Part 2 cue cardMedia and news

Describe an interesting news story you heard recently

Tenses carry this card: past simple for what happened and how you heard it, present perfect for anything still going on. "Who you shared it with" earns more if you say how they reacted, not just who they were.

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

Describe an interesting news story you heard recently.

You should say:

what the story was about
where you heard or read it
who you shared it with
and explain why it interested 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 the story was about71-year-old sat exams beside granddaughter
where you heard or read itmatatu radio; then a news site
who you shared it withCucu on the phone; study group
and explain why it interested youroles reversed; good news for once

Sample answers

220 words · about 1:55 spoken at a Band 6 pace

The news story I want to describe is about an old woman in Kenya who did her secondary school exams when she was seventy-one years old. She did the exams in the same room with her granddaughter, and her granddaughter was helping her to study for two years before the exam. I think it was in a small town near Nyeri.

I heard this story in the radio when I was going to work. I go by matatu every day and the driver always put the news very loud. Then in the evening I read more about it on the internet, there was an interview with the woman.

I shared it with my grandmother, because she also left school when she was very young. I thought maybe she would feel sad, but actually she liked the story very much. She asked me to help her for reading, so now we are practising every Sunday together. I also sent it to my friends from university.

The reason it was interesting for me is because most of the news is about bad things, like accidents and politics, and this one was a positive news. It shows that the age is not important if you want to learn. Also it made a big change in my grandmother life, and I didn't expect this.

The mistakes that keep it at Band 6

in the same room with her granddaughter should be in the same room as her granddaughter
was helping her to study for two years should be had been helping her to study for two years
in the radio should be on the radio
always put the news very loud should be always has the news on very loud
help her for reading should be help her with her reading
a positive news should be a positive story
the age is not important should be age is not important
my grandmother life should be my grandmother's life

Why this is Band 6, not Band 7

Fluency and coherence: Willing to talk and covers every bullet in order, including how the grandmother reacted. Not Band 7 because the connectives are basic ("Then", "Also", "The reason it was interesting for me is because") and each paragraph is a short list of facts rather than a developed point.
Vocabulary: Clear, with some topic words ("secondary school exams", "interview", "positive"), but some choices are inappropriate: "a positive news" treats news as countable, and "put the news very loud" is not how the collocation works. Band 7 needs less common, idiomatic vocabulary.
Grammar: Some complex sentences, but errors cluster in the harder structures: "was helping her to study for two years" needs the past perfect continuous, "in the radio" has the wrong preposition, and "my grandmother life" drops the possessive. Two or three errors every eighty words 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

I'd like to talk about a news story I heard a couple of weeks ago, about an elderly woman in a town near Nyeri who took her secondary school exams at the age of seventy-one. What made it unusual was that she sat them in the same room as her granddaughter, who'd been helping her prepare for about two years.

I heard about it on the radio, on my way to work. The matatu I take always has the news on, usually much too loud, but that morning I was actually listening. When I got to the office, I searched for it online and read a longer article with an interview.

I shared it with my grandmother first, because she had to leave school when she was only about eleven. I was a bit worried she might find it upsetting, but she really liked it, and she asked me if I'd help her to improve her reading. We've been doing that every Sunday since then. I also sent it to my friends in my study group, partly as a joke, because they're always complaining that they don't have time to study.

The main reason it interested me is that it was so different from the rest of the news, which is mostly about the politics and accidents. It was just a positive story about determination, and it reminded me that it's never too late to learn something. On top of that, it had a real effect on my grandmother, which I definitely didn't expect.

The slips

about the politics should be about politics

Why this is Band 7, not Band 8

Fluency and coherence: Speaks at length easily and handles each bullet with a clear signpost ("I shared it with my grandmother first", "The main reason it interested me", "On top of that"). Not Band 8 because the reasons are stated rather than built up, so the ending feels like a summary.
Vocabulary: Natural, fairly precise vocabulary with some less common items ("determination", "partly as a joke", "it's never too late"). Band 8 would use more idiomatic and vivid language, especially when explaining why the story mattered.
Grammar: A good range of complex structures, mostly accurate: past perfect continuous ("who'd been helping her"), a reported question ("asked me if I'd help her"), present perfect continuous. One slip, "about the politics", where no article is needed.

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

269 words · about 1:51 spoken at a Band 8 pace

A story that really caught my attention a few weeks ago was about a seventy-one-year-old woman from a small town near Nyeri who sat her secondary school exams, in the same hall as her own granddaughter. She'd had to leave school at thirteen to help on the family farm, and she'd apparently spent the last two years studying in the evenings, with her granddaughter coaching her in maths.

I actually heard it first on the radio. I take a matatu to work, and the driver always has the morning news on far too loud, so for once I was grateful. Later that day I looked it up on a news site and read the whole interview, including the bit where she said the hardest part wasn't the algebra but sitting still for three hours.

The first person I shared it with was my own grandmother. She left school even younger, and I wasn't sure how she'd react, but she was quiet for a moment and then asked whether I could help her with her reading on Sundays, which I've been doing ever since. I also posted it in my study group, mostly to shame the people who keep saying they're too tired to revise.

I think it interested me for two reasons. One is that it turned the usual roles upside down: the granddaughter was the teacher. The other is that so much of the news is relentlessly depressing that a story about someone quietly refusing to give up felt like a breath of fresh air. And it's changed something real in my family, which most news never does.

Why this is Band 8, not Band 9

Fluency and coherence: Fluent and coherent throughout, with the two reasons set up clearly ("One is", "The other is") and a final point that ties back to the grandmother. Short of Band 9 only because the structure is visible rather than completely natural.
Vocabulary: Wide and idiomatic: "caught my attention", "relentlessly depressing", "turned the usual roles upside down", "a breath of fresh air". Band 9 would keep this precision in the plainer narrative stretches, such as "I actually heard it first on the radio".
Grammar: Flexible and accurate: past perfect for the earlier story ("She'd had to leave school"), a present perfect continuous ("which I've been doing ever since"), an embedded question ("how she'd react"). No errors; the gap to Band 9 is the occasional safe structure.

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

Rounding-off questions

Where do most people get their news?: Younger people mostly get it from social media, often without meaning to, while my parents' generation still listens to the radio or watches the evening bulletin. In Kenya radio is still huge, especially outside the cities.
Can we always trust the news?: Not always. Even reliable outlets get things wrong when they rush, and a lot of what circulates online has no source at all. I try to check whether a story has been reported in more than one place before I believe it.