IELTS Speaking Examples - Part 2

This page provides you with IELTS speaking examples for part 2 of the IELTS test.

In this part of the test you are given a topic card by the examiner and you have to talk
about it for two minutes.

You will be given a pencil and paper and one minute to prepare your answer.

You should talk about the points that are on the card, but you will need to add in extra
information otherwise you will probably finish before the time is up.

There is a lesson here to help you with this part of the test if you want some tips.

Follow this link for further examples of topics for part 2.

When you read the model answer, notice how the short talk is introduced and
also concluded.

Also, notice how it is well-organized. The parts in bold show you how the speaker follows
and addresses all the parts on the card in a clear and coherent way.

________________________________________________

IELTS Speaking Examples - Cue Card 1

Describe a present you have given
someone.
You should say:

Who you gave it to

What kind of present it was
How it compared to other presents you have
given
Explain why you decided to give this
particular gift.

IELTS Speaking Examples - Model Answer

Im going to talk about a present that I gave to someone.

The person that I gave it to was a very good friend of mine at the time. His name was
Kaaliya and he came from India. I knew him because we studied together at a language
school in Cambridge. Although we were from different backgrounds and cultures, we got
on really well and we had the same sense of humour so we became very good friends.
The present was a picture that had been painted of the River Cam in Cambridge. It was
not so big - maybe around 10 inches by 14 inches, but it was very beautiful. It came in a
gold plated frame and the picture had been drawn by a particularly well-known Cambridge
artist. It had been signed by this person as well.

Its the first time I have given this person a present, and I guess its quite different from
presents that I have given to other people before I dont recall ever giving someone a
picture actually. If Im buying for family then Ill usually buy clothes or maybe some jewelry
if it is a special occasion. Normally when Ive bought something for friends its something
more jokey so we can have a laugh about it, nothing that serious.

The reason why I decided to give this particular gift is because we had spent a lot of
time together in Cambridge and we had had some really fun times punting on the River
Cam thats obviously why I thought this was an appropriate present. We used to go
punting at least once a week, sometimes a couple of times. On one occasion there was a
group of about ten of us that went down there, and we spent the whole day sitting by the
river in the sun and as usual we went on a boat trip together. We all have a lot of photos
to remind us of this great day.

So my friend, Kaaliya, is the person that I gave a present to and this was because I felt it
would always remind him of the fun times that we had and also of Cambridge.

________________________________________________

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 IELTS Cue Card Sample 88 - Talk about a gift that you gave to
someone recently
Last Updated: Friday, 25 November 2016 01:31
Written by IELTS Mentor
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IELTS Speaking Part 2: IELTS Cue Card/ Candidate Task Card.
Talk about a gift that you gave to someone recently.
You should say:
What was the gift?
Whom did you give it to?
How did you feel about it? Why?
and explain why you chose this gift.
Possible Answer:
The gift I gave to my younger sister recently is the one I would like to talk about. I gave her
a cell phone recently. The model of the cell phone is Sony Experia Z and it has Android
Operating System. This is a water resistant cell phone manufactured by Sony Mobile and is
a hot one in the market. The cells phone cost me around 40 K and I had to save the money
for the last 6-7 moths to present her the gift.

I knew that she had been wishing to buy a smartphone for a year but could not do so. I
thought to buy her one on her next birthday and started saving the money. I saved almost
7-8 k each month and just before 3-4 days of her birthday, I bought the phone.

I felt really great after I gave the gift to my sister. That was an unexplainable pleasure,
amusement, satisfaction that I felt after I saw her bewildering face after she opened the
gift. She was so happy that I felt like that was a perfect gift for her. I am sure I would not
have felt the same pleasure as I felt giving her the gift doing something else. She had been
longing to own a smartphone and after receiving it from me she hugged me.

As I already told, from her conversation I knew that she wished to own a smartphone that
she would be able to use the internet and take quality photographs. From that day, I
promised myself that I would buy her one. And I wished to buy her a really good one. I
could have bought her a phone for 10k but seriously I wanted to give her the best one that
I can accommodate.

Tips for answering this Cue Card topic:

While talking about this cue card, keep in mind that you are to talk about a gift/ present
you have recently given to someone. So do not talk about a gift that you actually gave
someone a few years ago.
Remember a gift you gave to someone recently and describe that event based on the
questions asked in the supporting questions of this cue card topic. The gift can be merely a
postcard to an expensive one like house/ flat. Following are some gifts we usually give to
others to help you plan for this cue card topic:

Flower
Mobile Phone
Diary
Story-book/novel
Fountain pen
Dress
Toy
Car
Flat
Money
Camera
Music player
Tabloid PC
Cycle
Postcard
Photo album
Laptop etc.

You can actually think about any gift item which you usually give to others on occasions
like birthday, marriage anniversary etc.

For this cue card topic, first, mention what was the gift. Then mention whom you gave
it (can be a family member, friend, relative, classmate, teacher, neighbour or a
colleague). Then mention what was the occasion for that person who received that gift.
Was it a birthday or simply a social visiting party, marriage day, a celebration of promotion
etc.? Also mention how long has passed since you gave it. You should mention that the
occasion was only a couple of months ago and this is the latest gift you gave to someone.
Whatever the gift was, you should be very fluent describing the event, gift and occasion of
the gift. First mention what was the gift item and then mention to who you gave it to. Also,
mention if you were planning to give it for a long time or did you instantly bought this gift.
After that give an approximate cost idea that you had to spend to buy this gift. Also,
mention the occasion for the gift. That can be a birthday gift or so or can be a surprise gift.

The final 2 questions require your elaborate discussion on the topic and expect you to talk
about how you felt after giving this present. Simply mention that you were very much
pleased to be able to give this present to that person and the excitement grew more when
you noticed the happiness of this person. For the final question, and explain why you
chose this gift say that you knew that s/he was in need of that/ was eagerly waiting to
have one of these items/ would be very excited and happy to receive it. You can also
mention, you had no previous preparation for buying a gift and you roamed in a gift shop
and chose this one all of a sudden.

Your 'fluency and coherence' is the most important part of your speaking exam. Being able
to cover the questions asked with the cue card topic in a real life conversational way would
ensure a good score in your cue card section.

Since this cue card asks you to talk about a gift you gave to someone recently, you should
relate the event to a recent occasion. Mention that you gave this gift only a few weeks/
months ago and that you make your speaking exactly what is expected in the cue card
topic.

If the gift is for a family member like a younger sister, mother or father, mention how
eagerly you were expecting to give this gift to him/her. After that mention how you
managed to purchase the gift and from where you bought it. For the question How you
felt about it? Mention that you bought this gift to make this person happy. This might not
be an expensive gift but you bought it with good wished and cordial love. Finally, say that
the recipient of this gift was very happy to have it and that made you feel really good. A
gift is always a souvenir of good wishes and a mark for a better relationship and you felt
just happy to be able to give it to this person.
The final question and explain why you chose this gift? is a tricky one and you are
expected to give a convincing answer to this question. You have your own reasons and
following are some of the helpful hints for you to answer this question:

1. I knew that s/he had a great desire for this and I thought this would be perfect
opportunity to give it to him/her.
2. I was suddenly informed about this occasion and I had to pick a gift quickly. I went to
the nearby gift shop and this particular gift caught my eyes.
3. This was a gift I was long longing to give her/ him. I knew s/he would be very happy to
receive it and thats why I bought it.
4. The gift was a shared one and three of our friends / colleagues decided that it was a
good gift within our budget.
5. I knew that s/he loves this sort of gift and thats why I decided to give it to her/ him.
Part 3: Details Discussion.
Q. Do you enjoy giving and receiving gifts? Why or why not?
Answer: I really love it! I enjoy quite a lot exchanging gifts. To me, this is a token of
appreciation and a symbol of care.
I like a lot to have presents from people I appreciate, care and love. I think that by gestures
like gift exchanging, you are able to judge who is a real friend or how valuable you are to
someone. For example, as gifts are given in special circumstances, it helps you understand
if someone likes you, appreciates you, loves you or value you. It not only depends on the
kind of gifts and prices but also how carefully and honestly the gifts were selected and
given to you. In addition, this gesture is pleasant as it means that somebody shares a
significant moment of their life with you.

Giving presents to someone is quite enjoyable because through this you can show your
respects, love and care for someone. Gifts often reflect someones personality and
character and also visualise how much you care for someone. For me, giving gifts to a
relative, family member or friend is quite fascinating and an act of showing I care.

Tips: It is very less likely that someone would not like to give and receive gifts. However, if
you are one of them, who doesn't like receiving presents, you can just say the reasons.
Some examples are that- you feel that you are obligated to repay them, you might not like
the present but you must keep it because the opposite is disrespectful, you just invite
someone to an important event of yours not for bringing gifts but because you want them
there for you.

About those who don't like giving presents you can say that it is costly, you don't know
someone so well so you can't pick a present for them, gifts do not always represent that
the giver cares about you or it is a custom that is inflicted by other generations, people
often give flowers, toys and chocolate and you are allergic to flower, do not like chocolate
and hate toys.
Q. Who usually gives you gifts?
Answer: My parents, relatives and friends mostly give me gifts. But, I received some
fabulous presents from my godmother when I graduated from university. However, I will
never forget the gift my brother gave me and it was a ticket to England!
Tip: You can say that you receive presents from parents, friends, grandparents, godmother
and godfather, uncles, cousins, siblings even teachers, colleagues and bosses. If you want
you can mention one or two examples when you were given some important gifts.

Q. Who do you give gifts to?

Answer: I mostly buy presents for my friends on their birthdays. This is the most common
case, but I also give presents to my parents at their wedding anniversary. So I would say
family and friends are the people I buy gifts for. The latest gift that I gave to one of my
friends on her birthday was a book he wanted to have.
Q. In your country when do people usually give gifts?
Answer: I don't think that in my country this custom is very different from that of other
countries. Specifically, people buy presents on name days and birthdays, wedding
anniversaries and graduation ceremony. There are also some cases, such as when someone
is admitted in a university or is promoted at work, but these aren't so common in my
country. Some festivals also encourage people to exchange gifts.
Tip: If in your country this isn't the case, you can just mention in which occasions people
give presents. Remember that these answers are based on my experiences and personal
opinions and it doesn't mean that they represent every case in every country.
Q. What kinds of gifts do they give?
Answer: The type of presents depends on the occasion, a person's personality, choice,
economic & social status and so on. You can't give the same present all the time because
not everything suits to everyone and this is completely reasonable. Some examples that I
can think are clothes, books, perfumes, shoes, household appliances, and bags, especially
on birthdays. But, there are some cases that presents are much more different and
expensive. When someone, for example, gets married you can give them household and
electric appliances, money or even a car.
Q. Do you think gift-giving customs are different now than they were in the past?
How?
Answer: I am not quite sure how the gift exchanging was in the past generation but I
believe that they don't differ much. I assume that in the past, presents were given in the
same occasions as we do nowadays. The only thing I reckon that's different today is the
kind of gifts given. The reason and occasions of gift-giving remained the same throughout
the generations, I guess.
Q. Do you think they will change in the future? How?
Answer: It's a thoughtful issue but my personal opinion is that it may change in the future.
In future people will be able to buy presents not only in usual occasions but also whenever
they want to. Furthermore, if some commodities become more affordable there is a
possibility that this trend will be much different in the future than it is now. People will be
more practical while choosing a gift for other and the range of gifts would increase.
However, the grand gesture and underlying reason for gift-giving will remain almost same
as it is today.
General Tip: Don't always try to give a big and extended answer. Apart from the fact that
time is limited, it's a speaking exam that assesses your skill of handling the language -
English, not the intellectual level. Speaking more would expose you to make more
mistakes. Try to give clear and substantial answers. So don't worry if some of your answers
are bigger than others.
[Part 3 answers are written by - Mary, UK, Economist with Main Field of Studies in
Business Economics.]
Your ability to answer this Cue Card Topic would also help you to talk about the
following Cue card topics:

1.Describe an occasion that you enjoyed.

2.Describe a gift shop you know.
3.Describe a party you recently had.
4.Describe a gift you received from your colleagues/ friends.
5.Describe a gift you want to give to your best friend.
6.Describe a birthday gift you once received.
7.Describe an expensive gift you gave to someone.
8. Describe an important gift you received.
9. Describe something you gave to your friend.
10.Describe a birthday party gift you bought.
11. Describe a gift you would love to give to your friend.
12. Describe something you plan to buy in the future.
13. Describe a gift shop you have visited.
14. Describe a postcard you have received.
15. Describe a flower shop your have visited.

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