Onterra TutorBand 8 model answers: Food
Every IELTS Speaking Part 1 question on food, with a band 8 model answer for each one and notes on why it scores. Part 1 answers run 2 to 4 sentences, the length a real answer holds to.
What kind of food do you enjoy most?
I have a real soft spot for spicy food, honestly, the kind that makes you sweat a little. Street food from a good vendor usually beats a fancy restaurant version of the same dish, in my opinion.
Do you prefer eating at home or eating out?
A bit of both, depending on my mood and how busy the week has been. Cooking at home is cheaper and I know exactly what's gone into it, but eating out is the easier option after a long day.
Is there any food you disliked as a child but enjoy now?
Funnily enough, yes. I couldn't stand mushrooms as a child, mostly the texture rather than the taste, but somewhere in my twenties I just started ordering them without thinking twice.
Are eating habits in your country changing?
I think they are, yes, mainly because of how much more delivery apps get used now. People still cook proper meals, but there's definitely less pressure to have dinner ready at a fixed time every evening.
Why these answers earn band 8
- "a real soft spot for spicy food" is a natural idiom rather than the plain "I like spicy food", exactly the range Lexical Resource is listening for in a simple Part 1 topic.
- "Street food from a good vendor usually beats a fancy restaurant version" states a genuine opinion with a comparison, keeping Fluency and Coherence strong instead of a flat description.
- "I couldn't stand mushrooms as a child, mostly the texture rather than the taste" adds a specific, believable reason, the kind of detail that lifts a childhood-food answer above a one-line reply.
- "somewhere in my twenties I just started ordering them without thinking twice" uses a time expression and a natural verb phrase together, showing controlled Grammatical Range and Accuracy.
- "Funnily enough" and "honestly" are the small discourse markers that keep the delivery sounding like real speech rather than a memorised paragraph, which is part of what examiners listen for in Pronunciation and delivery.
Timing
10 to 20 seconds each. The changing-habits question rewards a specific comparison (more delivery, less fixed mealtimes) over a general claim like "people eat more fast food now".
Phrases worth learning
| a real soft spot for | a natural way to say you particularly like something |
| depending on my mood | to explain a preference that changes rather than picking one side artificially |
| funnily enough | to introduce a small surprising detail about yourself |
| mostly the texture rather than the taste | to give a precise reason for disliking a food |
| there's definitely less pressure to | to describe a social habit relaxing over time |
Use your own real food memory in the exam. The mushroom example here shows the SHAPE of a good answer (specific reason, then what changed), not words to repeat.