Describe a person who is helpful to

others
IELTS Cue Card/ Candidate Task Card 383 with Model Answer:

Describe a person who is helpful to others.

You should say:

 who this person is

 how you know him/her

 whether you met him/her

and explain why you think this person is helpful to others.

[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.]

Model Answer:

I would first take the opportunity to thank you for this nice topic. I have someone in

my mind whom I consider a great human being who is always helpful to others.

This helpful person is Mr Albert and he is a friend of my uncle, Paul. Mr Albert is a

businessman but he seems equally interested and engaged in philanthropic works.

I admire him because of his dedication to helping homeless children and spending

his own money to make sure these homeless children get expected education at

night school. In his late 40s, he is still very energetic and a father of two children.

Since he is a friend of my uncle, I have seen him visit our house on many

occasions. In fact, I have seen him and known him from my childhood. He is

always a soft-spoken and well-behaved person, and he taught me how to play

chess when I was eight or nine years old. I have learned more about this great

person when I started high-school as our headmaster told a lot about Mr Albert and

his benevolent deeds for humanity.

I think Mr Albert is a helpful person because he has dedicated his time, energy and

wealth to help others. In our society, we need more people like him who would act

selflessly to help people in need. I have seen him work for homeless people,

especially homeless children, and he still works hard to make sure these

underprivileged children get some opportunity to change their fates.

Describe the person in your family who you most admire.

You should say:

 what his/her relationship is to you

 what s/he has done in your life
 what s/he does now
and explain why you admire this person so much.

[You will have to talk about the topic for 1 to 2 minutes. You have one minute to think
about what you're going to say. You can make some notes to help you if you wish.]

Model Answer 1:
'Family' is the most precious thing for everyone. One cannot live without a family, and even
if we notice deeply, we could see that familial bonding is also found among animals. Thus,
the importance of having a family cannot be ignored to live on the planet. A family is a
place where anyone could expect to get anything without the promise of return in
exchange. In my family, I admire my father most. He is the key person in our family and
maintains the family in a solid way. He is my hero in my life. My father is truly an admirable
person for his outstanding qualities.

He has guided me to the right path so that I could shine in my career and personal life.
When I was a kid, he helped me in all possible ways, when I turned a bit matured he
showed me the ways to choose. The most important thing is that he never forced me into
doing something or performing after his will. He always left the issues on me, showed the
ways, and I decided the right road. With his advice, currently, I am an established
photographer in the society. He bought me the first camera of my life by cutting his costs in
half when he came to know that I would like to be a photographer.

My father has retired from his job and now passing his days with the family and friends.
Most of his friends have also retired like him and together they pass their moments by
recalling their olden days. Sometimes my father takes my mother for outing too. They
spend all the day outside and return at night as they used to do in the first hours of their
marriage. I like the romanticism between my parents. Moreover, my father loves
gardening, and he takes care of the garden before our house. Frequently he buys flowers
of different categories and asks me to get his photos with the plants.

I admire my father and will continue doing so for his honesty, his sincerity and the sense of
responsibility. I have never seen him ignoring his responsibilities to my family. The most
important feature of my father is sympathy for others regardless of relations. When
someone of the family turned ill, he rushed to take care of the patient amid his thousands
of responsibilities. He also used to help the destitute relations and also hide the events to
us. I am truly lucky to have a father like him.

Alternative Answer 2:
The person I admire most in my family is my mother. Why? She is always there for me and
never turns her back on me. She brought to me in this world and because of her, I came to
this world. She loves me even when I disagree with her or do something wrong! Her love
for me is unconditional and I have countless reasons to admire and love her the most.
She is the most loving person I could possibly meet in my life. She taught me the basic
values of life and she put a great effort to teach me to distinguish the right from wrong. She
is a virtuous and benevolent woman and I have a great admiration for her. She took care
of my elementary education and inspired me to read books outside of my academic book
list. In my childhood, she was always near me. She took me to schools and playgrounds
and waited patiently for a long so that she could look after me.

She never hesitates to inspire me whenever I do something good. She is the best critic I
can possibly have and because of her, I have learned computer programming, art and
other important skills. She is a hard-working woman who has devoted her entire life to her
family. I learned the importance and necessity of a close family from her. I have only a
younger sister who is 12 years old and my mum was always my best friend.

In my teen ages she advised me about many things and always supported me and that
helped me a lot to come out from the depression I had at that time. She inspired me to
take part in the outdoor activities and motivated me to play cricket with other children of my
age.

She took great care of me when I was ill and I can remember many sleepless nights she
had spent to look after me. She still does that whenever I get sick. She inspired me to get
admitted to the best university of our country and she is the one who contributed the most
to help me become the man I am.

She was a school teacher for about 5 years but she left her career and became a full-time
mum when I was born. Who else would make such great sacrifice for me except my
mother? She is my inspiration and idol in my life. I admire her for everything she has done
for me and everything she still does for me. Her sacrifices and love for me are unparalleled
to anyone or anything in the whole world.

Other family members in your family you might describe:

 Your mother.
 Your elder brother or sister.
 If you are living in a joint family, you can also describe your grandfather,
grandmother, uncle, aunt or any elder cousin.

Do not describe the whole family as the cue card asks you to talk about a single
family member whom you admire the most.

Part 3: Details Discussion:

Attitudes to the family:

Q. In what ways have families in your country changed in recent years?

A. The families have changed greatly in my country for different reasons and

situations. Earlier the families were united but currently, they have been shaped

into nuclear families. When people used to live the in the country areas, the

families were large but with the advancement of time, the families have broken and

took their own shares and formed small families instead of the large ones with the

excuse of extensive maintenance cost, misunderstanding and more other issues.

Q. Should husbands and wives have different roles within the family? Why /

why not?

A. A husband and a wife should play different roles for different reasons. From time

immemorial, males are considered as the bread earners while the females are the

homemakers. But the ideas have changed massively in the current days. Now,

both the husband and wives are seen engaged in money-earning activities.

Moreover, they are sharing their responsibilities between them and thus they are

playing different roles in the family.

Family or friends:

Q. Which are more important to you - your family or your friends?

A. My family is the most important thing to me than friends. A Family is a place

where you will have everything. The family members will try to support you

reasonably; both in good and bad situations and in return, they do not expect

anything. It is the most important feature of a family. The family members will never

leave you forever, but the scenario is just the opposite with the friends. When there

are no benefits in helping you, the friends will be nowhere to be found! They will
avoid you in every possible manner. So, my family is my top priority.

Q. What conflicts can arise between a person's family and a person's

friends?

A. There are different issues that can create trouble between you and your family

or you and your friends. Regarding the familial issue, your family members may

guide you to the right way but due to your lack of knowledge, you may get involved

in arguments over the guidance. You may prefer following the one which appears

better to you (although in reality that is not meant for you).

On the other hand, conflicts with friends may range from any trifling matter to a

major issue like business loss or life or death situation. Family members are

always with the well-wishers or try to make better but the friends are not always

with the same thought to make you feel good unless they have any hidden benefit

with the issue. The common conflict can arise when someone spends most of

his/her time with friends and family members start complaining about it.

Family responsibilities:

Q. What responsibilities do parents have towards their children?

A. Parents naturally love their kids. However, the parents are responsible for

everything of their kids from rearing their kids well, educate them, and allow picking

the right things for them or their career or even their marriage.
Q. What responsibilities do children have towards their parents?

A. The most important responsibility the children have towards their parents is to

abide by all the directives they get from the parents. There are no parents who

want to have their kids in distress. So, the children should pay attention to their

parents, take care of them in their old age and overall they should respect the

parents always.

Your ability to talk about this topic will enable you to answer the following

IELTS cue card topics also:

 Describe someone in your family.

 Describe someone you really admire.

 Describe your childhood hero.

 Describe a person you like to work with.

 Describe someone who had a great influence in your

life.

 Describe the person you most admire.

 Describe a family member who is similar to you.

 Describe a person who is a good cook.

 Describe a talented person you know about.

 Describe your favourite personality.

 Describe someone you know for a long.

 Describe a person who is a good mentor.

  Describe an honest person you know about.

 Describe a relative you really like.

Describe your favourite family tradition.

You should say:

 what the tradition is

 when it occurs
 what you do

and explain why it is your favourite tradition.

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

Model Answer 1:
I was born and brought up in a Muslim family in Malaysia and found that my family
follows different tradition related to Islam and my country. Obedience to the
superior is the tradition of my family and I think this is a great virtue as well. Most of
the people follow the similar tradition as well across the country.

Currently, we are living in the modern world and everything is becoming modern
and in some cases - ultra-modern. Consequently, everything is changing the
shapes and forms while the issues of morality have greatly been changed. Most of
the people are now devoid of sincerity, honesty, degraded ethical values and more
other matters. Obedience to the older people is not found anymore with the
modern people. They prefer doing everything by their sweet will and even do not
care if the tasks are damaging others or not. In such a state, all of the members of
my family obey their superiors’ commands and suggestions. In the western
countries, the young people mostly disobey their parents and immediate superiors.
They are reluctant following orders. But each of the members of my family obeys
the directives from the superior and this is a great tradition for me to follow.

The tradition occurs each of the moments in the lives of my family members. Each
of them is well aware of the rights and responsibilities. Thus they try to follow the
traditions. Obedience is the first and the most important tradition that comes with
the other issues. If someone denies following the tradition, the superiors make
him/her understand the importance of this specific practice, how it is beneficial to
us and other relevant issues. Once they understood the importance, they start
following the tradition. So, the tradition of obedience is always under the practice in
my family, and in fact, this is not a celebration for us. This is part our everyday life.
All of the members of my family even the most junior one is obedient to the
seniors.

To follow the tradition, I have to do whatever I am said by my superiors. But it

should be noted that the superiors never ask to do something which appears
dangerous or illegal or may affect me negatively. So, I perform all the tasks
smoothly with respect. My part is just to implement some orders or suggestions.
For instance, if guests come to visit us and I am asked to take care of them for a
few moments until someone else appears on the spot for their entertainment, I
have to do so. I did such small tasks and as a result, the guests praise me for my
taking care of them. Further, someone of the family has fallen sick and if I ask
someone younger than me to look after the sick, s/ he will do that until they are
removed from the job. I am obedient to the tradition but it does not refer that the
superiors will provide me offers to participate in the illegal activities or I will do
those. Often I try to justify the fact if the task would be right or wrong for me. When
I find my suspicion wrong, I do that task gladly.

Obedience to the other members, especially to the senior members, of the family is
a wonderful tradition. This helps to build confidence among the members of the
family and at the same time increases the bond among the family members.
Besides, I like the tradition as it helps to learn discipline. Indiscipline begins when
someone rejects to do something which was supposed to be done by him/ her. The
indiscipline leads to different other troubles. But if the thing is done in the
beginning, there are lesser chances of chaos. Besides, when someone is obedient,
a sense of trust is grown among people and thus the bonds among them get
stronger.

Sample Answer 2:
China is one of the largest countries in the world. There are some family traditions
available in China and followed strictly which is not found among many other
nations. This is an interesting question. Thank you for this auspicious cue card
topic and I would be able to inform others about the tradition of my land.

Basically, the male members of the family are responsible for everything. They are
to be responsible for maintaining the family, pay the bills, arrange for the things
necessary for the family and many other activities. They are the breadwinners for
all the family members. On the other side, they are also treated with great respect.
Actually, this a continuous process. There are no specific times for this to happen.
It takes place round the day and years. And has been going on since an ancient
time. There are certain matters that have initiated the tradition. But in the present
days, women are also participating in the out of home activities and earning their
livelihood. And they want to keep pace with the modern world. Nonetheless, they
are largely dependent on the male members of their respective families. It is
impossible to ignore the rules of the society and disobey the male members. This
trend has been going on for centuries.

Describe a friend who could be a good leader.

You should say:

 who is he/ she

 how you met him/her

 do people behave differently when he/she is around?

And explain why you think he/she can be a good leader.

[You will have to talk about the topic for one to two minutes. You have one minute

to think about what you're going to say. You can make some notes to help you if

you wish.]

Model Answer 1:

Leadership is the name of a special quality that helps to get specific tasks done in

an efficient manner. Leaders have some extraordinary qualities to accomplish the

tasks and motivate others.

My school friend George Tonny owns some special qualities which are more

prevalent among the leaders, especially the great leaders. He is only 19 but has a

special sense to distinguish the right from the wrong. He never lies with people and

helps them generously. I have never seen him disappointing people and other

classmates including me as well. I have always received help from him whenever I

wanted and he never asked to get the favours back in return. He is sincere as well

in all of his activities and can get any job done perfectly by engaging others by the

shortest possible time.

When I was admitted to my elementary school, met George Tonny and it seems

that our friendship has become a permanent one. We did not quarrel over any

issues for a single moment. Tonny favoured me in different ways and during the

physics exam, he is a great help for me. He makes the lessons easier for me so

that I could answer the questions well. Moreover, I tried to return the favours but he

directly denied accepting those. He is sincere, always keeps his promises, never

behaves rudely and his judgmental ability is extraordinary. All these qualities

actually belong to great leaders and he might be so someday.

Most of my classmates are friends always admire Tonny for his good nature and

leader-like skills. They do not even shout before him to show their respect. Almost
all of the classmates have been benefitted by Tonny and thus they are

compassionate for him. Tonny is privileged everywhere in the school and out of the

school. But interestingly when I try to talk or try any interaction with the others, I do

not get that as many positive response as Tonny receives. However, I am not

jealous of him.

Morning shows the day. Tonny owns the qualities of a good leader and it is proven

from his early age. Someone of only 19 cannot behave so gently and engage

people with his personality to accomplish any task until he has something ordinary

inside. All the other students and mates of the class abide by him and follow his

orders (definitely legal orders). He is able to charm people with his speech and

behaves which is not possible for all the other teenagers of our age. Leadership

requires some qualities like sincerity, integrity, honesty, punctuality, generosity,

eloquence etc. and Tonny owns every one of them. Therefore, I believe that Tonny

will be a good leader in future is he keeps exercising the qualities.

Sample Answer 2:

There is a saying that leaders are born not created. I think the saying is true in

some cases. One of my friends, Akiki Murami appears so. He is still a young boy

but demonstrates all the qualities of a leader, in fact, a great leader. Thank you for

asking such a pretty question and I am getting straight about him now.
I am a student of the eleventh grade in a local college of Tokyo and Akiki Murami is

one of my good friends. He lives with his family near the place I live in. He is smart

and intelligent. The most appealing feature of this boy is that he loves to help

people in need. Besides, he is also polite and loves to meet new people but takes

care of the old ones as well. Considering all the aspects, it appears that he would

be a very good leader someday.

I met him first in my school. In fact, we had our schooling at the same institution.

He also lived in the same locality where I lived with my parents. His father is in

government service while his mother is a housewife. I have a very intimate

relationship with him and his family. He also has two siblings and he is the older

among them. The meeting with him was interesting and still, I can remember the

day when I had a quarrel with him over taking a seat in the class. Actually, it was

my fault – I pushed aside his bag which was placed on the table to take my seat. I

tried to replace the bag but he saw that and came to talk about the issue. I started

quarrelling. I feel ashamed that I lied to him on that day to take the front row seat.

Later, we resolved the issue and both took the seat at the same table. It was the

introductory meeting with him.

Yes, people have a different behave with him. In fact, they are well aware of his

qualities. Though he loves to help people and other students of his class, he is

reluctant to provide help to those who want to exploit his simplicity. He helps
everyone but when he comes to know abusing his simplicity, he turns rude to them.

He tries to avoid them and never allows them to appeal him for any help. I like this

specific feature very much. On the other sides, when he meets with people, he

loves to make them feel free to him. No matter if you are an older or younger than

him. He talks with a sweet smile on his face which attracts everyone. When he

becomes angry, he does not shout with people rather lets them know smilingly that

he would be of no use to them anymore. Thereby, the behaves of people is a bit

different with him.

Akiki Murami could be a good leader and there are many signs of it. A good leader

is always worried about the people. The similar thing is found in him. He is always

seeking chances to help people in their distress and he helps them selflessly. So,

he is a preferable character among his surroundings. Besides, he is also a pride of

our locality and has a very good relationship with a notable number of people at

this early. He knows how to deal with critical situations by not hurting anyone’s

interest. In fact, he applies his ready wits to get rid of the troubles. Therefore, I

think he can be a good leader in future.

Describe a prize you have won

IELTS Cue Card/ Candidate Task Card 214 with Model Answer:

Describe a prize you have won.

You should say:

  what it was

 what you had to do to win it

 how many other competitors were there

and explain how you felt after winning it.

[You will have to talk about the topic for one to two minutes. You have one minute

to think about what you're going to say. You can make some notes to help you if

you wish.]

Model Answer 1:

Winning a prize is always exciting and the winners are adored as well by different

quarters. I also had won a prize in my college’s annual sports competition last

week. I won the first prize and became the champion on the table tennis match in

the indoor games category.

Tennis is one of the most exciting sports in the world. Besides, the players are

admired and respected by the people of the world. When it is about tennis, the

majority of the people consider it to be lawn tennis but table tennis is the smaller

version of the lawn tennis. Table tennis is played on a table and the rules are

similar to the larger one. Usually, two types of matches are played on table tennis –

single match, team match. In a single match, usually, there is one opponent in

each of the sides while the opponents become two in the team match. All of the

teams or players try to defeat their opponents.

Winning on a table tennis match is difficult indeed. I had to struggle a lot for

winning the matches. Initially, I took part in the qualifying rounds, and then I got

promoted to the competing matches. I played the matches solo though one of my

friends wanted to team up with me. But I declined as I am not a good team player.

Before appearing on the competitions, I had to practice the techniques for hours.

Usually making the balls to swing is one of the difficult ways in table tennis and if

someone could master it, playing and especially defeating becomes easier. So, I

practised the specific way at my home with my sister. Moreover, I used to play

table tennis with some of my friends who came to visit me at my home. Besides,

dad also likes to play table tennis and often he turned my opponent at my home.

So, I had lots of practice with table tennis and thereby, I became victorious.

There were several other competitors against me and I had to defeat every one of

them. Before reaching the final match, I had to beat five other competitors. It was a

bit difficult for me because the matches took place in a single day. The qualifying

matches began early in the morning and continued for around one hour. Then the

competing matches took place.

Fortunately, I got some rest as I did not have to play all the matches. I appeared in

six matches altogether (including the final match). The matches took place in the

college auditorium and three tables for the tennis were placed inside there to hold

the matches. Most of the players came here without any practice and I thought that
it would be easy to defeat them as I do have regular practice with table tennis. But

it was tougher for me to defeat my competitors and they played very well despite

having no practice at all.

When I participated in the matches, I, in fact, did not think about the results.

Rather, I tried to play my best and I did so. In the end, the results backed me.

When I checked my score, I was amazed and could not believe that I did so well in

the matches. The least distance of points with the opponents was 10. The other

opponents played well and had a good fight with me. My parents were also with me

during the matches and they inspired me after every match. When I won the

college championship for table tennis, I was overwhelmed with joy and excitement.

I shared my emotions with my family members and also with the opponents. They

said that they had also enjoyed the matches with me and wished me good luck as

well. The chief guest, the college principal and relevant others also inspired me to

continue my practice so that I could be a great table tennis player in future.

Sample Answer 2:

In the last annual shooting competition, I won the best performance award in the

shooting. This is one of the most prestigious awards in police department here in

Greece. So, it made me honoured. Thank you for your pleasant cue card topic. The

question reminds me describing the memories of the competition day.

The annual shooting completion is held for various reasons. The most important

reason is to increase and test the reflex actions of the police officers and how they

react to situations. Moreover, it is also related to the fitness of the police officers.

So, the authority organised for the competition and I won the best shooter awards

in this competition.

There were no options left for me than practising. I had to practice a lot. After

completing the duties, I went to the shooting ground and practised shooting with

various types of handguns and firearms. And on the competition day, it was a

pressure to me. I did not have the idea that I would win the award. I just had

focused on the shooting the targets and completed the other assignments on the

shooting ground. But firing with a handgun in a fast motion is really tough. And if

the targets are moving, you are to be more cautious about that situations. Besides,

firing at innocent people will decrease the point. It was difficult to stop firing at

them.

This was a competition where every police officers in the department can take part.

But this year, the number of competitors was less. There were only 20 participants.

And all of them were highly skilled in shooting different types of firearms. They

were skilled in rapid fire, fast draw, shooting the criminals and protecting the

victims and more. I also own the similar expertise like them. But it was upsetting for
me to hold my fire when suddenly an ‘innocent’ man appeared on the shooting

ground. I gathered the highest point and it was my luck, I think.

Winning a prize is really enjoying. I did not win any prizes during my academic

career. But after joining the police department, I have won several other prizes and

all of them are prestigious. Winning the shooting competition was really tough for

me. All of my competitors were skilled and senior to me in position. As I crossed all

the barriers and showed my skills in shooting, everyone praised me. So, the joys

were sky-high. The entire ground clapped on my success and the police chief

handed me over the awards of the best-skilled police officer in the shooting. My

family members were also happy about my success. To be frank, I was greatly

inspired by the prize and my confidence also boosted substantially.

Idea generation for this Cue Card topic:

"Describe a prize you have won."

Winning a prize is always exciting and often the winners are considered as the

most respectable people in a society. But not everyone can win the awards and it

requires special sorts of skills and perseverance. The cue card is about describing

a prize that the candidate had won. Here are some other additional hints for them

to develop their own answers.

1. I took part in an art competition in my school in Lahore. The theme of the

competitions was celebrating the independence day of the country. I took part

there and won the third prize. Actually, I did not have any plan and just went to the

school to see what happens.

2. My college in Paris annually arranges for different inter-class indoor

competitions. Last year, I took part in a chess competition and won a prize.

Winning prize is admirable but the efforts I had to spend were more than expected.

Beating the competitors was really difficult for me.

3. Playing table football is fun and the fun doubles when someone wins the prize

for playing. My thrills doubled when I won a prize for the table football. The

competition was held at my university. I am an engineering student at a reputed

engineering university in Europe and the authority often organizes such

competitions for the recreation of students.

4. Badminton is a popular form of sport and I became the runner-up in the recent

badminton championship in my locality in Rajasthan, India. All the competitors in

the competition were skilled and moved fast. Battling them was highly difficult but I

was able to keep my honour. I hope I will get the top award in next time.

5. Dart throwing requires a special set of skills. The player needs to have the sense

of balance and aiming. I became third in a dart throwing competition in my

academic institution. The entire competition was filled with thrills and

entertainment. The tension was overflowing among all the contestants. And gaining
a position in such a condition is adorable indeed.

6. Basketball is a popular form of sports in Japan. Recently, I have become the

best performer in the basketball competition for scoring the highest number of

points for my team. It was tough for me to score the points by dodging the other

skilled players of the opposition team.