Describe a book you have recently read
A full Band 9 model answer for this IELTS Speaking Part 2 cue card, with the key vocabulary it uses, three Part 3 follow-up answers, and an examiner note on why it scores so highly.
Describe a book you have recently read.
You should say:
- what the book was
- what it was about
- why you decided to read it
and explain how you felt about the book after reading it.
You get 1 minute to prepare and should speak for 1-2 minutes. Try it yourself first, then compare with the model answer below.
Band 9 sample answer
The book I would like to describe is a non-fiction title called Sapiens, by Yuval Noah Harari, which I finished only a couple of months ago.
In essence, it is a sweeping account of the history of our species — how a fairly unremarkable kind of ape came to dominate the planet. What makes it unusual is that it does not just narrate events; it constantly steps back and asks bigger questions, such as why humans cooperate in such vast numbers and whether all our progress has actually made us any happier.
I picked it up largely because it had been recommended to me by several people whose opinions I trust, and I was curious to see whether it lived up to the hype. I tend to be a little sceptical of books that everyone raves about, so I went in with fairly modest expectations.
As it turned out, I was completely won over. What struck me most was how the author takes ideas you have never questioned — money, religion, even the concept of a nation — and reframes them as shared stories that only exist because we collectively believe in them. It genuinely shifted the way I look at the world, which is the highest compliment I can pay a book. By the end I felt both enlightened and slightly unsettled, and I have found myself bringing it up in conversation ever since. For me, that lingering effect is the sign of a book that is truly worth reading.
Key vocabulary used
The collocations and idiomatic phrases above that lift the answer into Band 9 lexical resource.
- a sweeping account
- a broad, wide-ranging description
- steps back and asks
- pauses to consider bigger questions
- lived up to the hype
- was as good as people claimed
- won over
- convinced or persuaded to like something
- shifted the way I look at the world
- changed my perspective
- that lingering effect
- the lasting impression it leaves
Part 3 follow-up questions
The examiner develops the topic with more abstract discussion questions. Here is how a Band 9 candidate might answer.
Do you think people read less than they used to?
They probably read fewer books, but I would argue they actually read more text overall — just in shorter, fragmented forms on their phones. The concern is that this kind of skim-reading erodes our ability to concentrate on a long, demanding book, which is a different and arguably deeper kind of reading.
Are e-books better than printed books?
Each has its place. E-books are unbeatable for convenience — you can carry a whole library on one device — and they are searchable. But many readers, myself included, find printed books easier to focus on and more pleasant to handle, and there is research suggesting we retain physical text slightly better. So I do not think one will eliminate the other.
Should children be encouraged to read non-fiction or fiction?
Ideally both, because they develop different things. Fiction builds empathy and imagination by putting children inside other people's experiences, whereas non-fiction feeds curiosity and broadens their knowledge of the real world. A healthy reading diet should include the two, rather than pushing one at the expense of the other.
Why this is a Band 9 answer
Band 9 features: precise evaluative language, accurate reported and perfect tenses, a clear shift from expectation to reaction, and an insightful closing criterion for what makes a book worthwhile.
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