IELTS Speaking Part 2 Cue Cards: May–August 2026 (Current Topics)
The IELTS Speaking Part 2 cue cards reported by candidates between May and August 2026, grouped by category. Includes example prompts, what examiners want, and links to full sample answers for each topic.
The IELTS Speaking Part 2 question bank rotates roughly every four months. Cambridge does not publish the active list, but cue cards reported by candidates worldwide between May and August 2026 cluster around a recognisable set of topics. Preparing the categories below covers most of what you are likely to be given on test day.
This guide groups the current rotation into the eight topic types Cambridge uses internally — person, place, object, event, experience, media, activity, abstract — with example prompts, common variations, and links to full sample answers with band 7.5+ vocabulary.
For the full library of 30 hand-prepared cue cards with sample answers, prep frameworks, and Part 3 follow-ups, see our IELTS Speaking Part 2 cue card library.
How to use this list
You do not need to memorise an answer for every topic. You need:
- 2–3 versatile personal stories that can flex to fit multiple cards (a teacher you admire, a trip you took, a project you completed)
- Topic vocabulary for each category (places use scenery/atmosphere; events use logistics/emotion; objects use texture/material/function)
- Comfort with the 1-minute prep, not panic about the prompt
If you can describe one journey in detail, you can use it for "a long journey," "a place you visited," "a memorable event," "a time you tried something new," and "a foreign country you want to visit again." One story, five cards.
Person cards (currently in rotation)
Person cards reward genuine specificity. Examiners can hear when you are inventing — but they reward inventions that are detailed and consistent over flat true stories.
Reported prompts (May–Aug 2026):
- Describe a person who has influenced you the most
- Describe a teacher who had a positive impact on you
- Describe a person you helped recently
- Describe an elderly person you admire
What examiners want: Why this person, what they did, how it changed you. Don't list traits — narrate one specific moment.
Practise with full answers:
Place cards
Place cards in the May–August rotation lean toward natural beauty, relaxation, and cultural significance — not just "a city you visited."
Reported prompts:
- Describe a place you visited that was beautiful
- Describe a park or garden you enjoy
- Describe a historical place you have been to
- Describe a place where you go to relax
What examiners want: Sensory detail (what you saw, heard, smelled), why it matters to you, when you go. Vague answers like "it was nice and peaceful" max out at Band 5.
Practise with full answers:
Object cards
Object cards used to be uncommon but have become more frequent in 2026, often tied to technology or everyday utility.
Reported prompts:
- Describe an important object you own
- Describe a piece of clothing you like wearing
- Describe a special gift you received
What examiners want: Material/appearance, why it matters, the story attached to it. Pure description of an item without a story is a Band 5 trap.
Practise with full answers:
Event cards
Event cards test your ability to narrate. Tense control and time markers matter more here than on any other card type.
Reported prompts:
- Describe a memorable event in your life
- Describe an important decision you made
- Describe a positive change in your life
What examiners want: Past narrative tenses used accurately (had been planning, was about to, ended up), clear chronology, why it mattered.
Practise with full answers:
Experience cards
Experience cards overlap with event cards but emphasise personal growth, learning, or challenge.
Reported prompts:
- Describe an achievement you are proud of
- Describe a challenge you overcame
- Describe a useful skill you learned
- Describe a long journey you went on
- Describe a happy memory from your childhood
- Describe a time you tried something new
What examiners want: Specific timeline, what was hard, what you learned. "I felt happy" is not enough — describe the moment that produced the feeling.
Practise with full answers:
- Achievement you are proud of →
- Challenge you overcame →
- Useful skill you learned →
- Long journey →
- Happy childhood memory →
- Time you tried something new →
Media cards
Media cards have become more digital in 2026 — websites, apps, and streaming content appear far more often than newspapers or magazines.
Reported prompts:
- Describe a website you use often
- Describe an app you use frequently
- Describe a TV programme you enjoy
- Describe a movie that made you think
- Describe a piece of music you love
- Describe a book that interested you
- Describe a photo you like
What examiners want: Topic-specific vocabulary (interface/algorithm/feed for apps; soundtrack/cinematography/plot for films), genuine engagement, opinion. Generic praise scores Band 5.
Practise with full answers:
- Website you use often →
- App you use often →
- TV programme you enjoy →
- Movie that made you think →
- Piece of music you love →
- Interesting book →
- Photo you like →
Activity cards
Reported prompts:
- Describe a hobby you enjoy
- Describe a restaurant you enjoy going to
What examiners want: Frequency, why you started, who you do it with. Activity cards test present-tense fluency and frequency adverbs (tend to, usually, every now and then).
Practise with full answers:
Abstract / future cards
Abstract cards are the hardest because there is no "true" answer to lean on. They test whether you can discuss a hypothetical at length using future and conditional forms.
Reported prompts:
- Describe a foreign country you would like to visit
- Describe a future goal
- Describe a language you would like to learn
What examiners want: Conditional forms (would, could, if I had the chance), specific reasoning, speculative vocabulary (envisage, imagine, hopefully, eventually).
Practise with full answers:
How to use the 1-minute prep across topics
Across every category in the May–August 2026 rotation, the same prep framework works:
- First 15 seconds: Pick your story. Don't pick the most impressive — pick the one with the most detail you can recall.
- Next 30 seconds: Write 4–6 keywords matching the four bullet points on the card. Not full sentences. Examples: summer 2019, monsoon, terrified, eventually, perspective.
- Final 15 seconds: Decide your opening line. The first 5 seconds of speaking is the highest-stakes moment — having a rehearsed opener stops you stalling.
For a card-by-card prep framework specific to each topic, every one of our 30 cue card pages includes a tailored prep guide.
What about Part 3 follow-ups?
The examiner moves from your personal story (Part 2) to broader, abstract questions (Part 3) on the same theme. If your Part 2 was about a teacher, expect Part 3 questions about education systems, technology in classrooms, lifelong learning. Each cue card on our site includes 5 likely Part 3 questions for that theme.
A note on "leaked" cue card lists
You will see lists online claiming to be "the official IELTS cue cards for May 2026." None of these are authoritative — Cambridge does not release the active question bank, and any list that promises to be definitive is a marketing claim, not a fact. Reported cards from real candidates are useful for categories and themes, not for predicting your exact prompt. Prepare the categories above and you will be ready for any specific card you receive.
Next steps
- Browse the full cue card library — 30 topics with sample answers and Part 3 follow-ups
- Get a random cue card to simulate test conditions
- Time your 2-minute response with our Speaking timer
- Read the IELTS Speaking band descriptors to know what examiners score
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