IELTS Speaking Part 2

An Occasion When You Lost Something in a Public Place

Most recently asked in May–Aug 2026

The cue card

Describe an occasion when you lost something in a public place

You should say:

  • what you lost
  • when and where you lost this thing
  • what you did to try and find it
  • and explain how you felt about losing this thing in a public place

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

Simple, concrete statements such as 'My money was all still inside' and a single especially-clause to add detail keep the language plain and accurate, characteristic of Band 6.5.

The thing I lost was my wallet, and I lost it at My Khe Beach in Da Nang on a Sunday morning about a year ago.

I go running along the beach most weekends, and that day I put my wallet and phone in a small bag on a beach chair while I went for a swim afterwards. When I came back about twenty minutes later, my bag was still there, but when I checked inside, my wallet was gone. I looked around the chair and under the towel, but there was nothing.

What I did was ask the lifeguard on duty, a young man named Huy, if anyone had handed anything in. He checked a small box he kept in his hut, and luckily, my wallet was there. Someone had found it near the chairs and given it to him, but they didn't wait to tell me who they were. My money was all still inside, and only my hands were shaking, not my luck, I joked to myself.

I felt really careless about losing it in such a public place, especially somewhere so crowded on a weekend. But afterwards I felt grateful, because it reminded me that most people are honest. Now I always keep my wallet in a zipped pocket, never in an open bag.

218 words · about 2 minutes

Why this band

  • LR“My money was all still inside” — This short statement uses only common, concrete words ("money," "still," "inside") to deliver the key positive outcome of the story without any embellishment or more descriptive phrasing (like "untouched" or "intact"). It's placed right before the speaker's own joke about the situation, so the plainness of the factual statement sets up a clear contrast with the lighter aside that follows. This kind of direct, unadorned reporting of good news is typical of the everyday vocabulary ceiling the Band 6.5 descriptor describes.
  • FC“I looked around the chair and under the towel, but there was nothing.” — The sentence reports the outcome of the search in the most economical way possible — two concrete locations checked, then a flat "but there was nothing" — without dramatising the disappointment or building suspense. This directness keeps the narrative moving efficiently toward the next event (asking the lifeguard), the straightforward, one-idea-at-a-time storytelling the Band 6.5 fluency descriptor rewards. A higher-band retelling might instead let the failed search carry more emotional weight through a reflective aside rather than stating it this plainly.
  • GRA“I felt really careless about losing it in such a public place, especially somewhere so crowded on a weekend.” — The main clause states the feeling plainly, and the "especially" phrase then adds one extra layer of specificity about the setting, a simple but genuinely useful way to build a sentence beyond a single flat statement. It's accurate and the added detail ("so crowded on a weekend") does real work in explaining why the speaker felt careless, rather than being pure padding. This single-layer elaboration — one main idea plus one supporting phrase — is representative of the basic-but-functional complex grammar the descriptor associates with Band 6.5.
Band 7.0

The comparison structure 'rather than just keeping it' and the developed reasoning in 'mostly annoyed with myself at first, because it wasn't even an expensive jacket' show a comfortable range of complex sentences and natural spoken development, typical of Band 7.0.

The thing I lost was my jacket, and I left it behind at a cinema in Da Nang about eight months ago, after watching a late film with some friends.

It happened on a Friday night. We'd gone to see a film that finished quite late, and because it was a bit cold in the cinema, I'd taken my jacket off partway through and put it over the back of the seat. I completely forgot about it once the film ended, since we were all talking and rushing to catch a taxi home.

I only realised it was missing the next morning, when I was getting ready to go out and couldn't find it anywhere. What I did first was call the cinema directly, though it took a while to actually get through to someone who could check the lost property properly. They told me to come in person, so I went back that afternoon with the exact seat number, which I luckily remembered because we'd booked online.

Thankfully, a cleaner had found it the night before and handed it in to the front desk, so I got it back within a few minutes of arriving, still folded neatly over a chair in the staff office.

How I felt about losing it was mostly annoyed with myself at first, because it wasn't even an expensive jacket, just one I'd had for years and liked a lot. I felt genuinely relieved once I got it back, though, and honestly a bit surprised that a stranger had bothered to hand it in rather than just keeping it. Since then, I've made a habit of double-checking my seat before leaving any cinema or bus, because I clearly can't be trusted not to forget things when I'm distracted.

294 words · about 2 minutes

Why this band

  • LR“still folded neatly over a chair in the staff office” — "Folded neatly" is a natural, flexible collocation that adds a small but vivid visual detail to the resolution of the story, going a step beyond a plain equivalent like "it was there" that a Band 6.5 retelling would likely settle for. Placing this detail at the very end of the sentence, after the main action (getting the jacket back) has already been reported, also shows some control over information ordering for effect, consistent with the "mostly common words plus a few flexible... ones" the Band 7.0 lexical descriptor describes.
  • FC“How I felt about losing it was mostly annoyed with myself at first, because it wasn't even an expensive jacket, just one I'd had for years and liked a lot.” — Rather than stopping at "I felt annoyed," the speaker immediately explains why the annoyance made sense given the jacket's actual value (sentimental rather than financial), developing the emotional reaction into a small piece of reasoning rather than leaving it as an isolated adjective. The qualifier "at first" also sets up the later shift to relief, showing the speaker tracking her own emotional arc across the story. This fuller, reason-supported development of feeling is the "reason and one short concrete example" elaboration the Band 7.0 fluency descriptor asks for, beyond the flatter feeling-statements typical of Band 6.5.
  • GRA“a bit surprised that a stranger had bothered to hand it in rather than just keeping it” — The "rather than" comparison sits inside an already complex sentence (a "that"-clause reporting the surprise, itself containing the comparison), requiring the speaker to hold multiple grammatical layers together while keeping the meaning — a stranger chose honesty over self-interest — perfectly clear. This comfortable handling of a comparison embedded within a subordinate clause, without losing accuracy, is representative of the "comfortable mix of simple and complex sentences, generally accurate" the Band 7.0 descriptor describes, one notch below the even more tightly compressed structures seen at Band 7.5 elsewhere in this batch.
Band 7.5

The metonymic phrase 'watched the bus pull away with my six months on board' compresses the loss vividly, and the short callback 'I finished the boat one' closes the story with the kind of narrative economy expected at Band 7.5.

The thing I lost was my sketchbook — a small black book, half full, with about six months of drawings and every idea I'd had for a client project — and I lost it on a city bus in Hanoi last spring.

When and where: I was in Hanoi for two days of meetings, staying with a friend across the city, and on the second evening I took a bus back from the client's office with the sketchbook on my lap, drawing the view. My phone rang, I stood up to get off at the stop, and I left the book on the seat. I realised on the pavement, turned round, and watched the bus pull away with my six months on board.

What I did was, first, run after it. Then I phoned the bus company and was told, kindly, that most things left on buses are never seen again. My friend and I went to the depot at six the next morning and searched a box of umbrellas. Nothing. I flew home to Da Nang that afternoon.

Three days later a parcel arrived at the studio. Inside was the book, and inside the book, on the first blank page, was a note from a woman who'd found it on the seat, read enough to see it belonged to a designer in Da Nang — my studio's name was on a drawing — and had posted it at her own cost. No name, no address, one line: 'Finish the boat one.'

How I felt about losing it in public was a specific kind of shame at having handed something private to a city of strangers. What I felt afterwards was almost the opposite. A stranger had looked at my private pages and decided they were worth sending home. I finished the boat one. I've never lost the book again, because it now lives in a bag I never take off.

321 words · about 2 minutes

Why this band

  • LR“a specific kind of shame at having handed something private to a city of strangers” — Rather than naming a single emotion word like "embarrassed," the speaker constructs a precise, layered noun phrase — "a specific kind of shame" — and then extends it figuratively with "a city of strangers," treating the whole city as a single collective witness to the loss. This kind of precise emotional calibration, built through figurative language rather than a stock adjective, is exactly the "several precise or less-common words and collocations" combined with "one figurative... touch" the Band 7.5 descriptor calls for, going well beyond the plain "I felt embarrassed" a Band 6.5 or 7.0 answer would likely produce for the same moment.
  • FC“I finished the boat one.” — This four-word sentence deliberately trusts the listener to remember the earlier reference to "the boat one" (from the stranger's note), closing the story with understated economy rather than restating the context in full. This kind of confident narrative compression — allowing a callback to do emotional work without spelling it out — is a genuinely reflective and evaluative closing choice, demonstrating the "good rhythm" and restraint the Band 7.5 fluency descriptor associates with a strong, specific spoken answer, in clear contrast to the more explicit, fully-spelled-out closings typical of Band 6.5 responses elsewhere in this batch.
  • GRA“I realised on the pavement, turned round, and watched the bus pull away with my six months on board.” — The metonymic phrase 'my six months on board' stands in for the sketchbook's contents, showing flexible, figurative grammar within a parallel verb sequence.

How this card was asked, by exam period

  • Describe an occasion when you lost something in a public placeMay–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. 1. Why do some people lose things more often than other people?

    May–Aug 2026
    Compare Band 6.5 / 7.0 / 7.5 for this question
    Band 6.5

    Spells the claim out fully with 'I think it is mostly about' rather than a compact fragment.

    I think it is mostly about attention and habits. My friend Đức has lost four phones since I have known him, but my sister has not lost anything since about 2010 - the difference is not about intelligence, but that she has a fixed place for everything, while he just believes he will remember. People who lose things often are usually thinking about something else, like a phone call, at the moment they put something down. Some carry too many things, so nothing really has its own place. Being tired or stressed makes it worse too. I think habit is stronger than memory.

    Why this band

    • FC“I think it is mostly about attention and habits.” — This full sentence states the claim plainly with 'I think... mostly about'; 7.0 compresses this into the fragment 'Attention and systems, mostly, I'd say.', and 7.5 removes the hedge entirely for the leanest 'Attention and systems, mostly.'
    • LR“not about intelligence” — 'not about intelligence' is plain; 7.0 and 7.5 both keep this word but embed it in the tighter parallel structure 'a fixed place for everything... a fixed belief that he'll remember', a more rhetorically balanced phrase.
    • GRA“People who lose things often are usually thinking about something else, like a phone call, at the moment they put something down.” — This sentence gives one example inside a 'like' phrase; 7.0 and 7.5 both restructure this with a dash-linked pair of examples, 'the next meeting, the phone call', for a punchier, more parallel rhythm.
    Band 7.0

    Compresses the opener to a fragment with a mid-placed hedge, tighter than 6.5's full sentence.

    Attention and systems, mostly, I'd say. Đức has lost four phones in the time I've known him, and my sister hasn't lost anything since about 2010; the difference isn't intelligence but that she has a fixed place for everything and he has a fixed belief that he'll remember. People who lose things often are usually thinking about something else - the next meeting, the phone call - at the moment they put a thing down. Some carry too much, so nothing ever has a home. Stress and tiredness make it worse, and some people simply don't mind losing things, which makes them careless in a way a more anxious person never is. Habit beats memory every time.

    Why this band

    • FC“Attention and systems, mostly, I'd say.” — This fragment-based opener with a mid-placed hedge is far more compact than 6.5's full sentence; 7.5 removes the hedge entirely for the leanest possible version, 'Attention and systems, mostly.'
    • LR“a more anxious person never is” — This precise comparative phrase is more evaluative than a plain statement; 7.5 varies this slightly to 'a person who dreads it never is', a marginally more vivid, emotionally specific phrase.
    • GRA“Some carry too much, so nothing ever has a home.” — This is the one moderately complex touch expected at 7.0, using the metaphor 'a home' for where objects belong; 7.5 keeps a nearly identical sentence, trimming 'ever', and adds a further personal example about the sketchbook.
    Band 7.5

    Removes the hedge 'I'd say' that 7.0 keeps, the leanest and most confident opener of the three.

    Attention and systems, mostly. Đức has lost four phones in the time I've known him, and my sister hasn't lost anything since about 2010; the difference isn't intelligence but that she has a fixed place for everything and he has a fixed belief that he'll remember. People who lose things often are usually thinking about something else - the phone call, the next meeting - at the moment they put a thing down. Some carry too much, so nothing has a home. Stress and tiredness make it worse; I lost a sketchbook once at the end of a two-day trip. And some people simply don't mind losing things, which makes them careless in a way that a person who dreads it never is. Habit beats memory every time.

    Why this band

    • FC“Attention and systems, mostly.” — Removing the hedge 'I'd say' that 7.0 keeps at the end of the same fragment makes this the leanest and most confident of the three openers.
    • LR“a person who dreads it never is” — This is a marginally more vivid, emotionally specific phrase than 7.0's 'a more anxious person never is', showing a slightly sharper, more original choice of words for the same comparison.
    • GRA“Stress and tiredness make it worse; I lost a sketchbook once at the end of a two-day trip.” — Adding this personal, concrete example via a semicolon, absent from both 6.5 and 7.0, grounds the abstract claim in specific experience, showing the wider range of connected, illustrative detail expected at 7.5.

  2. 2. What kinds of things do people often lose in public places?

    May–Aug 2026
    Compare Band 6.5 / 7.0 / 7.5 for this question
    Band 6.5

    States the claim in full with 'I think... probably the most common things' rather than a leaner fragment.

    I think umbrellas, phones, and keys are probably the most common things people lose. The lost-property box at a bus station I visited was a good example - it had many umbrellas, phone chargers, one shoe, a bag of vegetables, and several sets of keys, but no sketchbook, unfortunately. Umbrellas are lost the most because people carry them when it rains and forget them once it stops. Phones and wallets are lost constantly, and they hurt the most to lose. In cafes, people often forget laptops and chargers. Basically, people lose whatever they were holding when something more urgent happened.

    Why this band

    • FC“I think umbrellas, phones, and keys are probably the most common things people lose.” — This full sentence states the claim with 'I think... probably'; 7.0 compresses this into the fragment 'Umbrellas, phones and keys, I'd say, are probably the classic ones.', and 7.5 removes the hedge entirely, opening straight with the concrete example itself.
    • LR“was a good example” — 'was a good example' is plain; 7.0 and 7.5 both replace this with the more idiomatic 'was a fair example' / 'was a fair survey', a slightly more precise, evaluative noun choice.
    • GRA“The lost-property box at a bus station I visited was a good example - it had many umbrellas, phone chargers, one shoe, a bag of vegetables, and several sets of keys, but no sketchbook, unfortunately.” — This sentence uses 'it had... but' to link the list to the twist; 7.0 and 7.5 both drop 'it had' and let the list run directly after the dash, a tighter, more efficient structure.
    Band 7.0

    Uses a fragment with a mid-placed hedge and drops straight into the list without 'it had'.

    Umbrellas, phones and keys, I'd say, are probably the classic ones. The lost-property box at a Hanoi bus depot was a fair example - umbrellas by the dozen, phone chargers, a single shoe, a bag of vegetables, several sets of keys, and, unfortunately, no sketchbook. Umbrellas top every list because people carry them when it rains and forget them the moment it stops. Phones, wallets and keys are lost constantly, and they hurt the most. Glasses, hats and headphones follow; in cafés it's laptops and chargers, and at airports it's documents and, astonishingly, luggage. What people lose is basically whatever they were holding when something more urgent happened.

    Why this band

    • FC“Umbrellas, phones and keys, I'd say, are probably the classic ones.” — This fragment with a mid-placed hedge is more compact than 6.5's full sentence; 7.5 removes the opening claim sentence entirely, moving straight to the concrete example as the answer's opening line.
    • LR“was a fair example” — 'fair' is a slightly more precise, idiomatic evaluative word than 6.5's plain 'good'; 7.5 extends this into 'was a fair survey', an even more original noun choice for the same idea.
    • GRA“Glasses, hats and headphones follow; in cafés it's laptops and chargers, and at airports it's documents and, astonishingly, luggage.” — This semicolon-linked list covering three locations is the one moderately complex structure expected at 7.0; 7.5 extends the same list with a fourth location, 'on beaches it's sunglasses', for an even fuller, more layered structure.
    Band 7.5

    Opens directly with the concrete example and a colon, no claim sentence or hedge beforehand.

    The box at the Hanoi bus depot was a fair survey: umbrellas by the dozen, phone chargers, a single shoe, a bag of vegetables, several sets of keys, and no sketchbook. Umbrellas top every list because people carry them when it rains and forget them when it stops. Phones, wallets and keys are lost constantly, and hurt most. Glasses, hats, water bottles and headphones follow, along with anything small enough to sit on a seat. In cafés it's laptops and chargers; on beaches it's sunglasses; at airports it's documents and, astonishingly, luggage. What people lose is whatever they were holding when something more urgent happened. The bus depot's box was a museum of interrupted moments.

    Why this band

    • FC“The box at the Hanoi bus depot was a fair survey:” — Opening directly with the concrete example and a colon, with no claim sentence or hedge beforehand, is more confident and economical than 6.5 and 7.0's claim-first openers.
    • LR“was a museum of interrupted moments” — This closing metaphor is a genuinely original, idiomatic image absent from both 6.5 and 7.0, giving the answer a memorable, reflective final line well beyond a literal description.
    • GRA“The bus depot's box was a museum of interrupted moments.” — This short final sentence, functioning as a metaphorical summary of everything listed before it, is a more flexible, essay-like closing device than the plainer final sentences in 6.5 and 7.0.

  3. 3. What motivates archaeologists to search for objects from the distant past?

    May–Aug 2026
    Compare Band 6.5 / 7.0 / 7.5 for this question
    Band 6.5

    States the claim in full, 'I think it is curiosity about', rather than a compact fragment.

    I think it is curiosity about people who left no other message. An archaeologist I met near the Mỹ Sơn ruins told me that a broken cooking pot can answer questions that no written record can, like what people ate or how a family lived a thousand years ago. Archaeologists search because most of human history was never written down, so objects are often the only proof we have. Some are driven by one specific mystery, like where a city disappeared to. National pride also pays for a lot of this work, since a country's past is part of its identity.

    Why this band

    • FC“I think it is curiosity about people who left no other message.” — This full sentence states the claim with 'I think it is'; 7.0 compresses this into the fragment 'Curiosity about people who left no other message, I'd say.', and 7.5 removes the hedge entirely for the bare noun phrase 'Curiosity about people who left no other message.'
    • LR“no other message” — 'no other message' is used here as plain description; 7.0 and 7.5 both keep the exact same phrase, showing this specific image was already strong at 6.5, with the real differences appearing elsewhere in sentence structure and added detail.
    • GRA“Archaeologists search because most of human history was never written down, so objects are often the only proof we have.” — This sentence links cause and effect with 'so'; 7.0 and 7.5 both replace 'so' with 'and', restructuring the final clause as 'objects are the only witnesses left/the only witnesses', a slightly more literary, less mechanical connection.
    Band 7.0

    Trims the opener to a fragment with a trailing hedge, more compact than 6.5's full sentence.

    Curiosity about people who left no other message, I'd say. An archaeologist at the Mỹ Sơn ruins near Da Nang told me that a broken cooking pot can answer questions no written record does - what people ate, who traded with whom, how a family lived on an ordinary day a thousand years ago. Archaeologists search because most of human history was never written down, and objects are the only witnesses left. Some are driven by a specific mystery - where a city went, why a civilisation ended. National pride funds a good deal of it too, since a country's past is part of its identity. And there's simply the human wish to know where we came from.

    Why this band

    • FC“Curiosity about people who left no other message, I'd say.” — This fragment with a trailing hedge is more compact than 6.5's full sentence; 7.5 removes the hedge entirely, opening with the bare noun phrase 'Curiosity about people who left no other message.'
    • LR“objects are the only witnesses left” — 'witnesses' is a precise, slightly personifying metaphor; 7.5 keeps the same word but trims 'left' for the even sharper 'objects are the only witnesses', a more compact final form.
    • GRA“Some are driven by a specific mystery - where a city went, why a civilisation ended.” — This dash-linked list of two mysteries is the one moderately complex structure expected at 7.0; 7.5 keeps this exact sentence and adds a further parallel sentence, 'Some by the thrill of being the first hand on a thing in centuries.', extending the range of motives listed.
    Band 7.5

    Removes the hedge 'I'd say' that 7.0 keeps, opening with the bare noun phrase.

    Curiosity about people who left no other message. An archaeologist at the Mỹ Sơn ruins near Da Nang told me that a broken cooking pot can answer questions no written record does: what people ate, who traded with whom, how a family lived on an ordinary day a thousand years ago. Archaeologists search because most of human history was never written down, and objects are the only witnesses. Some are driven by a specific mystery - where a city went, why a civilisation ended. Some by the thrill of being the first hand on a thing in centuries. National pride funds a good deal of it, since a country's past is part of its identity. And there's the simple human wish to know where we came from, which never runs out.

    Why this band

    • FC“Curiosity about people who left no other message.” — Removing the hedge 'I'd say' that 7.0 keeps at the end of the same fragment makes this the leanest and most direct of the three openers.
    • LR“the simple human wish to know where we came from, which never runs out” — The added relative clause 'which never runs out' is a more original, reflective closing touch absent from 7.0's plainer final sentence, giving the whole answer a more resonant final image.
    • GRA“Some by the thrill of being the first hand on a thing in centuries.” — This extra sentence fragment, added as a third parallel motive after the two given in 7.0, shows the fuller, more layered listing structure typical of 7.5.

  4. 4. Why do people sometimes make a lot of effort to find something they have lost?

    May–Aug 2026
    Compare Band 6.5 / 7.0 / 7.5 for this question
    Band 6.5

    Spells the reason out with 'I think it is because' rather than leading directly with the reason.

    I think it is because the value is not really about the price. I once travelled across Hanoi at six in the morning for a sketchbook that only cost a few dollars but held six months of my ideas, and to me the effort made complete sense, even though the bus company probably thought I was crazy. People search hard for things that cannot be replaced, like photos or a grandmother's ring, or things that took a lot of time and work to make. Some people also just refuse to accept a loss that feels unfair, and effort can feel like a way to undo an accident.

    Why this band

    • FC“I think it is because the value is not really about the price.” — This full sentence spells the reason out with 'I think it is because'; 7.0 restructures this to lead with the reason, 'Because the value isn't the price, I'd say.', and 7.5 removes the hedge entirely for the bare causal clause 'Because the value isn't the price.'
    • LR“made complete sense” — 'made complete sense' is plain; 7.0 and 7.5 both extend this into the sharper contrast 'made perfect sense to me and none at all/none to the bus company', a more idiomatic, balanced structure.
    • GRA“People search hard for things that cannot be replaced, like photos or a grandmother's ring, or things that took a lot of time and work to make.” — This sentence uses 'like... or' loosely; 7.0 and 7.5 both restructure the same list with a dash and three specific items, for a tighter, more vivid parallel structure.
    Band 7.0

    Leads with the causal clause, placing the hedge 'I'd say' at the end, more sophisticated than 6.5's plain opener.

    Because the value isn't the price, I'd say. I went across Hanoi at six in the morning for a sketchbook that cost a few dollars and held six months of my thinking, and the effort made perfect sense to me and none at all to the bus company. People search hard for things that can't be replaced - photographs, a grandmother's ring, a child's only toy - or that represent real time and work. Practical necessity drives some searches too: keys, passports, medicine. There's also the refusal to accept a loss that feels unfair, and the hope that effort alone can somehow reverse an accident.

    Why this band

    • FC“Because the value isn't the price, I'd say.” — Leading with the reason and placing the hedge 'I'd say' at the end is more sophisticated than 6.5's plain 'I think it is because'; 7.5 removes the hedge entirely, stating the same reason with full confidence.
    • LR“made perfect sense to me and none at all to the bus company” — This balanced contrastive phrase is more vivid than 6.5's plain 'made complete sense'; 7.5 keeps a nearly identical phrase, trimming only 'at all', showing 7.0 had already found the right structure here.
    • GRA“People search hard for things that can't be replaced - photographs, a grandmother's ring, a child's only toy - or that represent real time and work.” — This dash-bracketed list of three specific items is the one moderately complex structure expected at 7.0; 7.5 keeps a nearly identical structure but extends the final item to 'a child's toy that is the only toy', a slightly more emotionally precise phrase.
    Band 7.5

    Removes the hedge 'I'd say' that 7.0 keeps, for the leanest, most assertive causal opener.

    Because the value isn't the price. I went across Hanoi at six in the morning for a sketchbook that cost a few dollars and held six months of my thinking, and the effort made perfect sense to me and none to the bus company. People search hard for things that can't be replaced - photographs, a grandmother's ring, a child's toy that is the only toy - or that represent time and work. Practical necessity drives some searches: keys, passports, medicine. There's also the refusal to accept a loss that feels unfair, and the hope that effort can reverse an accident. And for some things, the search is really a way of honouring what was lost, even when the searcher already knows it's gone.

    Why this band

    • FC“Because the value isn't the price.” — Removing the hedge 'I'd say' that 7.0 keeps at the end of the same clause makes this the leanest and most assertive of the three openers.
    • LR“the search is really a way of honouring what was lost” — This closing reflective metaphor, absent from 6.5 and 7.0, reframes the whole answer around the idea of 'honouring', a more abstract and emotionally precise final point than the practical reasons listed earlier.
    • GRA“And for some things, the search is really a way of honouring what was lost, even when the searcher already knows it's gone.” — This extra final sentence, built around a concessive 'even when' clause, extends the answer with one more connected, reflective idea beyond what 6.5 or 7.0 include, showing the fuller range expected at 7.5.

  5. 5. How useful is it to offer a reward for finding a lost object?

    May–Aug 2026
    Compare Band 6.5 / 7.0 / 7.5 for this question
    Band 6.5

    Spells the balanced claim out fully with 'I think... but it can also feel'.

    I think a reward can help in some cases, but it can also feel a little insulting in others. For example, the woman who found and posted my sketchbook did it herself, with no reward offered, and I do not think a reward would have changed anything for her. But a neighbour who offered money for a lost dog was brought three dogs that were not even his. Rewards can help when nobody obviously owns the object, because they give the finder a reason to make an effort. But they can also attract dishonest people, especially for valuable items.

    Why this band

    • FC“I think a reward can help in some cases, but it can also feel a little insulting in others.” — This full sentence spells the balanced claim out with 'I think... but'; 7.0 and 7.5 both compress this into the fragment 'Useful in some cases, and slightly insulting in others.', dropping the verb for a more compact opener.
    • LR“feel a little insulting” — 'feel a little insulting' is plain; 7.0 and 7.5 both tighten this to simply 'slightly insulting', a more economical evaluative phrase.
    • GRA“Rewards can help when nobody obviously owns the object, because they give the finder a reason to make an effort.” — This 'because' sentence states the effect plainly; 7.0 and 7.5 both extend the same idea with a vivid dash-linked metaphor, 'they turn a shrug into a phone call', adding a livelier, more concrete image.
    Band 7.0

    Compresses the opener to a fragment with a mid-placed hedge, tighter than 6.5's full sentence.

    Useful in some cases, I'd say, and slightly insulting in others. The woman who posted my sketchbook did it at her own expense with no reward on offer, and I doubt a reward would have changed much about her at all; a neighbour who offered money for a lost dog, on the other hand, was brought three dogs that weren't even his. Rewards help when the object has no obvious owner and the finder needs a reason to bother - they turn a shrug into a phone call. They can also attract fraud, and for valuable items they can encourage people to hold things for ransom instead of simply returning them.

    Why this band

    • FC“Useful in some cases, I'd say, and slightly insulting in others.” — This fragment with a mid-placed hedge is more compact than 6.5's full sentence; 7.5 removes the hedge entirely for the leaner 'Useful in some cases and slightly insulting in others.'
    • LR“they turn a shrug into a phone call” — This vivid metaphor for motivating a finder is far more idiomatic than a plain description; 7.5 keeps the exact same phrase, showing 7.0 had already reached this level of vividness here.
    • GRA“for valuable items they can encourage people to hold things for ransom instead of simply returning them” — This is the one moderately complex closing clause expected at 7.0; 7.5 trims 'instead of simply returning them' for a punchier ending and instead adds a further closing sentence about a clear name and contact detail, extending the answer's range.
    Band 7.5

    Removes the hedge 'I'd say' that 7.0 keeps mid-sentence, the leanest and most direct opener.

    Useful in some cases and slightly insulting in others. The woman who posted my sketchbook did it at her own expense with no reward on offer, and I suspect a reward would have changed nothing about her; a neighbour who offered money for a lost dog was brought three dogs that weren't his. Rewards help when the object has no obvious owner and the finder needs a reason to make an effort - they turn a shrug into a phone call. They can also attract fraud, and for valuable items they can encourage people to hold things for ransom. For most everyday losses, a clear name and contact inside the object does more than any reward, because most finders are honest and simply need to know where to send it.

    Why this band

    • FC“Useful in some cases and slightly insulting in others.” — Removing the hedge 'I'd say' that 7.0 keeps mid-sentence makes this the leanest and most direct of the three openers.
    • LR“a clear name and contact inside the object does more than any reward” — This closing practical insight, absent from 6.5 and 7.0, adds a further concrete, original point about honest finders, broadening the argument beyond the simple reward-versus-insult contrast.
    • GRA“For most everyday losses, a clear name and contact inside the object does more than any reward, because most finders are honest and simply need to know where to send it.” — This extra closing sentence, built from a full 'because' clause, extends the answer with one more connected, practical idea beyond what 6.5 or 7.0 include, showing the fuller range expected at 7.5.

  6. 6. What are some different ways people can try to find something they have lost?

    May–Aug 2026
    Compare Band 6.5 / 7.0 / 7.5 for this question
    Band 6.5

    Uses the plain phrase 'My own way of doing it' rather than a more precise single noun.

    My own way of doing it was fairly complete - I ran after the bus, phoned the bus company, visited the lost-property office, posted in a Hanoi lost-and-found group online, and finally just waited, which was actually the method that worked. Retracing your steps is the classic method, and it works more often than people think. Asking staff at the place where you lost it, like a cafe or station, often helps too, since most places keep a lost-property box. Posting in online local groups has also reunited a lot of people with their things. For phones, tracking apps can help as well.

    Why this band

    • FC“My own way of doing it was fairly complete -” — 'My own way of doing it' is plain, everyday phrasing; 7.0 and 7.5 both tighten this to the more precise noun 'sequence', a single word doing the same descriptive job more economically.
    • LR“was actually the method that worked” — 'was actually the method that worked' is plain; 7.0 and 7.5 both tighten this to 'turned out to be the method that worked', a slightly more natural, idiomatic verb phrase.
    • GRA“Retracing your steps is the classic method, and it works more often than people think.” — This full sentence links two ideas with 'and'; 7.5 restructures the whole answer's later sentences into a series of short fragments, a noticeably more compact, list-like structure than 6.5's complete sentences.
    Band 7.0

    Uses the more precise noun 'sequence' plus a mid-placed hedge, tighter than 6.5's plainer opener.

    My own sequence was fairly complete, I'd say - run after the bus, phone the company, visit the depot, post in a Hanoi lost-and-found group online, and finally give up and wait, which turned out to be the method that worked. Retracing your steps is the classic approach, and it succeeds more often than people expect. Asking the staff wherever the loss happened, whether it's a café, a station or a shop, helps too, since most places keep some kind of box. Lost-property offices exist for exactly this reason. Online groups for the local area have reunited a surprising number of people with their things, and for phones, tracking apps can help as well.

    Why this band

    • FC“My own sequence was fairly complete, I'd say -” — Using the more precise word 'sequence' plus a mid-placed hedge is tighter than 6.5's plainer 'My own way of doing it was fairly complete -'; 7.5 removes the hedge 'I'd say' entirely, relying on the bare claim to open the answer.
    • LR“turned out to be the method that worked” — This is a more natural, idiomatic verb phrase than 6.5's plain 'was actually the method that worked'; 7.5 keeps this exact phrase, showing 7.0 had already found the right wording here.
    • GRA“Asking the staff wherever the loss happened, whether it's a café, a station or a shop, helps too, since most places keep some kind of box.” — This is a full, grammatically complete sentence with an embedded 'whether' clause, the one moderately complex structure expected at 7.0; 7.5 restructures the same idea into a fragment, a more compact, list-like alternative.
    Band 7.5

    Removes the hedge 'I'd say' and uses a colon instead of a dash, the leanest, most confident opener.

    My own sequence was fairly complete: run after the bus, phone the company, visit the depot, post in a Hanoi lost-and-found group online, and finally give up and wait, which turned out to be the method that worked. Retracing steps is the classic, and it succeeds more often than people expect. Asking the staff wherever the loss happened - a café, a station, a shop - since most places keep a box. Lost-property offices, which exist for exactly this. Online groups for the area, which have reunited a surprising number of people with their things. For phones and some devices, tracking apps. And putting the word out through friends, since cities are smaller than they look. The main thing is speed; a found object is easiest to return on the day it's found.

    Why this band

    • FC“My own sequence was fairly complete:” — Removing the hedge 'I'd say' that 7.0 keeps, and using a colon instead of a dash, gives this opener a leaner, more confident, essay-like start.
    • LR“The main thing is speed; a found object is easiest to return on the day it's found.” — This closing practical insight, absent from 6.5 and 7.0, adds a further precise, memorable final point using the semicolon-linked structure to state cause and effect concisely.
    • GRA“Lost-property offices, which exist for exactly this. Online groups for the area, which have reunited a surprising number of people with their things. For phones and some devices, tracking apps.” — This run of short sentence fragments, each ending in a relative clause or bare noun phrase, is a noticeably more flexible, list-like structure than the fuller, more conventional sentences used at 6.5 and 7.0 for the same content.

  7. 7. Should archaeological objects stay in the country where they are found?

    May–Aug 2026
    Compare Band 6.5 / 7.0 / 7.5 for this question
    Band 6.5

    Hedges the opener twice with 'I think, as a general rule, yes, but'.

    I think, as a general rule, yes, but with some room for lending them out. The Cham museum in Da Nang, which holds art from the civilisation that built Mỹ Sơn, shows some of its most important pieces only as photographs, because the real objects were taken to a museum in Paris a long time ago. I think objects belong to the culture that made them and the place that gives them meaning. Some people argue that certain countries cannot protect their finds well, or that big museums let more people see them, but loans and shared exhibitions can solve both problems.

    Why this band

    • FC“I think, as a general rule, yes, but with some room for lending them out.” — This opener hedges twice with 'I think... but'; 7.0 trims this to 'As a rule, yes, I'd say, with some room for exchange.', and 7.5 removes the hedge entirely for the bare 'As a rule, yes, with some room for exchange.'
    • LR“with some room for lending them out” — 'lending them out' is plain, everyday phrasing; 7.0 and 7.5 both replace it with the more precise, formal noun 'exchange', a single word doing the same job more economically.
    • GRA“Some people argue that certain countries cannot protect their finds well, or that big museums let more people see them, but loans and shared exhibitions can solve both problems.” — This sentence packs the counter-arguments and the answer into one long clause with 'but'; 7.0 and 7.5 both split this into two separate sentences, a clearer, more structured two-step argument.
    Band 7.0

    Trims the double hedge of 6.5 down to a single mid-placed 'I'd say'.

    As a rule, yes, I'd say, with some room for exchange. The Cham museum in Da Nang, which holds the art of the civilisation that built Mỹ Sơn, shows some of its most important pieces only as photographs, because the originals were taken to a museum in Paris a century ago - and a country's past being displayed elsewhere while its own museum shows pictures is genuinely hard to defend. Objects belong to the culture that made them and the place that gives them meaning. The counter-arguments are that some countries can't yet protect their finds, and that great museums let the whole world see them. Both can be answered with loans and shared exhibitions instead.

    Why this band

    • FC“As a rule, yes, I'd say, with some room for exchange.” — Trimming the double hedge of 6.5 down to a single mid-placed 'I'd say' is more compact; 7.5 removes the hedge entirely, stating the same position with full confidence.
    • LR“is genuinely hard to defend” — The intensifier 'genuinely' adds emphasis to this evaluative claim; 7.5 keeps the sentence almost identical but drops 'genuinely', trimming it to the slightly sharper 'is hard to defend'.
    • GRA“The counter-arguments are that some countries can't yet protect their finds, and that great museums let the whole world see them.” — This is the one moderately complex sentence expected at 7.0, listing two counter-arguments with 'and that'; 7.5 keeps this sentence almost unchanged, showing it already reaches 7.5-level fluency, and instead extends the closing solution with a third element, 'help with conservation'.
    Band 7.5

    Removes the hedge 'I'd say' that 7.0 keeps mid-sentence, the leanest and most direct opener.

    As a rule, yes, with some room for exchange. The Cham museum in Da Nang, which holds the art of the civilisation that built Mỹ Sơn, shows some of its most important pieces as photographs, because the originals were taken to a museum in Paris a century ago - and a country's past being displayed elsewhere while its own museum shows pictures is hard to defend. Objects belong to the culture that made them and the place that gives them meaning. The counter-arguments are that some countries can't yet protect their finds, and that great museums let the whole world see them. Both can be answered by loans, shared exhibitions and help with conservation. Keeping the object and lending it is fairer than keeping it and refusing.

    Why this band

    • FC“As a rule, yes, with some room for exchange.” — Removing the hedge 'I'd say' that 7.0 keeps mid-sentence makes this the leanest and most direct of the three openers, stating the position as a flat fact.
    • LR“Keeping the object and lending it is fairer than keeping it and refusing.” — This closing aphoristic sentence, absent from 6.5 and 7.0, condenses the whole argument into a punchy, parallel final judgement, giving the answer a sharper, more memorable conclusion.
    • GRA“Both can be answered by loans, shared exhibitions and help with conservation.” — Extending 7.0's two-item solution ('loans and shared exhibitions') to a three-item list adds an extra clause within the same sentence pattern, showing the fuller range of connected ideas typical of 7.5.

  8. 8. Will anything from this century interest archaeologists in the future?

    May–Aug 2026
    Compare Band 6.5 / 7.0 / 7.5 for this question
    Band 6.5

    Spells the claim out fully with 'I think... and there will be' rather than a compact fragment.

    I think almost everything will interest them, and there will be too much of it. The plastic in the sand on my beach will probably outlast every building in the city, and future archaeologists will find a layer of it in soil everywhere on earth - a strange but very durable record of our century. They will be interested in what we ate, based on the packaging, and in how we lived, based on all the things we threw away. Their problem will actually be the opposite of the usual one - not too little evidence, but far too much of it.

    Why this band

    • FC“I think almost everything will interest them, and there will be too much of it.” — This full sentence spells the claim out with 'I think... and there will be'; 7.0 compresses this into the fragment 'Almost everything, I'd say, and they'll be overwhelmed by it.', and 7.5 removes the hedge entirely for the leaner 'Almost everything, and they'll be overwhelmed.'
    • LR“very durable record” — 'very durable record' is plain; 7.0 and 7.5 both sharpen this to 'our century's most durable record', a more precise, superlative phrase.
    • GRA“They will be interested in what we ate, based on the packaging, and in how we lived, based on all the things we threw away.” — This sentence repeats 'based on' twice, which is workable but repetitive; 7.0 and 7.5 both vary this with semicolon-linked 'from' phrases instead, a more parallel, less repetitive structure.
    Band 7.0

    Compresses the opener to a fragment with a mid-placed hedge, tighter than 6.5's full sentence.

    Almost everything, I'd say, and they'll be overwhelmed by it. The plastic in the sand on my beach will outlast every building in the city, and future archaeologists will find a layer of it in every soil on earth - our century's most durable record, unfortunately. They'll be interested in what we ate, from the packaging; in how we lived, from the vast quantity of objects we threw away; and in our cities, probably the largest things humans have ever built. Their puzzle will be the opposite of the usual one: not too little evidence, but too much, with much of our actual life stored in formats that may not last at all.

    Why this band

    • FC“Almost everything, I'd say, and they'll be overwhelmed by it.” — This fragment with a mid-placed hedge is more compact than 6.5's full sentence; 7.5 removes the hedge entirely for the leaner 'Almost everything, and they'll be overwhelmed.'
    • LR“our century's most durable record, unfortunately” — This superlative phrase with the trailing evaluative 'unfortunately' is more precise and original than 6.5's plain 'very durable record'; 7.5 keeps this exact phrase unchanged, showing 7.0 had already found the right wording here.
    • GRA“in our cities, probably the largest things humans have ever built” — This appositive phrase with the hedge 'probably' is the one moderately complex addition expected at 7.0; 7.5 removes 'probably' and restructures it as a full relative clause, 'which are the largest things humans have ever built', for a more assertive, grammatically fuller structure.
    Band 7.5

    Removes the hedge 'I'd say' that 7.0 keeps mid-sentence, the leanest and most direct opener.

    Almost everything, and they'll be overwhelmed. The plastic in the sand on my beach will outlast every building in the city, and future archaeologists will find a layer of it in every soil on earth - our century's most durable record, unfortunately. They'll be interested in what we ate, from the packaging; in how we lived, from the vast quantity of objects we threw away; and in our cities, which are the largest things humans have ever built. The puzzle for them will be the opposite of the usual one: not too little evidence but too much, and much of our actual life - messages, photographs, money - stored in formats that will be unreadable within decades. They may know our rubbish perfectly and our thoughts not at all.

    Why this band

    • FC“Almost everything, and they'll be overwhelmed.” — Removing the hedge 'I'd say' that 7.0 keeps mid-sentence makes this the leanest and most direct of the three openers.
    • LR“They may know our rubbish perfectly and our thoughts not at all.” — This closing aphoristic sentence, absent from 6.5 and 7.0, condenses the whole answer into a punchy, parallel final judgement using the precise contrast between 'rubbish' and 'thoughts'.
    • GRA“much of our actual life - messages, photographs, money - stored in formats that will be unreadable within decades” — This dash-bracketed list embedded mid-sentence, followed by a relative clause, is a more compact and layered structure than 7.0's simpler 'much of our actual life stored in formats that may not last at all', packing in more specific detail within the same sentence.

  9. 9. What can people do to avoid losing things?

    May–Aug 2026
    Compare Band 6.5 / 7.0 / 7.5 for this question
    Band 6.5

    States the claim in full with 'I do two things now, and both are quite boring but effective.'

    I do two things now, and both are quite boring but effective. My sketchbook now stays in a bag I never take off, and every notebook I own has my name and phone number written inside the cover, so a finder does not have to be a detective. Beyond that, having a fixed place for important things means you notice quickly if something is missing. Checking the seat before leaving a bus, cafe, or taxi only takes two seconds and becomes automatic after a while. Carrying fewer things also helps, because each one gets more attention. And putting your phone away before standing up really helps too.

    Why this band

    • FC“I do two things now, and both are quite boring but effective.” — This full sentence states the claim with 'I do... and both are'; 7.0 and 7.5 both tighten this to the more compact fragment 'Two things saved me from a repeat, and both are boring.', dropping 'quite... but effective' for a leaner rhythm.
    • LR“does not have to be a detective” — 'does not have to be a detective' is plain; 7.0 and 7.5 both tighten this to 'doesn't need to be a detective', a slightly more natural, idiomatic modal choice.
    • GRA“Beyond that, having a fixed place for important things means you notice quickly if something is missing.” — This is a single plain sentence; 7.0 and 7.5 both restructure the same list of habits using a colon and semicolons, a more compact, list-like structure covering more ground in the same space.
    Band 7.0

    Tightens the opener to the compact fragment 'Two things saved me from a repeat, and both are boring.'

    Two things saved me from a repeat, and both are boring. The sketchbook now lives in a bag I never take off, and every notebook I own has my name and number inside the cover, so a finder doesn't need to be a detective. Beyond that: a fixed home for the things that matter, so their absence is noticed immediately; a quick check of the seat before leaving any bus, café or taxi, which takes two seconds and becomes automatic; and fewer things carried, so each one gets more attention. Tracking tags for keys and bags are cheap now too. And the hardest one - putting the phone down before standing up, since most losses happen in a moment of distraction.

    Why this band

    • FC“Two things saved me from a repeat, and both are boring.” — This compact fragment-based opener is tighter than 6.5's fuller sentence with its extra qualifiers 'quite... but effective'; 7.5 keeps this exact same sentence, showing 7.0 had already found the sharpest possible opening here.
    • LR“doesn't need to be a detective” — This slightly more natural modal phrasing is a small upgrade on 6.5's 'does not have to be a detective'; 7.5 keeps the exact same phrase, showing 7.0 had already reached the right register.
    • GRA“Beyond that: a fixed home for the things that matter, so their absence is noticed immediately; a quick check of the seat before leaving any bus, café or taxi, which takes two seconds and becomes automatic; and fewer things carried, so each one gets more attention.” — This colon-and-semicolon list of three habits is the one moderately complex structure expected at 7.0; 7.5 keeps a nearly identical list but removes the final 'and', instead adding two further separate short sentences about bright colours and tracking tags, extending the range even further.
    Band 7.5

    Keeps 7.0's opener unchanged, but adds two extra short closing sentences to the habit list.

    Two things saved me from a repeat, and both are boring. The sketchbook now lives in a bag I never take off, and every notebook I own has my name and number inside the cover, so a finder doesn't need to be a detective. Beyond that: a fixed home for the things that matter, so their absence is noticed immediately; a quick check of the seat before leaving any bus, café or taxi, which takes two seconds and becomes automatic; fewer things carried, so each one gets more attention. Bright colours help for small objects. Tracking tags for keys and bags are cheap now. And the hardest one: putting the phone down before standing up, since most losses happen in the moment of distraction, not the moment of forgetting.

    Why this band

    • FC“Two things saved me from a repeat, and both are boring.” — This identical opening fragment to 7.0 shows the sentence was already working at its sharpest by 7.0; the real differences at 7.5 appear later, in the extra habits added to the closing list.
    • LR“not the moment of forgetting” — This closing contrastive phrase, absent from 7.0's version, adds a precise final distinction between distraction and forgetting, showing a sharper, more original final observation.
    • GRA“Bright colours help for small objects. Tracking tags for keys and bags are cheap now.” — These two short separate sentences, added beyond 7.0's list, show the wider range of connected, practical suggestions typical of 7.5, extending the answer's closing advice further within the same overall length.

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 Occasion When You Lost Something in a Public Place", 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.