Part 2 — how to fill the two-minute long turn
What Part 2 actually is
- The examiner gives you a card with a topic and four prompts, paper and a pencil.
- One minute to prepare. Then you speak for two minutes, and the examiner will not stop you early.
- Afterwards there are one or two short follow-up questions on the same topic.
- ⚠ Most candidates dry up at about 45 seconds. That is the whole difficulty of Part 2, and it is fixed by practice with a timer, not by having better ideas.
How many minutes must you speak for in Part 2?
Two, and the examiner will not stop you early. Most candidates dry up at about 45 seconds, which is what the timer practice is for.
The preparation minute: nouns, not sentences
- Write six to eight words, one or two per prompt. Nothing else.
- Write nouns and names: grandmother, kitchen, dumplings, winter, hands, Sunday.
- ⚠ Do not write sentences. A written sentence cannot be read aloud naturally, and reading aloud is audible and is discounted as memorised language.
- A noun is a trigger: you look at dumplings and a minute of talk comes out. You look at My grandmother used to make dumplings every Sunday and you read it.
What should you write during the one-minute preparation?
Nouns trigger speech; sentences get read aloud, and reading aloud is audible and discounted as memorised language.
Spend the two minutes where the marks are
- The four prompts are your four paragraphs, in the order they are printed.
- The last prompt is almost always and explain why…, and it is where the language is. Give it the most time.
- A workable split: 20 seconds each on the first three, 50 seconds on the last, and a closing sentence.
- If you finish early, do not stop. Go back and add: what it looked like, who else was there, how you felt at the time, what you would do differently now.
The four prompts should get roughly equal time.
The last prompt is usually 'and explain why…', which is where the language and the marks are. About 20 seconds each on the first three and 50 on the last.
Most cards are about the past
- Describe a time when…, Describe a person who…, Describe something you did… — these are past-tense tasks.
- Get the irregular verbs right. Went, saw, took, brought, taught, kept, felt, thought — an examiner cannot miss an error in these.
- Mix in one past continuous (I was living in Xi'an at the time) and one past perfect (I had never seen snow before). That is grammatical range, visibly.
- It is completely fine to invent. Nobody checks whether the story is true; you are marked on the English.
Which would show grammatical range in a Part 2 about a past event? Choose all that apply.
Past continuous, past perfect and a cleft construction are three different structures. A run of simple present sentences is one.
How to practise it
- Use a timer, out loud, standing up. Silent practice trains nothing; two minutes is a physical length and you have to feel it.
- Record one card a day for two weeks. Listen back for the moment you slowed down, and prepare one extra detail for that point.
- Practise the same card twice — once badly, once after thinking about it. The second version is the band you are capable of.
- ⚠ Do not memorise answers. A recited Part 2 is recognised, discounted, and falls apart at the first follow-up question.
Memorising a full answer for a common Part 2 topic is a good use of preparation time.
A recited answer is recognised and discounted, and it falls apart at the first follow-up question. Prepare topics and detail, not scripts.