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What if I have no experience of the topic in IELTS Speaking Part 2?

by princy

hi,

i have query that if in speaking part 2 the examiner asks me to talk about an accident you saw but in actuality i have not experienced any thing this then what should i say for part 3?

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Dec 23, 2015
 Part 2
by: IELTS buddy

Hi,

I assume you are asking what you should say for part 2 (not 3).

You can't change the topic so you have to talk about it.

It's usually something everyone will have had at least some experience of. It is unusual if in your life you have never seen any kind of accident.

An accident can be anything really so you have to think about all the different possibilities - car accident (you may have just driven past one), somebody maybe falling over etc. It can cover many things.

If you can't think of anything then use your imagination - think of accidents that maybe you watch on youtube. As long as you explain at the beginning exactly what you are going to talk about and how it is connected to the topic you should be fine.
Dec 24, 2015
 thankyou
by: Anonymous

thank you
Jan 20, 2021
 same query
by: Anonymous

Yes I have also same query, this is a test to check a person's speaking ability not imagination ability

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Not Ever Read a Book

by tejaswik

What to answer in ielts speaking part 2 if the examiner asks me to describe the book i recently read and i have no idea about it as I don't read books or novels.

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Nov 08, 2019
 Reading Books
by: IELTS buddy

You must have read at least one book in your life, even if it was at school. So you'd need to talk about that. If it was not recently you can just say you have not read one recently so you will talk about one that you read in the past.

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What if I know nothing about the part 2 speaking topic?

by bro_haven

What if I were asked to describe a cafe while I have never been to one in part 2?

Hello everyone, this question suddenly came to my mind and worried me very much.

My English teacher told me that I can lie in IELTS when I really got no idea on the topic given. However, I'm not a very imaginative guy, and I'm really concerned that I couldn't be able to make up a story in such little time.

So, what should I do if I were really asked to give a description of something or somewhere that I have no experience about at all? Am I supposed to ask the examiner to change a topic for me?

Any help is appreciated!

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Sep 21, 2013
 IELTS Part 2 Speaking
by: IELTS buddy

Hi,

You can't ask the examiner to change the topic in part 2 - you have to discuss the question you are given.

I wouldn't recommend lying as you will have to invent a whole story for 2 minutes, but that is up to you.

They are very general themes so it is very unlikely you will not have any experience of the topic you are given.

Thanks
Jun 19, 2016
 link
by: Anonymous

You can try this for training (if you plug microphone and have right browser page will generate random card for you and allow to listen to your recorded speech, or download file and torture others with it.)
http://soirana.github.io/audio-recording/
Nov 26, 2021
 Yeah, I am suffering from the same issue.
by: Anonymous

Describe a person who impressed you the most when you were in primary school.

You should say
Who he/she is?
How you knew him/her?
Why he/she impressed you the most?
And how you feel about him/her?

Me: oh god, In primary school? Impress me? Well, I couldn't remember even a single person. What to say? Well, my friend did that thumb magic when I was in grade 2, I was impressed. But it was in grade 2, I don't even remember his name now. 😭😭

Describe a time when you are waiting for something special that would happen.

You should say
What you waited for?
Why was it special?
Explain how you felt when you were waiting?

I am sorry but I have to ask since I can't ask the IELTS question setter. Really? Do I have to say how I felt when I was waiting for something? I didn't get the things I waited for. You want me to say this? Do you want to know, how I felt when I was waiting patiently but in the end I did get them? Is the question setter a sadist? Well, I can make a lie for this question since it's related but there are questions I have no idea about.


Describe your favourite neighbour.

You should say:

Who is the person?
When did you meet him/her?
How did your relationship develop?

Me: neighbour? Oh it is all right. I can manage somehow. Wait, favourite? Favorite?

What? I just have a hi/hello relationship with neighbours. I don't have a favorite neighbour. And you guys in the comment said not to lie. What should I say now? Should I not lie? Because if I don't lie I won't even get a 6.0

There are lots of questions like this that I have never had experience with.

Okay, about that cafe question. I have never been to cafe because cafe coffee is costly (probably above 100). Whereas on the streets, coffee and tea is 15 rupees. And you guys don't want me to lie.

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What should I do if I get an IELTS speaking topic I do not know about?

by Shridar S
(Chennai, India)

Hello all,

I have a question on speaking. Just wondering what I have to do if the examiner asking about some favourite english songs or book or story which I may not familiar. Can I tell about some songs or books in my native language? or Suggest me some examples please. Appreciate your help on this.

Thanks in advance.

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Jul 22, 2013
 Unfamiliar IELTS Speaking Topics
by: IELTS buddy

Hi,

It's an international test so you would not get a topic associated with a particular country, such as asking about English songs or books.
It would be more general in the test - for example:

"Describe your favourite type of music / book."

Or it will be connected to your country:

"What kind of music / books are the most popular in your country".

You can find sample speaking questions here:
IELTS Speaking Sample Questions
Aug 18, 2013
 gh
by: Anonymous

update more listening tests for practice plz

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What do I do if I know nothing about the topic in the IELTS Speaking cue card?

by Manni
(Delhi)

what if I do not have any idea at all regarding the topic mentioned in the cue card?

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May 01, 2015
 Cue card topic
by: IELTS buddy

Unfortunately you cannot change the topic, so you just have to do your best.

They are supposed to be topics that everyone should have some experience of so if you dig deep you should be able to come up with something.

If you really don't have experience of it you'll have to speak of something as similar as you can, making sure you explain why your topic may be slightly different from the one on the cue card.

It should not be a completely different topic though - it must be connected to the cue card.
Sep 01, 2015
 what to do if the question is not something i know about
by: Anonymous

If the question is something you know little or nothing about. Don't panic.

Try to turn the question around to something you do know about for example "When did you last see a child laugh?"

If you cannot think of an occasion turn it around to what you do know like this "Well I cannot remember ever seeing a child laugh but I do remember when my best friend laughed so much that he crying ...... "

Remember Ielts is about speaking, demonstrating how well you know the language, so any answer is better than no answer!!

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The place you remember which is full of colors

by preet
(india)

Possible answer for cue card:

The place you remember which is full of colors

Can I talk about a park which has flowers of different colors?

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Apr 02, 2015
 Speaking Response
by: IELTS buddy

Hi Preet,

Yes, that would be fine.
May 29, 2015
 Same question for me
by: Anonymous

Today I got the same question in my Speaking test. Is it okay if I describe about a theme park?
Jul 24, 2015
 DELHI
by: Anonymous

can I say a place name.for ex:Delhi
Jul 27, 2015
 Place name
by: IELTS buddy

Yes, it's really up to you. It can be any kind of place - a city, village, town, fairground, park, garden, beach, room, house etc.

A 'place' can mean anywhere you want it too. You just need to make sure you explain how it was full of colours.

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Can we ask to change the IELTS cue card?

by rihashah

Hye,

i have a question on the Cue Card Task, Is it possible to request for a different Cue Card? if we are stuck or have no idea on what to talk about for the topic given, for example 'talk about a historical place that you have visited'

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Dec 06, 2015
 Cue card
by: IELTS buddy

Hi,

No, you have to speak about the one you are given.

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If I am unable to speak on the cue card topic, how much will it affect my band?

by kay

if I am unable to speak on cue card topic, how much it will affect my bands

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Jun 28, 2015
 Not speaking on the cue card topic
by: IELTS buddy

Hi Kay,

The speaking test isn't as simple as that. You are graded on your abilities throughout the test and you are graded on various criteria.

There is not a fixed penalty if you cannot speak on the topic on the cue card.

Also, do you mean that you say nothing at all for the time period? Or do you mean that you talk about a different topic? Or do you mean you speak a bit but not enough?

All of these things would produce different outcomes, so as I said it is really too difficult to answer your question.

Of course if you said nothing in the part 2 talk you are likely to get a lower score than if you did do the talk. And if your talk is much too short it could affect your score. But by how much it is too difficult to say and it would also depend on how well you did in the other parts.
Aug 18, 2015
 IELTS remarking
by: Anonymous

Hi Buddy, just saw my result online. Got 6 in speaking as compared to the first where I had 7.5. All other module were alright with 8.5 in Listening, 7.0 in reading and 7.5 in Writing. I'm currently thinking of requesting for a remark. Pls what is your suggestion on IELTS remarking. Pls kindly respond to my question, thanks.
Aug 18, 2015
 :)
by: kay

thanks for your reply :) i got 5.5 in speaking without speaking much on cue card topic .. but overall i got 7 bands :)
Aug 20, 2015
 Remark for IELTS Speaking
by: IELTS buddy

Hi,

About the remark, it's really difficult to advise you on this. I have no idea how good your speaking is.

Some people are good at reading and writing etc buy maybe not so good at speaking.

But do you mean you got 7.5 before in speaking? If you did, it does seem odd to now get 6, so a remark may be a good idea.

If I misunderstood and you have not done the test before, have you had lessons etc? Has an IELTS teacher told you what kind of band you are for speaking? Again, if you have been told by an experienced teacher that you are around 7.5 then it may be worth a remark.

That is all I can really say as it is impossible for me to know your level without hearing you speak.

good luck

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What if I made up an event for speaking part two?

by Julian

Hi,

I've done my speaking test today. My question is in part 2 I made up some event that never happened to me and mentioned some names that never existed but overall I think I properly explained it with support.

Does it matter if I just make up some stories?

In part 3, I explained it well but I never expanded all my answers with example.

Will it affect my score?

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Aug 16, 2016
 Made up event
by: IELTS buddy

Hi Julian,

The examiner can't know if you made up that story or not so it can't affect your score.

Obviously a true story is recommended because if it's real you should have things to say without thinking so much.

If you make it up then you may lose coherency a bit as you try to think of what you can say as you go along.

The examiner though is just grading you on your speaking.

It's impossible to tell you about your performance in part 3 without hearing your test.
Aug 18, 2016
 thanx a lot to ielts buddy
by: akruthi

Hi friends..I got only 5.5 in my first attempt, then I followed this ielts buddy its a very nice page with lot of useful tips which helped me in my second attempt and i got a band of 6.5 overall. I'm sure this page helps you to improve your score. Once again thanx to ielts buddy.
Aug 25, 2016
 Speaking skills
by: Nanu

My writing and speaking score in last test was 6.5 and 7 however I need 7 and 8 in both respectively. I am very impressed with the writing tips mentioned here. Wanted to know more about speaking tips if possible.
Aug 31, 2016
 what if you don't have an idea about a question asked in ielts listening part2
by: Rabecca

Hi i did my ielts speaking test and i didn't have an idea about the question I was asked. Will this affect my score?
Aug 31, 2016
 Couldn't answer the questions
by: IELTS buddy

Hi Rabecca,

You are graded on your performance throughout the whole test so it is too difficult to know how or if a poor performance in part 2 may have affected your score.

Really the only way to know is to hear your test and we can't do that.

It's best to just await the result.
Jul 06, 2018
 Need advice for speaking part 2
by: Anonymous

Guys I need your advice for the ielts test

I'm an introvert lonely guy, who has no experience in life. I do not have real experiences to narrate in ielts speaking test. So, when it comes to part 2 specifically any topic that I get I have to make up a story on it, and my family insists that I must take the test.

I have to pass with a score not less than a band of 7 in each module. I'm struggling a lot with speaking and writing as I do not have either experiences to narrate in speaking or examples to support my essay when writing, but for me I need to take the ielts for immigration purpose.

Any advice to improve speaking, and writing instead of reading, as I read a lot, but I only remember just slight things. I took the test twice, and got in speaking a band of 6. In speaking I did not make up a story in part 2. I just said that I do not have any experience to narrate.
Jul 08, 2018
 Need advice for speaking part 2 - no ideas
by: IELTS buddy

Never say "I do not have any experience to narrate" and then say nothing. That is a third of the test you are not speaking for which is a lot.

If you say nothing in Part 2 (or other parts of the speaking test) it will really bring down your score.

It doesn't matter if you are introverted or do not go out much, the topics for part 2 are very general so you should be able to find something to say about them. For example you get questions about favourite relatives or a place you've been to by the sea.

You must have done some of those things, or even if you have not you then should just talk about something that is in some way related to the question - just lead the examiner into the topic you wish to talk about instead, but make sure you explain why you are doing that and make sure it's connected in some way.

Of course that's not ideal, and really you should be talking exactly on the topic, but talking about something related to it is much better than just saying nothing. If you say nothing you will get no score for it. If you speak, even if it's not directly about the card, you could still impress the examiner with your fluency, coherence, pronunciation and grammar.

But if you have to, make it up then, it's just easier to talk about something you are not making up and you actually experienced or know about.

But either way, make sure you speak in the part 2 or you will get a low score for sure.
Apr 28, 2023
 Introvert who face problem to talk about
by: Jaykesh

This is the exact challenge I am facing.

I really don't go out much, or talk to anyone to describe anything about most of the topics. I don't have favourite time, relative or place to talk about.

Anyone giving advice telling you must have something to talk about - man seriously we don't have anything to talk about except a few things we really like and we stick to it. And no trying to help give us right advice how we should face this.

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What if I'm unfamiliar with the topic in IELTS speaking part 2

by Rafello

Hi, I have a question regarding part 2 of speaking.

What if I get a question which is unfamiliar to me? Let's say they ask me to speak about sports, but I don't know anything about it, so what should I do?

Do I ask them to change to question because speaking for 2 mins about something I don't know is hard or should I just make some answer??

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Feb 02, 2025
 Unfamiliar Topic in IELTS Speaking Part 2
by: IELTS buddy

You can't change the topic but it's unlikely you'd get something you could speak nothing about at all.

An example is this:

- Describe a sport or exercise that is popular in your country.

You might not like sport but you must know a sport that is popular and be able to talk about it. You don't need to be an expert - they are not grading your knowledge/expertise, just your speaking.

Or they could ask:

- Describe a sport you like to watch on TV.

Just say you don't watch sport but say you know one that a lot of people watch and talk about that.

Yes you can make it up if you can manage to do that.

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