GESE Grade 5 topic ideas and topic form examples
A good GESE Grade 5 topic is something from your own life that you can discuss for up to five minutes: your job, a hobby, a place you know well, something you're learning. Your topic form needs a title and five short discussion points. Below are ten ideas and three complete example forms you can adapt.
Trinity's rules for the topic
- Five points, one short sentence or phrase each, with enough to say to fill up to five minutes, but no more.
- Not one of the six conversation subjects: festivals, means of transport, special occasions, entertainment, music, or recent personal experiences. The examiner will ask about two of those later anyway.
- Every point a real theme. The examiner asks about at least four points in any order, so "Introduction" or "What I did next" won't work.
- No script. Recitation counts against you.
- The ideas must be yours, though someone else can write the form out. You can use Trinity's form or your own.
Trinity's candidate guide also warns that a topic like "my family" may lead you to use language below Grade 5 level. Pick something that lets you talk about the past, the present and your plans.
Ten topic ideas
- My job as a care worker
- Why I took up running
- My hometown and how it has changed
- Cooking the dishes I grew up with
- Growing vegetables on my allotment
- Volunteering at a food bank
- Studying for my accountancy exams
- Setting up my own cleaning business
- Why I support my local football club
- Taking photos of wildlife
Change the details to match your life. A topic you know well is easier to talk about naturally than one you've picked because it sounds impressive.
Three example topic forms
Each point is written to invite the language Trinity lists for Grade 5: the present perfect with for, since, ever and never; "because"; "will" for the future; preferences ("I prefer", "I'd rather"); how long things last; and words of quantity like "a lot of" and "not many".
My job as a care worker
- How long I've worked in care
- Why I chose this kind of work
- How many people I look after on a shift
- Why I prefer night shifts to day shifts
- What I'll do next in my career
Why I took up running
- What made me start running
- The longest distance I've ever run
- Running alone or with a club: which I'd rather do
- How running has changed my health
- The race I'll enter next year
My hometown and how it has changed
- Where my hometown is and how many people live there
- What has changed since I left
- What I miss most about it
- Whether I prefer it to the town I live in now
- When I think I'll go back
Notice that none of these says "Introduction" or tells a story in order. The examiner could start with point 4 and the discussion still makes sense.
How to practise a topic
- For each point, think of two or three facts and one reason. Don't write sentences out.
- Ask a friend to pick points at random and question you, including "Why?" and "How long...?"
- Prepare a question to ask the examiner about the topic, for example "Have you ever tried running?" You must ask at least one.
- Practise for all six conversation subjects too, as they make up the second half of the test.
When your form's ready, rehearse it out loud with our free GESE Grade 5 rehearsal: an AI examiner asks about your own five points. For the format, fee and booking, see Trinity GESE Grade 5 explained.
Common questions
Can I use Trinity's own example, "My career"?
You can use a similar subject, but the content of the form should come from you. Trinity's sample is there to show the layout and the kind of points that work.
Can I bring photos to show the examiner?
Trinity's specifications allow pictures or objects in general, but its SELT preparation page says you can't take personal items into the exam room. Plan your topic so it works without them.
What happens if I forget my topic form?
Trinity says you won't be able to take the test. Without the form the topic phase can't take place, and that means a fail.
Topic ideas and example forms are our own, not Trinity's. We're independent of Trinity College London. Sources: GESE Specifications from January 2026 (Grade 5 topic and conversation rules); GESE Grade 5 Guide and Preparation for Candidates; Grade 5 topic form; Sample completed topic form, Grade 5; Trinity: prepare for your B1 test. Checked 20 October 2026.