The cue card
Describe a book you have read that you found interesting.
You should say:
- what the book is called
- who wrote it
- what it is about
and explain why you found it interesting.
You have one minute to make notes, then speak for one to two minutes.
Band 8–9 sample answer
Written by Abroadway as a model of natural, high-band speaking (not an official IELTS sample).
The book I'd like to talk about is The Old Man and the Sea, a short novel by the American writer Ernest Hemingway. I first read it when I was about sixteen, after an English teacher of mine, Mrs Chowdhury, lent me her own battered copy. She said it would stretch my reading without overwhelming me, since it's only about a hundred pages long.
Hemingway is known for his very plain, economical style, with short sentences and simple words, and that's partly why it worked so well for a learner like me. I could follow the language easily, yet I still sensed there was a lot going on beneath the surface.
The story itself is quite simple. It's about an elderly Cuban fisherman called Santiago who hasn't caught a single fish for eighty-four days, so the other fishermen consider him unlucky. On the eighty-fifth day he sails much further out than usual and hooks an enormous marlin, and he spends days struggling with it alone in his small boat, with his hands cut and cramping. He finally kills it, but on the way back to shore sharks attack the catch, and he arrives home with nothing but its skeleton.
What I found so interesting was that, on paper, it's a story about failure, yet it doesn't feel depressing at all. Santiago loses the fish, but he never loses his dignity or his determination, and there's a line saying that a man can be destroyed but not defeated, which has really stayed with me. I've reread it a few times since, usually before exams, and each time I notice something new about patience and pride. It made me realise that a book doesn't need to be long or complicated to be profound.
Useful phrases from this answer
- beneath the surface
- hidden; not obvious when you first look
- on paper
- in theory, or when you first look at it
- stayed with me
- I have kept remembering it for a long time
- have a big following
- are liked by a large number of people
- rather than a chore
- instead of a boring duty you are forced to do
- backfires
- has the opposite result from what was intended
- side by side
- together, at the same time
- through someone else's eyes
- from another person's point of view
Part 3 follow-up questions and answers
What kinds of books are popular with young people in your country?
Among young people in Bangladesh, I'd say thrillers and detective stories are hugely popular, including long-running Bangla series that many of us grew up with. Fantasy and science fiction, often translated from English, also have a big following, and I've noticed growing interest in self-help and career books among university students, probably because of worries about jobs. During the annual book fair in February, you see crowds of teenagers buying novels by young local writers as well. That said, many young people now read mostly on their phones, so short online stories and comics compete strongly with traditional books.
How can parents encourage children to read more?
The most effective way, in my view, is for parents to read themselves. Children copy what they see, so if they grow up watching their parents enjoy books rather than scrolling on phones, reading seems natural rather than a chore. Reading aloud to young children is also valuable, because it links books with comfort and attention. Beyond that, I think parents should let children choose what they read, even if it's comics or adventure stories, instead of pushing only 'educational' books. Making books easy to get hold of helps too, whether that's a small shelf at home or regular trips to a library. Using reading as a punishment, however, usually backfires.
Will e-books ever completely replace printed books?
I doubt they'll replace them completely, although e-books will probably keep growing. They're obviously convenient: you can carry hundreds of titles on one device, adjust the font size and buy books instantly, which is a big advantage for students and travellers. But printed books offer something different. Many people find it easier to concentrate on paper, they enjoy the physical feel of a book, and printed books never need charging or become unreadable when a file format goes out of date. They're also popular as gifts. So I'd predict the two formats will continue to exist side by side, each suited to different situations.
What are the benefits of reading fiction compared with non-fiction?
I'd argue that fiction's greatest strength is that it develops empathy. When you follow a character's thoughts and feelings over hundreds of pages, you're effectively practising seeing the world through someone else's eyes, which non-fiction rarely asks you to do. Fiction also stretches the imagination and exposes readers to a richer variety of language, which is why it's so useful for language learners. Non-fiction, on the other hand, is better at giving you direct, practical knowledge about history, science or how to do something. So I don't think one is superior; they simply feed different parts of the mind, and ideally people would read both.
Should governments continue to fund public libraries?
Yes, I think they absolutely should, even in an age when so much is available online. Libraries give everyone free access to books and information, which matters enormously for families who can't afford to buy books or don't have reliable internet at home. They're also quiet places to study, which many students from crowded households badly need. Admittedly, some libraries feel outdated and underused, so I'd argue the funding should come with modernisation, such as adding computers, digital lending and community events. A well-run library is essentially an investment in education, and while its benefits are hard to measure, they're very real.
Practise this cue card out loud
Free, no account needed. Use Chrome or Edge with a microphone; you'll get a band estimate for fluency, vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation.
Want the technique behind a strong Part 2? Read the free Speaking lessons.