Describe a time you moved to a new place.
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 moved to a new place.
You should say
- where you moved from and to
- why you moved
- what the move was like
- and explain how you settled in
60 seconds to prepare, up to 2 minutes to speak
A band 7 to 8 answer
About 187 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.Six years ago I moved out of a shared house into the flat I am in now, which was the first time I had lived alone. The reason was fairly simple. Two of the four people in the house moved away within a month of each other, and replacing them felt like more effort than starting again. The move itself was a single Sunday with a hired van and two friends, and my possessions turned out to fit in one trip, which was a mildly depressing discovery. What was harder was the first three weeks. Living alone is extremely quiet in a way I had not anticipated, and I found myself inventing reasons to go out. How I settled in was largely by accident. I started swimming in the mornings, which gave the day a shape, and I got to know the man at the hardware shop and my neighbour downstairs, and after about two months the silence stopped being noticeable and became the main reason I stayed. I have had three opportunities to move somewhere larger since and turned down all of them without much thought.
The words that earn marks
Each one links to how it is pronounced.
- shared
the right adjective for that kind of house
- replacing
gerund naming the effort you avoided
- hired
British usage for a rented van
- possessions
three syllables with the stress on the second
- anticipated
five syllables with the stress on the second
- inventing
vivid verb for making up excuses
- noticeable
four syllables, precise about the silence
How a strong answer is built
- 1Give the move in one sentence, with what was new about it.
- 2Say why, concretely.
- 3Describe the day, with a small honest detail.
- 4Answer settling in as a process, not a moment.
Sounds to watch
The ones this answer leans on most.
Straight answers
How long should my answer to “Describe a time you moved to a new place.” 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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