arrow back icon Top Answers

Describe an old person you know who has had an interesting life: IELTS Speaking Cue Card

You should say

  • Who is this person?
  • Where he/she lives?
  • What he/she has done in his/her life?
  • And explain how you feel about him/her.
Show all 68 answers

Cue 1:Who is this person?

  • Introduce the person by name and relationship to you.
  • Mention their age and a brief description of their personality.

Example

The person I want to talk about is my grandfather, Mr. Sharma. He is 85 years old and has a very warm and cheerful personality. He always has a smile on his face and loves to share stories from his past.

Cue 2:Where he/she lives?

  • Describe the location where this person lives.
  • Mention any interesting aspects of their living situation.

Example

He lives in a small village in Rajasthan, surrounded by beautiful fields and a close-knit community. His house is traditional, with a lovely garden where he grows vegetables and flowers.

Cue 3:What he/she has done in his/her life?

  • Highlight key achievements or experiences in their life.
  • Include any challenges they faced and how they overcame them.

Example

Throughout his life, my grandfather worked as a teacher and later became the headmaster of the local school. He faced many challenges, especially during tough economic times, but he always prioritized education and inspired many children to pursue their dreams.

Cue 4:And explain how you feel about him/her.

  • Share your personal feelings and admiration for this person.
  • Mention any lessons you have learned from them.

Example

I feel incredibly proud to have him as my grandfather. His resilience and dedication to education have taught me the importance of hard work and perseverance. I often seek his advice, and his stories motivate me to strive for my goals.

Conclusion

    Example

    In conclusion, my grandfather is not just an old person I know; he is a source of inspiration and wisdom in my life. His interesting life experiences and positive outlook have greatly influenced my values and aspirations.

    Following this structure will ensure you cover all the essential points while providing a clear and engaging response to the cue card topic.

    Tips to answer this Cue Card

    1: Lack of Specific Details

    Avoid vague descriptions that do not provide specific information about the person. This can make your answer less engaging and informative.

    bulb icon

    Tip

    Include specific anecdotes or examples from the person's life to illustrate their interesting experiences.

    2: Ignoring the Cues

    Neglecting to address all the cues can lead to an incomplete answer. This may result in a lower score for coherence and relevance.

    bulb icon

    Tip

    Make sure to systematically cover each cue in your response to create a well-rounded answer.

    Overly Complex Language

    Using complicated vocabulary or sentence structures can confuse the listener and detract from your message. Clarity is key.

    bulb icon

    Tip

    Use simple and clear language to express your thoughts, ensuring that your ideas are easily understood.

    calendar icon

    IELTS Cue Cards asked last week

    Reported by Leap students who gave IELTS

    Describe your favourite food at a traditional festival or a special event in your country
    anonymous person icon

    Reported by

    Anonymous student Band 7.5

    location icon

    Pitampura Test Centre, New Delhi

    Answer

    I like to taste different types of cuisine. Here I would like to talk about my favorite dish at my traditional festival of Onam which is Sadya. Sadya is popular in my city. We are experimenting these cuisines on Onam festival day. Onam is a famous festival in my city. All family members get together in my home and we make a delicious Sadya. There are many ingredients includes that Sadya. Moreover, we make a big feast that day as well as we create a lot of memories together and we wear that day the traditional dress called Sari and men wear the Dhotis. That festival is really important to us because the whole day we are conducting different kinds of games at our homes and all the family members came together. It's a memorable day in my life. This is the festival. We are making the Sambar and Aviyal. These all the kinds of foods are making with the vegetables.
    Talk about a toy you liked in your childhood
    anonymous person icon

    Reported by

    Anonymous student Band 8

    location icon

    Sector 34 Test Centre, Chandigarh

    Answer

    The toy which I liked in my childhood was a panda doll, which makes me pleasant and makes me more blush. The pandas are the most beautiful creatures of the world, which looks gigantic and has pooshy cheeks and they are like stars in the clouds and they dream in me. Furthermore, these have been given by my father. My father is a very very beautiful artistic person, who makes me think of that. Every day you will face every difficulties and make you suffer and move forward. Pandas are always seen in Japanese countries. It is my lifelong dream to visit a Japanese country and click a photo with the original pandas, which makes sounds better.
    Describe a time you were in a place where you didn't know the local language
    anonymous person icon

    Reported by

    Anonymous student Band 6.5

    location icon

    Whitefield Test Center, Bengaluru

    Answer

    As India is a very large country full of diversity, so there are many places which have their own language and speak their native language. The place which I visited and I didn't know about their language was Leladakh, which is about 300 km away from my hometown and it is a very good place as it consists of different kind of trees, animals and have many scenic views and I visited over there last year in summers as it was the best time to visit because it has many, it was cold over there and we had summers in our area so it was the best time to visit over there and I went over there with my whole family.
    Describe a time when your friend damaged something you owned
    anonymous person icon

    Reported by

    Anonymous student Band 7

    location icon

    Begumpet Test Centre, Hyderabad

    Answer

    When I was a kid, I had a little pencil box which had these four buttons which gave the pencil box an operative use. When you press the button, the box would open up. When you press the second button, a little part of it would slide out. Basically it was just a little electronical and a fun thing to have and I owned it when I was in 6th. One day after break, I was standing and talking there with one of my friends and another friend of mine was running through the hallway and accidentally she pushed my shoulder and my pencil box hit the ground and it broke into multiple pieces to the point that it was not functional anymore.
    Describe a book you recently read
    anonymous person icon

    Reported by

    Anonymous student Band 7.5

    location icon

    CBD Belapur Test Centre, Navi Mumbai

    Answer

    It Ends With Us is a book I read recently. It's by the author Colleen Hoare. It's mainly a story about two teenagers, Atlas and Lily, and how they just handle their life going through high school, adolescence, and just domestic violence at home. Both of them come from very, very different families. However, they have one common determining factor between them, which is domestic violence. The abuse that they've seen their moms go through is just insane, and they connect through that on a different level. They're actually in the same high school, but they never speak to each other until Atlas actually crashes into an empty house next to Lily's villa. When Atlas is homeless and he doesn't have anywhere to go, he just comes and breaks into the house next to Lily's, and Lily helps him with all the daily necessities like clothes and food, medicines and stuff. Furthermore, their friendship blossoms into love, but it doesn't really fructify as Atlas has to leave. This book really gave me a lot of knowledge about domestic abuse and how to deal with it.

    All Answers

    Here are all the answers by real-users practicing speaking for IELTS Cue Cards on our IELTS Prep App.

    Band 6-7

    I would say the person who has inspired me a lot is Mother Teresa, the way she has worked really hard for the betterment and to give a better life to leprotic patients was really inspiring. Her noteworthy contribution to the society and to young and infant children was something that shook me and inspired me to work for the betterment of the society. We as a part of educated and knowledgeable people of the society should take a stand and should decide to contribute for the betterment of the society. It's our moral duty and our responsibility to make the society a better person. I have always watched the work and I have always been inspired by the way she has dedicated her life for the betterment of the society which was a thing that very few people could take and work on. Likewise, the Marathi activist Dr. Prakash Baba Amde has also inspired me a lot who has worked for the growth and development of Adivasis, the tribal people in our state. He provided medical help to them and worked for the betterment of the people.

    Band 6-7

    One of the old person that I don't know but I admire a lot is A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. He was the president of India and throughout his life he has done a lot of thing that has played an important role in making India a stronger country and I really get inspired from his life. He come from a very low middle class family. He wanted to pursue aeronautical engineering but he couldn't get into the college. Later on he prepared for NDA and he tried to get into the National Defence Academy. He was very passionate about being a pilot which later on after becoming the president he fulfilled his dream of flying an aircraft. He was also one of the founding members of ISRO. He is also known as the missile man of India. He has a major contribution in launching spacecraft into the orbit for India. He also helped in developing the initial phase of the nuclear test that India did. I really get inspired a lot from him. He always encourage people to learn and to dream big.

    Band 6-7

    So the person I'm gonna be talking about today is my grandmother. In India we refer a grandmother as Nani and in my mother tongue that is Marathi we refer her as Aajji. So speaking about this woman, she really can't be described in words. She's an ordinary woman. She's not just a woman. She's someone who has always led an ambitious, mesmerizing life. She's not just my Nani but she's my role model. Currently she lives in Aminora town in our city Pune. She lives with her second daughter. She was a teacher. Not just a normal teacher. She taught so many children without taking a single fee. She has always had the passion about teaching children and has gave knowledge to hundreds and thousands of children. This is the reason why she's always and will always be my idol and I follow her like crazy.

    Band 6-7

    An old person whom I know had an interesting life is my cousin, his name is Somu, Somu's house is located 20 km far from my home, he lives with his parents, Somu owns multiple businesses and also is a partner in few export companies, even though he has not studied, he never went to school, he managed to build his own business and also established many things, Somu has two sons, they are also successful in life, moreover Somu has also very good qualities which makes it easier to connect with other business people, he takes trips every month, that too international trips, spent a week there or a month, I mean he came from nothing and now he is owning everything I know, he is my biggest inspiration, I have seen him excel in everything.

    Band 6-7

    One person I know who had an interesting lifestyle is my grandfather. I've known him from my childhood. And I used to hear a lot of his life stories from my father and my relatives. When he was young, he was in merchant navy and he travelled all across the world to his job. He's been to almost all the countries I know about. And he used to tell us many adventures he used to have during the time he was sailing. He used to tell us stories about the time he survived the tsunami in 2004 in Indian Ocean. And he had many life-threatening situations where either he or his crewmate, someone almost died. He had also shared many stories about how he saved many lives during the storm. And even after the retirement, he's still active. He still likes to exercise and travel around. He daily finishes 20,000 steps of walking and regularly plays sports. And he's the first one, if you want to plan for a vacation, he's always the first one to join in and give us inputs or ideas where he wants to go. I always find it interesting because even though, because of his age, he still likes to explore and see, learn new things. And it gives me lots of self-confidence and motivation to follow the life in the similar pattern.

    Band 6-7

    Well, I have met many of the old-age people since my childhood, but a person whom I admire the most is my grandfather. I have known him since I was born. I lost him last year, but I would like to talk about him as I admired him the most. We always lived together for the past 24 years. He belonged from a middle-class family and he was the only preterner in the family when he was young. Moreover, he was having a plethora of good habits. He was so benevolent to others. He was so helpful. Whenever they see someone in need, he always

    Band 6-7

    The most lovable person I know is our uncle who stays in our neighborhood. He is very kind in nature. I really like about him his disciplined nature. Whenever he wakes up, he will roam around and make his body warm up. Then he will cut the bamboos. They have a very good manner to cut that bamboo with hands. He is a very disciplined person. He wanted to see his grandchild marriage. So that's why the grandchild got married when he was alive. After that, he lived his life and told bye to the life.

    Band 6-7

    If I can tell about an old person who also had an interesting life is my grandmother. She did experience so many hardships in her life but still she was able to survive it to the best. She always tries to motivate me, she always tries to make me happy from my childhood. So I really love her a lot and I also respect her for the concern that she shows towards me and also the support which she shows towards me is completely different and irreplaceable compared to all the other bonds which I have within my family. Other than that, she did try to work a lot to ensure the financial status of the family. She did try to care each and every daughter and son in an equal manner. She did not show any kind of discrimination among them. She always tried to complete all her responsibilities, roles and responsibilities according to the kids wishes and according to her husband's wishes. Thereafter when she became older also, she tried to fulfill her responsibilities in terms of grandchildren. So I really respect this old woman i.e. my grandmother who did her best in her life and who had a very much hardships but still she was able to face it with a smile every single time.

    Band 6-7

    Well, that's an interesting question. An old person who had an interesting life is would be my grandfather and I would like to refer him here. My grandfather name is Willingary. He is living in Coimbatore, the city often known for its vibrant place and picturesque western ghats. This city is well known for its textile and automobile engineering and it is termed as Manchester of South India. My grandfather fascinates me in various ways because he is multi talented and multifunctional in various aspects. He worked as a contract laborer on hourly basis in a mill during 1960s and then he rode a auto and worked as an driver there. He also worked as a architectural laborer or I would say he is like a mason there.

    Band 6-7

    My grandfather is one of an interesting person I know. Well, I never met him because he died before I was born, which is unfortunate. And it's okay, not everything in this world goes as we expected it to. But he was born in Agra and my grandma told me a lot of stories about him. She told me how interesting and funny he was. He loved children and he loved animals and he was also a great cook. Which is something that I inherited as well. I am a great cook, maybe, because he was one. And what should I tell about him? There are a lot of things that I can say about him. Let me just think. Oh my god, I am so screwed right now. I cannot even speak about something that reminds me of him.
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7
    ielts logo

    Get the IELTS Prep App

    Star rating icon

    4.2

    1M+ Installs

     app download banner image

    Get the app link on your phone

    +91

    Or download app from

    google play storeapp store
    master ielts speaking ad