Part 2 cue cardMoney and finance

Describe something you would like to buy in the future

Three of the four bullets are about the future, so the tenses to control are would and will, not the past. The marks hide in the last bullet: "how you plan to get it" needs a real plan with figures and a timeline, not "I will work hard".

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

Describe something you would like to buy in the future.

You should say:

what it is
why you want it
how you would use it
and explain how you plan to get it

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 issolar inverter and batteries, Lagos flat
why you want itpower cuts, generator fumes, petrol prices
how you would use itfreelance design work, fridge, evenings
and explain how you plan to get itajo savings group, payout in March

Sample answers

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

Well, something I really want to buy in the future is a solar power system for my family's flat in Lagos. I mean a set of solar panels with an inverter and some batteries, so we can have electricity even when the power is cut.

The reason why I want it is because in my area we have power cuts almost every day. Sometimes the light goes off for ten hours. At the moment we are using a petrol generator, but it make a lot of noise and the smoke is very bad for my mother, she has asthma. Also petrol is becoming very expensive since last year, so we spend too much money for it.

If I have the system, I would use it mostly for my work. I'm a freelance graphic designer, so I need my laptop and the internet to be on all day. Many times I lost a client because my battery died in the middle of a meeting. We could also keep the fridge on so the food don't spoil.

About how I will get it, I joined an ajo, it's a savings group with my friends, and every month each person pay one hundred thousand naira. When it is my turn, I will collect the whole money and buy the panels. I think by next year I can make it happen.

The mistakes that keep it at Band 6

it make a lot of noise should be it makes a lot of noise
petrol is becoming very expensive since last year should be petrol has become very expensive since last year
spend too much money for it should be spend too much money on it
If I have the system should be If I had the system
Many times I lost a client should be I've lost clients many times
the food don't spoil should be the food doesn't spoil
each person pay should be each person pays
collect the whole money should be collect all the money

Why this is Band 6, not Band 7

Fluency and coherence: Keeps going and answers all four bullets in order, using simple signposts ("The reason why I want it is because", "About how I will get it"). It stays at Band 6 because ideas are mostly added one after another with "Also" and "so", and the plan at the end is rushed rather than developed.
Vocabulary: Clear topic words ("inverter", "petrol generator", "freelance graphic designer") get the meaning across, but some choices are inaccurate: "collect the whole money" is not a natural collocation, and "spend too much money for it" uses the wrong preposition after spend. Band 7 needs more precise, less common items.
Grammar: Attempts a conditional and a range of tenses, but the more complex structures break down: "If I have the system, I would use" mixes two conditionals, "petrol is becoming very expensive since last year" needs the present perfect, and agreement slips ("it make", "each person pay") recur. That frequency is Band 6.

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

258 words · about 1:59 spoken at a Band 7 pace

Something I've been wanting to buy for a while now is a proper solar power system for our flat in Lagos: a few panels on the roof, an inverter and a bank of batteries big enough to run the whole place.

The main reason is the power supply, or rather the lack of it. In our part of the city the electricity can go off for half the day, and when it does, everyone switches on their generators. Ours is old and noisy, and the fumes drift straight into the flat, which isn't great for my mum because she's asthmatic. On top of that, the price of petrol has more than doubled in the past couple of years, so we're basically burning money every evening.

If I had a solar setup, the first thing I'd do is work without worrying. I'm a freelance graphic designer, and I can't count the number of times my laptop has died halfway through a video call with a client. It would also mean the fridge stays on, so we wouldn't have to throw away food after a long blackout.

As for how I'm going to afford it, I've joined an ajo, which is a kind of rotating savings club. Ten of us put in a hundred thousand naira every month, and each month one person takes the whole pot. My turn comes up on March, and with what I've saved separately from a couple of big design jobs, I reckon I'll have enough to get it installed before the rainy season starts.

The slips

comes up on March should be comes up in March

Why this is Band 7, not Band 8

Fluency and coherence: Speaks at length with flexible linking ("or rather the lack of it", "On top of that", "As for how I'm going to afford it") and each bullet is developed with a reason or an example. Not Band 8 because the answer moves bullet by bullet in a fairly predictable order, with little sense of the ideas building on each other.
Vocabulary: Some less common and idiomatic items used naturally: "burning money", "takes the whole pot", "rotating savings club", "I reckon". A Band 8 speaker would sustain that precision throughout; here stretches such as "isn't great for my mum" stay safe and everyday.
Grammar: A good range used mostly accurately: a second conditional ("If I had a solar setup"), the present perfect continuous ("I've been wanting"), a non-defining relative clause. The one slip is "on March", where a month takes a different preposition; slips are occasional, which is Band 7 rather than 8.

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

272 words · about 1:53 spoken at a Band 8 pace

I'd love to be able to buy a decent off-grid solar system for my family's flat in Lagos, by which I mean panels on the roof, an inverter and enough lithium batteries to keep us going through the night.

The honest answer to why is that I'm tired of living around the power cuts. In our neighbourhood the grid is so unreliable that you plan your day around it: you charge everything the moment the lights come on, and you iron clothes at midnight if that's when there's power. The rest of the time we rely on a petrol generator that's deafening and gives off fumes my mum, who's asthmatic, really shouldn't be breathing. And with fuel prices having roughly doubled, it's costing us a small fortune.

The way I'd use it is mostly professional. I work freelance as a graphic designer, and nothing undermines a client's confidence quite like your screen going black in the middle of a presentation. With steady power, I could take on bigger projects and stop apologising for things that are completely beyond my control. Beyond that, simple things would change: the fridge would stay cold, and my younger brother could actually study in the evenings.

In terms of getting it, I'm being fairly methodical. I'm part of an ajo, a rotating savings scheme where ten friends each pay in a hundred thousand naira a month and take turns collecting the lump sum. My payout is due in March, and I've been setting aside a share of every invoice on top of that, so if all goes to plan, I'll have it installed before the rains arrive.

Why this is Band 8, not Band 9

Fluency and coherence: Effortless and coherent: each bullet opens with its own frame ("The honest answer to why", "The way I'd use it", "In terms of getting it") and is developed with a concrete scene. Short of Band 9 because those openers are a little formulaic, signalling the card's structure rather than letting the story carry it.
Vocabulary: Wide and precise: "plan your day around it", "costing us a small fortune", "undermines a client's confidence", "the lump sum", "beyond my control". Band 9 would show this flexibility in every sentence, including the plainer ones about the fridge.
Grammar: Flexible and accurate: a participle clause with its own subject ("with fuel prices having roughly doubled"), a relative clause inside another ("fumes my mum, who's asthmatic, really shouldn't be breathing"), conditionals for the plan. No errors; only the occasional simple structure separates it from Band 9.

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

Rounding-off questions

Do people buy things they don't really need?: All the time, I think. Advertising is very good at turning wants into needs, and online shopping makes it effortless. I've done it myself with gadgets that ended up forgotten in a drawer.
Is saving up better than buying on credit?: For most things, yes, because you avoid interest and you find out whether you really want it. That said, borrowing can make sense for something that pays for itself, like equipment for work.