Part 2 cue cardFestivals and celebrations

Describe an important festival in your country

The trap is turning this into a lecture. Explain the festival briefly, with the present simple and passives, then bring in how your own family celebrates it. The last bullet asks why it matters to people, so give a reason beyond the holiday.

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

Describe an important festival in your country.

You should say:

what the festival is
when it takes place
how people celebrate it
and explain why it is important

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 festival isNowruz, Persian New Year
when it takes placespring equinox, about 20 March; 13 days
how people celebrate itspring clean, haft-sin, elders first
and explain why it is importantrenewal, not religion; ancient; connects Iranians

Sample answers

215 words · about 1:52 spoken at a Band 6 pace

The festival I will describe is Nowruz. It is the new year festival of Iran, and people in some other countries like Afghanistan also celebrate it. It is the most important festival for us.

Nowruz is in the start of spring, normally on 20 or 21 March. The holiday is about two weeks and schools are closed during this time.

Before Nowruz, people are cleaning their houses very carefully, every corner. On the last Tuesday night of the year, people make small fire in the street and they jump over it, because they believe it brings a good luck. Every family make a haft-sin table, it has seven things which names start with s in Persian, for example apple, garlic and green sprouts. When the new year comes, we go to visit our family, first the oldest people, and children receive money. On the thirteenth day everybody go outside for a picnic in nature.

I think Nowruz is important because it is a new start, people forget the bad things of the last year. Also it is very old, maybe three thousand years, so it is a big part of our culture. For me, it is special because all my family come together, and I can see my cousins who I don't meet them usually.

The mistakes that keep it at Band 6

in the start of spring should be at the start of spring
people are cleaning their houses should be people clean their houses
make small fire should be make small fires
brings a good luck should be brings good luck
Every family make should be Every family makes
seven things which names start should be seven things whose names start
everybody go outside should be everybody goes outside
who I don't meet them usually should be who I don't usually see

Why this is Band 6, not Band 7

Fluency and coherence: Willing to extend and covers all four bullets in order, with the celebration described step by step ("Before Nowruz", "When the new year comes", "On the thirteenth day"). Not Band 7 because the description is a list of customs and the reasons at the end are short and general.
Vocabulary: Enough to describe the festival clearly ("celebrate", "haft-sin table", "green sprouts"), but with inappropriate choices: "brings a good luck" treats luck as countable, and "who I don't meet them usually" uses the wrong verb for seeing relatives. Band 7 needs more precise, less common vocabulary.
Grammar: A mix of simple and complex structures with frequent errors: agreement in "Every family make" and "everybody go outside", a relative pronoun in "which names start", and a continuous form for a routine in "people are cleaning their houses". That density of error is Band 6.

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

255 words · about 1:58 spoken at a Band 7 pace

I'm going to talk about Nowruz, which is the Persian New Year and the biggest festival in Iran. It isn't only celebrated in Iran, actually; people in Afghanistan, Tajikistan and several other countries celebrate it too.

It takes place at the beginning of spring, on the equinox, which is usually around the twentieth of March. The celebrations last for about two weeks, and schools and many offices are closed during that time.

People start getting ready well in advance. First, everyone gives their home a thorough clean, from top to bottom. Then, on the last Tuesday evening of the year, people light small fires and jump over them, which is supposed to bring good luck. The most important part is the haft-sin, a special table with seven things that start with the letter s in Persian, like apples, garlic and sprouted wheat. When the new year begins, we visit our relatives, starting with the oldest ones, and the children get money as a present. Finally, on the thirteenth day, families go to the countryside for a picnic, because staying at home on that day is considered unlucky.

In my opinion, it's important for a couple of reasons. It's a fresh start, so people feel they can forget about the problems of previous year. It's also one of the oldest festivals in the world, and it's been celebrated for thousands of years, so it's a big part of our identity. And for me personally, it's the only time my whole family is in the same place.

The slips

of previous year should be of the previous year

Why this is Band 7, not Band 8

Fluency and coherence: Speaks at length easily and organises the customs clearly ("First", "Then", "Finally"), before giving reasons. Not Band 8 because that sequencing is rather mechanical, and the reasons are listed rather than developed into one convincing point.
Vocabulary: Some less common items used well ("well in advance", "a thorough clean, from top to bottom", "considered unlucky", "a big part of our identity"). Band 8 would use more precise and idiomatic language, particularly when explaining why it matters.
Grammar: A good range of complex structures, mostly accurate: passives ("is supposed to bring good luck", "is considered unlucky"), a present perfect passive, relative clauses. One slip, "of previous year", which needs the definite article.

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

270 words · about 1:52 spoken at a Band 8 pace

The festival I'd like to talk about is Nowruz, the Persian New Year, which is easily the most important celebration of the year in Iran, and it's marked in quite a few neighbouring countries as well.

It falls on the spring equinox, so usually the twentieth or twenty-first of March, and the exact moment the year turns is announced to the second on television. Schools close for about two weeks, and the whole thing doesn't officially end until the thirteenth day.

The preparations start weeks before. Families do a huge spring clean, which we call shaking the house, and on the last Tuesday night of the old year people jump over small bonfires in the street for luck. Then everyone sets up a haft-sin, a table with seven items whose names begin with the letter s in Persian, such as sprouted lentils, apples and garlic. In my family, growing the lentils was always my job, and they always came out lopsided. Once the new year arrives, you visit relatives in order of age, starting with the oldest, and children are given crisp new banknotes. On the thirteenth day everyone heads outdoors for a picnic and throws their sprouts into a river.

I think it's so important because it's about renewal rather than religion, so practically everyone takes part regardless of their background. It's survived for thousands of years, through all sorts of upheavals, and it's one of the few things that genuinely connects Iranians at home with those abroad. For a couple of weeks, people put old quarrels aside, which is no small thing in a big family like mine.

Why this is Band 8, not Band 9

Fluency and coherence: Fluent and fully coherent, moving from timing to customs to meaning with natural links and a personal touch ("they always came out lopsided"). Short of Band 9 only because the customs section is long and slightly list-like.
Vocabulary: Wide, precise and idiomatic: "announced to the second", "crisp new banknotes", "through all sorts of upheavals", "no small thing". Band 9 would show this flexibility throughout, including in the plainer factual sentences.
Grammar: A wide range used accurately: passives ("it's marked", "are given"), a relative clause with whose ("whose names begin"), a present perfect for something that has lasted ("It's survived"). 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

Are traditional festivals losing their meaning?: Some of it, perhaps. A lot of young people now treat Nowruz mainly as a chance to travel, and the family visits are shorter than they were. But the core of it, the fresh start and the gathering, still seems very much alive.
Should public money be spent on festivals?: Within reason, yes. Festivals bring communities together and attract visitors, so modest spending on safety, transport and cleaning up afterwards is justified. Huge firework displays are harder to defend when hospitals are short of money.