Describe something you own that you want to replace

How to approach this cue card

This card is testing whether you can describe an everyday object with enough specific detail to sound genuine, and whether you can talk about a mild complaint without drifting into a rant. It rewards concrete, sensory description — brand, material, colour, how the item has aged — far more than general statements like “it’s old and broken.”

The easiest real-life angle is something small and unremarkable: a backpack, a pair of headphones, a mattress, a kettle. Avoid choosing something expensive or unusual that you have to invent details for on the spot; a scuffed bag you have carried since school gives you more genuine material than a car you do not actually own.

Spend the first twenty seconds or so establishing what the item is and how long you have had it, the middle of your answer on what specifically has gone wrong with it, and the final stretch on what you would replace it with and why — that last part doubles as your answer to the closing “explain” line, so do not leave it out.

Vocabulary that lifts this answer

These phrases describe wear, replacement and value in the way a native speaker naturally would, rather than repeating “old” and “broken.”

A one-minute plan

• item: canvas backpack, navy, university logo
• how long: bought four years ago, first term of university
• what’s wrong: zip sticks, strap frayed, no longer waterproof
• replace with: similar size, sturdier zip, maybe leather this time

Sample answer

This is one way to organise an answer on this topic — treat it as a model for structure, not a script to copy word for word.

I would like to talk about my old backpack, which I bought in my first term of university, so I have had it for around four years now. It is a plain navy canvas bag with the university’s logo stitched onto the front pocket, and honestly, it has been through a lot with me — lectures, weekend trips, even a rainy hike I probably should not have taken it on. The trouble is, it is really showing its age at this point. The main zip sticks halfway most of the time, one of the shoulder straps has frayed so badly that I am half expecting it to snap, and it is definitely no longer waterproof, which is a problem given how often it rains where I live. I have thought about getting it repaired, but a cobbler I spoke to said fixing the zip properly would be almost as expensive as a new bag, so it would honestly be a false economy to bother. If I replaced it, I would probably go for something a similar size but with a sturdier, more reliable zip, and maybe leather instead of canvas this time, since it tends to hold up better against the weather. I am a little attached to this one, though, so I have been putting off actually buying a replacement.

Common mistakes on this card

• Describing an item you do not actually own and inventing implausible detail, which becomes obvious once the examiner asks a follow-up question.
• Complaining about the item without ever answering the closing line about what you would replace it with.
• Relying on “old” and “broken” throughout instead of more specific wear-and-tear vocabulary.
• Spending the whole answer on the item’s history and running out of time before explaining what is actually wrong with it now.