Part 2 — Long turnQ3/2026Difficulty 3/5

Describe a piece of clothing you like wearing

IELTS Speaking questions reported by recent test-takers, compiled each quarter. Cambridge does not publish the active list, so this is a compilation of reports, not official material.

Questions

Question 160s to prepare · 120s to speak

Describe a piece of clothing you like wearing. You should say: • what it is • when you wear it • where you got it • and explain why you like wearing it

Model answer

Written by 8020 teachers. Do not memorise it — take the structure and the way ideas are developed, then speak about your own life.

The piece of clothing I want to describe is a dark green field jacket I've worn for about five years. I got it second-hand from a shop in Da Lat, and it cost roughly two hundred thousand dong, which I remember because it felt like a lot at the time for something used. I wear it most days from November onwards, and in Da Lat or Sa Pa I'd wear it all year. In Ho Chi Minh City it's really only useful for about three months, but I still take it on any trip north. Why do I like it? Three reasons, and none of them is that it looks good, although I think it does. First, it has seven pockets, which sounds excessive until you've used it — I stopped carrying a bag on short trips entirely. Second, it's been repaired twice and it looks better repaired than it did new. And third, nobody else has one. It's not a brand anyone recognises, so nobody ever comments on it, and I find I prefer that. Actually, there's a fourth thing. Because I've had it so long, it's in almost every photo of me from the last five years. So it's become a sort of marker — I can date a photo by whether the left cuff is torn yet.

Vocabulary you can use today

second-hand
đồ đã qua sử dụng
from November onwards
từ tháng Mười một trở đi
which sounds excessive until you've used it
nghe có vẻ thừa cho tới khi bạn dùng thử
it looks better repaired than it did new
vá lại nhìn đẹp hơn hồi mới
nobody ever comments on it
chẳng ai để ý bình luận gì
a sort of marker
một kiểu dấu mốc

Common traps for Vietnamese speakers

Đề tả quần áo là đề dễ nói ít nhất, vì có ít điều để nói. Cách chữa: chuẩn bị BA lý do rõ ràng rồi thêm một lý do thứ tư kiểu "actually, there's a fourth thing" — đúng cách người ta nghĩ ra thêm khi đang nói. Nói giá bằng tiền Việt kèm cảm nhận ("felt like a lot at the time") thay vì đổi sang đô. Tự nhiên hơn và không mất thời gian tính. Chi tiết cuối — dùng vết sờn ở tay áo để đoán năm của ảnh — là loại chi tiết không ai học thuộc được. Đó là thứ đưa bài từ 6.5 lên 7.5.

âm cuối /t/ trong jacket, pocket, coat/θ/ trong three, thousand, monthsâm cuối /d/ trong repaired, recognised→/z/, torn/dʒ/ trong jacket, November→/v/

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