Describe a person you know who would like to work in the medical field
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 person you know who would like to work in the medical field
You should say:
- how you know them
- what they would like to do
- when they started to think about that
- why they would like to choose this career
Sample answer
I'd like to describe someone I know who is set on working in the medical field — my younger sister, who dreams of becoming a doctor.
She's two years younger than me, so naturally I've known her all my life and have watched this ambition of hers take root and grow over the years. We're very close, and she often confides her hopes and plans in me.
What she'd specifically like to do is become a surgeon, ideally specialising in cardiology, which deals with treating heart conditions. It's an incredibly demanding and cut-throat field, but she's dead set on it and is currently working flat out at her studies to make it a reality.
She first started toying with this career when she was around twelve years old. The turning point came when our grandfather fell gravely ill and had to undergo heart surgery. She was deeply shaken by the experience, but she was also amazed and inspired by the skill and compassion of the doctors who treated him and, ultimately, saved his life. From that moment on, she knew exactly what she wanted to do with her life.
There are several reasons she's drawn to this career. Above all, she has a genuine desire to help people and make a real difference in their lives, which is at the very core of who she is. She also finds the workings of the human body utterly fascinating and relishes the intellectual challenge that medicine brings. On top of that, she's drawn to the respect and job security the profession commands.
Personally, I admire her enormously for this ambition. Pursuing a career in medicine demands years of gruelling study and unwavering dedication, and I have no doubt she has the grit and compassion to pull it off. I feel genuinely proud of her, and I'm confident that one day she'll make an excellent, caring doctor who truly makes a difference to others' lives.
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 talk about rather than a script.
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.