IELTS Speaking Part 2: Topic card: Talk about a beautiful building in your city; with discussion, model answer and Part 3 questions

September 26, 2021May 5, 2023

In this IELTS Speaking Part 2 post, I’m going to discuss and provide the speaking part of the IELTS test. Here, I’m going to describe a model answer for the topic of a beautiful building in your city. You will find a short discussion on how to prepare yourself for the cue card as well as some notes that will help you speak fluently. You will also get some part-3 questions at the end of the post.

Let’s have a look at the topic card:

A short discussion on the topic card:

Before you start speaking, you should jot down some ideas for the topic card.

Here are some notes that may help you speak fluently:

Think about a beautiful building in your country. It does not have to be in your area. You can think about historical, religious, commercial buildings.

Add the following information in your speaking part 2 answer:

One of the most renowned and attractive buildings
positioned in the heart of the city
was established to highlight
visiting your village
primarily or mainly use for
one of the most admired tourist destinations
massive structure
breathtaking view
discover the pleasant details of the structure

N.B.: Always try to take some notes when you are given 1 minute preparation time before you start speaking on the topic card. This will help you speak elaborately.

Model answer:

Ok. I’m going to talk about a religious and historical building of my city. I’m talking about it because I have got the chance to visit it recently.

One of the most renowned and attractive buildings in Istanbul is the Sultan Ahmed Mosque, and it is also identified as the Blue Mosque because of its rich blue colours. It’s positioned in the heart of the city, very close to the sea and it was constructed in the early 17^th century to highlight the power and advancements of the Ottoman Empire of the time. Of course, this religious building is mainly used for worship and religious ceremonies by thousands of Muslims. And due to its international acclaim, it is also one of the most admired tourist destinations in Istanbul and it is visited by thousands of tourists every year.

This massive structure is built with Islamic architecture with Byzantine elements. It contains five central domes and eight secondary domes with a great number of tiles. The upper area or the roof of the mosque has beautiful tulip designs made with tiles of different colours. Hundreds of glass windows illuminate the interior of the building when the light passes through. The view of the illumination is breathtaking. There are a lot of chandeliers inside the mosque to provide light. I think a person could easily spend weeks discovering the pleasant details of the structure.

All in all, it’s a great building that is worth of visit.

Here are some Part-3 (Two-way discussion) questions that will be asked after the end of part 2.

Part 3 questions:

Do you prefer a big or a small house? Why?
Do you think it is good to preserve old buildings?
Are buildings now better than those in the past? Why? / What is the difference between houses built in the past and now?
Do you think the government should invest money in preserving old buildings?
Do you think attractive buildings can be a good source of revenue for the government?
Do you think the appearance of a building is important?
What are the advantages and disadvantages of living in tall buildings?
Do you think there will be more tall buildings in the future?
Why aren’t there many tall buildings in the countryside?