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Describe your favourite room in your home

Try the card on the exam timer first, then read the band-8 sample answer and the Part 3 questions that follow it.

Practice it like the exam

Part 2 · Candidate task card

Describe your favourite room in your home.

You should say:

  • which room it is
  • what it looks like
  • what you usually do there

and explain why it is your favourite room.

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1 minute to prepare, then 2 minutes to speak. It switches on its own.

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Band 8 sample answer

268 words · about 2 minutes at a natural pace · Phrases from the vocabulary list are highlighted.

My favourite room at home is the living room, even though it is not the biggest. It is where my family spends most of its time, and I honestly think it is the heart of our flat.

It is a bright room with two large windows that overlook a quiet street. The walls are painted a soft cream colour, and there is a comfortable sofa in the middle, with a low wooden table in front of it. In one corner there is a bookshelf that my father built himself, filled with books, family photographs and a few souvenirs from our trips. We also have a thick carpet that my grandmother brought from her village, and I love lying on it when I want to read. The television is quite small and rarely switched on, because we prefer to talk or play board games.

I usually spend my evenings there. After dinner, my parents drink tea on the sofa, my sister does her homework at the table, and I either read or study. At weekends, we sometimes invite relatives, and the room suddenly becomes full of conversation and laughter. It is also where we celebrate birthdays and holidays.

It is my favourite room because it has such a warm atmosphere. Whenever I come home tired from university, I feel better as soon as I sit down there. Everything in it has a story, from the photographs to the carpet, and that makes it feel special. In my bedroom, I am alone, but in the living room I feel connected to my family, which is what I value the most.

What to notice

  • It takes the points on the card in order, so the examiner can follow it.
  • Each point gets a specific detail or a short story, which is what keeps a talk going for two minutes.
  • The "explain" line at the end gets the most time, because that is where you give an opinion and show your range of language.

We wrote this answer for practice; it does not come from IELTS. Take its structure and phrases and tell your own story, because examiners notice memorised answers.

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Useful vocabulary

PhraseMeaning
spacioushaving plenty of room
tastefully decoratedarranged in an attractive, stylish way
a cosy spota small, warm and comfortable place
make myself at homerelax as if in my own house
the heart of the homethe most important and used room
cluttera lot of untidy things in a place

Plan it in one minute

Choose what to talk about in the first ten seconds, then write two or three key words for each point. Full sentences take too long to write and to read back.

Who or what you could talk about

  • The kitchen, where the family gathers
  • A balcony that you have turned into a mini garden
  • Your bedroom, which reflects your personality

How to spend the two minutes

  1. 25 swhich room it is
  2. 25 swhat it looks like
  3. 25 swhat you usually do there
  4. 45 sand explain why it is your favourite room.

Part 3 questions

In the exam these come straight after your talk, on the wider subject: Homes and housing. Answer each in 3–4 sentences, with your view, a reason and an example.

  1. How have homes in your country changed in the last fifty years?
  2. Do you think young people today can afford to buy their own homes?
  3. Why do some people spend a lot of money on decorating their houses?
  4. Is it better to live in a house or a flat?
  5. How can homes be designed to use less energy?
  6. Do you think people will spend more time at home in the future?

Frequently asked questions

How should I describe a place in an IELTS cue card?

Choose a place you have actually been to. Give its location quickly, then describe it with your senses: what you saw, heard and did there. Close with how you felt or why you would go back. A real visit gives you details that sound natural.

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