Part 2 cue cardCulture and tradition

Describe a historical place you have visited

"What you learned" is where most answers turn into a recited guidebook of dates. Pick two or three facts that surprised you and say how you learned them. The last bullet needs past feelings, so control of past tenses, including the past perfect, carries the grammar marks.

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

Describe a historical place you have visited.

You should say:

where it is
when you went there
what you learned about it
and explain how you felt when you were there

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

where it isPersepolis, near Shiraz, southern Iran
when you went therelast Nowruz, parents and grandma
what you learned about itDarius, staircase carvings, Alexander's fire
and explain how you felt when you were theretiny, proud, then angry at graffiti

Sample answers

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

I want to talk about Persepolis, which is a very old place in the south of Iran, about one hour drive from Shiraz. It was the capital of the Persian kings around two thousand five hundred years ago.

I went there last March, during the Nowruz holiday, with my parents and my grandmother. It was very crowded, because many families travel in this time, but we have hired a guide, so it was easier to understand everything.

I learned a lot of things from the guide. For example, I didn't know that Darius the Great was the one who started to build it. The guide showed us the stone carvings on a big staircase, and there are people from many different countries carrying gifts for the king. He said it was probably for the Nowruz celebration, which I found very interesting because we were there in the same holiday. He also told us that Alexander the Great burned the whole place, and nobody knows why.

About my feeling, I felt very small, because the columns are so tall and the place is enormous. I was also proud, because this is a part of our history. But I felt a bit angry too, because on one of the gates some European travellers wrote their names on the stone two hundred years ago. Overall, it was a experience I will never forget it.

The mistakes that keep it at Band 6

about one hour drive should be about an hour's drive
travel in this time should be travel at this time
we have hired a guide should be we had hired a guide
in the same holiday should be during the same holiday
About my feeling should be As for how I felt
travellers wrote their names should be travellers had carved their names
it was a experience should be it was an experience
I will never forget it should be I will never forget

Why this is Band 6, not Band 7

Fluency and coherence: Keeps going and follows the bullets in order, using clear but simple organisers ("For example", "Overall"). "About my feeling" is an awkward way into the last bullet, and the feelings are listed one by one ("I was also proud", "I felt a bit angry too") rather than connected.
Vocabulary: Has the words the topic needs ("stone carvings", "columns", "enormous"), and the facts come across clearly. Range is narrow for feelings, mostly "very" plus a basic adjective, and the close leans on a stock line ("experience I will never forget"). Band 7 needs more precise items.
Grammar: Attempts relative clauses and past narrative, but the past perfect is missing where it matters: "we have hired a guide" and "travellers wrote their names" both need it. Articles slip too ("a experience"). Frequent errors in complex structures, without loss of meaning, are Band 6.

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

258 words · about 1:59 spoken at a Band 7 pace

I'd like to describe Persepolis, the ruins of an ancient royal city in the south of Iran, about an hour's drive from Shiraz. It was built about two and a half thousand years ago as the ceremonial capital of the Persian Empire.

I went there last March, over the Nowruz holiday, with my parents and my grandmother, who'd been wanting to go back since she first visited as a young woman. It was packed, because half the country seems to travel at Nowruz, but luckily my dad had booked a guide in advance.

I learned a surprising amount that day. I hadn't realised, for instance, that it was Darius the Great who started the project. The highlight was a huge staircase covered in carvings of delegations from all over the empire, each carrying gifts for the king, and our guide explained they were probably arriving for Nowruz, which felt quite moving, given that we were there for exactly the same festival. He also told us that Alexander the Great burned the palaces down, and historians still argue about if it was deliberate or a drunken accident.

As for how I felt, mostly I was overwhelmed by the scale of it. Standing between those columns, I felt tiny. I was proud as well, in a quiet way, but what I hadn't expected was to feel angry. On one of the gateways, European travellers in the 1800s had carved their names into the stone, and my grandmother just shook her head and said some people treat history like a notebook.

The slips

argue about if it was deliberate should be argue about whether it was deliberate

Why this is Band 7, not Band 8

Fluency and coherence: Speaks at length and links the parts naturally ("for instance", "As for how I felt", "what I hadn't expected"). Not Band 8 because the third bullet packs three facts in a row, so for a moment the answer is more informative than personal.
Vocabulary: Some less common items, used well: "ceremonial capital", "delegations", "overwhelmed by the scale of it", and the grandmother's "treat history like a notebook". Band 8 would be more precise in the plainer stretches, such as "a surprising amount".
Grammar: Good control of past tenses, including the past perfect and its continuous form ("who'd been wanting to go back", "had carved their names"), plus a cleft sentence. One slip, "argue about if it was deliberate", where whether is needed. That is Band 7.

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

279 words · about 1:55 spoken at a Band 8 pace

The place I'd pick is Persepolis, or what's left of it: the ruins of the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid kings, on a plain about an hour's drive from Shiraz in southern Iran.

I finally went last March, over Nowruz, with my parents and my grandmother. She'd been there once as a newlywed in the sixties and had been dropping hints about going back for years, so in the end my dad booked the trip as a surprise. The site was heaving, since half of Iran seems to be on the road during the holiday, but we'd arranged a guide, which made all the difference.

What I learned turned a pile of old stones into a story. I'd always assumed it was simply a palace, but it was more of a stage: Darius the Great built it to receive his subjects. On the grand staircase there are rows of carved figures from every corner of the empire, leading horses and carrying gifts, and our guide reckoned they were bringing tribute for Nowruz, so we were, in a sense, the latest visitors in a very long queue. He also explained that Alexander burned it in 330 BC, and that nobody can say for certain whether it was policy or a drunken whim.

How did I feel? Dwarfed, initially, by the columns. Then oddly proud, which surprised me, because I'm not usually sentimental about history. What I hadn't bargained for was the anger. On one gateway, European travellers had carved their names into the stone back in the 1800s, and seeing a two-hundred-year-old act of vandalism on a wall ten times that age left me furious on the ancient builders' behalf.

Why this is Band 8, not Band 9

Fluency and coherence: Fully coherent: the third bullet is framed as a story rather than a list ("turned a pile of old stones into a story"), and the feelings unfold in sequence. Short of Band 9 only because the rhetorical "How did I feel?" is a familiar device.
Vocabulary: Wide, precise and idiomatic: "dropping hints", "heaving", "bringing tribute", "a drunken whim", "What I hadn't bargained for". The wry image of "the latest visitors in a very long queue" shows skilful control. Band 9 would sustain this everywhere.
Grammar: A wide range used accurately: past perfect continuous ("had been dropping hints"), cleft structures, an elliptical sequence ("Dwarfed, initially, by the columns"), and a long gerund subject ("seeing a two-hundred-year-old act of vandalism"). No errors; the gap to Band 9 is the odd safe sentence.

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 preserve historical places?: Because once they're gone, they're gone for good. A textbook can tell you about an empire, but standing in the place where it happened makes history feel real, especially for children.
Should governments spend money protecting them?: Yes, although I think tourism should pay for a share of it. Ticket income at the famous sites could fund the smaller ones, which are often crumbling simply because nobody visits them.