IELTS Speaking Part 2: the one-minute plan

01How Part 2 works

• You get a card with a topic and three or four prompts, plus a pencil and paper.
• You have one minute to prepare, then speak for one to two minutes without interruption.
• The examiner may ask one or two short questions when you finish. Part 3 then discusses wider ideas linked to the same topic.
• Your notes aren't marked. They're only there to keep you going.

02The one-minute plan

Write keywords, not sentences. You won't have time to read sentences back anyway.

• Draw four short lines, one for each prompt on the card.
• Put two or three keywords on each: names, places, one vivid detail.
• Add a last line for feelings or reasons. The final prompt usually asks you to explain, and that's where you show range.
• Choose a real memory you can describe easily over an impressive one you'd have to invent on the spot.
• Keep about ten seconds to decide your first sentence.