BayRen Education · 2026-08-26 · বাংলায় পড়ুন
Part 1 lasts four to five minutes and sets the tone of your whole Speaking test. The questions are personal and predictable — which means they are trainable. Here is what actually gets asked, what a good answer sounds like, and the structure underneath every one of them.
How Part 1 works
The examiner asks about familiar topics: your home, work or studies, and two or three everyday themes. Answers should be two to four sentences — extended, natural, but not speeches. One-word answers score badly; memorised paragraphs score worse, because examiners are trained to hear them. The whole Speaking test is 11–14 minutes; Part 1 is its first four to five, and the first impression is formed there.
The topics that come up constantly
Home and hometown · work or studies · daily routine · food · friends · weather · hobbies · music · reading · travel · technology · sport. Prepare ideas and vocabulary for these twelve and you have covered most of what Part 1 can ask. For each topic, have three things ready: an honest opinion, one small example, and one reason. That is enough; the rest comes naturally in the room.
Model answers (what Band 7 sounds like)
Q: Do you work or are you a student?
"I'm in my final year of university, studying business administration. It's fairly demanding —
especially this semester — but I enjoy the practical side of it, like the case studies we work on
in groups."
Q: What do you like about your hometown?
"What I like most is how lively it is — there's always something happening, especially around the
old market area. Having said that, it can get quite noisy, so I do appreciate a quiet weekend away
from time to time."
Q: What kind of food do you enjoy?
"I'd say I mostly enjoy home-cooked food — rice and fish, the things I grew up with. But recently
I've been trying different kinds of street food with my friends, which is a nice change even if
it's probably less healthy."
Q: Do you prefer reading books or watching films?
"Probably films, if I'm honest, because after a long day they're easier to relax with. That said,
when I do pick up a book I tend to get completely absorbed — it just doesn't happen as often as it
should."
Q: How do you usually spend your weekends?
"Most weekends are pretty relaxed — I catch up on sleep, then meet a couple of friends for tea in the
afternoon. Now and then I help my mother with the shopping, which I don't mind, though I'd never
call it a hobby."
Q: Is the weather important to you?
"More than I'd like to admit, actually. In the monsoon everything takes longer, so my mood tends to
follow the sky. On a clear morning I'm far more productive — I try to get my hardest work done then."
Q: Do you use technology a lot in your daily life?
"Constantly, though not always usefully. My phone is where I read the news and message people, and
I do most of my university work on a laptop. I've been trying to cut down on the pointless scrolling,
with mixed results."
Q: Did you enjoy sport when you were a child?
"Very much — cricket, mostly, in the lane behind our house with whoever was around. I'm not very
good at it, to be honest, but I still watch it whenever I can, and I play badminton now and then."
Notice what these answers do: a direct answer first, one reason or example, and one natural extension — often with a small contrast ("having said that", "even if", "that said", "though"). That structure, delivered naturally, is the heart of a Part 1 band 7.
The structure under every answer
| Step | What you are doing | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Direct answer | Answer the question, in the first sentence | "Probably films, if I'm honest…" |
| 2. Reason or example | Why, or one specific thing | "…because after a long day they're easier to relax with." |
| 3. Extension | A contrast, an admission, a tiny story | "That said, when I do pick up a book…" |
Three steps, two to four sentences. Step 3 is the one most students drop — and it is the difference between band 6 and band 7: the examiner is listening for whether you can extend on your own, or only answer.
Three habits that quietly lower scores
- Answering the question you prepared, not the one asked. Examiners notice a rehearsed answer bent onto a different question immediately.
- The one-sentence answer. "Yes, I like it." forces the examiner to drag your test along. Always add the why or an example.
- Upgrading vocabulary past your control. A misused "plethora" costs more than a well-used "a lot of". Accuracy beats decoration in Part 1.
The fix for all three is the same: speaking practice with feedback. Record yourself daily, and put your answers in front of a coach — that is precisely what the Speaking classes and mock interviews in the BayRen CD IELTS Master Course (৳12,500 for 3 months) are for, with model answers in English and Bangla in our Speaking practice app. The six practice apps share one 7-day free trial; after that, the Practice Pass keeps them open.
How to practise at home
- Two minutes a day, recorded. Take one question from the twelve topics, record it on your phone, listen back. It is uncomfortable in week one; by week three you can hear your own "um" and your own small grammar slips — which is the progress.
- Same question, three different answers. The best cure for memorising: answer the same question three times with three different examples. In the room, whichever comes to mind is the one you use.
- Practise the extension on its own. For one week, only step 3: force a "having said that", a "to be honest", a "which is why…" into every answer. After a few days it arrives by itself.
- Watch a full mock. Our practice test videos include a complete Speaking mock test with band 9 answers — learn to hear the structure, then say it in your own words.
সংক্ষেপে বাংলায়
- Part 1-এ পরিচিত বিষয়ে ব্যক্তিগত প্রশ্ন হয়: বাড়ি, পড়াশোনা/কাজ, খাবার, শখ, ভ্রমণ — এই ১২টি বিষয় প্রস্তুত করলেই বেশিরভাগ কভার।
- ভালো উত্তরের গঠন: সরাসরি উত্তর → একটি কারণ বা উদাহরণ → স্বাভাবিক একটি বাড়তি বাক্য।
- এক শব্দের উত্তর নম্বর কমায়; মুখস্থ উত্তর আরও বেশি কমায় — পরীক্ষকরা সেটা ধরতে প্রশিক্ষিত।
- যে শব্দ আপনি স্বাচ্ছন্দ্যে ব্যবহার করতে পারেন না, তা দিয়ে সাজাতে যাবেন না — নির্ভুলতাই আগে।
- প্রতিদিন নিজের উত্তর রেকর্ড করুন আর Feedback নিন — এটাই আসল অনুশীলন।
Questions people ask
How long is IELTS Speaking Part 1?
Four to five minutes, after the examiner checks your identity. Expect three topics — usually your home, work or studies first, then two everyday themes — with three or four questions on each.
How long should a Part 1 answer be?
Two to four sentences: a direct answer, one reason or example, and a natural extension. One-word answers score badly because they give the examiner nothing to assess; a memorised paragraph scores worse, because examiners are trained to hear it.
Can I ask the examiner to repeat a question in Part 1?
Yes, once, naturally: "Sorry, could you say that again?" It costs nothing. Asking what a word means is also fine occasionally. What costs marks is answering a different question from the one asked.
Is it better to give a short honest answer or a long impressive one?
A short honest answer, extended once. Band 7 in Part 1 comes from fluency, natural vocabulary and accurate grammar, not from length or rare words. A misused rare word costs more than a well-used common one.
What topics come up most in Part 1?
Home and hometown, work or studies, daily routine, food, friends, weather, hobbies, music, reading, travel, technology and sport. Prepare ideas and vocabulary for those twelve and you have covered most of what Part 1 can ask.
Where to go next
- The Speaking app — records you and plays it back, with model answers
- Practice test videos — a full Speaking mock test with band 9 answers
- Our mock test — Speaking marked by a teacher, with written feedback
- How to Get Band 7 in IELTS from Bangladesh
- How to Prepare for IELTS in 2 Months — a Week-by-Week Plan
- IELTS Mock Test in Bangladesh — What a Real One Looks Like
