The section 2 is also called Long turn. It is 3-4 minutes long. Test takers are given a task card about a topic. One minute is given to prepare before speaking for up to two minutes. The task card lists the points that should be included in the talk and one aspect of the topic which must be explained during the talk. After the monologue, the examiner may ask one or two questions on the same topic.
IELTS
IELTS (International English Language Testing System) is the world's most widely accepted English-language proficiency test for non-native speakers. It scores you on a 0–9 band scale across four sections — Listening, Reading, Writing, and Speaking — with a band score for each and an overall average.
Universities, employers, and immigration authorities in the UK, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand use IELTS bands to set their language requirements (typically 6.0–7.5 for university; 5.0–6.5 for skilled migration). Knowing the test format is half the battle — most candidates lose points to format unfamiliarity, not language ability.
IELTS Speaking
The Speaking section of IELTS is an 11–14 minute face-to-face interview with an examiner, in three parts: short personal questions (4–5 minutes), a one-to-two-minute monologue from a task card (after a minute's prep), and an abstract discussion of related themes (4–5 minutes). It's scored on four criteria: fluency and coherence, lexical resource, grammatical range and accuracy, and pronunciation.
The biggest score boost comes from showing range: idiomatic vocabulary, mixed tenses, complex sentences, and clear pronunciation. Most candidates lose points by playing safe — short answers, simple grammar, repetitive vocabulary.