Bithika Das
Education SpecialistHere's a number that should grab your attention. India sent over 4 million IELTS test-takers to examination centres in 2025, making it the world's largest source country (IDP Education Annual Report, 2025). Yet the average Indian speaking band hovers around 6.0 to 6.5, according to the British Council's published score data (British Council IELTS Score Analysis, 2025). That gap between "decent" and "good enough for PR or university admission" is smaller than you think, but it requires a shift in how you prepare.
This guide breaks down every section of the 11-14 minute IELTS speaking test with strategies pulled from actual band 7+ scorers. You won't find textbook-perfect responses here. Instead, you'll get realistic sample answers, the specific mistakes Indian test-takers keep making, and a clear path from Band 6 to Band 7 and beyond.
Key Takeaways
The speaking test is a structured 11-14 minute face-to-face interview with one examiner, scored across four criteria each worth 25% (IELTS.org Band Descriptors, 2025). It's the shortest section of the exam, but it carries equal weight to reading, writing, and listening. Every response is recorded for quality assurance.
The test unfolds in three distinct parts. Part 1 covers familiar topics about your life and lasts 4-5 minutes. Part 2 gives you a cue card with a 2-minute monologue task. Part 3 follows up with abstract discussion questions for 4-5 minutes. The difficulty climbs as you progress.
Here's what surprises most first-timers: the examiner isn't trying to trip you up. They're trained to create a comfortable conversation. Their job is to give you enough room to demonstrate your English, not to test your knowledge on any particular subject.
Citation Capsule: The IELTS speaking test evaluates candidates across four equally-weighted criteria (fluency and coherence, lexical resource, grammatical range and accuracy, pronunciation), each contributing 25% of the speaking band score according to published IELTS band descriptors (IELTS.org, 2025).
Each of the four criteria is scored individually on a 0-9 scale, and your final speaking band is the average. According to published IELTS scoring data, roughly 1 in 5 Indian test-takers achieves Band 7 or above in speaking (British Council India, 2025). Understanding what examiners look for at each band level changes how you prepare.
This isn't about speaking fast. Band 7 requires you to "speak at length without noticeable effort" and use "a range of connectives and discourse markers" naturally. Occasional hesitation is fine. What hurts you is stopping mid-sentence to search for a word, then restarting with the same sentence structure.
Band 6 sounds like: "I think... um... education is important because... um... it gives us knowledge."
Band 7 sounds like: "Well, I'd say education shapes how we think about problems. In my case, studying engineering taught me to break things down logically, which honestly helps even outside of work."
The difference? Band 7 has a direction. The speaker knows where the sentence is going before they start it.
Examiners want to see you using "less common vocabulary" naturally. That doesn't mean throwing in SAT words. It means replacing generic words with specific ones. Instead of "good," try "rewarding" or "worthwhile." Instead of "bad situation," say "frustrating experience."
One crucial note for Indian test-takers: using "prepone," "do the needful," or "passed out from college" will mark your vocabulary as limited to regional idioms. These are perfectly fine in Indian English conversations but don't demonstrate range to IELTS examiners.
Band 7 requires "a mix of simple and complex sentence forms." You need both. Candidates who attempt only complex structures make more errors. Candidates who use only simple structures cap themselves at Band 6.
Based on IELTS preparation community analysis, the most common grammar trap for Indian speakers is overusing the present continuous tense ("I am thinking," "I am believing") where simple present works better. This stems from direct Hindi-to-English translation patterns.
This criterion trips up more Indian candidates than any other. It's not about having a British or American accent. IELTS examiners assess whether you use connected speech, word stress, and intonation to convey meaning. Speaking each word with equal stress, a common pattern in Indian English, makes it harder for examiners to follow your ideas.
Citation Capsule: Approximately 1 in 5 Indian IELTS candidates achieves Band 7 or higher in the speaking module, with pronunciation and lexical resource being the most common scoring gaps between Band 6 and Band 7 (British Council India, 2025).
Part 1 lasts 4-5 minutes and covers familiar topics: your work, studies, hometown, hobbies, and daily routines. Research from IELTS preparation forums shows that over 80% of Part 1 questions fall within 15 recurring topic categories (IELTS Advantage, 2025). This is the warm-up, but it still counts toward your score.
The question bank rotates every four months (January-April, May-August, September-December). Based on test-taker reports from 2025 and early 2026, these topics appear frequently:
Don't give one-word answers. Don't give 30-second speeches either. Aim for 2-3 sentences per response. Answer the question directly, then add one supporting detail or example.
Question: "Do you like cooking?"
Band 5-6 answer: "Yes, I like cooking. I cook every day. I cook Indian food mostly."
Band 7+ answer: "Honestly, I've only started enjoying it recently. During lockdown I picked up a few South Indian recipes from YouTube, and now I actually look forward to making dosas on weekends. It's quite therapeutic, you know?"
Notice the Band 7+ answer doesn't use any fancy vocabulary. It works because of natural phrasing ("picked up," "look forward to"), a personal detail (South Indian recipes, YouTube, lockdown), and a natural ending that invites conversation ("you know?"). That conversational quality is what examiners reward.
Three things kill your Part 1 score:
Memorized introductions. If your first answer sounds rehearsed, the examiner notices immediately. They hear hundreds of candidates. "My name is X, I hail from Y, and I am currently pursuing Z" is a red flag.
Over-formal language. "I would like to express that cooking gives me immense pleasure" sounds robotic. Just say "I really enjoy cooking."
Yes/No dead ends. "Do you prefer morning or evening?" If you say "Morning," the examiner has to work harder to pull language out of you. Expand naturally.
Part 2 is where most Indian candidates either shine or collapse. You get a cue card with a topic, 1 minute to prepare, and then 2 minutes to speak without interruption. A Cambridge Assessment study found that Part 2 performance correlates most strongly with overall speaking band scores (Cambridge Assessment English, 2024). This is the make-or-break section.
Every cue card follows the same structure:
Describe a time when you helped someone. You should say:
- who you helped
- what kind of help you gave
- why they needed help and explain how you felt about helping this person.
The bullet points aren't separate questions. They're a framework to organize your 2-minute talk. You don't need to cover every point, but hitting most of them shows coherence.
You get a pencil and paper. Don't write full sentences. Write trigger words that remind you of:
For the cue card above, your notes might look like:
- cousin Rahul, board exams, March 2024
- stayed up late, WhatsApp video calls, maths
- scored 85%, relief, felt useful
- "what happened was" / "looking back" / "the thing is"
Topic: Describe a time when you helped someone.
"So, the person I want to talk about is my younger cousin Rahul. This was around March last year, right before his board exams. He was really struggling with maths, specifically trigonometry and coordinate geometry, and his parents were getting quite worried.
What happened was, he called me one evening almost in tears saying he couldn't understand anything in class. So I started doing video calls with him on WhatsApp, around 45 minutes every night after my work. I'm not a teacher by any means, but I remembered struggling with the same chapters in school, so I tried explaining things the way I wished someone had explained them to me.
We did this for about three weeks. Some nights he'd get frustrated and I'd have to... you know, remind him that everyone finds this stuff difficult at first. The best part was when results came out, he scored 85 in maths, which was actually his highest mark. He sent me this really sweet message thanking me.
Looking back, I think I got as much out of it as he did. It reminded me that sometimes just being patient with someone makes a bigger difference than being an expert."
Why does this work? Let's break it down.
Fluency markers: Self-corrections ("I tried explaining things the way I wished..."), natural fillers ("you know"), discourse markers ("So," "What happened was," "Looking back"). These signal natural speech, not memorization.
Vocabulary range: "struggling with," "in tears," "by any means," "reminded me" are all natural collocations that show lexical flexibility without being showy.
Grammar variety: Mix of simple past, past continuous, conditional ("the way I wished"), and passive constructions. No single structure dominates.
Coherence: The answer follows a clear timeline and ends with reflection, which is exactly what the last bullet point asks for.
Here's something most IELTS prep materials won't tell you: the self-correction in the middle ("I'd have to... you know, remind him") actually helps your score. Examiners view natural self-correction as a sign of genuine communication. It's the rehearsed, error-free monologues that raise suspicion and often receive lower fluency scores because they lack spontaneity markers.
Most candidates either run out of things to say at 90 seconds or get cut off mid-sentence at 2 minutes. Both are fine. The examiner will stop you at 2 minutes regardless. Don't panic if they cut you off; it means you had enough to say, which is a positive signal.
If you run dry before 2 minutes, use these extensions:
Citation Capsule: Part 2 cue card performance shows the strongest correlation with overall IELTS speaking band scores among all three sections, making the 2-minute monologue the highest-impact component of speaking test preparation (Cambridge Assessment English, 2024).
Part 3 is the section that separates Band 6 from Band 7+. It runs 4-5 minutes and features abstract, opinion-based questions connected to your Part 2 topic. According to IELTS examiner Christopher Pell, roughly 60% of final speaking scores are "decided" in Part 3, because it's where candidates reveal their true grammatical range and ability to discuss complex ideas (IELTS Advantage, 2025).
Part 1 asks about you. Part 2 asks you to describe. Part 3 asks you to analyze. The questions shift from personal to societal.
If your Part 2 was about helping someone, Part 3 questions might include:
These aren't questions you can memorize answers for. The examiner might push back on your opinion or ask follow-ups. That's deliberate. They want to see how you handle unscripted discussion.
Point - State your position clearly. Explanation - Explain why you think that. Example - Give a specific example. Link - Connect back to the broader question.
Question: "Do you think social media has made people less willing to help others in person?"
Band 7+ answer:
"That's an interesting question. I think social media has created this illusion of helping, where people share a post about a cause and feel they've contributed. But actual hands-on helping, like volunteering or even just helping a neighbor, that seems to have declined.
For example, during the floods in Chennai a few years back, there was massive social media activity, sharing rescue numbers and donation links, which was genuinely useful. But I also noticed that the people physically out there in boats rescuing families were mostly local fishermen, not the people posting about it.
So I'd say social media hasn't made people less willing exactly, but it's given them a way to feel like they've helped without actually doing much. If that makes sense."
Notice the structure: clear position, reasoning, specific example (Chennai floods), then a nuanced conclusion that circles back. The ending phrase "if that makes sense" is natural and conversational, not a memorized signpost.
Replace basic words with more precise alternatives. You don't need to use all of these, but having 3-4 per answer elevates your lexical score:
| Basic | Band 7+ Alternative |
|---|---|
| important | crucial, significant, essential |
| problem | challenge, drawback, obstacle |
| good effect | positive impact, beneficial outcome |
| many people | a significant proportion, the majority |
| I think | I'd argue, from my perspective, in my view |
| very | considerably, remarkably, substantially |
But here's the catch: don't swap every word. If you say "I find it substantially remarkable that a significant proportion of individuals..." you sound like a thesaurus, not a person. Mix advanced vocabulary with plain language. That's what natural Band 7+ speech sounds like.
Citation Capsule: IELTS examiner Christopher Pell estimates that approximately 60% of final speaking band scores are effectively determined during Part 3 discussions, as this section demands the highest level of grammatical range and abstract reasoning (IELTS Advantage, 2025).
India's average IELTS speaking score remains around 6.2, despite high overall English proficiency levels among test-takers (IELTS Partners Test Taker Performance, 2025). The reasons are specific and fixable. Here are the patterns that hold Indian candidates back.
This is the single biggest issue. IELTS forums on Reddit (r/IELTS and r/IELTSprep) are filled with Indian test-takers reporting that examiners asked unexpected follow-up questions or changed topic directions when they suspected rehearsed answers. One widely shared post described an examiner interrupting a Part 2 response to ask "Is this something that actually happened to you?" after detecting a memorized narrative.
Examiners are trained to spot memorized content. Signs include:
Test-takers who've scored Band 7+ consistently report on forums like r/IELTS that they prepared "topic frameworks" rather than memorized answers. The difference is crucial. A framework gives you 3-4 bullet points to talk about. A memorized answer gives you exact sentences. Examiners can hear the difference within seconds.
Indian English education emphasizes formality. This creates a speaking style that sounds unnatural in conversation. Compare:
IELTS is a conversational test. The examiner wants to hear how you'd discuss topics with an educated friend, not how you'd write an essay. Using contractions ("I've," "it's," "don't") is not just acceptable; it actually signals natural spoken English.
Three pronunciation habits common in Indian English reduce IELTS scores:
Equal word stress. In natural English, content words receive stress while function words are reduced. "I went to the STORE to BUY some BREAD" stresses nouns and verbs. Many Indian speakers give equal weight to every word, which sounds flat to examiners.
V/W confusion. "Wery" instead of "very," "vell" instead of "well." This is one of the most frequently noted pronunciation issues in Indian IELTS test reports.
Th-sound substitution. Replacing "th" with "d" or "t" ("dis" for "this," "ting" for "thing"). While this doesn't automatically lower your score, clustering multiple substitutions in one sentence does affect the pronunciation criterion.
Many Indian candidates finish their Part 2 monologue in 60-90 seconds. This doesn't automatically mean a low score, but it limits how much language you produce. Less language means fewer opportunities to demonstrate range. Aim for at least 1 minute 40 seconds.
Citation Capsule: India's average IELTS speaking band score remains approximately 6.2, with memorized responses, overly formal register, and pronunciation patterns involving equal word stress being the most commonly cited scoring barriers for Indian candidates (IELTS Partners Statistics, 2025).
Knowing the test format isn't enough. You need to build specific speaking habits over 4-8 weeks. A study by Cambridge Assessment found that candidates who practiced speaking for 20+ minutes daily improved their scores by an average of 0.5 bands over 6 weeks, compared to those who only studied passively (Cambridge Assessment English, 2023).
Weeks 1-2: Build the Foundation
Record yourself answering 3 Part 1 questions daily. Listen back and identify filler words, long pauses, and grammatical errors. Don't try to fix everything at once. Pick one issue per week.
Start a "vocabulary upgrade" notebook. Each day, write down 3 basic words you overuse and find 2 alternatives for each. Use them in practice the next day.
Weeks 3-4: Master Part 2
Practice the full Part 2 cycle: read a cue card, prepare for 1 minute, speak for 2 minutes. Time yourself strictly. Use your phone's timer and voice recorder.
Do this with 3 different cue cards per day. After each one, listen to the recording and ask:
Weeks 5-6: Conquer Part 3
This requires a practice partner, whether human or AI. You need someone to ask follow-up questions you don't expect. Reading Part 3 questions and answering them aloud is helpful, but having unpredictable follow-ups forces genuine communication.
Practice the PEEL framework (Point, Explanation, Example, Link) with abstract topics: technology's impact on education, urbanization, environmental responsibility, generational differences.
Weeks 7-8: Full Mock Tests
Do at least 4 complete mock tests under real conditions. Time each section. If possible, record them and share with a teacher or experienced test-taker for feedback.
After every practice session, score yourself on these five questions (1-5 each):
If you're consistently scoring 3+ on each, you're operating at Band 7 territory.
The most underrated practice technique isn't speaking at all. It's listening. Spend 15 minutes daily listening to natural English conversation, podcasts, interviews, and TV shows, and shadow the speaker's rhythm. Don't repeat their words. Match their speed, pauses, and stress patterns. This trains your ear to recognize natural English flow, which your mouth then replicates unconsciously. Band 7+ scorers on r/IELTS frequently mention shadowing as the technique that made the biggest difference.
The IELTS question bank rotates on a four-month cycle. Based on extensive test-taker reports from January-April 2026 on Reddit (r/IELTS), Telegram groups, and IELTS preparation forums, here are the most frequently reported topics across all three parts.
Based on reports compiled by IELTS preparation communities:
Part 3 questions cluster around these societal themes:
Don't try to prepare answers for every topic. Instead, develop opinions on these broad themes and practice applying them to specific questions. Having a perspective on "technology and relationships" lets you answer dozens of different Part 3 questions.
Yes, and it won't cost you marks. Saying "Could you repeat that, please?" or "Sorry, do you mean..." is a natural part of conversation. What does hurt your score is pretending to understand a question and giving an irrelevant answer. Examiners would rather repeat a question than listen to an off-topic response. According to IELTS examiner guidelines, requests for repetition are considered normal communicative behaviour (IELTS.org Examiner Training, 2025).
No. IELTS explicitly states that all accents are accepted (IELTS.org Pronunciation Criteria, 2025). What matters is intelligibility, meaning whether the examiner can understand you without effort. You don't need a British or American accent. You need clear pronunciation, appropriate word stress, and varied intonation. An Indian accent with good stress patterns scores higher than an imitated British accent with poor intonation.
They're identical. The speaking test is exactly the same for both Academic and General Training modules. The same examiner, same question bank, same scoring criteria. Your preparation for speaking doesn't change regardless of which module you're taking. The only differences between Academic and General Training are in the Reading and Writing sections.
It's better than making something up, but don't stop there. Say "I haven't really thought about that before, but if I had to guess..." and then offer a tentative response. This shows the examiner you can handle uncertainty, which is a real-world communication skill. The worst thing you can do is go silent for 10 seconds. Even a partially formed thought demonstrates more language ability than silence.
Six to eight weeks is the sweet spot for most candidates. Research from IELTS preparation programs suggests that daily 20-minute speaking practice over 6 weeks produces better results than intensive 2-hour sessions over 2 weeks (Cambridge Assessment English, 2023). Consistency matters more than volume. If you're already a confident English speaker, 4 weeks of focused practice may be sufficient. If you're starting from Band 5.5 or below, give yourself the full 8 weeks.
You've just absorbed the entire IELTS speaking test structure, scoring system, and strategy for each part. But reading about speaking and actually speaking are fundamentally different activities. The gap between understanding band descriptors and producing Band 7+ speech in real time is a gap that only practice can close.
The candidates who score Band 7+ aren't smarter or more talented. They've simply logged more hours of actual spoken practice with feedback. Whether that's with a study partner, a tutor, or an AI system that can time your responses and evaluate your fluency, the key is moving from passive study to active production.
Start today. Pick one Part 2 cue card from the list above. Give yourself 1 minute to prepare. Then speak for 2 minutes. Record it. Listen back. That single exercise, repeated daily, will do more for your score than reading ten more guides.
Practice IELTS Part 2 topics with TalkDrill's AI. It times your 2-minute response and scores your fluency.
The TalkDrill Team writes about practical English speaking skills for Indian learners preparing for careers, conversations, and exams.
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