Is it wrong to go off topic in IELTS speaking part 2? Will you get a lower band score if you go off topic? Do you get a higher band score if you stay with the topic and follow the prompts given in IELTS speaking part 2? See the tips below to learn how your IELTS speaking is marked.
Going Off Topics for Your IELTS Cue Card Talk in Speaking Part 2
Lets look at this closely because it is something that affects everyone in their IELTS speaking test. And especially in speaking part 2 when people want to expand their talk but they are scared to take the talk in a different direction.
- Is it essential to follow the prompts on your cue card for speaking part 2?
- No, it isn’t. The prompts on the cue card are guidelines and support to help you build your talk.
- Will you get a lower score if you don’t complete the cue card prompts?
- No, you won’t. You can choose which prompts you want to use. You can ignore some and use others. You don’t get a lower score if you don’t complete the cue card prompts.
- Are there questions to answer on the cue card?
- No. There are no questions on your cue card. There are only prompts which are suggestions that will help you give a full talk. It is your choice to use them or not.
- Can you add information in speaking part 2 that isn’t on the cue card?
- Yes, you can. It is recommended that you add information to expend your talk. You will not get a lower score if you go off the topic by adding extra information that is not on your card.
- Is the examiner marking your ability to use the prompts on the cue card?
- No. You are not marked on ideas at all. You are only marked on your use of English language.
- I heard that going off topic will reduce your score. Is that true?
- Not for IELTS speaking. It is true for IELTS writing. In IELTS writing, you are marked on your response, ideas and being on topic. This is not the case for IELTS speaking. You can learn how band scores are marked on the links below.
- Should you follow the prompts on the card?
- I recommend that you use the prompts and also add extra information. The prompts are useful and provide a structure to your talk which will help your score. Adding extra information is a useful way to showcase your English language for a higher score.
RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
Learn about how your speaking and other skills are marked: IELTS Band Score Explained
Prepare ideas for Common IELTS Speaking Part 2 Topics
ALL MODEL ANSWERS, TIPS & TOPICS FOR IELTS SPEAKING
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Hi Liz, many thanks for you useful information on this website. I have a question that is really confusing for me. recently I took a mock IELTS, in speaking part they asked me what was my favorite period of history. I said I was not into history but as I watch Chernobyl movie I thought that part of history is interesting and as the rest of q and a was about history, so my answers was based on what I have seen in the movie.
In comments part they told you lost mark because you talked about movie though the question was about history this is the main reason you lost mark.
Do they have right to reduce my mark based on such idea?
The way your mock was marked is incorrect – depending on the content of your answer. Your answer was about a period of history and the details of that history you learned from a film. There is nothing wrong with that. Some people learn about history from a book, some from films, some from Netflix dramas, some from teachers. It makes no difference and you explained openly about this, which is fine. Furthermore, you are not marked on whether you are on topic or off topic as long as you are close to the main topic, so it’s also fine. Lastly, you didn’t change the topic. If you changed the topic from a period of history to your favourite season or your favourite sport, that would be a big issue because you are changing the topic completely probably because you prepared those topics. IELTS are basically looking for people with memorised answers which don’t show their natural level of English. So, all in all, your answer was fine. However, I am presuming that you did focus on aspects of the story (the history) rather than the filming techniques. If you only talked about special effects, lighting, actors etc, then it would be too far away from the topic of history because that is the topic of film making. But if you talked about the period of history as shown in the film, such as clothing, behaviour, events, consequences, causes etc, it would be fine. IELTS allows for adaptions, but not complete alteration.
Hi, liz. Yesterday i had a speaking test. The examiner asked me about describe some exciting activity that u have done with someone, but i have not mentioned the activites, i just mentioned playing games with my friends and family members at my farmhouse. Does this affect my score?
Playing games with friends and family is an example of activities. I see nothing wrong with your choice of talk. Good luck with your results 🙂
Hi Liz.Today I had a speaking test.The examiner asked me the question about air pollution, but I talked about plastic pollution.Does this affect my score very much? Could you please answer for this?Thank you for your answer
It won’t affect your score. You went slightly off topic but stayed on the main topic which was pollution. It is common for people to be nervous and fail to read the cue card properly. IELTS takes this into account. Read the page above again and reassure yourself.
Hello Elizabeth,
Many thanks for taking the time to write all of these responses. It is so valuable to receive feedback from someone with your experience without paying. I too had a query regarding *going off topic* with the cue card. I found the answer among the responses which you have provided in this chat thread.
Thank you so much for your videos on YouTube and for your support.
I’m so glad you are benefiting from my site. I’m also glad you are taking the time to read the comments. I put a lot of effort into answering people and explaining things. I wish more people would realise that they can learn as much from the comments as they can from the posts. Anyway, enjoy your learning 🙂
The part 2 required me to talk about an occasion which i had to share something with others ,but instead i talked about sharing the same concern among my friends and me ,so will that affect my markings?
It won’t affect your score. Relax. It’s easy to misread the cue card when you are nervous and IELTS know this and accept this. Task Achievement and Task Response only exist in the writing test, not the speaking test.
My topic was about a habit you want to develop but i talked about a skill you want to develop. As a result i got good band score in my ac ielts speaking.
Exactly. It’s fine to adapt the topic slightly in that way. Glad you got a good score 🙂
Hello,
Today I had got the oral ielts testing exam. I had a little difficulty in the speaking part 2.The topic was to describe a countryside that i went in the past, instead i spoke a city that i have been. Will it affects in some way the final marks?
Thank You
You can find your answer both on the page above and on this page: https://ieltsliz.com/misunderstanding-the-ielts-cue-card/
Hi Liz, I had a speaking test today. It was fine. Only mistake I did is, on cue card… Instead of free gift I talked about gift. Will it cut my score. Except that everything was fine for me.
It won’t affect your score. It’s fine. Good luck with your results 🙂
Hi Liz, thank you for the amazing content on your website.
When I can’t directly answer the question on Part 2 because of my lack of knowledge and experience (I’m 16 years old and not familiar with things outside of my city/country), can I answer it in a way that is still on topic but a bit indirectly? Please let me demonstrate in the following examples:
Question 1: Describe a sports you would like to learn.
My plan: I am not into sports and not planning to take up any in the future. So could I start my talk by stating so, and then go on and say: instead, I would like to talk about my friend’s obsession with football? And then continue to tell my story from there?
Question 2: Describe a piece of art that you like.
My plan: If I can’t think of a work of art to talk about, could I say: I am not a huge fan of art, so instead of talking about a piece of art that I admire, I’d like to describe a terrible statue built recently in my city?
Thank you so much for your time. I look forward to hear from you.
It’s fine to do that. As long as you stick to the main topic.
Hi Liz . I think I goofed up and gave the wrong answer in Part 2 of my speaking test .
My topic was about an activity I do everyday is a waste of time .
I answered writing . While I was deciding on a career I had to make a choice between a writer and a designer. Currently being a designer with a busy schedule , I wake up early in the morning and write out my thoughts and reactions to my previous days events . After the pandemic, my design career has been bit over the edge monetarily. Due to this , while I write in the morning , I tend to self negate and it makes me think if I made the right choice being a designer . And I believe such negative thought could set a bad precedent for the day .
I feel like I goofed up and gave the wrong answer
What do you mean by “the wrong answer”? There is no such thing as a wrong answer in IELTS speaking. Each sentence and word you use demonstrates your level of English. I can see lots of great English in your answer. If you are referring to your choice of subject, I don’t see a problem. You have spoken about an activity and for you, you felt it was a waste of time because it had a negative impact on you. All completely fine. Good luck with your results 🙂
Thank you so much Liz . Feels really great to get your reassurance.
I’d opted for the pen and paper . Once my results are in I’ll definitely let you in on it .
Your videos on all four sections of the ielts exam really helped me prepare well . 😊
Hi Liz,
I live in Virginia, USA and have appeared for the IELTS test in March 2021. I got a score of 6.0 in my Speaking section. I was shocked. In the last 20 years of my experience in the USA and Canada, I have never experienced problems with my speaking skills and always commended for my vocabulary and clarity of expression. I asked for remark of Speaking section, after remark the score was updated to 6.5. The reason I didn’t ask for remark of other sections of IELTS is that’s good enough for my ECFVG (Education commission for foreign veterinary graduates) certification. I spoke at many conferences, worked as tutor at many software schools in Toronto and conducted ToastMasters clubs. As part of my work as Technology Architect, I conduct and lead meetings on daily basis.
The scores were quite an insult for my abilities but would like to forget about the whole IELTS saga but I need a minimum of 7 in Speaking section of IELTS. I do accept my listening comprehension of British English is not great but on the day of testing my speaking tester’s English was American and I did pretty well in that.
Can I appeal my rescore. I would like to get your consultation. You can reach me via my email.
Thank you,
Chandra Bandaru
It’s highly unlikely your score will change with a second remark. A senior examiner will already have confirmed your score. Think back to your test. Did you use a full range of tenses – present perfect, past perfect etc. Did you use other grammatical features: second conditionals, third conditionals etc. Did you showcase topic related vocab? Did you expand on each and every question, and keep talking until the examiner interrupted you – you need to do this. This is a test and you must plan how to showcase your language skills to hit the higher band scores. Do you feel that you did this? Did you go into the test with a strategic approach? For example, in part 2, did you go beyond the prompts and give future forms, past memories, detailed descriptions, comparisons etc? How far did you take control and hit the requirements of the higher band scores? Have a good think about your understanding of the speaking test. But as for a second remark, I’ve never heard someone doing this. Have a chat with your test center if you still feel unhappy about your score after reading my comments.
Hello, Liz.
Is it permissible to look at the bullet points that I will have prepared while speaking in part 2? Or will I be required to maintain eye-contact with the examiner all the time?
Certainly you can look at your notes and at the cue card. IELTS Speaking isn’t a memory test 🙂
Hi Liz,
Do we lose marks in speaking if we misunderstand the question and start giving the answer and then examiner tells you no I am asking this?
You cannot lose marks in the speaking test. And comprehension is not marked.
Thanks a lot
Hi Liz,
I followed all your tips for speaking and completed my speaking test today. During my test I said I can’t understand the question two times because of small glass shield in front of me and we were wearing mask.
And during my speaking part 2 I paused for like 4 to 5 seconds and continued my speaking will these issue affect my band ?
It’s fine to ask for the question to be repeated. I personal wouldn’t recommend says “I can’t understand”. I would recommend saying “Sorry, I didn’t catch what you said, could you repeat that please”. This way, you are showing idiomatic language and showing that you want the question to be repeated because you didn’t hear clearly, not because you couldn’t understand. However, either way, it’s fine. About pauses, if you paused for language related problems, that isn’t so good. If you paused briefly due to ideas (as you would in your own language), it’s fine. Either way, your score is based on your overall performance rather than individual blips.
Hi Liz,
You are great and your blog is truly awesome.
I would like to know that, if i get corrected by the examiner because of not answering the right question, how many marks i would be deducted?
I really need this answer, as i made this mistake in my real exam.
Sohel
You are marked on fluency, grammar, vocab and pron – nothing else influences your score.
Hello mam !
My cue card topic was describe an interesting conversation you had with friend
I spoke abt a conversation with friends and not friend
Will i get less band score due to this mistake ?
🙏please reply mam .. am worried
As explained on the page above, it won’t affect your score at all. Good luck with your results
Hello, Good day Liz!
I just finished my speaking test and I’m a bit worried I might get a reduction because I kind of went out of topic in part 3. The examiner asked a question about artists. He said does artist of the past and now have same ratings. Why or why not. Previous questions on the topic artist were about art (paintings) but for this particular question, I spoke of music instead of painting. What do you think?
There are no marks for being on or off topic in IELTS speaking.
Hi teacher
I had speaking test today
The topic was: “an experience that the Internet helped you to solve a problem”
It was difficult for me to talk about a certain problem so I spoke on an experience of having problem with finding a result of a soccer match and i got hold of that informition through a website.
The examiner pointed by her pen at the problem (on the paper) while I was talking.
Is it wrong to talk about that occasion?! Unfortunately she thought it was wrong and I will get a low grade.
It is not wrong at all. You are not marked on your ideas. You are not marked on task response or task achievement. Only the language you speak is marked for fluency, grammar, vocab and pron. The examiner cannot mark you down for not talking about the problem involved. In fact, the examiner should not have pointed to that on the paper at all.
Hi Liz,
I gave my speaking test today. In part two, it says: give an example of achievement that you celebrated.
What is that achievement
Who’s with you
What did you do for the celebration
I was so nervous that I cannot think much, so I said it’s my mom’s 60th birthday.. and I just continuously talking and realizing that my answer is far from the task.. so what I did was adding statement that I don’t have many achievement that I celebrated, this time my achievement was when I gave my mom a present on her birthday with my hard earned money.
Do you think it affects my score as i know my answer was off topic from what is expected.
Sounds to me like you explained why you diverted slightly from the topic – all fine. It would have been a problem if you had decided to talk about the weather instead of an achievement or celebration. As being on or off topic isn’t marked, the examiner is only worried about people changing the topic because they want to present a memorised answer or a topic they have prepared. You haven’t done this. Don’t worry. Wait for your results and let me know how it went 🙂
Hi liz,
On 5th September i took my ielts speaking
I struggled in part 1 when examiner asked me about perfumes where there are 3 questions about it
Rather than that i answered rest of the questions and part 2 and part 3
How much that part 1 questions will effect for my band in speaking
It might show that you do not have a wide range of vocabulary, but that you have an adequate range of vocabulary for common topics. But even so, your score will be based on your overall performance rather than one topic.
Hey… 24th August was my ielts speaking test from idp and I was asked in que card about handsome person I met…..
My response :-
4 days ago I was having video conversation withy brother. It flabbergasts to see how he transformed himself. Because, before an year he was the person who got punished for his impudent behavior. He was having an inveterate tendency to procrastinate his work, but today he is the most proactive person I know. Being curious, I asked what made you transform. He described his perilous journey across the mountains of hurdles in meticulous detail. He taught me one thing It’s ain’t about how hard you hit, it about how hard you can get and keep moving. Life will put you down but its up to is to stay there or stand up and punch into the face of the problem. And according to me I like the person who is more beautiful from inside. Apart from it, he was having weigh of 140kgs and reduced it to 80 KGS. He worked hard for building his physic, which made him more fit and handsome. He told me one story, once a guy went to google and asked what should I do to become successful like you google replied you must wake up at 4 am and meet me at the beach
After it my test taker stopped me saying thank you.
If follow up questions I answered some wrong questions in terms of content. So I very afraid that how much would I get.
I don’t usually comment on answers. However, I will post a few comments that everyone can benefit from:
One of the main problems here is language. You are trying to put in so many high band score words – unfortunately, some are not well chosen and not suitable for the context. This means they are not examples of high band score words – they are examples of mistakes. This is something you all need to be very aware of. Don’t try to impress. Vocabulary is only worth 25% and each time you use a word incorrectly, it will lower your score.
Below I have correct this talk:
4 days ago I was having video chat in real time with brother, who I hadn’t seen for over a year. I was flabbergasted to see how he had transformed himself. Because, when I last saw him, he was quite different both in physical appearance and behaviour. He used to procrastinate in his work, but today he is the most proactive person I know. Being curious, I asked “how did you make the change”. He described his how he overcame his problems. He taught me one thing – it isn’t about how many times you fall, it is about how often you get up and keep moving forward. Life will put you down but it’s up to you to keep fighting in the face of your problems. I personally think that a person is more beautiful from the inside than the outside. Apart from that, he used to weigh 140kgs and now he is just 80 KGS. He worked hard at building his physique, which made him healthier and much more handsome. He told me one story, once a guy asked god how to become successful. God replied you must wake up at 4 am and meet me on the beach.
I changed the last two sentences about god, not because of religion, but because google is a search engine and would not reply in that way – also I couldn’t fully understand this sentence.
There are no questions on your cue card. You task is not to complete them or to follow them. The prompts are there to help you. They provide a useful structure – that’s all. It is your task to add a lot more to your talk – description, comparisons, superlatives, conditional statement, past memories, future hopes, common opinions etc etc.
Please do not ask for band scores – that is not the aim of my website. I hope this comment will help you and also all other test takers 🙂
So would it make a lot of negative impression on my grading? And sorry it was typing mistake It’s google
And thanks for your time and consideration.
The main problem I see is that you were not careful with vocabulary and as I explained vocabulary counts for only 25% of your marks. Also your use of grammar tenses wasn’t strong. Grammar counts of only 25% of your marks. However, your score is not based on part 2 only, it is an overall score based on your performance throughout the whole test. I hope you get the score you want. If you don’t and if you need to take the test again, make sure that you practise at home the right way and focus on the right things.
hi liz,
today I gave speaking test and they have asked in part 2 “tell about any old interesting person you have meet”. while speaking for 2 minutes, I have said he is 40 years of age. will affect my score?
Wow, if 40 years is considered old, I must be ancient !! Very funny 🙂 It will have no impact on your score at all – don’t worry. Your ideas and information are not marked.
Hi Liz,
Finally, you have said that by yourself 🙂 however i thought you would be 30 🙂
Hi liz,
I gave my speaking test today.I was happy after giving the test because I gave fluent and accurate answers. Later, I realised that it might be the case as I have answered a wrong cue card because I just looked over for the word INTELLIGENT PERSON rather reading the whole question! Will it affect my band scores?(if yes,how much)
There are no questions on the cue card and there are no marked awarded for being on or off topic in IELTS speaking. You will be marked on the language you produce – nothing else affects your score. Don’t worry – it’s all fine.
Hi Liz ,
I had my speaking test this afternoon, and cue card prompt was “a person i know who is protecting the environment” I spoke about a public figure who is protecting wildlife. Have I gone off topic and will this lower my score
Please read the page above to learn about “going off topic”.
Hello liz,
I had speaking test. Cue card was given to describe about a important thing i burrow, however i described about a thing i bought? How much does this affect if fluency, lexical resources, grammar and pronunciation are mostly ok with very few error?
The fluency, lexical resource, grammar and pron of the English you speak are the only things that are marked. Nothing else affects your score. So, don’t worry. The only time it would be a problem is if the examiner thinks you changed the topic on purpose because you wanted to talk about a topic you had already prepared at home.
Hi Liz
Hope you are doing well. I just wanted to ask a questio from you; I just took my speaking test today, I don’t wanna brag but I was on fire (at least I thought so). In part 2, however, oddly enough I missed a question. I actually didn’t see it. I should let you know I have this very bad flu and I guess it kinda affected my concenteration.
The feedback of face expressions I was receiving from the examiner throughout the test was quite positive. She actually, noting I’m all over the place and am going to miss the last question in part 2, asked the question herself directly!! So I answered it finally but I originallt missed the question myself.
I know task completion is quite important, whereas considering I was doing pretty well (at least I think so myself), how much of a drop should I be expectung in my final score for speaking? For example, if it was to be 8 or 8.5, what do I get now you reckon?
Task completion is irrelevant in IELTS speaking – only writing has that marking criterion. Also there are NO questions on the cue card – not a single one. There are prompts which you can use or not use as you wish. Good luck with your results
Thanks Liz, really thanks alot you just made my day. Now I look forward to get my results.
Also thanks alot for your wonderful website. It helped through speaking and writing alot.
If I don’t know anything about the topic, do I have the option to request examiner to ask another cue card?
No, you can’t.
I’m so weird about my speaking test , part 1 was good until last question I couldn’t hear the examiner well , I asked him twice then he skipped the question.
After that , part 2 I felt my tension about that my answer of topic-off , about comic actor I misunderstand it and talked comedy actor.
Part 3 I tried to take my breathe again and I answered all the questions in good way hopefully .
Does it mean I totally sucked in it because I need good score min. 5 or 5.5
As this page shows you, you are not marked down for being off topic. As long as your talk was closely related, it’s fine. Your topic was comedy and you talked about comedy – fine. Your score will be based on the range and accuracy of your English language.
Thank you for fast reply .
what about the skipped question at part 1?
In your opinion , Is it better to take the test again?
Your score is based on an overall performance. You only decide to take the test again after you see your results. Good luck!
Hi Liz,
Today I got a cue card which was about: “Describe a comic actor…” but I changed it into a comic character (a character in a comic book) because I’d misunderstood it and I developed it to a totally different topic at the end of the talk. Would it affect the score seriously? My speaking part 1 and 3 were quite fluent and contained some less common vocab. Thank you so much!
It is 100% fine to adapt the part 2 topic as long as you stick closely to the main topic – you did that and it’s fine.
Thank you so muchhh. I was totally disappointed about myself :(. But actually, I have mentioned the comic book that he’s appeared and also mentioned the content of the story at the end of the talk, that’s quite far from the main topic. Hope that it’ll be fine after all. Once again, thank you. Lots of love!
The only thing you will be marked on is the English language you produced. As long as you showcased your grammar, vocab and fluency skills well and had clear pronunciation, you’ll be fine.
Yess, thank you so much!
Hi Liz ,Iam Rahul . I’ve been watching your website content and you tube videos for a long time ,it really helped me in the writing modules ,Thank you so much for that I’m having my speaking exam tomorrow and I have one question that is.., In speaking Part-2 cue card session ..,can i say the answers in any order irrespective of the order given there..,Is it acceptable ..,Please help me regarding this.
There are NO ANSWERS to give because there are NO QUESTIONS on your cue card. Look carefully and you will see they are prompts, not questions. This means they are there to help you if you want. You can use them or not use them – as you wish – it doesn’t impact your score. My advice is to use them as you want, in any order, but also add your own prompts to expand your talk – add your own past experiences, your opinions, descriptions, comparisons, future hopes etc. Good luck tomorrow!
Hi Liz, today I had my speaking test. I got the topic as Describe someone you gave money as a gift but I misunderstood the topic and I gave the answer for Describe someone who gave money to you as a gift, will this effect for my score? Will the examinar give 0 marks for me to the part 2 ? Blna cause I need to get minimum band 6.5
Your score is based on fluency, vocab, grammar and pron – nothing else affects your score – nothing at all.
Thank you ma’am.
Hi Liz, thank you for your website, it is really helpful. I have a question about the second part of the speaking exam. Do they look at the notes I make in the 1 min preperation time? and do the notes need to be in English? If i make notes in my language am I going to loose score? Thanks!!
Of course they do not look at your notes. It is a speaking exam and marks only the words from your mouth. You can use the paper in any way you want.
Hi Liz I’ve done my speaking exam today… the cue card was about a cloth I wear in different occasions… but instead i answered about a dress that I got when I was young and I liked it very much… to what extent will my score be affected?
Your topic was about clothing and you talked about a dress – what’s the problem? All fine. You do not need to follow all the prompts. You are not marked on task response or task completion in IELTS speaking.
Hi Liz……The cue card was about describe an activity you like to do when you was a child and I spoke about basketball which is off the topic as they asked about activity I liked as a child …….So will they reduce my bands for this silly mistake??
You have remained close to the main topic and that is all that matters. Nothing to worry about. Good luck with your results 🙂
i got the cue card on ..quiet place you visit ..but i spoke on quiet place i will visit in future ..also i was not able to cover 1 question among 4 ..will it affect my band score
Please read the page above as it explains clearly.
Liz, I had my speaking test today and my topic was your favorite building. I had to define the structure and what it is used for. I started well with part 1 but somehow I freaked out in part 2. I took long pauses and started looking on the notes I had made for the topic and then I could speak only for a few secs and the examiner stopped me. Part 3 was kind of ok. Will any of this affect my score? I freaking out. RWL is tomorrow pls wish me luck 😞
At this point, you need to forget your speaking test. It’s over. Your score will be based on your performance overall, not in each part. Now, it’s time to focus on the next part of the test. You need to be able to concentrate for 2 hours and 40 mins without a break. Get rest and be fresh for your test!! Good luck!
Hey Liz!
I have got yet another query I need to get answered. Tomorrow, I am taking my speaking test and I was wondering if it is okay to have contradicting answers.
Say, for the answer to my first question I said I don’t like coffee.
And at some point during the test I said I love coffee.
Will that be affecting my score?
Using English is about being able to present precise meaning. Why would you give two confusing answers? Just be open, natural and friendly – be honest.
What I meant was I may need to cook some answers up during you test as I may not have experienced everything they ask me. Coffee was just an example.
What I meant was, while making up answers is it okay to contradict or will I get lower band score?
As I said, be honest. There are no trick questions. This isn’t testing your knowledge or your experience. This is testing your ability to explain yourself using English. If the question asks you what your favourite museum is – don’t lie. Just say “I haven’t been a museum, but if I did go to one, I’d probably go to one that focuses on culture because ….”. Don’t confuse the examiner which shows a lack of understanding in your English.
Well thanks for clearing that up. With my tests coming a lot of doubts are going through my mind.
Glad you are here to help the likes of us.
Thanks again.
Read all my advice and model answers on this page: https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-speaking-free-lessons-essential-tips/. The more you understand the test, the more confident you will be.
Today was my speaking test the Q question was
Describe a period in history which has always interested you
I misunderstood the question and spoke about my history teacher when I was in class 8 class
How I first met her
Her personality
How she teaches history
Turning point etc
Did you misunderstand? Or did you change the topic because you had prepare the topic of a teacher? The examiner doesn’t mind if you misunderstand and it doesn’t affect your score. But if the examiner believes you changed it to give a memorised answer, it can impact your score.
my topic was – a situation when u had to be polite .. i spoke about a situation where i kept calm. i did not use the word polite . How many bands are deducted for this?
You are not marked for task response in speaking – it doesn’t affect your score at all.
Hii today’s is my speaking test I was off track in it . Now what will happen . Is my band score will be reduced .
Please read the page about which explains this.
Hey Liz!
Love from Nepal.
It’s really nice and helpful site you got here. But I couldn’t find an answer to my problem.
The problem actually is with my speaking. While taking the mock tests for IELTS, the examiner asked me to use more idioms.
Is there any threshold or some minimum numbers of idioms that’s supposed to be used in speaking test?
No, In fact, idioms are not often used. However, idiomatic language is used. There is a difference between idioms and idiomatic language. Idioms are only one type of idiomatic language. The best idiomatic language to use is phrasal verbs and you are probably using them anyway.
Hi Liz,
I took my Ielts speaking exam today( 3/06/2018). The cue card topic given to me was to talk about “Recent development in my city”. I talked about a shopping mall which was opened recently in my town. Is this going off the topic? Just worried about if i have talked completely different to the topic.
It is 100% fine. Good choice.
My speaking test cue card went completely off the topic and examiner also told me that u were off tge topic. Should i book another exam or can i get at least 6….?
It’s ok to branch off topic in part 2 by adding extra information. But it isn’t ok to change the topic.
Hi Liz,
In my speaking test,I gave 2 examples of a time when I helped someone. One from my University time / education and one from my professional / work related.
I think that I completed 2 minutes, as the examiner interrupted me.
Shall I get low score for not sticking to one example only?
Please guide.
Thanks
The examiner doesn’t care if you use one example or lots of examples. You are marked on: fluency, vocab, grammar and pronunciation – nothing else impacts your speaking score.
Thanks a lot…
Liz, i was asked to speak about a sport which i only watched and wold like to try in future.
But when i started speaking about the topic, unfortunately, i said that i have watched cricket in so and so ground and i am very keen about cricket and i have played it my scholl and would like to play in futrue. Point is i didnt understand the question that i need to talk about the sport which i only watched. But in my answer i said that i played and want to play in future as well. I know it will impact my band score, but want to know to what extent it will impact?
It’s fine.
Hi liz💕 I took the ielts speaking exam but when i was talking i just said one word that was not english but i use it alot in my daily conversations it was not obvious it is like a linker but i covered it up quickly will this make me lose many marks?
It’s fine. It’s best to avoid using foreign words, but it’s fine. As long as the examiner could understand the content of your answer.
my topic for q card was talk about a person who helped u in your work/study place. and i spoke about an activity that held in my home town and my friend help me to overcome my problem of glossofobia. is it ok? or i may loose marks for this?
As you can read on this page, you are not marked down because you are off topic in speaking.
means is it ok? or i will loose marks?
Your score is not affected by being on or off topic.
thnx for ur valuable response
Quote from Ex-examiner Simon:
Friday, December 08, 2017
IELTS Speaking Part 2: using the prompts
An IELTS teacher asked me the following questions:
Is it compulsory for candidates to address all of the prompts on the cue card? What happens if candidates ignore the prompts but speak well about the topic anyway? And what happens if the candidate misunderstands the question and speaks about a different topic?
Here are the answers that I gave the teacher:
I tell my students to use the prompts because they help you to structure your answer. However, it is still possible to get a very high score even if you don’t address all of the points e.g. if you speak well about the topic but miss the last point or two. I don’t recommend ignoring the points completely, because there’s a danger that you’ll go off task if you do that.
If you misunderstand the question and give an unrelated answer, I’m afraid you’ll get a very low score. The reason is that candidates could memorise a perfect answer if off-topic answers were allowed.
Dear Liz, I am a bit confused here. Please help us distinguish the difference between going off-topic and expanding one’s ideas. Thanks a lot.
Let me explain…
1.Expanding your talk and going off topic: Here is an example: A food you like (what it is, how it’s made, when you eat it and why you like it). You can expand this topic to talk about the last time you ate it, the first time you ate it, who you were with when you usually eat it, if there are special events when it is eaten (what people wear and do in these events). You can compare the food to other food or foreign food. You can add suggestions to improve the food etc. You can tell a funny story about your friend who likes this food etc You can expand in any direction you want and add any kind of information that is loosely related to the main topic: special food. When you tell your story about food, you might describe a person, describe the weather on the day you ate it – it’s all fine. It’s part of the detail and the talk. This is fine and you will get a good score.
2. Giving an unrelated talk: This is something you should not do. Example: a traditional product (what it is, how it is made, who buys it and why it is popular) but instead you tell the examiner you don’t know any products and you will talk about your favourite movie. The topic of movie is not connected in any way to product and you are choosing to change the topic to your advantage. This means you changed the topic 100% in order to talk about a topic you prefer. Students do this because they have prepared the topic of movies and they want to give a memorised or very prepared answer. This is wrong and will lower your score. The examiner will always be very wary of anyone who gives a memorised answer. Memorised answers are not accepted in IELTS.
In conclusion, it is fine to go off topic, such as talking about your friend who likes particular food or clothes worn when people eat the food – that is a way to expand the given topic. If the topic is “your favourite book” and you talk about “your favourite magazine” it’s fine – it’s the same topic more or less. But you can’t alter the topic completely. You can’t alter the topic completely.
Do you understand now the difference of going a bit off topic when you expand and completely changing the topic?
the cue card does say: you SHOULD say before the cue prompts..does it not make it compulsory?
No, it is not compulsory. I advise all students to use the prompts because they provide an easy structure but to add your own prompts in order to decide which language skills to showcase.
Hi LIz,
if I were to prepare some common cue card topic talks, say “a favourite activity” and i happen to get a cue task to talk about an expensive activity that i do…assuming that I’m able to mask my “pre-rehearsed feel” and speak out the (memorised) favourite activity, of course with a few additions to indicate its expensive’ness’..would it affect my score assuming that fluency, vocal, grammar and pronunciation are good?
Do NOT memorise sentences. The examiner is trained to spot them and will not count those sentences. It is a 100% waste of your preparation time!
Hi Liz, I found my examiner very strange in the part 3. And today I saw my score of speaking is 5.5, which was really shocking. ( With 6 in writing, 8 in both reading and listening.)
At first she asked me: ” What kind of job do you think need a good driving skill?” I thought the answer was obvious and the question was a little too silly. So I answered drivers and extended the answer with my best.
Then she asked:” What kinds of driver need a good driving skill?” I said: “I believe all the drivers need a good driving skill. For example, the drivers of the restaurant, they have to transfer the food from supplier to the costumer. They must be very careful.”
She seemed unhappy and continued to asked the same question: “What other kinds of driver need a good driving skill?” I said: ” The driver of the chairman need a good driving skill. Because the chairman decides the affairs of the country. If the chairman bumps into a car accident, in my country, the driver will get into prison.”
However, she was not satisfied and asked: “Don’t you think the bus drivers and taxi drivers need good driving skills?” Until that moment, I realized answers like “bus drivers” and “taxi drivers” were what she wanted. However, I think I am totally allowed to show my own opinion and I shouldn’t be judged by my speaking content.
Do you think is there anything wrong in my answer? Should I give an answer which exactly the examiner wants?
You are 100% correct. You don’t need to show knowledge and you can have your own opinion. In this case, you have only one option. You must say “I didn’t say taxi driver or bus driver because that’s too obvious. I was trying to think of more interesting options.”. That way you show that you understood the answer but didn’t use the words because you chose not to. The examiner is basically testing your vocabulary – do you know these words? So, you need to reply – yes I didn’t use them because .. (indirectly of course). Your score is based on more than just one answer. It is based on grammar, vocab, fluency, pron – it is possible to you didn’t demonstrate the right language skills in your test. However, you must decide for yourself and decide if you want to go for a remark.
Hello mam
My topic was change in life(in school or college) but I told about how I change my college and experienced the change . Was it correct or not?
You are not marked on your choices or your ideas in IELTS speaking.
Hey Liz
Just now i came back home after completing the speaking test and the immediate thing i am doing is messaging you. So the examiner asked about my happiest experience in my childhood and i ended up saying my bitter experience in my childhood but at the beginning i told him that it is not so happy experience but i wanted share because it is more satisfying…actually my plan is to tell how the bad experience turned out to be good but i was stopped because i ran out of time😑
Please tell me is it off the topic am i going to loose score😣
Anyways Thank you so much for all the wonderful work in your website😊
IELTS speaking scores are language based, not ideas based. So, even if you go off topic, you will get points for the language you used. Going off topic doesn’t affect your score. Good luck with your results 🙂
Hi Liz
Today I was at speaking exam.My question in part 2 was about thing that I bought and was happy.I said about it and I also added information about nowadays-how I use it.She emphasised that I shoud use past tenses, after that I told about past a bit.Will it affect to my score?Explain me please
I don’t understand your question. I see nothing unusual in anything you have written.
hi liz
do I loose marks if i go off topic in speaking part 3,assuming the examiner had to call me back after rounding off?
Please read the page above which explains about going off topic – it’s the same in part 1 and part 3.
Dear Liz,
I’ve had the speaking test today. In the third section, I went off some topics by giving a slight different answers, for e.g: when the examiner asked me what I like about my speciality, I answered by stating the reasons why I like my speciality. Will this affect my score? Thanks in advance.
You are not marked for being on or off topic in speaking – so don’t worry.
Just a few minutes back I completed my speaking round. In my cue card I was asked to explain about countyside life/visit but I explained the urban visit. it seems completely away from track, will my marks be deducted for not understanding?
You have asked me this question on the page that explains the answer. Please read this page again and you will see your answer.
Please Liz help us to understand clearly. I too got topic of countryside to talk for 2 minutes. From page i feel its ok if i did not talk exactly on countryside. Am i correct??
It’s fine.
Hii mam today was my speaking exam
My cue card was describe a product or service you got for free
I went off the track ….and talked that I was going to Manali ( a place in India) my car got punchered and somebody give me lift ….and he started talking to me ….at last I told him that I want to pay but he refused
Plz tell mam what will happen
I think my marks will get affected bcoz of this
You are not marked on your ideas. You can take your talk in any direct you want.
But the thing I talked is help not service ..right ??
I am very tensed
One thing more
Mam in writing is it right to write
Without any qualm or without any qualms ….
Is s will make any difference ??
It is not good to memorise expressions to use.
You are not marked on your ideas. You are not marked for being on topic. You can be off topic and it won’t affect your score. Your score is based on fluency, grammar, vocab and pronunciation – nothing else affects your score.
Dear Liz,
Thank you a lot for your helps. I had speaking test today and the cue card of part 2 was about inventions that changed the world. but I confused the word invention with convention and the whole 2 minutes I spoke about international conventions. As it is obvious, my answer was ABSOLUTELY IRRELEVANT to the cue card and I had talked completely about another subject (conventions instead of inventions). Do you think that I would lose a lot of scores on that?
It will not impact your score at all. Having relevant ideas is not marked in IELTS speaking. It is essential in IELTS writing, but not in IELTS speaking. The examiner will know you mistook the word and your whole talk will still be marked as usual based on the language you produced. So, relax 🙂
Tnx a lot liz, such a relief, I will let you know of my score. tnx again.
How much you scored? Coz today i spoke off topic as well. They told me to talk about countryside but i spoke about city area. I was confused whether countryside represent urban area or rural area. So worried
Hii
I had speaking today .My topic was Free service from company like ticket product etc. But I went complete off topic .I spoke about ticket received from my uncle for journey.
Will it affect my band?
As you see from the article above – it won’t affect your score.
Hi Liz,
I had a speaking test today. For PART 2 of speaking test, topic given to me was DESCRIBE GIFT WHICH YOU WOULD LIKE TO GIVE TO SOMEBODY. But in my case, I went complete off topic. I spoke about GIFT WHICH I RECEIVED FROM SOMEBODY. I am so anxious now regarding band score for this. Kindly guide me how much will this affect my SPEAKING band.
Thank you.
As this page explains, going off topic won’t affect your score in speaking.
Thank you so much Liz for your guidance. It was really helpful.
Hey !
MY TOPIC WAS
A SHOP THAT HAS BEEN RECENTLY OPENED IN YOUR HOME TOWN
BUT I SPOKE IT IS 1 KM FAR FROM MY HOME TOWN
IT WILL AFFECT MY SPEAKING BAND SCORE OR NOT
You are not marked on your ideas or the information you provide or going off topic. You are marked on your language only.
dear liz
can u please assess my ielts essay… m going to appear for the test on 21st of this month
You can find a teacher for marking on this page: https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-essay-correction/
My kind regards to you. keep it up.
Thank you so much Liz for all your work. It helped me greatly with my preparation for the exam. You are amazing!
You’re welcome 🙂
HI ,REALLY YOU ARE HELP US TO LEARN ENGLISH.
THANK YOU SO MATCH
I highly appreciate all your outstanding dedicated hard work here.I still can’t figure out your answer regarding following the prompts on the cue card.If the prompt instructs to describe a gift in your life is it OK if the candidate describe his/her favorite family member.Just asking.
Best regards
You are given a topic with prompts and the advice above is about using the prompts, not about changing the topic completely. Design your talk around the topic but develop the prompts and use the prompts in any way you want – add your own prompts.
Hi Mrs Liz
Should i use capital letter in all reading answers?
Thanks
Many students find it easier to use all capitals.
I am confident by yours support..thank you
Thank You for all useful information & efforts. you are a great help.
I thank you mam because actually really help to improve English
thank you my respected Liz mam
Thanks Liz.
Thanks
🙂🙂