IELTS Speaking Part 1 work and study questions

“What do you do?” and “Why did you choose it?” share a topic but need different answers. The first asks for your present situation. The second asks you to look back at a decision. Preparing one paragraph about work or study can leave you answering the question you expected instead of the one you hear.

This guide gives you separate question sets for students and people in work, with examples written for this page. They are practice material, not reported test questions or predictions. Choose the set that fits your life, then use the tense changes to test how flexibly you can respond.

Describe what you actually do

The IELTS format page includes work and studies among the familiar subjects in Part 1. It describes Part 1 as lasting 4–5 minutes. That is the time for the whole part, so do not turn an introductory answer into your complete employment history.

Name your course or role in language someone outside your field can understand. If the title needs explaining, add what you spend time doing. You do not need to translate every module name or describe your organisation's structure.

I'm studying civil engineering at a university near my home. This term we're learning how buildings carry weight, which I find more interesting than the drawing work.

I work for a small furniture company. I help customers choose materials and send their orders to the workshop.

For Lexical resource, the specific verbs “carry” and “send” make the roles clear without specialist terminology. For Grammatical range and accuracy, the student's relative clause adds a relevant preference. These are features to notice, not bands for the answers; a written example cannot show Pronunciation.

Questions for a student

Answer these aloud without writing a response first. The paired questions change the time or focus, so keep listening even when the subject feels familiar.

1. What are you studying at the moment?
2. Which part of your course takes the most effort?
3. Why did you choose that subject?
4. What did you find difficult when you first started?
5. Where do you prefer to study outside lessons?
6. Has your way of studying changed since your first term?
7. What would you change about your timetable?
8. What would you like to do after your course?
9. Is there a subject you would like to understand better?

Notice the difference between what you study and how you study. An answer about the benefits of engineering does not explain why you prefer a particular room. Underline the request in your mind before choosing your first sentence.

Questions for someone in work

1. What kind of work do you do?
2. Which task do you usually do first in the morning?
3. How did you become interested in that work?
4. What did you have to learn when you started?
5. Do you prefer working alone or with colleagues?
6. Has your role changed since you joined?
7. What would make your working day more comfortable?
8. Is there a skill you would like to develop for your job?
9. Which part of the week do you look forward to?

Replace any workplace detail that does not fit you. If you work from home, describe that arrangement. If your hours change, explain a typical day rather than pretending that you have a fixed timetable. Vocabulary you use for a real situation is easier to check for meaning.

Develop the reason without retelling everything

Take the student's question about choosing a subject. A useful answer connects the decision with something specific.

I chose engineering because I liked understanding how things were built. At school, we made a small bridge out of paper, and I wanted to know why one design held more weight than another.

For Fluency and coherence, the school memory explains the stated reason. It does not start a second story about every school subject. For Grammatical range and accuracy, “were built” gives a natural passive, while “held” belongs to the finished school activity.

Compare a working person's answer to the question about learning a new role.

I had to learn how to explain delivery times without promising too much. At first I gave customers a date before checking with the workshop, but now I confirm it with the team first.

The contrast between “at first” and “now” makes the change clear. “Confirm it” avoids repeating the whole phrase “check the delivery date”. These choices support coherence and precise vocabulary; adding a rare adjective would not explain the change any better.

Keep time and tense together

Write a small time label beside each question during practice. Use “now” for a current routine, “then” for a finished event and “since” for a change continuing into the present. The label is a reminder of meaning, not a rule that a whole answer must use one tense.

I usually revise on the bus. Last term I tried studying late at night, but I kept falling asleep. I've used the bus time more regularly since then.

The tense changes follow a reason: routine, past experiment, current habit. Check a weaker version such as “Last term I try” by saying the time phrase and verb together. Repeat “Last term I tried” in a new sentence before attempting the whole answer again.

For future preferences, distinguish a wish from an arranged plan. “I'd like to work outdoors” expresses a preference. “I'm starting an outdoor placement next month” describes an arrangement. Choose the meaning you intend rather than inserting “will” whenever a question mentions the future.

Find a sensible stopping point

Use the general Part 1 guide for the wider discussion of answer length. Here, test each extra sentence against the question: does it explain your role, reason or example? If it repeats information, leave it out.

For “Which task do you do first?”, naming the task and explaining why it comes first can finish the answer. You do not need to add your lunch break and evening plans. For “Has your role changed?”, a before-and-now contrast needs more room. Relevant detail, rather than a sentence quota, determines where you stop.

An 8-minute work and study drill

Spend 1 minute choosing four questions from your set, including a past question and a future one. Record answers for 2 minutes; this is a practice limit, not an IELTS answer-time rule. Spend 2 minutes listening for mismatched time phrases and verbs.

Use the next 2 minutes to answer the same questions with different supporting details. In the final minute, try one question from the other set adapted to your situation. Check whether the correction survives the new wording. Keep one exact sentence in your notes as evidence of what to practise next.

Questions people ask

What if I work and study at the same time?

Explain both briefly, then follow the subject of the question. You could say that you work during the day and take an evening course. Develop the detail the question asks for rather than describing both schedules.

What if I am neither working nor studying?

Describe your current situation in ordinary language. You can explain that you are looking for work or deciding on a course. Practise a relevant detail about that situation rather than borrowing a student answer.

Should I prepare a long introduction about my job?

Prepare useful vocabulary rather than an introduction to recite. A question about your daily tasks needs a different answer from one about why you chose the job. Give the requested information before adding background.