Person you met and want to know more about
IELTS Speaking Part 2 cue card with a full sample answer, a Band 9 model of the two-minute long turn.
The cue card
Person you met and want to know more about
You should say:
- who this person is
- how you met this person
- when you met this person
- why you want to know more about this person
Sample answer
The person I'd like to describe is Rafael Aghayev, a name that instantly resonates with most Azerbaijanis, and someone whose path actually crossed mine, albeit fleetingly, a couple of years ago.
I met him, if you can even call it that, at Heydar Aliyev Airport, where I happened to be killing time during a delayed flight. Noticing a small crowd gathering near the check-in area, I quickly realised it was none other than Rafael Aghayev, our most decorated karateka, en route to yet another competition. I managed to shake his hand and exchange a few words of encouragement before he was swiftly ushered away by his entourage.
That brief, chance encounter left me yearning to know a great deal more about him. I'm already well aware that he's a five-time world champion and Olympic medallist, affectionately nicknamed the "Panther of the East," but our fleeting exchange only scratched the surface. I'd love to know what his gruelling training regime actually entails, how he maintains his composure before high-stakes competitions, and what sacrifices he's had to make throughout his illustrious career to scale such extraordinary heights.
What draws me to him in particular is the fact that he flies the flag for Azerbaijan on such a formidable global stage, and I firmly believe there's a great deal any of us could glean from his discipline and mindset. Given how fleeting our encounter actually was, I'd jump at any opportunity to sit down with him properly one day and hear his remarkable story in his own words.
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.