Part 2 cue cardGoals and the future

Describe a goal you would like to achieve in the future

This card mixes future forms: "how you plan to achieve it" needs going to, present continuous and concrete steps, and the last bullet imagines a feeling. Answers go vague ("I will work hard"); name the stages, the timeline and the obstacle.

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

Describe a goal you would like to achieve in the future.

You should say:

what the goal is
why it is important to you
how you plan to achieve it
and explain how you will feel when you reach 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 goal isguesthouse in grandparents' Samarkand house
why it is important to yousave the house; tourism; stay home
how you plan to achieve ithotel job, management course, loan
and explain how you will feel when you reach itGrandma's courtyard full again; relief, pride

Sample answers

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

My goal for the future is to open a small guesthouse in Samarkand, in the old house of my grandparents. It is a traditional house with a courtyard in the middle, a vine and a big apricot tree, and it's only fifteen minutes walking from the Registan.

This goal is important for me for two reasons. First, the house is empty since my grandfather died, and some people already offered to buy it and build apartments there. I don't want that it disappears. Second, tourism in Uzbekistan is growing very fast, so I think it can be a good business, and I can stay in my country near my family instead of to go abroad for work.

My plan has several steps. Now I am working at the reception in a hotel in Tashkent, so I'm learning how the hotel business works. Next year I'm going to do a one-year course in hospitality management, that's why I'm taking IELTS. After that I will save money and maybe take a small loan from the bank, and my younger sister, she studies accounting, will help me with the finance part.

When I reach my goal, I think I will feel very proud and also relieved. My grandmother still lives nearby and she always says the house is too quiet. I imagine to see her in the courtyard, cooking plov for the guests.

The mistakes that keep it at Band 6

fifteen minutes walking from should be fifteen minutes' walk from
the house is empty since should be the house has been empty since
some people already offered should be some people have already offered
I don't want that it disappears should be I don't want it to disappear
instead of to go abroad should be instead of going abroad
my younger sister, she studies accounting should be my younger sister, who studies accounting
the finance part should be the finances
I imagine to see her should be I imagine seeing her

Why this is Band 6, not Band 7

Fluency and coherence: Willing to extend each bullet, and the plan is organised ("First", "Second", "Next year", "After that"). It stays at Band 6 because these markers make the answer read as a list, and the feelings at the end are stated briefly rather than developed.
Vocabulary: Some topic vocabulary ("courtyard", "hospitality management", "a small loan"), but some phrasing is awkward: "fifteen minutes walking from" is not the natural way to give a distance, and "the finance part" is vague. Band 7 would use more precise words for the business plan.
Grammar: Attempts a range of future forms, which suits the card, but verb patterns break down: "I don't want that it disappears" and "I imagine to see her" use the wrong complement, "instead of to go" needs a gerund, and "the house is empty since" needs the present perfect. That is Band 6.

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

269 words · about 2:04 spoken at a Band 7 pace

One goal I'm determined to achieve is turning my grandparents' old house in Samarkand into a small guesthouse. It's a traditional courtyard home in the old town, with a vine-covered terrace and an apricot tree in the middle, and it's barely fifteen minutes' walk from the Registan.

It matters to me for a few reasons. The house has been standing empty since my grandfather passed away, and developers have already approached us about knocking it down for flats, which I couldn't bear. On top of that, tourism here has really taken off over the past few years, so I think there's a genuine opportunity. And honestly, it would let me build a career without having to emigrate, which is what most of my friends are planning to do.

I've got a fairly clear plan. At the moment I'm working in the front desk of a hotel in Tashkent, which is teaching me how the business actually runs. Next year I'm hoping to do a one-year hospitality management course, which is partly why I'm taking IELTS. After that, I'll put my savings together with a small business loan and renovate the house in stages, starting with three rooms rather than all six. My younger sister is studying accounting, so she's already volunteered to keep the books.

When it finally happens, I think the main feeling will be relief that the house is safe. But I'll also be quietly proud. My grandmother lives around the corner and always complains it's too quiet without guests, so picturing her in the courtyard cooking plov for travellers from abroad is what keeps me going.

The slips

working in the front desk should be working at the front desk

Why this is Band 7, not Band 8

Fluency and coherence: Speaks at length without effort, with each reason and step linked naturally ("On top of that", "And honestly", "After that"). Not Band 8 because the plan is delivered as a sequence of stages with similar sentence shapes, and the final feeling arrives in a familiar frame ("what keeps me going").
Vocabulary: Less common and idiomatic items: "taken off", "knocking it down for flats", "couldn't bear", "keep the books", "what keeps me going". Band 8 would sustain this throughout; "a genuine opportunity" is a little generic.
Grammar: A good range of future forms used accurately ("I'm hoping to do", "I'll put my savings together", "will be relief"), the present perfect continuous, and non-defining relative clauses. One slip, "working in the front desk", the wrong preposition for a job position; that is Band 7.

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

297 words · about 2:03 spoken at a Band 8 pace

The goal I keep coming back to is turning my grandparents' house in Samarkand into a small family-run guesthouse. It's one of those old courtyard houses tucked away in the maze of lanes behind the Registan, with a vine trained over the terrace and an apricot tree that drops fruit on everyone in July.

Part of why it matters is simply that I can't stand the thought of losing it. It's been shut up since my grandfather died, and we've already had developers sniffing around, keen to flatten it and put up apartments. But it's also a practical ambition. Visitor numbers have soared since the visa rules were relaxed, and good small guesthouses in the old town are still surprisingly thin on the ground. And it would give me a future here, rather than following half my classmates to Seoul or Moscow.

I'm trying to approach it methodically. For now I'm working on reception at a hotel in Tashkent, essentially learning the trade on someone else's payroll. Next autumn I'm aiming to start a one-year course in hospitality management, which is the reason I'm sitting this exam. After that, the plan is to combine my savings with a small-business loan and renovate in phases, opening three rooms first and letting them fund the rest. My sister, who's training as an accountant, has already appointed herself finance director.

When the first guests finally arrive, I imagine it'll be a mixture of exhaustion and pride, but mostly a sense of something being put right. My grandmother lives two streets away and insists the courtyard has been unbearably quiet for years. If I can fill it with travellers again and watch her take over the kitchen to make plov for them, I'll feel I've kept faith with both of them.

Why this is Band 8, not Band 9

Fluency and coherence: Fluent and coherent, with each bullet developed by specific detail and a final image that ties back to the grandparents ("kept faith with both of them"). Short of Band 9 because the plan is laid out in a slightly tidy sequence ("For now", "Next autumn", "After that").
Vocabulary: Wide and idiomatic: "tucked away in the maze of lanes", "sniffing around", "thin on the ground", "on someone else's payroll", "appointed herself finance director". The gap to Band 9 is the odd stock phrase, such as "a sense of something being put right".
Grammar: Flexible and accurate: present perfect passive and active forms ("It's been shut up", "have soared since the visa rules were relaxed"), varied future forms, and a first conditional ("If I can fill it with travellers again"). No errors.

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

Rounding-off questions

Is it important to set goals in life?: I think so, as long as they're flexible. A goal gives everyday effort a direction, which makes boring work easier to put up with. But people who cling to a goal that no longer suits them can waste years.
How much control do people have over their futures?: More than they sometimes think, but less than motivational speakers claim. Our choices matter a lot, yet where we're born, our health and plain luck set limits that hard work alone can't remove.