Describe a habit you would like to change.
A strong long turn names the subject in the first sentence, spends most of the two minutes on the last bullet — the why — and arrives at a prepared final line rather than trailing off.
The question, as the examiner gives it
Describe a habit you would like to change.
You should say
- what the habit is
- how long you have had it
- why you want to change it
- and explain what you have tried
60 seconds to prepare, up to 2 minutes to speak
A band 7 to 8 answer
About 196 words at a natural pace — roughly what 120 seconds holds.
Answer it yourself first
Record your own answer first. A model you have read three times comes out with a flattened rhythm, and examiners are trained to hear exactly that. Read it afterwards for the vocabulary and the shape, not to memorise the sentences.The habit I would most like to break is checking my phone in the first ten minutes after waking up, which I have done more or less every day for about eight years. It sounds trivial. What makes it worth changing is what it does to the rest of the morning, because whatever I read at six fifteen is what I am thinking about at eight, and none of it is ever something I chose. Why I want to change it is that the mornings I do not are measurably better, and I have enough evidence of that now to have stopped arguing with myself about it. What I have tried is a fair amount. Leaving the phone in another room works perfectly, for about nine days, and then I need an alarm and it comes back. Turning off notifications does nothing at all. The only thing that has lasted is putting a book where the phone was, because the problem was never really the phone. It is that I want something to read. I am currently on day six of the book, which means nothing yet, and I have been here before with considerable confidence.
The words that earn marks
Each one links to how it is pronounced.
- trivial
three syllables with the stress on the first
- measurably
adverb that makes the claim checkable
- evidence
abstract noun, three syllables
- notifications
six syllables with the stress on the fourth
- lasted
past tense with an audible ending
- alarm
concrete noun explaining why the fix fails
- arguing
three syllables with a clean ng ending
How a strong answer is built
- 1Name the habit and how long you have had it.
- 2Explain why it matters more than it appears to.
- 3Give the evidence that it is worth changing.
- 4List what you have tried, including the failures.
Sounds to watch
The ones this answer leans on most.
Straight answers
How long should my answer to “Describe a habit you would like to change.” be?
You get 60 seconds to make notes and then speak for up to two minutes without interruption. Aim to still be talking at ninety seconds: finishing at forty is the commonest way to lose marks on this part.
Should I memorise the model answer?
No. Record your own version first, then read the model for the shape and the vocabulary. A memorised answer changes rhythm and pace noticeably, and examiners are trained to hear it — it usually costs more than the better wording gains.
Does sayit score this answer?
It scores what a microphone can observe: an estimate from fluency and pronunciation only — not an official band, and not a mark for vocabulary or grammar.
What the band on your result means
An estimate from fluency and pronunciation only — not an official band, and not a mark for vocabulary or grammar.One question a day until your test
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