Part 2 Masterclass · Day 1 of 2 · Speaking Week · Day 2

Speaking Part 2 · The Long Turn — Structure & the Planning Minute

Part: 2 (the long turn) Real-test timing: 1 min to plan · 1–2 min to talk Focus: using the planning minute · structuring a two-minute talk
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About this two-day lesson

Part 2 is the long turn — the only part of the Speaking test where you talk on your own, without interruption, for up to two minutes. The examiner gives you a cue card with a topic and a few bullet points, one minute to make notes, and a pencil and paper to plan. Then you speak. This is the first of two Part 2 days: today is about structure — planning fast and shaping a talk that covers every bullet and lasts the full two minutes. Day 2 of the lesson builds fluency, range and performance under time.

One minute to plan

Unlike Part 1 and Part 3, Part 2 gives you exactly one minute to prepare. Use it to make notes, not full sentences — then talk for one to two minutes until the examiner stops you.

What the examiner is listening for

Part 2 is marked on the same four criteria as the rest of the Speaking test, so a good long turn does four things at once:

Notice that none of these rewards memorising a script. Examiners are trained to spot rehearsed answers, and a memorised talk usually sounds flat and often drifts off the actual card. Aim for a planned talk, not a scripted one.

Step 1 — Make the planning minute count

One minute is short, so do not try to write sentences. Write keyword notes — one or two words against each bullet — and spend the most time on the final bullet, which almost always begins with “and explain…”. That “explain / why” bullet is where the best ideas (and the best marks) come from, so give it two or three quick notes of its own.

Note-making, not script-writing

If you find yourself writing a full sentence, stop. You will not have time to read it out and plan the rest. Trust keywords to trigger what you want to say.

Model note-plan (for the cue card below)

For “Describe a person you admire”, a strong one-minute plan might look like this:

Four short lines — written in under a minute — are enough to speak for two minutes.

Step 2 — Shape the long turn

A clear long turn has a simple beginning–middle–end. Use this shape every time:

  1. Open with one sentence that names your topic: “I’d like to talk about my grandmother, Indira.”
  2. Work through the bullets in order, adding a little development to each — a detail, an example, a reason. Don’t just answer the bullet in three words and move on.
  3. Spend the most time on the “explain / why” bullet. This is the heart of the talk; develop it with reasons and a short example.
  4. Round off with a closing sentence so you don’t stop in mid-air: “So that’s why she’s the person I admire the most.”

Signpost language to keep you moving

These phrases buy you a moment and keep the talk organised: “The person I’d like to describe is…”, “I’ve known them since…”, “What stands out most about them is…”, “The main reason I admire them is…”, “Looking back, I’d say…”.

Worked example — from card to two-minute talk

Cue card

Describe a person you admire

You should say:

  • who the person is
  • how you know them
  • what they are like
  • and explain why you admire them

One minute to plan, then talk for one to two minutes.

Model long turn (≈ 2 minutes)

“I’d like to talk about my grandmother, Indira. I knew her very well because she lived with us when I was small, so she was part of my daily life all through my childhood.

As for what she was like — she was calm and endlessly patient, but she also had a dry sense of humour that would catch you off guard. She wasn’t loud or strict; she was the kind of person who quietly held the whole family together.

The main reason I admire her, though, is what she went through. She raised five children largely on her own after my grandfather died young, at a time when that was extremely hard, and I never once heard her complain about it. Whenever something went wrong in our house, she was the one who stayed calm and found a way through. I think watching her is where I first learned what resilience actually looks like — not shouting about your problems, but just steadily dealing with them.

So that’s the person I admire the most. Even now, when I’m stressed, I try to ask myself how she would have handled it.”

Why this works

It opens cleanly, covers all four bullets in order, spends the most time on the “why”, develops ideas with reasons and a short example, and rounds off — all without sounding memorised.

Your turn — timed practice

Work in pairs. Partner A reads a card to Partner B, gives one minute of silent planning, then times the talk (stop at two minutes). Partner A may ask one rounding-off question at the end. Then swap. Re-pair and run a second card faster.

Cue card 1

Describe a place you like to spend time in

You should say:

  • where it is
  • how often you go there
  • what you do there
  • and explain why you like it

One minute to plan, then talk for one to two minutes.

Cue card 2

Describe an object that is important to you

You should say:

  • what it is
  • how you got it
  • how you use it
  • and explain why it matters to you

One minute to plan, then talk for one to two minutes.

Cue card 3

Describe a teacher who influenced you

You should say:

  • who they were
  • what subject they taught
  • what they were like
  • and explain how they influenced you

One minute to plan, then talk for one to two minutes.

Before you finish — quick self-check

Next lesson

You can now structure a long turn. In Part 2 · Day 2 of 2 we make it fluent and varied — extending ideas to fill the full two minutes, widening your vocabulary and grammar, and assessing yourself against the four marking criteria.