A question about getting a haircut should be easy. You know where you go, what you ask for, and whether you like the result. But once you start treating it as an IELTS answer, even that familiar subject can feel difficult.

You search for a more impressive word. You change your opening sentence halfway through. Then you forget what you wanted to say.

If that sounds familiar, start with a small change: answer the question directly, then add a detail that helps the listener understand you.

Let's put that into practice with the speaking topics in Cambridge IELTS 21. We'll work through everyday questions, a complete cue-card response, and a longer discussion answer. All the sample answers below are original practice examples; use them to develop your own responses.

What happens in the Speaking test?

IELTS Speaking takes 11–14 minutes and has three parts:

Part	What you do	Time
Part 1	Answer questions about familiar subjects and your everyday life.	4–5 minutes
Part 2	Prepare for one minute, then speak about a topic for up to two minutes.	3–4 minutes overall, including preparation and follow-up questions
Part 3	Discuss broader questions related to the Part 2 topic.	4–5 minutes

These timings come from the official IELTS Speaking format.

The examiner assesses four equally weighted areas: fluency and coherence, vocabulary, grammatical range and accuracy, and pronunciation. In practical terms, work on connecting your ideas, choosing words accurately, using different sentence structures, and speaking clearly. IELTS explains the assessment criteria here.

The speaking topics in Cambridge IELTS 21

Here is a quick guide to the four tests in the book. The topic descriptions are shortened for easy reference.

Test	Part 1 example topic	Part 2 topic	Part 3 discussion topics
1	Hairstyles	A time you used tourist information	Holidays and tourist attractions
2	Cities	Something you read or heard that you thought was untrue	Honesty, children, and advertising
3	Spending and saving money	An interesting garden or park you have seen	Homes, gardens, and gardening as a hobby
4	Bread	A competitive person you know	Competitions and competitiveness in sport

You'll find these on printed pages 31, 53, 74, and 96, respectively. In the uploaded PDF viewer, they are pages 32, 54, 75, and 97.

Part 1: Give a direct answer, then add something personal

Start with Test 1's question:

“Where do you go to get a haircut?”

You might answer, “At a salon.” That answers the question, but it gives you very little opportunity to show how you speak.

Try adding a reason or a familiar detail:

> I usually go to a small salon near my house. I've been going there for a few years, so the hairdresser already knows how I like my hair. It's convenient, and I don't have to explain everything each time.

The answer is easy to follow because each sentence adds something: the place, your experience, and the reason you keep going there. Phrases such as “I've been going there” fit the meaning naturally.

For practice, use this flexible pattern: answer the question, give a reason, and add a detail if it helps. Two or three sentences can be a useful starting point, but there is no required sentence count.

Another Test 1 question asks whether you have changed your hairstyle recently:

> Yes, I had it cut much shorter a couple of weeks ago. I wanted something easier to manage in the morning. It felt strange at first, but I'm getting used to it now.

Notice the small personal detail about mornings. It gives the answer a reason to exist beyond the test.

You can use the same approach for Test 3's question about buying something you did not need:

> Yes, I once bought a pair of trainers just because they were on sale. I already had a similar pair at home, so it wasn't a sensible purchase. Since then, I've tried to wait a day before buying something on impulse.

The example gives you a short event, a reaction, and a change in behaviour. That is plenty to talk about without forcing in an elaborate story.

Part 2: Use your preparation minute to build a story

The Test 1 cue card asks you to describe an occasion when you used information for tourists. It asks about the source, the place, the information you found, and how helpful it was.

During preparation, jot down a few reminders. Writing complete sentences can use up the minute before you have planned the whole response.

For this example, the notes could be:

• Place: Sylhet; trip with two friends.
• Source: Travel blog, followed by recent visitor reviews.
• Information: Transport, places to stay, and time needed for visits.
• Useful detail: Allowed more time for travel between places.
• Result: A calmer trip, although one price had changed.

Here is an original sample response based on those notes:

> I'd like to talk about a trip to Sylhet that I planned with two friends last winter. None of us had organised a trip there before, so I looked online for some practical information before we booked anything. > > I found a travel blog written by someone who had recently visited the area. It covered places to stay, transport options, and how much time to allow for different activities. I also checked a few recent reviews because I wanted to see whether the advice was still useful. > > The most helpful part was the suggested itinerary. We'd originally planned to visit several places in one day, but the writer explained that travelling between them could take longer than expected. We decided to keep the first day fairly relaxed and leave one of the longer trips for the following morning. > > That worked well for us. We had time to stop for lunch, take photographs, and enjoy the places we visited without constantly checking the time. It also made it easier to agree on a plan because we had a clearer idea of what was realistic. > > The information wasn't perfect. One of the transport prices had changed, so we had to adjust our budget slightly. Still, it gave us a useful starting point. What I appreciated most was having enough information to make decisions while leaving some room to change our plans.

The response covers every prompt and develops one specific point: how the information changed the plan. That detail gives the speaker more to say than simply listing where they went.

Read it aloud and time yourself. Then replace the trip with an experience you can describe comfortably. Your pace will affect how much you can say within two minutes.

Part 3: Explain your view and consider the practical details

Part 3 moves into broader discussion. In Test 1, one question asks whether tourist attractions such as museums should be free for local people.

A useful way to develop your response is to state your view, explain it, and consider a consequence or limitation.

> I think free entry for local residents can be a good idea, especially for museums that help people understand their own history. Families might visit more often if the cost wasn't a concern. However, museums still need money for maintenance and staff, so I wouldn't expect every attraction to offer free entry all the time. Free days or discounted local passes could be a practical compromise.

The answer explains a benefit, recognises a cost, and offers a possible solution. You can support a clear opinion while acknowledging that the decision has practical consequences.

Now try a different topic. Test 2 asks why people buy products even when they know advertisements are not completely accurate:

> I think people sometimes buy the feeling associated with a product. An advert might make a pair of trainers seem connected to confidence or success, even though the buyer knows the shoes won't transform their life. Familiarity could matter too. If people keep seeing a brand, they may feel more comfortable choosing it than an unfamiliar one.

Phrases such as “I think,” “sometimes,” and “could” help the speaker present a reasonable explanation without pretending it applies to everyone.

What should your tone sound like?

Aim for a friendly conversation with someone you have just met: clear, respectful, and interested in what you are saying.

For the hairstyle topic, compare these versions:

Tone	Example
Stiff	“I utilise the services of a local establishment for the maintenance of my hairstyle.”
Natural	“I go to a salon near my house because they know how I like my hair.”

The natural version expresses the meaning directly. You can still show a wider vocabulary and varied grammar when they fit what you want to say.

Try saying this aloud:

> I was a bit nervous at first, but once we arrived, I felt much more relaxed.

Give the highlighted phrases a little emphasis and pause briefly at the comma. Let the change in feeling come through in your voice. You can use that same approach when describing surprise, disappointment, or excitement in your own examples.

When you get stuck, make the next step smaller

If your answer stops after one sentence, ask yourself “Why?” or “Can I give an example?” If you lose track halfway through a long sentence, practise expressing that idea in two shorter sentences first.

If you forget a word, describe what you mean. For example, you could explain an itinerary as “a plan showing where we would go each day.” That keeps the idea moving while you practise the vocabulary.

When reviewing a recording, choose one specific problem to work on. “My English sounds bad” gives you no direction. “I switch to the present tense halfway through a past story” gives you something you can practise.

Turn one page into a useful practice session

Choose one speaking test from the book. Answer the Part 1 questions aloud, use a timer for the Part 2 preparation and response, then record yourself answering two Part 3 questions.

Listen back once. Find an answer that needs a clearer reason, a repeated grammar mistake, or a sentence that was difficult to understand. Work on that point, then answer again with slightly different wording.

For your next session, change the topic. You could describe a park from Test 3 or a competitive person from Test 4. Keep the habit of developing your ideas while practising how to respond to a new question.

Open the book to one question and give it a first attempt today. A recording gives you something concrete to improve, even when the first answer feels awkward.

---

Source note: Speaking topics and selected questions are drawn from the supplied Cambridge IELTS 21 PDF, printed pages 31, 53, 74, and 96. Explanations and sample answers are original. The samples have not been examiner-rated; a written script alone cannot establish a Speaking band score. The supplied article about Bangladeshi IELTS scorers was used as a reference for an accessible, encouraging blog tone.