IELTS Speaking · Part 2 Cue Card
Describe a goal you would like to achieve in the future
A complete preparation guide: the cue card itself, a 60-second prep framework, a band 7.5 sample answer, topic vocabulary, and likely Part 3 follow-up questions.
Cue card
Describe a goal you would like to achieve in the future.
You should say:
- •What the goal is
- •When you want to achieve it
- •How you plan to achieve it
- •And explain why this goal is important to you
How to use your 1 minute of prep time
Specific to this cue card — not generic advice.
- 1Pick a specific, time-boxed goal — not 'be successful'.
- 2Use future forms throughout: will, plan to, hoping to, aim to.
- 3Show concrete steps; vague intentions sound weak.
- 4Explain why it matters to you in particular, not why it matters generally.
Sample answer (band 7.5)
Read it once for shape, then aloud for rhythm. Don't memorise it — examiners can tell.
The goal I'd most like to achieve in the next three years is becoming conversational in Mandarin. I'm currently at a low intermediate level — I can survive in a restaurant or a taxi, but I can't really hold a proper conversation about anything that matters. The goal is to reach a level where I could comfortably watch a Chinese news programme and discuss what was in it with a native speaker, even imperfectly. I plan to achieve it through a fairly structured approach. I already take one weekly lesson with a tutor on iTalki, and I'm going to add a second one. I'll keep doing fifteen minutes of vocabulary review every morning on Anki — something I've done for the last year and shouldn't break. The bigger step is that I'm planning to spend a month in Taipei next autumn, going to a language school full-time. Without that immersion I don't think I'll get over the intermediate plateau. The reason this matters to me is partly practical — my work is increasingly involving Chinese-speaking clients — but mostly personal. My grandmother spoke Hokkien, which I never properly learned, and there's a quiet regret there. Mandarin won't undo that, but it gets me closer to something I let slip.
Topic vocabulary & collocations
Phrases used in the sample answer that lift fluency naturally.
low intermediate level
early stage of intermediate
structured approach
an organised method
intermediate plateau
a stuck stage in language learning
let slip
lose the chance for, by inattention
comfortably watch
enjoy without struggle
quiet regret
a calm, persistent sense of loss
Likely Part 3 follow-up questions
The examiner will move from your story (Part 2) to broader, abstract questions (Part 3). Prepare answers for these.
- Should young people set long-term goals?
- Why do most people fail to achieve their goals?
- Are some kinds of goals more important than others?
- How does culture affect what people aim for in life?
- Is it better to be ambitious or content?
Common pitfalls on this card
- ⚠Picking 'be happy' or 'be rich' — too abstract.
- ⚠Describing the goal in past tense by accident.
- ⚠Listing dreams without a real plan.