IELTS Speaking Samples and Answers

IELTS Speaking Test - Sample 75

IELTS Speaking Test # 75 [Band 8/9 level answer]

Part 1 Topic: "School".
Part 2 Topic: "Describe something you don't have now but would really like to own".
Part 3 Topic: "Owning things" & "Possessions".



Part 1 - Introduction & Interview

[The examiner asks the candidate about him/herself, his/her home, work or studies and other familiar topics.]

Topic: School

Q. Did you go to the secondary/high school near to where you lived? [Why/Why not?]
Answer: Yes, I did go to a school close to where I lived, even though it was not a very good school, primarily because, it helped me save a lot of time and energy. Besides, my parents didn’t want me to go to a school, far from my home, because it would have created a sense of “insecurity” in the mind of my parents since I was their only child.

Q. What did you like about your secondary/high school? [Why?]
Answer: I think that I spent some of my best years at my high school because I made so many friends there, and I gained so many life-changing experiences. Besides, it was really close to my home which saved me a lot of time and energy. I also can’t forget about the beautiful lake with crystal clear water in it next to my high school which just made me feel very close to “Mother Nature”.

Q. Tell me about anything you didn’t like at your school.
Answer: There were a number of things about my high school which I didn’t like. For example, it was a really old school, comprising of mostly old building structures, with rustic exteriors and many cracks on them. Besides, as I come to remember it, the school didn’t have enough staffs either to run and manage its day to day affairs in an efficient manner. 

Q. How do you think your school could be improved? [Why/Why not?]
Answer: Well, things have improved significantly since I left this high school a decade ago. It has now a few new buildings and they look really good. Moreover, the stuff problem should be gone by now. Well, I still feel that the school authority should introduce more extracurricular activities to students as I often felt the need for it. I also believe that such activities are an important part of education and should be encouraged by the school. 


 

Part 2 - Cue Card/ Candidate Task Card

[The topic for your talk will be written on a card which the examiner will hand you. Read it carefully and then make some brief notes.]

Describe something you don't have now but would really like to own in the future.

You should say:

  • what this thing is
  • how long you have wanted to own it
  • where you first saw it

and explain why you would like to own it.

[You will have to talk about the topic for one to two minutes. You have one minute to think about what you are going to say. You can make some notes to help you if you wish.]

Click here for the answer to this cue card topic:

 

Part 3 - Two-way Discussion:

Discussion topics: Owning things

Q. What types of things do young people in your country most want to own today? Why is this?
Answer: I think that just like any other countries in the world, the young people in my country also like to own houses, cars, TV’s, computers, smartphones and any other assets. They want to own those things primarily because some of them think that they are the absolute “necessities” for their daily lives while others think these possessions would make their lives more comfortable and easy. Some also want to own those things because they think that those possessions would make them look more “valuable” and “important” in the eyes of others.

Q. Why do some people feel they need to own things?
Answer: Some people feel that they need to “own” things because they don’t want to depend on others for the things which they actually require in order to live a respectable life in this world. Some people would also want to own things because those are what their family members and loved ones “need”. Besides, some people also feel that they need to own different things because they have worked really hard, so they just “deserve” those things or assets. Finally, I think that it is just human nature to “own” things, in order to just go on with their daily lives, whether they just “want” them or “need” them.

Q. Do you think that owning lots of things makes people happy? Why?
Answer: No, I don’t really think that owning lots of things makes people happy mainly because “happiness” is only a state of mind, and a person can choose to be happy and satisfied even if he/she doesn’t own anything or own very little. In fact, many events and evidence suggest that it is the intense desires of trying to own a lot of things that make people “unhappy” by adding more and unnecessary pressure as well as stress into their daily lives. Besides, once people do own many things, they then actually become even more stressed and occupied with managing and securing those things, instead of enjoying the regular things in life, as they used to, before owning them.


 

Discussion topics:Possessions

Q. Do you think television and films can make people want to get new possessions? Why do they have this effect?
Answer: Yes, I do think that televisions and films can “push” people to want to get new possessions in their lives, even if they don’t need them most of the times, primarily because these electronic media present things in a very “glamorous” manner in order to leave some “psychological” impacts in the minds of their viewers. In fact, these electronic media are pretty much “born” to “tickle” the “not-so” desirable tendency of “owning things” in humans by playing with the words and images, as well as by “stretching” the truths which should be stopped immediately, in my opinion.

Q. Are there any benefits to society of people wanting to get new possessions? Why do you think this is?
Answer: There are indeed some benefits to societies in some degrees of people wanting to get new things as they seem to open the doors for innovations and new opportunities in order to carry forward a greater human agenda, which is to create a better world for everybody. But unfortunately, most people are taken for a free ride in the name of it since it is only bringing more and more dissatisfaction and unhappiness among the common people. However, the worst part of this new tendency is that most of the people, who are becoming victims to this “evil” scheme, don’t even realize this which is indeed a shame for the entire human race.

Q. Do you think people will consider that having lots of possessions is a sign of success in the future? Why?
Answer: Yes, I have no doubt in my mind that more and more people will consider having or owning lots of  “things” as a sign of “success’ in the future primarily because they are becoming more and more materialistic by every passing day if not every hour. Besides, common human qualities like good moral values, compassion and empathy are becoming more and more scarce every day, courtesy to the ‘curse’ of this modern life, and as a result, they don’t really find any “values” in doing anything else other than just “amassing” their wealth for themselves, by hook or by crook, in order to be successful, as if there is no tomorrow. Such a shame!

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