IELTS Speaking Part 2: Describe an Old Person You Admire (Band 9 Sample)
This Part 2 cue card asks you to describe an elderly person you admire and to explain why. A band-9 answer introduces the person warmly, describes their character with specific detail, and develops one clear reason you look up to them. Below is a model long-turn of about 230 words in a natural spoken register, followed by a breakdown of why it earns a 9 on all four speaking criteria and the collocations worth stealing.
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01 · The cue card
- who the person is
- how you know them
- what they are like
- and explain why you admire them so much
02 · Band 9 sample answer
The person I'd like to talk about is my next-door neighbour, Mr Tanaka, who's in his late eighties and is easily one of the most inspiring people I know.
I've known him ever since I moved into my flat about five years ago, and we struck up a friendship over our shared love of gardening. Despite his age, he's remarkably sharp and active — he still tends an immaculate vegetable patch, walks a couple of miles every morning, and has this wonderfully dry sense of humour that keeps everyone around him laughing. He's also endlessly curious; he recently taught himself to use a smartphone just so he could video-call his grandchildren abroad.
The main reason I admire him so much is his attitude to life. He lived through some genuinely hard times in his youth, yet he's never bitter about any of it and always looks on the bright side. Whenever I'm stressed about something trivial, a chat with him puts everything back into perspective. He's living proof that growing old doesn't have to mean slowing down or giving up on learning, and I honestly hope I can face my later years with even half of his warmth and resilience.
03 · Why this scores Band 9
The answer covers every cue-card point — who, how you know them, what they are like, and why — with natural linking ("I've known him ever since...", "Despite his age...", "The main reason I admire him...") and builds to a heartfelt close, sustaining a full two-minute turn without stalling.
Character vocabulary is precise and idiomatic — "struck up a friendship", "remarkably sharp and active", "a dry sense of humour", "endlessly curious", "look on the bright side", "put things into perspective", "warmth and resilience" — painting a vivid portrait rather than saying "he is a nice old man".
A wide range is controlled accurately: present perfect for the ongoing relationship ("I've known him ever since I moved in"), a "Despite + noun" concessive ("Despite his age, he's remarkably sharp"), and a "so that"-style purpose clause ("just so he could video-call his grandchildren"). All accurate.
The script is built from speakable, stress-timed phrases with natural chunking, and the affectionate content invites genuine intonation, so the recording lands clear sentence stress without tongue-twisting clusters.
04 · Useful phrases for this topic
Tap a phrase to see what it means and how to use it. Natural phrases like these lift your Lexical Resource score.
05 · Frequently asked questions
Does the person have to be a relative?
No — a grandparent, neighbour, teacher or family friend all work. Choose whoever you can describe in the most detail and give the strongest reason for admiring, as that reasoning carries the marks.
How do I fill two minutes describing a person?
Introduce them and how you know them, describe their personality with two or three specific traits and examples, and then spend most of your time on why you admire them. Concrete details, like teaching himself a smartphone, keep it interesting.
What tense should I use?
Present for describing what they are like now ("he tends a vegetable patch", "he's endlessly curious"), present perfect for the relationship ("I've known him for years"), and past for their history ("he lived through hard times"). Mixing these accurately lifts the grammar score.
Should I focus on their character or their achievements?
Character usually gives you more to say and a warmer answer. Achievements can support it, but a band-9 response centres on who the person is and why that inspires you, as this model does.
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