Part 1: extend every answer.
Part 1 is meant to be easy, and that is the trap: it is so easy that people answer in three words and never show what they can do. The questions barely change from year to year. Learn the handful of topics, and learn to extend, and the first four minutes are yours.
Four minutes of easy questions, and the tone is set.
Part 1 comes first and lasts four to five minutes. The examiner asks about you and about familiar, everyday topics, partly to settle your nerves and partly to take an early reading of your English. The trap is the very ease of it: because the questions are simple, it is tempting to answer in a few words and move on. Give a little more, a reason, a detail, a small opinion, and you turn a correct answer into a good one.
The topics come round again and again. Here they are.
For each topic below, the kind of question you can expect, and then one question answered twice, at Band 6 and at Band 8, so you can see exactly what lifts a short answer. Read the questions and answer them aloud first. The models are illustrative, in a natural spoken register, written to be learned from, not recited.
Work and study
- Do you work, or are you a student?
- Why did you choose your job or your subject?
- What do you enjoy most about it?
- Is it a popular choice where you live?
Sample question · “Do you work, or are you a student?”
Band 6. I'm a student. I'm studying business at university, in my second year. I chose it because I want to work in marketing one day, so it's useful for me.
Band 8. I'm actually in my final year at university, reading business, though I'm leaning more and more towards marketing specifically. I picked it partly because I've always been curious about why people buy the things they do, and partly because it keeps a lot of doors open, which mattered to me at eighteen when I had no real plan.
Your hometown
- Where are you from?
- What is your hometown like?
- Has it changed much in recent years?
- Would you recommend it to a visitor?
Sample question · “What is your hometown like?”
Band 6. It's a medium-sized city in the north. It's quite busy and there are a lot of shops and restaurants. I like it because it's convenient and my family is there.
Band 8. It's a mid-sized city up north, and I'd describe it as friendly but a bit sleepy, in the best way. There's enough going on, decent places to eat, a couple of good parks, but none of that constant rush you get in the capital. I think that's exactly why people who grow up there tend to drift back eventually.
Your home
- Do you live in a house or a flat?
- What is your favourite room?
- Is there anything you would like to change about it?
- How long have you lived there?
Sample question · “What is your favourite room in your home?”
Band 6. My favourite room is the living room. It's comfortable and I watch television and relax there with my family in the evening. It has a big sofa.
Band 8. It'd have to be the kitchen, oddly enough. It isn't the biggest room, but it's where everyone ends up, cooking, talking, arguing over what to watch. I've always thought a room earns its place by how much life happens in it, and in our house that's easily the kitchen.
Free time
- What do you like to do in your free time?
- Do you prefer to relax alone or with other people?
- Have your hobbies changed since you were a child?
- Is there a new hobby you would like to try?
Sample question · “What do you like to do in your free time?”
Band 6. In my free time I like reading and going for walks. I usually read novels, and I go walking at the weekend with my friends. It helps me relax after work.
Band 8. It depends how much energy I've got left, honestly. If I'm worn out I'll just get lost in a novel, but when there's a bit more in the tank I'll head out for a long walk, ideally somewhere green. Both do the same job really, which is switching my brain off after a busy week.
Food and cooking
- What kind of food do you like?
- Do you cook at home?
- Has your diet changed over the years?
- Do you prefer eating in or eating out?
Sample question · “Do you cook at home?”
Band 6. Yes, I cook at home most days. I usually make simple things like pasta or rice. I'm not a very good cook, but I enjoy it and it's cheaper than eating out.
Band 8. I do, most nights, though I'd never call myself a proper cook. I've got about five dishes I can do well and I just rotate them. I actually find it quite therapeutic after work, chopping things, not having to think. Eating out is a treat rather than a habit, mostly because cooking is a lot kinder on the wallet.
Technology
- How often do you use your phone?
- What do you mainly use it for?
- Could you manage without it for a day?
- Has technology changed the way you keep in touch?
Sample question · “Could you manage without your phone for a day?”
Band 6. It would be difficult for me. I use my phone for a lot of things, like messages, maps and music. Maybe I could do it for one day, but I would feel a bit lost without it.
Band 8. In theory yes, in practice I'd probably last about an hour before twitching. It's not even the fun side of it, it's that I use it for everything now, directions, paying for things, checking train times, so a day without it would feel less like a detox and more like losing a limb. A bit sad, when you put it like that.
Travel
- Do you enjoy travelling?
- Where did you go on your last holiday?
- Do you prefer travelling abroad or staying in your own country?
- What kind of place would you like to visit next?
Sample question · “Do you prefer travelling abroad or staying in your own country?”
Band 6. I prefer travelling abroad because I like to see new cultures and try different food. But travelling in my own country is cheaper and easier, so I do both sometimes.
Band 8. Abroad, if I'm honest. There's something about not understanding the signs and having to work everything out that I really enjoy, it wakes you up. That said, I've barely scratched the surface of my own country, so part of me feels a bit guilty flying off when there's so much I haven't seen an hour down the road.
Music
- What kind of music do you like?
- Has your taste in music changed?
- Do you play any musical instruments?
- Do you prefer live music or recordings?
Sample question · “Has your taste in music changed over the years?”
Band 6. Yes, it has changed a lot. When I was younger I listened to pop music, but now I prefer quieter music, like acoustic songs. I think my taste changed as I got older.
Band 8. Massively, and not always in a direction I'm proud of. As a teenager it was all loud and angry, whatever my friends were into, whereas now I gravitate towards quieter, more acoustic things I can actually think over. I suppose your taste grows up roughly in step with you, or at least mine has.
Five habits that turn a correct answer into a good one.
- Answer, then add. Never stop at yes or no. Give a reason, an example, or a small consequence. Two or three sentences is the sweet spot, longer and you risk drifting.
- Keep it a conversation. Part 1 is a chat, not a lecture. A natural, slightly informal register scores better than stiff, essay-shaped sentences.
- Colour it in. One specific detail, a place, a person, a number, a name, makes an answer memorable and quietly shows off real vocabulary.
- Do not memorise. Prepared speeches are obvious in seconds, and they stop you answering the actual question. Prepare topics, not scripts.
- Range quietly. Part 1 invites past habits, present routines and future plans. Move between them naturally and you show grammatical range without trying.
When you are ready for the long turn, move on to the Part 2 cue cards, or browse every part together on the speaking topics page. Want a person listening to your actual answers and telling you what to fix? That is what the lessons are for.