Part 2 cue cardSkills and success

Describe a difficult thing you did and succeeded at

"Why it was difficult" is where most answers stay vague. Name specific obstacles (physical, mental, practical); "how you managed to do it" then needs strategies matched to those obstacles, told as a process.

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

Describe a difficult thing you did and succeeded at.

You should say:

what it was
why it was difficult
how you managed to do it
and explain how you felt afterwards

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 it wasDamavand summit, 5,600 m, club trip
why it was difficultaltitude sickness, sulphur, cold, unfit
how you managed to do itthree months' training, slow pace, Arash
and explain how you felt afterwardscried at the top; lasting confidence

Sample answers

230 words · about 2:00 spoken at a Band 6 pace

I'd like to talk about climbing Mount Damavand, which is the highest mountain in Iran. I did it last August with the mountaineering club of my university, and for me it was the most difficult thing I ever did.

It was difficult for many reasons. First, I am not a sporty person, I prefer to stay at home and read. Second, the altitude was a big problem. When we reached to the camp at about four thousand two hundred metres, I had a terrible headache and I felt sick. Also near the top there is a strong smell of sulphur, because it is a volcano, and the wind was so cold that I couldn't feel my fingers.

So how did I manage it? I trained for three months before. Every evening I climbed the stairs of our building with a backpack full of bottles of water, and in the weekends I went hiking near Tehran. On the mountain we had one rest day to get used with the altitude. On the last day we started at three o'clock in the morning, and my friend Arash walked next to me. We took twenty steps, then rest, then twenty steps again.

When I arrived to the top, I was crying. I was very tired but also very proud. Now when something is hard, I remember this day and I feel more confidence.

The mistakes that keep it at Band 6

the most difficult thing I ever did should be the most difficult thing I've ever done
we reached to the camp should be we reached the camp
I trained for three months before should be I trained for three months beforehand
in the weekends should be at the weekends
get used with the altitude should be get used to the altitude
then rest, then twenty steps again should be then rested, then took twenty more
When I arrived to the top should be When I got to the top
I feel more confidence should be I feel more confident

Why this is Band 6, not Band 7

Fluency and coherence: Willing to speak at length and organises the second bullet clearly ("First", "Second", "Also"). It stays at Band 6 because that signposting is mechanical, and the summit, the moment the whole story builds to, gets only three short sentences.
Vocabulary: Enough vocabulary for the topic ("altitude", "sulphur", "volcano", "backpack"), but there are inappropriate choices: "I feel more confidence" uses the noun for the adjective, and "in the weekends" takes the wrong preposition. Band 7 would describe the difficulty with more precise words.
Grammar: Attempts a range of structures, including a result clause ("so cold that I couldn't feel my fingers"), but errors are frequent: "the most difficult thing I ever did" needs the present perfect, "get used with" is the wrong pattern, and "then rest" breaks the past tense.

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

262 words · about 2:01 spoken at a Band 7 pace

The hardest thing I've ever done, and actually pulled off, was climbing Mount Damavand. It's the highest peak in Iran, at around five thousand six hundred metres, and I went up it last August with my university's mountaineering club.

There were a few reasons it was so tough. For a start, I'm not naturally athletic at all; I'm much more of a bookworm. But the real problem was the altitude. As soon as we got to the camp at about four thousand two hundred metres, I was hit by a pounding headache and nausea, and I seriously considered turning back. Then, close to the summit, there are sulphur fumes coming out of the rocks, because it's actually a dormant volcano, and the wind was so bitter that I lost all feeling in my fingers.

As for how I managed it, a lot of it came down to preparation. For three months beforehand, I climbed the stairs of our apartment block every evening with a rucksack full of water bottles, and spent most weekends hiking in the mountains just north of Tehran. On the climb itself, we took a rest day to acclimatise, and on summit day we set off at three in the morning. My friend Arash stuck by me the whole way, and we went twenty steps at a time, then stopped to catch our breaths.

When I finally reached the top, I burst into tears, partly from exhaustion but mostly from relief. Since then, whenever something seems impossible, I think back to that morning and it puts things into perspective.

The slips

catch our breaths should be catch our breath

Why this is Band 7, not Band 8

Fluency and coherence: Speaks at length with ease and organises the obstacles clearly ("For a start", "But the real problem was the altitude"). Not Band 8 because the strategies are reported in order rather than linked back to each difficulty, and the ending relies on a familiar phrase ("puts things into perspective").
Vocabulary: Some less common, natural vocabulary: "pulled off", "a bookworm", "a pounding headache", "dormant volcano", "acclimatise", "stuck by me". Band 8 would show more precision throughout; "so tough" and "seriously considered" are rather safe.
Grammar: A range of complex structures with frequent error-free sentences: the present perfect for life experience ("The hardest thing I've ever done"), a passive ("I was hit by"), a result clause ("so bitter that I lost all feeling"). One slip, "catch our breaths", where the noun should be singular.

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

264 words · about 1:49 spoken at a Band 8 pace

The achievement I'm proudest of is reaching the summit of Damavand, Iran's highest mountain, which tops out at just over five thousand six hundred metres. I climbed it last August with the mountaineering club at my university, and I still find it slightly hard to believe I did.

What made it so daunting was a combination of things. I'm not remotely sporty by nature; given the choice, I'd rather spend a weekend with a book. On top of that, altitude is a great leveller: fitness only gets you so far. At the high camp, around four thousand two hundred metres, I was floored by a splitting headache and waves of nausea, and I came very close to calling it a day. Higher up, the volcano vents sulphurous gas, so every breath tasted of rotten eggs, and the wind was cold enough to numb my fingers through two pairs of gloves.

I got there through a mix of preparation and sheer stubbornness. For three months I hauled a rucksack of water bottles up the eleven flights of our apartment block every evening, and spent weekends on the trails above Tehran. On the mountain, we built in a rest day to acclimatise, and on summit day we left at three a.m. My friend Arash refused to leave my side; we'd count twenty paces, pause, and go again, for six hours.

Standing at the top, I simply wept, mostly with relief. What I took away, though, was more lasting: a quiet confidence that if I break something overwhelming into twenty-step pieces, I can usually get through it.

Why this is Band 8, not Band 9

Fluency and coherence: Fluent and fully coherent, with obstacles and strategies clearly matched and an ending that turns the method into a lesson ("twenty-step pieces"). Short of Band 9 only because "On top of that" and "though" are conventional links in an otherwise flexible answer.
Vocabulary: Wide and idiomatic: "tops out at", "altitude is a great leveller", "floored by a splitting headache", "calling it a day", "sheer stubbornness", "refused to leave my side". Band 9 would keep that precision in the plainer account of the training.
Grammar: A wide range used flexibly and accurately: a cleft ("What made it so daunting"), a preference structure ("I'd rather spend"), a result clause with enough ("cold enough to numb my fingers"), habitual would ("we'd count twenty paces"), and a conditional inside a noun clause. No errors.

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

Rounding-off questions

Why is it important to face challenges?: Because it's the only way to find out what you're capable of. If you avoid everything difficult, you never build the confidence that helps you cope when something hard happens without warning.
Do people learn more from success or failure?: Probably from failure, because it forces you to work out what went wrong. Success feels wonderful, but it can make you careless, whereas a mistake you've paid for tends to stay with you.