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.
Sport cards are common, and you don’t need to be sporty to answer them; watching counts. Use sport-specific vocabulary (rally, match, opponent, doubles) and explain what the sport gives you beyond exercise. Here is a plan, a Band 8 sample answer about badminton and the Part 3 questions about sport.
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:
- what the sport is: badminton
- when you started following or playing it: started at uni abroad, club for international students, 2 years ago
- who you usually watch or play it with: Thursday evenings, mixed group, doubles; sometimes watch tournaments online
- explain why you enjoy it: fast, tactical, social, no need to be tall or strong; made friends
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 sport you enjoy watching or playing.
You should say:
- what the sport is
- when you started following or playing it
- who you usually watch or play it with
- and explain why you enjoy it.
Sample answerShowHide
The sport I enjoy most is badminton. I play it rather than watch it, although I’ve recently started watching big tournaments online as well.
Many people think of badminton as a gentle garden game, but played properly, it’s incredibly fast. The shuttlecock can travel at over three hundred kilometres an hour in professional matches, and rallies involve a lot of running, jumping and quick changes of direction. It’s also quite tactical. You win points not only through power but by placing the shuttle where your opponent isn’t expecting it.
I only started playing about two years ago, after I moved abroad to study. The university has a sports club for international students, and in my first week, feeling a bit lonely, I signed up for the badminton session simply because it was on a free evening. I was terrible at first. I kept missing the shuttle completely. But I enjoyed it so much that I went back the next week.
Now I play every Thursday evening with a mixed group of about a dozen students from different countries. We mostly play doubles, swapping partners each game, and afterwards we usually go for something to eat together.
I enjoy it for a few reasons. Physically, it’s a great workout, and an hour of doubles leaves me exhausted in a good way. I also like that you don’t need to be tall or particularly strong; speed and timing matter more. But most of all, it’s been brilliant socially. Some of my closest friends abroad are people I met on that court. It’s much easier to make friends when you’re laughing at each other’s mistakes than when you’re sitting in a lecture.
Useful language:a gentle garden gameralliesquite tacticalwhere your opponent isn’t expecting itsigned up fora great workoutexhausted in a good way
Part 3 sample answers
Why do people enjoy watching sport?
Sample answerShowHide
Sport offers drama and uncertainty: you never know how a match will end, which makes it exciting. It also creates a sense of belonging, as supporting a team connects you with thousands of other fans. And watching top athletes can be inspiring, because you see what human beings are capable of.
Useful language:a sense of belonginginspiring
Should professional athletes be paid so much?
Sample answerShowHide
It’s understandable from a business point of view, since top athletes attract huge audiences and sponsorship money. But it does seem unbalanced compared with the salaries of nurses or teachers. I think part of the money in professional sport should be invested in community sport and facilities.
Useful language:sponsorshipunbalancedcommunity sport
How can governments encourage people to do more sport?
Sample answerShowHide
By making it easy and affordable: building public sports facilities, parks and cycle lanes, and keeping prices low. Schools play a big role too, because children who enjoy sport at school are more likely to stay active as adults. Campaigns can help, but access matters more than advertising.
Useful language:affordablestay active
Are team sports better for children than individual sports?
Sample answerShowHide
Team sports teach cooperation, communication and how to win and lose together, which are valuable life skills. Individual sports, like swimming or tennis, build self-discipline and resilience. Ideally, children should try both and continue with the one they enjoy most.
Useful language:cooperationself-discipline and resilience
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#
- Challenges a stereotype (“a gentle garden game”) and explains the sport with accurate detail.
- Sport-specific vocabulary: rallies, opponent, doubles, shuttlecock, tactical.
- A personal origin story (a lonely first week abroad) that answers “when you started” memorably.
- Reasons on three levels: physical, accessibility, social, with most of all for emphasis.
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:
- Football, as a player or a fan of a team
- Swimming, running or cycling
- Tennis, table tennis or basketball
- A traditional sport from your country
Mistakes to avoid#
- Explaining the rules in detail for a minute. Give one or two key features only.
- Using play with every sport. It’s play football, but go swimming and do yoga.
- Forgetting who you play or watch with.
Want more? Practise a random card with the 2-minute timer in the cue card generator, or see every Speaking topic with sample answers.