A time you had to wait for something
IELTS Speaking Part 2 · cue card
Describe a time when you had to wait a long time for something.
You should say:
- what you were waiting for
- where you waited
- how long you waited
- and explain how you felt while waiting
You have one minute to prepare and should speak for one to two minutes.
Free account required for the live AI partner.
Band 7+ sample answer
About 239 words, roughly two minutes spoken. Use it for ideas and language, not to memorise: examiners notice rehearsed answers.
I'd like to talk about waiting for my exam results after I applied for a scholarship to study in South Korea, about two years ago.
The process was long. I submitted my application in February, did an online interview in April, and then they said the final results would be announced "by the end of June." So technically I was waiting at home and on my laptop, refreshing the scholarship website and my email, for about three months, and the final part, after the interview, felt endless.
The worst part was the uncertainty. I couldn't really plan anything. Should I apply to local master's programmes in case I didn't get it? Should I start learning Korean? I did both, half-heartedly, which wasn't great. I checked my email probably twenty times a day, and every time my phone buzzed my heart jumped.
How did I feel? Mostly anxious, but also impatient and occasionally quite hopeless, especially when friends started getting results from other universities. To cope, I set myself a rule to check my email only twice a day, and I started volunteering at a local reading centre for children, which kept me busy.
In the end, the result came on the twenty-eighth of June, and I was placed on the reserve list, which meant more waiting. Unfortunately, I didn't get it in the end. But the experience taught me a lot about patience and about having a backup plan.
Useful vocabulary
- felt endless
- seemed as if it would never finish
- uncertainty
- not knowing what will happen
- half-heartedly
- without full effort or enthusiasm
- my heart jumped
- I felt sudden excitement or fear
- to cope
- to deal with a difficult situation
- a backup plan
- a second plan if the first fails
Part 3 follow-up questions
- Are people less patient now than in the past?
- Why do people hate waiting in queues?
- How has technology reduced waiting times?
- Is patience an important quality at work?
- Should children be taught to wait for things they want?
Tip: in Part 3, give an opinion, a reason and an example, and consider another point of view. Aim for 3–5 sentences per answer.
How to practise this card
- Set a one-minute timer and write keywords for each bullet, not full sentences.
- Speak for two minutes and record yourself on your phone.
- Listen back: did you cover every bullet and the "explain" part? Note one phrase from the vocabulary list to use next time.
- Answer two Part 3 questions out loud, then try the card again with the AI Speaking Partner.