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Describe a beautiful house/ home you have been to. v.1

Describe a beautiful house/ home you have been to. v. 1
Describe a beautiful house/ home you have been to. You should say: where it was how it looked like when you visited there and why and explain why you think this was a beautiful house. [You will have to talk about the topic for one to two minutes. You have one minute to think about what you are going to say. You can make some notes to help you if you wish. ]   Model Answer 1: Thank you very much for this great topic. Rather than telling you about a ‘typical’ home I know, I want to share with you the story of possibly the most amazing house I’ve ever been lucky enough to visit. So, the story was, I was travelling in Australia. An elderly relative of mine, now living in the UK, had spent many years working there and was really keen I look up an old friend of hers who lived ‘in the rainforest’ in a quite remote part of Queensland, near a coastal village called Cardwell. After a few months or so, I arrived at her ‘house’. Oh! my. I have never seen anything like it before or since! Imagine a little wooden house, raised up on stilts, with a veranda completely encircling the structure, a rather crude slatted wooden roof and wooden interior walls. Imagine all of this, but with no external walls! It was as if the property had just grown organically from the forest floor. The weather was warm year round in this part of the world, and clearly, my host felt very safe in the forest. Rather than have a barrier between her and the forest, she chose to have no exterior walls, her living space merged with the plants and animals that surrounded her. I think there may have been a low wooden fence at the back of the property, but really this was mainly to stop things falling off her platform, rather than give privacy or security! What did I like! Well, the feeling of being a part of the rainforest was the most amazing part. It was an unobtrusive dwelling, probably we would call it ‘eco-friendly’ in the language of today. She told me that sometimes she’d be having an early breakfast on her porch and see cassowaries wander past. They are incredibly shy and rare so that is a remarkable thing. I loved the quirkiness of the house, the minimalism of her furnishings. You really don’t need very much in the way of material things to have a good life. Also, I suppose there’s a very little point in having lots of possessions when the rainforest might encroach on you at any moment. The house is a physical reminder of a memory that otherwise seems almost too extraordinary to be true! [Lucy Marris (2016):   Careers Adviser (UK), TEFL teacher (Vietnam)] Sample Answer 2: Living in a poor neighbourhood has its disadvantages, but it has some advantages as well. For example, when you visit rich neighbourhood houses, you look at them rather closely and appreciate their elegant and beautiful features just like I did when I visited one of my friend’s houses to attend his birthday party about a few years ago. The magnificent “row house” (a row of attached dwellings share side walls) was conveniently located at one of the beautiful suburbs of my home town which was only about 15-minute drive away from my rather “modest” looking home. As soon as I entered the house, I could see a small but finicky garden, flaunting right at the entrance in order to impress me. After entering the house, I could also see an elegant formal living room, with which is attached a rather stylish and “chic” family dining space. Adjacent to the “munching” area is a healthy kitchen which is really fashionable with enough empty space in it. The house has three graceful and fancy bedrooms with the master bath on one side and the other two bedrooms on the opposite side of the house, with just about perfect proximity to each other. There are translucent curtains, running throughout the entire house, which is painted in a light champagne tint, bringing in the required brightness and airiness in perfect measure. Anyway, the house was really beautiful mainly because it was neither too big nor too small where all of its furniture seemed to have fitted just perfectly. Another distinct but equally elegant feature of the house was that it could receive enough air from virtually all directions. Besides, I also noticed that the entire lighting system of the house was very much in harmony with the paintings of the house interior. Finally, I thought that it was a really beautiful house also because it was surrounded by beautiful nature with some beautiful trees and the chirping of the birds on them which I could enjoy by sitting in one of the balconies of the house anytime. If you prepare for the cue card topic "Describe a beautiful house/ home you have been to", you should be able to answer the following cue card topics as well: 1. Describe a memorable place you have been to. 2. Describe an unusual place you have ever visited. 3. Describe an interesting place you know about or have been to. 4. Describe a place far away from the locality. 5. Describe a memorable trip you have had.
Describe
a
beautiful
house
/ home you have been to. You should say: where it was how it looked like when you visited there and why and
explain
why you
think
this was a
beautiful
house
. [You will
have to
talk about the
topic
for one to two minutes. You have one minute to
think
about what you are going to say. You can
make
some
notes to
help
you if you wish.
]
 
Model Answer 1:

Thank you
very
much for this great
topic
.
Rather
than telling you about a ‘typical’ home I know, I want to share with you the story of
possibly
the most amazing
house
I’ve ever been lucky
enough
to visit.

So
, the story was, I was travelling in Australia. An elderly relative of mine,
now
living
in the UK, had spent
many
years working there and was
really
keen I look up an
old
friend of hers who
lived
‘in the rainforest’ in a quite remote
part
of Queensland, near a coastal village called
Cardwell
.

After a few months or
so
, I arrived at her ‘
house
’. Oh!
my
. I have never
seen
anything like it
before
or since! Imagine a
little
wooden
house
, raised up on stilts, with a veranda completely encircling the structure, a
rather
crude slatted wooden roof and wooden interior
walls
. Imagine all of this,
but
with no external
walls
! It was as if the property had
just
grown
organically
from the forest floor.

The weather was warm year round in this
part
of the world, and
clearly
, my host felt
very
safe in the forest.
Rather
than have a barrier between her and the forest, she chose to have no exterior
walls
, her
living
space merged with the plants and animals that surrounded her. I
think
there may have been a low wooden fence at the back of the property,
but
really
this was
mainly
to
stop
things falling off her platform,
rather
than give privacy or security!

What did I like!
Well
, the feeling of being a
part
of the rainforest was the most amazing
part
. It was an unobtrusive dwelling,
probably
we would call it ‘eco-friendly’ in the language of
today
. She
told
me that
sometimes
she’d be having an early breakfast on her porch and
see
cassowaries wander past. They are
incredibly
shy and rare
so
that is
a remarkable thing. I
loved
the quirkiness of the
house
, the minimalism of her furnishings. You
really
don’t need
very
much in the way of material things to have a
good
life.
Also
, I suppose there’s a
very
little
point in having lots of possessions when the rainforest might encroach on you at any moment. The
house
is a physical reminder of a memory that
otherwise
seems almost too extraordinary to be true! [Lucy
Marris
(2016):
 
Careers Adviser (UK), TEFL teacher (Vietnam)]

Sample Answer
2: Living
in a poor
neighbourhood
has its disadvantages,
but
it has
some
advantages as
well
.
For example
, when you visit rich
neighbourhood
houses
, you look at them
rather
closely
and appreciate their elegant and
beautiful
features
just
like I did when I visited one of my friend’s
houses
to attend his birthday party about a few years ago.

The magnificent “row
house”
(a row of attached dwellings share side
walls)
was
conveniently
located at one of the
beautiful
suburbs of my home town which was
only
about 15-minute drive away from my
rather
“modest” looking home.

As
soon
as I entered the
house
, I could
see
a
small
but
finicky garden, flaunting
right
at the entrance in order to impress me. After entering the
house
, I could
also
see
an elegant formal
living
room, with which
is attached
a
rather
stylish and “chic” family dining space. Adjacent to the “munching” area is a healthy kitchen which is
really
fashionable with
enough
empty space in it. The
house
has three graceful and fancy bedrooms with the master bath on one side and the other two bedrooms on the opposite side of the
house
, with
just
about perfect proximity to each other. There are translucent curtains, running throughout the entire
house
, which
is painted
in a light champagne tint, bringing in the required brightness and airiness in perfect measure.

Anyway
, the
house
was
really
beautiful
mainly
because
it was neither too
big
nor too
small
where all of its furniture seemed to have fitted
just
perfectly
. Another distinct
but
equally
elegant feature of the
house
was that it could receive
enough
air from
virtually
all directions.
Besides
, I
also
noticed that the entire lighting system of the
house
was
very
much in harmony with the paintings of the
house
interior.
Finally
, I
thought
that it was a
really
beautiful
house
also
because
it
was surrounded
by
beautiful
nature with
some
beautiful
trees and the chirping of the birds on them which I could enjoy by sitting in one of the balconies of the
house
anytime.

If you prepare for the cue card
topic
"
Describe
a
beautiful
house
/ home you have been to
"
, you should be able to answer the following cue card
topics
as
well
:

1.
Describe
a memorable
place
you have been to.

2.
Describe
an unusual
place
you have ever visited.

3.
Describe
an interesting
place
you know
about or have been to.

4.
Describe
a
place
far away from the locality.

5.
Describe
a memorable trip you have had.
21Linking words, meeting the goal of 7 or more
69Repeated words, meeting the goal of 3 or fewer
13Mistakes
We should learn languages because language is the only thing worth knowing even poorly.
Kató Lomb

IELTS speaking Describe a beautiful house/ home you have been to. v. 1

Speaking
  American English
17 paragraphs
897 words
5.5
Overall Band Score
Coherence and Cohesion: 5.5
  • Structure your answers in logical paragraphs
  • ?
    One main idea per paragraph
  • ?
    Include an introduction and conclusion
  • ?
    Support main points with an explanation and then an example
  • Use cohesive linking words accurately and appropriately
  • ?
    Vary your linking phrases using synonyms
Lexical Resource: 5.0
  • Try to vary your vocabulary using accurate synonyms
  • Use less common question specific words that accurately convey meaning
  • Check your work for spelling and word formation mistakes
Grammatical Range: 6.5
  • Use a variety of complex and simple sentences
  • Check your writing for errors
Task Achievement: 5.0
  • Answer all parts of the question
  • ?
    Present relevant ideas
  • Fully explain these ideas
  • ?
    Support ideas with relevant, specific examples
Labels Descriptions
  • ?
    Currently is not available
  • Meet the criteria
  • Doesn't meet the criteria
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