Describe local news that people were interested in
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 local news that people were interested in
You should say:
- what the news was
- where you saw or heard it
- who was involved
- why people were interested in it
Sample answer
I'd like to describe a piece of local news that stirred up a great deal of interest in my community not too long ago.
The news was about the opening of a brand-new public park and recreation area in my neighbourhood. After years of planning and construction, the local council finally completed this modern green space, complete with beautiful gardens, walking and cycling paths, a children's playground, sports facilities and even a small lake. It was a landmark development for our area.
I first got wind of it through a combination of sources. It was widely covered on local news websites and in community groups on social media, and it was also the talk of the town, with everyone buzzing about it. I remember seeing countless photos and videos of the new park doing the rounds online before it had even officially opened.
The people involved were mainly the local council and city officials who had funded and overseen the project, along with the construction companies that built it. Of course, the residents of the neighbourhood stood to gain the most, so they were very much at the heart of the story.
There are several reasons this news struck such a chord with people. Firstly, our area had long been crying out for proper green and recreational spaces, so this was something the community had genuinely been desperate for. Secondly, a park like this delivers real, tangible benefits to everyone — families now have a safe place for their children to play, and people of all ages have somewhere pleasant to unwind, exercise and socialise. It also boosted local pride and even pushed up property values in the area.
Personally, I was delighted by this news, having hoped for such a facility for a long time. Since it opened, I've been visiting the park regularly, and it's wonderful to see it always buzzing with happy families and residents making the most of the space.
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.