Part 2 cue cardTravel and tourism
Describe a place in your country you would recommend to tourists
Bullets three and four look alike, so split them: "why it is worth seeing" is what makes the place special in itself, and "why you would recommend it" is the visitor's experience, meaning cost, ease, who it suits, and one honest tip.
- 1 minute to prepare
- Up to 2 minutes
- Samples at Band 6, 7 and 8
- Updated 20 October 2026
The cue card
Describe a place in your country you would recommend to tourists.
You should say:
- where it is
- what visitors can do there
- why it is worth seeing
- and explain why you would recommend it
Rehearse the long turn
1 minute to prepare · 2 minutes to speak
A 60-second plan
- where it isGeorge Town, Penang, north-west coast
- what visitors can do therehawker food, murals, clan jetties, hill
- why it is worth seeingfour faiths on one street; UNESCO
- and explain why you would recommend itcheap, walkable; avoid the midday heat
Sample answers
Band 6 sample answer
224 words · about 1:57 spoken at a Band 6 pace
The place I want to recommend is George Town. It is the capital of Penang, on an island in the north-west of Malaysia. You can go there by plane from Kuala Lumpur, it takes one hour, or you can drive by the bridge.
There are many things to do there. In the old town there are colourful old shophouses, and many tourists like to walk and find the street paintings. Also you can visit the clan jetties, they are wooden houses which is built over the sea. And you can go up to Penang Hill by train and see the view of all island. But the most famous thing is food. The street food is really delicious and very cheap.
I think it is worth to see because there are many cultures together. In one street you can see a mosque, a Hindu temple, a Chinese temple and a church very near each other, and people still use them every day. Because of this, it became a World Heritage place.
I recommend it because it is cheap and you can walk to most places. It is good for every kind of tourists, families or young people. But I want to advise the tourists to not go out at noon, because the weather is very hot and humid and you will get tired very quickly.
The mistakes that keep it at Band 6
- drive by the bridge should be drive across the bridge
- wooden houses which is built should be wooden houses which are built
- the view of all island should be the view of the whole island
- the most famous thing is food should be the most famous thing is the food
- worth to see should be worth seeing
- a World Heritage place should be a World Heritage Site
- every kind of tourists should be every kind of tourist
- advise the tourists should be advise tourists
Why this is Band 6, not Band 7
- Fluency and coherence
- Willing to extend each bullet, and the reasons are kept separate from the activities. Not Band 7 because the links are simple ("Also", "And", "But", "Because of this") and the recommendation at the end is a short list rather than a developed argument.
- Vocabulary
- Enough to describe the place ("shophouses", "clan jetties", "humid"), but some choices are inaccurate: "a World Heritage place" misses the fixed name, and "drive by the bridge" uses the wrong preposition for crossing it. Band 7 needs more precise and less common words.
- Grammar
- A mix of simple and complex structures with frequent errors: agreement in "wooden houses which is built", a verb pattern in "worth to see", a plural in "every kind of tourists", and missing articles in "the view of all island". That density is Band 6.
Pronunciation is the fourth criterion; it is judged from your voice, so a written sample cannot show it.
Band 7 sample answer
262 words · about 2:01 spoken at a Band 7 pace
I'd recommend George Town, which is the capital of Penang, a state in the north-west of Malaysia. You can fly there from Kuala Lumpur in about an hour, or drive across one of the two long bridges from the mainland.
There are plenty of things for visitors to do. The old part of the city is full of colourful shophouses, and one of the most popular activities is walking around trying to find all the street murals. You can also visit the clan jetties, which are wooden houses built on stilts over the water, or take the train up Penang Hill to get a view over the whole island. And of course, there's the food: you can eat amazingly well at the hawker stalls for very little.
In my view, it's worth seeing because of its unique mixture of cultures. There's one street where you can find a mosque, a Hindu temple, a Chinese temple and a church just a few minutes' walk apart, and all of them are still used every day. That's actually one of the reasons why the old town was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The main reason I'd recommend it is that it's so easy to enjoy. It's not expensive, you can explore most of it by foot, and it's suitable for all kinds of travellers. The only thing I'd warn people about is the heat. If you go out in the middle of the day, you'll be exhausted in no time, so it's better to go sightseeing early in the morning or in the evening.
The slips
- by foot should be on foot
Why this is Band 7, not Band 8
- Fluency and coherence
- Speaks at length without effort and keeps the last two bullets distinct ("In my view, it's worth seeing", "The main reason I'd recommend it"). Not Band 8 because the activities are presented as a list ("You can also", "And of course") rather than as an experience.
- Vocabulary
- Some less common, natural items ("built on stilts", "unique mixture of cultures", "exhausted in no time", "sightseeing"). Band 8 would describe the food and the streets more vividly and precisely.
- Grammar
- Frequent error-free complex sentences: relative clauses, a passive ("was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site"), a first conditional ("If you go out in the middle of the day, you'll be exhausted"). One slip, "by foot", where English says on foot.
Pronunciation is the fourth criterion; it is judged from your voice, so a written sample cannot show it.
Band 8 sample answer
276 words · about 1:54 spoken at a Band 8 pace
If a friend from abroad asked me where to go in Malaysia, I'd send them straight to George Town, the capital of Penang, which sits on an island just off the north-west coast. It's about an hour's flight from Kuala Lumpur, or you can drive across one of the bridges from the mainland.
There's a remarkable amount to do in a fairly small area. You can wander the old streets of shophouses hunting for the murals painted on the walls, walk out along the clan jetties, where Chinese families have lived in wooden houses on stilts over the sea for more than a century, or take the funicular up Penang Hill for the view at sunset. But for most people, the real attraction is the food. Hawker stalls sell char kway teow, assam laksa and nasi kandar for a few ringgit, and locals will argue for hours about which stall does each dish best.
What makes it worth seeing is the mixture. On one street, in the space of a ten-minute walk, you pass a mosque, a Hindu temple, a Chinese temple and a church, all of them still in use. That history of Malay, Chinese, Indian and European communities living side by side is the reason the old town became a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
I'd recommend it because it gives you a lot of Malaysia in a very manageable package. It's affordable, it's walkable, and it suits backpackers and families alike. My one piece of advice would be to do your exploring before ten and after four; the midday heat is no joke, and that's exactly when sensible locals retreat into an air-conditioned café.
Why this is Band 8, not Band 9
- Fluency and coherence
- Fluent and fully coherent, opening with a hypothetical that frames the whole answer and ending on practical advice. Short of Band 9 only because the activities paragraph follows a predictable you-can pattern.
- Vocabulary
- Wide, precise and idiomatic: "a remarkable amount to do", "living side by side", "a very manageable package", "the midday heat is no joke". Band 9 would show this flexibility in every sentence.
- Grammar
- A wide range used accurately: a hypothetical frame ("If a friend from abroad asked me"), a present perfect for a long-running situation ("have lived in wooden houses on stilts"), a balanced structure with "alike". No errors; the gap to Band 9 is the occasional safe sentence.
Pronunciation is the fourth criterion; it is judged from your voice, so a written sample cannot show it.
Rounding-off questions
- Does tourism benefit local communities?
- It can, if the money stays local. In George Town, hawkers and family guesthouses do well, but when big hotel chains take most of the profit, residents get the crowds and the rising rents without much of the benefit.
- Should some places limit the number of visitors?
- Yes, where the place itself is at risk. Fragile sites, like old temples or coral reefs, can be damaged by crowds, so a daily limit or a booking system is better than letting them be loved to death.
Phrases worth reusing
a remarkable amount to do
a surprisingly large number of activities
living side by side
living close together, peacefully
a very manageable package
plenty to see, but easy to organise
is no joke
is serious or really difficult
in no time
very quickly, almost immediately
built on stilts
raised above water or ground on posts
backpackers and families alike
both backpackers and families equally
If the obvious answer doesn't fit
- A national park, mountain or beach far from the capital
- Your own home town, with the places only locals know
- A historic city or religious site with a long story behind it
