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.
Health and fitness cards (“something you do to keep fit”, “a healthy habit”, “a form of exercise you like”) are common, and the same answer can be adapted for all of them. Use health vocabulary precisely and explain the effects on both body and mind. Here’s a plan, a Band 8 sample answer about cycling to work, and the Part 3 questions.
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 it is: cycling to work/uni, 25 min each way
- when and how often you do it: 4–5 days a week, all year except heavy rain
- how you started doing it: two years ago, bus strike + doctor said too sedentary
- explain how it helps you stay fit and healthy: fitter, lost weight, sleep better, clears my head, saves money
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 something you do to keep fit and healthy.
You should say:
- what it is
- when and how often you do it
- how you started doing it
- and explain how it helps you stay fit and healthy.
Sample answerShowHide
Something I do to keep fit is cycling to work. It might not sound very exciting, but it’s probably had a bigger effect on my health than anything else I’ve tried.
I cycle about twenty-five minutes each way, four or five days a week. I do it all year round, except when it’s pouring with rain or the roads are icy, in which case I take the bus. I’ve also got into the habit of taking a longer route home on Fridays, through a park along the river, which adds another half an hour.
How I started is actually a bit of an accident. About two years ago, there was a bus strike in my city that lasted nearly three weeks. I dug out my old bike from my parents’ garage, mainly out of necessity. Around the same time, I’d had a check-up and my doctor told me my lifestyle was far too sedentary, because I was sitting at a desk all day and then on the sofa all evening. When the strike ended, I realised I didn’t want to go back to the bus.
The benefits have been huge. Physically, I’m much fitter. I’ve lost about six kilos and I don’t get out of breath climbing stairs anymore. I also sleep much better. But the biggest difference is mental. The ride home clears my head after work. By the time I get home, I’ve left the stress of the day behind. And there’s a bonus: I save quite a lot of money on transport. The best thing is that it doesn’t feel like exercise, because it’s just part of my routine, which is probably why I’ve stuck with it, unlike the gym memberships I used to pay for and never use.
Useful language:all year roundpouring with raingot into the habit ofout of necessityfar too sedentaryclears my headstuck with it
Part 3 sample answers
Why don’t many people exercise enough?
Sample answerShowHide
The main reasons are lack of time and lack of motivation. Many people work long hours and commute, so by the evening they’re exhausted. Gyms can also be expensive or intimidating. I think the most successful approach is building activity into daily life, like walking or cycling to work, rather than relying on willpower.
Useful language:intimidatingbuilding activity into daily lifewillpower
Is it the government’s job to make people healthier?
Sample answerShowHide
Partly. Governments can create conditions that make healthy choices easier, such as building cycle lanes and parks, taxing sugary drinks and providing sport in schools. But they can’t force people to exercise or eat well, and too much control would feel intrusive. It’s a shared responsibility.
Useful language:cycle lanessugary drinksintrusive
Are people today healthier than in the past?
Sample answerShowHide
In some ways yes, in others no. People live longer thanks to better medicine and more knowledge about nutrition. But lifestyles have become much less active, and processed food is everywhere, so problems like obesity and diabetes have increased. Mental health issues also seem more common, or at least more openly discussed.
Useful language:processed foodobesityopenly discussed
Should schools give children more physical education?
Sample answerShowHide
Yes, I think so. Many children now spend most of their free time on screens, so school might be the only place they exercise regularly. PE also teaches teamwork and resilience. It doesn’t have to be competitive sport, though; activities like dance or yoga can suit children who don’t enjoy team games.
Useful language:exercise regularlyresiliencecompetitive sport
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#
- Precise health vocabulary: sedentary, check-up, out of breath, clears my head, stuck with it.
- A story behind the habit (a bus strike plus a doctor’s warning) makes the “how you started” point engaging.
- Benefits organised clearly: Physically… But the biggest difference is mental… And there’s a bonus…
- A neat contrast with unused gym memberships, a natural, slightly humorous way to finish.
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:
- Going to the gym, swimming or yoga
- Playing a team sport like football or basketball
- Walking every day or taking the stairs
- Cooking healthy food or sleeping eight hours (for “a healthy habit”)
Mistakes to avoid#
- Saying “I do sport” or “I do exercise” vaguely. Name the activity and when you do it.
- Confusing fit (physically strong) with fat. Pronounce it clearly.
- Only listing physical benefits. Mental health benefits show a more developed answer.
Want more? Practise a random card with the 2-minute timer in the cue card generator, or see every Speaking topic with sample answers.