IELTS Speaking Part 2: Model Answers, Vocabulary, and Structure Guide

This document presents four sample answers for IELTS Speaking Part 2, each demonstrating a band 8.0+ level of proficiency. The samples cover diverse topics including describing a time you used your imagination, a time you were very busy, a tall building in your hometown, and a person or thing that made you laugh. Each sample answer includes detailed responses, showcasing appropriate vocabulary and grammatical structures. Additionally, the document provides vocabulary lists with definitions and examples to enhance understanding and improve test-takers' language skills. These examples offer valuable insights into structuring answers, using descriptive language, and meeting the assessment criteria for the IELTS speaking test. The content is designed to assist students in preparing for and achieving high scores on the IELTS exam.

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BAND 8.0+ SAMPLES SPEAKING PART 2
1. Describe a time you needed to use imagination
You should say:
what the situation was; why you
needed to use imagination; what the
difficulties were; and explain how
you felt about it.
BAND 8.0 SAMPLE ANSWER:
I would like to talk about the time I had to get out of my comfort zone to join an Innovatio
Challenge Contest which made me think out of the box and work flat out to become the
runner-up.
This annual contest is open to all undergraduates and post-graduates around the world.
Each year this contest draws the attention of more than 30 000 people so it was really
competitive and challenging for me. Therefore, when I was awarded the runner-up prize,
I was deliriously happy and extraordinarily excited.
The goal of the Challenge was to recognize individuals and organizations that we
working on internet-based solutions to promote education and economic empowerment
in countries throughout the world. Therefore, it really required creativity and imaginatio
from each team joining the contest. I had to buckle down and brainstorm
ideas for the challenge until I came up with the best one to be accepted for 4 consequent
rounds.

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At the end of the day, my team and I had really gone extra miles to become the runnersu
and it was really an unforgettable experience to me. After all, I can take pride in myself
for all the thing I achieved with my imagination and creativity.
Vocabulary:
Get/Step out of the comfort zone: Do things that you wouldn’t normally do
Example: If you want something you never had, I should step out of your comfort zone
and work flat out to fulfil your dream.
Think out of the box: Think differently, unconventionally or from a new perspective
Work flat out: work very hard
Runner-up: A team/player/competitor finishing in second place
Deliriously happy [collocation] very happy
Extraordinarily excited [collocation] very excited
Empowerment: the giving of an ability, enablement or permission
Example: The government believes strongly in the empowerment of women.
Buckle down: to begin to work seriously at something. Example:
If you don't buckle down to your job, you'll be fired.
Brainstorm: a good idea; an idea that enters one’s head suddenly.

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Example: I had a sudden brainstorm and got out of bed to write it down.
Go the extra miles: to do more than one is required to do to reach a goal
Example: My teacher goes the extra mile to help us.
Take pride in: to feel pleased about someone or what they have done
Example: They take pride in their son's many accomplishments. He takes pride in the fac
that he's never asked his parents for any money.
At the end of the day: in the end
Example: We interviewed many people or the job, but at the end of the day, we don’t thin
any of them could handle it.
2. Describe a time when you are very busy
When it was
What you had to do during that time
How you managed it
And explain how you felt about being busy
BAND 8.0 SAMPLE ANSWER:
One such busy time I really remember was the time when I had the deadline to submit
my thesis paper which is the ultimate assignment to gain a Master Degree in Internation
Relations.

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This thesis paper is of great importance to me because it will decide whether I can get
through the master course with flying color or not. I had just 1 month to complete my
thesis paper but I had a full-time job which accounted for 8 hours per day so I had hardly
few hours left for this graduation paper. I was also a procrastinator who always waits
until the last minute to do anything which made me fall behind my schedule for
my thesis paper submission.
Moreover, the thesis was really complex and challenging, therefore, I had tons of tasks
waiting for me to be carried out such as collecting data for the report in the thesis, doin
group discussions to brainstorm good ideas for the thesis and surfing high and low
to collect information online as references for the thesis. I even didn’t have time left for
my personal stuff. To be more specific, I did not spend time on visiting my parents for the
whole month even though they were in the same town. I couldn’t also visit some close
friends, maintain my social networking profiles and update my blog. I did not feel good
about it so it was particularly stressful to me.
However, I knew that I had to stay motivated and productive to get through this hard
time. I worked flat out and put a lot of time and effort into it to meet worked flat
out and put a lot of time and effort into it to meet tight deadlines and get the best
results for the thesis paper. For the sake of that, I got a straight 'A' in my thesis,
continued my job and did well in my term final. I had to sacrifice a lot and maintain a
strict routine and stop lots of my other activities that I usually do. At the end of the
day, it was well worth the effort and time!
3. Describe a tall building in your hometown you like or dislike
Where this building is
What it looks like

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What it is used for
And explain why you like or dislike
BAND 8.0 SAMPLE ANSWER:
• I’m going to describe a high-rise building in my neighborhood. It’s called Paradi
Green City, located in Canada.
• Unlike other modern blocks, which are usually huge glass towers, the
building is painted yellow, although it’s named Green City. The structure of Green City i
not dissimilar to that of most buildings in Canada nowadays, with the bottom half used
as a shopping center and the top half occupied by apartments.
• One feature that makes the building unique is that its trade center offers Canad
products only, with a view to promoting domestic products to Hanoi people and also to
supporting national manufacturers. At the entrance of the building, if you look to the
right, you can easily find a store named Masterchef bread, which serves traditio
bread to people who just do not have enough time to go inside, so they line up waiting
to pay.
• In spite of its prime location, however, Paradise Green City offers a reasonable price fo
its apartments, which are affordable for many middle-income families. From the
building, we can enjoy the breathtaking scenery. So, if you are planning to find a place
with a beautiful and peaceful view, or simply want to buy something traditional,
Paradise Green City may be a good choice.
• (Dislike) What I don’t like about Paradise Green City, however, is that its design
neither eye-catching nor original. In fact, I personally find that it resembles Times City,
a modern building nearby. Moreover,the paint color doesn’t match its modern
structures, which makes the building somehow old-fashioned. And, the quality, as well

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as diversity of products on sale do not meet the expectations of most customers. So, I
guess it’s the reason why the building doesn’t attract as much attention from the public
as expected.
VOCABULARY
1.high-rise: very tall and having a lot of floors
Example: These high-rise apartment blocks were built 20 years ago.
2.blocks: tall buildings that contain flats or offices
Example: The university science blocks are the tallest buildings on the campus.
3.huge glass towers: high-level buildings with the exterior made of glass
Example: The design of the Lotte Department Store is just a huge glass tower, b
definitely stands out and has become a famous landmark in the city.
4.dissimilar: not the same
Example: The English and Vietnamese languages are completely dissimilar to each other
.
5.feature: A prominent or distinctive part, quality, or characteristic
Example: Large glass facades have been a familiar feature of modern buildings for a long
time.
6.domestic products: goods that are manufactured within a country, by manufacturers of
that country.
Example: Famous by Boo is a clothing brand that offers domestic products.
7.serve: to provide food, entertainment or service
Example: Boo Cafe serves coffee and meals to many customers who call in when they go
to the store to buy clothes.

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8.prime: excellent, the best available
Example: The store has a prime position at the entrance of the shopping centre.
9.offer a reasonable price: sell with a price that is not too high, and affordable Example:
If a business aims to achieve sustainable development, it should manage to offer its
customers a reasonable price.
10. middle-income families: families in which the members have salaries which are not
very high, but also not too low
Example: He sells cars at affordable prices, mainly to middle-income families.
11.breathtaking scenery: very beautiful and spectacular landscape
Example: The beaches in Thailand are famous for their breathtaking scenery.
12.eye-catching : tending to attract attention, good-looking
Example: The signing of this contract was the result of many meetings to build a
eyecatching tower against the skyline of Riyadh.
13.resemble: look like another person or thing
Example: So many modern buildings resemble each other.
14.match : look good together
Example: When choosing clothes, it is common belief that we should not mix pink items
with yellow ones, as these two colours do not match.
15.meet expectations: be as good as expected
Example: We had heard so many good things about the new restaurant, but the
didn’t meet our expectations at all.

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16.attract attention: make people notice something
Example: The advertisement was designed to attract the attention of young people
interested in fashion.
17.the public: the community/ the people as the whole
Example: In a survey, members of the public were asked about their shopping habits.
4. Describe a person/something that made you laugh You
should say:
What made you laugh
Where you were when it happened
Who you were with
And explain why it made you laugh
BAND 8.5 SAMPLE ANSWER:
One of my best friends has a 3-year-old baby girl; so every time we went out,
she would take her with us.
Her little girl is such a witty kid, and she is always full of energy. As she begins to be
aware of the outside world, she asks a lot of questions just to satisfy her curiosity.
It happened one day when we went out shopping. While her mother and I took turns
trying clothes on, she was sitting quietly on the bench. Then she looked at me and her
mother and started to express her opinions on our clothes.

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The way she talked was so funny that we couldn’t stop laughing. She was so used to
playing with her Barbie doll that she suggested we should dress like one of her dolls.
She even taught us how to walk like models because she thought that was pretty.
All the customers who walked in the store noticed her, even the store owner couldn‟t
stop laughing at her since she was still a baby girl, but she talked and acted like a
grown-up
That was probably the best part of the shopping trip that I will never forget.
VOCABULARY
• witty: [adjective] able to say clever and funny things
Example: Everybody laughed during the lesson, because the teacher was so witty.
• satisfy her curiosity: [verb phrase] to have an answer to a strong wish to know
about something
Example: My answer did not satisfy his curiosity, so he asked me for more details
about what had happened.
• trying clothes on: [verb phrase] to put on clothes to see if they fit and if they
look good
Example: Try these clothes on before you buy them to make sure that they
are the correct size.

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models: [noun] people whose job it is to wear and show new styles of clothes
Example: The dream of many young people is to become fashion models and appear
in magazines.
grown-up: [adjective] typical of an adult
Example: The child was used to being treated in a grown-up way by his parents.
5. Describe your favorite movie
When and where you saw it
What type of film it was
What the film was about
And explain why it is your favorite film
Band 8.5 Sample Answer:
As a frequent moviegoer, I watch a lot of films. One of the movies that I enjoyed the
most recently was The Martian.
The movie was based on a novel of the same title by Andy Weir. Just like many other scifi
films, it was about man travelling in space, however, this time, our main character was
stuck on Mars due to a dust storm which nearly killed him. All of the crewmates
thought that he was dead, so they went back to Earth without him. But fortunately he wa

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still alive, thus two and a half hours of the movie told the story of how he fought for his
life in the brutal environment of Mars, until NASA devised a plan to rescue him.
My best friend is a big fan of astronomy, so she had read [2] the novel before. That‟ s
why she insisted on me going to see the movie with her. After watching the trailer and
reading the plot, I was hooked. It was maybe the best two and a half hours of my week
so far.
After watching the movie, I was amazed at how ingenious and strong humans can be
when it comes to a life and death situation. Mark Watney, the hero of the movie, was a
perfect portrayal of a young, humorous, brilliant and skillful engineer cum botanist.
Although the hostile environment of Mars threatened his existence many times, he
relentlessly refused to quit.
Instead, he overcame one problem at a time until he was successfully rescued.
message that I learned from the film is never to give up, however hopeless things seem
to be.
VOCABULARY:
 moviegoer: [noun] a person who goes to the cinema.
 sci-fi: [noun] science fiction; based on imagined scientific discoveries of the
future, such as space travel or life on other planets.
Example: Sci-fi movies have become more popular since space travel has
become possible.
 stuck on Mars: the man was unable to escape from the planet.
Example: we were stuck in traffic and so we arrived late for work.

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 dust storm: [noun] a storm that carries clouds of dust in the wind over a wide
area.
Example: a lot of plants die after a dust storm passes through an area.
 crewmates: [noun] all the people working on a ship or, in this case, a spacecraft.
 fought for his life: [verb phrase] he made a great effort to stay alive.
Example: The man was badly injured in the accident, but he fought for his life
and he recovered later in hospital.
 brutal: [adjective] if an environment is described as brutal this means that it is
very dangerous and it is difficult for a person to survive.
 devised: [verb] NASA invented something new to rescue the man.
Example: a new system has been devised to control traffic in the city.
 astronomy: [noun] the scientific study of the sun, moon, stars and planets.
 trailer: [noun] a series of short scenes from a film or programme, shown in
advance to advertise it.
Example: after watching an exciting trailer, I decided to go to see the film.
 plot: [noun] the events which form the story of a book, play or film.
Example: the book has a plot about a prisoner who escaped.