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Describe a person who has influenced you to do better in your life. v.1

Describe a person who has influenced you to do better in your life. v. 1
Describe a person who has influenced you to do better in your life. You should say: who this person is how you know him/her what this person does and explain how this person has influenced you to do better in life. [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. ] Sample Answer 1: We owe a lot to some people around us because it is them, who help us, one way or another, to become the persons we are today. But, we can probably single out our “teachers” among them to be the “most important”. Today, I would like to talk about one such teacher – my English teacher that is – who influenced me significantly to do better in my life. His name was Mr Hang Sen, and he used to teach me English at my college. I came to know about him for the first time when I wanted to enrol for an “English Composition” class, but unfortunately the class was full, and my request for enrolment was denied (because there usually is a high number of college applicants in China but rather limited number of seats) until, of course, I could manage a “special permission from Mr Hang. So, I rushed to him and asked for his permission. However, he wasn’t very happy to see me but allowed me in his class, nonetheless. Anyway, from the very first day in his class, Mr Hang made it absolutely clear that he meant only “business” and that he was going to make English really “easy” for us. In fact, Mr Hang sometimes used to ask each of his students separately if they understood his lecture. He even used to ask us about how many hours of our study schedules were exactly spent in learning English every day in order to make sure that we were indeed serious about learning English. Mr Hang really inspired me to do better in life as he was never really ready to give up on me (I was really “bad” in English), or any other of his students, until I succeeded. In fact, it was because of his relentless efforts that I have learned to express my thoughts in English today. Finally, it was Mr Hang who taught me to never give up on my dreams no matter how many times I failed, and how difficult were the circumstances around me.   Model Answer 2: A father is a hero to his children and the sacrifices he makes to bring smiles to his family are incomparable. My father had always been my inspiration, and he still is. He is my greatest mentor also. The way he influenced and motivated me in different stages in my life to become a good human being, to fight against the odds in life, to attain the success and most importantly to be happy in life are exemplary. I want to be a father to my children the way he had been to me. I know him from the very first day of my life. In fact, I bear the genetic codes he has. The way I was attached to my father in my childhood shaped my psychological development. I still feel a strong bond between us - more like the way I felt as a helpless child. He is a university professor and teaches physics to his students. He is a much-revered master to his pupils. He loves to read books, visit historical places and experience new cuisines. He often goes out for fishing and has a tough-luck while catching fishes! Besides, he likes classic movies and we often watch movies together. 'It's a Wonderful Life', a Hollywood classic is his favourite movie. Umm, to say more about him. . . he hates when people break their commitments and when his students cheat on an exam. People who know him in person say that he is a humble and honest man who has been helpful to others all his life. He had been there when I needed him and he still is my greatest shield. He encouraged me to try over and over again. I always thought that failure is a shame and the end, but he pointed out that our failures are our greatest lessons in life. He taught me to study out of interests, not only to score in the exams. I still learn from him. He has invisibly shaped my character and I am greatly influenced by him to attain excellence. Tips: Cue card topics like "Describe a person who has influenced you to do better in your life" can have many different answers: Who is your role model? Who deserves the most credit for your success? Who had been there to motivate you in your distressing time? Who has shaped your character? and so on. In short, the question is primarily asking you to discuss someone you admire; so think what he/she has done to inspire you to do even better in life. However, realize that unlike a "hero, " an influential person isn't always a positive example. You may have grown and changed as a result of someone whose mistakes or inappropriate behaviour taught you what not to do with your life. Thus someone with a negative attitude could have influenced you to do better in life. Answers to this cue card topic can draw from lots of different options: A family member A teacher A friend A coach A community member A colleague Your interviewer would not judge who you select as an influential person in your life. He would be interested to listen to what you talk about this person, how fluently and coherently you talk about him/her and how accurately you justify your choice. So even if you choose a singer as the most influential person in your life, the examiner would not mind. However, it is generally suggested that you should not pick yourself, or a pet to be an influential person in your life! If you can answer the topic "Describe a person who has influenced you to do better in your life" you should be able to talk about the following topics as well: 1. Describe your favourite personality. 2. Describe someone who has a positive influence on you. 3. Describe someone in your family who you most admire. 4. Describe a person you are most close to. 5. Describe a person who has taught you many things. 6. Describe a person whom you idolise.
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
Describe
a
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
person
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
who
has influenced you to do
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
better
in your
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
life
. You should say:
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
who
this
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
person
is how you
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
know
him/her what this
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
person
does and
This phrase/word (depending on the context) can be potentially replaced with :
explain
how this
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
person
has influenced you to do
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
better
in
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
life
. [You will
This phrase/word is too simple and can be replaced with:
have to
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
talk
about the
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
topic
for one to two minutes. You have one minute to
This phrase/word (depending on the context) can be potentially replaced with :
think
about what you are going to say. You can
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
make
This phrase/word is too simple and can be replaced with:
some
notes to
This phrase/word (depending on the context) can be potentially replaced with :
help
you if you wish.
Loose punctuation mark.
]
Sample
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
Answer
1: We owe a lot to
This phrase/word is too simple and can be replaced with:
some
This phrase/word (depending on the context) can be potentially replaced with :
people
around us
This phrase/word is too simple and can be replaced with:
because
it is them,
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
who
This phrase/word (depending on the context) can be potentially replaced with :
help
us, one way or another, to become the
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
persons
we are
This phrase/word (depending on the context) can be potentially replaced with :
today
.
This phrase/word is too simple and can be replaced with:
But
, we can
probably
single out our
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
“teachers”
among them to be the “most
This phrase/word is too simple and can be replaced with:
important
”.
This phrase/word (depending on the context) can be potentially replaced with :
Today
, I would like to
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
talk
about one such
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
teacher
Consider using an m-dash if you do not want to join two words.
–
my English
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
teacher
that is
Consider using an m-dash if you do not want to join two words.
–
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
who
influenced me
significantly
to do
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
better
in my life.

His name was Mr
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
Hang
Sen, and he
This phrase/word (depending on the context) can be potentially replaced with :
used
to teach me English at my college. I came to
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
know
about him for the
first
time when I wanted to enrol for an “English Composition”
This phrase/word (depending on the context) can be potentially replaced with :
class
,
This phrase/word is too simple and can be replaced with:
but
unfortunately the
This phrase/word (depending on the context) can be potentially replaced with :
class
was full, and my request for
Possible spelling mistake. 'enrolment' is British English.
enrolment
was denied
(
This phrase/word is too simple and can be replaced with:
because
there
usually
is a high number of college applicants in China
This phrase/word is too simple and can be replaced with:
but
rather
limited number of seats) until,
of course
, I could manage a “special permission from Mr
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
Hang
.
So
, I rushed to him and
This phrase/word (depending on the context) can be potentially replaced with :
asked for
his permission.
However
, he wasn’t
This phrase/word is too simple and can be replaced with:
very
happy to
This phrase/word (depending on the context) can be potentially replaced with :
see
me
This phrase/word is too simple and can be replaced with:
but
This phrase/word is too simple and can be replaced with:
allowed
me in his
This phrase/word (depending on the context) can be potentially replaced with :
class
, nonetheless.

Anyway
, from the
This phrase/word is too simple and can be replaced with:
very
first
day in his
This phrase/word (depending on the context) can be potentially replaced with :
class
, Mr
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
Hang
made it
absolutely
This phrase/word (depending on the context) can be potentially replaced with :
clear
that he meant
This phrase/word (depending on the context) can be potentially replaced with :
only
“business” and that he was going to
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
make
English
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
really
“easy” for us. In fact, Mr
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
Hang
This phrase/word (depending on the context) can be potentially replaced with :
sometimes
This phrase/word (depending on the context) can be potentially replaced with :
used
to ask each of his
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
students
separately
if they understood his lecture. He even
This phrase/word (depending on the context) can be potentially replaced with :
used
to ask us about how
This phrase/word is too simple and can be replaced with:
many
hours of our study schedules were exactly spent in learning English every day in order to
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
make
sure that we were
indeed
serious about learning English.

Mr
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
Hang
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
really
inspired me to do
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
better
in
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
life
as he was never
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
really
ready to give up on me (I was
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
really
“
This phrase/word (depending on the context) can be potentially replaced with :
bad
” in English), or any other of his
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
students
, until I succeeded. In fact, it was
This phrase/word is too simple and can be replaced with:
because
of his relentless efforts that I have learned to express my thoughts in English
This phrase/word (depending on the context) can be potentially replaced with :
today
.
Finally
, it was Mr
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
Hang
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
who
taught me to never give up on my dreams no matter how
This phrase/word is too simple and can be replaced with:
many
times I failed, and how difficult were
Consider using "the surrounding circumstances".
the circumstances around me
.
Possible typo: you repeated a whitespace
 
Model
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
Answer
2: A
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
father
is a hero to his children and the sacrifices he
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
makes
to bring smiles to his family are incomparable. My
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
father
had always been my inspiration, and he
still
is. He is my greatest mentor
also
. The way he influenced and motivated me in
This phrase/word is too simple and can be replaced with:
different
stages in my
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
life
to become a
This phrase/word (depending on the context) can be potentially replaced with :
good
human being, to fight against the odds in
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
life
, to attain the success and most
importantly
to be happy in
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
life
are exemplary. I want to be a
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
father
to my children the way he had been to me.

I
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
know
him from the
This phrase/word is too simple and can be replaced with:
very
first
day of my
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
life
. In fact, I bear the genetic codes he has. The way I
was attached
to my
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
father
in my childhood shaped my psychological development. I
still
feel a strong bond between us
Consider using an m-dash if you do not want to join two words.
-
more like the way I felt as a helpless child.

He is a university professor and teaches physics to his
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
students
. He is a much-revered master to his pupils.
Three successive sentences begin with the same word. Consider rewording the sentence or use a thesaurus to find a synonym.
He
This phrase/word (depending on the context) can be potentially replaced with :
loves
to read books, visit historical places and experience new cuisines.
Three successive sentences begin with the same word. Consider rewording the sentence or use a thesaurus to find a synonym.
He
This phrase/word is too simple and can be replaced with:
often
goes out for fishing and has a tough-luck while catching fishes!
Besides
, he likes classic
Use a comma before 'and' if it connects two independent clauses (unless they are closely connected and short).
movies and
we
This phrase/word is too simple and can be replaced with:
often
This phrase/word (depending on the context) can be potentially replaced with :
watch
movies together. 'It's a Wonderful Life', a Hollywood classic is his
Possible spelling mistake. 'favourite' is British English.
favourite
movie.
Possible spelling mistake found.
Umm
, to say more about him.
Don't put a space before the full stop
.
Don't put a space before the full stop
.
This sentence does not start with an uppercase letter
he
hates when
This phrase/word (depending on the context) can be potentially replaced with :
people
break their commitments and when his
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
students
cheat on an exam.
This phrase/word (depending on the context) can be potentially replaced with :
People
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
who
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
know
him in
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
person
say that he is a humble and honest
This phrase/word (depending on the context) can be potentially replaced with :
man
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
who
has been helpful to others all his life.

He had been there when I needed
Use a comma before 'and' if it connects two independent clauses (unless they are closely connected and short).
him and
he
still
is my greatest shield. He encouraged me to try over and over again. I always
This phrase/word (depending on the context) can be potentially replaced with :
thought
that failure is a shame and the
This phrase/word (depending on the context) can be potentially replaced with :
end
,
This phrase/word is too simple and can be replaced with:
but
he pointed out that our failures are our greatest lessons in
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
life
. He taught me to study out of interests, not
This phrase/word (depending on the context) can be potentially replaced with :
only
to score in the exams. I
still
learn from him. He has
invisibly
shaped my
Use a comma before 'and' if it connects two independent clauses (unless they are closely connected and short).
character and
I am
greatly
influenced by him to attain excellence.

Tips: Cue card
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
topics
like
Use a smart opening quote here: "“".
"
This phrase/word (depending on the context) can be potentially replaced with :
Describe
a
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
person
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
who
has influenced you to do
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
better
in your life
Use a smart closing quote here: "”".
"
can have
This phrase/word is too simple and can be replaced with:
many
This phrase/word is too simple and can be replaced with:
different
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
answers
:
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
Who
is your role model?
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
Who
deserves the most credit for your success?
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
Who
had been there to motivate you in your distressing time?
Three successive sentences begin with the same word. Consider rewording the sentence or use a thesaurus to find a synonym.
Who
has shaped your character?
This sentence does not start with an uppercase letter
and
so
on. In short, the question is
primarily
asking you to discuss
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
someone
you admire;
so
This phrase/word (depending on the context) can be potentially replaced with :
think
what he/she has done to inspire you to do even
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
better
in life.

However
, realize that unlike a
Use a smart opening quote here: "“".
"
hero,
Don't put a space on both sides of a quote symbol
"
an
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
influential
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
person
isn't always a
This phrase/word is too simple and can be replaced with:
positive
example. You may have grown and
This phrase/word (depending on the context) can be potentially replaced with :
changed
as a result
of
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
someone
whose mistakes or inappropriate
Possible spelling mistake. 'behaviour' is British English.
behaviour
taught you what not to do with your
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
life
.
Did you forget a comma after a conjunctive/linking adverb?
Thus
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
someone
with a
This phrase/word is too simple and can be replaced with:
negative
attitude could have influenced you to do
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
better
in life.

Answers to this cue card
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
topic
can draw from lots of
This phrase/word is too simple and can be replaced with:
different
options: A family member A
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
teacher
A friend A coach A community member A colleague Your interviewer would not judge
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
who
you select as an
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
influential
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
person
in your
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
life
. He would
be interested
to listen to what you
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
talk
about this
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
person
, how
fluently
and
coherently
you
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
talk
about him/her and how
accurately
you justify your choice.
So
even if you choose a singer as the most
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
influential
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
person
in your
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
life
, the examiner would not mind.
However
, it is
generally
suggested that you should not pick yourself, or a pet to be an
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
influential
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
person
in your life!

If you can
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
answer
the
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
topic
Use a smart opening quote here: "“".
"
This phrase/word (depending on the context) can be potentially replaced with :
Describe
a
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
person
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
who
has influenced you to do
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
better
in your life
Use a smart closing quote here: "”".
"
you should be able to
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
talk
about the following
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
topics
as
well
:

1.
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
Describe
your
Possible spelling mistake. 'favourite' is British English.
favourite
personality.

2.
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
Describe
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
someone
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
who
has a
This phrase/word is too simple and can be replaced with:
positive
influence on you.

3.
Three successive sentences begin with the same word. Consider rewording the sentence or use a thesaurus to find a synonym.
Describe
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
someone
in your family
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
who
you most admire.

4.
Three successive sentences begin with the same word. Consider rewording the sentence or use a thesaurus to find a synonym.
Describe
a
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
person
you are most close to.

5.
Three successive sentences begin with the same word. Consider rewording the sentence or use a thesaurus to find a synonym.
Describe
a
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
person
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
who
has taught you
This phrase/word is too simple and can be replaced with:
many
things.

6.
Three successive sentences begin with the same word. Consider rewording the sentence or use a thesaurus to find a synonym.
Describe
a
You use this word too often, consider replacing it with
person
whom you
Possible spelling mistake. 'idolise' is British English.
idolise
.
22Linking words, meeting the goal of 7 or more
116Repeated words, meeting the goal of 3 or fewer
34Mistakes
Language is not a genetic gift, it is a social gift. Learning a new language is becoming a member of the club – the community of speakers of that language.
Frank Smith

IELTS speaking Describe a person who has influenced you to do better in your life. v. 1

Speaking
  American English
17 paragraphs
1107 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: 5.5
  • 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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