This is a detailed analysis of all 68 Speaking Part Two task sheets in official Cambridge IELTS exam practice books. It starts with a summary of what kinds of tasks are most and less common, then there is a table going through each test in detail. This is designed to help make exam practice reflect the real test, prioritise what to study, and search for suitable exam practice materials. Over 1000 pages of photocopiable material for IELTS are available at https://www.usingenglish.com/e-books/
Summary of official IELTS Speaking Part Two tasks
- All 68 tasks start with the word “Describe…”
- All 68 tasks have three bullet points and then an extra question underneath
- All 68 tasks have “You should say” before the three bullet point questions and “and explain…” at the beginning of the fourth question
- The majority of tasks have four questions in total, but 13 of the 68 tasks have two questions next to each other on the same line and therefore five questions in total instead of the normal four (most recently in 2024, 2023 and 2021), and one task has six questions in total
- All 68 tasks ask the candidate to talk about one specific thing, usually described as “Describe a/ an…”, but sometimes with other wording such as “Describe something/ someone/ some…” or “Describe some + uncountable noun”
Topics in official IELTS Speaking Part Two tasks
The only repeated specific topics are “a meeting” and “a website”, and even in those cases one of the examples makes the topic more specific. The topics have therefore been put into wider categories in this article like “a time” and “arts and media”:
- 16 tasks are about a time such as “an occasion when you…”
- 13 tasks are about a person such as “someone who you…”
- 11 tasks are about a thing such as “some technology that you…”
- 9 tasks are about an action such as “an activity which you…”
- 8 actions are about a place such as “a town where you…”
- 14 tasks are about business or work like “a job that you…”
- 9 tasks are about arts and media like “some music which…”
- 7 tasks are about a relationship like “someone who you work or study with”
- 7 tasks are about travel and tourism like “a journey that you…”
- 6 tasks are about education like “something you studied…”
- 5 tasks are about a town like “a town where you…”
- 4 tasks are about possessions like “an object that someone… you”
- 4 tasks are about home like “a room where you…”
- 3 tasks are about nature like “a wood or forest that you…”
- 3 tasks are about food and drink like “a recipe that you…”
- 2 tasks are about local area/ neighbourhood
- there is one task about each of: communication, daily routine, festivals and celebrations, finance, health, history, and society
Times/ tenses in official IELTS Speaking Part Two tasks
- 38 tasks are about the past such as “a time when you felt…”
- 17 tasks are about the present such as “a thing that you use…”
- only 2 tasks are about the future such as “somewhere you’d like to…”
- 2 tasks mix the present and past
There are also a few tasks that could be about different times depending on what topic the candidate picks, e.g. they can either talk about a present relative or a past relative. There are no Speaking Part Two tasks about purely hypothetical situations like a dream home (though a few tasks have hypothetical questions/ subtopics).
Types of official IELTS Speaking Part Two questions/ subtopics
This article splits the questions into the three bullet points and then the fourth one at the bottom of the task, as the two kinds of question vary quite a lot.
Types of questions in the three bullet points
- there are 91 questions starting with “what” (including 8 where “what” means “which”)
- there are 33 questions starting with “where”
- there are 30 questions starting with “how” (including all meanings and uses of how)
- there are 22 questions starting with “why”
- there are 19 questions starting with “who”
- there are 15 questions starting with “when”
- there are 13 questions starting with “how” meaning “in what way(s)”
- there are 10 questions starting with “what kind(s)/ sort(s)/ type(s) of…”
- there are 10 questions with “like” as a preposition (in “be like” or “look like”)
- there are 6 questions with “how + adjective” like “how important”
- there are 6 questions with “what… looks like”
- there are 6 questions starting with “how long”
- there are 5 questions with “what… is/ was about”
- there are 4 questions with “what… is/ was like”
- there are only 3 questions with “how often”
- there are 3 vague questions with “what you know about”
- there are 2 questions meaning “how you felt/ what you thought about”
- there are 2 “what happened” questions
- there are 2 “what you learnt (about…)” questions
- there are only 2 “which” questions (but 8 questions where “what” means “which”)
- there are 2 “whose” questions
- there is one “what you like or dislike” questions (meaning “like” as a preposition is much more common)
- there is only one yes/ no question with “whether you… (or not)” (but see below for the fourth question)
Types of fourth questions after the bullet points
- About two thirds of fourth questions start with “and explain why…”, making it far more common than any of the other fourth questions
- 10 fourth questions ask “explain how you feel/ felt about…” (8 examples) or have the questions meaning the same thing “what you feel about” or “what you think of”
- 7 fourth questions start with “what”
- 5 fourth questions are yes/ no questions with “whether”
- 2 fourth questions start with “how” meaning “in what way”
- only 1 fourth question starts with “how + adjective”
Difficulties in official IELTS Speaking Part Two tasks
The most common problems that candidates might have with these tasks include:
- tasks for which it will be hard for some or many candidates to quickly think of a suitable topic, often because the topic is very specific or occasionally because they might not have something suitable that totally matches the task (around 23 tasks, including quite recently)
- tasks which contain words for which the meaning is vague/ unclear, e.g. exactly what counts as “a meeting” (around 15 tasks, including quite recently)
- tasks which have five or six questions instead of the usual four (14 tasks)
- tasks in which it will probably be difficult to remember the details of the experience (around 8 tasks, including quite recently)
- tasks with the vague question “What/ Who… is/ was”, which is rare in normal life and the classroom, can be difficult to know how to answer and sometimes overlaps with other questions in the task (8 tasks)
- tasks that ask candidates to describe appearances, e.g. the tricky task of saying what a monument looks like (6 tasks, most recently in 2022)
- tasks that become more difficult depending on what the candidate chooses as a topic, e.g. if the candidate chooses to talk about one time they went to a place they have been many times instead of somewhere they have only been once (6 tasks)
- tasks with different uses of “like” in “looks like”, “be like”, “likes and dislikes”, etc sometimes in the same task (most recently in 2022)
- tasks on topics that candidates are unlikely to have talked about or maybe even thought about before (3 tasks)
- questions which could just lead to a simple list if candidates don’t try hard to expand their range of language
- tasks which will be more difficult for candidates from particular cultures
- tasks which are likely to produce names for things from their culture that could be difficult to translate and/ or explain
- tasks for which it is very difficult not to go off topic, for example by talking about more than one occasion you did something
- a couple of tasks which include examples that the candidate might have wanted to use but now will not be impressive
- tasks with the yes/ no question “whether…”
There are also quite a few grammar points and vocabulary points that could cause difficulties, but the same grammar or vocabulary point rarely reoccurs in different tasks. Tricky grammar points include “some” + an uncountable noun to mean one specific thing (“some technology”, etc), needing tricky tenses such as hypothetical language and a range of past tenses, and points which rarely come up in IELTS and so candidates will probably not have recently studied like reporting verbs and the language of abilities.
Possible vocabulary difficulties include understanding “an occasion”, “film”, “make an impression”, “take place” and “discussion”. Candidates may also lack vocabulary to talk about topics like science and kinds of music.
Changes/ trends in official IELTS Speaking Part Two tasks
These official Speaking Part Two test topics have generally become more specific as time has gone on, presumably to avoid repeating tasks and to stop candidates preparing whole presentations before the exam. For example, IELTS 19 has “Describe a journey you made that took longer than expected” whereas IELTS 4 has the very general topic “Describe an interest or hobby that you enjoy”. The latter will almost certainly be more specific in current tests (e.g. “Describe an interest or hobby that you enjoy or would enjoy doing with other people”).
There have always been some tasks that have two questions together and therefore five questions in total (see above), but these have recently been common (2 in book 19, 3 in book 18, 2 in book 16, and only one example of more than one per book before that)
The most recent book (IELTS 19 in 2024) has two tasks that are not really personal topics and so candidates really need knowledge to answer, e.g. a law in your country. However, there are very few examples of this in older books and IELTS 19 has several strange points in other parts of the tests, so it seems likely that this is just a mistake by the writers.
Oddities/ surprises in official IELTS Speaking Part Two tasks
- A surprising number of tasks will be harder for some candidates than others for reasons not related to language ability, for example because they can’t quickly think of a suitable experience, have less experience of that in their culture, lack knowledge, or can’t remember well
- The vague questions “What/ Who… is/ was” and “What do you know about…” are surprisingly common
- Talking about times/ occasions are more common than talking about people, which is more common than talking about things
- Talking about actions such as hobbies is more common than talking about places
- Business and work is the most common topic (but much less common in other parts of the test)
- Very few tasks and questions are about the future
- Tasks surprisingly often have five or even six questions (but look like they have four until they are read more carefully)
As mentioned above, the non-personal topics in IELTS 19 are probably just mistakes. See the parts with * in the table below for more unusual question types, rare possible difficulties, etc.
Conclusions
- Candidates will need phrases for checking/ clarifying, to make sure that they understand the quite specific tasks, to clear up ambiguities in vague tasks, to check if the topic that they choose is okay, etc
- Candidates will need phrases for filling silence for situations like trying to remember details
- Candidates will need language for imprecise answers for situations like not knowing or not remembering the exact answer
- Candidates will need language for referring back to what they said before (due to overlapping questions, but also more generally)
- Candidates need practice of very specific tasks that they can’t have exactly prepared for beforehand, e.g. “a person who you met a long time ago”, not “a person who you met”
- Candidates need to be told that all tasks are only about one thing, e.g. one person, even when that might not be obvious from the task
- Candidates will need practice of both fairly simple tasks that could produce only simple language unless they push themselves to use more impressive vocabulary and phrases, and also of tasks that are trickier due to being difficult to think of a topic for, having tricky vocabulary, etc
- Candidates will need to understand and know how to answer questions asking for descriptions with “like” like “What… looks like”
- Candidates need to understand and be able to answer all kinds of “how” questions, including answers to “how + adjective” like “not so useful” and “absolutely essential” (for this and other parts of IELTS Speaking)
- Candidates need to practise talking about the past, present and future in Speaking Part Two, but mainly the past
As explained above, we can probably safely ignore the changes in IELTS 19. This means that candidates can be told that topics will almost certainly have a personal connection, and that none will require specialist knowledge.
Year-by-year detailed analysis of official Cambridge IELTS Speaking Part 2 tasks
The columns below show the test book and the year it was published, topics and times, the main question, the four sub-topics/ questions, tricky things about the task, and things which make the task more manageable. A star (*) mean a surprising point such as something that is different in most or all other tests.
| Year Book/ test | Topic(s) and time | Main question/ Task wording | Bullet point question stems and number of questions | Fourth question stem | Possible difficulties | Easy points |
| 2024 19/ 1 | society (a law), past | Describe a… that was introduced in your country and you thought was a very good idea* | what, who, when and why (4*) | and explain why you thought… | Not personal experience or knowledge*, need opinions so more like Part 3*, will take some candidates a long time to think of a suitable topic, most candidates won’t be able to answer all four questions* |
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| 2024 19/ 2 | people (someone who won…), past | Describe… from your country who has won a prize, award or medal* | who, which, what (3) | explain whether you think it was right what… | knowledge needed to answer the questions*, opinions needed so more like Part 3*, only personal part is “from your country” so personal*, will take some candidates a long time to think of a suitable topic | some people will have studied this topic in English class |
| 2024 19/ 3 | travel (a car journey), past | Describe a… you made that took longer than expected. | where, who with, how you felt (3) | why | Very specific topic that some candidates will have problems thinking of suitable experience of | Candidates may have an interesting story that naturally produces rich language |
| 2024 19/ 4 | travel, nature, towns, place (with beautiful views), present and/ or past | Describe a… you visited that… | where, when and why, what (4*) | explain why | The plural of “views” might be confusing and make choosing a suitable topic longer | Candidates may have an interesting story that naturally produces rich language |
| 2023 18/ 1 | food and drink, thing (preparation), past | Describe some… that you learned… | what, when and where, how (4*) | explain how you felt about… | Some candidates may confuse “learn” and “study”*, “some” may make candidates describe more than one thing* | Common and easy topic, all candidates will have something to speak about (if they take the most general meaning of the question) |
| 2023 18/ 2 | travel and tourism, place (tourist attraction), present | Describe a… in your country that you would recommend | what, where, what can see and do (3) | explain why you recommend… | Recommendations not common in Part 2* | Common and easy topic, candidates might have done this in class in English |
| 2023 18/ 3 | family, relationships, home, time (a visit to…), past | Describe a time when you enjoyed… | who and where, why, what happened (4*) | explain what you enjoyed… | Candidates might not consider their extended family*, some candidates will have fewer suitable experiences to choose from* | Most candidates will know suitable family words |
| 2023 18/ 4 | friends, relationships, time (meeting…), past | Describe a time when… | who, when and where, what you thought about… (4*) | explain why… became… | Tempting to talk about that person more generally and ignore the four questions*, some candidates might miss that it doesn’t need to be a friend now*, candidates might not have thought about the last question before | Friends is a common and easy topic that is often covered in class |
| 2022 17/ 1 | home, local area, town (childhood neighbourhood), past | Describe the… you lived in… | where, what kind of people, what it was like (3) | explain whether you would like… | Questions says “the” instead of “a” which is unusual in Part 2 and makes it difficult for candidates who moved around*, what kind of people is difficult to generalise about,* what was… like and what did you like about… may be confused* | Local area is a fairly common topic that candidates have hopefully prepared to speak about in Speaking Part 1 |
| 2022 17/ 2 | travel, towns (big city), future | Describe a… you would like to visit | which, how you would travel, what you would do (3) | explain why | Definition of “big city” not clear, some candidates may dislike big cities and so find it difficult to choose a topic*, third question could produce a long simple list* | Most candidates will easily be able to choose a suitable topic, travel is a common topic so hopefully candidates have suitable vocabulary |
| 2022 17/ 3 | art, towns (monument), present | Describe a… e.g. a statue or sculpture that you like | what, where, what it looks like (3) | explain why you like… | Some candidates might not have clear favourites that they can quickly choose to speak about*, difficult to explain the appearance, candidates may pause if they don’t know the purpose of the monument or what it represents, specialist knowledge helps* | Candidates might have studied this in school |
| 2022 17/ 4 | daily routine, times (in a hurry), past | Describe an occasion when you had to do something… | what, why, how well (3) | explain how you felt about… | “An occasion” is unusual wording that might put candidates off* | All candidates will have relevant experience |
| 2021 16/ 1 | travel and tourism (an attraction), past | Describe a… you enjoyed visiting. | what, when and why, what you did (4*) | explain why you enjoyed… | Definition of “tourist attraction” may not be clear, possible but more difficult to talk about one they have visited more than once | May have talked about this topic in English class |
| 2021 16/ 2 | things, business, arts and media (a review), past | Describe a… you read about a product or service | where, what, what information (3) | explain what you did as a result of… | Meaning of “where you read” is vague, candidates may pause while they struggle to remember the review (as rarely memorable), candidates might be unsure if they can say “nothing” to answer the last question* | Most or all candidates will have relevant experience |
| 2021 16/ 3 | possession, things (luxury item), future | Describe a… that you would like to own | what, what… looks like, why (3) | explain whether you think you will ever… | Some candidates will find it difficult to think of suitable topics, meaning of “luxury item” is vague, describing looks is difficult. mix of future tenses needed* | Most candidates will have a suitable topic, some candidates will have a lot to say about this topic |
| 2021 16/ 4 | science and technology, things (technology), past | Describe some… (e.g. an app, software) that you decided to stop using | when and where, why you started…, why you decided… (4*) | explain how you feel about… | Hard to think of suitable topics as things you just replaced with something else being relevant maybe not obvious, probably hard to remember details of the story, meaning of technology is vague and examples might limit candidates* | Most candidates will have relevant experience, candidates might have suitable technology vocabulary |
| 2020 15/ 1 | place, travel and tourism (a hotel), present | Describe a… that you know. | where, what… looks like, what facilities (3) | explain whether you think… is a nice… to… | Meaning of “facilities” might not be clear and could produce a simple list*, describing appearance is hard | Doesn’t need to be a hotel they have stayed at |
| 2020 15/ 2 | technology, business (e-commerce), past | Describe a website you bought something from (the same task as in book 14)* | what, what you bought, how satisfied (3) | explain what you liked or disliked about… | Some candidates might have only had other people buy things for them, candidates might not know how to say different levels of satisfaction, “what this website is” is a strange question and not clear how to answer it, tempting to talk about more than one experience of that website* | Almost all candidates will have relevant experience |
| 2020 15/ 3 | people, business (famous business person), present or past | Describe a… that you know about. | who, what kind of business, what you know (3) | explain what you think of… | “What you know about” is vague and covers the other 3 questions, candidates will have very different levels of knowledge* | Some candidates will have talked about this topic in English class, some candidates will have a lot to say |
| 2020 15/ 4 | science and technology, arts and media (TV on science), past | Describe an interesting… you watched about… | what… about, when, what you learnt about… (3) | and explain why you found… interesting | Some candidates will find it hard to choose a suitable topic, might be difficult to remember, likely to need some hard science vocabulary to fully explain* |
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| 2019 14/ 1 | arts and media, things (a book), past | Describe a… that you enjoyed… because you had to think a lot. | what, why, what it made you think about (3) | explain why you enjoyed… | Very specific topic so is probably hard to think of a suitable topic, some candidates probably rarely read books*, meaning of “think a lot” might not be clear |
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| 2019 14/ 2 | home, things (bought for your home), past | Describe something you liked very much which you… | what, when and where, why (4*) | explain why you liked it so much | Some candidates might have no suitable topics, using “liked” in the question might make it seem like present possessions don’t count, meaning of “for your home” might not be clear | The four questions are common and easy |
| 2019 14/ 3 | action, work, education (very difficult task), past | Describe a… that you succeeded in doing as a part of… | what, why difficult, how (3) | explain how you felt when you had successfully completed… | Very specific task so will be hard to think of suitable topics, exact definition of “very difficult task” may not be clear, “How you worked…” is an odd question* |
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| 2019 14/ 4 | technology, business (e-commerce), past | Describe a website you bought something from | what, what you bought, how satisfied (3) | explain what you liked or disliked about… | Some candidates might have only had other people buy things for them*, candidates might not know how to say different levels of satisfaction, “what this website is” is a strange question and not clear how to answer it, tempting to talk about more than one experience of that website* | Almost all candidates will have relevant experience |
| 2018 13/ 1 | people, business (someone who has started a business), past | Describe someone you know who… | who, what work, why (3) | explain whether you would like to do the same kind of… | Many candidates won’t personally know such a person or won’t know many details of their work*, the exact definition of “start a business” is not clear, “who this person is” is an odd and vague question |
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| 2018 13/ 2 | time, things, technology (started using a new device), past | Describe a time when you… (e.g. a new computer or phone) | what, why, how easy or difficult (3) | explain how helpful… | Two how + adjective questions so tricky for candidates who haven’t studied that*, not clear if “technological device” covers things like cars and fridges* | Some candidates will have interesting stories they can talk about at length, most candidates know suitable technology vocabulary |
| 2018 13/ 3 | work, studies, communication, past | Describe an interesting discussion you had as part of… | what the subject was, who with, what was expressed (3) | explain why you found this discussion interesting | Very specific topic so difficult to quickly think of a relevant situation, hard to recall the details, candidates might confuse discussion and argument, candidates unlikely to have studied suitable reporting verbs as rarely useful in IELTS* |
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| 2018 13/ 4 | technology, work, education (a website which helps), present | Describe… that helps a lot in your work or studies | what, how often, what information (3) | explain how… would change if it didn’t exist | The words “a lot” make it more difficult to think of suitable topics*, “What the website is” is an odd question without an obvious answer, hypothetical language needed* |
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| 2017 12/ 5 | time, action (waiting), past | Describe an occasion when you had to… a long time for someone or something | who or what, how long, why (3) | and explain how you felt about… |
| Most or all candidates should have relevant experience |
| 2017 12/ 6 | arts and media, people (actor), present | Describe a film/ movie… from your country who is very popular. | who, what kinds, what you know about (3) | and explain why… so popular | Maybe difficult to choose a suitable topic, hard to explain why, “who this actor is” is vague and difficult to answer, “what you know about… life” is vague and could turn into a long list, hard to generalise about kinds of movie* | Most candidates will have some relevant knowledge |
| 2017 12/ 7 | finance, time (conversation about money), past | Describe an interesting discussion you had about how you spend… | who with, why, what the result (3) | and explain why… was interesting for you | Very hard or maybe impossible for some candidates to think of a suitable conversation to talk about* | Fairly easy four questions |
| 2017 12/ 8 | time, work, relationship (visit to… workplace), past | Describe a time when you… a friend or family member at their workplace | who, where, why (3) | and explain how you felt… | Many candidates won’t have had a relevant experience, how to answer “where… worked” is unclear* |
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| 2016 11/ 1 | place, home, relationship (house/ apartment), present | Describe a… that someone you know lives in. | whose, where, what looks like inside (3) | and explain what you like or dislike about… | More difficult for people in some cultures* | Home is a fairly common topic so candidates hopefully know relevant vocabulary |
| 2016 11/ 2 | arts and media, people (a writer), future | Describe… you would like to meet. | who… is, what you know about, what you would like to find out about (3) | and explain why you’d like to… | Very few candidates will be able to quickly think of a suitable topic, “who this writer is” is vague, “What you know about… already” could just produce a list with pauses*, not clear who counts as a writer e.g. if a blogger counts* |
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| 2016 11/ 3 | nature, time (a day with perfect weather), past | Describe a day when you thought… | where you were, what… was like, what you did (3) | and explain why you thought… | Hard to quick think of a suitable topic | Weather is a common textbook topic so hopefully candidates know some suitable vocabulary, chance to use lots of nice positive language |
| 2016 11/ 4 | arts and media (interesting documentary), past | Describe a… you watched that was particularly interesting | what… was about, why you decided…, what you learnt (3) | and explain why… | Difficult to explain if the candidate saw it in their own language* | Most candidates will be able to think of suitable topics, similar language to other parts of the test like IELTS Reading |
| 2015 10/ 1 | people (someone who does something well), present | Describe… you know who… | who… is, how you know…, what… (3) | and explain why this person… | Might take a while to think of a suitable person, language of abilities rarely taught for IELTS as rare in the test* | All candidates will know someone suitable (if they interpret the question widely) |
| 2015 10/ 2 | local area, town, business (a shop), present | Describe… near where you live that you sometimes use. | what sort of…, what… looks like, where… located (3) | and explain why you use… | Hard to describe appearance | Should be easy to think of a suitable topic |
| 2015 10/ 3 | people (a child), present | Describe… that you know. | who and how often you see…, how old, what… is like (4*) | and explain what you feel about this child | “What… is like” might be misunderstood, “What you feel about…?” and “Who… is” make no sense*, two unrelated questions on one line* | Easy to think of a suitable topic |
| 2015 10/ 4 | things, possession (would like to own), future | Describe something you don’t have now but… | what… is, how long you’ve wanted to…, where you first saw… (3) | and explain why you would like… | How long you’ve wanted difficult to remember | All candidates will have a suitable topic |
| 2013 9/ 1 | place (open-air or street market), past | Describe… which you enjoyed visiting | where, what… sells, how big (3) | and explain why you enjoyed… | Very specific topic so might be difficult to think of a topic especially if you think places you still regularly enjoy don’t count, what it sells could turn into a long simple list with pauses* | Wording should take away the possibility of confusing it with supermarket |
| 2013 9/ 2 | time, action (something new or exciting), past | Describe something you did that… | what, where and when, who with (4*) | and explain why… was… | Might take time to think of something suitable | All candidates have suitable experience |
| 2013 9/ 3 | travel, time, action (journey), past | Describe a… (e.g. by car, plane, boat) that you remember well | where, how, why you went (3) | and explain why you remember | Not clear if recent journeys also okay* | All candidates have suitable experience, travel is a common topic that candidates might have talked about in English already and/ or know suitable vocabulary for |
| 2013 9/ 4 | people (who has helped people), present or past | Describe… who has done a lot of work to help people. | who is/ was, where lives/ lived, what (3) | and explain how you know… | Not a personal topic (unlike most Part 2 topics)*, the past tenses in the task are inconsistent | Most candidates will have studied about a suitable person in school |
| 2011 8/ 1 | time, business (questionnaire or survey), past | Describe… when you were asked to give your opinion in a… | what… was about, why, what opinions (3) | and explain how you felt about… | Not a memorable experience so may take time to remember the details* | Most or all candidates will have relevant experience |
| 2011 8/ 2 | place, food and drink, free time (restaurant), past | Describe a… that you enjoyed going to. | where, why you chose, what type of food (3) | and explain why you enjoyed… | Question doesn’t make clear if the candidate can talk about somewhere they regularly eat or not*, definition of restaurant might not be clear e.g. if it includes cafés and fast food | Common and nice topic |
| 2011 8/ 3 | business and work (a meeting), past | Describe a… you remember going to at work, college or school | when and where, who was at, what… talked about (4*) | and explain why you remember… | Not clear how recent it can be, difficult if it is one example of a regular meeting*, definition of “meeting” may not be clear | All candidates will have relevant experience (if they take a wide definition of meeting) |
| 2011 8/ 4 | people, relationship (friend of your family), past | Describe a… you remember from your childhood | who, how your family knew…, how often this person visited (3) | and explain why you remember… | Difficult if you are still in contact with family friends*, definition of friend of the family might not be clear and might not translate well into other cultures* |
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| 2009 7/ 1 | time, free time (a party), past | Describe a… that you enjoyed | whose and what it was celebrating, where and who went to, what people did (5*) | and explain what you enjoyed about… | six questions!*, definition of party might not be clear e.g. if work drinks counts* | All candidates will have relevant experience, festivals and celebrations is a common and nice topic so candidates will hopefully know suitable vocabulary |
| 2009 7/ 2 | work, education (an idea), past or future | Describe… you had for improving something at work or college | when and where, what, who you told (4*) | and explain why you thought…. would make an improvement | Difficult to say when and where you had an idea*, difficult tenses to talk about a past idea of what to do in the future* |
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| 2009 7/ 3 | time, action, work, education (a competition), past | Describe a… (e.g. TV, college/ work or sports) that you took part in. | what kind and how you found out, what you had to do, what prizes (4*) | and explain why you chose to… | Definition of competition might not be clear, more difficult to talk about being part of a team or being nominated so choice of topic changes the task* | All candidates have suitable experience (if they take a wide definition of competition) |
| 2009 7/ 4 | technology, possessions, things (electronics), present | Describe a piece of… what you find useful | what, how you learned to use it, how long (3) | and explain why you find… useful | Definition of electronic equipment might not be clear e.g. if it includes a microwave or not, “piece of” with uncountable might be confusing | All candidates have suitable experience (if they take a wide definition of electronic equipment) |
| 2007 6/ 1 | people, relationships (family member), present | Describe someone in your… who you like. | how this person is related, what… looks like, what kind of person (3) | and explain why you like this person |
| Four obvious questions for this task, question avoids the confusing form “what is… like”, family and describing people are common textbook topics |
| 2007 6/ 2 | health, actions (something healthy), present | Describe… you enjoy doing. | what, where, who with (3) | and explain why you think doing this is healthy |
| Four obvious questions for this topic, fairly common textbook topic |
| 2007 6/ 3 | free time, actions (game or sport), present | Describe a… you enjoy playing. | what kind of, who with, where (3) | and explain why you enjoy playing… |
| Four obvious questions for this topic, fairly common textbook topic |
| 2007 6/ 4 | action, time (important choice), past | Describe an… you had to make in your life. | when, what, whether you made a good choice* (3) | and explain how you felt when… | yes/ no question with “whether” in the bullets*, candidates probably haven’t talked about this in English before | All candidates have suitable topics |
| 2006 5/ 1 | people (a well-known person), present and past | Describe a… you like or admire | who… is, what… has done, why… is well known (3) | and explain why you admire this person | Maybe not clear that it needs to be a living person, difficult if you choose someone you like instead of someone you admire* | Fairly common classroom topic, most or all candidates will have a suitable topic |
| 2006 5/ 2 | arts and media (song or piece of music), present and past | Describe a… you like. | what… is, what kind of…, where you first heard… (3) | and explain why you like it | Meaning of “What the… is” not clear especially with “what kind” as a different question, kinds of music difficult to explain, time you first heard it hard to remember | All candidates have a suitable topic |
| 2006 5/ 3 | relationships, people (a friend), past and present | Describe one of your… | how you met, how long, how you spend time (3) | and explain why you like this person |
| Common classroom topic, fairly obvious four questions for this topic |
| 2006 5/ 4 | times, celebration (a festival), present | Describe a… that is important in your country. | when, what you did, what you like or dislike (3) | and explain why this festival is important | Definition of festival might not be clear, probably some local words which need explaining | All candidates should have a suitable topic (with a wide definition of festival), four obvious questions for this topic, fairly common classroom topic |
| 2005 4/ 1 | place, history (historic place), present and maybe some past | Describe an interesting… | what, where located, what you can see there now (3) | and explain why… is interesting | Definition of “historic place” might not be clear | Candidates don’t have to have visited the place |
| 2005 4/ 2 | free time, action (interest or hobby), present | Describe a… that you enjoy. | how you became interested, how long, why (3) | and explain what benefits you get from… | Answers to first, third and 4th question might be similar and so need to refer back to them*, real exam task will be more specific* | Common and easy topic that candidates have probably spoken about in English before |
| 2005 4/ 3 | nature, place (river, lake or sea*), present | Describe a… which you like. | what… is called, where, what the land near it is like (3) | and explain why you like… | Two uses of like in different questions may be confusing*, very rare topic that candidates have probably never spoken about in English or even thought about*, may have to translate the name | Most or all candidates have suitable experience or knowledge |
| 2005 4/ 4 | technology, things (website), past | Describe a useful… you have visited | what…was, how you found, what… contained (3) | and explain why… was useful to you | Hard to remember how you found websites | All candidates have relevant experience |
| 2002 3/ 1 | education, people (a teacher) | Describe a… who has influenced you in your education | where you met, what subject, what was special (3) | and explain why… influenced you so much | Topic just says “influenced” but fourth question says “so much” so task is inconsistent* | Very general question so many possible topics |
| 2002 3/ 2 | arts and media (film or TV programme), past | Describe a…. which has made a strong impression on you | what kind of, when you saw, what… was about (3) | and explain why… made such an impression | Vocabulary “film” and “made an impression” may be confusing | Most or all candidates will have suitable experience, common topic that they may have talked about in English, obvious four questions for this topic |
| 2002 3/ 3 | time (event in your life), past | Describe a memorable… | when… took place, where, what happened (3) | and explain why… was memorable | Real exam task will be more specific*, “took place” may be confusing | All candidates have suitable topics and many will have spoken about it in English, obvious four questions for this topic |
| 2002 3/ 4 | thing, possession (something you own), present | Describe… which is very important to you. | where you got it, how long, what you use it for (3) | and explain why… is so important | Real exam task will be more specific*, that “Where you got it from” includes people might not be clear* | All candidates have suitable topics and most will have spoken about this topic in English, obvious four questions on this topic |
| 2000 2/ 1 | X | X | X | X | X | X |
| 2000 2/ 2 | X | X | X | X | X | X |
| 2000 2/ 3 | X | X | X | X | X | X |
| 2000 2/ 4 | X | X | X
| X | X | X |
| 1996 1/ 1 | X | X | X | X | X | X |
| 1996 1/ 2 | X | X | X | X | X | X |
| 1996 1/ 3 | X | X | X | X | X | X |
| 1996 1/ 4 | X | X | X | X | X | X |