Describe a decision that was difficult because both choices had something to offer.
A card about a real choice between two options that both had a pull: rehoming a pet, moving a relative in, changing course, turning down a place. The difficulty lies in the trade-off, so make both sides sound genuinely tempting — or genuinely painful.
The task card
Describe a decision that was difficult because both choices had something to offer.
You should say:
- what you had to decide
- what the options were
- how you finally made up your mind
and explain how you feel about the decision now.
Now say it yourself
Record your own two minutes on this card and have it transcribed and marked against the Speaking criteria. Practising is free; the band estimate is part of Pro.
Record my answerHow long you have
- 1 minute
Preparation
The examiner hands you the card, paper and a pencil. Make notes — a few words per cue point, never sentences.
- 1–2 minutes
Your long turn
Speak until the examiner stops you at two minutes. Finishing early is the most common self-inflicted problem in Part 2.
- 1–2 questions
Rounding off
The examiner may ask one or two short follow-up questions, then moves straight into the Part 3 discussion on the same theme.
Part 2 takes three to four minutes in total. The whole Speaking test runs 11 to 14 minutes across three parts, and Part 3 that follows lasts four to five minutes.
How to approach this card
State the decision in one clear sentence, then explain why it was difficult. A decision is only hard when both options have a real pull, so give each one something concrete — the animal you loved and the life it needed, the city you knew and the course you wanted.
For 'how you finally made up your mind', describe the process, not just the outcome: a list on the back of an envelope, a long walk, a deadline that forced your hand. Keep the focus on your own reasoning; if someone else helped, mention them briefly rather than turning the answer into a story about their advice.
Use conditionals naturally when you weigh the options and look back on them: 'if I had kept him, he would probably still be...'. Third and mixed conditionals are exactly what this card invites, and they show grammatical range without any forcing.
For the final bullet, be honest. You can be glad, unsure or partly regretful — a balanced view ('I lost something, but it was the right call') sounds more mature than claiming everything worked out perfectly.
Model answer
Speak your own answer first. Examiners are trained to spot memorised speeches and mark them down — use this to study structure, pacing and naturalness, never to recite.
Show the model answer
The hardest decision I've had to make was whether to give up my dog. This was three years ago, when I was renting a second-floor flat. Bruno was a young collie I'd adopted from a rescue centre, and I adored him. But collies are bred to work, and he was clearly miserable in a flat. I was out for nine hours a day, and even with a dog walker at lunchtime he was pacing, chewing the door frame and howling until the neighbours started leaving notes. So I was torn. I could keep him and try to fix things — move somewhere bigger I couldn't really afford, cut my hours — or let him go somewhere that suited him better. Both felt like love. What forced the issue was an offer. A colleague's parents had a sheep farm about two hours away, their old dog had just died, and they were willing to take Bruno, but they needed an answer within a week. I spent that week doing everything you're supposed to do: lists of pros and cons, an honest conversation with the rescue centre, sleeping on it more than once. In the end something small decided it. I came home one evening and he hadn't touched his food — he was just lying by the door, waiting. I phoned the farm that night, with a heavy heart. Now I'm sure it was right, though I still feel a pang. If I'd kept him, he'd probably still be pacing that flat, and I'd feel guilty every day. Instead he works with the sheep, and when I visited last spring he ran straight past me to the farmer — which hurt for about ten seconds and then felt like the best evidence I could have had.
Why this works: The difficulty is made real because both options are framed as love — keeping Bruno and letting him go — and each has concrete costs. The process moves from the usual pros-and-cons list to one small, revealing moment, which gives the story a turning point, and the final bullet uses a natural mixed conditional ('If I'd kept him, he'd probably still be pacing that flat') before closing on a balanced verdict: a real pang, outweighed by visible evidence.
Useful vocabulary for this topic
- to be torn between
Natural phrase for feeling pulled by two options at once.
- the pros and cons
The advantages and disadvantages; simple but always useful.
- to do right by someone
To act in the way that is best for them, even when it costs you something.
- with a heavy heart
Sadly and unwillingly; natural for a decision you knew was right but did not want to make.
- to sleep on it
To wait until the next day before deciding.
- in hindsight
Looking back with knowledge of what happened; ideal for the final bullet.
- to have no regrets
To feel sure you made the right choice. Stronger if you admit one small cost before you say it.
Part 3 discussion
After your long turn the examiner moves into a four to five minute discussion on the same theme, working from two related discussion topics with about three questions each. The first stays close to your own experience; the second widens out. Answer with reasons and examples, not one-line replies.
- 1Why do some people find it harder to make decisions than others?
- 2Do young people today face more difficult choices than their parents did?
- 3Should children be allowed to make big decisions about their own lives?
- 4Should people who cannot give a pet enough time or space be allowed to keep one?
- 5Does having too many options make people less satisfied?
- 6Do you think computers will one day make important decisions for people?
More on how this family of cards is discussed: Events and experiences. Model answers for Part 3: Part 3 questions and answers.