Describe a famous person you would like to meet
IELTS Speaking Part 2 cue card with a full sample answer, a Band 9 model of the two-minute long turn.
The cue card
Describe a famous person you would like to meet
You should say:
- who this person is
- how you know about them
- what you would talk about
- and explain why you would like to meet them
Sample answer
I'd like to describe a famous person I would love to meet — Elon Musk, the well-known entrepreneur and businessman behind companies like Tesla and SpaceX.
Elon Musk is one of the most influential and talked-about figures of our time. He's the founder or CEO of several groundbreaking technology companies, and he's famous for his ambitious goals, such as transitioning the world to electric cars and even colonising Mars.
I first became aware of him a few years ago, and since then I've followed his work closely through news articles, interviews and documentaries. I've read about his companies and watched countless videos of him discussing his vision for the future, which never fails to fascinate me.
If I ever had the chance to meet him, there would be so much I'd want to talk about. Above all, I'd love to ask him about his mindset and how he manages to tackle such enormous, seemingly impossible challenges without being discouraged. I'd also be keen to hear his genuine thoughts on the future of technology, space exploration and artificial intelligence, and to get his advice on entrepreneurship, since I dream of starting my own company one day.
There are several reasons why I'd love to meet him. Firstly, I find his relentless ambition and willingness to take huge risks incredibly inspiring, as he pursues ideas that most people would dismiss as science fiction. Secondly, as someone passionate about technology myself, I deeply admire his innovations and the way he's genuinely trying to shape a better future for humanity. Meeting him would be an amazing opportunity to learn from one of the greatest visionaries of our era.
Of course, I'm aware that he's a controversial figure and not without his flaws, but I believe I could learn a tremendous amount from someone with such a bold and unconventional way of thinking. It would, without a doubt, be an unforgettable and motivating experience.
319 words — roughly 2–3 minutes at a natural speaking pace.
Reading a model answer is not the same as saying one. The sample above shows what a strong Part 2 answer sounds like. What it cannot tell you is how yours sounds — whether you hesitate, repeat the question back, or run out of things to say at forty seconds.
You can record an answer to this exact question and get it marked on fluency and coherence, lexical resource, grammatical range and pronunciation — the same four criteria the examiner uses.
Common questions
How long should I speak for in Part 2?
Between one and two minutes. The examiner stops you at two, so aim to still be talking at the ninety-second mark rather than finishing early — running out at forty seconds is the most common problem in this part.
What do I do with the one minute of preparation time?
You get one minute and a pencil and paper. Most candidates waste it writing full sentences they then read aloud, which sounds flat. Note a few keywords against each bullet instead, so you have four things to say and can speak naturally from them.
Do I have to cover all four bullet points?
They are prompts, not a checklist, and you are not penalised for skipping one. In practice they are the easiest way to fill two minutes, so covering them is usually the simplest way to keep going.
Does it matter if the story is not true?
No. You are assessed on your English, not on whether the events happened. Inventing detail is fine and often easier than recalling a real memory under pressure.
Model answers written and reviewed by The English All-in-One IELTS team. They are teaching models showing what each band looks like, not real candidate scripts.