Part 2 cue cardSport and competition

Describe a competition you took part in

The card asks how you felt about taking part, not whether you won, so reporting only the result misses the last bullet. "What you had to do" needs the rules and tasks explained clearly, with had to and needed to.

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

Describe a competition you took part in.

You should say:

what the competition was
when it took place
what you had to do
and explain how you felt about taking part

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 competition was24-hour hackathon, uni, Kuala Lumpur
when it took placelast March, Saturday to Sunday
what you had to dofood-waste app, three-minute pitch
and explain how you felt about taking partnervous, shattered, proud; came fourth

Sample answers

220 words · about 1:55 spoken at a Band 6 pace

I'd like to tell you about a hackathon I joined. A hackathon is a competition for programmers, and this one was organise by my university in Kuala Lumpur. Thirty teams took part and every team had three people. My team was me and two of my classmates, Farah and Wei Jie.

It took place last March, from Saturday morning until Sunday morning, so it was twenty-four hours without stop.

The theme was food waste, and we had to build a working app in that time and then present it to the judges in three minutes. Our idea was an app for hawker stalls, so they can sell the leftover food cheaply before they close at night. Wei Jie did most of coding, Farah did the design and I was responsible to the presentation. Around three o'clock in the morning our database stopped working and we were very stress, but finally we fixed it.

About my feelings, honestly I was very nervous during the pitch because the judges asked many difficult questions. We got the fourth place, so we didn't win a prize. But I wasn't too disappointed. I learned more in that one day than in a whole semester, and I made a strong relationship with my teammates. If there is another one next year, I will definitely join again.

The mistakes that keep it at Band 6

organise by my university should be organised by my university
twenty-four hours without stop should be twenty-four hours non-stop
did most of coding should be did most of the coding
responsible to the presentation should be responsible for the presentation
we were very stress should be we were very stressed
We got the fourth place should be We came fourth
made a strong relationship should be built a strong relationship

Why this is Band 6, not Band 7

Fluency and coherence: Willing to speak at length, explains what a hackathon is and covers every bullet in order, even marking the last one ("About my feelings"). It stays at Band 6 because the linking is basic and the crisis at three in the morning is mentioned and dropped rather than told as a story.
Vocabulary: Enough topic vocabulary to be clear ("theme", "hawker stalls", "leftover food", "pitch"), but some choices are inappropriate: "made a strong relationship" is an unnatural collocation, and "without stop" is not a fixed phrase. Band 7 would use less common words with more control.
Grammar: A mix of simple and complex sentences, including a purpose clause and a conditional, but errors keep appearing: "organise by my university" needs a past participle, "responsible to the presentation" takes the wrong preposition, and "did most of coding" is missing its article.

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

244 words · about 1:53 spoken at a Band 7 pace

The competition I want to talk about is a hackathon I entered at my university in Kuala Lumpur. For anyone who isn't familiar with them, a hackathon is basically a race to design and build a piece of software in a very short time. There were thirty teams of three, and I was with two classmates, Farah and Wei Jie.

It was last March, and it ran for twenty-four hours straight, from nine on Saturday morning to nine on Sunday.

The theme was reducing food waste, and we had to come up with an idea, build a working prototype and then pitch it to a panel of judges in just three minutes. We designed an app that lets hawker stalls sell off their leftover food at discount just before closing time. Wei Jie handled the coding, Farah designed the screens, and I was in charge of the pitch. The low point was around three in the morning, when our database suddenly crashed and for about an hour we genuinely thought we'd have nothing to show.

To be honest, my feelings were all over the place. I was nervous before the pitch, completely shattered by the end, and slightly gutted when we found out we'd come fourth, just outside the prizes. But looking back, I'm really glad I took part. I learnt more in those twenty-four hours than in an entire semester of lectures, and the three of us have become really close since then.

The slips

at discount should be at a discount

Why this is Band 7, not Band 8

Fluency and coherence: Speaks at length without effort and gives the low point some weight ("The low point was around three in the morning"). Not Band 8 because the feelings are listed in one sentence ("nervous before the pitch", "completely shattered", "slightly gutted") rather than tied to the moments that caused them.
Vocabulary: Some less common, idiomatic items: "twenty-four hours straight", "sell off", "all over the place", "completely shattered", "slightly gutted". Band 8 would be more precise throughout; "really glad" and "really close" repeat a safe intensifier.
Grammar: Frequent error-free complex sentences: a relative clause with "lets", the past perfect after a reporting verb ("we'd come fourth"), a comparison with "more" and "than". One slip, "at discount", which is missing its article.

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

269 words · about 1:51 spoken at a Band 8 pace

I'm going to talk about a hackathon I took part in at my university in Kuala Lumpur, which, if you haven't come across the term, is a kind of marathon for programmers: you get a theme, a deadline and a lot of coffee, and you have to turn an idea into working software before time runs out. Thirty teams of three entered, and I teamed up with two coursemates, Farah and Wei Jie.

It took place last March and ran round the clock, from nine on a Saturday morning until the same time on Sunday.

The brief was to tackle food waste. Within the twenty-four hours we had to build a functioning prototype and then sell it to a panel of judges in a three-minute pitch, followed by two minutes of grilling. Our idea was an app that lets hawker stalls offload unsold food at a discount in their last half-hour of trading. Wei Jie did the bulk of the coding, Farah designed the interface, and the pitch fell to me. The real test came at about three a.m., when our database collapsed and we spent a frantic hour rebuilding it, convinced we'd blown our chances.

How did I feel about it? Honestly, it was a rollercoaster. I was a bag of nerves before the pitch, running on fumes by the end, and briefly crushed when we were placed fourth, one spot off the podium. But the disappointment wore off within a day, and what's stayed with me is how much I learned under pressure, and the fact that Farah, Wei Jie and I have been inseparable ever since.

Why this is Band 8, not Band 9

Fluency and coherence: Effortless and well paced, with the crisis given its own moment ("The real test came at about three a.m.") and the feelings traced from the pitch to the days after. Short of Band 9 only because the rhetorical "How did I feel about it?" signposts the last bullet a little obviously.
Vocabulary: Wide and idiomatic: "ran round the clock", "two minutes of grilling", "a bag of nerves", "running on fumes", "one spot off the podium". Band 9 would keep this precision in every sentence, including the plainer division of jobs in the team.
Grammar: A wide range used accurately: a non-defining relative clause interrupted by a condition ("which, if you haven't come across the term, is"), a participle phrase ("convinced we'd blown our chances"), a passive, and the present perfect for a lasting result ("have been inseparable ever since"). No errors.

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

Rounding-off questions

Is competition good for people?: In moderation, yes. A deadline and a rival push people to do things they'd never attempt otherwise. The problem starts when winning becomes the only point, because then people stop enjoying the activity itself.
Should schools encourage more competition?: Some, but carefully. Team competitions teach cooperation as well as ambition, which is valuable. Ranking every child against every other child, though, mainly teaches the weakest students that they're failures.