Question Type 1: Basic Description Questions

Fluency

During a 2-minute talk it is essential to use linking words, linking phrases and fillers (redundant language).

Vocabulary

Uncommon words and idioms will significantly increase your “Vocabulary” score. In Part Two try to find words that are directly related to your topic area (most of the Part One vocabulary from the previous chapter can be used in Part Two). Don’t forget to paraphrase.

Grammar

Whatever you are saying in Part Two, say it with complex sentences and if necessary use a variety of tenses (see the detailed section on tenses in Part Two).

Part Two does NOT need to be:

Interesting

Some of the best Part Two performances are actually quite boring! Here you must remember that the examiner has probably heard 1000's of Part Two responses. Even if your content is genuinely interesting (e.g. you played football with the Chinese National Team), it will not influence your score in any way.

Original

It does not matter if you describe the same movie that everyone else has described - the examiner is only listening to how you describe it. In some ways describing the same thing as other candidates can be work to your advantage - if you are focused on language, your 2-minute talk will be noticeably better than other candidates.

Familiar

It does not matter if the examiner is not familiar with the thing that you are describing. In fact, if you describe something unusual or unfamiliar, then you will probably need to explain or paraphrase. Paraphrasing directly increases your score!

True

Some of the best Part Two performances are lies! Even if the examiner knows you are lying, this cannot affect your score. Obviously you should avoid outrageous lies, such as, "Last year I went to the moon with my classmates."

The Topic Card

The topic cards are printed in the same way. The basic topic is presented and there are some guidelines or prompts on the card.

Describe an interesting trip you have been on.

You should say:

Where / When you went

What you did there

Why it was interesting

Whether you would like to go on a similar trip again.

One of the most important things to remember is that the card is slightly misleading!

On the topic card, it says "You should say..." This is not actually true: the guidelines on the card are simply there to help you! If you want to talk about those aspects, then that is OK; however if you don't want to follow the guidelines, that is also OK.

The prompts on the card are not compulsory questions - you are not required to provide answers.

As long as you are describing some aspects of the main topic "an interesting trip you have been on", there is no problem.

For most of the topic cards it is a good idea to use the guidelines because it means you have to think less about content and can therefore concentrate more on language, but if there is a guideline prompt that you don't like or you think is a little difficult, e.g., "Whether you would like to go on a similar trip again", feel free to ignore it and just talk about some other aspect of your trip.