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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 84 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.

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    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.

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    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.

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    Tip

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

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    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
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    Reported by

    Anonymous student Band 7.5

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    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

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    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
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    Reported by

    Anonymous student Band 7

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    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 >7

    My grandfather is definitely the most, definitely a person who has lived an interesting lifestyle. And I say so because at a young age he was kicked out from his house by his alcoholic father. And he left the house bearing only the clothes on him. He faced multiple hardships after that but he still managed to get a job and work and provide for his family like my grandmother and their kids, his family. He never held any grudges against his father or brother for not supporting him during crucial times and allowing him to face multiple obstacles in life. Instead he always focused on performing his duties and completing them which is quite admirable. And during all this growth he did not just take care of himself but he also saw to it that the other relatives that he had would also get a job and help them live a comfortable life. Which is again something where not everyone is, which is not something everyone is capable of. So it is quite admirable to see that. All the moments that I have spent with him, he has always been a lot hardworking and he never rested even up until his final moments. Which is quite rare to see in geriatric patients because nowadays people just focus on treatment.

    Band 7

    The person that I'd like to describe is my grandfather, Devipadu Ganguly. He has been a very influential figure in my life, in shaping my morals and my values. He has been my constant guide while growing up, always showing me what to do and what not to do, teaching me things like riding a bicycle, teaching me how to draw. He used to go through my school homework to help me out. He was a very kind, intelligent and dedicated grandparent. Furthermore, he had a very tough life. My grandmother died very young and he was left all alone most of his life. When I came along, he just gravitated towards me and gave me all the attention that I needed to succeed in life. It is because of his teachings and his guidance that I was able to achieve my current standings.

    Band 6-7

    I'd like to describe my grandfather who has led a very interesting and meaningful life. He was in his early 80s and is no more. He was born and raised in a small rural area where life was quite challenging. From a young age he had to work hard to support his family. Despite limited opportunities, he managed to educate himself and later worked in a government sector. For many years, his job allowed him to travel to different parts of the country. Apart from his professional life, he has always been deeply involved in social work. I feel extremely proud and inspired by him. His discipline, resilience and positivity and his positive attitude had a strong influence on my personality. To me, he is not just a family member, but also a role model who proves that life will

    Band 6-7

    Today, I will describe an old person who is my maternal grandfather. I often call him as Dadaan. My Dadaan had a very amazing life because when he was four years old, he had to leave his motherland as the India and Bangladesh partition happened and he came to Kolkata. After coming there, he started his hardship for living by his own. He has his parents there, but as they were refugees in this land, they did a lot of hardship for living their life. Like Dadaan, when he was only six, from then he started working in a small tea shop. After that, he started his life as a motor car mechanic. Then he did some distance education. After that, he had some ITI training and after a lot of interview, he managed to join the Kashipur Gananshel factory. After joining Kashipur Gananshel factory, he applied for higher education and he went to IIT Madras, IIT Chennai basically for having his degree on thermal technology. After working for 35 years, he retired as the superintendent, the head post of the Kashipur Gananshel factory. After retirement, he devoted himself for society and now he is doing very good.

    Band 6-7

    The old person I admired the most is my grandfather, unfortunately he passed away a decade ago. He used to live with us in my home which is situated in Bhubaneswar. He had an interesting life and was full of adventures. He used to play tennis at the global level, additionally he has visited many countries for representing India in the field of tennis. Also he used to say me stories of his time including bedtime stories of personal experiences. He is like a role model to me, I am happy to be his grandson. Of course I learn a lot from him. Other than that he is an expert in cooking, he used to cook in his younger time and say my mother to also follow that. He has some secret recipes in his notebook which we follow and have it in lunch or dinner. I really appreciate how energetic he was even in the elderly period of his life. I want to follow his path and become as successful as he is. I really wish he would be there watching my success right now.

    Band 6-7

    The old person I want to talk about is my great-grandmother. She lives in my native place and she is the most interesting person I have ever met in my life. She has done many things in her life, right from working on the field to traveling multiple states alone. She has struggled so much in her childhood, but also, she had raised our kids and she supports everyone in the family, both financially and emotionally. She has traveled multiple states in search of work and to earn money. She used to work in fields, she used to sell food items in the street, she used to work for her entire family and she is an amazing woman I have ever seen and she is so inspiring. Every time I listen to her story, she is a hard-working woman who never gives up. She has experienced almost everything in her life, all types of work, all types of struggles, but she still doesn't give up on her life.

    Band 6-7

    The person that I would like to speak about is my paternal grandfather. He unfortunately passed away a couple months back, but I truly look up to him and find his life very interesting. Not only would I describe his overall life experience as interesting, but I'd also say it's inspiring and admirable as well. He grew up in a middle class family, but his father had passed away while he and his siblings were at a very young age. He had to take up responsibilities at home and had to look after his younger siblings and his mother while he was still a child. He grew up, got a respectable government job and moved to another state with his very new wife and a small baby, which was my dad. Over there, he built a good life for his family and even had many additional activities and things outside of his government job as well. He also founded a school specifically for Malayali students, because we are Malayalis, in Ranchi, the city that he moved to, and even persevered all the odds that people there and other places threw at him.

    Band 6-7

    yes there was a person which I felt very amazing and there was an old person so the guy was my father's father which is my grandfather so he was really cool and he used to play games I used to go for theaters even when he was like 65 or around 70 so he usually lives with his younger son which is in Wayanad, Kerala and also I really like him whenever I go to him I feel very excited because all the stuff we do together still now he's almost 70 75 but I feel like he's like nearly 60s or 50s because his character his body he's being in the gym he's been into fitness he's been into games he's been to entertainment he's like a full package of all the things so yes I like him very very much everybody likes him so

    Band 6-7

    The one person I know who has an interesting life is my grandfather because from childhood from his childhood he got married with my grandmother and goes to Muscat and lives there for about 4-5 years and do a lot of things plumbing, labor and all sort of works. He did a lot of work, a lot means such a great thing to have a grandfather like him in my life. I feel so proud of him. But he lives in America right now and he did different works according to different categories in India or something else. So I love all things about him. I feel confident when I talk about him and he is such a great person. He has an interesting life as first of all he goes to Muscat and he came here and he had a lovable children and they got settled easily in their home moreover there was a sequence of in his life that gives him a particular shock when his brother died but he feel confident about his family that he is gonna make through it moreover he is such a great person however he thinks negative most of the time which I do not like but he remains positive in area of my grandmother because he loves her and he did whatever it takes to make her happy and which is most of all I love that about him.

    Band 6-7

    One such old and interesting person in my life was my grandmother. My grandmother was the person with whom I bought up and have spent a quality time with her. She used to live in our house and since childhood she used to take care of me and my little brother. As I was the eldest kid in my home, also I was an introvert, so I didn't used to mingle with anyone so easily. That's the reason I used to spend a lot of my time with my grandmother. She used to play with me, she used to feed me and I also used to sleep with her in the night. So the best thing which I used to like about her was the quality of life. The quality of life which they had since their childhood and in their youth was something which is really inspiring. They used to walk a mile when they were young. They also used to have organic food in their diet which is really inspiring and motivating. I think that was the reason why they were healthy and she did not catch any lifestyle disorders. Till she died she was healthy, she was walking without the help of anyone.
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