Losing something important
IELTS Speaking Part 2 cue card with a full sample answer, a Band 9 model of the two-minute long turn.
The cue card
Losing something important
You should say:
- what it was and why it was important
- when and where you lost it
- how you felt after losing it
Sample answer
The occasion I'd like to describe dates back a few years, to when I was still a student, and it remains an experience that genuinely shook me to my core at the time.
I lost my wallet, which held around two hundred manats in cash alongside several indispensable documents, including my ID card and bank cards. It happened one evening after I'd whiled away a few hours at a PlayStation club with some friends, unwinding after an exhausting week. As I stepped outside, my wallet must have slipped from my pocket entirely unnoticed, and by the time I registered it was missing, the damage was already done.
Someone had seized it almost instantly, pocketed the cash, and even managed to withdraw additional funds from my bank cards before I could get them frozen. I was engulfed by an overwhelming mix of panic, frustration, and disbelief, especially once it dawned on me that my documents had vanished too, meaning I'd be saddled with the tedious ordeal of having them all reissued.
Remarkably, the story doesn't end there. About a month later, I actually managed to track the culprit down, but by then it genuinely felt like too little, too late — I'd already had my documents remade and the money was long gone. He was eventually apprehended, which brought a strange sense of closure, though it did little to undo the inconvenience I'd already endured.
Losing that wallet taught me to be considerably more vigilant with my belongings, and even now, I instinctively pat my pockets every time I venture somewhere crowded or unfamiliar.
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.