Describe a Person Who Inspired You: Cue Card + Band-9 Answer
A complete Band-9 answer to the 'person who inspired you' cue card, with a 1-minute prep plan, examiner-approved structure, and vocabulary that lifts Lexical Resource.
Part 2 is simple when you have a structure. Use this card, steal the framework, then make it yours.
The card
Describe a person who has inspired you.
You should say:
- who this person is
- how you know them
- what qualities they have
…and explain how they have inspired you.
Plan it in 60 seconds
Spend 20 seconds picking the person — a teacher, coach, grandparent, or public figure all work. Spend the next 40 seconds noting one story that proves their quality. One concrete story beats three vague adjectives. Examiners reward developed ideas, not lists.
Structure your notes as past → present → feeling: who they are, what they did, how it changed you. That maps exactly onto Fluency and Coherence.
A Band-9 model answer
"The person who has inspired me most is my high school physics teacher, Mrs. Rao. I met her when I was fourteen and struggling badly with science — I had almost convinced myself I simply was not a technical person.
What set her apart was patience combined with unusually high expectations. She stayed back after class twice a week to re-teach concepts I had missed, but she never lowered the bar. Instead, she would say, 'You are capable of this; you just have not understood it yet.' That distinction between my ability and my current understanding changed everything for me.
The moment that stayed with me came before our final exams. I scored poorly on a mock test and wanted to drop physics entirely. She spent an hour walking me through every mistake, then told me about her own failures at university. Seeing someone I admired admit weakness made hard work feel normal rather than shameful.
Her influence goes far beyond physics. Whenever I face something difficult now — including this IELTS exam — I hear her voice reminding me that struggling is part of learning, not evidence of failure. That mindset is probably the single most valuable thing anyone has taught me."
Language worth borrowing
- set someone apart — made them different from others
- unusually high expectations — demanding a lot (positive)
- lower the bar — reduce standards
- distinction between A and B — clear difference
- stayed with me — remained in memory
- shameful — embarrassing in a moral sense
Quick answers
How long should I speak for this cue card?
Aim for 1.5 to 2 minutes. The examiner will stop you at 2 minutes, so finishing your final point around 1:50 is ideal.
Can I invent details about the person?
Yes. Examiners assess your English, not factual accuracy. A partly imagined story told fluently beats a true story told hesitantly.
What score does the sample answer target?
Band 8 to 9. It uses varied tenses, natural discourse markers, and precise vocabulary across all four marking criteria.
Practice this card out loud, then try more speaking cue cards to build flexibility across topics.