IELTS Speaking Part 2: how to talk for two minutes

Two minutes feels long when you are the only one talking. Most candidates who stop early have not run out of English. They have run out of things to say, because they spent the preparation minute writing a sentence or two and then tried to describe the topic in general terms. The fix is a simple note plan and a habit of telling a story with specific details.

This guide covers what happens in Part 2, how to use the minute of preparation, a structure that fills two minutes, an original sample answer with comments, and the mistakes we hear most often in AIL classes.

What happens in IELTS Speaking Part 2?

As of October 2026, the official IELTS description of Part 2 (the "long turn") is the same for paper and computer-delivered IELTS, because Speaking is always face to face with an examiner:

• The examiner gives you a task card with a topic and three or four prompts, plus a pencil and paper.
• You have one minute to prepare. You can make notes.
• You then talk for one to two minutes. The examiner will stop you when the time is up.
• The examiner may ask one or two short questions on the same topic to round off.

Part 2 takes three to four minutes in total. The notes you make are not marked. For an overview of all three parts and the four marking criteria, see our IELTS Speaking test guide.

Do you have to cover every prompt on the card?

The prompts are there to help you, and following them is the easiest way to organise your talk. You are not marked down for spending more time on one prompt than another, and you will not lose marks for missing a minor point if the talk is still on topic. What you must do is talk about the topic on the card. If the card asks for a time you repaired something, a talk about shopping for a new phone is off topic, however good the English.

The last prompt usually starts with "and explain…" ("and explain how you felt", "and explain why it was important"). Treat it as your ending. It gives you something to say in the final 20–30 seconds, which is exactly when most people dry up.

How to use the one minute of preparation

Don't write sentences. In one minute you can write about 15–20 words, and that is enough if they are the right words. Write:

1. One word for the situation: who, where, when. Make it real and specific: "Dad's bike, Year 10, garage".
2. One or two words for each prompt, as reminders of details you can describe.
3. One word for the ending, the feeling or lesson for "explain…".

Keep writing until the examiner asks you to start. If you finish your plan early, add details: a name, a number, a sound, something someone said.

Choose a topic you can describe, not just name. If the card says "Describe a book you enjoyed" and you remember the plot of one book much better than another, choose that one, even if the other is more impressive. You can also adapt a real experience. Examiners are assessing your English, not checking whether the story is true.

A structure that fills two minutes

Think of the talk in four stages. The timings are rough guides, not rules.

The "zoom in" stage is the one most people miss, and it is where the time comes from. A story told in summary ("I fixed it and it worked") takes ten seconds. The same moment described closely ("I spent about twenty minutes trying to get the chain back on, and every time I turned the pedal it slipped off again…") takes forty, and it gives the examiner far more language to assess.

Sample cue card and answer

This card and answer were written by AIL for practice.

Describe something you repaired or fixed yourself.

You should say: - what it was - why it needed fixing - how you fixed it

and explain how you felt after fixing it.

Notes written in the minute:

Dad's old bike · Yr 10 · gears + chain rusty · YouTube, borrowed tools, neighbour Mr Tan · 3 weekends · rode to school · proud / patient

Sample answer (about 1 minute 55 seconds at a normal pace):

I'd like to talk about an old bicycle that I repaired when I was in Year 10. It belonged to my father, and it had been sitting in our garage for maybe eight years, so it was covered in dust and the chain was completely rusted.

The reason I wanted to fix it was quite practical. My school was about four kilometres from home, and I was tired of waiting for the bus, which was often late. My parents said they weren't going to buy me a new bike, so this was my only option.

I had no idea what I was doing at first, so I watched a lot of videos online. I took the chain off, soaked it in oil overnight and cleaned it with an old toothbrush. The hardest part was the gears. Every time I turned the pedals, the chain jumped off the back wheel, and I must have tried adjusting the same screw about twenty times. In the end our neighbour, Mr Tan, who used to race bikes when he was younger, came over and showed me that I had been turning it the wrong way the whole time. It took him about thirty seconds.

Altogether it took me three weekends, and I ended up riding that bike to school for the next two years.

As for how I felt, I was proud, obviously, but I think the main thing I learned was to be patient and to ask for help earlier. If I'd asked Mr Tan on the first weekend, I would have saved myself a lot of frustration. Even now, when something breaks at home, I'm usually the one who tries to fix it before we call someone.

Why this answer works

• It answers the card in order. The examiner can follow it easily, which supports Fluency and Coherence.
• It is specific. "Four kilometres", "soaked it in oil overnight", "about twenty times", "thirty seconds". Numbers and small details take time to say and sound natural.
• It zooms in on one moment. The paragraph about the gears and Mr Tan is the longest part, and it is the most memorable.
• It uses a range of grammar without forcing it. Past simple and past continuous for the story, past perfect continuous ("had been sitting", "had been turning"), a third conditional in the reflection ("If I'd asked… I would have saved…"), and a present habit at the end.
• The vocabulary fits the topic. "Rusted", "soaked", "adjusting", "frustration". None of it is rare, but it is precise, which is what Lexical Resource rewards.

Compare a weak opening to the same card: "I fixed my bike. It was broken. I watched YouTube and fixed it. I felt happy." That covers every prompt in fifteen seconds and leaves the candidate with nothing to say for the next minute and a half.

What if you run out of things to say?

It happens, even with a good plan. Have three ways back in:

1. Go back to a prompt and add a detail. "Actually, I should mention what the bike looked like. It was dark green, quite heavy…"
2. Add a comparison. "It's quite different from now, because these days I'd probably just take it to a shop."
3. Move to the feeling or lesson early. If you have finished the story, start the "explain" part and give two reasons rather than one.

What you should not do is stop and wait. If you stop before two minutes, the examiner may prompt you with a question, but a long silence still counts against Fluency.

Common mistakes in Part 2

• Writing full sentences in the minute. You will finish one sentence and have no notes for the rest.
• Talking in general terms. "Repairing things is very useful in modern life" is a Part 3 answer. Part 2 wants your own experience.
• A memorised answer. Examiners hear the same prepared speeches many times. A memorised answer that doesn't quite fit the card is obvious, and it can be treated as off topic.
• Rushing. Speaking fast to "fill" the time makes pronunciation and grammar worse. A normal pace with details fills two minutes more easily.
• Stopping after each prompt. Link the parts: "The reason I wanted to fix it…", "As for how I felt…". These phrases keep you moving.
• Ignoring the round-off question. If the examiner asks "Do you still have the bike?", a one- or two-sentence answer is enough. Don't start a second long turn.

Practise with these cue cards

Use a timer: one minute to make notes, then record yourself for two minutes. Listen back and count how many specific details you gave. Aim for at least five.

1. Describe a small shop or market you like to visit. Say where it is, what it sells, how often you go, and explain why you like it.
2. Describe a time you changed your mind about something. Say what it was, what you thought before, what made you change, and explain how you feel about it now.
3. Describe a piece of clothing you wear often. Say what it is, where you got it, when you wear it, and explain why you like it.

After each recording, check:

• [ ] Did I talk until the two-minute mark?
• [ ] Did I zoom in on one moment with real detail?
• [ ] Did I use at least one past perfect or conditional naturally?
• [ ] Did my ending answer the "explain" prompt?

Part 2 leads straight into Part 3, where the examiner asks broader questions on the same theme, so it helps to practise the two together. If your target is band 7, our guide on getting from 6.5 to 7 explains what changes in Speaking at that level.

The free Speaking practice on our practice test site gives you a cue card with a one-minute preparation timer, records your answer, and marks it on the four criteria with comments, so you can see where you hesitated. To make the most of a full timed test, read how to use an IELTS mock test.