Describe a market you have been to.
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 market you have been to.
You should say
- where the market is
- when you go
- what is sold there
- and explain what you like about it
60 seconds to prepare, up to 2 minutes to speak
A band 7 to 8 answer
About 202 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 market I know best is the vegetable market near the old bus station, which runs every morning and is finished by about eleven. I go most Saturdays at seven, which is early enough that it is still cool and the vans are still unloading. It is essentially one long lane with stalls down both sides, and behind them a covered section with fish at one end, which you can find with your eyes closed. What is sold there is mostly produce, and it changes completely with the season, so in April there is almost nothing but mangoes and in December it is all greens and oranges. What I like about it is the negotiation, and I do not mean the price. You have to actually talk to somebody to buy a kilo of anything, and the same four people have sold me vegetables for years. One of them tells me what is worth buying that week and, more usefully, what is not. There is a supermarket four minutes from my flat and I use it for everything that does not grow, which tells you how much the conversation is worth to me. Saturday morning would be a poorer week without it.
The words that earn marks
Each one links to how it is pronounced.
- stalls
the exact noun for market units
- unloading
prefixed verb with a clean ng ending
- produce
the noun, stressed on the first syllable
- season
the word the whole middle section turns on
- negotiation
five syllables with the stress on the fourth
- kilo
concrete unit, natural in a market answer
- greens
a specific plural noun for leafy vegetables
How a strong answer is built
- 1Place the market and give its hours.
- 2Say when you go and what it is like then.
- 3Describe the layout and what is sold.
- 4Explain what you like, and make it about people.
Sounds to watch
The ones this answer leans on most.
Straight answers
How long should my answer to “Describe a market you have been to.” 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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