Part 2 cue cardReading and learning

Describe a book you have recently enjoyed

The commonest mistake is spending ninety seconds on the plot. Give the story in three or four sentences, then let "how you felt while reading it" carry the answer, with one specific moment and the past continuous ("I was reading it on the metro when...").

1 minute to prepare
Up to 2 minutes
Samples at Band 6, 7 and 8
Updated 20 October 2026

Describe a book you have recently enjoyed.

You should say:

what the book was about
when and why you read it
how you felt while reading it
and explain why you enjoyed it

Rehearse the long turn

1 minute to prepare · 2 minutes to speak

Sit this card with the AI examinerThen the Part 3 discussion, and a full report

A 60-second plan

what the book was aboutKlara and the Sun: robot companion
when and why you read itlast month, metro; Valentina lent it
how you felt while reading ituneasy, then attached; teary on train
and explain why you enjoyed itinnocent narrator; what love means

Sample answers

232 words · about 2:01 spoken at a Band 6 pace

The book I want to talk about is Klara and the Sun, by Kazuo Ishiguro. It's about a robot called Klara, she is an Artificial Friend, which means a machine that rich families buy for keeping company to their children. Klara is bought for a girl called Josie, who is very sick, and the story is told by Klara's eyes. She believes that the Sun can give special help to people, because she runs on solar energy.

I read it last month. My friend Valentina lent it to me, because I told her I never read novels, only books for my studies, and she said this book will change my mind. I read it mostly on the metro on the way to work in Santiago, around forty minutes every day.

At the beginning I felt a bit strange, because Klara explains everything in a very simple way, like a child. But after some chapters I started to care about her a lot. Near the end there is a very sad part, and I almost cried in the metro, which was quite embarrassing for me.

I enjoyed it because it made me think about many things, for example what does it mean to love someone, and if a machine can feel. Also the chapters are short, so it was perfect for my journey. Now I am reading another book of the same writer.

The mistakes that keep it at Band 6

for keeping company to their children should be to keep their children company
told by Klara's eyes should be told through Klara's eyes
this book will change my mind should be this book would change my mind
after some chapters should be after a few chapters
I almost cried in the metro should be I almost cried on the metro
what does it mean to love someone should be what it means to love someone
and if a machine can feel should be and whether a machine can feel
another book of the same writer should be another book by the same writer

Why this is Band 6, not Band 7

Fluency and coherence: Covers each bullet and keeps going, with clear links ("At the beginning", "But after some chapters", "Also"). It stays at Band 6 because the plot takes up a large share of the time, and the reasons in the last bullet are added rather than developed.
Vocabulary: Has enough vocabulary to explain an unusual story ("Artificial Friend", "solar energy", "embarrassing"), but feelings stay vague ("a bit strange", "very sad part"), and "keeping company to their children" is not natural. Band 7 needs more precise words.
Grammar: Attempts indirect questions and reported speech, but both slip: "what does it mean to love someone" keeps question order, and "she said this book will change my mind" isn't backshifted. Prepositions also go wrong ("by Klara's eyes"). That is Band 6.

Pronunciation is the fourth criterion; it is judged from your voice, so a written sample cannot show it.

259 words · about 2:00 spoken at a Band 7 pace

The book I've enjoyed most recently is Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro. It's narrated by Klara, an Artificial Friend, which is basically a solar-powered robot that families buy as a companion for their children. She's chosen by a teenage girl called Josie, who is seriously ill, and because Klara runs on sunlight, she comes to believe the Sun has the power for healing Josie, which drives most of the story.

I read it last month. My friend Valentina lent it to me after I admitted I hadn't finished a novel in years, and she insisted it would change my mind. I read most of it on the metro in Santiago, about forty minutes each way, and the short chapters fitted my commute perfectly.

My feelings changed quite a lot as I went along. At first I found it a bit unsettling, because Klara describes the world in this very literal, innocent way, and you realise you understand far more about what's going on than she does. Then, gradually, I became really attached to her. There's a scene near the end that I reached on a packed train, and I had to stare out of the window for a minute so nobody would see my eyes watering.

What I enjoyed most was that it raises big questions without ever lecturing you, things like what it actually means to love someone, and whether that's something a machine could do. It's a quiet book, but it stayed with me for weeks, and I've already bought another two of Ishiguro's novels.

The slips

the power for healing Josie should be the power to heal Josie

Why this is Band 7, not Band 8

Fluency and coherence: Speaks at length and organises the answer well ("My feelings changed quite a lot as I went along", "Then, gradually"). Not Band 8 because the plot summary in the first part is still a little long, which leaves less room for the reasons at the end.
Vocabulary: Some less common, accurate items: "unsettling", "literal, innocent way", "really attached to her", "without ever lecturing you", "stayed with me for weeks". Band 8 would show this range in the plot summary too.
Grammar: A good range: past perfect ("I hadn't finished a novel in years"), reported speech ("she insisted it would change my mind"), an indirect question with "whether". One slip, "the power for healing Josie", where the infinitive is needed. That is Band 7.

Pronunciation is the fourth criterion; it is judged from your voice, so a written sample cannot show it.

280 words · about 1:56 spoken at a Band 8 pace

The book I've enjoyed most lately is Klara and the Sun, by Kazuo Ishiguro. The narrator, Klara, is an Artificial Friend, essentially a solar-powered companion robot, and she's bought to keep a seriously ill teenager called Josie company. Because Klara depends on sunlight herself, she develops an almost religious faith that the Sun can cure Josie, and the whole novel hangs on that belief. I'll stop there, because the less you know going in, the better.

I read it about a month ago. A friend of mine, Valentina, pressed it on me after I confessed I hadn't finished a novel in years, and she was so confident I'd love it that I felt obliged to prove her wrong. I got through it almost entirely on the Santiago metro, forty minutes each way, and the short chapters were tailor-made for a commute.

How I felt shifted a lot over those two weeks. To begin with, I found it oddly unnerving, because Klara reports everything with such literal innocence that you're constantly piecing together what she's missing. Then, without my noticing, she won me over completely. There's a passage near the end that I happened to reach on a rush-hour train, and I spent the next three stations studying the tunnel wall so that nobody would catch me welling up.

What I enjoyed, ultimately, is that it asks enormous questions while barely raising its voice: what loving someone actually consists of, and whether it could ever be replicated. It never tells you what to think, which is precisely why it lingered. Needless to say, Valentina hasn't let me forget it, and I've since worked my way through two more of his novels.

Why this is Band 8, not Band 9

Fluency and coherence: Effortless and well judged: the plot is kept brief on purpose ("I'll stop there"), leaving time for feelings and reasons, which unfold in sequence ("To begin with", "Then, without my noticing"). Short of Band 9 only because "Needless to say" is a stock link.
Vocabulary: Wide and precise: "pressed it on me", "tailor-made for a commute", "oddly unnerving", "catch me welling up", "barely raising its voice". Band 9 would sustain this naturalness in every line.
Grammar: Flexible and accurate: a comparative correlative ("the less you know going in, the better"), past perfect in reported speech, a result clause ("so confident I'd love it that I felt obliged"), and an indirect question with "whether". No errors; the gap to Band 9 is the odd safe structure.

Pronunciation is the fourth criterion; it is judged from your voice, so a written sample cannot show it.

Rounding-off questions

Are people reading more or less these days?: Probably reading more words than ever, but mostly short posts and messages. What's declining is long, focused reading, which is a shame, because a novel trains a kind of attention that a phone screen doesn't.
Will printed books survive in the future?: I think so. Vinyl records came back, after all. E-books are convenient for travelling, but people still like owning a physical book, lending it to a friend and seeing it on a shelf.