Describe a time you received good news
The full IELTS Speaking Part 2 cue card, a band-8 model answer you can learn from, the Part 3 questions that follow, and examiner strategy. Free, no sign-up.
Describe a time when you received some good news.
You should say:
- what the news was
- how you received it
- who told you
- and explain how you felt about it
You will have one minute to prepare and should then speak for one to two minutes.
Band-8 model answer
The good news I'd like to talk about was when I found out I'd been accepted onto a scholarship programme I'd applied for. This was about eighteen months ago, and I'd honestly stopped expecting to hear anything by the time the email actually arrived. I remember it was a fairly ordinary Wednesday afternoon; I was on the train home from work, half-scrolling through my phone, when a notification popped up. The subject line was something formal like 'application update', so I braced myself for a rejection, which meant that when I opened it and saw the word 'congratulations' near the top, I read the whole message about three times just to make sure I hadn't misunderstood. Technically no one told me — the email did — but the first person I called was my mother, and she screamed loudly enough that a stranger next to me on the train actually smiled. I felt a huge wave of relief more than anything, because I'd worked really hard on the application and had genuinely convinced myself it wasn't going to happen. There was also this odd sense of the ground shifting slightly, in a good way, because I knew the whole shape of the next year of my life had just changed. Even now, when I look back on it, I remember exactly where I was sitting on that train.
Why this answer scores band 8
- ✓Concrete anchor detail ('ordinary Wednesday', 'half-scrolling through my phone') makes the memory feel authentic
- ✓Layered emotion beyond 'happy' ('relief', 'the ground shifting slightly')
- ✓Includes a small observed detail (the stranger smiling) that shows narrative awareness
Part 3 follow-up questions
After the cue card, the examiner discusses the topic in more depth. Practise these aloud too — Part 3 is where the highest bands are won or lost.
Examiner strategy for this cue card
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Describe a time you received good news — FAQ
How do you answer the 'Describe a time you received good news' IELTS cue card?
Spend your one minute of preparation noting a few keywords for each prompt (what the news was; how you received it; who told you; and explain how you felt about it), then speak for the full two minutes. Cover each point briefly but give most of your time to the final 'explain why' prompt, where the marks are. A full band-8 model answer is shown on this page.
How long should the IELTS Speaking Part 2 answer be?
You should talk for up to two minutes without stopping. It is better to keep going and cover the topic in depth than to finish early — the examiner will stop you when the time is up.
What Part 3 questions follow 'Describe a time you received good news'?
Part 3 broadens the topic into a discussion. For this cue card, expect questions such as: Do people prefer to share good news face-to-face or through messages nowadays? How does good news affect people who are not directly involved? Is good news reported less than bad news in the media? Why?