IELTS Cue Card Sample 1 - Describe someone in your family

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IELTS Cue Card Sample 1 - Describe someone in your family
IELTS Speaking Part 2: Cue Card/ Candidate Task Card.
Describe someone in your family who you really admire.
You should say:
what relation this person is to you
what are your first memories of this person
how often you see this person
and explain why you really admire this person.
[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.]
Part 3: Follow-up Questions:
What are the values of family in your country?
How family bonding is necessary for happiness in life?
What type of family do you like? Nuclear family or joint family?
How family value and bonding have changed over the last decade?

Model Answer 1:
I've got a small family with only five members and all of us are very close to each other and we love
each other very much. Among them, I love my mother more than anyone else in the whole world. I


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adore my mother for her caring, loving, adorable behaviours and wit. She is the person I can share
everything with and that's the reason I worship her so much.
Possibly she was the first human I saw when I opened my eyes in this world. A relationship with a
mother is divine and all of my childhood memories are either related to my mom or my school. I can
still remember a day I was late to come back home after school and that's because there was a ceremony
at the school I did not know about. All of a certain I found that my mother was entering through the
school gate to find me. I was so frightened that my mother would rebuke me for being late unnoticed

and she must be mad at me. But to my best surprise, when my mother saw me she had a warm smile
on her face that I'll never forget till my last breath on this earth. Then she hugged me and gave me a
kiss. I felt then that I love my mother more than me. She attended the program at the school and
afterwards we came back home together.
I spent my 19 years or so with my father and mother but I stay at a metropolitan city now for my
education. Whenever I get a vacation, I meet my mother at my village home. On an average, I spend
2/3 months with my mother each year but I talk to her over the phone almost twice a day.
The reasons why I admire her are endless. She is caring, tender, she has got a big heart and she
possesses a great love for everyone. She had been an ideal mother to raise 3 kids and making sure our
education and moral values. She had made a lot of sacrifices all of her life and had never complained
about anything to my best knowledge. She is the person who reminds me the power of love and caring.
Sample Answer 2:
A person I admire is my “Mother” because she is a fighter. You may ask why? To start, my mom got
pregnant with me at the age of 18 and she did not have the support of my grandparents. Her own
parents wanted to kick her out the house when they found out. She convinced them to let her stay, but
she could not ask them for any help when raising the baby. Knowing all this my mom still decided to
have the baby.
Besides not having the support of her parents, she also did not receive any help from my father.
Although my father cared about me, he never gave my mom money or clothes to help her maintain me
as a baby. She had to provide for me on her own. Going to school and working was killing her, but she
wanted me to have a good life so she did anything that she could. My mom got pregnant again two


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years later, with the same man. The only thing was this time - it was worse. He left her life completely
and her dad was sick. Therefore, he could no longer work. Now, not only did she have to provide for
her two babies, but also for her parents. She was overwhelmed with everything happening; she didn't
know what to do.
Finally, she decided to attend college and become a teacher for she can support the family she was now
in charge of. It was not an easy thing to do. After she finished college it took her a while to find a job. It

is not easy to find a job in Nicaragua. However, my mom never quit, no matter how hard things got for
her she fought through it. To provide for her kids and parents.
[Written by – Rafael]
Alternative Answer 3:
I have got 6 family members and all of them are very dear and close to me. If I need to pick one family
member among them to talk about, that would be my father. My father’s name is (say your father’s
name) and he is around 50 years old. He is the kind of person I would want my offspring to be. He did
his graduation in a time when formal education was not people’s first choice. They would rather start
earning from work rather than going to school. My father fought to ensure his education with the
people who thought working or doing some sort of business has more value than education. But my
father believed that education is the most important part of a man’s life. He heartily held the idea that
education shapes a man’s life and is the kind of power and asset that would always accompany him.
I have lots of memories of my father and I see him every day. There exists a strong bonding between us
that only two of us feel. I still remember those days of my childhood when I used to wait in the evening
for my father to return from office. He would then play with me and help on completing my lessons. I
vividly remember him sometimes taking me to the market and buy me gifts. When I was an infant he
moved to the city from the village to ensure me better schooling and environment. That was a decision
that has changed my life path. He himself helped me finishing my home works and lessons, always
allured me of gifts if I could complete my study. Besides my education, he taught me lots of moral
values and important things of life.


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He used to work in a Government organisation and for his hard-working and kindness; he is revered by
all of our relatives, his friends and neighbours.
He believes in humanity, good behaviour, our creator, and leads a life that can be exemplary. He still
does most of his own works and helps my mom on her household works. After retirement, he has
picked 2 new habits: gardening and teaching neighbours’ kids. He is a quiet and intelligent man who
has benevolent heart and that what make him so admirable to me. He is still the pillar of our family and
all of our family members love and respect him very much.

Tips for answering this Cue Card Sample:
You already know a lot about your family members and this cue card should be an easy one to answer.
Just focus on the questions mentioned bellow the Cue card topic. Following questions may come for
this cue card and note the quick answers of these questions:
1. Who is he/she? : My mother / My father/ My brother/ My sister etc.
2. Your relationship to this family member: She is my mother/ he is my father etc.
3. What you do together: We walk out together/ cook together/ study together/ talk a lot about family
issues etc.
4. What is s/he like- He/ She is kind, talented, energetic, works a lot, dedicated, caring, possess a great
personality, open minded etc.
5. How long do you know him /her: From my childhood/ all of my life/ for more than 20 years etc.
6. How often do you see him/her: Everyday/ once in a month/ most of the time I stay at home/ in every
three months etc.
7. Why do you like him/ her or why do you admire him/ her?: S/he loves me a lot, very close to me,
very caring, have a good heart, talented, helpful, my best mentor etc.
8. Since grandfather, grandmother, uncle, aunt, etc could be the part of a joint family, you can describe
any of them if you have a joint family.


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While talking about what is s/he like or what qualities he /she has or even why do you like/
admire him/her you can use some of the following points:
For father: He is honest, brave, had a good heart, talented, leads an ideal life. has sacrificed a
lot to up-bring us, is an exemplary person, everybody respects him, is the best person I have ever seen,
Loves me very much, hardworking, punctual, talented etc.
For mother: She is so caring, loving, hardworking and possesses a good heart, had done a lot to
up-bring us, very close to me, very understanding, one of my best friends, knows a lot of things and
has so many practical skills etc.
For brother: He is so brave, talented, well mannered, knows a lot about different things, has
always supported you no matter what, he is loved and liked by others, cooperative and have lots of

memories together, like a mentor to me, is my best buddy, taught me almost everything he knows,
always protects me etc.
For sister: She is caring, a good friend, loving, a good mentor, helps you on study or on other
tasks, supportive, a very good friend, talented and well-mannered.
Necessary vocabulary for this cue card:
Relatives = Your family members are also your relatives.
Nuclear family = A nuclear family, also called an elementary family, is a type of family group
consisting of a pair of adults and their children.
Extended family= An extended family extends beyond the nuclear family, including grandparents,
aunts, uncles, and other relatives.
Sibling = Siblings are your brothers and sisters.
Relationship Synonyms = Tie, link, attachment.
Admire Synonyms: Adore, idolise, respect, revere, honour, hold in high regard, think highly of,
esteem.
Memory Synonyms: Remembrance, thought, reminiscence, recollection, musing.
Phrase with meaning:


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Bring up = Raise a child.
Look after = Take care of.
Rely on = Depend on:
Be close to = Having a strong bonding.
Get along with -= Being close and friendly.
Admire = To respect and like someone.
If you prepare for this cue card you should be able to answer the following cue cards as well with
very little changes:
1. Talk about someone who cares you a lot.
2. Describe a person who you like very much.
3. Describe the person whom you admire most.

4. Talk about a person you know for a long.
5. Talk about a senior person whom you like a lot.
6. Talk about a person who has a great influence in your life.
Part 3 - Details Discussion:
Q. What are the values of family in your country?
Answer: That's a really important question. First of all, I believe that family values don't differ from
country to country and allow me to say that they should be the same throughout the world. As far as
I’m concerned, the most important values of a family are the so-called moral values, which enable
people to draw plausible distinctions between right and wrong, good and bad, true and false. The
lessons learned from the family are invaluable throughout our life.
Furthermore, the family values are vital in making decisions and can be obtained by personal and life
experiences with close relationships with family members. To be more specific, some examples could
be: being honest and trustworthy, courageous and patient, taking up responsibilities as well as adding
values to the world are the norms of our family and society. A family is so important and we stand for
our family members no matter what. Thus the family comes first is the morality everyone in our
country believes. We also consider a family as the unit of a society or a country and bonding,
relationship, trustworthiness, helpfulness are lessons that come with the close family ties.


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Q. How family bonding is necessary for happiness in life?
Answer: Our parents are the reason for our existence and with them, we get a family. Parents are the
persons we see and rely on when we open our eyes for the first time. Moreover, parents are the primary
educator and they teach their children how to develop confidence, socialisation skills, morals, values
and views in life. Since they are the base of our family, closeness in a family leads people to have an
intrinsically fulfilling and flourishing life.
This can be justified by the fact that kids who enjoy strong family bonding tend to be happier and
mentally healthier that those who are in a dysfunctional family environment.
Q. What type of family do you like? Nuclear family or joint family?
Answer: That’s really an interesting question! My personal opinion is that a nuclear family is much

more preferable to me compared to a joint family. The reason for my preference is possibly because I
grew up in a nuclear family and it was a pleasant memory for me. Besides, in a nuclear family there
are the couple and their children and in this situation anything is manageable and family members have
a stronger relationship. Fighting and quarrel are rare in nuclear families.
On the other hand, the second type of family is extended family or joint family and includes
grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins and so on. I prefer a quiet environment than a noisy one. In a joint
family, this is unlikely to happen and people always do not have privacy. Therefore, I strongly believe
that a family only with mum, dad and siblings works better for me.
Q. How family value and bonding have changed over the last decade?
Answer: Unfortunately, the sacred notion of a family has lost its meaning to a certain extent in the last
ten years. People don’t invest in feelings anymore and don’t retreat as well. Nowadays quarrels
between couples are a frequent occurrence and because women are financially independent, they don’t
step back like they did many years ago. Moreover, a principal cause that has led to this situation is the
internet. When family members have some spare time they prefer to consume it by going online instead
of having some family conversations. I would jump to the conclusion that people who decide to create a
family should let go off their ego and in difficult times they should also think that their children want
their parents to be happy and together.