City you've been to and want to visit again
IELTS Speaking Part 2 cue card with a full sample answer, a Band 9 model of the two-minute long turn.
The cue card
City you've been to and want to visit again
You should say:
- what city it was
- when you went there
- what you did there
- why you liked it
Sample answer
The place I'd like to describe is Cappadocia, a truly extraordinary region in central Turkey that I visited a couple of years ago and have been yearning to return to ever since.
I travelled there in autumn, staying for roughly four days, having first stumbled across photographs of the region online and been instantly captivated by its surreal, almost otherworldly landscape. While I was there, I crammed in as much as humanly possible — I explored the famous "fairy chimney" rock formations up close, wandered through ancient cave churches hewn directly into the volcanic rock, and even spent a night in one of the region's enchanting cave hotels, an experience unlike anything I'd previously encountered. The undisputed highlight, though, was taking a hot-air balloon ride at sunrise, drifting silently above the valleys alongside hundreds of other colourful balloons blanketing the sky — a sight that still defies adequate description.
I fell for the place enormously, for a whole host of reasons. Living in a bustling city myself, I was irresistibly drawn to its tranquillity and almost fairy-tale scenery, which genuinely felt like something plucked from another planet. I was equally captivated by its rich history, discovering how entire communities once thrived in those extraordinary underground settlements centuries ago.
Despite spending four full days immersed there, I still felt as though I'd barely scratched the surface, which is precisely why I'm so determined to return — not merely to catch what I missed, but honestly, I'd happily relive that same balloon ride and wander those cave churches all over again.
Reading a model answer is not the same as saying one. The sample above shows what a strong Part 2 answer sounds like. What it cannot tell you is how yours sounds — whether you hesitate, repeat the question back, or run out of things to say at forty seconds.
You can record an answer to this exact question and get it marked on fluency and coherence, lexical resource, grammatical range and pronunciation — the same four criteria the examiner uses.
Common questions
How long should I speak for in Part 2?
Between one and two minutes. The examiner stops you at two, so aim to still be talking at the ninety-second mark rather than finishing early — running out at forty seconds is the most common problem in this part.
What do I do with the one minute of preparation time?
You get one minute and a pencil and paper. Most candidates waste it writing full sentences they then read aloud, which sounds flat. Note a few keywords against each bullet instead, so you have four things to talk about rather than a script.
Do I have to cover all four bullet points?
They are prompts, not a checklist, and you are not penalised for skipping one. In practice they are the easiest way to fill two minutes, so covering them is usually the simplest way to keep going.
Does it matter if the story is not true?
No. You are assessed on your English, not on whether the events happened. Inventing detail is fine and often easier than recalling a real memory under pressure.
Model answers written and reviewed by The English All-in-One IELTS team. They are teaching models showing what each band looks like, not real candidate scripts.