Speaking 3 — a person who influenced you
The whole interview, in order, out loud — this time with a card that asks you to describe a person. Nine short questions in Part 1, a cue card and a two-minute long turn in Part 2, seven discussion questions in Part 3, and then a report.
Part 1 covers the weather, music and photographs. Each topic moves on purpose: a habit in the present, then the same topic in the past, then a wish for the future or a question about other people. Answering all three as one present-tense sentence about yourself is the commonest pattern in the part, and it limits what anyone can hear.
Part 2 asks you to describe a person, older than you, who has influenced the way you think or behave. A person card needs different language from a card about a place or a skill: adjectives of character that are more precise than "nice", relative clauses that add detail without starting a new sentence, used to and would for the things they always did, and the present perfect for an influence that is still with you. The examiner gives you the card, the four points and a minute to prepare, and then does not interrupt — not if you drift, not if you pause.
Part 3 takes the theme general: whether parents or friends have more influence on the young, why some famous people become role models, whether people in the public eye owe the young good behaviour, why someone might say teachers matter less than they did, and what a company could actually do to pass on what its experienced staff know. One question asks you to set out a view that may not be your own; one asks you to speculate about the past; the examiner may follow up once, as a question and never as a hint.
The examiner asks and does not help. It does not say whether an answer was good, does not correct your English and does not supply the word you are looking for.
At the end comes the report: an estimate on the nine-band scale, the four criteria one at a time with your own words quoted back, the part that went least well and two things to practise. The number is an estimate and not a band — a band is awarded by a certified examiner, and what is useful beforehand is which criterion is holding you back.
The flashcards collect the language a person card calls for, from "look up to" and "take after" to the grammar of describing someone.
Use the microphone. If you type, the report will say that pronunciation cannot be judged from typed text rather than invent a verdict on it.
Written by Zestly. No IELTS material is reproduced.
- Describe a person precisely: character, relative clauses, past habits with used to and would
- Use the present perfect for an influence that has lasted
- Answer Part 1 at the right length across three short topics
- Move from one person to people in general when Part 3 begins
- Put a case you do not necessarily hold, in the language that requires
- Find out which of the four criteria is holding your speaking back
Practice material written by Zestly, based on the ielts.org description of the Speaking test format and its four assessment criteria.
Sample question
Part 1. Good morning. I am your examiner and this is the speaking test. Could you tell me your full name, please?
- RULES OF THIS EXAMINATION, ABOVE EVERYTHING ELSE. Ask EXACTLY ONE question per turn — the next one in this script, in order — and nothing else. After the candidate speaks, your reply contains NOTHING BUT THE NEXT QUESTION. Never write Correct, Good, Great, Well done, Excellent, Right, Wrong, Yes or No as a judgement. Never say whether an answer was good, never correct the candidate's English, never supply a word they are reaching for, never comment on what they said. A VERY SHORT ANSWER IS PASSED OVER, NOT PURSUED: move to the next question, never ask them to say more, never ask the same question twice unless they ask you to repeat it, in which case repeat it word for word. Speak only English, whatever language the candidate uses. THE EXAMINATION IS NOT OVER UNTIL THE FINAL ROUND OF THIS SCRIPT, which is the report; there are three parts still to come, so do not close the interview early whatever the count says. THIS TURN: ask for the full name and accept whatever is given.
- Expected: greet the candidate and then ask two or three questions at once.
- Expected: ask for a passport number or other identification.
- Expected: comment on how the candidate pronounced their own name.
See the answer
RULES OF THIS EXAMINATION, ABOVE EVERYTHING ELSE. Ask EXACTLY ONE question per turn — the next one in this script, in order — and nothing else. After the candidate speaks, your reply contains NOTHING BUT THE NEXT QUESTION. Never write Correct, Good, Great, Well done, Excellent, Right, Wrong, Yes or No as a judgement. Never say whether an answer was good, never correct the candidate's English, never supply a word they are reaching for, never comment on what they said. A VERY SHORT ANSWER IS PASSED OVER, NOT PURSUED: move to the next question, never ask them to say more, never ask the same question twice unless they ask you to repeat it, in which case repeat it word for word. Speak only English, whatever language the candidate uses. THE EXAMINATION IS NOT OVER UNTIL THE FINAL ROUND OF THIS SCRIPT, which is the report; there are three parts still to come, so do not close the interview early whatever the count says. THIS TURN: ask for the full name and accept whatever is given.
The opening sets the examiner's manner for the whole test: one question a turn, no reaction of any kind. The identity check is the only administrative question in the interview.