The official guide describes a short sustained monologue about a situation, followed by a conversation about it, on one of two cards that you choose and prepare. The card has a photo, a sentence that describes the situation and guidelines for your turn. The task tests whether you can describe a situation from the sentence, the photo and the guidelines, and then talk briefly about your experiences and opinions on the topic. In the exam the photo is printed on the card.
This task has its own analytic rating, and it counts as much as task 1. In the guide’s band 2 sample, the candidate starts from the sentence on the card, builds guesses from details of the photo and keeps a fairly even pace with few long pauses.
The lesson on speaking task 2 gives the full method and a worked card. The speaking timer runs the time for this task, so you can describe the situation above against the clock.