Skip to the tool
formerly ielts.gg
Start

Describe a person who takes care of others

Try the card on the exam timer first, then read the band-8 sample answer and the Part 3 questions that follow it.

Practice it like the exam

Part 2 · Candidate task card

Describe a person who takes care of others.

You should say:

  • who this person is
  • who they take care of
  • what they do for them

and explain how you feel about this person.

Ready

1 minute to prepare, then 2 minutes to speak. It switches on its own.

Recordings stay in this tab and are never uploaded.

Band 8 sample answer

239 words · about 2 minutes at a natural pace · Phrases from the vocabulary list are highlighted.

The person who takes care of others whom I'd like to describe is my mother, Nodira. She's a primary school teacher, but in reality she looks after much more than her pupils. At home, she's the heart of our family.

Firstly, she takes care of my grandmother, who is eighty-two and has problems with her heart and her legs. My mother visits her every day after work, cooks her meals, helps her with her medicine and keeps her company. Secondly, she takes care of me and my younger brother, always making sure we eat well and do our homework. Thirdly, she helps her pupils in many extra ways, such as buying stationery for children whose families struggle, or staying after school to explain lessons to those who find them difficult.

I feel a deep mix of gratitude and concern. I'm extremely proud of her, because her compassion is genuine, and she never complains. On the other hand, I sometimes worry that she doesn't think about herself enough. She often forgets to eat lunch and rarely takes a day off. I have tried to persuade her to rest, and now my brother and I share more of the housework to give her a break.

Watching her has taught me that responsibility and love mostly come down to small daily actions. When I'm an adult, I'd like to be as supportive to my own family as she has been to us.

What to notice

  • It takes the points on the card in order, so the examiner can follow it.
  • Each point gets a specific detail or a short story, which is what keeps a talk going for two minutes.
  • The "explain" line at the end gets the most time, because that is where you give an opinion and show your range of language.

We wrote this answer for practice; it does not come from IELTS. Take its structure and phrases and tell your own story, because examiners notice memorised answers.

Getting ready for IELTS?

Get your study plan

Useful vocabulary

PhraseMeaning
selflessputting others before yourself
caring and compassionatekind and understanding of others' suffering
take someone under one's wingprotect and guide a person
devote one's time tospend a lot of time on
put others firstprioritise others' needs
a pillar of supportsomeone others depend on

Plan it in one minute

Choose what to talk about in the first ten seconds, then write two or three key words for each point. Full sentences take too long to write and to read back.

Who or what you could talk about

  • A parent who cares for children and grandparents
  • A volunteer or social worker
  • A sibling who looks after a younger or ill relative

How to spend the two minutes

  1. 25 swho this person is
  2. 25 swho they take care of
  3. 25 swhat they do for them
  4. 45 sand explain how you feel about this person.

Part 3 questions

In the exam these come straight after your talk, on the wider subject: Caring for others. Answer each in 3–4 sentences, with your view, a reason and an example.

  1. Why do some people choose jobs that involve caring for others?
  2. Should caring jobs be paid more?
  3. Who should look after elderly people: the family or the state?
  4. Do you think men and women are equally good at caring for others?
  5. How can people balance caring for others with looking after themselves?

Frequently asked questions

How should I describe a person in an IELTS cue card?

Pick someone you know well enough to tell a story about: that is easier to stretch to two minutes than a famous name. Say who they are and how you know them in a few sentences, spend most of your time on one or two specific moments, and finish with why they matter to you.

Getting ready for IELTS?

Get your study plan

More free IELTS tools

All free tools

Writing topic generator

Write to Task 1 and Task 2 prompts with a timer and a word counter.

IELTS band score calculator

Average your four skill bands, rounded the way IELTS rounds them.

IELTS score converter

Compare an IELTS band with TOEFL, Duolingo and PTE scores and CEFR levels.

University IELTS requirements

Look up the IELTS score a university asks for, with the source.