IELTS Speaking · Part 2 Cue Card
Describe a park or garden you like
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 park or garden you like to visit.
You should say:
- •Where it is
- •How often you go there
- •What you do there
- •And explain why you like it
How to use your 1 minute of prep time
Specific to this cue card — not generic advice.
- 1Pick a specific park, not 'parks in general'.
- 2Describe how it feels at different times of day or seasons.
- 3Mention one specific feature: a particular tree, statue, pond.
- 4Connect it to a routine or feeling — that's how 'like it' becomes vivid.
Sample answer (band 7.5)
Read it once for shape, then aloud for rhythm. Don't memorise it — examiners can tell.
The park I love most is a small one called Lumphini Park in central Bangkok. It's surrounded by the city's high-rises, which makes it feel like an island of green. I lived nearby for two years and used to go five mornings a week, usually around six o'clock. At that time the air is still cool, the elderly Thai-Chinese community is doing tai chi in groups under the trees, and there are huge water monitor lizards walking around the lake completely indifferent to people. I'd usually run two laps — about five kilometres — and then sit by the lake to drink an iced coffee from one of the carts. What I did there was simple but mattered. It was the only part of the day when my phone was off and I wasn't trying to be productive. The reason I like it isn't the park itself, exactly. It's that it forces a pause. Bangkok is loud and hurried; the park imposes a different speed on you the moment you enter. The trees soften the traffic noise within twenty metres. The light is softer because of the canopy. I have visited the bigger, more famous parks of the world, but I think about Lumphini more than any of them.
Topic vocabulary & collocations
Phrases used in the sample answer that lift fluency naturally.
island of green
isolated patch of nature in a city
tai chi
a slow Chinese martial-art exercise
completely indifferent
totally unbothered
force a pause
create a stop in routine
imposes a different speed
makes you move at another pace
loud and hurried
noisy and rushed
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.
- Why are urban parks important?
- Should cities create more public green spaces?
- Are parks being used differently than in the past?
- Is it the government's responsibility to maintain parks?
- Should parks be free to enter forever?
Common pitfalls on this card
- ⚠Describing 'parks' generally without picking one.
- ⚠Listing what's in the park instead of how you use it.
- ⚠Saying it's nice without explaining why for you specifically.