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 Used a Phone to Do Something Important", 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 Used a Phone to Do Something Important

Most recently asked in May–Aug 2026

The cue card

Describe a time when you used a phone to do something important

You should say:

when and where you used the phone
what you used the phone for
why it was important to do this
and explain what happened as a result of using the phone

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

Plain, direct phrasing such as 'so I knew I needed to act fast' and a single because-clause to explain the reasoning keep the account clear but linguistically simple, consistent with Band 6.5.

The time I used my phone for something important was one afternoon at work, about two months ago, in our office near the river.

My colleague Vy was opening a box with a small knife when it slipped and cut her hand quite deeply. There was a lot of blood, and she looked very pale and shocked, so I knew I needed to act fast.

What I used my phone for was to call a taxi immediately through an app, because it was faster than waiting for one on the street. While we waited, I also searched quickly for the nearest hospital, so the driver would know exactly where to go, and I called my manager to tell her what had happened. It was important because Vy needed real medical help fast, not just a plaster, and every minute mattered, especially with Da Nang traffic sometimes being slow.

As a result, we got her to the hospital within fifteen minutes, and the doctors said we did the right thing by not waiting. She needed a few stitches but recovered completely within two weeks. Since then, our office keeps a proper first aid box, and I still think about how useful my phone was that day.

205 words · about 2 minutes

Why this band

LR“There was a lot of blood, and she looked very pale and shocked” — The description relies on everyday intensifiers ("a lot of," "very") attached to common adjectives ("pale," "shocked") rather than more vivid or clinical vocabulary (like "drenched" or "ashen") that a higher-band retelling of the same emergency might use. This keeps the account clear and easy to follow but linguistically unremarkable, fitting the Band 6.5 ceiling of "at most one slightly less-common word." The coordination with "and" simply lists two observations side by side rather than integrating them into a single more complex image.
FC“so I knew I needed to act fast” — This clause functions as the coherence hinge between the description of the injury and the account of what the speaker actually did, using the simple connector "so" to signal cause and effect. It's functional and easy to follow, but it states the motivation as a flat fact rather than dramatising the moment (for instance, with a rhetorical question or a reflective aside), the kind of plain, direct move the Band 6.5 fluency descriptor describes as "one clear reason is enough." The phrase "act fast" itself is a common collocation rather than anything more distinctive.
GRA“What I used my phone for was to call a taxi immediately through an app, because it was faster than waiting for one on the street.” — The sentence opens with a cleft-like "what...was" structure and then adds a single "because" clause to justify the choice, giving it slightly more shape than a flat statement but still representing only one layer of subordination. A Band 7.0 answer might instead combine this with a second linked idea in the same sentence (a contrast or a further consequence) rather than stopping after the one justification. The comparative "faster than waiting for one on the street" is accurate and concrete, grounded in the specific detail of hailing a taxi via app, but doesn't extend into a more complex comparative or conditional structure.

Band 7.0

The participial clause 'following the operator's instructions about keeping her sitting upright and calm' adds grammatical variety to a mostly simple recount, and the reasoning in 'every minute really does matter' develops the point with natural spoken emphasis rather than just stating a fact.

The time I used my phone for something important was one evening about four months ago, just outside my building, when I was coming back from the gym.

I saw an elderly woman, who I recognised as my neighbour's grandmother, sitting on the stairs looking very pale and holding onto the railing tightly, clearly struggling to breathe properly. I didn't know exactly what was wrong with her, but it was obviously serious.

What I used my phone for was calling for an ambulance straight away, since I didn't want to waste time running upstairs to find her family first. While I waited on the line, I also messaged the building's group chat to ask if anyone knew her or could come down quickly, and luckily her granddaughter appeared within a minute. I stayed on the phone the whole time, following the operator's instructions about keeping her sitting upright and calm until help arrived.

It was important because, in situations like that, every minute really does matter, and I wasn't confident enough in my own knowledge of first aid to handle it alone. Having a phone meant I could get proper medical advice immediately instead of just guessing what to do.

As a result, the ambulance arrived within about ten minutes, and the paramedics said it looked like a mild heart problem that needed checking properly at the hospital. She ended up staying in overnight but was fine after that, and her family thanked me several times over the following weeks. It made me realise how useful it is to actually know the local emergency number by heart rather than assuming you'll always have time to search for it.

278 words · about 2 minutes

Why this band

LR“I wasn't confident enough in my own knowledge of first aid to handle it alone” — 'Confident enough in my own knowledge of' is a more precise way of admitting a specific limitation than a plainer 'I didn't know what to do', naming exactly what the gap was (first aid knowledge) rather than a vague general uncertainty. The construction uses 'confident enough... to handle it alone' as a natural collocation pattern, linking the admission directly to the decision to call for help rather than act independently. This flexible, topic-appropriate phrasing is calibrated to the 7.0 lexical target, and it's the actual justification for the whole anecdote's central action.
FC“It was important because, in situations like that, every minute really does matter” — The sentence moves from the specific incident to a generalised principle ('in situations like that, every minute really does matter'), using the emphatic auxiliary 'really does' for spoken stress rather than just stating 'time was important'. This generalising move — treating the anecdote as an instance of a broader rule rather than a one-off event — is a small but genuine step toward the kind of reasoned development Band 7.0 fluency rewards over the flatter, single-instance reasoning a 6.5 answer would give. It stops short of the more explicitly reflective payoff a 7.5 closer might add.
GRA“I stayed on the phone the whole time, following the operator's instructions about keeping her sitting upright and calm until help arrived.” — The participial phrase 'following the operator's instructions' attaches a second, simultaneous action to the main clause without needing a second full clause and conjunction, which is a more economical way of packing two actions into one sentence than a 6.5 answer's likely coordination. Inside that participial phrase sits a further gerund construction ('about keeping her sitting upright and calm'), so the sentence carries two layers of non-finite structure while staying accurate and easy to follow. This is comfortable, functional complexity rather than a showcase construction, matching the 7.0 descriptor.

Band 7.5

The embedded relative clause 'which in Vietnam is 114' and the compressed evaluative sentence 'What happened as a result was, thankfully, small' show the flexible, economical grammar and vocabulary typical of Band 7.5.

The time I'd describe was about one in the morning, a few months ago, in the building where I rent the top floor. I'd been working late and was getting a glass of water when I smelled smoke, and then saw it — a thin grey line coming under the door of the flat across the landing.

What I used the phone for was three things, in about two minutes. First, I knocked and shouted and got no answer, so I called the fire service, which in Vietnam is 114, and gave the address, the floor, and what I could see. Second, I opened the building's group chat and typed 'FIRE, third floor, get out now' in capitals, then called the landlady directly, because she's sixty and doesn't check messages at night. Third, I used the torch on the phone, because the landing light had gone out, to find the extinguisher and to bang on the doors of the other two flats on the floor.

Why it was important is obvious in one sense — smoke at one in the morning in a building of sleeping people — but there's a specific reason, too. The building is an old tube house with one staircase, and if the fire had reached the landing, the people above would have had no way down.

What happened as a result was, thankfully, small. The fire crew arrived in nine minutes and broke the door. The couple had gone to bed with a pan of oil still on a low flame, and were asleep in the back room with the door shut. The kitchen was black, the flat was smoky, nobody was hurt. Everyone was on the pavement by then, because the group chat had worked faster than I could knock. Since then the landlady has put a smoke alarm on every floor, and the chat has a pinned message with the number 114.

319 words · about 2 minutes

Why this band

LR“a thin grey line coming under the door” — 'A thin grey line coming under the door' uses the present participle 'coming' to make the smoke feel like an ongoing, encroaching event rather than a static fact, and it's more visually specific than a plain phrase like 'smoke under the door' would be. This precision is the kind of 'precise or less-common' vocabulary the Band 7.5 lexical target asks for, and it earns its place by making the danger vivid at the exact moment the speaker notices it.
FC“What happened as a result was, thankfully, small.” — The sentence inserts the adverb 'thankfully' as a parenthetical aside — 'was, thankfully, small' — delivering the outcome through understatement rather than spelling out relief directly. That kind of controlled, evaluative aside embedded mid-sentence is the reflective point the Band 7.5 fluency target calls for, and the restraint of it, rather than an exclamatory 'I was so relieved!', fits the calm, controlled tone of the whole recount.
GRA“First, I knocked and shouted and got no answer, so I called the fire service, which in Vietnam is 114, and gave the address, the floor, and what I could see.” — This one sentence combines two coordinated main-clause actions, an embedded relative clause explaining an acronym ('which in Vietnam is 114'), and a compact list of what was reported, the address, the floor, what I could see, all held together accurately. That density of combined structures within a single sentence is more ambitious than what would typically appear at Band 7.0, and it matches the Band 7.5 target of 'varied complex structures...mostly error-free' sustained over a longer stretch of speech.

How this card was asked, by exam period

Describe a time when you used a phone to do something importantMay–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. Does the way phones are used today benefit people's social lives?
May–Aug 2026
Compare Band 6.5 / 7.0 / 7.5 for this question
Band 6.5
Closes with the plain marker: 'So phones are good for keeping social life going, but not so good at making it deeper.'
In some ways, yes. The group chat in my building turned a dozen strangers into neighbours, first through parcels and parking, and later through a real emergency, a fire. A decade ago, we would have just nodded on the stairs and known nothing about each other. Phones keep families in different cities in daily contact and make plans easy. But there's a cost too — the dinner where everyone looks at their phone instead of talking. So phones are good for keeping social life going, but not so good at making it deeper.
Why this band
FC“So phones are good for keeping social life going, but not so good at making it deeper.” — Closes with plain 'So'. 7.0 replaces this with 'I'd say', a slightly more considered framing, and 7.5 drops any marker and states the closing contrast as two short parallel sentences.
LR“the dinner where everyone looks at their phone instead of talking” — Plain, direct image. 7.0 shortens this to 'the dinner where everyone's looking down', and 7.5 develops the image further into 'the dinner where everyone's eyes drift downward'.
GRA“A decade ago, we would have just nodded on the stairs and known nothing about each other.” — A simple sentence with two coordinated verbs. 7.0 folds this into the previous sentence with a dash, and 7.5 keeps the dash structure but adds 'real' and 'politely'.
Band 7.0
Replaces the closing marker with a hedge: 'I'd say phones are good for maintaining social life and not so good at deepening it.'
Honestly, in some ways more than we usually admit. The group chat in my building turned a dozen strangers into neighbours, first through parcels and parking and then, one night, through an actual fire — a decade ago we'd probably have nodded on the stairs and known nothing about each other. Phones keep families across cities and countries in daily contact, make plans easy, and let shy people join conversations they'd never enter in a room. The cost is the other side, though: the dinner where everyone's looking down, and the constant comparison with everyone else's edited life online. I'd say phones are good for maintaining social life and not so good at deepening it.
Why this band
FC“I'd say phones are good for maintaining social life and not so good at deepening it.” — Replaces 6.5's plain 'So' with the hedge 'I'd say', a more considered closing framing. 7.5 drops any marker entirely, stating the contrast as two short, punchy parallel sentences instead.
LR“the dinner where everyone's looking down” — More compact than 6.5's fuller phrase. 7.5 develops the same image further into 'the dinner where everyone's eyes drift downward'.
GRA“a decade ago we'd probably have nodded on the stairs and known nothing about each other” — Folds the idea into the previous sentence via a dash rather than starting a new sentence as in 6.5, more integrated. 7.5 keeps the dash structure but adds 'politely' and 'real'.
Band 7.5
Drops any marker and states the contrast as two short, punchy parallel clauses: 'Phones sustain a social life well; they rarely deepen one.'
I'd say in some ways more than we're usually willing to admit. The group chat in my building turned a dozen strangers into neighbours — first over parcels and parking disputes, then, one night, over an actual fire — when a decade ago we'd probably have nodded politely on the stairs and known nothing real about each other. Phones keep families scattered across cities and countries in daily contact, smooth over the logistics of making plans, and let shy people join conversations they'd never dare enter in a room. The flip side is real, though: the dinner where everyone's eyes drift downward, the friendship that thins into a stream of reactions rather than an actual meeting, and the quiet comparison against everyone else's carefully edited life. Phones sustain a social life well; they rarely deepen one. That's a genuine benefit sitting right beside a genuine limit.
Why this band
FC“Phones sustain a social life well; they rarely deepen one.” — Drops any linking marker and states the final contrast as two short, punchy parallel clauses joined by a semicolon, a more confident, aphoristic close than 7.0's hedged 'I'd say'.
LR“the dinner where everyone's eyes drift downward” — A more vivid, visual image than 7.0's flatter 'looking down', showing stronger descriptive control.
GRA“when a decade ago we'd probably have nodded politely on the stairs and known nothing real about each other” — Keeps 7.0's dash-led structure but adds the adverb 'politely' and the adjective 'real', layering in extra nuance within the same subordinate clause.
2. Can phones affect people's ability to concentrate?
May–Aug 2026
Compare Band 6.5 / 7.0 / 7.5 for this question
Band 6.5
Closes with the plain hedge: 'I think the phone isn't the real problem — it's the expectation of being interrupted.'
Yes, I tested this on myself. For one week, I left my phone in another room while I worked, and I did the best design work I'd done in a year. It wasn't because I checked it less, but because just knowing it was there kept part of my attention on standby. Every notification breaks a thought, and it takes minutes to rebuild it. I think the phone isn't the real problem — it's the expectation of being interrupted.
Why this band
FC“I think the phone isn't the real problem — it's the expectation of being interrupted.” — Closes with the plain hedge 'I think'. 7.0 replaces this with 'I'd say', paired with a semicolon, and 7.5 keeps 'I'd say' but extends the sentence with a further clause.
LR“kept part of my attention on standby” — A simple, functional image. 7.0 intensifies this to 'kept a small part of my attention permanently on standby', and 7.5 sharpens it further to 'kept a sliver of my attention permanently on standby'.
GRA“It wasn't because I checked it less, but because just knowing it was there kept part of my attention on standby.” — A 'not because...but because' structure in one sentence. 7.0 lengthens this with a dash before it and adds 'constantly' and 'permanently', and 7.5 keeps the same structure but adds 'beforehand' and swaps 'checking it constantly' for 'glued to it'.
Band 7.0
Restructures the close with a semicolon and an added clause: 'the phone itself isn't the enemy of concentration; the expectation of interruption is, and it follows you everywhere.'
Honestly, yes, and I actually measured it on myself. For one week, I left my phone in a different room while I worked, and I did the deepest design work I'd done in a year — not because I'd been checking it constantly before, but because just knowing it was there kept a small part of my attention permanently on standby. Every notification breaks a thought, and it takes minutes to rebuild it. The habit of reaching for the phone during any pause means the mind never really learns to sit with a hard problem. I'd say the phone itself isn't the enemy of concentration; the expectation of interruption is, and it follows you everywhere.
Why this band
FC“I'd say the phone itself isn't the enemy of concentration; the expectation of interruption is, and it follows you everywhere.” — Replaces 6.5's hedge 'I think' with 'I'd say' and restructures with a semicolon plus an added clause, a more developed closing statement than 6.5's simpler dash sentence. 7.5 keeps this semicolon structure but extends the final clause even further.
LR“kept a small part of my attention permanently on standby” — Adds 'small' and 'permanently' to 6.5's plainer phrase, more precise. 7.5 intensifies this again to 'kept a sliver of my attention permanently on standby'.
GRA“not because I'd been checking it constantly before, but because just knowing it was there kept a small part of my attention permanently on standby” — Expands 6.5's 'not because...but because' structure with more elaborated clauses on both sides. 7.5 keeps this same expanded structure but swaps in slightly more vivid verbs.
Band 7.5
Extends the semicolon close with a fuller final image: 'the phone just happens to carry that expectation everywhere it goes.'
Honestly, yes — and I actually measured it on myself. For one week I left my phone in another room while I worked, and I turned out the deepest design work I'd done in a year, not because I'd been glued to it beforehand, but because simply knowing it was there kept a sliver of my attention permanently on standby. Every notification snaps a thought in half, and it takes real minutes to rebuild it. The habit of reaching for the phone in any spare second means the mind never gets the chance to build the muscle for sitting with a hard problem at all. I'd say the phone isn't really the enemy of concentration; the expectation of interruption is, and the phone just happens to carry that expectation everywhere it goes.
Why this band
FC“I'd say the phone isn't really the enemy of concentration; the expectation of interruption is, and the phone just happens to carry that expectation everywhere it goes.” — Keeps 7.0's semicolon structure but extends the final clause into a fuller, more vivid image of the phone 'carrying' the expectation everywhere, a more developed close than 7.0's shorter 'it follows you everywhere'.
LR“kept a sliver of my attention permanently on standby” — Swaps 7.0's 'a small part' for the more vivid, precise noun 'a sliver', showing finer lexical choice for the same idea.
GRA“Every notification snaps a thought in half, and it takes real minutes to rebuild it.” — Replaces the plainer verb 'breaks' with the more vivid, violent 'snaps...in half', and adds the intensifier 'real' before 'minutes', showing richer collocational control within a short sentence.
3. Is it all right to phone somebody late at night?
May–Aug 2026
Compare Band 6.5 / 7.0 / 7.5 for this question
Band 6.5
Closes with a plain 'but'-linked sentence: 'a message is better for anything that can wait until morning.'
I think it's only okay when the reason is serious enough to justify waking someone up. That night was the first time I was sure it was — I called my landlady at one in the morning because there was smoke on her third floor, and that call needed no apology. A call at that hour about something small is usually just an intrusion. Close friends and family might accept a late call if something is wrong, but a message is better for anything that can wait until morning.
Why this band
FC“Close friends and family might accept a late call if something is wrong, but a message is better for anything that can wait until morning.” — Plain 'but'-linked sentence closing the answer. 7.0 replaces 'but' with a fuller structure introducing the hedge 'to be fair', and 7.5 removes any marker, letting the point flow directly after a dash-led example.
LR“that call needed no apology” — Plain phrasing. 7.0 intensifies with 'needed no apology at all', and 7.5 upgrades further to 'needed no apology whatsoever'.
GRA“I called my landlady at one in the morning because there was smoke on her third floor, and that call needed no apology.” — One sentence joined by 'because' and 'and'. 7.0 restructures this with a semicolon before the following contrast clause, and 7.5 keeps the semicolon but replaces the plain image with a more vivid one.
Band 7.0
Inserts the hedge mid-sentence: 'A message, to be fair, is the more polite option for anything that can wait until morning.'
Honestly, I'd say it's only all right when the reason genuinely justifies waking someone up, and that night was the first time I'd ever been completely sure it did. Calling my landlady at one in the morning needed no apology at all, because there was smoke on her third floor; a call at that hour about anything less feels like a real intrusion. It really depends on the relationship — close friends and family tend to accept a late call when something's wrong, and some friendships even have their own unspoken agreements about acceptable hours. A message, to be fair, is the more polite option for anything that can wait until morning, since it doesn't force a ring.
Why this band
FC“A message, to be fair, is the more polite option for anything that can wait until morning, since it doesn't force a ring.” — Inserts the hedge 'to be fair' mid-sentence rather than 6.5's plain 'but'-linked structure, a more natural spoken coherence device. 7.5 removes the hedge entirely and states the point directly after a dash-led anecdote.
LR“needed no apology at all” — Adds 'at all' to 6.5's plain phrase for emphasis. 7.5 intensifies further with 'needed no apology whatsoever'.
GRA“Calling my landlady at one in the morning needed no apology at all, because there was smoke on her third floor; a call at that hour about anything less feels like a real intrusion.” — Uses a semicolon to join the anecdote to its generalisation within one sentence, more complex than 6.5's separate sentences. 7.5 keeps this semicolon structure but replaces the plain image with a more vivid one.
Band 7.5
Ends on a cleft-style closing sentence: 'What people resent isn't really the hour so much as the judgement behind it.'
I'd say it's only justified when the reason genuinely earns the right to wake someone, and that night was the first time I was completely certain it did. Calling my landlady at one in the morning needed no apology whatsoever, because there was smoke curling up her third floor; a call at that hour about anything less feels like a small violation. It comes down to the relationship — close friends and family will forgive a late call when something's genuinely wrong, and some friendships even carry their own unspoken rules about acceptable hours. A message is the polite fallback for anything that can wait until morning, since it doesn't force its way in the way a ringing phone does. What people resent isn't really the hour so much as the judgement behind it — a late call says 'this matters more than your sleep'.
Why this band
FC“What people resent isn't really the hour so much as the judgement behind it — a late call says 'this matters more than your sleep'.” — Replaces 7.0's separate hedged sentence about messages with a cleft-style closing sentence, a more confident, rhetorically pointed final structure than 7.0's plainer close.
LR“needed no apology whatsoever” — Intensifies 7.0's 'needed no apology at all' with the stronger, more emphatic 'whatsoever', showing finer control of degree adverbs.
GRA“Calling my landlady at one in the morning needed no apology whatsoever, because there was smoke curling up her third floor; a call at that hour about anything less feels like a small violation.” — Keeps 7.0's semicolon structure but replaces 'smoke on her third floor' with the more vivid participial phrase 'smoke curling up her third floor', and swaps 'a real intrusion' for 'a small violation'.
4. Should making phone calls in public places be banned because it can disturb other people?
May–Aug 2026
Compare Band 6.5 / 7.0 / 7.5 for this question
Band 6.5
Closes with a short plain sentence: 'The real problem is volume and length, not the call itself.'
I think banning is too extreme, but it should be managed. On a train to Hanoi, I once sat near a man negotiating a contract loudly for two hours, and the answer to that isn't a national ban, but something like a quiet carriage, which some railways already have. Calls in public are part of normal life — people get news, arrange things for their children, or answer work calls while travelling. Stopping all of that just to prevent rudeness would punish everyone for the behaviour of a few. The real problem is volume and length, not the call itself.
Why this band
FC“The real problem is volume and length, not the call itself.” — Closes with a plain final sentence. 7.0 extends this into a longer cleft sentence introduced with 'What's reasonable, I'd say, is...', and 7.5 keeps a similar cleft sentence but adds an extra final independent clause.
LR“negotiating a contract loudly for two hours” — Plain description. 7.0 upgrades to 'negotiating a contract at full volume for two hours', and 7.5 sharpens further with 'at full volume for two solid hours'.
GRA“On a train to Hanoi, I once sat near a man negotiating a contract loudly for two hours, and the answer to that isn't a national ban, but something like a quiet carriage, which some railways already have.” — One long sentence joined by 'and' and 'but'. 7.0 adds a further relative clause, and 7.5 keeps this extended relative clause but swaps 'already have' for the more active 'already run'.
Band 7.0
Extends the closing sentence into a dash-led list: 'What's reasonable, I'd say, is specific rules in certain places — cinemas, libraries, hospitals — and ordinary social pressure everywhere else.'
Honestly, I think a ban is too extreme, but the behaviour definitely needs managing somehow. On a train to Hanoi, I once sat through a man negotiating a contract at full volume for two hours, and the real solution to him isn't a national ban but something like a quiet carriage, which some railways already have and which actually works. Calls in public are simply part of modern life — people get news, coordinate their children, or take work calls while travelling, and stopping all of that just to prevent rudeness ends up punishing everyone for the behaviour of a few. What's reasonable, I'd say, is specific rules in certain places — cinemas, libraries, hospitals — and ordinary social pressure everywhere else.
Why this band
FC“What's reasonable, I'd say, is specific rules in certain places — cinemas, libraries, hospitals — and ordinary social pressure everywhere else.” — Replaces 6.5's short closing sentence with a longer cleft sentence built around a dash-led list, a more elaborate coherence structure. 7.5 keeps this cleft pattern but swaps 'I'd say' for 'I'd argue' and adds a further independent clause.
LR“negotiating a contract at full volume for two hours” — Upgrades 6.5's plain 'loudly' to the more vivid 'at full volume'. 7.5 keeps 'at full volume' but adds 'solid' before 'hours' for extra emphasis.
GRA“which some railways already have and which actually works” — Adds a second relative clause coordinated with 'and', more elaborated than 6.5's single relative clause. 7.5 keeps a similar double relative clause but swaps 'have' for the more active verb 'run'.
Band 7.5
Adds a second closing sentence after the cleft: 'The real culprit is volume and duration, not the act itself.'
I'd say an outright ban is too heavy-handed, though the behaviour genuinely needs managing. On a train to Hanoi, I once sat through a man negotiating a contract at full volume for two solid hours, and the fix for him isn't a national ban but something as simple as a quiet carriage, which some railways already run and which genuinely works. Calls in public are simply part of modern life — people catch up on news, coordinate their children, or take a work call while travelling — and shutting all of that down just to prevent occasional rudeness would punish everyone for the sins of a few. What's reasonable, I'd argue, is targeted rules in specific places — cinemas, libraries, hospitals — backed by ordinary social pressure everywhere else. The real culprit is volume and duration, not the act itself.
Why this band
FC“What's reasonable, I'd argue, is targeted rules in specific places — cinemas, libraries, hospitals — backed by ordinary social pressure everywhere else. The real culprit is volume and duration, not the act itself.” — Keeps 7.0's cleft sentence structure but swaps 'I'd say' for the slightly more assertive 'I'd argue', and adds a further short independent sentence at the very end, a more rounded, two-part close than 7.0's single sentence.
LR“at full volume for two solid hours” — Adds 'solid' to 7.0's 'at full volume for two hours', intensifying the sense of duration through a more idiomatic collocation.
GRA“which some railways already run and which genuinely works” — Replaces 7.0's static verb 'have' with the more active 'run', showing finer verb choice within an otherwise identical double relative-clause structure.
5. Do people speak more honestly on the phone than face-to-face?
May–Aug 2026
Compare Band 6.5 / 7.0 / 7.5 for this question
Band 6.5
Introduces the concession with a plain 'But': 'But it works both ways — lies are easier too, since there's no face to give you away.'
Sometimes, and often about the hard things. My father told me his eyesight was failing in a phone call, in a flat voice, months before he would have said it across a table, where he'd have had to watch my face receive it. The phone removes the other person's reaction, which makes hard truths easier to say. But it works both ways — lies are easier too, since there's no face to give you away. Face-to-face has a kind of honesty the phone lacks, because you can't hide a pause or a look.
Why this band
FC“But it works both ways — lies are easier too, since there's no face to give you away.” — Plain 'But' opens the concession as a new sentence. 7.0 replaces this with 'It cuts both ways, though:', a colon-led structure, and 7.5 keeps this colon structure but upgrades the verb 'are' to 'come'.
LR“in a flat voice” — Simple, direct phrasing. 7.0 intensifies to 'in a completely flat voice', and 7.5 develops this further into 'in a voice gone completely flat'.
GRA“The phone removes the other person's reaction, which makes hard truths easier to say.” — One sentence with a relative clause. 7.0 attaches this same idea to the previous sentence via a dash instead of starting new, and 7.5 keeps the dash but swaps 'removes' for 'strips away'.
Band 7.0
Integrates the concession with a colon: 'It cuts both ways, though: lies are easier too, since there's no face to give you away.'
Honestly, sometimes, and it's often the difficult things that come out more easily on the phone. My father told me his eyesight was failing in a phone call, in a completely flat voice, months before he would have said it across a table, where he'd have had to watch my face receive it — the phone removes the other person's reaction, and that makes hard truths easier to say. It cuts both ways, though: lies are easier too, since there's no face to give you away. People are often more honest about feelings on the phone and less honest about facts, while face-to-face has a kind of honesty the phone simply lacks.
Why this band
FC“It cuts both ways, though: lies are easier too, since there's no face to give you away.” — Replaces 6.5's sentence-initial 'But' with the more integrated 'It cuts both ways, though:', using a colon to introduce the concession, more fluent than 6.5's separate sentence. 7.5 keeps this colon structure nearly identical but swaps 'are' for the more active 'come'.
LR“in a completely flat voice” — Adds the intensifier 'completely' to 6.5's plain 'in a flat voice'. 7.5 develops this further into the participial phrase 'in a voice gone completely flat'.
GRA“the phone removes the other person's reaction, and that makes hard truths easier to say” — Attaches the idea to the previous sentence via a dash rather than starting a new sentence as in 6.5, a more integrated structure. 7.5 keeps this dash attachment but swaps 'removes' for 'strips away'.
Band 7.5
Upgrades the verb in the colon-led concession: 'lies come easier too, since there's no face left to give you away.'
I'd say sometimes, and it's usually the hardest things that slip out more easily down a phone line. My father told me his eyesight was failing in a phone call, in a voice gone completely flat, months before he'd have said it across a table, where he'd have had to watch my face receive it — the phone strips away the other person's reaction, and that absence makes hard truths easier to speak. It cuts both ways, though: lies come easier too, since there's no face left to give you away. People tend to be more honest about feelings on the phone and considerably less honest about facts, whereas face-to-face carries a kind of honesty the phone simply can't fake — you can't hide a pause or a look.
Why this band
FC“It cuts both ways, though: lies come easier too, since there's no face left to give you away.” — Keeps 7.0's colon structure nearly identical but swaps the verb 'are' for the more active 'come' and adds 'left' for extra nuance, a subtle but real upgrade in naturalness over 7.0's version.
LR“in a voice gone completely flat” — A more vivid, literary participial construction than 7.0's adjective phrase 'in a completely flat voice', showing stronger figurative control.
GRA“the phone strips away the other person's reaction, and that absence makes hard truths easier to speak” — Replaces 7.0's plain verb 'removes' with the more vivid phrasal verb 'strips away', and restructures 'that makes' into 'that absence makes', a subtly more sophisticated abstract subject for the same clause.
6. Is the overall impact of the widespread use of phones positive or negative?
May–Aug 2026
Compare Band 6.5 / 7.0 / 7.5 for this question
Band 6.5
Closes with a plain 'So' sentence: 'So I'd keep phones, but change how we use them.'
I think it's positive overall, though the balance is closer than it should be. The same phone that brought a fire crew in nine minutes has also created a building where people rarely look up on the stairs. On the positive side, phones give us information, safety, banking for people who never had a bank before, and contact across any distance. On the negative side, there's the cost to attention, sleep, and comparison. Most of the harm comes from the apps, not the phone itself, and that can be fixed. So I'd keep phones, but change how we use them.
Why this band
FC“So I'd keep phones, but change how we use them.” — Closes with a plain 'So' sentence. 7.0 replaces this with 'Given the choice, I'd keep them and change how we hold them', dropping the marker, and 7.5 extends this same structure with an added conditional phrase.
LR“the cost to attention, sleep, and comparison” — A simple list. 7.0 restructures this into a colon-led list format, and 7.5 keeps the colon format but adds a fourth item.
GRA“The same phone that brought a fire crew in nine minutes has also created a building where people rarely look up on the stairs.” — One sentence with a relative clause and a second main clause. 7.0 adds a further evaluative clause after a dash, and 7.5 keeps this dash-led evaluative clause but adds 'quietly'.
Band 7.0
Replaces the closing marker: 'Given the choice, I'd keep them and change how we hold them.'
Honestly, positive, I think, though the balance is closer than it probably should be. The same device that brought a fire crew in nine minutes has also produced a building where people rarely look up on the stairs anymore — the phone has made emergencies safer and ordinary days thinner. On the positive side: information, safety, banking for people who never had a bank, contact across any distance, and whole industries that lift people out of poverty. On the negative: attention, sleep, comparison, the shrinking of unplanned time. Most of the harm comes from the apps rather than the phone, and it's fixable in principle. Given the choice, I'd keep them and change how we hold them.
Why this band
FC“Given the choice, I'd keep them and change how we hold them.” — Replaces 6.5's plain 'So' marker with the more considered opening 'Given the choice', dropping any explicit linking word before the final claim. 7.5 extends this same phrase into a fuller, more deliberate framing.
LR“On the positive side: information, safety, banking for people who never had a bank, contact across any distance, and whole industries that lift people out of poverty.” — Restructures 6.5's plain sentence into a colon-led list, more economical and scannable. 7.5 keeps this colon-list format but adds a further item.
GRA“the phone has made emergencies safer and ordinary days thinner” — Adds this evaluative clause after a dash, extending the previous sentence rather than starting a new one as in 6.5, more integrated. 7.5 keeps this dash-led clause but adjusts agreement and adds 'quietly'.
Band 7.5
Extends the closing phrase into a fuller conditional: 'Given the choice of a world with or without them, I'd keep them — and work harder on how we hold them.'
Positive, on balance, though the margin is closer than it probably ought to be. The same device that brought a fire crew in nine minutes flat has also produced a building where people rarely look up on the stairs anymore — phones have made emergencies safer and ordinary days quietly thinner. On the plus side: information, safety, banking for people who never had a bank account, contact across any distance, and whole industries that have lifted people out of poverty. On the minus side: attention, sleep, comparison, the shrinking of unplanned time, and a childhood increasingly conducted through a screen. Most of the harm, tellingly, comes from the apps rather than the phone itself, which means it's fixable in principle rather than inevitable. Given the choice of a world with or without them, I'd keep them — and work harder on how we hold them.
Why this band
FC“Given the choice of a world with or without them, I'd keep them — and work harder on how we hold them.” — Extends 7.0's 'Given the choice' into the fuller conditional 'Given the choice of a world with or without them', and replaces 'change' with the more effortful 'work harder on', a more deliberate final statement than 7.0's plainer version.
LR“On the minus side: attention, sleep, comparison, the shrinking of unplanned time, and a childhood increasingly conducted through a screen.” — Keeps 7.0's colon-list format but adds a fourth item, 'a childhood increasingly conducted through a screen', a more vivid, specific addition to the list.
GRA“phones have made emergencies safer and ordinary days quietly thinner” — Corrects the subject-verb agreement from 7.0's 'the phone has made' to 'phones have made', and inserts the adverb 'quietly' before 'thinner', a small but real refinement of the same evaluative clause.
7. Is the most important use of a phone calling people?
May–Aug 2026
Compare Band 6.5 / 7.0 / 7.5 for this question
Band 6.5
Closes with a short, plain contrastive sentence: 'But importance and frequency are different things.'
In the moments that matter most, yes, I think it still is. That night, the message emptied the floor and the torch found the extinguisher, but it was the call to 114 that brought the fire crew, and nothing else on the phone could have done that. In everyday life, though, calling is now only a small part of what phones do — messaging, payments, and maps have mostly taken over. But importance and frequency are different things. The call is still the phone's most direct feature — a voice, immediately, from anywhere.
Why this band
FC“But importance and frequency are different things.” — Closes with a short, plain contrastive sentence. 7.0 adds 'I think' mid-sentence for a hedge, and 7.5 removes any hedge but expands the same idea into a fuller, more confident sentence.
LR“nothing else on the phone could have done that” — Plain phrasing. 7.0 upgrades the verb to 'managed that', and 7.5 keeps 'managed that' but embeds it in a slightly more elaborated clause.
GRA“That night, the message emptied the floor and the torch found the extinguisher, but it was the call to 114 that brought the fire crew, and nothing else on the phone could have done that.” — One long sentence with several coordinated clauses joined by 'but' and 'and'. 7.0 restructures the opening with a more integrated framing device, and 7.5 keeps this framing but drops the colon for smoother continuation.
Band 7.0
Inserts a hedge mid-sentence and adds a dash-led elaboration: 'importance and frequency, I think, are genuinely different things — the call remains the phone's oldest feature and still its most direct.'
Honestly, in the moments that matter most, I'd say it still is. That night's sequence suggests as much: the message emptied the floor, the torch found the extinguisher, but the call to 114 brought the actual fire crew, and nothing else on the phone could have managed that. In ordinary life, though, calling has become a fairly small fraction of what phones do — messaging, payments, maps, photos and reading have largely taken over, and plenty of young people avoid calls entirely. So the most common use isn't calling, and hasn't been for years. But importance and frequency, I think, are genuinely different things — the call remains the phone's oldest feature and still its most direct.
Why this band
FC“But importance and frequency, I think, are genuinely different things — the call remains the phone's oldest feature and still its most direct.” — Inserts the hedge 'I think' mid-sentence and extends the sentence with a dash-led elaboration, more developed than 6.5's short, plain sentence. 7.5 removes the hedge and expands the same idea even further.
LR“nothing else on the phone could have managed that” — Upgrades 6.5's plain verb 'done' to the more precise 'managed', showing finer verb choice. 7.5 keeps 'managed that' nearly identical, showing this phrasing had already reached a strong form.
GRA“That night's sequence suggests as much: the message emptied the floor, the torch found the extinguisher, but the call to 114 brought the actual fire crew, and nothing else on the phone could have managed that.” — Replaces 6.5's plain opening with the more integrated framing clause 'That night's sequence suggests as much:', a more sophisticated way of introducing the same list of examples. 7.5 keeps a similar framing but removes the colon.
Band 7.5
Builds one long, confident cumulative closing sentence ending in a colon-led list: 'a voice, immediately, from anywhere, and occasionally the difference between life and death.'
That night's sequence suggests the call is still the most important use in the moments that actually matter: the message emptied the floor, the torch found the extinguisher, but it was the call to 114 that brought the fire crew, and nothing else on the phone could have managed that. In ordinary life, though, calling has shrunk to a fairly small fraction of what phones do — messaging, payments, maps, photos and reading have largely taken over, and plenty of younger people avoid calls almost entirely. So the most common use certainly isn't calling, and hasn't been for years. But importance and frequency are two entirely different measures — the call is the phone's oldest feature and still, when it counts, its most direct: a voice, immediately, from anywhere, and occasionally the difference between life and death.
Why this band
FC“But importance and frequency are two entirely different measures — the call is the phone's oldest feature and still, when it counts, its most direct: a voice, immediately, from anywhere, and occasionally the difference between life and death.” — Removes 7.0's mid-sentence hedge 'I think' and instead builds one long, confident cumulative sentence ending in a colon-led list plus a final dramatic clause, a much more developed and rhetorically ambitious close than 7.0's shorter version.
LR“nothing else on the phone could have managed that” — Kept identical to 7.0, showing the phrase had already reached a strong, stable form by that band; the real upgrade in 7.5 lies elsewhere, in the extended closing sentence.
GRA“That night's sequence suggests the call is still the most important use in the moments that actually matter: the message emptied the floor, the torch found the extinguisher, but it was the call to 114 that brought the fire crew, and nothing else on the phone could have managed that.” — Fuses 7.0's separate framing clause and main claim into one sentence right from the start, stating the answer's thesis before the colon rather than after it, a more forward-loaded, confident structure.
8. What are some common uses of phones in everyday life?
May–Aug 2026
Compare Band 6.5 / 7.0 / 7.5 for this question
Band 6.5
Closes with the plain marker: 'Basically, the phone has replaced the wallet, the camera, the map, and the newspaper.'
My own morning is a good example. Before nine, I had checked the rain radar, paid for coffee with a QR code, followed a map to a client's office, taken a photo of a whiteboard to keep notes, and made just one phone call. People also use phones for banking, buying tickets, ordering food, reading news, and listening to music. My parents mostly use theirs for messaging and video calls to see their grandchildren, while my niece mostly uses hers for games and homework. Basically, the phone has replaced the wallet, the camera, the map, and the newspaper.
Why this band
FC“Basically, the phone has replaced the wallet, the camera, the map, and the newspaper.” — Closes with the plain marker 'Basically'. 7.0 removes this marker and instead states the point directly, embedding the hedge mid-sentence, and 7.5 keeps this mid-sentence placement but changes 'basically' to 'quietly'.
LR“made just one phone call” — Plain, direct phrasing. 7.0 upgrades to 'made exactly one phone call', and 7.5 keeps 'exactly one' but adds 'actual' for extra emphasis.
GRA“Before nine, I had checked the rain radar, paid for coffee with a QR code, followed a map to a client's office, taken a photo of a whiteboard to keep notes, and made just one phone call.” — A long list of coordinated past-tense verbs. 7.0 shifts the tense to past perfect and adds an extra item, and 7.5 keeps the past perfect but adds vivid detail.
Band 7.0
Embeds the hedge mid-sentence in the closing claim: 'The phone has basically absorbed the wallet, the camera, the map and the newspaper.'
Honestly, my own morning is a fairly fair example. Before nine, I'd already checked the rain radar, paid for coffee by QR code, followed a map to a client's office, photographed a whiteboard to keep the notes, replied to a stack of messages, and made exactly one phone call. Add in banking, buying tickets, ordering food, reading the news, listening to music, and the alarm that woke me up in the first place. For my parents, it's mostly messaging and video calls to see the grandchildren; for my niece, it's games and homework. The phone has basically absorbed the wallet, the camera, the map and the newspaper, and the call, which gave it its name, is now almost a minor feature.
Why this band
FC“The phone has basically absorbed the wallet, the camera, the map and the newspaper, and the call, which gave it its name, is now almost a minor feature.” — Embeds the hedge 'basically' mid-sentence rather than as a sentence-opener like 6.5, and adds a further clause about the call itself, a more integrated, elaborated close. 7.5 keeps this mid-sentence structure but swaps 'basically' for 'quietly'.
LR“made exactly one phone call” — Adds 'exactly' to 6.5's plain 'just one', a small precision upgrade. 7.5 keeps 'exactly one' but adds 'actual' for further emphasis.
GRA“Before nine, I'd already checked the rain radar, paid for coffee by QR code, followed a map to a client's office, photographed a whiteboard to keep the notes, replied to a stack of messages, and made exactly one phone call.” — Shifts to the past perfect and adds an extra listed item, more elaborated than 6.5's simple past-tense list. 7.5 keeps the past perfect and a similar list but swaps 'a stack of' for 'a small mountain of'.
Band 7.5
Swaps 'basically' for the more understated 'quietly' and adds 'the clock' to the list of absorbed objects.
My own morning is a fair enough sample. Before nine, I'd already checked the rain radar, paid for coffee by QR code, followed a map to a client's office, photographed a whiteboard to keep the notes, replied to a small mountain of messages, and made exactly one actual phone call. Add banking, buying tickets, ordering food, reading the news, listening to music, the alarm that dragged me out of bed, and the torch and calculator I use more than I'd ever admit. For my parents, it's messaging, video calls to the grandchildren, and the lunar calendar; for my niece, it's games and homework. The phone has quietly absorbed the wallet, the camera, the map, the newspaper and the clock, and the call, which gave it its very name, is now little more than a minor feature.
Why this band
FC“The phone has quietly absorbed the wallet, the camera, the map, the newspaper and the clock, and the call, which gave it its very name, is now little more than a minor feature.” — Keeps 7.0's mid-sentence structure but swaps 'basically' for the more understated, ironic 'quietly', adds 'the clock' to the list, and strengthens the final phrase from 'almost a minor feature' to 'little more than a minor feature'.
LR“made exactly one actual phone call” — Adds 'actual' to 7.0's 'exactly one phone call', reinforcing the irony that among all the phone's uses, only one was really a call in the traditional sense.
GRA“replied to a small mountain of messages, and made exactly one actual phone call” — Replaces 7.0's 'a stack of' with the more vivid, hyperbolic 'a small mountain of', showing stronger figurative control within the same listing structure.
9. How do younger and older people use phones differently?
May–Aug 2026
Compare Band 6.5 / 7.0 / 7.5 for this question
Band 6.5
Opens with a short, plain evaluative sentence: 'That night showed it well.'
That night showed it well. The young couple's neighbours saw the group message within seconds, but my sixty-year-old landlady missed it completely and instead answered a call on the first ring. Older people treat the phone as mainly a phone — they call, use a few apps deeply, and often don't trust anything involving money. Younger people message more than they speak, use many apps lightly, and reach for the phone in every quiet moment. Older users tend to be more careful, while younger ones are more skilled but more dependent.
Why this band
FC“That night showed it well.” — Opens the answer with a short, plain evaluative sentence. 7.0 upgrades this to 'that night captured it perfectly', and 7.5 keeps 'captured it' but softens to 'almost perfectly' for a more considered tone.
LR“treat the phone as mainly a phone” — Plain phrasing. 7.0 restructures the same idea into a fuller contrast, and 7.5 keeps this exact contrast structure nearly verbatim.
GRA“Older people treat the phone as mainly a phone — they call, use a few apps deeply, and often don't trust anything involving money.” — A dash introduces a list of three coordinated clauses. 7.0 extends the list to four items and adds a further contrastive clause afterward, and 7.5 keeps a similar four-item list but replaces some verbs with more vivid alternatives.
Band 7.0
Upgrades the opening with a stronger verb: 'that night captured it perfectly.'
Honestly, that night captured it perfectly. The young couple's neighbours saw the group message within seconds, while my sixty-year-old landlady missed it entirely but answered a call on the very first ring — older people seem to treat the phone as a phone, and younger people treat it as everything except one. Older people tend to call, use a handful of apps deeply, keep the phone in a bag rather than a hand, and often distrust anything involving money. Younger people message rather than speak, live lightly in many apps, use the camera constantly, and reach for the phone in every idle second. Older users, I'd say, are more private and anxious about mistakes; younger ones are more skilled and more dependent.
Why this band
FC“Honestly, that night captured it perfectly.” — Upgrades 6.5's plain opening sentence with the hedge 'Honestly' and the stronger verb 'captured', a more vivid, considered opening than 6.5's flat 'showed it well'. 7.5 keeps 'captured it' but softens the adverb to 'almost perfectly'.
LR“older people seem to treat the phone as a phone, and younger people treat it as everything except one” — Restructures 6.5's simple phrase into a fuller parallel contrast, more precise and memorable. 7.5 keeps this exact contrast nearly verbatim, showing the phrasing had already reached a strong, stable form.
GRA“Older people tend to call, use a handful of apps deeply, keep the phone in a bag rather than a hand, and often distrust anything involving money.” — Extends 6.5's three-item list to four items, including the added contrastive detail 'keep the phone in a bag rather than a hand', more elaborated. 7.5 keeps a similar four-item list but replaces this detail with a more vivid version.
Band 7.5
Softens the opening claim: 'That night captured it almost perfectly.'
That night captured it almost perfectly. The young couple's neighbours saw the group message within seconds; my sixty-year-old landlady missed it entirely but answered a call on the very first ring — older people treat the phone as a phone, younger people treat it as everything except one. Older people tend to call, use a small handful of apps deeply, keep the phone tucked in a bag rather than glued to a hand, and often distrust anything involving money. Younger people message rather than speak, live lightly across dozens of apps, use the camera almost reflexively, and reach for the phone in every idle second going. Older users, I'd say, are more private and more anxious about getting it wrong; younger ones are more skilled and considerably more dependent. Each finds the other's habits faintly absurd, and each is, in their own way, partly right.
Why this band
FC“That night captured it almost perfectly.” — Keeps 7.0's stronger verb 'captured' but softens 'perfectly' to 'almost perfectly', a more considered, less absolute claim that also sets up the answer's closing acknowledgement that 'each is...partly right'.
LR“older people treat the phone as a phone, younger people treat it as everything except one” — Kept nearly identical to 7.0's version, confirming the phrase had already reached a strong, idiomatic form by that band; the real upgrades appear elsewhere in the more vivid listing verbs.
GRA“keep the phone tucked in a bag rather than glued to a hand” — Replaces 7.0's plainer 'in a bag rather than a hand' with the more vivid past participles 'tucked' and 'glued', showing richer, more physical descriptive grammar within the same contrastive structure.

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 Used a Phone to Do Something Important", 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.