keep going for two minutes.

Can I use this sample answer in the exam?+

Use its structure and vocabulary, not its sentences. Examiners recognise memorised answers and mark fluency down; a shorter answer from your own memory scores higher than a recited one.

Keep practising

More cue cards: a place

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