IELTS Speaking Part 2 cue card · Memorable moments

Describe an exciting experience you had

The full cue card, a one-minute plan for its prompts, a sample answer by Lingo Copilot and the vocabulary for this topic.

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Describe an exciting experience you had.

You should say:

what the experience was
when it happened
who you were with

and explain why it was exciting.

How to plan your answer in 1 minute

A minute is short. Spend it on keywords for each prompt, in the order of the card:

0:00–0:10
Choose your answer
Decide on an exciting experience you had. Pick something real that you know well, so the details come easily when you speak.
0:10–0:20
What the experience was
Write two or three keywords, not sentences: a name, a place, a time or a detail you can expand on.
0:20–0:30
When it happened
Write two or three keywords, not sentences: a name, a place, a time or a detail you can expand on.
0:30–0:40
Who you were with
Write two or three keywords, not sentences: a name, a place, a time or a detail you can expand on.
0:40–0:55
And explain why it was exciting
Note one reason and one short example or story. This is the part you can keep developing until the examiner stops you at two minutes.
0:55–1:00
Check the order
Number your notes in the order of the prompts, then use them as a checklist while you talk.

Sample answer

Written for practice. Use it for ideas and phrasing rather than memorising it, then answer about your own experience.

Sample answer by Lingo Copilot · 230 words

I'd like to describe the time I attended a live music festival in the mountains, which turned out to be one of the most thrilling weekends of my life. It happened about two years ago, and I was there with my two closest university friends.

When we arrived, the electric atmosphere hit us immediately. Thousands of people were gathered on a hillside overlooking a natural amphitheatre. The opening act sent shivers down my spine with a performance far beyond my wildest expectations. I felt an overwhelming emotion I couldn't quite name, a mixture of joy and sheer excitement at being alive in that moment.

The real highlight came on the second evening when the headline band took the stage as the sun set. The whole experience had a dreamlike quality, as though music, landscape, and fading light had merged into a single immersive spectacle. The final song built to an incredible peak that ended in fireworks above the valley. The rush of adrenaline was indescribable, and the crowd erupted into a wave of joy I'd never witnessed before.

What made this experience so memorable was feeling completely present. For those few hours I simply lived in the moment, forgetting every worry. The vivid memories remain etched in my mind with remarkable clarity, and they remind me that life's greatest pleasures often come from shared experiences with people you care about.

Another sample answer (2 of 3)

Sample answer by Lingo Copilot · 232 words

I want to talk about a once-in-a-lifetime experience I had in South America: watching the sunrise from the top of a volcano. This happened about eighteen months ago, and I was with a small group of travellers I'd met at a hostel.

We set off at two in the morning for a four-hour climb in near-total darkness. There was genuine fear about the altitude and the steep terrain. The dizzying descent into a crater halfway up tested every ounce of nerve I had. But I was determined to push my limits, so I kept going. Against all odds, we all reached the summit just before dawn.

Nothing prepared me for what followed. As the first light crept over the horizon, the landscape was flooded with colour. The fleeting brilliance of that sunrise, lasting perhaps ten minutes, was out of this world. I felt a heightened awareness of every detail: cold wind on my face, the smell of sulphur, silence broken only by our breathing. It was a deeply moving moment that truly defied description.

That morning gave me an unforgettable experience that still influences how I approach challenges. The thrilling combination of physical effort and natural wonder taught me that the most memorable moments require stepping well outside your comfort zone. I've been reliving that heart-pounding morning in my memory ever since, and it remains the most exciting thing I've ever done.

Another sample answer (3 of 3)

Sample answer by Lingo Copilot · 249 words

Let me share my most exciting experience: performing in a live theatre production for the first time. This took place about three years ago during my final university year, and I was part of a twelve-person cast staging a Shakespeare play.

I'd joined the drama society on a whim and had only performed in small rehearsal rooms, so stepping onto a proper stage before three hundred people was a genuine baptism of fire. In the minutes before curtain rise I was on the edge of my seat backstage, my heart pounding. The nervousness was almost paralysing, yet underneath it ran a thrilling current of excitement.

When the lights went up, something shifted. The electric atmosphere, the warmth of the spotlight, and the focused silence of the audience produced a feeling of pure joy I'd never experienced. It was thrilling in a way that's difficult to put into words. I chose to ride the wave of adrenaline instead of fight it, and that choice transformed my performance. The applause at the end produced a deep happiness I can still feel echoes of today.

What made it so exciting was the vulnerability of live performance. There was no safety net, no second take. Every gesture existed only in that moment, giving the evening a dreamlike quality a recording could never capture. The vivid memories of that night are permanently etched in my mind, and the sense of achievement proved that creative challenges can be every bit as thrilling as physical adventures.

Useful vocabulary

adrenalinenoun: A hormone produced in response to excitement or stress, causing heightened arousal
memorableadjective: Worth remembering or easily remembered due to its remarkable quality
thrillingadjective: Causing a sudden feeling of excitement and pleasure
vividadjective: Producing powerful feelings or strong, clear images in the mind
exhilaratingadjective: Making one feel thrilled, animated, and full of energy
electrifyingadjective: Causing a sudden rush of excitement or thrill through intensity
surrealadjective: Having the quality of a dream; bizarre yet strangely vivid
culminateverb: To reach a climax or point of highest development
euphorianoun: An intense feeling of happiness, confidence, or well-being
apprehensionnoun: Anxiety or fear that something unpleasant may happen
vertiginousadjective: Causing a sensation of spinning, dizziness, or extreme height
incandescentadjective: Full of intense emotion; brilliantly radiant with feeling
crescendonoun: A progressive increase in intensity, force, or emotional impact
transcendentadjective: Going beyond the ordinary limits of experience; surpassing the usual
ineffableadjective: Too great or extreme to be expressed or described in words

Useful collocations

unforgettable experience
Completing the marathon alongside my closest friend was an unforgettable experience that strengthened our bond.
rush of adrenaline
The rush of adrenaline as the rollercoaster plunged was so intense I could feel it in my fingertips.
sense of achievement
Reaching base camp after five gruelling days of trekking filled me with an immense sense of achievement.
vivid memories
Even a decade later, the vivid memories of that road trip across Patagonia remain remarkably sharp.
overwhelming emotion
The overwhelming emotion I felt when the concert began caught me completely off guard.
electrifying atmosphere
The electrifying atmosphere inside the stadium amplified every chant and transformed the crowd into a single entity.
surge of euphoria
A surge of euphoria engulfed me as I realised the team had secured the championship in the final seconds.
heightened awareness
In that moment of freefall, I experienced a heightened awareness of every texture of wind and light.
surreal quality
The entire evening possessed a surreal quality, as though I were observing my own life from the outside.
immersive spectacle
The immersive spectacle of the light show, projected across the cathedral facade, captivated every onlooker.
butterflies in your stomach
I had butterflies in my stomach before my first stage performance.
push your boundaries
Traveling solo really pushed my boundaries and built my confidence.
buzz of excitement
There was a real buzz of excitement in the crowd before the concert started.
on the spur of the moment
We decided on the spur of the moment to go white-water rafting.
out of this world
The view from the top of the mountain was completely out of this world.

Part 3 questions on this topic

In the test, Part 3 continues with wider questions linked to your Part 2 topic. Questions from our question bank:

Do you think risk-taking is an important part of personal growth?
How has the popularity of extreme sports changed in recent years?
How do parents influence their children's attitudes to risk?

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