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 "An Interesting Neighbour", 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

An Interesting Neighbour

Most recently asked in May–Aug 2026

The cue card

Describe an interesting neighbour

You should say:

who the neighbor is
how you met this neighbor
how often you see this neighbor
and explain why you find this neighbor interesting

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 uses plain, everyday phrasing such as 'she seems to know everyone's story' and mostly simple sentences, giving a clear but linguistically modest picture, typical of Band 6.5.

The neighbour I want to talk about is Ba Sau, an old woman who lives on the ground floor of my apartment building in Da Nang. She must be around eighty, and she has been a tailor her whole life.

I met her about two years ago when I needed a pair of trousers shortened before a wedding. Someone in the building told me she still sews for people, even though she is retired. I knocked on her door, and she invited me in immediately, even though we had never spoken before.

I see her quite often, maybe two or three times a week, usually when I'm getting my motorbike from the parking area, because her door is always open and she sits there sewing or watching people pass by.

What makes her interesting is that she seems to know everyone's story in the building. She remembers when each family moved in, whose children got married, and even people's clothes sizes from years ago. She once told me the whole history of my apartment before I lived there. Talking to her feels like reading the building's diary. She never uses a phone or the internet, but she probably knows more about our building than anyone else does.

207 words · about 2 minutes

Why this band

LR“she seems to know everyone's story in the building” — 'Know everyone's story' uses simple, concrete nouns and verbs rather than a more abstract or idiomatic equivalent, and the hedge 'seems to' is used only in its literal sense rather than as a stylistic softener. This plain phrasing is immediately backed by three flat factual examples — when families moved in, whose children married, old clothes sizes — showing the answer developing its point through accumulation of simple detail rather than through more varied or figurative vocabulary. That's consistent with the 6.5 descriptor's 'everyday, high-frequency words' target, where clarity is what's being rewarded rather than range.
FC“I see her quite often, maybe two or three times a week” — The sentence answers the implicit 'how often' question with a single hedge ('quite often') immediately clarified by a specific frequency ('two or three times a week'), giving a direct, complete answer without further elaboration on why that frequency matters or what usually happens during those encounters. A 7.0 answer at the same point would likely extend this into a short example rather than stopping at frequency alone, matching the 6.5 Fluency & Coherence standard where one clear reason or example is enough.
GRA“She once told me the whole history of my apartment before I lived there.” — The sentence uses one main clause and a single time clause ('before I lived there'), with no coordination or further subordination — a straightforward past-tense report of a fact rather than an attempt at the layered complex sentences a 7.0 answer would build around the same anecdote. It's grammatically safe rather than risky, and entirely accurate as a result, which is exactly the trade-off the 6.5 descriptor names: mostly simple sentences rather than reaching for range that might introduce errors. The detail itself is vivid, but the sentence carrying it stays deliberately modest in structure.

Band 7.0

The topic sentence 'What makes her interesting is the project she's been doing for years now' signals clear paragraph-level organisation, and the contrastive complex sentence about 'people wouldn't bother... but she treats it like it actually matters' develops an evaluative point comfortably, characteristic of Band 7.0.

The neighbour I'd like to talk about is Mrs Lan, a woman probably in her sixties who lives two floors below me, and who spends most of her free time taking photographs around the neighbourhood.

I met her about a year ago, actually, when I was struggling to carry a big cardboard box up the stairs and she opened her door and offered to help, even though we'd never spoken before that. We ended up chatting for almost an hour in the hallway, mostly about the building and how long she'd lived there.

I see her fairly often, maybe two or three times a week, usually early in the morning when she's heading out with her camera before it gets too hot, or in the evening when she's back checking her photos on a little bench near the entrance.

What makes her interesting is the project she's been doing for years now. She's been photographing the same street corner near our building every single month since she retired, just to show how it slowly changes over time — new shops opening, old ones closing, trees getting bigger. She's got albums going back more than a decade, all neatly labelled by date, and she showed me a few once, which was honestly fascinating to look through.

I find her genuinely interesting because most people wouldn't bother keeping track of something so ordinary for that long, but she treats it like it actually matters, and after seeing her photos, I sort of think she's right. It's made me pay more attention to small changes around my own street that I would have completely ignored before. Whenever I pass her taking a photo now, I always stop for a quick chat, and she usually tells me some little piece of history about whatever building she's photographing that day.

305 words · about 2 minutes

Why this band

LR“which was honestly fascinating to look through” — 'Fascinating' is a step up from the plain 'interesting' a 6.5 answer would likely use, and 'honestly' functions as a spoken intensifier that frames the evaluation as a genuine reaction to the photo albums rather than a scripted compliment. The phrase also closes a build-up — the albums going back 'more than a decade', 'neatly labelled by date' — so the evaluative word lands after enough concrete detail to earn it. It's a single well-chosen adjective plus a natural connector rather than the denser figurative language a 7.5 answer might reach for in the same spot.
FC“What makes her interesting is the project she's been doing for years now.” — The cleft-like structure 'What makes her interesting is...' functions as an explicit topic sentence that signals a shift from the neighbour's basic details into the answer's actual argument for why she's interesting, giving the response clear paragraph-level structure rather than a single continuous stream of anecdote. A 6.5 answer would more likely move into the photography project without this kind of signposting. This explicit topic-sentence signalling is a Fluency & Coherence strength independent of vocabulary or grammar complexity, separating a 7.0 answer's 'developed' structure from a merely 'direct' 6.5 one.
GRA“most people wouldn't bother keeping track of something so ordinary for that long, but she treats it like it actually matters” — The sentence sets up a general claim about 'most people' and then contrasts it with the neighbour's specific behaviour via 'but', using the conditional-flavoured modal 'wouldn't bother' to imply a hypothetical majority against which she stands out. This generalise-then-contrast pattern is more argumentatively ambitious than the single-clause observations a 6.5 answer would offer, while the connectors themselves remain familiar rather than reaching for the more marked structures that would mark 7.5. It's also the sentence doing the answer's real evaluative work, tying grammar directly to reflective content.

Band 7.5

The witty, understated line 'He solved it in 1986 with a soldering iron and good manners' delivers a reflective punch that closes the idea memorably, showing the evaluative sophistication of Band 7.5.

The neighbour I'd describe is Mr Quang, who lives on the ground floor of my building in Da Nang, and who is a retired radio engineer in his seventies with a room full of radios, most of which he built or rebuilt himself.

How I met him was through a failure of technology, which he'd enjoy me saying. About three years ago my internet went down during a deadline, and I was on the stairs swearing at my phone when a door opened and a small man in a vest handed me a network cable and said I could plug into his router 'until the modern stuff recovers'. I worked at his kitchen table that night, surrounded by radios, and he explained every one of them.

How often I see him is most weeks. He's there on the stairs in the morning with his newspaper, and about once a month I'm invited in for tea, usually because he's finished repairing something and wants a witness.

Why I find him interesting is the radio. Mr Quang is an amateur radio operator, and at night, with an aerial he's strung illegally across the roof, he talks to strangers around the world — a retired teacher in Japan, a fisherman in the Philippines, a man in Germany who's been his radio friend for twenty years and whom he's never seen. He keeps a logbook of every conversation, handwritten, going back to the 1980s, and it's the most extraordinary document I've ever read: thousands of brief, polite exchanges with people he'll never meet, about weather and signal strength and, occasionally, a death or a birth. I design apps that connect people, and I've spent years on the problem of how to make strangers talk. He solved it in 1986 with a soldering iron and good manners. He also repairs the building's doorbell, for nothing, whenever it breaks, which is his other contribution to global communication.

321 words · about 2 minutes

Why this band

LR“an aerial he's strung illegally across the roof” — 'Strung' is a precise, less-common verb for how a wire or cable is put up, chosen over the generic 'put up' or 'installed' a 7.0 answer might use, and it's paired with 'illegally' to add a specific, slightly mischievous detail that characterises Mr Quang without any extra sentence of description. The word choice does double duty: it's technically exact and it carries the story's affectionate, faintly rule-breaking tone in a single adjective, which is the kind of precise-plus-characterful vocabulary the 7.5 descriptor asks for. A 6.5 or 7.0 version would likely flatten this into 'he has an aerial on the roof'.
FC“He solved it in 1986 with a soldering iron and good manners.” — The line compresses the entire preceding argument — that connecting strangers across the world is a hard problem the speaker, a professional app designer, has spent years on — into a single short sentence that credits an elderly amateur radio operator with solving it decades earlier using unglamorous tools. The juxtaposition of a precise date, a mundane object, and an abstract virtue creates the kind of witty, reflective punchline that Band 7.5 Fluency & Coherence rewards. A 7.0 closer would more likely state the comparison plainly, without this compression and irony.
GRA“which he'd enjoy me saying” — The relative clause 'which he'd enjoy me saying' embeds a gerund construction with its own implied subject inside a clause that itself modifies the whole preceding statement, compressing what would otherwise take a full extra sentence into five words. This kind of economical embedding — a non-defining relative clause referring back to an entire proposition, containing a further non-finite construction inside it — is a marked, higher-risk structure a 7.0 answer would be unlikely to attempt. Its accurate, unstrained use here is exactly the 'varied complex structures... mostly error-free' standard the 7.5 grammar descriptor sets.

How this card was asked, by exam period

Describe an interesting neighbourMay–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. How well do people usually know their neighbours in your country?
May–Aug 2026
Compare Band 6.5 / 7.0 / 7.5 for this question
Band 6.5
The hedge-heavy opening "I think it depends a lot on" is plain, unlike 7.5's tighter, more confident version of the same claim.
I think it depends a lot on what kind of street you live on. On my parents' street in Hue, the neighbours know almost everything about each other's lives, from health problems to who is getting married. But in my apartment building in Da Nang, I only know three people's names, and I met one of them because of a broken network cable. Traditional neighbourhoods here are very close, and people share food and watch each other's children. Newer housing, with locked doors, feels more like city life anywhere in the world. Older people still know their neighbours well, but younger people know them less every year.
Why this band
FC“I think it depends a lot on what kind of street you live on.” — A plain, hedge-heavy opening. Compare 7.5's tighter version, "It depends almost entirely on the kind of street, honestly," which drops the filler for a more confident, economical claim.
LR“know almost everything about each other's lives” — Vague phrasing. Contrast 7.5's precise, slightly startling "know each other's blood pressure," a concrete detail rather than a generalisation.
GRA“On my parents' street in Hue, the neighbours know almost everything about each other's lives, from health problems to who is getting married.” — One sentence, less compact than 7.5's semicolon-joined contrast comparing two streets in one breath.
Band 7.0
The inserted hedge "honestly" mid-clause gives natural spoken texture, more fluent than 6.5's plainer, hedge-free description.
Honestly, it depends almost entirely on the kind of street. On my parents' street in Hue, the neighbours know each other's health problems and whose son is getting married; in my Da Nang apartment building, I know three names, and one of those only because of a network cable. Traditional Vietnamese neighbourhoods are intensely close — people share food, watch each other's children, and have opinions on everyone's lives, which is both warm and, honestly, a little exhausting. Newer housing, with locked doors and people from other provinces, feels closer to the anonymous city life you'd find anywhere. Older people still greet everyone; younger people mostly nod. On average, I'd say Vietnamese people know their neighbours better than most, and less well every year.
Why this band
FC“which is both warm and, honestly, a little exhausting” — The inserted hedge "honestly" mid-clause gives natural spoken texture, more fluent than 6.5's plainer, hedge-free description.
LR“the anonymous city life you'd find anywhere” — A natural, idiomatic phrase. Contrast 6.5's flatter "city life anywhere in the world."
GRA“On my parents' street in Hue, the neighbours know each other's health problems and whose son is getting married; in my Da Nang apartment building, I know three names, and one of those only because of a network cable.” — A semicolon joining two contrasted clauses, more ambitious than 6.5's two separate sentences.
Band 7.5
The confident, hedge-light opening claim is more economical than 6.5's fuller, filler-heavy version.
It depends almost entirely on the kind of street, honestly. On my parents' street in Hue, the neighbours know each other's blood pressure and whose son is getting married; in my Da Nang apartment building, I know three names, and one of those only because of a network cable. Traditional Vietnamese neighbourhoods are intensely close — people share food, watch each other's children, and have opinions on each other's lives, which is both warm and exhausting. Newer housing, with locked doors and people arriving from other provinces, is closer to the anonymous city life of anywhere in the world. The older generation still greets everyone; the younger generation nods. On average I'd say Vietnamese people know their neighbours better than most, and less well every year.
Why this band
FC“It depends almost entirely on the kind of street, honestly.” — A confident, hedge-light opening claim, more economical than 6.5's fuller, filler-heavy version.
LR“know each other's blood pressure” — A precise, concrete, slightly startling detail, more vivid than 7.0's more general "health problems."
GRA“Traditional Vietnamese neighbourhoods are intensely close — people share food, watch each other's children, and have opinions on each other's lives, which is both warm and exhausting.” — A dash-extended sentence building a three-item list toward a compact two-word evaluative close, more controlled than 6.5's simpler listing sentence.
2. Is there such a thing as a national identity?
May–Aug 2026
Compare Band 6.5 / 7.0 / 7.5 for this question
Band 6.5
The front-loaded hedge "I think that gap is" is plain, unlike 7.5's more direct phrasing of the same claim.
I think there is, even though it is easier to feel than to explain. Mr Quang has talked to his German radio friend for twenty years, and he says there are things about himself he still cannot explain to him, like the family altar or a certain way of not saying things directly. I think that gap is roughly where national identity lives. It is a shared set of habits, stories, food, and manners that people inside a culture barely notice, but people outside cannot really reach. It is not fixed either, because Vietnamese identity today is different from my grandmother's version.
Why this band
FC“I think that gap is roughly where national identity lives.” — A plain, hedge-heavy claim. Compare 7.5's version, which drops "I think" and reaches the same idea more directly within a longer, dash-extended sentence.
LR“like the family altar or a certain way of not saying things directly” — A two-item list, less developed than 7.5's three-item dash-set list including "the obligations to family."
GRA“It is a shared set of habits, stories, food, and manners that people inside a culture barely notice, but people outside cannot really reach.” — A single "but" clause, less layered than 7.5's version, which adds a fifth item ("assumptions") and closes with "can't quite reach" for a more precise final verb.
Band 7.0
The trailing hedge "I'd say" gives a natural spoken qualifier, more fluent than 6.5's front-loaded "I think that gap is."
I think so, honestly, though it's easier to feel than to define. Mr Quang has spoken to his German radio friend for twenty years, and he says there are things about himself he still can't quite explain to him — the ancestral altar, the obligations to family, a certain way of not saying things directly — and that gap is roughly where national identity lives, I'd say. It's a shared set of habits, stories, foods, manners and assumptions that people inside barely notice and people outside can't quite reach. It's not fixed, either: Vietnamese identity today is different from my grandmother's version, and a Hanoi identity differs from a Hue one.
Why this band
FC“and that gap is roughly where national identity lives, I'd say” — The trailing hedge "I'd say" gives a natural spoken qualifier, more fluent than 6.5's front-loaded "I think that gap is."
LR“habits, stories, foods, manners and assumptions” — A five-item list, richer than 6.5's four-item version.
GRA“a Hanoi identity differs from a Hue one” — An added comparative clause, matching 7.5, though 7.0's answer lacks the final two sentences that extend the reflection further.
Band 7.5
The closing litotes "something happens that isn't nothing" goes beyond the more abstract, analytical endings of the lower bands.
I think so, though it's easier to feel than to define. Mr Quang has spoken to his German radio friend for twenty years, and he says there are things about himself he still can't explain to him — the ancestral altar, the obligations to family, a certain way of not saying things directly — and that gap is roughly where national identity lives. It's a shared set of habits, stories, foods, manners and assumptions that people inside a culture barely notice and people outside can't quite reach. It's not fixed, either: Vietnamese identity today is different from my grandmother's version, and a Hanoi identity differs from a Hue one. It can be exaggerated into something ugly, too. But when I'm abroad and hear my language across a room, something happens that isn't nothing.
Why this band
FC“when I'm abroad and hear my language across a room, something happens that isn't nothing” — A vivid, understated closing image using litotes ("isn't nothing"), going beyond the more abstract, analytical endings of 6.5 and 7.0.
LR“It can be exaggerated into something ugly, too.” — A precise, loaded phrase acknowledging a darker side of identity, absent from the more purely descriptive lower-band answers.
GRA“Mr Quang has spoken to his German radio friend for twenty years, and he says there are things about himself he still can't explain to him — the ancestral altar, the obligations to family, a certain way of not saying things directly — and that gap is roughly where national identity lives.” — A long sentence with a dash-framed three-item list embedded mid-sentence, more ambitious than the shorter, listless equivalent at 6.5.
3. What are the negative impacts of modern technology on local communities?
May–Aug 2026
Compare Band 6.5 / 7.0 / 7.5 for this question
Band 6.5
The separate, flatter concessive sentence about the group chat is plain, unlike 7.5's more compact closing antithesis.
I think the main problem is that people no longer need each other for anything. Every flat in my building has fast internet, and deliveries arrive at every door, so nobody had learned Mr Quang's name until a broken connection sent me to his. Technology removed the small reasons that used to bring neighbours into contact. Social life has moved to screens, so the person next door seems less interesting than someone on social media. Local shops also close because of online shopping, but the shop used to be where a community actually met. This is not completely fixed, though, because my building's group chat is what helped everyone leave safely during a fire.
Why this band
FC“This is not completely fixed, though, because my building's group chat is what helped everyone leave safely during a fire.” — A plain concessive statement. Compare 7.5's more compact version, which frames the same counter-example as part of a sharper closing antithesis: "None of this is inevitable... But the default direction is apart."
LR“Technology removed the small reasons that used to bring neighbours into contact.” — Plain phrasing. Contrast 7.5's "the small dependencies that used to force neighbours into contact," a more precise, slightly stronger noun and verb.
GRA“Every flat in my building has fast internet, and deliveries arrive at every door, so nobody had learned Mr Quang's name until a broken connection sent me to his.” — A single "so" clause, less punctuated than 7.5's dash-extended version of the same content.
Band 7.0
The dash-framed counter-example about the group chat is more integrated and fluent than 6.5's separate, flatter sentence.
The main one, honestly, is that people no longer need each other for anything. Every flat in my building has fast internet, deliveries arrive at every door, and nobody had learned Mr Quang's name until a broken connection sent me to his — technology has quietly removed the small dependencies that used to force neighbours into contact. Social life has moved to screens, so the person next door is less interesting than the person on the feed. Local shops close because of online shopping, and the shop used to be where a community actually met. Online groups can even turn neighbours against each other, since complaints are easier to type than to say. None of this is inevitable, though — my building's group chat is what emptied the floor safely during a fire.
Why this band
FC“None of this is inevitable, though — my building's group chat is what emptied the floor safely during a fire.” — The dash-framed counter-example is more integrated and fluent than 6.5's separate, flatter sentence.
LR“quietly removed the small dependencies” — The adverb "quietly" adds a subtle texture beyond 6.5's plain "removed."
GRA“Online groups can even turn neighbours against each other, since complaints are easier to type than to say.” — An added sentence introducing a further negative effect, a structural layer 6.5's shorter answer doesn't include.
Band 7.5
The short, blunt closing sentence reframes the whole discussion as a single trend, beyond the more explanatory closings at the lower bands.
The main one is that people no longer need each other for anything. Every flat in my building has fast internet, deliveries arrive at every door, and nobody had learned Mr Quang's name until a broken connection sent me to his — technology removed the small dependencies that used to force neighbours into contact. Social life has moved to screens, so the person next door is less interesting than the person on the feed. Local shops close because of online shopping, and the shop was where a community met. Online groups can even turn neighbours against each other, since complaints are easier to type than to say. None of this is inevitable; my building's group chat is what emptied the floor during a fire. But the default direction is apart.
Why this band
FC“But the default direction is apart.” — A short, blunt closing sentence that reframes the whole discussion as a single trend, going beyond the more explanatory closings at 6.5 and 7.0.
LR“the small dependencies that used to force neighbours into contact” — A precise, slightly stronger noun and verb than 6.5's plainer "small reasons... bring neighbours into contact."
GRA“None of this is inevitable; my building's group chat is what emptied the floor during a fire.” — A semicolon joining a claim to its counter-example, more controlled than 7.0's dash-framed version of the same idea.
4. How can businesses support local communities?
May–Aug 2026
Compare Band 6.5 / 7.0 / 7.5 for this question
Band 6.5
The plain restatement about the café lacks the dash-embedded compactness 7.5 folds directly into the same sentence.
I think businesses can help mostly by being present, not just by giving money. The café on our corner keeps a table free for the retired men every morning until nine, even if they do not buy anything, and it pays for the alley's lanterns at Tết. These small things make it feel part of the neighbourhood, not just a business inside it. Companies can also hire local people, buy from local suppliers, and pay fairly, which helps more than any donation. They can open their spaces too, and simply behave well, without too much noise or rubbish.
Why this band
FC“These small things make it feel part of the neighbourhood, not just a business inside it.” — A plain restatement of the point. Compare 7.5's tighter dash-embedded version, which folds the same claim directly into the sentence describing the café.
LR“helps more than any donation” — Plain phrasing. Contrast 7.5's identical idea but paired with the more precise closing goal, "A business that the street would miss is the goal."
GRA“They can open their spaces too, and simply behave well, without too much noise or rubbish.” — A single coordinated sentence combining two separate ideas, less developed than 7.5's version, which keeps them as two distinct, more detailed sentences.
Band 7.0
The short, punchy closing sentence with added intensifiers is more fluent than 6.5's plainer, more generic ending.
Mostly by being present, honestly, rather than by giving money. The café on our corner keeps a table for the retired men every morning until nine, whether they buy anything or not, and pays for the alley's lanterns at Tết — small things that make it part of the neighbourhood rather than just a business in it. Companies can hire locally, buy from local suppliers, and pay fairly, which does more than any donation. They can open their spaces: a car park for the weekend market, a meeting room for the residents' group. And they can sponsor the things nobody else funds, like the school football kit. A business the street would actually miss is really the goal.
Why this band
FC“A business the street would actually miss is really the goal.” — A short, punchy closing sentence with two added intensifiers ("actually," "really"), more fluent than 6.5's plainer, more generic ending.
LR“sponsor the things nobody else funds, like the school football kit” — A single concrete example, less developed than 7.5's two-item list adding "the alley's paint."
GRA“They can open their spaces: a car park for the weekend market, a meeting room for the residents' group.” — A colon-introduced two-item list, more controlled than 6.5's looser coordinated sentence.
Band 7.5
The spare closing sentence without added intensifiers gives it a more confident, understated finality than 7.0's version.
Mostly by being present rather than by giving money. The café on our corner keeps a table for the retired men every morning until nine, whether they buy anything or not, and pays for the alley's lanterns at Tết — small things that make it part of the neighbourhood rather than a business in it. Companies can hire locally, buy from local suppliers, and pay fairly, which does more than any donation. They can open their spaces: a car park for the weekend market, a meeting room for the residents' group. They can sponsor the things nobody else funds — the school football kit, the alley's paint. And they can simply behave well, with noise, rubbish and traffic. A business that the street would miss is the goal.
Why this band
FC“A business that the street would miss is the goal.” — A spare, shorter closing sentence without the intensifiers of 7.0, giving it a more confident, understated finality.
LR“the school football kit, the alley's paint” — A two-item list, richer than 7.0's single example.
GRA“They can sponsor the things nobody else funds — the school football kit, the alley's paint. And they can simply behave well, with noise, rubbish and traffic.” — Two short dash- and list-based sentences in sequence, a more controlled rhythm than 7.0's single longer sentence covering similar ground.
5. What can people do to make their neighbourhood a good place to live?
May–Aug 2026
Compare Band 6.5 / 7.0 / 7.5 for this question
Band 6.5
The hedge "I think" is a plain filler, unlike 7.5's cleaner, unhedged version of the same claim.
Mr Quang fixes the building's doorbell whenever it breaks, for nothing, without anyone asking him, and I think that small habit is most of the answer: do the useful thing that is yours to do. People can learn their neighbours' names and use them, which sounds small but changes a lot. They can also look after shared spaces, like the stairwell or the tree outside. They can notice when someone seems alone and check on them. They can also show up to things, like a cleanup or a festival. None of this needs money. A neighbourhood is good when enough people act like they will still be living there in twenty years.
Why this band
FC“and I think that small habit is most of the answer” — The hedge "I think" is a plain filler. Compare 7.5's cleaner, unhedged version of the same claim.
LR“which sounds small but changes a lot” — Plain phrasing. Contrast 7.5's "sounds trivial and changes everything," slightly stronger word choices.
GRA“People can learn their neighbours' names and use them, which sounds small but changes a lot.” — A single relative clause, less varied than 7.5's colon-introduced list structure used elsewhere in the answer.
Band 7.0
The inserted "honestly" gives natural spoken emphasis, more fluent than 6.5's flatter hedge "I think."
Mr Quang fixes the building's doorbell whenever it breaks, for nothing, without being asked, and honestly, that one small habit is most of the answer: do the useful thing that's yours to do. People can learn names and use them, which sounds trivial and changes almost everything. They can look after shared spaces — the stairwell, the alley, the tree — and notice who's alone and check. They can show up: to the residents' meeting, the cleanup, the festival. They can settle disputes by talking rather than complaining to the authorities. None of it needs money or organisation, really. A neighbourhood is good, I'd say, when enough people behave as if they'll be living there in twenty years.
Why this band
FC“and honestly, that one small habit is most of the answer” — The inserted "honestly" gives natural spoken emphasis, more fluent than 6.5's flatter hedge "I think."
LR“sounds trivial and changes almost everything” — Stronger word choices than 6.5, though the qualifier "almost" softens it slightly compared to 7.5's unqualified "everything."
GRA“They can look after shared spaces — the stairwell, the alley, the tree — and notice who's alone and check.” — A dash-framed list folded into a longer sentence with an added clause, more compact than 6.5's separate short sentences.
Band 7.5
The added closing item about tolerating noise and children extends the list beyond what the lower bands include.
Mr Quang fixes the building's doorbell whenever it breaks, for nothing, without being asked, and that one small habit is most of the answer: do the useful thing that's yours to do. People can learn names and use them, which sounds trivial and changes everything. They can look after the shared spaces — the stairwell, the alley, the tree. They can notice who's alone and check. They can show up: to the residents' meeting, the cleanup, the festival. They can settle disputes by talking rather than by complaining to authorities. And they can tolerate each other's noise and children with some grace. None of it needs money or organisation. A neighbourhood is good when enough people behave as if they'll be living there in twenty years.
Why this band
FC“And they can tolerate each other's noise and children with some grace.” — An added closing item extending the list beyond what 6.5 and 7.0 include, widening the practical advice given.
LR“sounds trivial and changes everything” — The unqualified "everything" gives the claim more confidence than 7.0's softened "almost everything."
GRA“They can look after the shared spaces — the stairwell, the alley, the tree. They can notice who's alone and check. They can show up: to the residents' meeting, the cleanup, the festival.” — Three short parallel sentences each opening with "They can," a more rhythmic, controlled structure than 7.0's single longer sentence covering similar content.
6. Is it harder for neighbours to get to know each other in big cities?
May–Aug 2026
Compare Band 6.5 / 7.0 / 7.5 for this question
Band 6.5
The concessive final sentence lacks the aphoristic final contrast 7.5 adds between cities and villages.
Yes, I think so, and the reasons are built into the buildings themselves. It took three years and a broken network connection for me to meet a man who lived only twenty metres from me, because city buildings are designed for privacy, with locked doors and a lift instead of a shared yard. In a village, life happens outside the house, so neighbours meet by accident, but in a city, people move often and treat home as a place to rest from other people. There are also too many neighbours, so getting to know any of them feels optional. It is not impossible, though; a fire or a good group chat can turn a building into a community.
Why this band
FC“It is not impossible, though; a fire or a good group chat can turn a building into a community.” — A plain concessive statement. Compare 7.5's fuller closing, which adds a final aphoristic contrast: "it takes an event or an effort, where a village just needs a doorstep."
LR“a place to rest from other people” — Plain phrasing. Contrast 7.5's "a place to recover from other people," a marginally more precise verb.
GRA“In a village, life happens outside the house, so neighbours meet by accident, but in a city, people move often and treat home as a place to rest from other people.” — A single long sentence with two coordinated clauses, less punctuated than 7.5's semicolon-split version.
Band 7.0
The colon-introduced three-item list is more developed than 6.5's plainer two-item version of the same claim.
Yes, honestly, and the reasons are built into the architecture. It took three years and a broken connection for me to meet a man who lived twenty metres from me, because a city building is designed for privacy — locked doors, a lift instead of a shared yard, no reason to ever stand outside. In a village or a small street, life happens in front of the house and neighbours meet by accident; in a city, people move often, work long hours, and treat home as somewhere to recover from other people. There's also the sheer number involved — with hundreds of neighbours, knowing any particular one feels optional. It isn't impossible, though: a fire, a flood or a good group chat can turn a building into a community.
Why this band
FC“It isn't impossible, though: a fire, a flood or a good group chat can turn a building into a community.” — The colon-introduced three-item list is more developed than 6.5's plainer two-item version of the same claim.
LR“no reason to ever stand outside” — The added "ever" intensifies the claim slightly beyond 6.5's plainer version.
GRA“In a village or a small street, life happens in front of the house and neighbours meet by accident; in a city, people move often, work long hours, and treat home as somewhere to recover from other people.” — A semicolon-joined contrast sentence, more controlled than 6.5's single coordinated sentence.
Band 7.5
The added final aphoristic sentence contrasting cities and villages goes beyond the single observation that ends the lower bands.
Yes, and the reasons are built into the architecture. It took three years and a broken connection for me to meet a man who lived twenty metres from me, because a city building is designed for privacy: locked doors, a lift instead of a shared yard, no reason to stand outside. In a village or a small street, life happens in front of the house and neighbours meet by accident; in a city, people move often, work long hours, and treat home as a place to recover from other people. There's also the sheer number: with hundreds of neighbours, knowing any of them feels optional. It isn't impossible — a fire, a flood or a good group chat can turn a building into a community. But it takes an event or an effort, where a village just needs a doorstep.
Why this band
FC“But it takes an event or an effort, where a village just needs a doorstep.” — An added final aphoristic sentence contrasting cities and villages, going beyond the single observation that ends 7.0 and 6.5.
LR“a place to recover from other people” — A marginally more precise verb than 6.5's plainer "rest from."
GRA“It isn't impossible — a fire, a flood or a good group chat can turn a building into a community. But it takes an event or an effort, where a village just needs a doorstep.” — Two sentences in sequence building toward a final antithesis, more layered than 7.0's single colon-based sentence.
7. What are the advantages of living in a place where neighbours know each other well?
May–Aug 2026
Compare Band 6.5 / 7.0 / 7.5 for this question
Band 6.5
The vague phrase "not just an idea" is plain, unlike 7.5's more precise word choice for the same claim.
Safety is the first advantage, and it is not just an idea. On the night of the fire in my building, everyone left quickly because people knew each other by name and knocked on the right doors. Then there is convenience, like a parcel that waits safely with Mr Quang for a week, or a neighbour who waters your plants. There is also something harder to explain, which is the feeling of being known, and that helps stop loneliness, especially for older people. Children also grow up watched by many adults, which gives freedom to the children and rest to the parents. The cost is less privacy, and some people would rather keep that.
Why this band
FC“Safety is the first advantage, and it is not just an idea.” — A plain claim. Compare 7.5's tighter colon version, "Safety, first, and it's not abstract:" which fronts the point and uses the more precise word "abstract" instead of "an idea."
LR“not just an idea” — Vague, generic phrasing. Contrast 7.5's more precise "not abstract."
GRA“Then there is convenience, like a parcel that waits safely with Mr Quang for a week, or a neighbour who waters your plants.” — A two-item list introduced by "like," less developed than 7.5's dash-introduced four-item list.
Band 7.0
The inserted "honestly" and fronted "first" give a more confident spoken opening than 6.5's fuller, hedge-free sentence.
Safety, first, honestly, and it's not abstract — on the night of the fire in my building, the floor emptied in minutes because people knew each other by name and knocked on the right doors. Then convenience: the parcel that waits safely with Mr Quang for a week, the spare key, the neighbour who waters your plants. Then something harder to measure — the feeling of being known, which is one of the strongest defences against loneliness there is, especially for older people. Children grow up watched by many adults, which is freedom for the children and rest for the parents. And disputes get settled over tea rather than through officials. The cost is privacy, and some people would honestly rather have that.
Why this band
FC“Safety, first, honestly, and it's not abstract” — The inserted "honestly" and fronted "first" give a more confident spoken opening than 6.5's fuller, hedge-free sentence.
LR“the strongest defences against loneliness there is” — A vivid superlative, slightly less precise than 7.5's "that exists," a marginally more formal relative clause.
GRA“Then convenience: the parcel that waits safely with Mr Quang for a week, the spare key, the neighbour who waters your plants.” — A colon-introduced three-item list, more controlled than 6.5's looser "like"-introduced two-item list.
Band 7.5
The short, self-aware closing sentence quietly undercuts the speaker's own earlier certainty, a touch absent from the lower bands.
Safety, first, and it's not abstract: on the night of the fire in my building, the floor emptied in minutes because people knew each other by name and knocked on the right doors. Then convenience — the parcel that waits safely with Mr Quang for a week, the spare key, the lift to the hospital, the neighbour who waters the plants. Then something harder to measure: the feeling of being known, which is one of the strongest defences against loneliness that exists, especially for older people. Children grow up watched by many adults, which is freedom for the children and rest for the parents. And disputes get settled over tea rather than through officials. The cost is privacy, and some people would rather have that. I used to think I would.
Why this band
FC“I used to think I would.” — A short, reflective closing sentence that quietly undercuts the speaker's own earlier certainty, a self-aware touch absent from the more straightforward endings of 6.5 and 7.0.
LR“the spare key, the lift to the hospital, the neighbour who waters the plants” — A four-item list, richer than 7.0's three-item version.
GRA“Then something harder to measure: the feeling of being known, which is one of the strongest defences against loneliness that exists, especially for older people.” — A colon-introduced sentence with an embedded superlative relative clause, more layered than 7.0's shorter equivalent.
8. To what extent can a nation be considered a community?
May–Aug 2026
Compare Band 6.5 / 7.0 / 7.5 for this question
Band 6.5
The plain factual closing claim lacks the final reframing sentence 7.5 adds about communities being built out of smaller ones.
I would say a nation is a community only sometimes, in short bursts. When Vietnam wins a football match, the whole country is out on the street together, and strangers hug each other, so for one night the nation really feels like a community. But the next morning, I am back in my building where I only know three names. A nation shares language, history, laws, and a common story, and in a crisis it can act together quickly. But a real community, in the normal sense, is people who depend on each other every day, and a hundred million people cannot really do that.
Why this band
FC“But a real community, in the normal sense, is people who depend on each other every day, and a hundred million people cannot really do that.” — A plain factual claim. Compare 7.5's version, which adds a final sentence reframing the nation as "a community of imagination... built out of" smaller ones.
LR“the whole country is out on the street together” — Plain phrasing. Contrast 7.5's "the entire country is on the street together, strangers embracing," a more vivid, specific image.
GRA“A nation shares language, history, laws, and a common story, and in a crisis it can act together quickly.” — One long coordinated sentence, less punctuated than 7.5's dash-framed list of crisis types.
Band 7.0
The precise, abstract closing metaphor is more developed than 6.5's plainer factual conclusion.
A community in bursts, honestly, I'd say. When Vietnam wins a football match, the entire country is on the street together, strangers embracing, and for a night the nation genuinely is a community in the fullest sense; the next morning I'm back in a building where I know three names. A nation shares language, history, laws and a story, and in a crisis — a flood, a pandemic — it can act as one with a speed that's actually quite moving. But a community, in the ordinary sense, is people who know each other and depend on each other daily, and a hundred million people simply can't do that. The nation is more a community of imagination, held together by symbols and events.
Why this band
FC“The nation is more a community of imagination, held together by symbols and events.” — A precise, abstract closing metaphor, more developed than 6.5's plainer factual conclusion.
LR“with a speed that's actually quite moving” — A natural intensifier. Contrast 7.5's "genuinely moving," a marginally stronger and more economical choice.
GRA“a flood, a pandemic — it can act as one with a speed that's actually quite moving” — A dash-framed two-item list, shorter than 7.5's three-item version adding "a war."
Band 7.5
The added closing sentence resolves the whole argument with a constructive final claim, going beyond 7.0's more static closing metaphor.
A community in bursts, I'd say. When Vietnam wins a football match, the entire country is on the street together, strangers embracing, and for a night the nation is a community in the fullest sense; the next morning I'm back in a building where I know three names. A nation shares language, history, laws and a story, and in a crisis — a flood, a war, a pandemic — it can act as one with a speed that's genuinely moving. But a community, in the ordinary sense, is people who know each other and depend on each other daily, and a hundred million people can't do that. The nation is a community of imagination, held together by symbols and events. Real communities are smaller, and the nation works best when it's built out of them.
Why this band
FC“Real communities are smaller, and the nation works best when it's built out of them.” — An added closing sentence that resolves the whole argument with a constructive final claim, going beyond 7.0's more static closing metaphor.
LR“the entire country is on the street together, strangers embracing” — A vivid, specific image, more developed than 6.5's plainer "the whole country is out on the street together."
GRA“in a crisis — a flood, a war, a pandemic — it can act as one with a speed that's genuinely moving” — A three-item dash-framed list, richer than 7.0's two-item version.
9. Will nation states be more or less important in the future?
May–Aug 2026
Compare Band 6.5 / 7.0 / 7.5 for this question
Band 6.5
The plain factual prediction at the end lacks the sharp two-word antithesis 7.5 uses to close the same argument.
I would have said less important, until recently. Mr Quang's radio has crossed every border on earth for forty years, and the internet, trade, and travel seemed to be making nations less important too. But then a pandemic closed every border within a week, and reminded everyone who really holds the power to act. Many problems today are global, like climate change and disease, and nations often cannot handle them well alone, which pushes countries toward working together. At the same time, people are also turning back to nations for identity and safety, because the world feels less stable. My guess is that nations will stay the main source of power for a long time.
Why this band
FC“My guess is that nations will stay the main source of power for a long time.” — A plain factual prediction. Compare 7.5's sharper closing sentence, "Less sovereign, not less important," which condenses the whole argument into a striking antithesis.
LR“seemed to be making nations less important too” — Plain, repetitive phrasing. Contrast 7.5's more vivid, idiomatic "seemed to be making nations quaint."
GRA“Many problems today are global, like climate change and disease, and nations often cannot handle them well alone, which pushes countries toward working together.” — One long coordinated sentence, less compact than 7.5's colon-introduced four-item list.
Band 7.0
The intensifier "actually" gives the claim a more pointed, confident edge than 6.5's plainer version of the same sentence.
I'd have said less, honestly, until recently. Mr Quang's radio has crossed every border on earth for forty years, and the internet, trade and travel seemed to be making nations quaint — and then a pandemic closed every border in a week and reminded everyone who actually holds the power to act. Plenty of problems are now global — climate, disease, technology, migration — and nations handle them badly alone, which pushes toward more international cooperation. At the same time, people are turning back to nations for identity and protection as the world feels less stable, and governments are reclaiming control over trade and data. My guess is that nations stay the main unit of power for a long time yet, while growing more entangled with each other.
Why this band
FC“and then a pandemic closed every border in a week and reminded everyone who actually holds the power to act” — The intensifier "actually" gives the claim a more pointed, confident edge than 6.5's plainer version of the same sentence.
LR“seemed to be making nations quaint” — A vivid, idiomatic adjective ("quaint"), more developed than 6.5's flat "less important."
GRA“Plenty of problems are now global — climate, disease, technology, migration — and nations handle them badly alone, which pushes toward more international cooperation.” — A dash-framed four-item list, more compact than 6.5's looser "like"-introduced two-item list.
Band 7.5
The two-word-per-half closing antithesis condenses the entire argument into a single striking sentence, going beyond the fuller but flatter conclusions at the lower bands.
I'd have said less, until recently. Mr Quang's radio has crossed every border on earth for forty years, and the internet, trade and travel seemed to be making nations quaint — and then a pandemic closed every border in a week and reminded everyone who actually holds the power to act. Many problems are now global: climate, disease, technology, migration, and nations handle them badly alone, which pushes toward international cooperation. At the same time, people are turning back to nations for identity and protection as the world feels less stable, and governments are reclaiming control over trade and data. My guess is that nations stay the main unit of power for a long time, while growing more entangled with each other. Less sovereign, not less important.
Why this band
FC“Less sovereign, not less important.” — A two-word-per-half closing antithesis that condenses the entire argument into a single striking sentence, going well beyond the fuller but flatter conclusions at 6.5 and 7.0.
LR“seemed to be making nations quaint” — Shared with 7.0, but here it sets up the sharper final antithesis, giving the whole answer a tighter arc.
GRA“Many problems are now global: climate, disease, technology, migration, and nations handle them badly alone, which pushes toward international cooperation.” — A colon-introduced four-item list feeding into a single flowing consequence clause, marginally more compact than 7.0's dash-framed version.

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 "An Interesting Neighbour", 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.