GESE Grade 5 topic ideas and how to choose yours

Based on Trinity's GESE Grade 5 guidance · checked 5 November 2026

The rules for your topic

• Choose a personal topic that interests you. You'll find it much easier to talk for up to 5 minutes about something you care about.
• It must be different from the six Conversation subject areas: festivals, means of transport, special occasions, entertainment, music and recent personal experiences.
• Fill in the topic form with the title and five discussion points, and take it into the exam. Without a topic form you can't pass.
• Write simple notes, not sentences. Someone can help you write them; the examiner doesn't mark your writing.

What makes a good topic

The best topic isn't the most impressive one. It's the one that lets you use the Grade 5 language naturally: talking about things you've done, how long you've done them, what you prefer and why, how much or how many, and your plans for the future.

Ask yourself three questions about each idea:

1. Do I enjoy talking about it? If you're bored, you won't know what to say when you're nervous.
2. Do I already know the words? Avoid technical topics that need lots of new vocabulary. Under pressure, new words are the first thing you forget.
3. Does it have a past, a present and a future? A good topic gives you experiences to describe (“I've been…”), reasons and preferences, and plans (“Next year I'll…”).

Avoid: “My family”, “My best friend” and “My pet”. Trinity warns that these rarely lead to good conversations, because candidates mostly use the present simple tense.

Topic ideas that work well

• My job
• My new job
• Studying for a qualification
• My home town
• Cooking food from my country
• Playing football in a local team
• Running a small business
• Volunteering at a food bank
• Learning a new skill
• Gardening on my allotment
• Keeping fit
• My favourite sport

Check that your idea doesn't overlap with a subject area. “Learning to drive” is risky because it's close to means of transport; “My favourite band” is music, so it's not allowed.

A worked example: “My job as a care assistant”

Here are five discussion points, the Grade 5 language each one invites, and the kind of thing you might say. Prepare ideas like these, not a script.

Notice that each point can be discussed on its own, in any order. That matters, because the examiner chooses the order and covers at least four of your points.

Points to avoid on your form

• “Introduction” or “Conclusion”. It's a conversation, not a presentation, and the examiner jumps between points.
• Points that are too narrow, such as “The name of my company”. You'll run out of things to say in one sentence.
• Points that need lots of facts or numbers. The examiner tests your language, not your knowledge.

How to practise your topic

1. Make a mind map of everything you could say, then choose the five most interesting points.
2. For each point, note the Grade 5 language you could use, as in the example above.
3. Ask a friend to question you about your points in a random order, and answer without notes.
4. Prepare a question to ask the examiner about your topic, for example “Have you ever worked in a care home?”

Next, prepare for the second half of the exam with our guide to the six subject areas.