Describe a routine that works well for you.
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 routine that works well for you.
You should say
- what the routine is
- when you follow it
- how it developed
- and explain why it works
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 routine that has made the most difference to me is the first ninety minutes of the working day, which are always the same and always spent on one thing. I get to my desk at about half past eight, and until ten I work on whatever is hardest, with no messages open and my phone in a drawer. It developed accidentally, during a period when I was arriving early to avoid a commute, and I noticed after a few weeks that I was finishing things that had been sitting around for a month. Why it works is not discipline, because I have very little. It is that at half past eight nobody has asked me for anything yet. By eleven there are six things in my head that arrived from other people, and whatever I do then is a response. The ninety minutes are the only part of the day that belongs to what I actually decided to do. The only thing that breaks it is an early meeting, and I have started refusing those, which took me considerably longer to do than it should have. Nobody has ever objected, which is the annoying part.
The words that earn marks
Each one links to how it is pronounced.
- accidentally
five syllables with the stress on the third
- commute
the precise noun, stressed on the second syllable
- drawer
a short noun learners often mispronounce
- discipline
three syllables with the stress on the first
- response
the noun that carries the closing argument
- belongs
the verb the final sentence turns on
- hardest
superlative doing precise work here
How a strong answer is built
- 1Describe the routine in one specific sentence.
- 2Give the times and the rules that protect it.
- 3Say how it developed, honestly by accident.
- 4Explain why it works, and reject the obvious explanation.
Sounds to watch
The ones this answer leans on most.
Straight answers
How long should my answer to “Describe a routine that works well for you.” 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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