Practise this cue card out loudPrepare for 1 minute, speak for up to 2 minutes, then compare with the Band 8 sample and try the Part 3 questions.
Advice cards (“useful advice you received”, “good advice you gave”) are about reported speech and explaining impact. The advice itself only takes a sentence, so you need a situation before it and a result after it. Here is a plan, a Band 8 sample answer and the Part 3 questions about giving and getting advice.
How to plan your answer in one minute#
You get one minute and a pencil. Don’t write sentences: note one or two key words per point, plus a detail or two that will make your story vivid. For example:
- who gave you the advice: my first manager, Sara, at my internship
- what the advice was: “Don’t compare your first chapter with someone else’s twentieth”
- when they gave it: first month, I felt behind everyone, wanted to quit
- explain why you found it useful: stopped comparing, focused on progress; use it when studying and on social media
Practise, then compare: Band 8 sample answers
Record your own answer first, listen back, then compare. Don’t memorise these: examiners spot memorised answers. Borrow the structure and the highlighted vocabulary instead.
Part 2 sample answer (cue card)
Cue card
Describe a piece of advice someone gave you that you found useful.
You should say:
- who gave you the advice
- what the advice was
- when they gave it
- and explain why you found it useful.
Sample answerShowHide
One of the most useful pieces of advice I’ve ever been given came from Sara, the team leader during my internship at a marketing agency, about three years ago.
I’d been there for about a month and I was really struggling. Everyone else in the team seemed confident and fast, they knew all the software, and they could write a campaign plan in an hour, while it took me a whole day. I started to feel I wasn’t good enough, and I was seriously thinking about leaving the internship early.
Sara must have noticed, because one afternoon she asked me to have a coffee with her. I admitted how I was feeling, and she listened, and then she said something I’ve never forgotten. She told me not to compare my first chapter with someone else’s twentieth. She explained that the people I was comparing myself with had been doing the job for years, and that the only fair comparison was between me now and me a month earlier.
It sounds simple, but it completely changed how I approached the internship. Instead of looking at everyone else, I started to notice my own progress. A few weeks later I could do in two hours what had taken me a day. I stayed until the end, and she gave me an excellent reference.
I’ve found the advice useful far beyond work. When I started studying abroad, surrounded by students whose English was better than mine, I used the same idea. It’s also helpful with social media, where everyone shows only their best moments. Whenever I feel I’m falling behind, I remind myself which chapter I’m on.
Useful language:I was really strugglingI wasn’t good enoughmust have noticedshe told me not to comparethe only fair comparisonfar beyond workfalling behind
Part 3 sample answers
Who do young people usually ask for advice?
Sample answerShowHide
It depends on the topic. For personal problems, most young people ask friends first, because they feel understood. For bigger decisions like education or money, they often still go to their parents. Increasingly, many also look for advice online, from videos and forums, which is convenient but not always reliable.
Useful language:feel understoodnot always reliable
Is it better to get advice from friends or from professionals?
Sample answerShowHide
Friends know you well and can offer emotional support, but they may tell you what you want to hear. Professionals, like doctors, lawyers or career advisers, have expert knowledge and are more objective. For serious issues, professional advice is clearly better.
Useful language:emotional supportmore objective
Why do some people ignore good advice?
Sample answerShowHide
Sometimes it’s pride; people don’t like admitting they need help. Sometimes the advice is hard to follow, like saving money or changing a habit. And people often need to make their own mistakes before they truly understand advice they were given earlier.
Useful language:pridemake their own mistakes
Is online advice trustworthy?
Sample answerShowHide
Some of it is excellent, especially from qualified people or reputable organisations. But much of it comes from people with no real expertise, and some is designed to sell products. It’s important to check who is giving the advice and whether they have any reason to be biased.
Useful language:reputable organisationsbiased
Want your own answer scored? With Worddemy Pro, the AI examiner asks you real Part 1–3 questions and gives a band score for fluency, vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation.
Why this answer would score well#
- Reported speech used accurately: She told me not to compare…, She explained that the people… had been doing….
- A clear before-and-after, from wanting to quit to a reference, that shows why the advice mattered.
- Modal of deduction: Sara must have noticed, a Band 7+ structure.
- Extends the advice to new situations (studying abroad, social media), which develops the last point fully.
Other ideas you could talk about#
You don’t have to use a true story, and you can adapt one you know well. Other good choices:
- Advice from a parent about money or studying
- Advice from a teacher before an exam
- Advice from a doctor or coach
- Advice from a friend about a relationship or decision
Mistakes to avoid#
- “An advice” is wrong. Advice is uncountable: say a piece of advice or some advice.
- Only stating the advice without the situation before or the result after.
- Confusing advice (noun) and advise (verb): “She advised me to…”
Want more? Practise a random card with the 2-minute timer in the cue card generator, or see every Speaking topic with sample answers.