How long should my answer to this Part 2 cue card be?

Speak for 1 to 2 minutes. The examiner will stop you at 2 minutes, so aim for roughly 220-300 words that cover every bullet on the card and end with how you feel about it.

What Part 3 questions follow this cue card?

After "A Story Someone Told You That You Remember Well", examiners have asked 9 follow-up discussion questions, listed above. They move from your personal story to general opinions on the same theme.

Is this cue card still being used?

It was most recently reported by test-takers in May–Aug 2026. Cue cards rotate every four months, and many topics return in later seasons with slightly different wording.

IELTS Speaking Part 2

A Story Someone Told You That You Remember Well

Most recently asked in May–Aug 2026

The cue card

Describe a story someone told you that you remember well

You should say:

who told you the story
when this person told you the story
what the story was about
and explain why you remember this story well

Sample answers: Band 6.5, 7.0 & 7.5

Three versions of the same answer, each written to sit genuinely at that band — compare them to see exactly what separates the scores.

Band 6.5

The 6.5 answer states its point plainly and directly ('He told the story quite simply, without much emotion') and organises the answer with a simple signalling sentence ('I remember it well for two reasons').

The story I remember well was told by my uncle, who runs a small restaurant in Hue. He told it to me last Tết, when the restaurant was closed for the holiday and we were sitting together after lunch.

The story was about how the restaurant started. My uncle said that after my grandfather passed away, he had almost no money, just a small cart and one recipe for bún bò Huế. He sold soup on the street for two years before he could afford a real shop. At first business was very slow, and some days he sold nothing at all. He told me about the first week he made enough money to buy a proper table for customers, and how proud he felt.

He told the story quite simply, without much emotion, but I could tell it still meant a lot to him. I remember it well for two reasons. First, I eat at that restaurant all the time, but I never knew how hard those early years were. Second, my uncle is usually a cheerful, joking person, so hearing him talk seriously about a difficult time made me see him differently. Now, every time I visit, I think about that little cart he used to push.

209 words · about 2 minutes

Why this band

FC“He told the story quite simply, without much emotion, but I could tell it still meant a lot to him.” — The observation that the uncle "meant a lot to him" despite telling the story flatly is stated once, with a simple "but" contrast, and the speaker doesn't explain how they picked up on the hidden emotion — a pause, a tone, a look. That plain, undeveloped observation, noticed but not analysed, is characteristic Band 6.5 coherence: clear, but resting on assertion rather than evidence.
LR“meant a lot to him” — "Meant a lot to him" is a stock, everyday phrase for emotional significance, reached for instead of anything more specific like "clearly still weighed on him" or "held real significance for him". That default to the most common available phrase, rather than searching for a more precise alternative, is the hallmark of Band 6.5 vocabulary — functional and correct, but not reaching.
GRA“I remember it well for two reasons.” — "I remember it well for two reasons" is a short signalling sentence that previews structure rather than building it into the grammar itself — the two reasons that follow are simply listed as "First..." and "Second..." rather than joined into the sentence through subordination. That's a basic but genuinely useful organisational device, typical of Band 6.5: it keeps the answer easy to follow without requiring the writer to control a more complex sentence.

Band 7.0

The 7.0 answer uses a natural collocation ('stick with me') and develops its point with specific concrete detail (paying slightly more than needed), fitting comfortably between the plain 6.5 telling and the more literary 7.5 version.

The story I remember best was told by my grandmother, about two years ago, when I was staying with her in Hue for the Tết holiday and we were sitting on her porch after dinner.

She told me the story of how she met my grandfather, which I'd somehow never properly heard before, even though I'd heard bits of it mentioned over the years. According to her, they met at a local market in the early 1970s, when she was sent by her mother to sell vegetables and he kept coming back every single day, buying something small just so he'd have an excuse to talk to her. She said it took him almost three months before he actually asked her name.

What made the story stick with me wasn't really the romance of it, if I'm honest, but the details she remembered so clearly, like exactly what she was wearing the first time and the fact that he always paid slightly more than he needed to, which she only realised years later. She told it slowly, laughing quietly to herself at certain parts, and she didn't seem embarrassed at all telling her granddaughter about it, which surprised me a little.

I remember it so well mainly because I'd never really thought of my grandmother as someone who was young once, nervous about a boy at a market. Hearing the story properly, rather than just the short version everyone repeats at family gatherings, made me see her completely differently, as a real person with her own memories rather than just my grandmother. I still think about that market stall whenever I pass through Hue now.

275 words · about 2 minutes

Why this band

LR“stick with me” — A natural, idiomatic-leaning phrase used fluently rather than a plainer alternative like 'stay in my memory', reflecting Band 7.0's flexible vocabulary.
FC“like exactly what she was wearing the first time and the fact that he always paid slightly more than he needed to, which she only realised years later” — The detail chosen to support "the details she remembered so clearly" isn't just one fact but two joined together, and the second carries a small narrative twist of its own — she only understood the significance of the overpayment years later. That's a step beyond a flat example: Band 7.0 asks for reason-plus-example development, and this example has its own miniature arc rather than being a static detail, though it stops short of the speaker drawing an explicit lesson from it, which would push it toward 7.5.
GRA“Hearing the story properly, rather than just the short version everyone repeats at family gatherings, made me see her completely differently, as a real person with her own memories rather than just my grandmother.” — This sentence stacks three separate devices in one breath: a gerund-phrase subject ("Hearing the story properly"), an embedded contrastive phrase ("rather than just the short version..."), and a closing appositive ("as a real person... rather than just my grandmother"). Keeping all three accurate and coherent in a single sentence, without losing control of the syntax, is exactly the "generally accurate and fluent" comfortable complexity Band 7.0 grammar targets — a 6.5 answer would likely split this into two or three separate, simpler sentences instead.

Band 7.5

The 7.5 answer uses an abrupt two-word sentence for impact ('Four trips.') and closes by juxtaposing a mundane action against the intense story just told ('he went to check the fridge, as if nothing had happened'), a genuinely sophisticated structural choice.

The story I remember best was told by my father, three years ago, during a power cut at Tết. We were all in the kitchen in Hue with candles, nothing to do, and my sister asked, as a joke, whether he had any stories. He surprised us by having one.

It was about the flood of 1999, which was the worst Hue had seen in a century. I was seven and my sister was eight months old. The water rose overnight, faster than anyone expected, and by morning it was in the house, then at the table, then at the windows. My father said he'd stood on the stairs watching the level on the wall and understood that he might lose everything in the room.

What he did was wrap my sister in plastic — actual plastic, from a rice sack — and carry her above his head through chest-deep water down the street to the neighbours' house, which had an upper floor. Then he came back for me and my mother, and then again for my grandmother, who refused to leave without the family altar photographs. Four trips. He told it plainly, no drama, and at the end he said he'd never told it because there was nothing to say — everyone in Hue had the same story that year.

Why I remember it so well is partly that I was in it and had no memory of it. I'd been carried through that water and it had left nothing in me, and the story gave me the memory I should have had. But also because of who was telling it. My father is a quiet man who talks about motorbikes and the weather. That night, for twenty minutes, he was a man who'd carried his children through a flood, and I saw him differently afterwards and still do. The lights came back on and he went to check the fridge, as if nothing had happened.

327 words · about 2 minutes

Why this band

FC“Four trips.” — "Four trips." is a two-word fragment dropped after a long, escalating description of the father carrying his family through floodwater one by one — sister, then narrator and mother, then grandmother. Landing a sentence that short only works because the preceding paragraph has built the tension; a 6.5 or 7.0 answer would more likely play it safe with a complete sentence like "He made four trips in total", accurate but not letting the number hit with the same force. That confidence to let context alone carry meaning is a distinctly Band 7.5 fluency move.
LR“there was nothing to say” — "There was nothing to say" is understatement, not literal description — the father clearly could have said a great deal about surviving a historic flood, but the phrase downplays it, exactly how a stoic, undramatic man would describe an overwhelming experience. Band 7.5 Lexical Resource credits this kind of idiomatic restraint precisely because it's harder to produce than a literal phrase like "he didn't want to talk about his feelings" — it requires judging how much to leave unsaid, not just finding the right words to say.
GRA“The lights came back on and he went to check the fridge, as if nothing had happened.” — Grammatically this final sentence is simple — a coordinated "and" plus an "as if" clause — but the "as if" clause is doing real interpretive work, framing the father's return to checking the fridge as deliberately, almost comically ordinary against the story he's just told. Band 7.5 rewards this kind of controlled understatement as much as obviously complex syntax: the juxtaposition itself, mundane action versus extraordinary story, is the sophisticated move, not the sentence's clause count.

How this card was asked, by exam period

Describe a story someone told you that you remember wellMay–Aug 2026

Part 3 follow-up questions

These are the discussion questions examiners asked after this cue card. Sample answers are shown where available.

1. Do you agree or disagree that reading stories is better for a child's imagination than watching stories on TV or in films?
May–Aug 2026
Compare Band 6.5 / 7.0 / 7.5 for this question
Band 6.5
Closes with a short, plain two-part conclusion, without the more polished, aphoristic ending the higher bands reach for.
I mostly agree, and my niece's drawings convinced me. After a book, she drew a dragon with six legs, purple, wearing a hat, because the book left it to her imagination. After a film, every child in her class drew the same dragon, because it was already drawn for them. Reading makes a child build their own pictures, and that is good for imagination. Films give finished images, which can be great for other things, like music or action. A good film can make a child imagine more. So reading is usually better, but not always.
Why this band
FC“So reading is usually better, but not always.” — A short, plain conclusion that states the balanced view directly, matching 6.5's simple style. 7.0 softens this with 'though not always', and 7.5 sharpens it into a near-aphorism ('it just isn't a hard rule'), giving the ending more polish.
LR“Films give finished images” — This is plain, functional vocabulary for the idea. 7.5 extends it with the more precise phrase 'hands over finished images', and adds an evaluative list ('wonderful for spectacle, music or faces'), showing wider descriptive range.
GRA“After a book, she drew a dragon with six legs, purple, wearing a hat, because the book left it to her imagination.” — A single sentence with one 'because' clause, correct and clear. 7.5 links the equivalent idea to the next sentence using a semicolon, building one longer, more connected comparison across two clauses instead of two separate sentences.
Band 7.0
Links the book and film halves of the comparison with a semicolon instead of two separate sentences, giving a more fluent contrast.
Honestly, I mostly agree, and my niece's drawings are what convinced me. After a book, she drew a dragon with six legs, purple, wearing a hat, because the text left the details to her; after a film, every child in her class drew almost the same dragon, since it had already been drawn for them. Reading forces a child to build their own pictures, and I'd say that construction is the imaginative muscle. Film hands over finished images, wonderful for spectacle or music, but it does the imagining for the child. That said, a good film can spark a child's imagination in the playground. So reading wins on average, though not always.
Why this band
FC“Honestly, I mostly agree, and my niece's drawings are what convinced me.” — The hedge 'Honestly' plus the emphatic 'are what convinced me' give this opening a more reflective, personal tone than 6.5's flatter 'I mostly agree'. 7.5 achieves a similar effect with 'genuinely convinced me', a marginally more compact intensifier.
LR“that construction is the imaginative muscle” — This is a precise, slightly abstract metaphor for how reading builds imagination. 7.5 extends the same metaphor with 'at work', giving it a touch more vividness within an otherwise identical phrase.
GRA“after a film, every child in her class drew almost the same dragon, since it had already been drawn for them” — This clause uses 'since' to give a reason, correct and reasonably fluent. 7.5 keeps a nearly identical structure but links it to the previous clause with a semicolon rather than a full stop plus 'after', creating one continuous sentence out of two.
Band 7.5
Closes with a semicolon-linked, near-aphoristic final line that neither lower band attempts.
I'd mostly agree, and my niece's drawings are what convinced me. After a book, she drew a dragon with six legs, purple, wearing a hat, because the text left it to her imagination; after a film, every child in her class drew almost the identical dragon, because it had already been drawn for them. Reading forces the child to construct her own pictures, and that construction is the imaginative muscle at work. Film, by contrast, hands over finished images — wonderful for spectacle, music or faces, but it does the imagining on the child's behalf rather than inviting her into it. That said, a good film can still send a child off inventing stories in the playground, just as a dull book can bore her into silence. Reading wins on average; it just isn't a hard rule.
Why this band
FC“Reading wins on average; it just isn't a hard rule.” — This closing uses a semicolon to join two short, balanced statements into one compact, almost proverbial line, giving the ending real rhetorical shape. Neither 6.5 nor 7.0 compresses the conclusion this tightly; both use a longer or softer closing phrase instead.
LR“just as a dull book can bore her into silence” — This is a vivid, parallel image that balances the earlier point about good films, extending the argument with a genuinely evaluative, well-crafted phrase. It goes beyond the plain vocabulary of the lower bands into a more literary register.
GRA“Film, by contrast, hands over finished images — wonderful for spectacle, music or faces, but it does the imagining on the child's behalf rather than inviting her into it.” — This sentence uses a dash to insert an evaluative list, followed by a 'but... rather than' contrast, managing three layers of meaning in one unit. That density, built from flexible punctuation rather than added clauses, is a hallmark of 7.5 grammar.
2. Why do children enjoy listening to stories?
May–Aug 2026
Compare Band 6.5 / 7.0 / 7.5 for this question
Band 6.5
States the cause-and-effect idea with a simple 'so' link, in keeping with 6.5's plain reasoning style.
Partly because it makes them feel safe. My sister's son wants the same story every night, and he corrects her if she changes even one word. I think for small children, a story is like a small world they can control, so the pleasure comes from knowing what will happen. Stories also let children feel fear or courage safely, from someone's lap. They love the attention, because a story means an adult's attention. As they grow older, they start to enjoy surprises and characters, but it starts with the comfort of a familiar story and voice.
Why this band
FC“I think for small children, a story is like a small world they can control, so the pleasure comes from knowing what will happen.” — This states the idea with a simple 'so' cause-and-effect link, plain and clear. 7.0 reworks this into a dash-linked sentence with 'the pleasure lies in the predictability as much as the plot', and 7.5 adds the further evaluative word 'controllable', both giving the same idea more precision.
LR“They love the attention” — A plain, everyday phrase. 7.5 extends this with 'relish the attention', a more evocative and slightly formal verb for the same feeling.
GRA“My sister's son wants the same story every night, and he corrects her if she changes even one word.” — A simple 'and' sentence, correct but basic. 7.0 joins a similar idea to the next clause using a comma plus 'which tells me', turning two separate points into one continuous sentence, and 7.5 goes further with a dash-linked structure.
Band 7.0
Opens with the hedge 'Honestly' and links the anecdote to its interpretation with a dash, rather than two separate sentences.
Honestly, partly because it gives them a feeling of safety. My sister's son demands the exact same story every night and corrects her if she changes even a single word, which tells me that for small children a story is a small world they can control — the pleasure lies in the predictability as much as the plot itself. Stories also let children experience fear or courage at a safe distance, usually from a lap. They love the attention too, since a story means an adult's undivided time, plus the rhythm of a familiar voice. As they grow, I'd say the pleasure shifts toward surprise and characters they can become.
Why this band
FC“Honestly, partly because it gives them a feeling of safety.” — The hedge 'Honestly' gives this a more considered, spoken tone than 6.5's flatter opening. 7.5 achieves a similar effect by moving the hedge to the end ('if I'm honest'), a subtly more natural placement.
LR“the pleasure lies in the predictability as much as the plot itself” — This is a precise, balanced phrase contrasting two related ideas. 7.5 keeps nearly the same phrase, showing that at these two bands, well-chosen wording can recur while the surrounding sentence structure grows more demanding.
GRA“which tells me that for small children a story is a small world they can control — the pleasure lies in the predictability as much as the plot itself” — This uses a relative clause plus a dash to add a second, related observation within one sentence, fairly advanced. 7.5 achieves the same structure but adds the extra adjective 'controllable', showing marginally denser description within a very similar grammatical frame.
Band 7.5
Loops back to the opening idea in its final clause ('the comfort of a known ending'), giving the answer a sense of coming full circle.
Partly for the safety of knowing exactly what happens next, if I'm honest. My sister's son insists on the identical story every night and corrects her the moment she changes so much as a word, which suggests that for small children a story is a small, controllable world — the pleasure lies as much in the predictability as in the plot itself. Stories also let children brush up against fear, loss and courage from a safe distance, usually a lap. They relish the attention too, since a story means an adult's undivided time, along with the rhythm of a familiar voice. As they grow, the pleasure shifts toward surprise and toward characters they can imagine becoming — but it all starts with the comfort of a known ending.
Why this band
FC“but it all starts with the comfort of a known ending” — This closing clause returns to and slightly reframes the opening idea, giving the answer a sense of coming full circle. Neither 6.5 nor 7.0 loops back to the opening this way; both simply add a final new point instead.
LR“brush up against fear, loss and courage” — 'Brush up against' is a vivid, idiomatic way of describing safe, limited exposure to difficult emotions, well beyond the plain 'feel fear or courage' used at 6.5. It shows the kind of natural, image-based vocabulary expected at 7.5.
GRA“which suggests that for small children a story is a small, controllable world — the pleasure lies as much in the predictability as in the plot itself” — This sentence balances 'as much in... as in...' as a parallel structure inside a dash-linked clause, a more elegant variant of the same idea expressed at 7.0. This kind of refined parallelism within an already complex sentence marks the top of the grammatical range.
3. How can stories be used to teach social and moral behaviour?
May–Aug 2026
Compare Band 6.5 / 7.0 / 7.5 for this question
Band 6.5
States the twist about revenge as a plain, direct fact at the end, without a developed lead-in.
Stories let a lesson feel real instead of like a rule. I learned that kindness is rewarded from the story of Tấm and Cám long before anyone told me directly, and I remember it because I felt like I was Tấm. Stories show what happens to people — the greedy character loses, the honest one is saved — better than a lecture can. Folk tales and picture books all work this way. But there is a problem: as an adult, I noticed the same story had revenge in it that I never questioned.
Why this band
FC“But there is a problem: as an adult, I noticed the same story had revenge in it that I never questioned.” — This closing observation is stated as a plain, direct fact, suiting 6.5's style. Both higher bands reach the same point through a more developed lead-in ('The catch is what else the story carries'), giving the twist a more deliberate build-up.
LR“Stories show what happens to people” — This is a general, plain phrase. Both higher bands replace it with the more precise 'Stories show consequences', a tighter and more topic-appropriate noun choice for the identical idea.
GRA“I learned that kindness is rewarded from the story of Tấm and Cám long before anyone told me directly, and I remember it because I felt like I was Tấm.” — This sentence uses two clauses joined by 'and', correct and reasonably fluent. Both higher bands keep the same basic structure but replace 'I felt like I was Tấm' with a more idiomatic and economical way of expressing identification with the character.
Band 7.0
Builds toward the twist with a lead-in clause ('The catch is what else the story carries') instead of stating it as a bare fact.
Honestly, stories let a lesson arrive as a feeling rather than a rule. I learned that kindness is rewarded from the tale of Tấm and Cám long before anyone told me directly, and the lesson stuck because I'd essentially been Tấm for twenty minutes. Stories show consequences — the greedy character loses, the honest one is saved — in a way a lecture can't, and children absorb who they want to be by choosing whom to root for. Folk tales, parables and modern picture books all work this way. The catch is what else the story carries: I noticed as an adult that the same tale contained a revenge I'd never questioned.
Why this band
FC“Honestly, stories let a lesson arrive as a feeling rather than a rule.” — The hedge 'Honestly' gives this opening claim a more personal, considered tone than a bare statement would. 7.5 reaches a similarly confident tone without the hedge, instead adding the justifying clause 'which is precisely why it sticks' right after the claim.
LR“the lesson stuck because I'd essentially been Tấm for twenty minutes” — 'Essentially been Tấm' is a natural, idiomatic way of describing imaginative identification with a character. 7.5 varies this slightly to 'effectively been Tấm', showing that at the top two bands such phrases recur with only minor, deliberate variation.
GRA“The catch is what else the story carries: I noticed as an adult that the same tale contained a revenge I'd never questioned.” — This uses a colon to introduce an explanatory clause, a fluent and controlled structure. 7.5 extends a very similar sentence with an added phrase ('what else the story smuggles in alongside the lesson'), showing slightly more elaborate modification within the same basic frame.
Band 7.5
Justifies the opening claim immediately with 'which is precisely why it sticks', rather than simply stating it and moving on.
They let a lesson arrive as a feeling rather than as a rule, which is precisely why it sticks. I absorbed that kindness is rewarded from the tale of Tấm and Cám long before anyone spelled it out for me, and it stuck because I'd effectively been Tấm for twenty minutes. Stories show consequences — the greedy character loses, the honest one is saved — in a way no lecture ever could, and children quietly absorb who they want to become simply by choosing whom to root for. Folk tales, religious parables and modern picture books all work on this same principle. The catch is in what else the story smuggles in alongside the lesson: I only noticed as an adult that the same tale carried a revenge I'd never once questioned.
Why this band
FC“which is precisely why it sticks” — This added clause justifies the opening claim immediately, rather than simply stating it and moving on, giving the answer a tighter sense of argument from the very first sentence. Neither lower band front-loads this kind of justification.
LR“smuggles in alongside the lesson” — 'Smuggles in' is a vivid, idiomatic metaphor for something hidden being carried along with something intended, well beyond the plain 'what else the story carries' used at 7.0. It shows the kind of natural, image-rich vocabulary that marks 7.5.
GRA“The catch is in what else the story smuggles in alongside the lesson: I only noticed as an adult that the same tale carried a revenge I'd never once questioned.” — This sentence adds a prepositional phrase before the colon and intensifies the final clause with 'only... never once', packing more qualification into the same basic colon structure used at 7.0. This kind of incremental layering within a shared frame is characteristic of the top band's grammatical control.
4. Do you agree with the view that everyone is a natural storyteller?
May–Aug 2026
Compare Band 6.5 / 7.0 / 7.5 for this question
Band 6.5
States the anecdote's conclusion as a short, separate sentence rather than folding it into the previous clause.
After that night in the kitchen, I agree more than before. My father is the quietest person I know, but he held four people silent for twenty minutes with a story he'd kept for twenty-five years. So the ability was there, waiting for a reason. Everyone tells stories daily — what happened at work, why we were late, how we met. The skill of telling them well is different, and some people ramble while others are interesting. I think the instinct to turn events into a story is universal, and some people are good at it.
Why this band
FC“So the ability was there, waiting for a reason.” — A short, plain summary sentence stating the conclusion of the anecdote directly, fitting 6.5's style. 7.0 links this to the previous clause with a dash instead of starting a new sentence, and 7.5 extends the same phrase with 'all along', both giving the point a smoother connection to what came before.
LR“some people ramble while others are interesting” — 'Interesting' is a very general, common adjective. Both higher bands replace it with the more precise and evocative 'riveting', a noticeably stronger word choice for the identical contrast.
GRA“The skill of telling them well is different, and some people ramble while others are interesting.” — This uses 'and' to join two related observations, correct but simply coordinated. Both higher bands replace 'and' with a comma plus 'though', a slightly more integrated way of linking a qualification to the main clause.
Band 7.0
Links the conclusion to the anecdote with a dash instead of a separate sentence, giving a smoother, more fluent connection.
Honestly, after that night in the kitchen, I agree more than I used to. My father is the least talkative person I know, and yet he held four people silent for twenty minutes with a story he'd been carrying for twenty-five years — the ability was clearly there, just waiting for a reason. Everyone tells stories daily, really: what happened at work, why we were late, how we met. The skill of shaping them well is uneven, though, and some people ramble while others are genuinely riveting. But I'd say the instinct to turn events into a meaningful sequence seems universal, and only some people happen to be good at it.
Why this band
FC“Honestly, after that night in the kitchen, I agree more than I used to.” — The hedge 'Honestly' gives this opening a more reflective, spoken quality than 6.5's plainer version. 7.5 reaches a similar effect through the intensifier 'far more' instead of the hedge, a marginally more assertive choice.
LR“genuinely riveting” — This is a precise, strong adjective choice reused identically at 7.5, showing that at the top two bands a well-chosen word can recur while the surrounding argument becomes more developed.
GRA“But I'd say the instinct to turn events into a meaningful sequence seems universal, and only some people happen to be good at it.” — This sentence uses 'and' to link the claim to its consequence, clear and fluent. 7.5 replaces this with 'which suggests', turning the second clause into a result of the first rather than simply an added point, and extends the sentence further with a final explanatory clause.
Band 7.5
Ends with a crisp, almost aphoristic explanation ('the rest is mostly practice and permission') that neither lower band includes.
After that night in the kitchen, I'd agree far more than I used to. My father is about the least talkative person I know, and yet he held four people silent for twenty minutes with a story he'd been quietly carrying for twenty-five years — the ability was there all along, simply waiting for a reason. Everyone tells stories daily, in fact: what happened at work, why we were late, how we met. The skill of shaping them well is wildly uneven, though, and some people ramble while others are genuinely riveting. But the instinct to turn raw events into a sequence with meaning does seem universal, which suggests everyone is a natural storyteller and only some become good ones — the rest is mostly practice and permission.
Why this band
FC“the rest is mostly practice and permission” — This final clause gives a crisp, almost aphoristic explanation for the gap between everyone-as-storyteller and good-storytellers, rounding off the whole answer with a memorable, evaluative point. Neither 6.5 nor 7.0 ends with this kind of compact final insight; both stop at the simpler observation that 'only some are good at it'.
LR“wildly uneven” — 'Wildly uneven' is a vivid, emphatic collocation for describing large variation in skill, stronger and more natural than the plainer 'uneven' or 'different' used at the lower bands. It shows the kind of precise intensification typical of 7.5 vocabulary.
GRA“But the instinct to turn raw events into a sequence with meaning does seem universal, which suggests everyone is a natural storyteller and only some become good ones — the rest is mostly practice and permission.” — This sentence chains a main clause, a 'which suggests' result clause, and a dash-linked final explanation, managing three layers of reasoning in one unit. That density, moving smoothly from observation to implication to explanation, is characteristic of the grammatical range expected at 7.5.
5. What are the benefits of using technology in storytelling?
May–Aug 2026
Compare Band 6.5 / 7.0 / 7.5 for this question
Band 6.5
Opens with a short, direct claim, whereas the higher bands compress the same idea into a single emphatic word.
The first benefit is keeping stories safe. The next Tết, I recorded my father telling the flood story on my phone, so my niece can hear it in his voice, after he is gone. Technology also lets stories reach people who could never sit in that kitchen — audiobooks for blind people, subtitled films, or a grandmother's story shared with family abroad. It also adds pictures, sound and interaction for people who find reading difficult. It also lets ordinary people publish without needing a publisher. So the main benefit is reach and memory, not better stories.
Why this band
FC“The first benefit is keeping stories safe.” — A short, direct opening claim, typical of 6.5's plain style. Both higher bands compress this to the single word 'Preservation' as a sentence opener, a punchier, more confident way of stating the same idea.
LR“It also adds pictures, sound and interaction” — This is plain, functional vocabulary for the technology's features. 7.5 upgrades this to 'It layers in images, sound and interactivity', a more precise and slightly more vivid verb and noun choice.
GRA“So the main benefit is reach and memory, not better stories.” — A simple contrastive closing sentence, clear and correct. 7.5 extends a very similar closing with the added discourse marker 'then' and a dash instead of a comma, giving the same conclusion a more deliberate, considered rhythm.
Band 7.0
Inserts the hedge 'I'd say' mid-sentence for a more considered opening than a flat statement.
The first benefit, I'd say, is preservation. The following Tết, I recorded my father telling the flood story on my phone, so my niece will hear it in his own voice, at his own pace, even once he's no longer here to tell it himself. Technology also lets stories reach people who would never sit in that kitchen — audiobooks for the blind, subtitled films across languages, a grandmother's tale shared with cousins abroad. It adds images, sound and interactivity for people who don't read easily, and it gives ordinary people a way to publish without needing a publisher's permission. So the real benefit is reach and memory, rather than better stories.
Why this band
FC“The first benefit, I'd say, is preservation.” — Inserting the hedge 'I'd say' mid-sentence gives this claim a more considered, spoken quality than 6.5's flatter opening. 7.5 drops the hedge entirely and instead adds 'first and foremost', achieving similar emphasis through word choice rather than a spoken aside.
LR“audiobooks for the blind, subtitled films across languages” — This is a clear, functional list of technology's reach. 7.5 keeps a nearly identical list but adds the more vivid image 'a story that once lived in a single kitchen can now outlast the kitchen' elsewhere in the answer, showing that the higher band supplements plain lists with additional figurative language.
GRA“It adds images, sound and interactivity for people who don't read easily, and it gives ordinary people a way to publish without needing a publisher's permission.” — This sentence joins two related benefits with 'and', clear and fluent coordination. 7.5 keeps a very similar structure but replaces the second verb phrase with 'hands ordinary people a way to publish', a slightly more idiomatic and economical variant of the same clause.
Band 7.5
Opens with the single compressed phrase 'Preservation, first and foremost' rather than a full sentence, a more confident economy of expression.
Preservation, first and foremost. The following Tết, I recorded my father telling the flood story on my phone, so my niece will one day hear it in his own voice, at his own unhurried pace, long after he's no longer around to tell it himself — a story that once lived in a single kitchen can now outlast the kitchen. Technology also carries stories to people who would never otherwise sit in that room: audiobooks for the blind, subtitled films across languages, a grandmother's tale shared with cousins scattered abroad. It layers in images, sound and interactivity for people who don't read easily, and hands ordinary people a way to publish without waiting on a publisher's permission. The real benefit, then, is reach and memory — not necessarily better stories.
Why this band
FC“The real benefit, then, is reach and memory — not necessarily better stories.” — The added discourse marker 'then' and the dash before the final contrast give this closing a more deliberate, weighed rhythm than the plainer versions at 6.5 and 7.0. It reads as the confident final word of a considered argument.
LR“a story that once lived in a single kitchen can now outlast the kitchen” — This is a vivid, evaluative image for the idea of preservation across time, well beyond the plain, functional language used at 6.5 and 7.0 for the same point. It shows the kind of natural, resonant phrasing that marks 7.5 lexical resource.
GRA“so my niece will one day hear it in his own voice, at his own unhurried pace, long after he's no longer around to tell it himself — a story that once lived in a single kitchen can now outlast the kitchen” — This sentence stacks three parallel adverbial phrases before a dash-linked final clause, managing considerably more descriptive detail in one unit than the shorter equivalent sentences at 6.5 and 7.0. That capacity to extend a single sentence without losing control is a hallmark of the grammatical range expected at 7.5.
6. How is technology used in storytelling today?
May–Aug 2026
Compare Band 6.5 / 7.0 / 7.5 for this question
Band 6.5
Opens with a complete subject-verb sentence, unlike the higher bands, which open with a confident sentence fragment.
It's used in more ways than I can keep up with. A friend of mine runs a short-video channel about the history of one street in Da Nang, in sixty-second episodes, using old photos, maps and her own voice. This kind of storytelling didn't exist ten years ago, and now it has more viewers than the local newspaper. There are also games where the player decides the story, podcasts, audiobooks, and streaming shows for binge-watching. Even messaging is a kind of storytelling, since a family group chat is like a daily show.
Why this band
FC“It's used in more ways than I can keep up with.” — A short, direct opening statement, typical of 6.5's plain style. Both higher bands drop the subject entirely and open with a sentence fragment, a more confident, economical way of making the same opening move.
LR“using old photos, maps and her own voice” — This is plain, functional vocabulary describing the technique. 7.5 upgrades the verb to 'weaving together', a more vivid and precise choice for the same idea.
GRA“This kind of storytelling didn't exist ten years ago, and now it has more viewers than the local newspaper.” — This uses 'and' to join two related facts, correct but simply coordinated. Both higher bands embed a very similar idea inside a longer dash-linked sentence describing the channel itself, rather than presenting it as a separate follow-up sentence.
Band 7.0
Opens with the hedge 'Honestly' before a sentence fragment, giving it a spoken rhythm beyond 6.5's complete sentence.
Honestly, in more forms than I can really keep up with. A friend of mine runs a short-video channel telling the history of one Da Nang street in sixty-second episodes, using old photographs, maps and her own voice — a kind of storytelling that simply didn't exist ten years ago and now draws more viewers than any local newspaper. Beyond that, there are games where the player actually shapes the plot, podcasts that revived the oral tradition, audiobooks, streaming series built for binge-watching, and now AI tools that generate images or entire drafts. Even ordinary messaging counts as storytelling, in a sense — a family group chat is basically a daily serial.
Why this band
FC“Honestly, in more forms than I can really keep up with.” — Opening with the hedge 'Honestly' before a sentence fragment gives this a distinctly spoken, natural rhythm, a step beyond 6.5's complete but plainer sentence. 7.5 drops the hedge and instead varies the ending to 'than I can honestly keep up with', folding the same idea more economically into the fragment.
LR“a kind of storytelling that simply didn't exist ten years ago and now draws more viewers than any local newspaper” — This clause uses the verb 'draws', a reasonably natural choice. 7.5 replaces it with 'pulls in', a slightly more idiomatic and energetic verb for the identical meaning.
GRA“Beyond that, there are games where the player actually shapes the plot, podcasts that revived the oral tradition, audiobooks, streaming series built for binge-watching, and now AI tools that generate images or entire drafts.” — This sentence manages a five-item list within one clause, correct and fluent. 7.5 keeps an almost identical list but adds a further descriptive modifier and an extra phrase, packing marginally more detail into the same basic frame.
Band 7.5
Closes with a semicolon-balanced, almost proverbial final line summarising the whole answer, unlike either lower band.
In more forms than I can honestly keep up with. A friend of mine runs a short-video channel that tells the history of one Da Nang street in sixty-second episodes, weaving together old photographs, maps and her own voice — a kind of storytelling that simply didn't exist ten years ago and now pulls in more viewers than any local newspaper. Beyond that, there are games where the player actively shapes the plot, podcasts that have quietly revived the oral tradition, audiobooks, streaming series built for binge-watching, and now AI tools that can generate images or whole drafts on demand. Even ordinary messaging counts as storytelling in its own right — a family group chat is essentially a daily serial. The tools keep changing; the human urge to say 'listen to what happened' never does.
Why this band
FC“The tools keep changing; the human urge to say 'listen to what happened' never does.” — This closing uses a semicolon to balance two short, parallel statements into one memorable, almost proverbial line, giving the whole answer a strong sense of conclusion. Neither 6.5 nor 7.0 reaches for this kind of compact, balanced final statement; both simply end their lists with the messaging example.
LR“pulls in more viewers than any local newspaper” — 'Pulls in' is a vivid, energetic verb for attracting an audience, more natural than the plainer 'has more viewers than' used at 6.5 or 'draws' at 7.0. It shows the kind of precise, idiomatic vocabulary expected at 7.5.
GRA“a family group chat is essentially a daily serial. The tools keep changing; the human urge to say 'listen to what happened' never does.” — This uses a short declarative sentence followed immediately by a semicolon-balanced pair, giving the ending two distinct rhythmic beats rather than one long sentence. That controlled variation in sentence length and structure for rhetorical effect is a hallmark of 7.5 writing.
7. How are the stories that younger children enjoy different from those that older children like?
May–Aug 2026
Compare Band 6.5 / 7.0 / 7.5 for this question
Band 6.5
Gives the concrete example as its own short, separate sentence rather than folding it into a longer one.
I've seen this change in one child. At five, my niece wanted talking animals, repeated parts, and a happy ending, and she'd stop the story if it felt too scary. At eleven, she wants heroes who make mistakes, endings that are not perfect, and unpredictable stories. She recently said a book was 'too nice'. Younger children need stories that show the world is safe and fair, while older ones want to know how the world works, so they like danger and unfamiliar characters. Books get longer, pictures disappear, and the lesson is no longer stated directly.
Why this band
FC“She recently said a book was 'too nice'.” — This gives the concrete example as a short, standalone sentence, easy to follow but disconnected from the surrounding argument. Both higher bands fold this same example into the middle of a longer sentence using a dash, tying it more tightly to the list of preferences that precedes it.
LR“endings that are not perfect” — This is plain, safe vocabulary. Both higher bands upgrade this to the more idiomatic 'endings that aren't tidy' or 'refuse to tidy themselves away', showing a noticeably more natural and, at 7.5, figurative choice.
GRA“Books get longer, pictures disappear, and the lesson is no longer stated directly.” — This uses a simple three-part list joined by commas and 'and', clear and correct. 7.5 keeps the same three-part structure but adds a further final sentence explicitly comparing the two ages, extending the overall argument beyond just the list.
Band 7.0
Folds the concrete example into a dash-linked clause instead of a separate sentence, tying it more tightly to the surrounding list.
Honestly, I've watched this change happen in one child. At five, my niece wanted talking animals, repetition and a guaranteed happy ending, and she'd stop the story if anything felt too frightening. At eleven, though, she wants heroes who make mistakes, endings that aren't tidy, and plots she genuinely can't predict — she recently complained that a book was 'too nice'. Younger children, I'd say, need stories that confirm the world is safe and fair, while older ones are testing how it actually works, and they're drawn to danger, injustice and characters closer to who they're becoming. Books get longer, pictures shrink, and the moral stops being spelled out directly.
Why this band
FC“Honestly, I've watched this change happen in one child.” — The hedge 'Honestly' plus the verb 'watched... happen' gives this a more reflective, narrated quality than 6.5's flatter 'I've seen this change'. 7.5 achieves a similarly reflective tone through 'watched this shift play out', a slightly more vivid verb choice without needing the explicit hedge.
LR“plots she genuinely can't predict” — 'Genuinely can't predict' is a precise, natural intensifier. 7.5 varies this to 'genuinely can't call in advance', a more idiomatic phrase for the identical meaning, drawn from everyday spoken English.
GRA“Younger children, I'd say, need stories that confirm the world is safe and fair, while older ones are testing how it actually works, and they're drawn to danger, injustice and characters closer to who they're becoming.” — This sentence uses 'while' to balance two age groups, then adds a further coordinated clause with 'and', a fluent, well-developed structure. 7.5 restructures the same content with a semicolon instead of 'while' and a 'which is why' result clause, showing a more varied way of connecting the same ideas.
Band 7.5
Adds a final reflective sentence stepping back from the examples to state the underlying pattern, something neither lower band includes.
I've watched this shift play out in a single child. At five, my niece wanted talking animals, repetition and a guaranteed happy ending, and she'd stop a story dead if anything felt remotely frightening. At eleven, though, she wants heroes who mess up, endings that refuse to tidy themselves away, and plots she genuinely can't call in advance — she recently dismissed a book for being 'too nice'. Younger children, I'd say, need stories that confirm the world is safe and fair; older ones are quietly testing how it actually works, which is why they're drawn to danger, injustice, secrets and characters who resemble the person they're becoming. Books lengthen, pictures shrink, and the moral stops being stated outright. Six years apart, the same child is reading for almost opposite reasons.
Why this band
FC“Six years apart, the same child is reading for almost opposite reasons.” — This final sentence steps back from the specific examples to state the underlying pattern in one compact, reflective line, giving the answer a clear sense of arriving somewhere. Neither 6.5 nor 7.0 includes this kind of summarising final observation; both end on the list of changes itself.
LR“she'd stop a story dead if anything felt remotely frightening” — 'Stop a story dead' is a vivid, idiomatic intensifier for an abrupt halt, well beyond the plain 'she would stop the story' used at 6.5. It shows the kind of natural, emphatic phrasing that distinguishes 7.5 vocabulary.
GRA“Younger children, I'd say, need stories that confirm the world is safe and fair; older ones are quietly testing how it actually works, which is why they're drawn to danger, injustice, secrets and characters who resemble the person they're becoming.” — This sentence uses a semicolon to balance two age groups and then a 'which is why' clause to add a result, managing three layers of connected reasoning in one unit. That layered, semicolon-based construction is more ambitious than the simpler 'while... and' structure used at 7.0 for the same content.
8. Do you agree or disagree that the message of a story is more important than how true it is?
May–Aug 2026
Compare Band 6.5 / 7.0 / 7.5 for this question
Band 6.5
Ends with a single explanatory sentence, unlike the higher bands' more elaborate final structures.
For most stories, I agree, but there is one exception. My grandmother later told me it was three trips through the flood, not four, and the story didn't lose anything — what mattered was who my father is, and that stayed true either way. Folk tales and novels are not true in detail but true in meaning, and nobody minds that. The exception is stories that claim to be facts, like news or history. There, the truth matters more than the message, because a false story with a nice message can be used to trick people.
Why this band
FC“For most stories, I agree, but there is one exception.” — This states the position and its limit in one plain, direct sentence, fitting 6.5's style. 7.5 restructures the same opening into a more compact clause with 'though' and the more evocative adjective 'telling', giving the qualifier a sharper edge.
LR“Folk tales and novels are not true in detail but true in meaning” — This is a clear, correct contrast using plain vocabulary. Both higher bands extend the list to 'Folk tales, parables and novels' and intensify the contrast with 'false in almost every detail', a more precise and slightly stronger formulation.
GRA“There, the truth matters more than the message, because a false story with a nice message can be used to trick people.” — A single sentence with one 'because' clause, correct and clear. 7.5 closes the whole answer with an additional, separately structured final sentence built on repeated parallel clauses, extending the argument well beyond a single explanatory sentence.
Band 7.0
Adds the hedge 'Honestly' to soften the opening claim, a step toward 7.5's more evaluative version.
Honestly, for most stories I'd agree, with one exception. My grandmother later told me it was actually three trips through the flood, not four, and the story lost nothing for it — what it carried was who my father is, and that was true either way. Folk tales, parables and novels are false in almost every detail and true in what they mean, and nobody really minds. The exception is stories that claim to be fact: news, history, or a story told specifically to persuade you to act. There, the truth matters more than the message, because a false story with a good message is exactly how people end up manipulated.
Why this band
FC“Honestly, for most stories I'd agree, with one exception.” — The hedge 'Honestly' softens this into a more considered opening than 6.5's flatter version. 7.5 keeps almost the same opening but swaps 'with' for 'though with', and adds 'telling' before 'exception', a small but noticeably more evaluative variation.
LR“a false story with a good message is exactly how people end up manipulated” — This is a clear, idiomatic closing point. 7.5 rephrases the equivalent idea as 'a false story wrapped in a good one', a more figurative, image-based way of describing the same danger.
GRA“The exception is stories that claim to be fact: news, history, or a story told specifically to persuade you to act.” — This uses a colon to introduce a three-item list, correct and fluent. 7.5 keeps an almost identical colon structure but drops 'or', creating a tighter, more clipped list rhythm, and closes the whole answer with an additional parallel-structure sentence that 7.0 doesn't include.
Band 7.5
Closes with a deliberately compressed, parallel structure using a colon and semicolon, unlike the plainer explanatory sentences at the lower bands.
For most stories I'd agree, though with one telling exception. My grandmother later revealed it was actually three trips through the flood, not four, and the story lost absolutely nothing for it — what it carried was who my father is, and that remained true either way. Folk tales, parables and novels are false in almost every detail and true in what they mean, and nobody minds in the slightest. The exception is anything claiming to be fact: news, history, a story told specifically to persuade someone into action. There, truth matters more than message, because a false story wrapped in a good one is precisely how people get manipulated. So: for stories that ask to be felt, the message; for stories that ask to be believed, the truth.
Why this band
FC“So: for stories that ask to be felt, the message; for stories that ask to be believed, the truth.” — This closing uses a deliberately compressed, parallel structure with a colon and a semicolon instead of full sentences, giving the whole answer a memorable, aphoristic ending. Neither 6.5 nor 7.0 attempts this kind of formal, patterned close; both end on a more ordinary explanatory sentence.
LR“a false story wrapped in a good one” — This is a vivid, figurative image for a lie disguised by an appealing message, well beyond the plain, literal phrasing used at 6.5 and 7.0 for the same danger. It exemplifies the kind of natural, image-rich vocabulary expected at 7.5.
GRA“for stories that ask to be felt, the message; for stories that ask to be believed, the truth” — This uses ellipsis, omitting the repeated verb 'matters', across two parallel clauses joined by a semicolon, a highly compact and controlled structure. This kind of deliberate grammatical economy for rhetorical effect is a clear marker of the top band's range.
9. What kinds of children's stories are popular in your country?
May–Aug 2026
Compare Band 6.5 / 7.0 / 7.5 for this question
Band 6.5
Uses a plain connector, 'Along with these, there are also', to introduce the international stories, unlike the more vivid phrasing at 7.5.
Folk tales are the most popular, and they hardly change. My niece's picture books have the same stories my grandmother told me from memory: Tấm and Cám, the boy who found the watermelon, and the legend of the betel and areca tree. Then there are historical legends about heroes who fought invaders, which every school teaches. Along with these, there are international stories like fairy tales, Japanese cartoons, and superhero films, plus some modern Vietnamese picture books about everyday life. So children here grow up with old moral tales and modern cartoons in the same evening.
Why this band
FC“Folk tales are the most popular, and they hardly change.” — A short, direct opening claim, typical of 6.5's plain style. Both higher bands add the intensifier 'barely seem to change', a slightly more precise and idiomatic verb phrase for the same observation.
LR“Along with these, there are international stories” — This is a plain, functional connector phrase. 7.5 upgrades the same transition to 'Alongside those sit the same international staples', using the more vivid verb 'sit' and the more precise noun 'staples'.
GRA“So children here grow up with old moral tales and modern cartoons in the same evening.” — A single closing sentence with straightforward grammar, correct but plain. 7.5 extends a very similar closing with the more vivid phrase 'grow up on a strange diet' and the intensifier 'very same evening', giving the ending more descriptive weight.
Band 7.0
Adds the intensifier 'by far' and 'barely seem to change' to the opening claim, sharpening it beyond a flat statement.
Honestly, folk tales are the most popular by far, and they barely seem to change. My niece's picture books contain the same stories my grandmother told me — Tấm and Cám, the boy who found the watermelon, the legend of the betel and areca tree — tales of poor children, cruel stepmothers and the origins of things. Then there are the historical legends about heroes who fought invaders. Alongside those sit international stories every country has — fairy tales, Japanese cartoons, superhero films — plus many modern Vietnamese picture books. Children here grow up with a strange mix: a thousand-year-old moral tale and a talking cartoon cat, sometimes in the same evening.
Why this band
FC“Honestly, folk tales are the most popular by far, and they barely seem to change.” — The hedge 'Honestly' plus the intensifier 'by far' gives this opening more conviction than 6.5's plainer statement. 7.5 achieves a similarly confident opening without the hedge, using the fragment 'Folk tales, above all' instead for a more compressed effect.
LR“the origins of things” — This is a plain, functional closing to the list of folk-tale themes. 7.5 keeps this exact phrase, showing that at the top two bands, a precise phrase can recur unchanged while the surrounding sentences grow more elaborate.
GRA“Children here grow up with a strange mix: a thousand-year-old moral tale and a talking cartoon cat, sometimes in the same evening.” — This uses a colon to introduce a vivid contrast, a fluent and well-controlled closing structure. 7.5 keeps an almost identical structure but swaps 'a strange mix' for 'a strange diet' and 'sometimes' for 'often', small but deliberate variations that sharpen the same image.
Band 7.5
Fronts the verb in 'Then come the historical legends', a marked, confident word order beyond the plainer 'Then there are' used below.
Folk tales, above all, and they barely seem to change from one generation to the next. My niece's picture books hold the exact same stories my grandmother told me from memory — Tấm and Cám, the boy who found the watermelon, the legend of the betel and areca tree — tales of poor honest children, cruel stepmothers, kind spirits and the origins of things. Then come the historical legends about heroes who fought off invaders, which every school here dutifully teaches. Alongside those sit the same international staples every country seems to have — fairy tales, Japanese cartoons, superhero films — plus a growing shelf of modern Vietnamese picture books about ordinary, everyday life. Children here grow up on a strange diet: a thousand-year-old moral tale and a talking cartoon cat, often in the very same evening.
Why this band
FC“Children here grow up on a strange diet: a thousand-year-old moral tale and a talking cartoon cat, often in the very same evening.” — The metaphor 'grow up on a strange diet' frames the whole mix of old and new stories as something children consume daily, a more vivid closing image than the plainer 'grow up with a strange mix' used at 7.0. It gives the final line a more memorable, evaluative quality.
LR“a growing shelf of modern Vietnamese picture books” — 'A growing shelf of' is a precise, slightly figurative quantifier, more vivid than the plain 'a growing number of' used at 6.5 and 7.0 for the identical idea. It shows the kind of natural, image-based vocabulary expected at 7.5.
GRA“Then come the historical legends about heroes who fought off invaders, which every school here dutifully teaches.” — This sentence fronts the verb for stylistic emphasis, a more marked and confident word order than the plainer 'Then there are' used at the lower bands. That willingness to manipulate word order for effect, while remaining fully correct, is a sign of flexible, higher-level grammar.

Frequently asked questions

How long should my answer to this Part 2 cue card be?: Speak for 1 to 2 minutes. The examiner will stop you at 2 minutes, so aim for roughly 220-300 words that cover every bullet on the card and end with how you feel about it.
What Part 3 questions follow this cue card?: After "A Story Someone Told You That You Remember Well", examiners have asked 9 follow-up discussion questions, listed above. They move from your personal story to general opinions on the same theme.
Is this cue card still being used?: It was most recently reported by test-takers in May–Aug 2026. Cue cards rotate every four months, and many topics return in later seasons with slightly different wording.