Describe something you had repaired instead of replacing it.
A card about a phone screen, a bicycle, a lamp, a suitcase — anything that was fixed when it could have been thrown away. The decision to repair is the most interesting part, so think about your reasons before you start.
The task card
Describe something you had repaired instead of replacing it.
You should say:
- what the item was
- what was wrong with it
- who repaired it and how
and explain why you chose to repair it rather than buy a new one.
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
Choose something whose fault you can explain in one or two sentences: a cracked screen, a broken zip, a wobbly chair leg. Technical detail is not needed; a clear cause and effect is.
'Who repaired it and how' can be you, a professional or a relative. If someone else did it, describe them at work — their tools, their hands, what they explained — because watching a repair gives you rich process language.
The final bullet is about values as well as money. Compare the costs honestly, but also mention attachment, waste or simple stubbornness. A good answer admits it if repairing was actually more trouble than buying new.
Avoid turning the answer into a lecture about the environment. One sentence connecting your choice to a wider issue is enough; the rest should stay with your object.
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 thing I want to talk about is my laptop, which is now about seven years old and which, by most people's standards, should have been thrown away a couple of years ago. What happened was that two things went wrong at once. The battery got so weak that it died after about twenty minutes off the charger, and then the hinge on the left side cracked, so the screen sort of flopped backwards unless you held it. I took it to a big electronics shop, and the assistant looked at it for about ten seconds and said, very politely, that it was 'probably time for an upgrade'. Instead, a friend told me about a repair café that runs once a month in a church hall near me. It's a volunteer thing — people bring in broken kettles, lamps, clothes, whatever, and retired experts fix them for free while you watch. The man who looked at my laptop was a retired electrician called Ray, and he was brilliant. He told me which battery to order, which cost about forty pounds, and when I came back the next month he swapped it in about fifteen minutes and fixed the hinge with a small metal bracket and some very strong glue, explaining every step as he went. Why did I repair it rather than buy a new one? Money was part of it, obviously — forty pounds against several hundred. But honestly, it was more than that. Everything was already set up the way I like it, and it felt ridiculous to throw away a machine that worked perfectly apart from two small parts. And I suppose there was a bit of stubbornness too, after that shop assistant. It's been running fine for over a year now, and every time I open it, I think of Ray.
Why this works: The fault is explained in two plain sentences, which leaves time for the repair itself, told as a scene with a named person and a clear sequence. The final bullet weighs money against attachment and admits a less noble motive — stubbornness — which makes the reasoning sound honest rather than preachy. The contrast between the shop assistant and the volunteer gives the whole answer a quiet shape. Reuse the shape, not the sentences.
Useful vocabulary for this topic
- to have something mended
Causative form for when someone else does the repair — 'I had my laptop mended'.
- beyond repair
So damaged it cannot be fixed; useful for contrast.
- wear and tear
Damage that comes from normal, long-term use.
- as good as new
Fully repaired; a natural phrase for the result.
- a throwaway culture
The habit of discarding things rather than fixing them; save it for one sentence.
- to give something a new lease of life
To make something useful again for a long time.
- it wasn't worth the hassle
Informal way of weighing effort against benefit.
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 so many people throw things away instead of repairing them?
- 2Should governments make it cheaper to repair everyday products?
- 3Are practical repair skills disappearing from society?
- 4Are products today designed to last as long as those made in the past?
- 5How could schools teach young people to look after their possessions?
- 6What role could community repair workshops play in a town?
More on how this family of cards is discussed: Objects and possessions. Model answers for Part 3: Part 3 questions and answers.