Part 2 cue cardShopping and consumerism

Describe a possession that is important to you

The trap is choosing something expensive and listing its features. "Why it is important" is about meaning, not price, so pick an object with a story, and let "how you got it" set up the reason rather than repeat it.

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

Describe a possession that is important to you.

You should say:

what it is
how you got it
how often you use it
and explain why it is important to 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 it isNani's steel tiffin carrier, three tiers
how you got ithanded over on my first workday
how often you use itevery weekday, lunch at my desk
and explain why it is important to youher thirty years teaching; her discipline

Sample answers

226 words · about 1:58 spoken at a Band 6 pace

I want to talk about a tiffin carrier, which is a kind of metal lunch box with three round containers, one on the top of the other, and a handle to carry them. It's made of steel and it's quite old, with small dents on the sides.

It was belonged to my grandmother. She was a teacher in a girls' school in Karachi for thirty years, and every day she took her lunch in it. When I got my first job last year, she gave it to me and she said, now it's your turn to use it. I was really surprised, because I didn't expect it.

I use it almost every day, Monday to Friday. My mother fill it in the morning, usually with rice in one part, daal in another and fruit in the top one. At lunchtime in the office my colleagues always ask me about it, because everyone else brings plastic boxes or orders food online.

It is important to me because it reminds me about my grandmother. She was very discipline person, she never was late for school in her whole life. When I open it at my desk, I remember her and try to be organised like her. Also, it is better for the environment than using plastic. Even if it is not expensive, for me it has big value.

The mistakes that keep it at Band 6

one on the top of the other should be one on top of the other
It was belonged to my grandmother should be It belonged to my grandmother
My mother fill it should be My mother fills it
reminds me about my grandmother should be reminds me of my grandmother
She was very discipline person should be She was a very disciplined person
she never was late should be she was never late
Even if it is not expensive should be Even though it isn't expensive
it has big value should be it has great sentimental value

Why this is Band 6, not Band 7

Fluency and coherence: Covers the bullets in order and keeps going, with simple organisers ("At lunchtime in the office", "Also"). It stays at Band 6 because the last bullet jumps between two unrelated reasons, family and the environment, without connecting them.
Vocabulary: Has the words to describe the object ("tiffin carrier", "dents", "containers"), but some choices miss: "it has big value" where sentimental value is the collocation, and "very discipline person" uses the wrong word form. Band 7 would use these precisely.
Grammar: A mix of simple and complex sentences, with reported speech and relative clauses, but errors are regular: "It was belonged to" mixes passive and active, "My mother fill it" drops the ending, and "she never was late" misplaces the adverb. That is Band 6.

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

254 words · about 1:57 spoken at a Band 7 pace

The possession I'd choose is a tiffin carrier, which is a traditional stacked lunch box: three round steel containers that sit on top of each other and clip onto a frame with a handle. It's at least forty years old, it's covered in little dents, and the lid doesn't quite close properly any more.

It used to belong to my grandmother, my nani. She taught at a girls' school in Karachi for thirty years and took her lunch in it every single day. When I started my first job last year, she handed it to me on my first morning and said, rather solemnly, that it was my turn now. I honestly didn't know what to say, because she's not usually sentimental at all.

I use it pretty much every working day. My mum packs it before I leave, usually rice in the bottom tier, daal in the middle and some fruit on top, and at lunchtime I unstack it at my desk. My colleagues found it hilarious at first, since most of them order food on their phones, but now a couple of them have bought one too.

The reason it matters so much is that it connects me to my grandmother. She's famously disciplined; in thirty years she was apparently never late once, and I'm, well, not like that. So when I unclip it at lunchtime, it's a small daily reminder for being a bit more organised. It's worth almost nothing in money terms, but I'd be devastated if I lost it.

The slips

a small daily reminder for being should be a small daily reminder to be

Why this is Band 7, not Band 8

Fluency and coherence: Speaks at length and links the parts clearly ("I honestly didn't know what to say", "The reason it matters so much"). Not Band 8 because the closing contrast ("worth almost nothing in money terms") is a predictable way to end this card.
Vocabulary: Some less common, accurate items: "stacked lunch box", "rather solemnly", "sentimental", "devastated", and the self-mocking "I'm, well, not like that". Band 8 would add more idiomatic language in the routine part.
Grammar: A good range: "used to" for a past state, reported speech, present perfect ("have bought one too"), and a conditional in the last line. One slip, "a small daily reminder for being", where the infinitive is needed. That is Band 7.

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

287 words · about 1:59 spoken at a Band 8 pace

The possession I'd find hardest to lose is a battered steel tiffin carrier: three round containers that stack on top of one another and lock into a frame with a carrying handle. It's older than I am by a good twenty years, it's dented all over, and the top lid has to be persuaded shut.

It belonged to my nani, my mother's mother, who taught at a girls' school in Karachi for three decades and carried her lunch in it every single day of her career. When I started my first job last year, she turned up at our house at seven in the morning, pressed it into my hands and announced that it was my turn. Coming from a woman who regards sentimentality as a character flaw, that was practically a speech.

It comes to work with me every weekday without fail. My mum loads it before I leave, rice at the bottom, daal in the middle and fruit on top, and at one o'clock I unstack it at my desk with a certain amount of ceremony. My colleagues, most of whom live on delivery apps, thought it was hilarious at first; two of them have since quietly bought their own.

Why does it matter so much? Partly because it's a thread back to my grandmother. She's legendary in the family for never having been late in thirty years, a record I'm in no danger of matching, so unclipping that lid every lunchtime is a gentle nudge to get my act together. And partly because it's proof that an object doesn't need to be valuable to be priceless. You couldn't sell it for the price of a meal, yet I'd be heartbroken if it went missing.

Why this is Band 8, not Band 9

Fluency and coherence: Fluent and coherent, with each bullet given a scene and the reasons developed in two clear steps ("Partly because it's a thread back to my grandmother", "And partly because"). Short of Band 9 only because the rhetorical question is a familiar device.
Vocabulary: Wide and idiomatic: "has to be persuaded shut", "pressed it into my hands", "a gentle nudge to get my act together", "in no danger of matching". Band 9 would sustain this precision in every sentence.
Grammar: Flexible and accurate: a perfect gerund ("for never having been late"), a relative with "most of whom", a participle clause ("Coming from a woman who"), and a conditional contrast. No errors; the gap to Band 9 is the occasional familiar structure.

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

Rounding-off questions

Do people become too attached to their possessions?: Some do, especially when an object becomes a status symbol rather than something useful. Being attached to a thing because of a memory seems healthy to me; being attached to it because of its price doesn't.
Do we own more things than we need?: Almost certainly. Most homes I know are full of gadgets and clothes nobody uses. My grandmother owned about a tenth of what I do, and she always seemed perfectly content.