Part 2 cue cardPeople and relationships

Describe a gift you gave to someone

Two bullets carry this card: "why you chose it" needs your thinking, not just the occasion, and "how the person reacted" needs a moment told in the past, with what they said and did. Answers that stop at "he was very happy" run out of time.

1 minute to prepare
Up to 2 minutes
Samples at Band 6, 7 and 8
Updated 20 October 2026

Describe a gift you gave to someone.

You should say:

what the gift was
who you gave it to
why you chose it
and explain how the person reacted

Rehearse the long turn

1 minute to prepare · 2 minutes to speak

Sit this card with the AI examinerThen the Part 3 discussion, and a full report

A 60-second plan

what the gift wassimple smartphone, big icons, set up
who you gave it toGrandpa, 78, retired headmaster, Ibadan
why you chose itmissed cousin Kunle in Canada
and explain how the person reactedsuspicious, then laughing; calls at dawn

Sample answers

228 words · about 1:59 spoken at a Band 6 pace

The gift I want to talk about is a smartphone I gave my grandfather last year. It wasn't expensive, but I spend a whole evening to set it up for him. I made the letters very big, I put only five apps on the screen and I saved the family numbers with photos, so he could touch a face to call somebody.

My grandfather is seventy-eight and he is living in Ibadan, about two hours from Lagos, where I live. He was a school principal before he retired, so he's very clever, but he never used a smartphone before.

I chose this gift because he missed my cousin Kunle a lot. Kunle moved to Canada for studying three years ago, and the only way they could talk was the landline, which was very expensive and the sound was bad. I thought if he can see Kunle, he will feel more closer to him.

At first his reaction was not very positive, to be honest. He looked at the phone like it was a dangerous thing and he said he don't need it. But I showed him how to make a video call, and when Kunle's face appeared, he started laughing and couldn't stop. Now he calls everybody, sometimes at six in the morning, which is a bit annoying, but I am very happy I gave it to him.

The mistakes that keep it at Band 6

I spend a whole evening should be I spent a whole evening
to set it up for him should be setting it up for him
he is living in Ibadan should be he lives in Ibadan
he never used a smartphone before should be he had never used a smartphone before
for studying should be to study
if he can see Kunle, he will should be if he could see Kunle, he would
more closer should be closer
he said he don't need it should be he said he didn't need it

Why this is Band 6, not Band 7

Fluency and coherence: Speaks at length and tells the reaction as a short story, which is a strength. It stays at Band 6 because links are basic ("At first", "But I showed him", "Now he calls everybody") and the opening crams the setup into one long list rather than pacing it.
Vocabulary: Adequate and clear ("school principal", "landline", "video call"), with a nice touch in "touch a face to call somebody". But feelings stay general ("very happy", "not very positive"), and "a dangerous thing" is vague. Band 7 needs less common words for reactions.
Grammar: Attempts conditionals and reported speech, the structures this card invites, but both slip: "if he can see Kunle, he will feel" ignores the past context, and "he said he don't need it" fails to backshift. Errors in complex forms like these are Band 6.

Pronunciation is the fourth criterion; it is judged from your voice, so a written sample cannot show it.

266 words · about 2:03 spoken at a Band 7 pace

The gift I'd like to talk about is a smartphone I gave my grandfather for his birthday last year. It was only a basic model, but the real gift, I suppose, was the setting up. I spent an entire evening making the text enormous, cutting the home screen down to five apps and saving everyone in the family as a photo, so he could just tap a face to ring them.

My grandfather is seventy-eight and lives in Ibadan, a couple of hours from Lagos, where I'm based. He was a headmaster for most of his career, so he's very sharp, but he'd never owned a smartphone and was quite proud of that.

The reason I chose it was my cousin Kunle, who moved to Canada to study about three years ago. They were always very close, and the only way they could keep in touch was the landline, which cost a fortune and sounded like the line was underwater. I reckoned that if Grandpa could actually see Kunle, the distance would feel a lot smaller.

His first reaction, honestly, was suspicion. He turned it over as if it might bite him and announced that he had managed perfectly well without one for seventy-eight years. But I sat down next to him and set up a video call, and when Kunle's face appeared, he burst out laughing and didn't stop for about a minute. These days he calls the whole family, sometimes at six in the morning, which is less charming, but I've never given a present that was worth so much more than it cost.

The slips

saving everyone in the family as a photo should be saving everyone in the family with a photo

Why this is Band 7, not Band 8

Fluency and coherence: Speaks at length and gives the reaction real shape ("His first reaction, honestly, was suspicion", "But I sat down next to him", "These days"). Not Band 8 because the second bullet is thin beside the others, so the pacing of the answer is a little uneven.
Vocabulary: Some less common, well-used items: "cost a fortune", "very sharp", "burst out laughing", and the image "sounded like the line was underwater". Band 8 would sustain this precision, including in the plainer opening.
Grammar: A good range, including the past perfect ("he'd never owned"), reported speech with backshift ("announced that he had managed") and a hypothetical ("if Grandpa could actually see Kunle"). Mostly accurate; the one slip is a preposition ("as a photo"), which Band 8 would rarely make.

Pronunciation is the fourth criterion; it is judged from your voice, so a written sample cannot show it.

281 words · about 1:56 spoken at a Band 8 pace

The present I'm proudest of giving is a smartphone I got my grandfather for his seventy-eighth birthday. The handset itself was nothing special, a modest budget model; the real gift was the four hours I spent taming it. I blew the text up to a size you could read from across the room, stripped the home screen down to five icons and gave every member of the family a photo icon, so all he had to do was tap a face.

He lives in Ibadan, a couple of hours inland from me in Lagos. He spent most of his working life as a headmaster, and he's still formidably sharp, but he'd held out against smartphones on principle and was rather proud of it.

What made me choose it was my cousin Kunle, who left for Toronto three years ago to study engineering. The two of them had always been inseparable, and since then they'd been reduced to crackly landline calls that cost a small fortune and lasted about four minutes. It struck me that hearing someone and actually seeing them are completely different things, especially when you're seventy-eight.

His reaction went through several stages. First came outright suspicion: he turned the thing over as though it might bite and informed me that he'd managed perfectly well without one for nearly eight decades. Then I sat beside him and placed a video call, and the moment Kunle's face filled the screen, he dissolved into the kind of helpless laughter I hadn't heard from him in years. He's now a complete convert who rings relatives at dawn, which is slightly less endearing, but I don't think I'll ever give anything that good again.

Why this is Band 8, not Band 9

Fluency and coherence: Effortless and coherent, with the reaction told in stages ("First came outright suspicion", "Then I sat beside him") and a wry close. Short of Band 9 only because the frame "went through several stages" announces the structure rather than letting it show.
Vocabulary: Wide and precise: "taming it", "held out against smartphones on principle", "inseparable", "dissolved into the kind of helpless laughter", "a complete convert". Band 9 would sustain this in every stretch.
Grammar: Flexible and accurate: past perfect ("he'd held out against smartphones"), inversion ("First came outright suspicion"), gerund subjects ("hearing someone and actually seeing them"), and reported speech. No errors; the gap to Band 9 is the odd familiar structure.

Pronunciation is the fourth criterion; it is judged from your voice, so a written sample cannot show it.

Rounding-off questions

Is it better to give or to receive gifts?: Giving, for me, at least now that I'm an adult. Receiving is nice for a moment, but watching someone's face when you've got it exactly right is a feeling that lasts much longer.
How do people decide what to give?: A lot of people just pick something safe, like perfume or money in an envelope. The best gifts usually come from listening: noticing what someone complains about or misses, and solving that.