Describe a time you had to apologise.
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 time you had to apologise.
You should say
- what you did
- who you apologised to
- how you apologised
- and explain what happened afterwards
60 seconds to prepare, up to 2 minutes to speak
A band 7 to 8 answer
About 197 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.About two years ago I criticised a colleague's work in a meeting, in front of about eight people, and I was right about the work and completely wrong about the setting. She had not been given the information she needed, which I did not know, and even if I had been right on every point, doing it in that room was a choice I made carelessly. How I apologised took me a day to work out, because my first instinct was to send a message, which would have been for my benefit rather than hers. What I did instead was ask to speak to her, say specifically what I had done wrong, which was the venue and not the content, and say the same thing in the next meeting with the same people present. What happened afterwards is that it was fine, faster than I deserved. She told me later that the public part was what mattered, because the eight people in that room were the ones who had heard the original. We work together more closely now than we did before it happened, and I have never once been tempted to do the same thing again.
The words that earn marks
Each one links to how it is pronounced.
- criticised
British spelling, four syllables
- carelessly
adverb that names the real failure
- instinct
two syllables with a demanding final cluster
- specifically
adverb that makes the apology real
- venue
the precise noun for the setting
- deserved
past tense with an audible ending
- original
four syllables with the stress on the second
How a strong answer is built
- 1Say what you did, and concede the point cleanly.
- 2Explain what made it wrong, precisely.
- 3Describe the apology, including what you rejected.
- 4Say what happened, and what they told you.
Sounds to watch
The ones this answer leans on most.
Straight answers
How long should my answer to “Describe a time you had to apologise.” 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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