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20 Must Practice IELTS Speaking Part 2 Topics





Here are 20 of the most common IELTS Task 2 Topics, from a wide range of subjects including the environment, family, friends, food and work.


The IELTS Speaking Exam is divided into 3 parts. Part 1 is usually a few basic questions about yourself and your personal life. The examiner will ask you some questions that will lead into the topic that you will be speaking about in Part 2.


Part 2, you are given a topic on a piece of paper with a few questions that need to be answered within that topic. You are given 1 minute to prepare and about 1-2 minutes to speak.


I always tell my students that you should be prepared to speak for at least 2 minutes and try to answer all of the questions as specifically as possible, within the 2 minutes. If answer 2/4 questions within the time frame, you only show the examiner your ability to speak non stop for 2 minutes but you could have missed answering the questions in a way that shows your grammatical range.



For example,
Describe a website that you often use. You should say:
  • What the website is

  • When you found out about it

  • What you use it for

  • Why you think it is useful.


In the first question 'What the website is', you should use present tenses to explain all the different features of the website.


In the second question, 'When you found out about it', you have the opportunity to talk about your past in details which increases your chance of using lots of different grammatical tenses.


For example,

I have been using Skyscanner for several years now. (Present Perfect Continuous)

I first discovered Skyscanner when I was planning my first trip abroad, to Thailand and I needed to book various flights from island to island. (Past Simple and Past Continuous)

I had seen one of my friends use the website and I was amazed at how user friendly it is. (Past Perfect and Past Simple)


In the third question 'What you use it for', you should answer this question using Present Tenses because this information would be factual. Here is also a great opportunity to use an idiom about habits.


For example,

  • I am a creature of habit

  • I can't kick the habit

  • I have a habit of (doing something)

  • I've gotten into the habit of (doing something)

  • Old habits die hard


Idioms look really good and will definitely impress the examiner and increase your chances of obtaining a higher score. Just be careful, you don't want to overuse idioms or use them awkwardly. Check with a Native Speaker or your English Teacher to see if you are using them correctly.


Pay attention to each Task 2 Question that you get and see how you can implement these strategies to them. Perhaps you can find a different category of idioms that


Lastly, the fourth question 'Why you think it is useful' is made so that you can give your opinion about the topic. When you give your opinion, you should use some interesting cohesive devices that would impress the examiner.


So instead of saying I think, rather say to my mind.

Here are some more examples:

  • I'm of the opinion that

  • As for me,

  • Honestly I think

  • If you ask me,

  • As far as I'm concerned

  • The way I see it is


Now that we have broken down a typical Task 2 question, let's have a look at some more examples to see if we can analyze them too.


  1. Task 2 Topic about Family




This one can be analyzed similarly to the Website question above. Think about some great character adjectives that you could use to describe this person, such as:

  • courageous

  • level headed

  • a great sense of humour

  • passionate

  • determined

  • hard-working

  • resilient

  • open-minded


Also, what idioms can you think of or find about people?

  • down-to-earth

  • go-getter

  • heart of gold

  • salt the earth kind of person

  • came rain or shine

  • through thick or thin


2. Task 2 Topic about School

Here is a sample answer for this question, perhaps there are some great words that you could find useful:



The subject I’d like to describe is World History. It was a subject taught in high school. About one hour is allotted everyday to learn about significant historical events. For some of my classmates, it was a boring subject but I enjoyed it a lot. I remember that our teacher distributed a syllabus on our first meeting which served as a guide on the topics that will be discussed each week. We were assigned to read several books and other reading materials. We talked about famous people, from warriors to philosophers to artists. We discussed the wars that happened in the past. We also talked about religion, traditions and customs of the people during the ancient time. As a subject, it required us to memorize a lot which was a disadvantage for me and my classmates at that time because it consumed much of our time. Nevertheless, history really intrigued me. I have remained curious about how humans lived in the past. I have always been interested to look into how history turned us into the present generation. It fascinates me.


3. Task 2 Topic about Health


Try to find your own words and ideas for the rest of the topics.





4. Task 2 Topic about Shopping


5. Task 2 Topic about the Weather



6. Task 2 Topic about Fitness


7. Task 2 Topic about Food







8. Task 2 Topic about Education







9. Task 2 Topic about the Environment



Looking for some vocabulary to do with the environment? Try out our Exclusive Flashcard and Vocabulary Pack, filled with activities, new vocabulary, sample answers and access to online flashcards and games.



10. Task 2 Topic about Work





11 and 12. Task 2 Topics about Travel




13. Task 2 Topic about Pets





14. Task 2 Topic about Wild Animals




15. Task 2 Topic about Books




16. Task 2 Topic about Films




17. Task 2 Topic about Hobbies




18. Task 2 Topic about Childhood Memories







19. Task 2 Topic about Crime




20. Task 2 Topic about Language





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