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 Time When You Felt Very Proud of Something a Family Member Did", 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 Time When You Felt Very Proud of Something a Family Member Did

Most recently asked in May–Aug 2026

The cue card

Describe a time when you felt very proud of something a family member did

You should say:

Who the family member was
What he/she did
Where and when this happened
And explain why you felt so proud of what your family member did

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 account is told with simple, direct sentences and a single plain closing statement of pride ('I felt genuinely proud to be his niece'), typical of Band 6.5.

The family member I want to talk about is my uncle, who runs a small restaurant in Hue.

Last October, there was heavy flooding in Hue, and water came into his restaurant and damaged the furniture, the kitchen equipment, and a lot of food. He lost a lot of money in just one night, and many people thought he would need months before he could open again.

But my uncle didn't sit around feeling sorry for himself. He cleaned the whole place together with his wife and two workers for almost a week, bought some cheaper second-hand tables from another shop that was closing down, and reopened in less than three weeks, with a slightly smaller menu than before.

I felt very proud because he didn't give up, even after losing so much in one night. He kept saying the restaurant was his family's whole life, so stopping was never really an option for him. When I visited later and saw customers eating and laughing there again, I felt genuinely proud to be his niece.

175 words · about 2 minutes

Why this band

LR“He lost a lot of money in just one night” — 'A lot of money' is a vague, high-frequency quantity phrase rather than a specific figure or a more vivid description of the loss (soaked stock, ruined equipment), and it relies on the reader's general sense of scale rather than painting the scene. That reliance on common, general vocabulary instead of precise or descriptive detail is exactly what keeps this sentence at Band 6.5 rather than the more specific phrasing a 7.0 or 7.5 answer would use to make the loss feel concrete.
GRA“But my uncle didn't sit around feeling sorry for himself.” — This is a short, single-clause sentence built around a common informal idiom, 'sit around feeling sorry for himself', which is used correctly and adds some colour, but the sentence itself has no subordination or coordination — it simply states one fact and stops. A 7.0 answer would more likely attach a further clause to it (e.g. 'he didn't sit around feeling sorry for himself, but got straight to cleaning up'), so despite the informal flavour of the vocabulary, the grammar here stays within Band 6.5's plain, single-clause range.
FC“I felt genuinely proud to be his niece.” — 'Genuinely proud to be his niece' is a direct, unhedged statement of feeling that closes the story, but it doesn't unpack what specifically about the uncle's response — the refusal to give up, the family loyalty — produced that pride. Stating an emotion plainly and moving on, rather than analysing it, is the minimal-elaboration pattern typical of Band 6.5 fluency and coherence.

Band 7.0

The answer develops the story with concrete process detail (the notebook, the setback that forced a return to walking) and closes on a reflective distinction between the race and what it represented, giving more development than 6.5's simpler cause-and-effect account.

The family member I'd talk about is my older sister, and what she did was finish a half marathon last September, about eighteen months after a knee injury that doctors said might stop her running properly ever again.

She injured her knee playing badminton, of all things, two years ago, and needed a fairly serious operation followed by months of physiotherapy. The surgeon was fairly blunt about it afterwards, telling her that jogging occasionally might be fine eventually, but that anything like a half marathon was probably unrealistic given how the knee had been repaired.

My sister, being who she is, treated that almost as a challenge rather than bad news. She started with short, careful walks around the park, then slow jogging with a physiotherapist checking her progress every few weeks, gradually building up distance over more than a year. She kept a simple notebook recording every run, however short, and I remember her getting genuinely upset when a setback forced her to drop back down to walking for a couple of weeks.

When race day came, I went along with the rest of the family to watch, not really expecting much beyond her finishing somewhere near the back. She crossed the line in just over two hours, which honestly isn't a fast time, but she crossed it running, on the knee she'd been told to be careful with for the rest of her life.

Why I felt so proud is that I watched the whole process up close, not just the finish line. It wasn't really about the race itself, but about her refusing to quietly accept a limit someone else had set for her. My mother cried, my sister laughed it off as usual, and I've honestly never admired her more than at that moment.

298 words · about 2 minutes

Why this band

LR“treated that almost as a challenge rather than bad news” — This flexible collocation reframes the surgeon's discouraging diagnosis in the sister's own terms, contrasting "challenge" against the more obvious "bad news" rather than using a plain word like "difficult" alone. This is the step above plain vocabulary the 7.0 lexical descriptor targets, doing real characterizing work by capturing the sister's determined personality in a single phrase. It also sets up the whole narrative arc that follows, which traces exactly how that challenge was met over eighteen months.
GRA“She crossed the line in just over two hours, which honestly isn't a fast time, but she crossed it running, on the knee she'd been told to be careful with for the rest of her life.” — This long sentence combines a relative clause, "which honestly isn't a fast time," a contrast clause, "but she crossed it running," and a second relative clause, "the knee she'd been told to be careful with," three layers of subordination handled accurately in one continuous sentence. It's the comfortable, accurate complex grammar the 7.0 descriptor describes, going well beyond a plain statement like "she finished the race." The self-deprecating aside about the slow time also makes the achievement land harder, since the point isn't speed but the fact of finishing at all.
FC“It wasn't really about the race itself, but about her refusing to quietly accept a limit someone else had set for her.” — This reflective distinction between the literal event, finishing a race, and its deeper meaning, refusing an imposed limit, gives the closing point real development, rather than simply restating that the sister was determined. That's exactly the kind of reasoning the 7.0 fluency descriptor rewards over flat description; a 6.5 answer would likely just say "I was proud because she didn't give up." It also reframes the whole story retroactively, making clear that the emotional core was always about defiance rather than athletic achievement.

Band 7.5

The dash-interrupted sentence about persistence and the reflective opening ('Why I felt so proud is hard to put simply') show the structural range and evaluative depth typical of Band 7.5.

The family member is my mother, and what she did was pass her driving test — for a car — at the age of fifty-eight, on her fourth attempt, at the test centre outside Hue last November.

Some background makes this bigger than it sounds. My mother has ridden a motorbike all her life, like everyone in Hue, but she'd never driven a car, and when my father's eyesight began to fail two years ago and he had to stop driving, the family assumed the car would simply be sold. My mother announced instead that she would learn. Everyone told her not to, including the driving instructor, who said on the first day that people her age 'don't usually manage'.

She failed three times. The first time on parking, the second on the hill start, the third because she was so nervous she stalled at the gate. After each failure she came home, said nothing for a day, and then booked the next date. Between tests she practised in the empty car park of a shopping centre at six in the morning with my sister in the passenger seat, both of them, by all accounts, shouting.

When it happened, I was in Da Nang, and I got a video call from my sister with no words, just the camera pointed at my mother holding a piece of paper and laughing in a way I hadn't seen since I was a child.

Why I felt so proud is hard to put simply. It was partly the persistence — four attempts, at an age when most people stop trying new things and let the world decide for them. But mostly it was that she'd done it against everyone's advice, including mine, and without any bitterness about that. She now drives my father to his eye appointments, slowly, in the middle of the lane, and he has learned to say nothing, which is its own achievement.

323 words · about 2 minutes

Why this band

FC“Why I felt so proud is hard to put simply.” — 'Why I felt so proud is hard to put simply' is a pseudo-cleft construction that does double duty: it states a question and immediately signals that a considered, multi-part answer is coming, rather than launching straight into the reasons. This kind of self-referential framing — announcing that the reflection ahead is genuinely complicated — is the discourse move the Band 7.5 descriptor points to when it calls for a 'cleft sentence' and 'one clear reflective or evaluative point'; a 7.0 answer would more likely skip the frame and just list the reasons directly.
GRA“It was partly the persistence — four attempts, at an age when most people stop trying new things and let the world decide for them.” — The dash interrupts the main clause to insert an expanded, list-like elaboration ('four attempts, at an age when most people stop trying new things...'), and that inserted material itself contains an embedded relative clause modifying 'an age'. Layering a dash-interruption on top of an embedded clause, while keeping the sentence fully grammatical and easy to follow aloud, is the kind of structural risk-taking a 7.0 answer — which would more likely present the same idea as two separate, simpler sentences — tends not to attempt.
LR“he has learned to say nothing, which is its own achievement” — 'Its own achievement' recycles the word 'achievement', which the story has already used seriously about the mother's driving test, and reapplies it ironically to the father's quiet restraint — a small piece of wordplay that only works because the reader already knows what 'achievement' meant a paragraph earlier. That kind of self-aware, understated humour built from precise reuse of a single word, rather than a fresh descriptive adjective, is the idiomatic touch Band 7.5 lexical resource specifically rewards over plainer, more literal phrasing.

How this card was asked, by exam period

Describe a time when you felt very proud of something a family member didMay–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. What things do young children do that make their parents feel proud?
May–Aug 2026
Compare Band 6.5 / 7.0 / 7.5 for this question
Band 6.5
Opens with "I think it's often" and lists the examples in short, separate sentences joined by plain commas.
I think it's often smaller things than parents actually photograph. My sister cried last month, not because her son learned to read, but because he gave his biscuit to a crying child at the playground without being told. Of course, first steps, first words, and good school results make parents proud too. But what parents talk about most is kindness, courage, and independence, like a child who says sorry without being asked, or who tries something scary. I think pride in achievement fades quickly, but pride in a child's character usually lasts much longer.
Why this band
FC“I think it's often smaller things than parents actually photograph.” — A full framing sentence states the claim before any evidence is given. The 7.5 band cuts the frame entirely and opens on the bare comparative fragment "Smaller things than the ones they photograph", a more confident, economical move.
LR“a child who says sorry without being asked” — Clear, everyday phrasing. The 7.5 band tightens this to "apologised unprompted", a single precise verb plus adverb replacing a full clause, a small but real lexical upgrade.
GRA“I think pride in achievement fades quickly, but pride in a child's character usually lasts much longer.” — A single contrastive sentence with "but", correct and clear. The 7.5 band achieves the same contrast with a semicolon and no conjunction at all, a tighter structure for the closing line.
Band 7.0
The hedge "Honestly, I'd say" softens the opening, and "completely on his own" adds a small extra detail not present at 6.5.
Honestly, I'd say it's often smaller things than the ones parents actually photograph. My sister was in tears last month, not because her son had learned to read, which he has, but because he'd given his biscuit to a crying child at the playground without being told, completely on his own. Of course, first steps, first words and good school results make parents proud too, but what I hear them talk about most is kindness, courage and independence, a child who apologised unprompted, or who tried something frightening. I think pride in achievement tends to fade with the next achievement, whereas pride in who a child is becoming usually lasts much longer.
Why this band
FC“Honestly, I'd say it's often smaller things than the ones parents actually photograph.” — The double hedge makes the claim sound more considered than the flat 6.5 opener. The 7.5 band removes the hedge altogether, opening directly on the comparative fragment instead.
LR“a child who apologised unprompted, or who tried something frightening” — "Apologised unprompted" is a precise upgrade on the 6.5 phrase "says sorry without being asked". The 7.5 band uses the identical phrase, showing this piece of lexis already performs at the ceiling by 7.0.
GRA“I think pride in achievement tends to fade with the next achievement, whereas pride in who a child is becoming usually lasts much longer.” — A longer contrastive sentence with "whereas", more developed than the plain "but" at 6.5. The 7.5 band compresses the same content into a semicolon-linked pair with no conjunction, a subtly tighter version of this same closing contrast.
Band 7.5
Drops the framing sentence and opens straight on the fragment "Smaller things than the ones they photograph", then lets a dash deliver the conclusion mid-story.
Smaller things than the ones they photograph. My sister was in tears last month not because her son had learned to read, which he has, but because he'd given his biscuit to a crying child at the playground without being told — the moments that make parents proudest are usually the first signs of character rather than skill. First steps and first words, of course, and later good results. But what I hear parents talk about most is kindness, courage and independence: the child who apologised unprompted, who stood up for a friend, who tried the frightening thing. Pride in achievement fades with the next achievement; pride in who the child is becoming lasts.
Why this band
FC“Smaller things than the ones they photograph.” — A verbless fragment opens the whole answer, more compact and confident than the full sentences used at 6.5 and 7.0. It trusts the listener to supply the implied "it is", a recognisable higher-band habit.
LR“who apologised unprompted, who stood up for a friend, who tried the frightening thing” — A three-item parallel list of precise verb phrases, more developed than the single example given at 6.5 or the two examples at 7.0. The repeated "who" structure adds rhetorical rhythm neither lower band attempts.
GRA“Pride in achievement fades with the next achievement; pride in who the child is becoming lasts.” — A semicolon links two balanced, near-mirrored clauses with no conjunction, tighter than the "but" of 6.5 or the "whereas" of 7.0. The repetition of "pride" as a deliberate anaphora is a rhetorical device the lower bands don't use.
2. Why can giving children prizes or rewards for their schoolwork help them progress?
May–Aug 2026
Compare Band 6.5 / 7.0 / 7.5 for this question
Band 6.5
Opens with "I think it's because", then lists the reasons for rewards one after another in plain, separate sentences.
I think it's because children live in the present, and progress is something in the future. My sister used a sticker chart to help her daughter learn multiplication for a month, and the stickers did what saying 'this will help you later' couldn't, they made the effort pay off today. Rewards show a child clearly that a task matters, and that adults are watching. They also work well for children who don't enjoy the work yet, which is most children at the start. I think the trick is to use rewards to get over the first hard part, then let the child's own skill take over.
Why this band
FC“I think it's because children live in the present, and progress is something in the future.” — A full sentence with "I think it's because" spells out the framing explicitly. The 7.5 band drops the frame and opens directly with "Because children live in the present", a bare subordinate clause standing in for a full sentence, more confident and compact.
LR“Rewards show a child clearly that a task matters, and that adults are watching.” — Clear, functional phrasing. The 7.5 band adds a further clause, "they turn a vague expectation into a concrete goal", a more precise and abstract way of naming what rewards actually do.
GRA“They also work well for children who don't enjoy the work yet, which is most children at the start.” — A single relative clause with "which", correct and clear. The 7.5 band expresses a very similar idea with the same structure, showing this pattern already reads naturally at 6.5, though the surrounding sentences at 7.5 are more tightly connected overall.
Band 7.0
The hedge "Honestly, I think" opens the answer, and small spoken additions like "right in front of her" and "honestly" fill out the sentences.
Honestly, I think it's because children live so much in the present, while progress only really exists in the future. My sister used a sticker chart to get her daughter through a month of multiplication tables, and the stickers did what 'this will help you later' simply couldn't, they made the effort pay off today, right in front of her. Rewards give a clear signal that a task matters and that the adults are actually watching, and they turn a vague expectation into something concrete. They also work well for children who don't yet enjoy the work for its own sake, which is honestly most children at the start of anything. I'd say the trick is using them to get over that first difficult hill, then letting the child's own competence take over.
Why this band
FC“Honestly, I think it's because children live so much in the present, while progress only really exists in the future.” — The hedge "Honestly" plus the added contrast "while" gives a more developed opening than the plain 6.5 version. The 7.5 band removes the hedge and states the same idea in half the words, a more economical structure.
LR“they made the effort pay off today, right in front of her” — The added detail "right in front of her" gives a small vivid touch beyond the plain 6.5 phrasing. The 7.5 band drops this extra clause, showing that at the top band, cutting a detail can sometimes tighten a sentence more effectively than adding one.
GRA“I'd say the trick is using them to get over that first difficult hill, then letting the child's own competence take over.” — The answer closes on this single sentence, with the hedge "I'd say" softening the advice. The 7.5 band keeps an unhedged version of this same sentence but then adds a further semicolon-linked clause after it, extending the thought with a reflective closing observation this 7.0 version stops short of.
Band 7.5
Drops the framing entirely and opens with a bare "Because" clause, and the closing line adds a reflective twist absent from the other two bands.
Because children live in the present and progress lives in the future. My sister used a sticker chart to get her daughter through a month of multiplication tables, and the stickers did what 'this will help you later' could not — they made the effort pay off today. Rewards give a clear signal that a task matters and that the adults are watching, and they turn a vague expectation into a concrete goal. They also work for children who don't yet enjoy the work for itself, which is most children at the start of anything. The trick is to use them to get over the first difficult hill, then let the child's own competence take over; a reward that goes on forever stops being a reward.
Why this band
FC“Because children live in the present and progress lives in the future.” — A subordinate clause used as a complete, verbless opening statement, more compact than the full sentences at 6.5 and 7.0. This kind of fragment opener is a recognisable marker of confident, higher-band fluency.
LR“a reward that goes on forever stops being a reward” — A neat, slightly paradoxical closing line that neither lower band reaches for. It reframes the whole discussion with a compact generalisation rather than simply restating the advice about using rewards early on.
GRA“let the child's own competence take over; a reward that goes on forever stops being a reward” — A semicolon adds a further reflective clause onto the end of the sentence with no conjunction, extending the thought beyond where the 7.0 version stops. This gives the answer a sense of continuing to develop right up to its final words.
3. Do you agree or disagree that it is possible to give children too many prizes or rewards?
May–Aug 2026
Compare Band 6.5 / 7.0 / 7.5 for this question
Band 6.5
Opens with a plain "I agree", then joins the supporting points with comma splices rather than stronger punctuation.
I agree. My nephew now asks 'what do I get?' before even putting on his shoes, and that shows the problem, rewards for everything teach a child that nothing is worth doing for its own sake. Too many prizes also lose their meaning, like a medal for attendance making the medal for winning worth less. Research also seems to show that children rewarded for something they already enjoyed can enjoy it less afterwards, because it becomes work. Rewards are useful for starting hard things and marking real achievements, but beyond that, a parent's attention is the best reward, and it can't really be overdone.
Why this band
FC“I agree.” — A bare two-word position statement placed on its own. The 7.5 band folds this same word into the opening dash, "Agree — my nephew has reached...", moving straight into the evidence rather than pausing after the position.
LR“rewards for everything teach a child that nothing is worth doing for its own sake” — Clear, functional phrasing that states the failure mode plainly. The 7.5 band uses an almost identical phrase, showing this piece of lexis already sits near the ceiling of the range by 6.5, with the real differences appearing in the surrounding punctuation.
GRA“and that shows the problem, rewards for everything teach a child that nothing is worth doing for its own sake” — A comma splice joins two independent clauses, functional in speech but grammatically loose. The 7.5 band fixes the equivalent sentence with a colon instead, "that's the failure mode: rewards for everything teach...", a cleaner link between claim and explanation.
Band 7.0
The hedge "I agree, honestly" softens the position, and "quietly" adds a small evaluative touch to the main example.
I agree, honestly. My nephew has reached the point of asking 'what do I get?' before putting on his shoes, and that's basically the failure mode, rewards for everything quietly teach a child that nothing is worth doing for its own sake. Too many prizes also lose their meaning, since a medal for attendance makes the medal for winning worth less. And research seems to back up what parents already notice, that children rewarded for an activity they used to enjoy can enjoy it less afterwards, simply because it's become work. Rewards are genuinely useful for starting hard things and marking real achievements, but beyond that, I'd say the most valuable reward is a parent's genuine attention, and it's the one that can't be over-supplied.
Why this band
FC“I agree, honestly.” — The hedge "honestly" is appended after the position statement, giving it a slightly more spoken rhythm. The 7.5 band removes the hedge and merges the position directly into the following clause with a dash instead.
GRA“that's basically the failure mode, rewards for everything quietly teach a child that nothing is worth doing for its own sake” — Another comma splice joins the claim to its explanation, with "basically" and "quietly" added as fillers. The 7.5 band fixes this exact structure with a colon and drops both fillers, a tighter version of the same sentence.
LR“I'd say the most valuable reward is a parent's genuine attention, and it's the one that can't be over-supplied” — The hedge "I'd say" softens this closing claim. The 7.5 band states the identical idea without the hedge, a small but real shift toward the more assertive register typical of the top band.
Band 7.5
Opens with a one-word position, "Agree —", and uses a dash plus colon to move straight into the anecdote and its meaning.
Agree — my nephew has reached the point of asking 'what do I get?' before putting on his shoes, and that's the failure mode: rewards for everything teach a child that nothing is worth doing for its own sake. Too many prizes also lose their meaning; a medal for attendance makes the medal for winning worth less. And research seems to support what parents notice, that children rewarded for an activity they already enjoyed can enjoy it less afterwards, because it's become work. Rewards are useful for starting hard things and marking real achievements. Beyond that, the most valuable reward is a parent's genuine attention, and it's the one that can't be over-supplied.
Why this band
GRA“Agree — my nephew has reached the point of asking 'what do I get?' before putting on his shoes, and that's the failure mode: rewards for everything teach a child that nothing is worth doing for its own sake.” — A single word plus a dash states the position and moves straight into the evidence, and a colon later in the same sentence links the claim to its explanation with no comma splice. This is noticeably tighter than the comma splices used for equivalent sentences at both 6.5 and 7.0.
LR“it's the one that can't be over-supplied” — "Over-supplied" is a precise, slightly unusual word choice for describing something that can't be given in excess. Both lower bands use the more conventional "can't be overdone" or "can't be over-supplied" with a hedge in front, making this the leanest version of the same closing claim.
FC“Too many prizes also lose their meaning; a medal for attendance makes the medal for winning worth less.” — The semicolon-joined second clause adds a further consequence ('lose their meaning') onto the first point about over-rewarding, building the argument in one continuous move rather than starting a fresh sentence. A 6.5 or 7.0 answer would more likely split this into two separate sentences with a plainer connector. This tightly packed extension of the same idea is the kind of developed, economical coherence Band 7.5 rewards.
4. In what situations can adults feel proud of themselves?
May–Aug 2026
Compare Band 6.5 / 7.0 / 7.5 for this question
Band 6.5
Opens with "I think it's mostly when", then adds each new example with a plain "also" or "And".
I think it's mostly when they've done something they weren't sure they could do. My mother's laugh when she got her driving licence was pure pride, not comparing herself to anyone, just discovering she was more capable than people, including herself, had assumed. Adults also feel proud when they finish something long, like a degree or a marathon, when they keep a hard promise, or when they help someone without any benefit to themselves. Work gives pride when it's done well and noticed. And quiet pride comes from ordinary things, like paying debts and just showing up, even though that kind is rarely celebrated.
Why this band
FC“I think it's mostly when they've done something they weren't sure they could do.” — A full sentence spells out the framing claim before the example arrives. The 7.5 band drops "I think it's" and opens on the bare comparative "Most often when they've done something they weren't sure they could", a tighter, more confident structure.
LR“not comparing herself to anyone, just discovering she was more capable than people, including herself, had assumed” — Clear phrasing that states the idea plainly. The 7.5 band tightens the same idea into "not comparison with anyone, just the discovery that she was more than people... had assumed", swapping the gerund clauses for compact nouns, a subtly more economical style.
GRA“And quiet pride comes from ordinary things, like paying debts and just showing up, even though that kind is rarely celebrated.” — A single sentence tacks on a concessive "even though" clause at the end, correct but slightly loose. The 7.5 band splits the equivalent content into two short sentences joined by a colon and a full stop, a cleaner separation of description from evaluation.
Band 7.0
The hedge "Honestly, I'd say" softens the opening claim, and the closing sentence links two ideas with a simple "and".
Honestly, I'd say it's mostly when they've done something they weren't sure they could pull off. My mother's laugh when she was holding her driving licence was pride of the purest kind, not comparison with anyone, just the discovery that she was more capable than people, including herself, had ever assumed. Adults also feel proud when they finish something long, a degree, a house, a marathon, when they keep a promise that was genuinely hard to keep, and when they help someone with no benefit to themselves. Work produces pride when it's done well and actually noticed, and parenthood produces it almost by reflection. Quiet pride, I think, comes from ordinary steadiness, and that last kind is probably the least celebrated and the most common.
Why this band
FC“Honestly, I'd say it's mostly when they've done something they weren't sure they could pull off.” — The hedge plus the idiomatic "pull off" makes this feel more natural than the plain 6.5 opener. The 7.5 band removes the hedge entirely, relying on the compact comparative fragment alone to open the answer.
GRA“pride of the purest kind, not comparison with anyone, just the discovery that she was more capable than people, including herself, had ever assumed” — A comma splice strings the explanation onto the claim without a colon, functional but a little loose for 7.0. The 7.5 band fixes the equivalent sentence with a colon, "pride of the purest kind: not comparison with anyone", a cleaner link between claim and explanation.
LR“and that last kind is probably the least celebrated and the most common” — A reflective closing observation, reasonably well put. The 7.5 band expresses the identical idea with almost the same words, showing this closing insight already lands well by 7.0, with 7.5 mainly tightening the sentences that lead up to it.
Band 7.5
Drops the framing sentence for a bare comparative opener, and the colon before "not comparison with anyone" ties the anecdote to its meaning directly.
Most often when they've done something they weren't sure they could. My mother's laugh holding that licence was pride of the purest kind: not comparison with anyone, just the discovery that she was more than people, including herself, had assumed. Adults feel proud when they finish something long — a degree, a house, a marathon — when they keep a promise that was hard to keep, and when they help someone with no benefit to themselves. Work produces pride when it's done well and noticed. Parenthood produces it by reflection. And quiet pride comes from ordinary steadiness: paying the debts, showing up, not giving in. That last kind is the least celebrated and probably the most common.
Why this band
FC“Most often when they've done something they weren't sure they could.” — A subordinate clause stands alone as the entire opening line, with no main clause attached, more compact than the full sentences at 6.5 and 7.0. This kind of confident fragment is a recognisable higher-band opening move.
LR“not comparison with anyone, just the discovery that she was more than people, including herself, had assumed” — A tight, noun-based restatement of the same idea expressed with gerund clauses at 6.5. Cutting "capable" and using "more than people... had assumed" directly is a small but deliberate economy.
GRA“That last kind is the least celebrated and probably the most common.” — A short, separate closing sentence follows a colon-led list of examples ("paying the debts, showing up, not giving in"), a cleaner two-step structure than the single sentence with a trailing "even though" clause used at 6.5. This lets the closing reflection land with more weight.
5. Is it possible for people in any kind of job to feel proud of their work?
May–Aug 2026
Compare Band 6.5 / 7.0 / 7.5 for this question
Band 6.5
Opens with "I think so", and the anecdote is followed by a separate sentence, "That shows pride is about", to spell out its meaning.
I think so, although some jobs make it harder than others. The man who cleans my street arranges the rubbish bags in a perfectly straight line before the truck comes, and once pointed it out to me. That shows pride is about doing a thing properly, not about the job's status. Any job with a visible result and some control over how it's done can give someone pride. It's harder in jobs that are split into small parts, only measured by speed, and watched too closely, because then nothing really belongs to the worker. I think pride needs a little ownership to grow.
Why this band
FC“That shows pride is about doing a thing properly, not about the job's status.” — A separate sentence spells out the meaning of the anecdote after the fact. The 7.5 band folds the same meaning into the anecdote's own sentence using a dash, "once pointed it out to me — pride in work is about...", a more integrated structure.
LR“It's harder in jobs that are split into small parts, only measured by speed, and watched too closely, because then nothing really belongs to the worker.” — Functional description of fragmented work. The 7.5 band tightens this to "work that's fragmented, measured only by speed, and supervised so closely", using more precise single words ("fragmented", "supervised") in place of fuller descriptive phrases.
GRA“I think pride needs a little ownership to grow.” — A short, simple closing sentence. The 7.5 band replaces this with two sentences, a short statement followed by an imperative ("Give a person even a small piece of a job that's theirs..."), a more varied closing structure than the single sentence here.
Band 7.0
The dash-free comma pattern in "pointed it out to me, almost proudly, pride in work is" links three ideas loosely with commas.
I think so, though some jobs definitely make it harder. The man who cleans my street arranges the collected rubbish bags in a perfectly straight line before the truck arrives, and he once pointed it out to me, almost proudly, pride in work is really about doing a thing properly, not about the thing's status. Any job with a visible result, some kind of standard to meet, and a bit of control over how it's done can produce pride. Where it tends to fail is in jobs designed to remove exactly those things, work that's fragmented, measured only by speed, and supervised so closely that nothing really belongs to the worker. I'd say pride needs a little ownership, and give a person even a small piece of a job that's theirs and most will find something in it to be proud of.
Why this band
GRA“and he once pointed it out to me, almost proudly, pride in work is really about doing a thing properly, not about the thing's status” — A comma splice strings the anecdote's detail and its meaning together without a dash or colon, a little loose for 7.0. The 7.5 band fixes the equivalent sentence with a dash, giving the same content a cleaner, more deliberate link.
LR“Where it tends to fail is in jobs designed to remove exactly those things” — "Designed to remove exactly those things" is precise and reasonably natural. The 7.5 band uses the near-identical phrase, showing this wording already performs at the ceiling of the range by 7.0.
FC“I'd say pride needs a little ownership, and give a person even a small piece of a job that's theirs and most will find something in it to be proud of” — The hedge "I'd say" softens the closing claim before the imperative arrives in the same long sentence. The 7.5 band splits this into two short, separate sentences instead, letting the final imperative land with more punch on its own.
Band 7.5
The dash before "pride in work is about doing a thing properly" lets the anecdote deliver its own conclusion, and the closing imperative replaces a plain summarising statement.
I think so, though some jobs make it harder. The man who cleans my street arranges the collected rubbish bags in a perfectly straight line before the truck comes, and once pointed it out to me — pride in work is about doing a thing properly, not about the thing's status. Any job with a visible result, a standard to meet and some control over how it's done can produce pride. Where it fails is in jobs designed to remove those: work that's fragmented, measured only by speed, and supervised so closely that nothing belongs to the worker. Pride needs a little ownership. Give a person even a small piece of a job that's theirs and most will find something in it to be proud of.
Why this band
FC“and once pointed it out to me — pride in work is about doing a thing properly, not about the thing's status” — A dash lets the anecdote's meaning follow directly within the same sentence, without a separate summarising sentence or a comma splice. This is tighter than both the extra sentence used at 6.5 and the comma splice used at 7.0 for the same content.
LR“work that's fragmented, measured only by speed, and supervised so closely that nothing belongs to the worker” — Precise, economical descriptors ("fragmented", "supervised") replace the fuller, more literal phrasing at 6.5 ("split into small parts", "watched too closely"). This compact, almost technical vocabulary is characteristic of the top band.
GRA“Pride needs a little ownership. Give a person even a small piece of a job that's theirs and most will find something in it to be proud of.” — A short declarative sentence is followed by a separate imperative sentence, a deliberate two-step close. Both lower bands merge this same content into one longer sentence with "and" or a comma splice, a less rhythmically varied ending.
6. Are people proud of different things today than in the past?
May–Aug 2026
Compare Band 6.5 / 7.0 / 7.5 for this question
Band 6.5
Opens with "I think the feeling is similar, but", spelling the contrast out in full before the examples.
I think the feeling is similar, but the objects have changed. My grandmother is proud of keeping a full rice store through hard years and marrying all her children well, while my colleagues are proud of marathon times, promotions, and how their flats look. So the shift is from family and survival towards individual achievement and image. People used to be proud of what they held onto, and now they're proud of what they've added. Pride in a village or a trade has weakened as people move around more. But the basic need hasn't changed, it's just that the audience has moved from the neighbours to the internet.
Why this band
FC“I think the feeling is similar, but the objects have changed.” — A full sentence spells out the contrast before any example. The 7.5 band compresses this into the two-word-pair fragment "Different objects, similar feeling", stating the same contrast with far fewer words.
GRA“People used to be proud of what they held onto, and now they're proud of what they've added.” — Two clauses joined by "and", clear and correct. The 7.5 band links the equivalent clauses with a semicolon instead, removing the conjunction entirely for a slightly tighter parallel structure.
LR“But the basic need hasn't changed, it's just that the audience has moved from the neighbours to the internet.” — A comma splice joins the claim to its explanation, functional but loose. The 7.5 band fixes the equivalent sentence with a colon ("unchanged: to have done something that mattered") and ends on a separate short sentence, a cleaner two-part close.
Band 7.0
The hedge "I'd say" is dropped in mid-sentence, and "honestly" is added as a filler after the second example.
Different objects, I'd say, but a similar feeling underneath. My grandmother's pride, when she talks about her life, is in keeping a full rice store through hard years and marrying all her children well, while my colleagues are proud of marathon times, promotions, and how their flats look, so the shift is really from family and survival towards individual achievement and image. People used to be proud of what they held onto, and now they're proud of what they've added, honestly. Community pride, in a village or a trade, has weakened as people move around more. But the underlying need is unchanged, to have done something that mattered and to have someone recognise it, it's really only the audience that's moved, from the neighbours to the internet.
Why this band
FC“Different objects, I'd say, but a similar feeling underneath.” — The hedge "I'd say" is inserted mid-fragment, giving it a more spoken rhythm than the flat 6.5 opener. The 7.5 band removes the hedge, letting the two-part fragment stand entirely on its own.
LR“so the shift is really from family and survival towards individual achievement and image” — "Really" is added as an intensifier here. The 7.5 band drops it, relying on the noun phrase itself ("from family and survival toward individual achievement and image") to carry the weight without extra emphasis words.
GRA“But the underlying need is unchanged, to have done something that mattered and to have someone recognise it, it's really only the audience that's moved, from the neighbours to the internet.” — A long sentence uses comma splices to string three separate ideas together, ambitious but grammatically loose for 7.0. The 7.5 band fixes this with a colon after "unchanged" and a full stop before the final sentence, a much cleaner distribution of the same content.
Band 7.5
Opens with the bare two-part fragment "Different objects, similar feeling", and semicolons replace the plain "while" and "and" used at the lower bands.
Different objects, similar feeling. My grandmother's pride, when she talks about her life, is in keeping a full rice store through hard years and marrying all her children well; my colleagues are proud of marathon times, promotions, and how their flats look — the shift is from family and survival toward individual achievement and image. People used to be proud of what they held onto; now they're proud of what they've added. Community pride, in a village or a trade, has weakened as people move. But the underlying need is unchanged: to have done something that mattered and to have someone recognise it. Only the audience has moved, from the neighbours to the internet.
Why this band
FC“Different objects, similar feeling.” — A two-word-pair fragment with no verb opens the whole answer, far more compact than the full sentences at 6.5 or the hedge-softened fragment at 7.0. This kind of stripped-down parallel opener is a clear higher-band signature.
LR“Only the audience has moved, from the neighbours to the internet.” — A short, separate closing sentence isolates the key image for emphasis. Both lower bands instead bury this same image at the end of a longer, comma-spliced sentence, giving it less rhetorical weight.
GRA“My grandmother's pride, when she talks about her life, is in keeping a full rice store through hard years and marrying all her children well; my colleagues are proud of marathon times, promotions, and how their flats look” — A semicolon balances two parallel clauses about different generations with no conjunction, tighter than the "while" used to join the same content at 6.5 and 7.0. This kind of unmarked semicolon contrast recurs across the whole 7.5 answer.
7. How can being proud of oneself sometimes have negative effects?
May–Aug 2026
Compare Band 6.5 / 7.0 / 7.5 for this question
Band 6.5
Opens with "I think it happens when", then lists each negative effect in its own separate sentence.
I think it happens when pride stops someone from learning. A designer I know won a national award five years ago and hasn't grown since, because he now believes he's already right, and treats feedback as an attack instead of a gift. Too much pride also damages relationships, since nobody enjoys someone who keeps talking about their own achievements. It can also stop people from trying things they might fail at, because failure would hurt their image. And pride in a group or a country can turn into looking down on others. I'd say healthy pride says 'I did that well', but unhealthy pride says 'I never do badly', and that stops all improvement.
Why this band
FC“I think it happens when pride stops someone from learning.” — A full sentence frames the claim before the example arrives. The 7.5 band drops the frame for the bare subordinate clause "When it closes the door to learning", a tighter, more confident opening move.
LR“treats feedback as an attack instead of a gift” — Clear, functional phrasing for the contrast. The 7.5 band tightens this to "an attack to be dismissed rather than a gift", adding the precise participle "dismissed" for a slightly more deliberate word choice.
GRA“I'd say healthy pride says 'I did that well', but unhealthy pride says 'I never do badly', and that stops all improvement.” — A long sentence links two quoted contrasts with "but" and then adds a result clause with "and", correct but a little chained. The 7.5 band achieves the same closing contrast with a semicolon instead of "but", a tighter link between the two quotations.
Band 7.0
The hedge "Honestly" opens the answer, and "quietly" and "particularly" add small evaluative touches not present at 6.5.
Honestly, I think it happens when pride closes the door to learning altogether. A designer I know won a national award five years ago and hasn't really grown since, because pride quietly turned into the conviction that he was already right, so every piece of feedback became an attack to dismiss rather than a gift to accept. Excessive pride also strains relationships, since nobody particularly enjoys someone who narrates their own achievements. It can make people afraid to try things they might fail at too, because failure would damage the image they've built. And pride in a family or a nation can slide into contempt for others. I'd say healthy pride says 'I did that well', while unhealthy pride says 'I am someone who cannot do badly', and that second sentence is really what stops all improvement.
Why this band
FC“Honestly, I think it happens when pride closes the door to learning altogether.” — The hedge "Honestly" plus "altogether" extends the opening claim slightly beyond the plain 6.5 version. The 7.5 band removes both the hedge and the framing verb, opening directly on the bare clause instead.
LR“pride quietly turned into the conviction that he was already right” — "Quietly turned into the conviction" is a nicely understated way of describing a gradual change. The 7.5 band uses the near-identical phrase without "quietly", showing this wording already performs well by 7.0, with the 7.5 version simply trimming one adverb.
GRA“I'd say healthy pride says 'I did that well', while unhealthy pride says 'I am someone who cannot do badly', and that second sentence is really what stops all improvement.” — The hedge "I'd say" softens the closing contrast, and "while" links the two quotations. The 7.5 band removes the hedge and swaps "while" for a semicolon, arriving at the identical two quotations with a more direct, unhedged structure.
Band 7.5
Drops the framing entirely for a bare "When it closes the door to learning", and a semicolon replaces "but" in the closing contrast between healthy and unhealthy pride.
When it closes the door to learning. A designer I know won a national award five years ago and hasn't grown since, because pride turned into the conviction that he was already right — every piece of feedback became an attack to be dismissed rather than a gift. Excessive pride also strains relationships; nobody enjoys someone who narrates their own achievements. It can make people afraid to try things they might fail at, because failure would damage the image. And pride in a group, a family or a nation can become contempt for others. Healthy pride says 'I did that well'; unhealthy pride says 'I am someone who cannot do badly', and the second sentence stops all improvement.
Why this band
FC“When it closes the door to learning.” — A subordinate clause alone forms the entire opening sentence, with no main clause attached, more compact than the full sentences at 6.5 and 7.0. This is a confident, higher-band way of launching straight into the argument.
LR“every piece of feedback became an attack to be dismissed rather than a gift” — The precise participle "dismissed" sharpens the contrast beyond the plainer phrasing at 6.5. The 7.0 band reaches a similar wording, showing this phrase already performs near the ceiling by 7.0, with 7.5 keeping it essentially unchanged.
GRA“Healthy pride says 'I did that well'; unhealthy pride says 'I am someone who cannot do badly', and the second sentence stops all improvement.” — A semicolon balances the two quoted contrasts with no conjunction, tighter than the "but" at 6.5 or the "while" at 7.0 for the same pair. The parallel repetition of the sentence structure across both halves is a deliberate rhetorical device.
8. What effects can individuals being too proud of material possessions have on society?
May–Aug 2026
Compare Band 6.5 / 7.0 / 7.5 for this question
Band 6.5
Opens with "I think it turns life into", then links the story to its point with a plain "So" at the start of the next sentence.
I think it turns life into a competition that nobody really wins. In my parents' neighbourhood in Hue, there's a quiet race to own a car, and some families have borrowed a lot of money to park something outside the house that they can't really afford. So pride in possessions can lead to debt, envy, and a constant feeling of falling behind. It also causes waste, since things get bought to be seen rather than used, and it shifts respect from what people do to what they own. It also puts pressure on children to keep up. Some ambition for a better life is healthy, but when the possession itself becomes the point, society ends up richer in things and poorer in ease.
Why this band
FC“I think it turns life into a competition that nobody really wins.” — A full sentence frames the claim with "I think" and the intensifier "really". The 7.5 band drops both the framing and the intensifier, stating the identical claim in fewer, more assertive words.
GRA“So pride in possessions can lead to debt, envy, and a constant feeling of falling behind.” — A separate sentence introduced by "So" draws the conclusion from the anecdote. The 7.5 band instead folds this conclusion into the same sentence as the anecdote using a dash, a more integrated, less step-by-step structure.
LR“It also causes waste, since things get bought to be seen rather than used” — Clear, functional phrasing. The 7.5 band tightens "to be seen" to "for display", a slightly more precise and formal register for the same idea.
Band 7.0
The hedge "Honestly" opens the answer, and "actually" and "pretty" appear as small intensifiers not present at 6.5.
Honestly, I think it turns life into a competition nobody actually wins. In my parents' neighbourhood in Hue, there's a quiet race to own a car, and several families have borrowed pretty heavily to park something outside the house that they can't really afford, pride in possessions produces debt, envy, and a constant sense of falling behind. At a social level it also drives waste, since things are bought for display rather than use, and it shifts respect from what people do to what they own. It raises the pressure on children to keep up too. Some ambition for a better life is healthy and has genuinely lifted a lot of families, but when the possession becomes the point rather than the comfort, society gets richer in things and noticeably poorer in ease.
Why this band
FC“Honestly, I think it turns life into a competition nobody actually wins.” — The hedge "Honestly" plus the intensifier "actually" extends the claim slightly beyond the plain 6.5 opener. The 7.5 band removes both, opening on the bare claim alone for a more direct, confident statement.
GRA“several families have borrowed pretty heavily to park something outside the house that they can't really afford, pride in possessions produces debt, envy, and a constant sense of falling behind” — A comma splice links the anecdote directly to its conclusion without a dash or colon, functional but loose for 7.0. The 7.5 band fixes the equivalent sentence with a dash, a cleaner, more deliberate connection between story and claim.
LR“society gets richer in things and noticeably poorer in ease” — "Noticeably" is added as an intensifier before "poorer". The 7.5 band drops it, trusting the contrast between "richer in things" and "poorer in ease" to carry its own weight without an extra qualifier.
Band 7.5
Drops the framing entirely for the bare claim "It turns life into a competition nobody wins", and the dash lets the anecdote deliver its own conclusion.
It turns life into a competition nobody wins. In my parents' neighbourhood in Hue there's a quiet race to own a car, and several families have borrowed heavily to park something outside the house that they can't really afford — pride in possessions produces debt, envy and a constant sense of falling behind. At a social level it drives waste, since things are bought for display rather than use, and it shifts respect from what people do to what they own. It also raises the pressure on children to keep up. Some ambition for a better life is healthy and has lifted a lot of families. But when the possession is the point rather than the comfort, society gets richer in things and poorer in ease.
Why this band
FC“It turns life into a competition nobody wins.” — A bare declarative sentence opens the whole answer with no framing verb or hedge, more direct than the "I think" opener at 6.5 or the hedged version at 7.0. This kind of unhedged assertion signals confidence appropriate to the top band.
LR“things are bought for display rather than use” — "For display" is a precise, slightly formal noun phrase replacing the more literal "to be seen" used at 6.5. It reads as a more deliberate, considered word choice.
GRA“several families have borrowed heavily to park something outside the house that they can't really afford — pride in possessions produces debt, envy and a constant sense of falling behind” — A dash links the anecdote to its conclusion within a single sentence, avoiding both the separate "So" sentence at 6.5 and the loose comma splice at 7.0. This integrated structure is a consistent feature of the 7.5 answer throughout.
9. Do you agree or disagree that if countries had less national pride, there would be greater global harmony?
May–Aug 2026
Compare Band 6.5 / 7.0 / 7.5 for this question
Band 6.5
Opens with "I partly agree, because", spelling the qualification out in a full sentence before any example.
I partly agree, because it depends on what kind of pride we mean. When Vietnam wins a football match, the whole city of Da Nang is out on the street with flags for a night, and nobody anywhere is harmed by that. That kind of pride just brings people together and stops there. The pride that damages harmony is the kind that needs someone else to be lesser, like believing your own country deserves more, or that its way is the only right way. Less of that would definitely help. But removing national pride completely isn't realistic, because people need to belong somewhere.
Why this band
FC“I partly agree, because it depends on what kind of pride we mean.” — A full sentence spells out the position and its reason together. The 7.5 band opens instead on the single word "Partly", letting the following sentence supply the reason without repeating "I agree", a more compact structure.
LR“That kind of pride just brings people together and stops there.” — Plain, functional phrasing. The 7.5 band uses the almost identical "that pride binds people together and stops there", showing this wording already performs well at 6.5, though "binds" is a marginally more precise verb than "brings together".
GRA“Less of that would definitely help. But removing national pride completely isn't realistic, because people need to belong somewhere.” — Two separate short sentences state the concession and the caveat. The 7.5 band achieves the same content but links the caveat with a semicolon instead of "because", and then adds a further closing sentence this version doesn't include.
Band 7.0
The hedge "I'd say" is inserted after "Partly", and "honestly" and "genuinely" appear as extra spoken touches.
Partly, I'd say, and the difference is really in what kind of pride we're talking about. When Vietnam wins a football match, the entire city of Da Nang is on the street with flags for a night, and honestly nobody anywhere is harmed by it, that pride binds people together and stops there. The pride that actually damages harmony is the kind that needs someone else to be lesser, the belief that one's own country is entitled to more, or that its way is the only way. Less of that would certainly help. But removing national pride altogether isn't realistic or even desirable, since people genuinely need to belong somewhere, so a world of countries proud of themselves and curious about each other would probably be more harmonious than one where nobody was proud of anything.
Why this band
FC“Partly, I'd say, and the difference is really in what kind of pride we're talking about.” — The hedge "I'd say" is inserted between "Partly" and the explanation, giving a spoken rhythm. The 7.5 band drops the hedge and the trailing "we're talking about", arriving at the same idea in fewer words.
GRA“so a world of countries proud of themselves and curious about each other would probably be more harmonious than one where nobody was proud of anything” — This closing idea is folded onto the end of a very long sentence with "so", making the sentence quite heavy. The 7.5 band gives the identical idea its own separate sentence, without "so" or "probably", a cleaner, more emphatic close.
LR“the belief that one's own country is entitled to more, or that its way is the only way” — A precise, well-balanced description of harmful pride. The 7.5 band uses the identical phrase, showing this wording already performs at the ceiling of the range by 7.0.
Band 7.5
Opens with the bare word "Partly", and the closing sentence stands alone rather than being folded into the previous one with "so".
Partly, and the difference is in what kind of pride. When Vietnam wins a football match, the entire city of Da Nang is on the street with flags for a night, and nobody anywhere is harmed by it; that pride binds people together and stops there. The pride that damages harmony is the kind that needs someone else to be lesser — the belief that one's own country is entitled to more, or that its way is the only way. Less of that would certainly help. But removing national pride altogether isn't realistic or even desirable; people need to belong somewhere. A world of countries proud of themselves and curious about each other would be more harmonious than one where nobody was proud of anything.
Why this band
FC“Partly, and the difference is in what kind of pride.” — A single word plus a short clause opens the whole answer, more compact than the full sentence at 6.5 or the hedge-extended version at 7.0. This economy at the very start signals confidence before any evidence is even given.
GRA“A world of countries proud of themselves and curious about each other would be more harmonious than one where nobody was proud of anything.” — A separate, standalone closing sentence, with no "so" or hedge attached, gives the final claim its own weight. The 7.0 band buries the same idea at the end of an already long sentence, giving it less rhetorical emphasis.
LR“nobody anywhere is harmed by it; that pride binds people together and stops there” — The verb phrase 'binds people together' is a mildly figurative collocation for social cohesion, chosen over a flatter alternative like 'makes people feel close'. A 6.5 or 7.0 answer would more likely default to that plainer phrasing. The image of pride as something that 'binds' captures the positive, unifying kind of national pride the answer is arguing for more precisely than a literal description would, the less-common but natural collocation typical of Band 7.5.

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 Time When You Felt Very Proud of Something a Family Member Did", 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.