Part 2 cue cardMedia and news
Describe a magazine or newspaper you like to read
Two bullets are one-sentence traps: "what it is" and "how often you read it". The time has to come from "what kind of content it has", so name sections and one article you remember, never just "interesting topics".
- 1 minute to prepare
- Up to 2 minutes
- Samples at Band 6, 7 and 8
- Updated 20 October 2026

The cue card
Describe a magazine or newspaper you like to read.
You should say:
- what it is
- how often you read it
- what kind of content it has
- and explain why you enjoy it
Rehearse the long turn
1 minute to prepare · 2 minutes to speak
A 60-second plan
- what it isSunday magazine in Dad's English daily
- how often you read itevery Sunday, roof, chai, early
- what kind of content it hascover story, interviews, agony aunt, crossword
- and explain why you enjoy itslow reading, better English, Dad rivalry
Sample answers
Band 6 sample answer
218 words · about 1:54 spoken at a Band 6 pace
The magazine I want to talk about is a Sunday magazine which comes free with an English newspaper here in Lahore. My father is buying this newspaper since many years, but he only reads the news pages, so the magazine part is mostly for me.
I read it every Sunday, normally in the morning. In our house Sunday breakfast is little bit late, so I take the magazine to the roof with a cup of tea and read it for one or two hours before my brothers wake up.
There is many different content in it. Every week there is a long cover story about some issue, for example once it was about the old houses in the walled city and how they are falling down. There are also interviews of famous singers and cooks, a recipe, a column where people write about their problems and someone gives them advice, and at the end a crossword. My father and I always compete for doing the crossword first.
I enjoy it because it is a relaxing way to read, not like the phone where you just scroll. Also it has improved my English a lot, especially my vocabulary, because the writers use very rich words. And I learn many things about my own city that I didn't knew before.
The mistakes that keep it at Band 6
- is buying this newspaper since many years should be has been buying this newspaper for years
- Sunday breakfast is little bit late should be Sunday breakfast is a little bit late
- There is many different content should be There's a lot of different content
- interviews of famous singers should be interviews with famous singers
- compete for doing the crossword first should be compete to finish the crossword first
- use very rich words should be use a very rich vocabulary
- that I didn't knew before should be that I didn't know before
Why this is Band 6, not Band 7
- Fluency and coherence
- Willing to speak at length and covers each bullet in turn, with an example for the content bullet ("for example once it was about the old houses"). It stays at Band 6 because the third paragraph becomes a list joined by "There are also" and "and", and the final reasons are added with "Also" rather than developed.
- Vocabulary
- Enough topic vocabulary to be clear ("cover story", "walled city", "crossword"), but some choices are inappropriate: "use very rich words" is an awkward collocation, and "interviews of" takes the wrong preposition. Band 7 would bring in less common items used precisely.
- Grammar
- A mix of simple and complex sentences, including relative clauses, but the errors cluster in verb forms: "is buying this newspaper since many years" needs the present perfect continuous, "didn't knew" doubles the past, and "There is many" doesn't agree.
Pronunciation is the fourth criterion; it is judged from your voice, so a written sample cannot show it.
Band 7 sample answer
250 words · about 1:55 spoken at a Band 7 pace
The one publication I actually look forward to every week is the Sunday magazine that comes tucked inside an English-language daily here in Lahore. My dad's been taking the paper since as long as I can remember, but he only ever reads the politics and business pages, so over the years the magazine has more or less become mine.
I read it every Sunday without fail. Breakfast in our house is quite late at weekends, so I usually take it up to the roof with a cup of chai and get through most of it before anyone else is awake.
What I like is the mix. There's always a long cover feature, and some of them have really stayed with me, like one about the crumbling old havelis in the walled city and the families still living in them. Then there are interviews with local musicians and chefs, a short story sent in by a reader, an advice column, which is surprisingly entertaining, and right at the back a cryptic crossword that my father and I compete over every single week.
I suppose I enjoy it because it forces me to slow down. On my phone I tend to skim headlines and move on, whereas with the magazine I actually read an article from start to finish. It's also done wonders for my English, since the writing is quite sophisticated, and it's taught me a lot about the history of my own city that I'd never have learnt at school.
The slips
- since as long as I can remember should be for as long as I can remember
Why this is Band 7, not Band 8
- Fluency and coherence
- Speaks at length without effort, with flexible signposting ("What I like is the mix", "Then there are", "I suppose"). Not Band 8 because the content paragraph still runs as a list of sections, where a Band 8 speaker would develop one or two of them into something more vivid.
- Vocabulary
- Some less common, natural items: "tucked inside", "crumbling old havelis", "skim headlines", "done wonders for my English". Band 8 would sustain that precision; "really stayed with me" and "quite sophisticated" are rather safe.
- Grammar
- Frequent error-free complex sentences: a cleft ("What I like is the mix"), a contrast with "whereas", a third conditional ("I'd never have learnt"). One slip, "since as long as I can remember", where the fixed phrase takes a different preposition.
Pronunciation is the fourth criterion; it is judged from your voice, so a written sample cannot show it.
Band 8 sample answer
264 words · about 1:49 spoken at a Band 8 pace
I'm not much of a newspaper reader in general, but there's one thing I never miss, and that's the Sunday magazine that comes folded inside the English-language daily my father takes. He's had the paper delivered to our house in Lahore since before I was born, and as he's only interested in the front section, the magazine has quietly become my territory.
It's a weekly ritual, really. Sundays start late in our house, so I take it up to the roof with a mug of chai while it's still cool and work my way through it, usually in a couple of hours.
What keeps me coming back is the range. The cover story is often a proper piece of long-form journalism; the one I still remember was about the old havelis of the walled city, which are slowly falling apart while the families in them argue over who owns what. Alongside that you get profiles of local musicians and chefs, a short story from a reader, an agony aunt column that's far more entertaining than it has any right to be, and on the back page a cryptic crossword that has turned into a fierce weekly rivalry between me and my dad.
Part of the appeal is simply the pace. Online I'll skim twenty headlines without really taking any of them in, whereas the magazine makes me read something properly from beginning to end. On top of that, it's given my English a real boost, and, slightly to my embarrassment, it's taught me more about my own city's past than school ever managed to.
Why this is Band 8, not Band 9
- Fluency and coherence
- Effortless, and organised by ideas rather than by the card ("What keeps me coming back is the range", "Part of the appeal is simply the pace"). Short of Band 9 only because "On top of that" adds the last reason a little mechanically.
- Vocabulary
- Wide, precise and idiomatic: "quietly become my territory", "long-form journalism", "more entertaining than it has any right to be", "a fierce weekly rivalry". Band 9 would show the same precision in every sentence, not mostly in the content paragraph.
- Grammar
- A wide range used accurately: a causative ("He's had the paper delivered"), the present perfect for a change ("has quietly become"), and a relative clause carrying a second idea ("which are slowly falling apart while the families in them argue"). No errors; Band 9 would vary sentence openings more.
Pronunciation is the fourth criterion; it is judged from your voice, so a written sample cannot show it.
Rounding-off questions
- Are printed newspapers disappearing?
- They're certainly shrinking. Fewer young people buy them, and many titles have cut their print runs. I don't think they'll vanish entirely, though, because older readers and weekend editions still have a loyal audience.
- Where do most people get their news now?
- Mostly from their phones, through social media and messaging groups rather than news sites. It's fast and free, but it means people often read a headline a friend shared without checking where it came from.
Phrases worth reusing
without fail
always, every single time
done wonders for my English
improved my English a great deal
What keeps me coming back
the reason I return to it again and again
work my way through it
read or do something gradually, from start to finish
taking any of them in
understanding and remembering any of them
has any right to be
(more than it) should reasonably be expected to be
slightly to my embarrassment
which makes me feel a little embarrassed
If the obvious answer doesn't fit
- A free local paper or a university newsletter you pick up regularly
- A news website or app you read daily, treated like a newspaper
- A specialist magazine for a hobby, such as cooking, cars or football




