How Part 1 works, and how this page differs from our Part 1 guide
IELTS Speaking Part 1 is a four to five minute interview in which the examiner introduces themselves, checks your identity and then asks short questions about familiar topics, "such as home, family, work, studies or interests", per the ielts.org Speaking format page. The whole Speaking test runs 11 to 14 minutes, is recorded, and is assessed by a certificated examiner on four criteria: Fluency and Coherence, Lexical Resource, Grammatical Range and Accuracy, and Pronunciation. In India, per IDP IELTS India, the test is delivered as IELTS on Computer or IELTS Writing on Paper, and Speaking is still a live conversation with a human examiner either way (the ielts.org format page describes a face-to-face interview; some centres offer it by video call). The right length for a Part 1 answer is two to four sentences: the question answered in the first sentence, a reason, a detail, and then silence so the examiner can ask the next one.
We already have a general guide, IELTS Speaking Part 1 questions and answers, which covers the common topics and what a good answer looks like. Read that first if Part 1 is new to you. This page is the 2026 working set: 15 questions organised by the topic families that recur this year, each with a Band 7+ model answer written by TalkDrill, the follow-up the examiner is likely to ask, an examiner note naming the criterion the question really tests, and, for five of the questions, the same answer rewritten at Band 6 so you can hear the difference. The questions are the same 15 that sit in our practice bank, so you can read them here and then speak them to the AI examiner on the full mock test.
- Four to five minutes, after the ID check. The first part of a test that lasts 11 to 14 minutes in total.
- Familiar topics: home, family, work, studies, interests and similar everyday subjects.
- In our experience, usually three topics, with several questions on each; IELTS does not publish a count. The first topic is almost always where you live or what you do.
- Recorded and marked by a certificated examiner on the same four criteria as Part 2 and Part 3. There is no separate Part 1 score.
- You cannot see the questions in advance. You may ask for a question to be repeated; in Part 1 do not expect the examiner to explain a word.
The topic families in 2026
IELTS does not publish a topic list, and the "September to December 2026" question lists on coaching sites are candidate recollections, not official papers. What is stable, year after year, is the set of families the questions are drawn from, because the official description has not changed: the examiner asks about your life and your everyday opinions. We group the families like this. The right-hand column shows which of our 15 questions belongs to each, so you can see that the set below covers the whole range rather than one corner of it.
| Topic family | What the examiner is really asking | Typical questions | In this set |
|---|---|---|---|
| Identity set (always asked first) | Where you live, whether you work or study. Decided before the test; the examiner reads from a frame. | Hometown, home, work or study, why you chose it | Questions 1, 2, 3 |
| Personal habits | Present simple with frequency, plus one contrast with the past. | Birthdays, clothes, cooking, sleep and mornings, routines | Questions 4, 6, 14, 15 |
| Daily life and the city | How you move around, what the weather does to your day, what you buy. | Cars and driving, weather, shopping, public transport | Questions 5, 10 |
| Technology | Habits and opinions about tools you use every day; the newest family and the one growing fastest. | Apps, AI tools, phones, social media | Questions 7, 8 |
| Society and environment | Small personal actions, not policy. Policy is Part 3. | Environment, recycling, noise, neighbours | Question 9 |
| People | Friends, family, teachers, neighbours; who, how often, why. | Friends, family time, people you admire | Question 11 |
| Leisure | What you do with free time and how it has changed. | Reading, music, films, sport, holidays | Questions 12, 13 |
Two families deserve a comment. The technology family is where new questions appear, and artificial intelligence is the current example; if you have never spoken about AI in English, question 8 is worth ten minutes tonight. And the society family is the one candidates most often over-answer: a Part 1 question about recycling wants two habits with the right nouns, not the speech you have prepared for Part 3. If you want to see how the same family is handled when it does become abstract, the Part 3 frameworks page takes the environment and technology families through to discussion level.
How long a Part 1 answer should be
Two to four sentences. The arithmetic is simple, and the topic and question counts are our observation rather than an official figure: four to five minutes, usually three topics, three or four questions each, so each answer gets 20 to 40 seconds before the examiner needs to move on. Inside that window the descriptors want evidence. The Band 7 Fluency and Coherence line in the official descriptors PDF asks for someone "able to keep going and readily produce long turns without noticeable effort" with "flexible use of spoken discourse markers, connectives and cohesive features". You cannot show that in "Yes, I do." You also cannot show it if the examiner has to cut you off mid-sentence three times, because interruption is where coherence breaks.
The shape of a Part 1 answer (TalkDrill)
Sentence 1: answer the question directly, in your own words, not by repeating the question. Sentence 2: the reason, or when and how often. Sentence 3: a concrete detail: a name, a place, a number, a small contrast with the past. Optional sentence 4: a feeling or an "although". Then stop. The model answers below all follow this shape; count the sentences in any of them.
Three habits make Part 1 answers too short or too long. The first is repeating the question as the first sentence ("Do I like cooking? Yes, I like cooking very much because..."), which spends your best seconds saying nothing. The second is the list: six app names, five festivals, four hobbies, with no reason for any of them. The third is the prepared monologue, usually on hometown or family, which the examiner recognises within a sentence and which the Band 3 grammar descriptor labels "apparently memorised utterances". Prepare facts, not paragraphs, and vary your first sentence every time you practise.
The 15 questions with Band 7+ model answers
Every question, follow-up and model answer below was written by TalkDrill in the current question format. The models are not transcripts of real candidates and they are not scripts to learn: their cities, jobs and families are deliberately varied (Ludhiana, Kochi, Thrissur, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Pune, Chennai, Hanoi) so that no reader can copy them whole. Swap in your own details and keep the shape. The examiner note under each answer names the criterion the question really tests, in the wording of the official descriptors. Speak each answer aloud, record it, and compare your length and your first sentence with the model.
1. Hometown: "Where is your hometown?"
Topic family: Identity set. Likely follow-up: "Is it a good place for young people to live?"
Band 7+ model answer (written by TalkDrill)
I am from Ludhiana, which is an industrial city in Punjab, in the north of India. It is best known for hosiery and bicycle manufacturing, so most families there are connected to a factory or a workshop in some way. I grew up in the older part of the city, near the main market, which is noisy but very lively. I still think of it as home even though I now study in Chandigarh.
Examiner note. Fluency and coherence. This is the warm-up question, so the examiner is listening for whether you can extend a simple answer with one reason and one detail without a long pause. Name the place, place it on the map, add one thing it is known for. Do not recite a memorised paragraph about "my beautiful city".
Our tip. Place the town on the map and give it one claim to fame. "Ludhiana is a city in Punjab" is a Band 5 answer; the model adds the industry, the neighbourhood and a present contrast.
2. Home: "Do you live in a house or a flat?"
Topic family: Identity set. Likely follow-up: "Which room do you spend the most time in?"
Band 7+ model answer (written by TalkDrill)
I live in a flat on the third floor of a building in Kochi. It is not very big, two bedrooms and a small balcony, but the balcony is the reason we chose it, because it faces the backwaters and gets a breeze in the evening. We have been there for about six years now. If I had the choice I would prefer a house with a garden, but in the city that is simply not affordable for most families.
Examiner note. Grammatical range and accuracy. A good answer moves naturally between present simple, present perfect ("we have been there for six years") and a conditional ("if I had the choice"). Hindi and Punjabi speakers often say "I am living here since six years"; the examiner hears that as a basic error that persists.
Our tip. The follow-up about a room is where most candidates run dry. Decide in advance which room and why; "the kitchen, because that is where my family actually talks" is enough.
3. Work or study: "Do you work or are you a student?"
Topic family: Identity set. Likely follow-up: "Why did you choose that job or subject?"
Band 7+ model answer (written by TalkDrill)
I work. I am a staff nurse in a private hospital in Thrissur, mostly on the medical ward, and I have been there for just over three years. It is shift work, so my week does not look like a normal office week; I might work three nights in a row and then have two days off. I chose nursing partly because my aunt is a nurse in Ireland and partly because I wanted a profession that I could take abroad.
Examiner note. Lexical resource. The examiner wants the vocabulary of your own field used naturally: "staff nurse", "medical ward", "shift work", "three nights in a row". Candidates who answer "I am doing job in hospital" lose the chance to show topic-specific words in the one topic they know best.
Our tip. Say "I work" or "I am a student" in the first two words. Candidates who open with "Actually, currently, I am pursuing" have spent five words on nothing.
4. Birthdays: "How do you usually celebrate your birthday?"
Topic family: Personal habits. Likely follow-up: "Do you think birthdays are more important for children or for adults?"
Band 7+ model answer (written by TalkDrill)
Quite simply, to be honest. My mother cooks whatever I ask for, usually chole bhature, and in the evening a few close friends come over and we order a cake. When I was younger there were big parties with balloons and twenty children from the colony, but now I prefer a quiet dinner. The one thing I always do is video-call my grandmother, because she insists on being the first person to wish me.
Examiner note. Fluency and coherence, specifically contrast. "When I was younger ... but now" is a natural way to extend a Part 1 answer without padding. The examiner also hears the past simple versus present simple shift, which supports the grammar score.
Our tip. A "how do you usually" question wants present simple plus one contrast with the past. Do not describe your last birthday in detail; that is a Part 2 answer.
5. Cars and driving: "Do you know how to drive?"
Topic family: Daily life. Likely follow-up: "Would you like to own a car in the future?"
Band 7+ model answer (written by TalkDrill)
Yes, I learnt about four years ago, although I do not drive very often. In Hyderabad the traffic is so heavy that I usually take the metro or book a cab, which works out cheaper than paying for parking. My father taught me in an empty ground near our house on Sunday mornings, which was quite stressful for both of us. I am a careful driver rather than a confident one, if that makes sense.
Examiner note. Pronunciation. "Drive", "traffic", "cab" and "careful" carry the v and w, the final consonant and the stressed-syllable sounds that Punjabi, Gujarati and Hindi speakers most often blur. Say the final consonants; "drive" is not "dry".
Our tip. A yes or no question is an invitation, not a test. Answer it in one word, then say when you learnt, how often you drive and one feeling about it.
6. Clothes: "What kind of clothes do you like to wear?"
Topic family: Personal habits. Likely follow-up: "Do you ever wear traditional clothes?"
Band 7+ model answer (written by TalkDrill)
On most days, something comfortable: jeans and a plain cotton shirt, because Ahmedabad is hot for eight months of the year and anything heavier is unbearable. For work I have to be a bit smarter, so I keep a couple of formal shirts and chinos. I am not someone who follows fashion closely; I would rather buy three good-quality basics than a wardrobe full of things I wear once.
Examiner note. Lexical resource. Notice the specific nouns, "plain cotton shirt", "chinos", "good-quality basics", rather than "nice clothes" and "good dresses". In Indian English "dress" is used for any outfit; in the test it means a woman's one-piece garment, so "I wear dress to office" confuses the examiner.
Our tip. Be specific about garments. "Dress" in Indian English covers any outfit; to the examiner it is a woman's one-piece garment. Say "clothes", "outfit" or name the item.
7. Apps: "What apps do you use most on your phone?"
Topic family: Technology. Likely follow-up: "Is there an app you would like to delete?"
Band 7+ model answer (written by TalkDrill)
WhatsApp, without any doubt, because that is where my family, my college group and even my landlord send messages. After that, probably Google Maps and a payments app; I cannot remember the last time I paid for an auto in cash. I also use a language app for about fifteen minutes a day, which is how I am preparing for this test. The one I would happily delete is Instagram, because I open it for a minute and lose half an hour.
Examiner note. Fluency and coherence. The question invites a list; the Band 7 move is to rank the list and give a reason for each item instead of naming six apps. The last sentence also answers the likely follow-up before it is asked, which is natural, not cheating.
Our tip. Rank, do not list. Three apps with a reason each sounds like Band 7; seven app names sounds like a Band 5 list.
8. Artificial intelligence: "Have you ever used an AI tool to help you with something?"
Topic family: Technology. Likely follow-up: "Do you think people rely on AI too much?"
Band 7+ model answer (written by TalkDrill)
Yes, fairly often. I use a chatbot to check my emails before I send them to clients, mainly for tone, because I tend to sound too blunt in writing. I have also used it to explain a few accounting concepts when my textbook was not clear. I do not let it write anything for me from scratch, though; when I tried that once, the result sounded nothing like me and my manager noticed immediately.
Examiner note. Grammatical range and accuracy. Present perfect for experience ("have you ever used"), present simple for habit, past simple for the one-off story: the examiner expects the answer to move through all three without a slip. "I have used it last week" is the error to avoid.
Our tip. Newer topic. "Have you ever used" asks for present perfect, and the examiner then expects a past simple story about one occasion. Keep both tenses apart.
9. Environment: "Do you do anything to protect the environment?"
Topic family: Society and environment. Likely follow-up: "Did you learn about the environment when you were at school?"
Band 7+ model answer (written by TalkDrill)
Small things, honestly, nothing heroic. We separate wet and dry waste at home because the municipality in Pune insists on it, and I carry a cloth bag to the market instead of taking plastic ones. I also cycle to the gym rather than taking my scooter. I would like to say I have switched to solar power, but that is my parents' decision and the panels are expensive, so for now it is the small daily habits.
Examiner note. Lexical resource and honesty. The examiner is not grading your values. "Separate wet and dry waste", "cloth bag", "switched to solar" are the topic words; a modest, specific answer scores higher than a memorised speech about global warming.
Our tip. Modest and specific beats grand and memorised. Two real habits with the right nouns score higher than a speech about global warming.
10. Weather: "What kind of weather do you like?"
Topic family: Daily life. Likely follow-up: "Does the weather affect your mood?"
Band 7+ model answer (written by TalkDrill)
I like the first few weeks of the monsoon, when it has just started raining and the temperature drops after months of heat. In Chennai that period is short, so people really look forward to it. I am not a fan of the humidity that comes later, when your clothes never dry and the roads flood. Cool, dry weather like December mornings would be my ideal, which is partly why Canada appeals to me, although my friends there say I will change my mind in January.
Examiner note. Pronunciation, specifically sentence stress and intonation. A weather answer is a chance to show a rising and falling voice: enthusiasm on "look forward to it", a drop on "never dry". Tamil and Malayalam speakers who keep a flat, syllable-timed rhythm are described in the Band 6 descriptor as having rhythm "affected by a lack of stress-timing".
Our tip. A weather answer is a pronunciation chance: let your voice rise on what you enjoy and fall on what you dislike. A flat delivery here is heard as the Band 6 line about rhythm.
11. Friends: "Do you prefer to spend time with one friend or with a group of friends?"
Topic family: People. Likely follow-up: "How often do you meet your friends?"
Band 7+ model answer (written by TalkDrill)
It depends on my mood, but usually one friend. With a group the conversation stays on the surface, cricket and films and who is getting married, whereas with one close friend you can actually talk about what is going on in your life. My closest friend and I have known each other since the sixth standard, and we still meet every second Sunday for breakfast. That said, for a birthday or a trip, the bigger the group the better.
Examiner note. Fluency and coherence. "It depends", "whereas", "that said" are the discourse markers the Band 7 descriptor calls "flexible use"; the Band 6 descriptor allows them but "not always appropriately". Overusing "basically" and "actually" pushes you towards the Band 5 line about overuse of certain markers.
Our tip. "It depends" is a legitimate first word if a reason follows within the same breath. Pick a side, give the reason, then allow the exception.
12. Reading: "Do you like reading?"
Topic family: Leisure. Likely follow-up: "Do you prefer printed books or reading on a screen?"
Band 7+ model answer (written by TalkDrill)
I do, although I read far less than I would like to. During college I got through a novel a week, mostly thrillers and some Malayalam fiction, but now with a full-time job it is more like one book a month. These days a lot of my reading is on my phone, news and long articles, which does not feel the same. I have promised myself that I will read on the train instead of scrolling, and I manage it about half the time.
Examiner note. Grammatical range and accuracy. The answer uses a comparative structure ("far less than I would like to"), the past habitual ("got through a novel a week") and a future promise, all in sixty words. The honest self-correction at the end is natural speech, not a weakness, provided it is fluent.
Our tip. If you do not read much, say so and explain what you read instead; honesty is fluent, invention is not. The examiner scores language, not habits.
13. Music: "What kind of music do you listen to?"
Topic family: Leisure. Likely follow-up: "Have your tastes in music changed since you were a child?"
Band 7+ model answer (written by TalkDrill)
A real mixture. When I am working I put on instrumental music, often film background scores, because lyrics distract me. In the car it is Punjabi pop, which my colleagues find funny because I am from Hanoi and do not understand a word, but the rhythm is impossible to sit still to. As a child I only listened to whatever my parents played, which was traditional Vietnamese music, and I have come back to some of that recently, especially the slower songs.
Examiner note. Lexical resource. "Instrumental", "background scores", "lyrics", "rhythm": the examiner is listening for whether you have words for the topic beyond "songs" and "singers". The Vietnamese setting here is deliberate; the model is written by TalkDrill and any candidate should swap in their own details.
Our tip. Name genres and situations ("instrumental music while I work"), not singers. The follow-up about change over time wants "used to" or "as a child I only".
14. Cooking and food: "Do you enjoy cooking?"
Topic family: Personal habits. Likely follow-up: "Who does most of the cooking in your home?"
Band 7+ model answer (written by TalkDrill)
I enjoy it at the weekend and resent it on a weekday. On a Sunday I will happily spend two hours making a biryani from scratch, soaking the rice, frying the onions until they are properly brown, the whole process. On a Tuesday night after a ten-hour shift, cooking is just a task to get through, so it is usually an omelette or leftovers. My mother finds this attitude strange, because for her cooking has never been optional.
Examiner note. Fluency and coherence. The first sentence is a complete, balanced answer in nine words; everything after it is development. Candidates who open with "Yes, I like cooking very much because cooking is my hobby" have used twelve words to say nothing the examiner can score.
Our tip. Answer the question in the first sentence, then develop. A balanced opening ("at the weekend yes, on a weekday no") gives you two things to talk about.
15. Mornings and sleep: "Are you a morning person?"
Topic family: Personal habits. Likely follow-up: "Has your sleep routine changed in recent years?"
Band 7+ model answer (written by TalkDrill)
I have become one, but only by force. My first class at the coaching institute starts at six thirty, so I am up by five, which my teenage self would not believe. The strange thing is that I now get my best work done before eight, before the phone starts buzzing. On Sundays I still sleep until nine, so I think I am a night person who has been trained to behave like a morning person.
Examiner note. Grammatical range and accuracy. "I have become one", "would not believe", "has been trained": present perfect, conditional and passive in a short answer, all accurate. The light humour at the end is fine; examiners are human and a natural tone is part of what the Band 7 fluency descriptor means by "without noticeable effort".
Our tip. A "are you a ... person" question is best answered with a change over time: what you were, what you have become and why.
Band 6 versus Band 7: five of the questions rewritten
The gap between 6 and 7 is the gap most of our readers need to cross: the UK NMC asks for 7 in Speaking (Listening 7, Reading 7, Writing 6.5, Speaking 7, per the NMC accepted tests page), and Band 7 is the "Good user" level on the ielts.org band scale, the level many registration and migration routes name; check the page for your own route. The official descriptors describe the gap precisely. At Band 6, coherence "may be lost at times", vocabulary "may be inappropriate but meaning is clear", and errors "frequently occur in complex structures" although they "rarely impede communication". At Band 7, "error-free sentences are frequent", the resource is "flexibly used" with "an awareness of style and collocation", and hesitation "will not affect coherence". Below, five of the questions above are rewritten at Band 6 by TalkDrill. Both versions are understandable; that is the point. The Band 6 version is not wrong, it is simply not evidence of the Band 7 lines.
"Where is your hometown?"
| Band 6 version (TalkDrill) | What the Band 7 model above does differently |
|---|---|
| My hometown is Ludhiana. It is in Punjab. It is very famous city for hosiery and, uh, cycle industry. It is a very good city, very beautiful, and the people are very helpful. I am loving my hometown very much. | Four short sentences with "very" doing all the work (Lexical Resource, Band 6: "vocabulary use may be inappropriate but meaning is clear"). "I am loving" is the progressive used for a state, one of the "few basic errors" that persist. The Band 7 model links the sentences ("which is", "so", "even though") and swaps "very famous" for "best known for". |
"Do you live in a house or a flat?"
| Band 6 version (TalkDrill) | What the Band 7 model above does differently |
|---|---|
| I am living in a flat. It is on third floor. We are living there since six years. It is small flat, two bedrooms, but there is a balcony also. From balcony we can see the backwaters. I like it. | "Living since six years" and the missing articles are the exact errors the Band 7 line "error-free sentences are frequent" rules out when they repeat. "Also" at the end of a clause is Indian English word order. The Band 7 model uses present perfect ("we have been there for about six years") and a conditional ("if I had the choice"). |
"Do you work or are you a student?"
| Band 6 version (TalkDrill) | What the Band 7 model above does differently |
|---|---|
| I am doing job. I am a nurse in one private hospital in Thrissur. I am working there from three years. My duty is in shifts, sometimes day, sometimes night. I selected nursing because my aunt is also nurse in Ireland and I want to go abroad. | "Doing job", "from three years", "selected nursing" and the dropped article before "nurse" are all understood, which keeps the 6, but none of them is the "awareness of style and collocation" the Band 7 descriptor asks for. The model uses the collocations of the field: "staff nurse", "medical ward", "shift work", "three nights in a row". |
"What apps do you use most on your phone?"
| Band 6 version (TalkDrill) | What the Band 7 model above does differently |
|---|---|
| I am using WhatsApp, Instagram, YouTube, Google Pay, Google Maps, Swiggy and one app for English also. WhatsApp I use for family and friends. Instagram I use for entertainment purpose. All these apps are very useful in daily life. | A list is "able to keep going" (Band 6) but gives the examiner nothing to score beyond nouns. "Entertainment purpose" is a fixed Indian English phrase the descriptor would call an inappropriacy. The Band 7 model ranks three apps, gives a reason for each and ends with the one it would delete, which is topic development, not a list. |
"Do you enjoy cooking?"
| Band 6 version (TalkDrill) | What the Band 7 model above does differently |
|---|---|
| Yes, I like cooking very much because cooking is my hobby. On Sunday I am cooking biryani for my family. On other days I do not get time because of my duty. My mother is doing most of the cooking in our house. | The first sentence repeats the question and adds a reason that is not a reason. The Band 7 model opens with a contrast in nine words ("I enjoy it at the weekend and resent it on a weekday") and then describes the process ("soaking the rice, frying the onions until they are properly brown"), which shows range in both grammar and vocabulary. |
If you read the five Band 6 versions aloud and they sound like you, the fix is not more vocabulary. It is three things: present perfect for duration ("I have lived here for six years"), articles, and one linking word per answer ("which", "so", "although"). Our band descriptors page takes one Part 1 answer through Bands 5, 6, 7 and 8 in full, criterion by criterion.
The first-language habits that show up in Part 1
Part 1 is where the examiner forms a first impression of your pronunciation and your grammar, because the content is easy and the language is exposed. The habits below are the ones we hear most often from our own learners by first language; the band consequences are our reading of the descriptor lines, not an official table.
| First language | Part 1 habit | Descriptor line it touches | Fix in one sentence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Punjabi, Hindi | "Since six years", "I am having two brothers", "isn't it?" tags, rising pitch on statements | Grammar: "a few basic errors persist" is allowed at 7, a pattern is not. Pronunciation Band 6: "some effective use of intonation and stress, but this is not sustained". | Say "for" with a duration, "have" for possession, and let your voice fall at the end of a statement. |
| Gujarati | v and w merged ("wery", "vell"), aspirated p, t, k lost | Pronunciation Band 6: "individual words or phonemes may be mispronounced but this causes only occasional lack of clarity". | Top teeth on bottom lip for v; rounded lips, no contact, for w. Drill with "very well, we will". |
| Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu | Syllable-timed rhythm, every syllable equal; "only" and "itself" for emphasis; s and sh swapped | Pronunciation Band 6: "rhythm may be affected by a lack of stress-timing". Lexical Resource: "only" as emphasis is an inappropriacy. | Stress one syllable per content word and squash the rest; drop "only" unless it means "no more than". |
| Vietnamese | Final consonants dropped ("fla" for flat, "wor" for work), tense endings lost with them | Pronunciation: dropped finals cause the "lack of clarity" line; grammar: the examiner cannot hear "-ed". | Over-pronounce the last consonant of every noun and verb for a week; it will settle. |
| Arabic | p said as b, missing "is" and "are", long pauses mid-sentence | Fluency Band 6: "coherence may be lost at times as a result of hesitation". | Keep the copula ("my city is big"), and practise the p sound with a tissue in front of the lips. |
| Tagalog | "Ma'am" and "sir" to the examiner, present tense for past events, very short answers out of politeness | Fluency: short answers give no evidence of "long turns". Grammar: tense mismatch. | No titles; the examiner is not your superior. Add one reason and one detail every time. |
The full diagnosis and drills by language are on our first-language pages: Punjabi and Hindi speakers, Malayalam, Telugu and Tamil speakers, and Vietnamese, Arabic and Tagalog speakers.
A practice route for Part 1
Part 1 is the cheapest part of the test to improve, because the questions are predictable and the answers are short. A week of ten minutes a day is enough to change how you sound. This is the route we give our own learners.
- Day 1: the identity set. Write three facts each about your hometown, your home and your work or study. Not sentences, facts. Then answer questions 1 to 3 aloud five times each with a different first sentence every time. Record the last attempt.
- Day 2: the shape. Take questions 4 to 8. For each, say the direct answer, the reason, the detail, and stop. Time yourself: 20 to 40 seconds. If you are under 15, you skipped the detail; if you are over 45, you started a Part 2 answer.
- Day 3: the follow-ups. Answer only the follow-up questions in the set, cold, without reading the model. The follow-up is where Part 1 is really marked, because it is the question you did not prepare.
- Day 4: grammar pass. Listen to your Day 1 recording and tick every "since" with a duration, every missing article and every "I am having". Re-record questions 1 to 3 with those three fixed. Our vocabulary and idioms page gives the discourse markers for the linking.
- Day 5: a full Part 1 with the AI examiner. Run the full IELTS Speaking mock on TalkDrill; it asks Part 1 in the real frame, follow-ups included, and times your answers. The IELTS Speaking practice hub lists the individual topic drills if you want one family at a time.
- Day 6: pronunciation. Read the Band 7 models for questions 5 and 10 aloud three times each, exaggerating stress and the fall at the end of statements. The read-aloud tool scores the recording.
- Day 7: move on. Part 1 is done when your answers are two to four sentences, start differently each time and contain one linking word. Spend the next week on the cue cards, which is where time is actually won or lost.
Booking and cost, for completeness: in India the test is booked through IDP, the fee is INR 19,000 per the IDP IELTS India fee page (read 20 October 2026), and if Speaking alone falls short of your target, a One Skill Retake costs INR 12,650 and must be sat within 60 days of the original computer-delivered test, per ielts.org. The details are on our fees, dates and booking page and the results and One Skill Retake page. Everything else about the test sits on the IELTS Speaking hub.