In Part 2, you are asked to talk about a certain topic continuously for about 2 minutes. You are going to be given a card with the topic along with some paper and pencil to take down notes and some time to prepare yourself about it.
The examiner wants to see your ability to speak fluently in the form of a monologue and also, your ability to organise your ideas cohesively by getting them across to the speaker.
Let’s see an example,
Describe a book that you read recently.
You should say:
- what the book is about
- what you liked or disliked about it
- would you recommend it to anyone else and what kind of person would that be.
What you should do?
1.) You read the card with the task and you quickly underline the most important things you need to consider. [In this example, you can underline: book, what, liked, disliked, recommend, person]
2.) Now it is time to start taking notes with your answers about each separate question of the task that will help you organise your short talk.
3.) The examiner will tell you when you begin, so don’t worry about that. If s/he stops you before you say everything you had planned, stop talking and don’t worry this is not a bad sign. The examiner may ask you some questions either during or after your talk, so be prepared for that, too. If s/he interrupts you, answer his/her question and then go back to what you were planning to say by using a linking phrase. (for example, “As I was saying”, “Also, I would like to add that…”, “To get back to my previous idea/point/suggestion…”, etc).
What about taking notes?
This is absolutely vital for your organisation! Please don’t just read the card; think about it and just wait for the examiner to tell you to begin talking. Even if you are an experienced english speaker, please don’t do that. The notes are going to help you stay focused, organised, and cohesive. You can always turn back to them when you get stuck and they will help you to keep on talking and clear your thoughts and ideas.
What should you do?
1.) You should practice taking notes of Part 2 speaking tasks in one minute. You are not going to write completed sentences; you don’t have time for that. Take down only small phrases and key-words in the form of notes.
2.) Always talk about things that you know. Don’t try to talk about something you’ve just heard and you don’t have enough information about it, eventually you will get stuck and you won’t have anything to say.
3.) Always complete your ideas by giving reasons and examples! Don’t just express your thoughts in short phrases without explaining yourself a little bit on the topic.
4.) It will be better for you if your notes follow the order of the questions on the card. This will keep you on track and you are not likely to forget something.
Here’s an example of how your notes could look like:
You can check out the video lesson here:
