Describe a waterside place in a town or city that changes a lot during the day.
A card about a promenade, riverside steps, a harbour or a lakefront that has a different character at dawn, at midday and after dark. The card hands you a structure: let the clock move through your answer.
The task card
Describe a waterside place in a town or city that changes a lot during the day.
You should say:
- where it is and how often you go there
- what it is like early in the day
- what it is like later on
and explain which time of day you like it best and why.
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
Place it precisely — 'the old harbour wall in my grandparents' town', 'the stone steps down to the river behind the main market' — and say how often you go. Regular visits are what let you know how it changes; if you only ever go at weekends, say so.
The middle bullets are a ready-made contrast, so use the language of change: 'by mid-morning', 'once the sun goes down', 'it gradually fills up', 'it takes on a completely different feel'. Habitual and continuous forms — 'there's always somebody mending a net' — suit a place full of movement.
Give each time of day its own people and sounds rather than repeating 'it is busy'. Fishing boats unloading at dawn, an empty quay at noon, food stalls and music at night: concrete nouns make the contrast clear.
The final bullet asks for a preference and a reason. Explain what exactly that time gives you — the open view, the breeze, the light on the water, the feeling of sharing a moment with strangers. The common mistake is calling it 'relaxing' without saying what relaxes you.
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 place I'd like to talk about is the promenade beside a lake on the north side of my city. It's a man-made lake, created when the city was first planned about seventy years ago, and a wide paved walkway runs along one side of it for roughly two kilometres, with low hills behind. I go most Sunday evenings, and on weekday mornings whenever I can drag myself out of bed. Early in the morning it belongs to the serious walkers and joggers, plus a rowing club whose coach cycles along the path shouting instructions at the boats. It's quiet enough to hear the birds, and in winter there's often a thin mist on the water, so the hills look as if they're floating. By mid-morning almost everyone has gone to work, and it's nearly empty apart from a man sweeping the path. Later on it's a different place. In the late afternoon the boat hire opens — little pedal boats, most of them shaped like swans, which is slightly embarrassing for adults — and around sunset it really comes alive: families eating roasted corn and ice cream, couples taking photos against the sky, students on the steps with a guitar. At weekends there's usually someone selling balloons, and someone else trying to stop their child from buying one. I like the mornings, but sunset is my favourite time. In a city as crowded as mine, it's a relief to look a long way with nothing blocking the view. Just before the sun goes down, the water turns orange, then pink, then grey, and for about ten minutes nearly everyone stops talking and watches it. It's one of the few times I see a crowd of strangers all looking at the same thing, and not at their phones.
Why this works: The answer lets the clock organise it — a misty, disciplined dawn, an empty mid-morning, a crowded sunset — which produces natural time expressions and a clear contrast between the middle bullets. Light humour (the swan boats, the balloon negotiations) is used sparingly, and the preference is explained through two specific things, the open view in a crowded city and the changing light, rather than by simply calling the place relaxing.
Useful vocabulary for this topic
- the waterfront
The part of a town or city next to a river, lake or sea.
- a promenade
A wide path along the water, designed for walking.
- to take on a different feel
To change in atmosphere; useful for contrasting times of day.
- a cool breeze
A light, refreshing wind; very natural near water.
- to come alive
To become busy and lively, often at a particular time of day.
- the light on the water
Useful phrase for describing sunsets and reflections.
- nothing blocking the view
Plain way to describe open space, especially in contrast with a crowded city.
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 have many cities redeveloped their old harbours and riversides?
- 2Should land beside rivers and lakes be kept for public use rather than private housing?
- 3Why are people so often drawn to water when they want to relax?
- 4Should public spaces such as parks and waterfronts stay open late into the night?
- 5Do waterfront developments mainly benefit local residents or tourists?
- 6How might rising sea levels change coastal towns in the future?
More on how this family of cards is discussed: Places. Model answers for Part 3: Part 3 questions and answers.