IELTS Speaking Part 1 Practice
The opening interview, run the way the examiner runs it: your work or studies first, then two everyday topic sets. Recorded, transcribed and marked on the four official criteria.
Part 1 round
The opening interview on its own: three sets of short questions about your own life. The trap here is length — a one-word answer and a rehearsed speech cost you the same marks. About 5 minutes. We record each answer, transcribe it, and give you one band for the whole performance.
Part 1 · Introduction · 12 questions
Short, familiar questions. Answer in 2–4 sentences — give the answer, then a reason or example. Do not launch into a speech.
Before we start, as the examiner asks
Do you work, or are you a student?
Marked on the four official criteria, as one performance.
Ready for the whole thing? Take the full three-part interview
What Part 1 is actually testing
Length. Almost every Part 1 mark is lost at one of two extremes — the one-word answer that gives the examiner nothing to assess, and the memorised paragraph that answers a question nobody asked. The target is two to four sentences: the answer, then a reason or an example. Say that, and stop.
It is also not a warm-up. All three parts are marked together, and this is where the examiner forms their first impression of your fluency and accuracy.
The topic sets in our bank
Your work or studies is compulsory and always comes first. Hometown, accommodation and free time have never left the bank. The rest rotate.
Common questions
How long is IELTS Speaking Part 1?
4 to 5 minutes. After a short identity check the examiner works through about three topic sets of four questions each — always your work or studies first, then two everyday topics such as your hometown, your free time or the weather.
How long should Part 1 answers be?
Two to four sentences. Give the direct answer, then one reason or example, then stop. A one-word answer gives the examiner nothing to mark, and a memorised speech is just as costly — Part 1 is testing whether you can hold an ordinary conversation, not whether you can deliver a monologue.
What topics come up in Part 1?
Your work or studies is compulsory and always comes first. Your hometown, your accommodation and your free time are close to certain. The rest rotate with the Part 2 bank each January, May and September — recent windows have featured learning and skills, celebrations, photographs, animals and nature, and future plans.
Is Part 1 on the same topic as the cue card?
No, and that is a common mistake in practice materials. The examiner deliberately keeps Part 1 off the Part 2 theme so they hear your everyday language before the long turn narrows it. Our Part 1 comes from its own topic bank for exactly that reason.
Does Part 1 count towards my band?
Yes. All three parts are marked together on the same four criteria, and Part 1 is where the examiner forms their first impression of your fluency and accuracy. It is short, but it is not a warm-up.