In Part 2 of the Speaking test, you are given a card with a topic, and 60 seconds to prepare. You then have to speak on the topic for one to two minutes. That one minute of preparation time matters more than many candidates realise, and using it well can make a real difference to how your Part 2 answer lands. In this post, we’ll look at how to use those 60 seconds.

What topic can I expect?

The IELTS Speaking Part 2 question will not require any specialist knowledge. You may be asked to talk about a friend, a possession, a place, an advertisement or an invention. Here is an example:

Describe something you own which is very important to you. You should say: where you got it from how long you have had it what you use it for; and explain why it is important to you. You will have to talk about the topic for 1 to 2 minutes. You have one minute to think about what you’re going to say. You can make some notes to help you if you wish.

Once you have read the task card, the most important thing you should do is take notes.

Taking notes

First, focus on the topic and underline it. In this case, you would underline ‘something you own’. All of your talk must be about this item; you will get no marks for talking about something else. Now you must decide exactly which item you will talk about. For this task, let’s use the example of your mobile phone.

A quick word on choosing your topic: you don’t have to stick rigidly to the truth, and it’s fine to adapt or embellish real experiences to fit the prompt. But candidates who invent something entirely often struggle to sustain it for two minutes – they run out of specific detail, hesitate more, and end up sounding vaguer than they would if they’d talked about something real. Pick something you actually know, and shape it to fit the card.

Look at the task card again. The card above has four bullet points, and these can help you structure your talk. A useful rough guide is to aim for two or three ideas per bullet, and to develop each idea with a bit of detail or an example – that’s usually more effective than trying to cram in as many separate points as possible.

So, using the mobile phone example, for bullet point 1 on the task card (where you got it from) you might make the following notes:

• present from parents
• bought in US
• big surprise

This gives you three things to talk about:

Firstly, I’m going to tell you about where I got my phone. It was a present from my parents for my eighteenth birthday. My mother had been on a business trip to the US, and she bought it there. It was a fantastic surprise to me because I’d never had such an expensive present before.

Now move on to bullet point 2 (how long you have had it):

• 8 mths / since bday (8 months / since birthday)
• last phone 5 years (last phone was used for five years)
• 5 years is max (five years is the maximum for a phone)

Again, you have three points to make:

As I mentioned before, I was given the phone for my birthday which was eight months ago, back in September. It was just in time because my last phone was five years old, and had almost stopped working. I think five years is about the maximum for a phone. That means that this one should be good for about another four years, which is great.

Now try making notes for the last two points yourself.

Using structural language

If you look back at the two examples above, you may notice a few useful phrases at the start of sentences. Here are three examples:

• Firstly, I’m going to tell you about…
• As I mentioned before…
• As a result…

This is sometimes called ‘structural language’ – sequencers and connectors that help you guide your listener through your answer. A word of caution: examiners are trained to notice language that sounds memorised, so the goal isn’t to string together pre-learned phrases. The real value of having a handful of these expressions ready is that they help you organise your thoughts as you speak, and they buy you a moment to think about what comes next without falling into a long silence. Used naturally and sparingly, they support fluency; overused, they can work against you.

Now try this

Practise. Take out your phone and open up the timer. Set it for one minute. Choose an item to talk about, and make notes against each of the four bullet points. Then record yourself talking for up to two minutes.

Review and learn. Listen to your talk. How well did you structure your ideas? Did you develop each point with some detail, or did you rush through? Did you use any structural language, and did it sound natural? Note down a few phrases you could use next time.

Keep practising. The British Council and IDP IELTS websites both publish sample Part 2 cue cards, and you’ll find many more on YouTube and on free IELTS preparation platforms. Try one a day for a week, recording each attempt and listening back – it’s one of the most effective ways to build fluency in this part of the test.

Final thought

If fluency is a specific concern for you, the British Council publishes advice on improving Speaking fluency on their Take IELTS site — worth a look alongside your practice.