Where do you live?
Often the very first real question of the test. The examiner is warming you up, but they're already marking: do you give one word, or a natural two- or three-sentence answer?
Say the place, the kind of home or area in a few words, and one thing you like or don't like about it. That's all it needs to be.
Sample answers at 3 bands
Same question, three answers. Read them out loud and notice what changes: not longer words, but more detail, better linking and a bit of you in it.
I live in Tashkent. I live in a flat with my family. It is near the center.
Why it scores Band 5.5: Correct but very short. Three short sentences with the same structure, no linking and no opinion. The examiner will need to push for more.
I live in Tashkent, in a fairly big apartment block about twenty minutes from the centre. I share a flat with my parents and my younger sister. It's a bit crowded, but the area is great, there's a park right opposite and the metro is five minutes away.
Why it scores Band 7: Natural length and detail, a contrast ("a bit crowded, but…") and specific facts. Exactly the kind of answer that makes a good first impression.
At the moment I'm in Tashkent, in one of those big Soviet-era apartment blocks on the edge of the centre. It's not much to look at from the outside, but inside our flat is really cosy, and the neighbourhood has a strong community feel: everyone knows everyone, for better or worse.
Why it scores Band 8: "At the moment" hints this might change, "not much to look at" and "for better or worse" are idiomatic but natural. Short, fluent and full of personality.
Bands are our estimate against the public IELTS Speaking band descriptors. In the real test your band comes from all three parts, not one answer.
The follow-up questions
Part 1 stays on one topic for three or four questions. These are the ones that usually come next.
- Do you live in a house or a flat?
- A flat, on the fourth floor. Most people in the city live in flats. Houses with gardens are mostly on the outskirts, and they're getting very expensive.
- What do you like about the area where you live?
- Everything's within walking distance: shops, a park, a couple of good cafés. I almost never need to take a taxi, which saves a lot of time and money.
- Is there anything you would like to change about your home?
- I'd love a bit more space. I share a room with my sister, so finding somewhere quiet to study can be difficult. My own room would be a dream.
- Do you plan to live there for a long time?
- Probably not. If I get a place at a university abroad, I'll move, and after that I'd like to live somewhere a bit smaller and calmer.
Words that lift this answer
- on the outskirts / on the edge of
- Near the edge of a city.
- within walking distance
- Close enough to walk to.
- cosy / cramped / spacious
- Words for how a home feels.
- a block of flats / an apartment block
- A tall building with many flats.
- for better or worse
- Shows something has good and bad sides.
- a strong community feel
- When neighbours know and help each other.
Mistakes that cost marks here
- A one-word answer ("Tashkent."). Always add a sentence or two.
- Giving the full address or directions. The examiner doesn't need a map.
- Saying "in the center of the city of Tashkent, which is the capital of Uzbekistan" as if the examiner has never heard of it. Keep it natural.
Reading answers won't move your band. Saying them will.
Take a full Cambridge Speaking test: the examiner's questions are played out loud, you answer, and you get a band for fluency, vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation. 10 free corrections a day.