Describe a piece of advice you gave to someone
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 piece of advice you gave to someone
You should say:
- who you gave it to
- what the advice was
- why you gave it
- and explain what happened afterwards
Sample answer
I'd like to describe an occasion when I gave a piece of advice to someone — specifically, to a close friend of mine who was struggling with an important decision.
I gave this advice to my friend Kamran, whom I've known since our school days. He came to me feeling extremely stressed and confused, because he'd been offered a well-paid job in another city but was terrified of leaving his family, friends and everything familiar behind.
The advice I gave him was essentially to be brave and to seize the opportunity, but to do so thoughtfully. I encouraged him not to let fear hold him back from a chance that could significantly advance his career, while at the same time reassuring him that moving away didn't mean losing the people he loved, thanks to modern technology and regular visits. I told him to weigh up the long-term benefits against his short-term worries.
The reason I gave him this advice was that I could see the job was a fantastic opportunity that he might regret turning down. I genuinely believed he was letting his fear of change cloud his judgement, and as a friend, I wanted to help him see the bigger picture and gently push him out of his comfort zone.
As for what happened afterwards, I'm delighted to say that he took my advice and accepted the job. Although the first few weeks were understandably difficult for him, he soon settled in, made new friends and absolutely thrived in his new role. He later told me that it was one of the best decisions he'd ever made, and he thanked me for encouraging him when he needed it most.
This experience was really meaningful to me. It felt wonderful to have genuinely helped a friend during a difficult time, and it reinforced my belief that sometimes the best thing you can do for someone is to give them the confidence to take a leap of faith.
327 words — roughly 3–3 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.