Onterra TutorDescribe a time when you had to repair or fix something yourself
An IELTS Speaking Part 2 cue card, with the structure examiners reward. You get 1 minute to prepare and up to 2 minutes to speak.
The cue card
Describe a time when you had to repair or fix something yourself.
You should say:
- what the item was
- what was wrong with it
- how you fixed it
- and explain how you felt after fixing it.
Your 2-minute structure
- Open with a direct answer (10 seconds). Name your choice immediately: one sentence that answers "describe a time when you had to repair or fix something yourself". Do not waste your first 20 seconds on "that's an interesting question".
- What the item was (about 25 seconds). Give the fact, then add one detail and one feeling. A specific memory always beats a general statement.
- What was wrong with it (about 25 seconds). This is where a past-tense story earns grammar marks. Set the scene in one sentence, then say what happened.
- How you fixed it (about 25 seconds). Slow down and be concrete: a name, a place, a number. Details are what make an answer sound fluent rather than memorised.
- And explain how you felt after fixing it (about 25 seconds). Link back to your opening sentence with a connector like 'which is exactly why' so the whole answer feels planned.
- Close with why it matters (15 seconds). End on how it affected you or what it taught you. A natural closing line signals confidence to the examiner.
Sample band 8+ answer
About 90 seconds when spoken at a natural pace. Notice how specific the details are; that specificity is what you should copy, not the story itself.
So I want to talk about the time I fixed my bicycle chain, which came off right in the middle of my commute to work, probably about six months ago. I was cycling to the office, going down this slightly bumpy road, and I heard this clanking noise and suddenly my pedals just stopped doing anything. I got off and saw the chain had slipped right off the gears and was kind of tangled up near the back wheel. Honestly, my first instinct was to just call for help, but I was already late and there wasn't really anyone around, so I decided to just try it myself even though I'd never done it before. I remembered watching a video once, so I flipped the bike upside down, rested it on the seat and handlebars, and started pulling the chain back onto the little teeth of the gear by hand. It was pretty greasy and my fingers ended up completely black, but after maybe ten minutes of fiddling around and shifting the pedal slowly, the chain finally clicked back into place properly. I tested it by pedaling a bit and it worked fine. After that, I felt genuinely proud of myself, which sounds a bit silly for something so small, but I'd always assumed I was hopeless with anything mechanical. It gave me this little boost of confidence, and now I actually carry a pair of gloves in my bag just in case it happens again.
Why this answer works
- It answers every bullet point in order with a clear narrative arc from problem to resolution.
- Specific sensory and situational details, like the greasy fingers and flipping the bike upside down, make it sound genuinely personal rather than generic.
- The closing reflection on confidence and the habit of carrying gloves shows range in expressing feelings and consequences, which examiners reward at higher bands.
What the examiner listens for
Fluency (can you keep going for 2 minutes without long pauses), vocabulary range (topic words, not just "good" and "nice"), and grammar variety (past tenses and linking words like "which is why" and "even though"). Hesitation is normal; stopping is what costs bands. If you lose your thread, say "what I mean is..." and keep moving.