Describe a time when you worked in a group
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 time when you worked in a group
You should say:
- what the team was like
- why you joined it
- what you did
- how you felt about it
Sample answer
I'd like to describe a time when I worked in a group, specifically on a major project during my time at university that I remember very fondly.
The team consisted of five students, including myself, and we were tasked with researching and presenting a solution to a real-world environmental problem. We were quite a diverse group, with each member bringing different skills and personalities to the table — some were strong at research, others at design, and I tended to take on an organising and coordinating role.
I joined the team partly because the project was compulsory and partly because I was genuinely interested in the topic. However, I was also keen to develop my teamwork and leadership skills, which I knew would be valuable for my future career, so I saw it as a great opportunity.
My role within the group was fairly central. I helped divide the workload fairly among the members, set deadlines to keep us on track, and made sure everyone's ideas were heard during our discussions. I also contributed a significant portion of the research and helped put together the final presentation. Whenever disagreements arose, which they inevitably did, I tried to mediate and find a compromise that everyone was happy with.
As for how I felt about the experience, it was a real mixture of challenge and reward. At times it was frustrating, particularly when opinions clashed or when a member wasn't pulling their weight, and coordinating everyone's schedules could be difficult. However, working towards a common goal and seeing our combined efforts come together was immensely satisfying. In the end, our project was very well received and earned us an excellent grade, which made all the hard work worthwhile.
Overall, the experience taught me the true value of collaboration, communication and compromise. It made me realise that a group can achieve far more than any individual working alone, and I've applied those lessons many times since.
323 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.