IELTS Speaking · Part 2 Cue Card
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 book you have read recently and found interesting.
You should say:
Specific to this cue card — not generic advice.
Read it once for shape, then aloud for rhythm. Don't memorise it — examiners can tell.
The most interesting book I've read recently is 'Atomic Habits' by James Clear. It's a non-fiction book about how small, repeated behaviours shape who we become — basically arguing that your identity follows your habits, not the other way round. I picked it up a few months ago because a colleague mentioned that it had helped him quit smoking, and I was at that point in life where I was trying to set up better routines after a long stretch of working from home. What I genuinely learned from it was the idea of 'habit stacking' — attaching a new habit to an existing one, like always doing two minutes of stretching right after brushing my teeth. I'd tried and failed to build new habits before, but framing it that way made the friction much lower. I found it interesting because it doesn't rely on motivation, which is the usual self-help trap. Clear treats behaviour change as an engineering problem rather than a willpower problem. That shift in framing was useful far beyond the specific examples in the book — I now think about a lot of things in my life that way, like how I spend money or how I handle email.
Phrases used in the sample answer that lift fluency naturally.
the other way round
in the opposite order
long stretch
an extended period
self-help trap
common pitfall of personal-development books
willpower problem
an issue requiring mental effort
shift in framing
a change in how you view something
lower the friction
make something easier to start
The examiner will move from your story (Part 2) to broader, abstract questions (Part 3). Prepare answers for these.