Part 2 cue cardHealth and fitness

Describe a healthy habit you have

Two time frames in one card: "how you developed it" is a past story, and "how often you do it" is present routine. Answers that blur them lose grammar marks, and the benefits need concrete changes rather than "it is good for health".

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

Describe a healthy habit you have.

You should say:

what the habit is
how you developed it
how often you do it
and explain how it benefits you

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 habit isbatch-cooking a week of lunches (marmitas)
how you developed itDad's cholesterol scare, two years ago
how often you do itSunday evenings; five lunches a week
and explain how it benefits youmoney saved, no slump, six kilos

Sample answers

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

One healthy habit I have is that I cook my own lunch and bring it to work, in Brazil we call it marmita. I prepare it in a plastic box, usually with rice, beans, some chicken or fish and a lot of vegetables.

I started this habit about two years ago. Before, I always ate in fast food restaurants near my office in São Paulo, because it was quick and easy. But then my father had a problem with his heart, the doctor said his cholesterol was too high, and I was worried that the same thing can happen to me. So I started to watch cooking videos on the internet and I learned some simple recipe from them.

Now I do it every week. On Sunday evening I spend about two hours in the kitchen and I prepare five boxes, one for every day from Monday until Friday. I keep them in the fridge and every morning I take one with me.

This habit benefits me in many ways. First, I'm saving a lot of money, maybe four hundred reais per month. Also I feel more energy in the afternoon, I don't feel sleepy after lunch like before. And I lost six kilos since I started, without going to the gym. My colleagues were laughing of me at the beginning, but now two of them are doing the same.

The mistakes that keep it at Band 6

the same thing can happen to me should be the same thing could happen to me
some simple recipe from them should be some simple recipes from them
On Sunday evening I spend should be On Sunday evenings I spend
I feel more energy should be I have more energy
I lost six kilos since I started should be I've lost six kilos since I started
laughing of me should be laughing at me

Why this is Band 6, not Band 7

Fluency and coherence: Willing to speak at length, with each bullet clearly addressed through simple markers ("Before", "But then", "First", "Also"). It stays at Band 6 because the benefits are listed one after another, and the father's story is told quickly without much connection to the rest.
Vocabulary: Enough topic vocabulary ("cholesterol", "recipe", "fast food restaurants"), but some unnatural choices: "I feel more energy" is not the collocation English uses for energy, and "laughing of me" takes the wrong preposition. Band 7 would describe the benefits more precisely.
Grammar: Past and present are both attempted, as the card needs, but they blur: "I lost six kilos since I started" needs the present perfect, "the same thing can happen to me" keeps the present inside a past worry, and "On Sunday evening" loses the sense of habit. That frequency is Band 6.

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

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

A healthy habit I've managed to stick to is cooking my own lunches and taking them to work. In Brazil we call these lunchboxes marmitas, and mine are usually rice and beans, some grilled chicken or fish, and whatever vegetables is cheap at the market that week.

It started about two years ago. Before that I'd grab something greasy near my office in São Paulo almost every day, because it was fast and I didn't think about it much. Then my dad was rushed to hospital with chest pains, and although it turned out not to be a heart attack, the doctor told him his cholesterol was dangerously high. That was a real wake-up call for me, because our diets weren't so different. I started following a couple of cooking channels and slowly built up a handful of recipes I could make without thinking.

These days it's a fixed part of my week. Every Sunday evening I put on a podcast and spend a couple of hours batch-cooking, then I portion everything into five containers and stack them in the fridge, so on weekday mornings I just grab one on my way out.

The benefits have been bigger than I expected. I save roughly four hundred reais a month, which adds up to a decent holiday over a year. I don't get that heavy, sleepy feeling after lunch any more, so my afternoons are far more productive. And I've lost six kilos without setting foot in a gym. My colleagues used to tease me about my plastic boxes, but now a couple of them have started copying me.

The slips

whatever vegetables is cheap should be whatever vegetables are cheap

Why this is Band 7, not Band 8

Fluency and coherence: Speaks at length without effort and separates the two time frames clearly ("It started about two years ago", "These days it's a fixed part of my week"). Not Band 8 because the benefits come as a sequence of separate points rather than being tied back to the father's story.
Vocabulary: Some less common and idiomatic items: "stick to", "a real wake-up call", "batch-cooking", "without setting foot in a gym", "adds up to". Band 8 would show this range throughout; "something greasy" and "far more productive" are fairly everyday.
Grammar: A good range used mostly accurately: would for a past habit ("I'd grab something greasy"), a passive ("was rushed to hospital"), a concessive clause, the present perfect for results. One slip, "whatever vegetables is cheap", an agreement error after a plural noun; that is Band 7.

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

274 words · about 1:53 spoken at a Band 8 pace

The habit I'm proudest of is bringing a home-cooked lunch to work every day instead of buying one. Brazilians call it a marmita, and it's nothing glamorous: rice, black beans, a piece of grilled chicken or fish, and a heap of whatever vegetables happen to be in season.

I picked it up about two years ago, and not through any burst of willpower. Back then I was living on pastel and fried snacks from the stalls around my office in São Paulo. Then my father was taken to A&E with chest pains, and although it wasn't a heart attack, the doctor told him bluntly that his cholesterol was a disaster waiting to happen. Sitting in that waiting room, I realised I was eating exactly the way he had at my age, and that frightened me far more than any health campaign ever had. So I started working my way through cooking videos until I had a repertoire of half a dozen dishes I could make on autopilot.

Now it's simply part of the rhythm of my week. Every Sunday evening I spend a couple of hours batch-cooking with music on, divide it all into five containers, and that's lunch sorted until Friday.

The payoff has been considerable. Financially, I'm about four hundred reais a month better off, which more or less funds a trip every year. Physically, I've dropped six kilos without ever joining a gym, and the post-lunch slump that used to wipe out my afternoons has all but disappeared. The colleagues who used to make jokes about my Tupperware are now asking me for recipes, which I take as the ultimate compliment.

Why this is Band 8, not Band 9

Fluency and coherence: Fluent and coherent, with the past and present clearly framed and a reflective moment ("Sitting in that waiting room, I realised") that explains why the habit stuck. Short of Band 9 because organising the benefits under "Financially" and "Physically" is slightly tidy for spontaneous speech.
Vocabulary: Wide and idiomatic: "a disaster waiting to happen", "on autopilot", "lunch sorted", "the post-lunch slump", "has all but disappeared". The gap to Band 9 is the occasional general word, such as "considerable".
Grammar: Flexible and accurate: an opening participle clause, a past perfect inside a comparison ("far more than any health campaign ever had"), the present perfect for results. No errors; the structures vary without strain.

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

Rounding-off questions

Why do people find it hard to stay healthy?: Mainly because the unhealthy option is usually the easy one. Fast food is cheap and everywhere, long hours leave little energy for exercise, and the benefits of healthy habits take months to notice.
Whose responsibility is people's health?: Mostly the individual's, but governments shape the choices people have. Taxing sugary drinks, building safe cycle lanes and keeping healthy food affordable all make the right decision easier for everyone.