IELTS Speaking Part 2: Describe a Hobby You Enjoy (Band 9 Sample)
This Part 2 cue card asks you to describe a hobby you enjoy and to explain why. A band-9 answer brings the hobby to life with specific detail and lands one clear, developed reason it matters to you, rather than just naming the activity. Below is a model long-turn of about 230 words in a natural spoken register, followed by a breakdown of why it earns a 9 on all four speaking criteria and the collocations worth stealing.
Practice this exact speaking task with AI feedback
Record your answer and get a band score on all four criteria — Pro plan, credit-metered.
01 · The cue card
- what the hobby is
- how and when you got into it
- how often you do it
- and explain why you enjoy it
02 · Band 9 sample answer
The hobby I'd like to talk about is cooking — specifically, trying to recreate dishes from different countries at home. It started as a practical necessity when I first moved out and had to feed myself, but somewhere along the way it turned into something I genuinely look forward to.
I properly got into it about five years ago, when a friend gave me a cookbook full of Southeast Asian recipes. I remember being terrible at first — I'd follow the instructions far too literally and the results were hit and miss — but I gradually got a feel for it. These days I cook most evenings, and at the weekend I'll often set aside a couple of hours to attempt something more ambitious.
The main reason I love it is that it's the perfect antidote to a day spent staring at a screen. There's something really satisfying about working with your hands, following a process, and ending up with something you can actually share with people. It's also a brilliant way to unwind — chopping vegetables and stirring a pot forces me to slow down and be in the moment. On top of that, I get to eat the results, which is never a bad thing.
03 · Why this scores Band 9
The answer covers each cue-card point in turn — what, how it began, how often, and why — with natural narrative linking ("It started as...", "I properly got into it...", "These days...", "The main reason I love it..."). It builds to a clear point and sustains a full two-minute turn without stalling.
Precise, idiomatic vocabulary — "somewhere along the way", "hit and miss", "got a feel for it", "the perfect antidote", "be in the moment" — carries the answer, and the light closing joke ("which is never a bad thing") reads as natural, confident speech.
Structures vary and stay accurate: a past habit with "would" ("I'd follow the instructions far too literally"), a gerund subject ("working with your hands... is really satisfying"), and a relative clause ("something you can actually share with people"). Tenses stay consistent throughout.
Sentences are chunked into speakable phrases with natural stress on the content words, and the listing of activities invites clear rhythm, giving well-paced intonation without tongue-twisting clusters.
04 · Useful phrases for this topic
Tap a phrase to see what it means and how to use it. Natural phrases like these lift your Lexical Resource score.
05 · Frequently asked questions
Does my hobby need to be unusual or impressive?
Not at all. An ordinary hobby you genuinely enjoy — cooking, reading, gardening — works better than an exotic one you can't describe in detail. Specific, real detail and a clear reason for enjoying it are what score, not novelty.
How do I fill two minutes on a hobby?
Cover how you got into it and how often you do it, then spend most of your time on why you enjoy it, with a specific detail or two ("chopping vegetables forces me to slow down"). The personal "why" is what fills the time naturally.
What tense should I use?
A mix: past simple for how you started ("a friend gave me a cookbook"), present simple for what you do now ("I cook most evenings"), and present tense again for why you enjoy it. Accurate mixing lifts the grammar score.
How do I make the "why I enjoy it" part strong?
Go beyond "it's fun". Name a specific benefit — it "forces me to slow down", it's "the perfect antidote to a screen". A developed, personal reason is exactly what lifts this answer to band 9.
Want feedback on your own answer?
Toey grades your recording on Fluency, Lexical Resource, Grammar and Pronunciation, then shows exactly how to reach the next band — Pro plan, credit-metered.
Try IELTS Speaking practice