In many English speaking exams you have to do a monologue; sometimes you can choose the topic yourself, like in Trinity exams, other times they give you a card and you just have to start speaking, like in a Cambridge C2 exam and then there are other exams where you get a few minutes to prepare the monologue based on some text they give you, like in Escuela Oficial de Idiomas exams in Spain.
Regardless of the exam type, you should try to speak fluently about the topic in a well organized and clear way. Obviously, you should be aiming to get some nice vocabulary and grammar in there too, especially if you have some time to prepare the task. The topics can sometimes be a bit random, so coming up with fancy language can be tricky, but if you do have time to prepare then do a brainstorm and jot down any words or expressions that might be useful and also make a note of any advanced grammar you may want to use, like a cleft sentence “what I….is”, or an inversion “rarely do I…..”. Keep these notes short and simple, not full sentences.
Above all, though, in my view, this is the part of the exam to really show off your discourse management, that is how you organise your speech, can you speak in detail about a topic, giving examples or counterpoints, are you using a range of cohesive devices, are you speaking fluently and of course, with good, clear pronunciation. So, having said all that, here is my monologue about the legalisation of marijuana.
You can listen to this monologue on the Real Exam English podcast.
