Describe a journey you remember well

In IELTS Speaking Part 2 you get this card, one minute to prepare and up to two minutes to speak. Below: the notes a strong candidate might make in that minute, a natural Band 7–8 answer, the words that make it work, and the Part 3 discussion the examiner usually moves on to.

The cue card

One-minute notes

Notes in the preparation minute should be keywords, not sentences — one line per bullet, plus the one detail that makes your story yours. Something like:

• night train, my city → coast, age 19
• two university friends
• train broke down at 2 a.m., middle of nowhere
• shared food with a family in our carriage
• remember it: the delay was the best part

Band 7–8 sample answer

I'd like to describe a train journey I took with two friends from university, the summer after our first year. We'd booked the cheapest possible tickets on a night train from our city down to the coast, which was supposed to take about nine hours.

Everything went smoothly until roughly two in the morning, when the train just stopped. There was no announcement for ages, and when one finally came, it said there was a technical problem and they had no idea how long we'd be waiting. Outside there was nothing — no station, no lights, just fields.

What happened next is the part I remember. There was a family in our carriage, a couple with their grandmother, and the grandmother had brought enough food for about twenty people. She decided that the three hungry students obviously needed feeding, so we ended up having a kind of midnight picnic in the corridor — bread, cheese, some kind of homemade pastry I still think about. Her grandson translated a few of her stories about taking the same route as a young woman, back when it took twice as long.

We were stuck for nearly four hours in the end, and we arrived at the beach exhausted and hours late. But the reason I remember the journey so clearly is that the delay turned out to be the best part of the whole trip. The beach was nice, but I couldn't tell you much about it now. That night in the corridor, though — I can still picture almost every detail.

About 259 words — roughly two minutes at a relaxed pace. Notice what it does: one specific story instead of general statements, every bullet covered, natural spoken linking rather than "firstly… secondly…", and the "why" part of the card answered properly at the end — that is where many candidates run out of things to say. Use it to see the structure; don't memorise it. Examiners are trained to spot memorised answers, and your own story will always sound more fluent.

Useful vocabulary

• go smoothly — to happen without problems
• in the middle of nowhere — in a place far from towns or people
• for ages — for a very long time (informal)
• end up (doing) — to finally be in a situation you did not plan
• turn out to be — to be discovered to be, often surprisingly
• picture (something) — to see something clearly in your mind

Part 3: questions and model answers

After your two minutes, the examiner moves to a discussion linked to the card's topic. These questions are more abstract: give an opinion, a reason and an example, and it's fine to say "it depends" — as long as you explain on what.

Why do people enjoy travelling to other countries?

Partly it's the change of routine — everything feels new, even buying a coffee. But I think the main reason is curiosity. People want to see for themselves how others live and eat and think, rather than just reading about it, and travelling also tends to make you see your own country more clearly.

How has tourism changed your country?

It's brought a lot of money into coastal areas and created jobs, especially for young people. The downside is that some popular towns now feel as if they exist only for visitors — rents have gone up and local shops have been replaced by souvenir stands, which locals understandably resent.

Is air travel too cheap given its environmental cost?

I think it probably is. A flight that costs less than a taxi to the airport clearly doesn't reflect its real cost to the environment. Having said that, if prices rose sharply, only wealthy people could travel, so any tax would need to be designed carefully — perhaps targeting frequent flyers rather than the occasional holiday.

Will virtual reality ever replace real travel?

I doubt it. Virtual reality might let you see a place, but travel is mostly about the things you can't plan — the smell of a market, a conversation with a stranger, getting lost. It could be a good substitute for people who can't travel, though, like elderly or disabled people.

More cue cards about experiences and events

• Describe an important decision you made
• Describe a time someone helped you
• Describe a goal you achieved
• Describe a time when you were very busy
• Describe an interesting conversation you had
• Describe a change that improved your life
• Describe a time you were late for something important
• Describe a celebration you enjoyed
• Describe a time you changed your mind about something
• Describe a piece of good advice you received
• Describe a time you taught someone something

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