Describe a time you worked with a team

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:

• university project: app for a local animal shelter
• 4 people: two coders, a designer, me
• my role: organising + talking to the shelter
• conflict about features; we voted, kept it simple
• useful: learned to listen, now my job is similar

Band 7–8 sample answer

I'd like to talk about a project I did in my third year at university, when four of us had to build a small mobile app for a real organisation. We chose a local animal shelter that needed a simple way to show which dogs and cats were available for adoption.

The team was quite mixed. There were two students who were very strong at programming, a friend of mine who was studying graphic design, and me. I'm not a bad programmer, but I was clearly the weakest of the four, so I ended up with a different role: I organised our weekly meetings, kept track of deadlines and was the main contact with the people at the shelter.

It wasn't all smooth. About halfway through, the two programmers wanted to add a lot of advanced features, while the shelter staff kept telling me they just wanted something easy for volunteers to update. There were a couple of tense meetings. In the end we agreed to vote on each feature, and we dropped most of the complicated ones. The final app was quite basic, but the shelter actually used it, which is more than most student projects can say.

The experience was useful because it taught me that being part of a team isn't only about technical skill. Someone has to listen to the client, calm people down and keep the work moving. I discovered I'm quite good at that, and funnily enough, it's very close to what I do in my job now.

About 254 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

• keep track of — to follow progress so nothing is forgotten
• tense — nervous and uncomfortable, close to an argument
• drop (an idea) — to stop planning to do something
• pull your weight — to do your fair share of work
• see eye to eye — to agree with someone
• funnily enough — used to introduce a surprising connection

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.

What makes a team work well together?

Clear roles, first of all, so people know who's responsible for what. Then trust — people need to feel they can make suggestions or admit mistakes without being laughed at. A team with average individuals and good communication often does better than a team of stars who don't listen to each other.

Are some tasks better done alone?

Definitely. Creative writing, detailed analysis or anything requiring deep concentration is often better done alone, at least at first. Groups are useful for generating ideas and checking each other's work, but meetings can slow down tasks that one focused person could finish in an afternoon.

Should schools grade group work?

Yes, but fairly. Group work prepares students for real working life, so it should count. The problem is that one or two students often do most of the work. Including a peer assessment, where team members rate each other's contribution, helps make the grades fairer.

How has remote work changed teamwork?

It's made some things easier, like working with people in other cities or countries. But it's harder to build relationships through a screen. Small, informal conversations — the kind you have while making coffee — are where a lot of trust is built, and those have mostly disappeared for remote teams.

More cue cards about school and work

• Describe a job you would like to do
• Describe a subject you enjoyed at school
• Describe your first day at a new school or job

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