Describe a long-term goal you would like to achieve: IELTS Speaking Part 2 Cue Card and Part 3 Questions
Part 2 cue card
Describe a long-term goal you would like to achieve
You should say:
- How long you have had this goal
- What the goal is
- How you will achieve it
- And explain why you set this goal
You will have one to two minutes to talk about this topic.
Preparation status: Predicted topic cycle. This independent practice resource is not an official IELTS paper, and the questions in your test can be different. How topics are labelled.
Part 3 discussion questions
Move one question at a time: listen, answer, compare and retry. The complete question text remains in the page HTML for accessibility and search.
- 01What goals should a society have?
- 02Do people need to have goals?
- 03What goals do people at your at age have?
- 04ls it necessary to give advice to children?
- 05What goals do young people usually have?
- 06What should people do to achieve their goals?
Model answers, heard side by side
Start with the simpler answer, switch bands to hear how the same task can be developed, then record a personal response. These are teaching examples, not official answers or score guarantees.
Part 2 — Model Answer
Part 2 cue-card response
I've wanted to do this for about six years, since I finished university and did some voluntary work with young people. My goal is to open a small social café that trains local young people in basic work skills. To get there I plan to save money, learn how to run a small business and apply for grants or small loans. I'll also try managing a café for a year to get experience and run a few pop-up events to find customers. I set this goal because I saw many young people struggling to get their first jobs, and I thought a place that teaches practical skills would help them. It feels useful and something I can really do if I work steadily.
I've had this idea for about six years, ever since I volunteered at a youth centre after university and saw how hard it was for young people to get practical experience. The goal is to open a modest social enterprise café that trains local youngsters in hospitality, gives them short-term paid placements and helps them build references. It would have seating for about thirty, a low-cost menu and a small training room at the back. To achieve it I'll save a deposit, develop a business plan, seek grants and partner with local charities, and gain practical experience by managing someone else's café for a while; I also plan to run pop-up events to test menus and build a customer base — last summer I ran a weekend pop-up that drew about eighty customers and proved the concept. I set this goal because I want to combine things I enjoy — cooking, teaching and organising — with social impact, and because I believe practical, paid experience can change a young person's chances of finding stable work. It's realistic but long-term, so I'm prepared to work steadily and learn along the way.
I've held this ambition for several years, sparked by volunteer work with disadvantaged young people shortly after university. My long-term goal is to establish a small social enterprise café that functions both as a neighbourhood eatery and as a structured training centre offering short paid placements, accredited training and ongoing mentoring. The venue would be modest — a space for around thirty customers, an economical menu and a dedicated area for workshops — but deliberately designed to be financially sustainable while prioritising trainee progression. I'll reach it through phased steps: build sector experience by managing or interning in similar establishments, draft a robust business plan with cashflow forecasts, secure seed funding through grants and social-investment loans, and run pilot pop-ups to test operations and community interest. I set this goal because I saw firsthand how lack of credible work experience locks people out of steady employment, and I wanted to create a practical, scalable solution that blends vocational training with real work. The project appeals because it lets me use my strengths — catering, mentoring and organisation — while delivering measurable social impact; I accept it will take several years, but I favour incremental progress, evidence-based adjustments and partnership working to make it sustainable.
Part 3 — Model Answers
What goals should a society have?
A society should aim to keep people safe, provide health care and education, and make sure there's work for most people. It should also try to be fair so poor people are helped. These are basic things that help everyone live reasonably well.
I think a society should prioritise a few broad goals: good public services like health and education, economic opportunities so people can find decent work, and rules that protect rights and safety. On top of that, tackling inequality and protecting the environment are important long-term aims, because they affect social cohesion and future generations. Practical targets and public debate help governments set priorities.
Societal goals ought to balance immediate welfare with long-term sustainability. That means providing high-quality universal services — healthcare and education — while fostering economic policies that generate decent jobs and reduce inequality. Equally crucial are environmental stewardship and social cohesion: investing in low-carbon infrastructure and inclusive institutions protects future generations and strengthens community resilience. The most effective approach combines measurable targets, participatory decision-making and transparent accountability so policies respond to people's needs without sacrificing long-term interests.
Do people need to have goals?
Yes, I think people need goals because they give you something to work for and keep you focused. Without goals it's easy to drift and waste time. Goals help you decide what's important.
Generally, yes — having goals provides direction and motivation. They help with planning and making decisions, and can improve mental wellbeing because you feel you're moving forward. That said, it's also healthy to stay flexible and revise goals when circumstances change, rather than stick rigidly to a plan.
Goals function as cognitive anchors: they channel effort, prioritise choices and enable measurable progress. Empirical work on motivation shows that well-defined goals increase persistence and satisfaction, but their value depends on realism and adaptability. Overly rigid or externally imposed goals can be counterproductive, so the most productive approach is to set meaningful, actionable objectives while retaining the capacity to recalibrate in response to feedback.
What goals do people at your at age have?
People my age usually focus on careers, finding stable work and maybe buying a house. Many also want to travel or continue studying. Some are thinking about relationships or starting a family.
At my age — mid twenties — people often prioritise career development: getting promotions, professional qualifications or saving for a deposit on a house. Others aim to travel, gain new experiences or pursue postgraduate study. There's also pressure for milestones such as settling down or starting a family, though many now delay those for financial or personal reasons.
For those in their mid twenties, goals typically cluster around economic stability and personal development. Common aims include securing career progression, building a financial cushion for housing or emergencies, and acquiring additional qualifications or international experience. Simultaneously, many pursue lifestyle goals — travel, creative projects or relationship commitments — and the sequencing of these ambitions differs according to socio-economic background, local housing markets and cultural expectations.
ls it necessary to give advice to children?
Yes, children need advice because they don't know much and adults can help them learn. Advice shows them what's safe and how to behave. But too much advice can be annoying.
It's sensible to give children advice, especially about safety, social skills and learning good habits. However, the tone matters: guidance should be age-appropriate and empowering rather than controlling, so children also learn to make decisions and develop confidence. Good advice often combines explanation with opportunities to try things out.
Guidance is essential in childhood because it scaffolds cognitive and moral development, teaching practical skills, boundaries and social norms. Effective advice is delivered incrementally, tailored to the child's stage, and framed to build autonomy — for example, offering choices and explaining consequences rather than issuing commands. Overbearing advice undermines agency, so the aim should be to cultivate critical thinking and resilience alongside practical instruction.
What goals do young people usually have?
Young people usually want to pass exams, get a good job, have fun and spend time with friends. Many also want to travel or be popular on social media.
Young people often set goals around education and career beginnings — doing well at school, getting into university or starting apprenticeships — but also around identity: building friendships, finding communities and exploring interests like music or sport. Increasingly, activism and environmental concerns are also motivating goals for many youngsters.
The goals of young people reflect both personal development and social context. Short-term aims often involve educational achievement and skill-building, while medium-term goals include gaining work experience, mobility and forming social networks. Importantly, today's youth are more likely to pursue values-driven objectives — climate action, equality campaigns or creative entrepreneurship — so their goals increasingly combine self-realisation with broader social purpose.
What should people do to achieve their goals?
To reach goals you must work hard, make a plan and not give up. You should also ask for help sometimes and keep going even when it's difficult.
People should make a clear plan, break the goal into smaller steps, set deadlines and track progress. Seeking advice or mentorship, learning needed skills and staying disciplined are important. It's also vital to be flexible and adjust the plan when things change so you don't get stuck.
Achieving goals requires both strategic planning and day-to-day habit formation. Start by setting clear, measurable objectives and break them into incremental milestones with deadlines. Build feedback mechanisms — regular reviews, accountability partners or mentors — and prioritise skill acquisition. Manage risk by diversifying approaches, maintain resilience through realistic expectations, and be prepared to iterate the plan in light of new information. Small, consistent actions often trump sporadic bursts of effort.
How to answer Describe a long-term goal you would like to achieve IELTS Speaking questions
For the Describe a long-term goal you would like to achieve cue card, use the preparation minute to build a route through the talk. Choose a clear subject, add two specific moments or details and end with why it matters. Then use the linked Part 3 questions to practise broader explanation and comparison.
Cue-card prompts:
- How long you have had this goal
- What the goal is
- How you will achieve it
- And explain why you set this goal
- Opening: identify the person, place, object or event.
- Development: describe two details or moments in a logical order.
- Extension: explain a reason, result, comparison or problem.
- Reflection: finish with why the subject is memorable or important.
Question-by-question approach
| Practice question | Useful answer move |
|---|---|
| What goals should a society have? | Name the thing first, then describe a specific feature or example. |
| Do people need to have goals? | Give a direct answer, one reason and a short example without memorising a script. |
| What goals do people at your at age have? | Name the thing first, then describe a specific feature or example. |
| ls it necessary to give advice to children? | Give a direct answer, one reason and a short example without memorising a script. |
Vocabulary focus
Useful language already demonstrated in the model answers includes social cohesion, stewardship, measurable targets, motivation, recalibrate, meaningful objectives, economic stability, career progression. Learn each meaning and a natural word partnership, then use the item in a fresh answer instead of copying a complete script.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Giving a memorised response that only partly answers the question.
- Adding difficult vocabulary without checking meaning or collocation.
- Restarting after every error instead of correcting briefly and continuing.
- Reading the model answer before recording your own first attempt.
Describe a long-term goal you would like to achieve practice FAQ
How should I use the Describe a long-term goal you would like to achieve cue card preparation minute?
Write keywords for an opening, two or three details and a final reflection. Do not try to write complete sentences.
Do I have to cover every cue-card bullet?
The prompts help you organise the talk. Covering them is useful, but a coherent one-to-two-minute response matters more than mechanically ticking off each line.
How are Part 3 questions connected to Part 2?
They develop the same broad theme through reasons, comparisons, social effects or future possibilities, so answers normally need more explanation than Part 1.
