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Describe a time when you helped someone

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 time when you helped someone.

You should say:

  • who you helped
  • why they needed help
  • what you did

and explain how you felt about helping them.

Ready

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

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Band 8 sample answer

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

I'd like to talk about a time when I helped an elderly neighbour, Mrs Karimova, who lives on the same floor as me. About a year ago, she slipped on some ice outside our building and hurt her ankle. I happened to be coming back from work at that moment, so I saw it happen.

She was in quite a lot of pain, and she couldn't stand up on her own, so I helped her into the building and called an ambulance. While we were waiting, I stayed with her, kept her warm with my coat and tried to talk about other things, so that she wouldn't panic. At the hospital, the doctors said that her ankle was badly sprained, and she had to stay in bed for about two weeks.

That was when she needed the most help, because she lives alone and her children are abroad. For the next few weeks, I bought groceries for her, collected her medicine and sometimes cooked a simple meal. I also helped her to video call her son and daughter, which she wasn't able to do by herself.

I felt really glad to have been there. Honestly, it didn't take much time, but it meant a lot to her. She kept thanking me and baked me an enormous cake when she was better. I realised that small acts of kindness can make a big difference, and since then, I check on her regularly. It's also given me a stronger sense of belonging in the building.

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.

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Useful vocabulary

PhraseMeaning
lend a handto help
in needlacking something important
go out of my wayto make a special effort
selfless actan action done without thinking of yourself
gratefulfeeling thankful
a sense of fulfilmenta satisfying feeling of doing something worthwhile

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

  • Helping an elderly neighbour with shopping
  • Helping a classmate prepare for an exam
  • Helping a stranger who had lost their way or wallet

How to spend the two minutes

  1. 25 swho you helped
  2. 25 swhy they needed help
  3. 25 swhat you did
  4. 45 sand explain how you felt about helping them.

Part 3 questions

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

  1. Why do some people enjoy helping others?
  2. Should children be taught to help others from an early age?
  3. Do people in cities help strangers less than people in small towns?
  4. Is it better to help someone directly or to donate money to an organisation?
  5. What kinds of help do older people need most?
  6. How can employers encourage employees to help colleagues?

Frequently asked questions

How should I describe an experience in an IELTS cue card?

Tell it as a story in the past: set the scene (when, where, who), what happened, how it ended. Then explain what you felt or learned. Past tenses used accurately are part of what the examiner is listening for.

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