IELTS Speaking Practice: Fruit, Changing Plans & Career Choices

IELTS Speaking Practice Test 2026: Fruit, Changing Plans & Career Choices (Band 9 Answers)

Achieving a Band 9 in the IELTS Speaking test requires more than just correct grammar; you need to demonstrate natural fluency, complex sentence structures, and high-level vocabulary.

In this complete 2026 mock test, we will cover Part 1 questions about fruit, a Part 2 cue card regarding a time you had to change your plans, and complex Part 3 questions about future planning and career changes. Review these Band 9 model answers to understand how to elevate your own responses.

Part 1: Fruit

1. What’s your favourite fruit?

I’m absolutely partial to mangoes, especially during the peak summer months. They have this incredibly rich, sweet, and slightly tangy flavor profile that I just can’t get enough of. Plus, they are highly versatile—I love throwing them into morning smoothies or just eating them fresh.

2. Are there any kinds of fruit that you don’t like eating?

To be completely honest, I’m not a huge fan of durian. While I know it’s considered a delicacy by many in Southeast Asia, the pungent aroma is incredibly overwhelming for me, and I simply can’t get past it to enjoy the actual taste of the fruit.

3. Do you like eating cooked food that has fruit in it?

Generally speaking, I prefer my fruit fresh. However, I do make exceptions for certain culinary dishes. For instance, I love a classic apple crumble with a hint of cinnamon, or a savory Moroccan meat tagine that incorporates apricots or raisins for a touch of sweetness.

4. Where’s the best place to buy fruit where you live?

Without a doubt, the local farmer’s market held every weekend is the premier spot. The produce there is locally sourced, organic, and harvested at the peak of ripeness, making it far superior in quality and taste compared to what you’d typically find sitting on the shelves of a standard supermarket.

Part 2: Cue Card (Changing a Plan)

The Cue Card:

Describe a time when you changed a plan you had made. You should say:

• what your original plan was
• why you changed it
• what new plan you made
• and explain how you felt about changing your plan.

Band 9 Model Answer:

I’d like to talk about a recent situation where I had to drastically alter my travel plans. My original intention was to spend a two-week holiday trekking in the Swiss Alps with a close group of friends. We had meticulously planned the itinerary, booked the remote mountain huts, and even purchased specialized hiking gear months in advance.

However, just three days before our scheduled departure, a severe and unseasonal storm system rolled into the region. The local authorities issued widespread weather warnings, advising against any high-altitude hiking due to the severe risk of avalanches and flash floods. Because safety is always paramount, we had to accept that our mountain adventure was completely off the table.

We scrambled to come up with a viable alternative and ultimately decided on a coastal road trip down the Amalfi Coast in Italy instead. We managed to secure some last-minute accommodations and swapped our heavy hiking boots for sandals.

Initially, I felt incredibly devastated and frustrated. I had been looking forward to the physical challenge and the alpine scenery for the better part of a year. But once we arrived in Italy, started exploring the picturesque cliffside villages, and began enjoying the incredible Mediterranean cuisine, my disappointment completely evaporated. I realized that the core purpose of the trip was to bond with my friends and decompress from work, which we achieved just as well by the sea as we would have on a mountain peak.

Part 3: Future Plans and Career Choices

1. What kinds of plans do friends make together?

Friends typically coordinate a wide array of activities, ranging from casual, short-term plans like grabbing coffee, catching a newly released film, or organizing weekend dinners, to much larger, long-term endeavors. The latter might include planning elaborate group holidays, co-signing a lease for an apartment, or even collaborating on a startup business venture.

2. Do you think it’s better to discuss future plans with friends or with family?

I believe it depends entirely on the nature of the plan. For career-oriented or financial decisions, family members often provide more pragmatic, grounded advice drawn from their own life experiences. Conversely, when it comes to social aspirations, travel, or personal passion projects, friends might offer a more relatable and enthusiastic perspective, as they are often navigating the exact same stage of life.

3. When making plans for the future, is it important not to copy friends?

It is absolutely crucial to forge your own path. While it’s natural to draw inspiration from peers, blindly mimicking their choices—whether it’s choosing a university major or a career trajectory—can lead to profound dissatisfaction. Everyone has a unique set of aptitudes, values, and passions, and fulfilling one’s own potential requires self-awareness rather than simple imitation.

4. When people are choosing what to study, how important is it that their course should lead directly to a career?

This is a highly debated topic. From a pragmatic standpoint, enrolling in a vocational or specialized course that guarantees employment is incredibly sensible given the current economic climate and the high cost of tertiary education. However, I also firmly believe in the intrinsic value of studying the humanities or arts, which foster critical thinking, communication, and adaptability—soft skills that are highly transferable across multiple industries, even if the career path isn’t strictly linear.

5. Why is it a good idea to get some work experience before deciding on a future career?

Gaining hands-on work experience, perhaps through internships or gap-year placements, is invaluable because it bridges the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical reality. It allows individuals to test the waters, understand the daily grind of a specific profession, and determine if the corporate culture truly aligns with their personality before they commit years to specialized academic training.

6. How easy do you think it is for people to change from one career to another?

In the modern era, career pivoting is becoming increasingly common, but I certainly wouldn’t characterize it as ‘easy’. It often requires a significant investment of time and financial resources to upskill or retrain. Moreover, it demands a great deal of courage and psychological resilience to step out of an established comfort zone and start from the bottom in a completely new industry. Nevertheless, with the proliferation of online learning platforms, it is definitely more feasible now than it was a generation ago.

📚 Essential Band 9 Vocabulary (Part 2 & 3)

To assist you in achieving a high Lexical Resource score, these are the key advanced vocabulary words and phrases utilized in the model answers above: