Describe a law on environmental protection
IELTS Speaking Part 2 cue card with a full sample answer, a Band 9 model of the two-minute long turn.
The cue card
Describe a law on environmental protection
You should say:
- what the law is
- how you first learned about it
- who benefits from this law
- how you feel about it
Sample answer
I'd like to describe a law on environmental protection that I think is genuinely important — namely, the ban on single-use plastic bags that many countries, including some regions in mine, have introduced in recent years.
Essentially, this law prohibits or heavily restricts shops and supermarkets from giving out free single-use plastic bags to customers. Instead, people are encouraged to bring their own reusable bags or to pay a small charge for a more durable alternative. The aim is to drastically cut down on plastic waste, which is one of the most pressing environmental problems we face today.
I first learned about this law a few years ago, partly through the news and partly when I noticed the change in practice at my local supermarket, where they suddenly began charging for bags. It made me curious, so I looked into the reasoning behind it and read about the devastating impact that plastic pollution has on our oceans and wildlife.
This law benefits a great many people and, indeed, the whole planet. Most directly, it benefits the environment by reducing the enormous quantity of plastic that ends up in landfills, rivers and seas, where it harms marine life and takes centuries to decompose. In the long run, it benefits all of us, as well as future generations, by helping to create a cleaner and healthier world. It also encourages people to develop more sustainable habits.
As for how I feel about it, I'm strongly in favour of this law. Although it caused a bit of inconvenience at first, and some people grumbled about it, I believe it's a small price to pay for such a significant environmental benefit. It's a simple yet effective way to make people more conscious of their consumption. Personally, I now always carry a reusable bag, and I genuinely wish more such environmental laws were introduced and strictly enforced everywhere.
313 words — roughly 2–3 minutes at a natural speaking pace.
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 say and can speak naturally from them.
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.