IELTS Speaking Part 1

Notebooks: questions and Band 8 answers

The examiner asks three to five short questions on two or three everyday topics in the first four to five minutes. Here are 5 questions about notebooks written by BandLadder in the examiner's style, each with a Band 8 sample answer. Aim for two or three sentences each: answer, reason, one detail.
  • 5 questions
  • 5 Band 8 answers
  • 4 to 5 minutes

5 answers

Sample answers

1

Do you often use a notebook?

Yes, pretty much every day. I keep a small one on my desk at work to jot down daily to-do lists and scribble notes during meetings. It just helps me stay organised, and I find crossing things off really satisfying.

2

What kind of notebook do you prefer to use?

I usually go for plain, lined notebooks with a sturdy hardback cover. A spiral-bound one is ideal because it lies flat when I am writing, which is much more comfortable. I recently bought a pocket-sized one in dark green that I carry everywhere.

3

Do you prefer using a paper notebook or taking notes on your phone?

To be honest, I definitely lean towards paper. Typing on a screen feels a bit impersonal, and I tend to get distracted by notifications. Putting pen to paper helps me remember information far better, especially when I am planning my weekly schedule.

4

Did you use notebooks a lot when you were at school?

Absolutely, we had exercise books for nearly every subject, from history to maths. I remember filling dozens of them with rough drafts, class notes, and occasional doodles in the margins during rather dull lessons.

5

Do you think you will still use paper notebooks in the future?

I reckon I will, yes. Even though digital devices are taking over most administrative tasks, there is something tactile and creative about a real notebook that technology cannot replace. I cannot imagine completely giving up on traditional stationery.

Details are invented. Use the shape, not the sentences: examiners mark memorised answers down.

Answer out loud and get a band

The AI examiner asks Part 1 questions like these, listens, and scores fluency, vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation, with the words that cost you.

Log in to practise this with AI scoring — free →

7 words

Useful vocabulary

  • jot down

    to write something quickly

  • sturdy

    strong and well-made

  • spiral-bound

    held together with a coiled wire along the spine

  • lean towards

    to prefer or tend to choose something

  • exercise books

    notebooks used by pupils for schoolwork

  • doodles

    simple drawings made while daydreaming or listening

  • tactile

    relating to the physical feeling of touching something

  • →Contrast traditional paper notebooks with digital note-taking apps to demonstrate a wider vocabulary.
  • →Use specific descriptive adjectives when discussing notebooks, such as 'hardback', 'pocket-sized', or 'spiral-bound'.
  • →Mention practical, everyday uses like writing to-do lists or brainstorming to keep your answers realistic.

Keep practising

More Part 1 topics

© 2026 BandLadder. Written and checked by the BandLadder team. You may quote or cite this page with credit to BandLadder and a link to it; republishing it in full needs our written permission. Content use policy

Log in to practise free