Part 2 cue cardPeople and relationships

Describe a gift you received that you liked

"When you received it" is the bullet that turns a description into a story: give the occasion and the moment itself. Then "why you liked it so much" needs more than "it was useful"; the best answers explain what the gift said about the giver.

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

Describe a gift you received that you liked.

You should say:

what it was
who gave it to you
when you received it
and explain why you liked it so much

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 it wasgrey running shoes, handwritten note
who gave it to youUncle Minho, Mum's younger brother
when you received itDecember, days after failing the suneung
and explain why you liked it so muchthe note; river runs; retook exam

Sample answers

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

I'd like to talk about a pair of running shoes which my uncle gave me about three years ago. They were grey, nothing special in the design, but they were very good quality, and inside one of the shoes there was a small note.

My uncle Minho is my mother's younger brother. He is a marathon runner as a hobby, and he is the most cheerful person in my family.

I received this gift in December, few days after I got my results of the suneung, which is the big university entrance exam in Korea. My score was very bad, much more lower than I expected, and I didn't go out of my room for almost one week. Then my uncle came to our apartment and give me a box without saying a lot.

I liked it so much because of the note. It said, the race isn't over. When I read it, I cried a little, because everyone else was only talking about my score. After that I started to run along the Han River every morning, and it helped me to clear my mind. I decided to take the exam again, and the next year I entered to a good university. Now the shoes are completely worn out, but I still keep them in my closet, because they remind me that failure is not the end.

The mistakes that keep it at Band 6

He is a marathon runner as a hobby should be He runs marathons as a hobby
few days after should be a few days after
my results of the suneung should be my suneung results
much more lower than should be much lower than
for almost one week should be for almost a week
give me a box should be gave me a box
without saying a lot should be without saying much
I entered to a good university should be I got into a good university

Why this is Band 6, not Band 7

Fluency and coherence: Tells the story in order with simple time links ("Then my uncle came", "After that"), and the note gives the answer a clear centre. It stays at Band 6 because the second bullet is very thin and the ending falls back on a familiar line ("failure is not the end").
Vocabulary: Adequate and personal ("entrance exam", "worn out", "clear my mind"), but some phrasing is unnatural: "a marathon runner as a hobby", "without saying a lot". Emotions are told rather than described. Band 7 needs more precise, less common words.
Grammar: Uses past narrative and relative clauses, but errors appear regularly: "much more lower" doubles the comparative, "give me a box" loses the past tense, and "I entered to a good university" adds a preposition. Errors at this rate, which don't block meaning, are Band 6.

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

235 words · about 1:48 spoken at a Band 7 pace

The gift I'd like to talk about is a pair of running shoes my uncle gave me about three years ago. They were plain grey, nothing flashy, but really well made, and tucked inside one of them was a handwritten note.

My uncle Minho is my mum's younger brother. He's run about a dozen marathons, and he's easily the most upbeat person in our family, the kind of person who turns up and the mood just lifts.

The timing is what made it memorable. It was December, a few days after my suneung results came out, that's the national university entrance exam in Korea. I'd done far worse than I'd expected, and I'd basically shut myself in my room for a week. Then my uncle dropped by one evening, handed me a box and left without making a fuss.

What I loved about it was the note, which just said, "The race isn't over." Everyone else had been tiptoeing around me or talking about my score, and he was the only one who gave me something to do instead. I started running along the Han River every morning, which honestly did more for my head than any advices, and I decided to retake the exam. A year later I got into the university I'd wanted in the first place. The shoes have completely fallen apart now, but I can't bring myself to throw them away.

The slips

than any advices should be than any advice

Why this is Band 7, not Band 8

Fluency and coherence: Speaks at length and builds the story well ("The timing is what made it memorable", "What I loved about it"). Not Band 8 because the second bullet is a short character sketch that doesn't connect to the rest of the answer.
Vocabulary: Some less common, natural items: "nothing flashy", "tiptoeing around me", "without making a fuss", "can't bring myself to throw them away". One slip with an uncountable noun, "any advices". Band 8 would be precise throughout.
Grammar: A good range: past perfect ("I'd done far worse than I'd expected"), past perfect continuous ("had been tiptoeing"), a cleft sentence and relative clauses. Apart from the uncountable slip, sentences are accurate, which is Band 7.

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

275 words · about 1:54 spoken at a Band 8 pace

The present that meant the most to me was a pair of running shoes from my uncle, about three years ago. They were understated, plain grey with no logos to speak of, but beautifully made, and folded into the toe of the left one was a note in his terrible handwriting.

Uncle Minho is my mother's younger brother, a postman by trade and a marathon runner by obsession. He's one of those people who brings the temperature of a room up a few degrees just by walking into it.

The timing is everything here. It was mid-December, a few days after the suneung results came out. For anyone who doesn't know, that's the university entrance exam in Korea, and it more or less decides your future, or at least that's how it feels at eighteen. I'd done dramatically worse than I'd hoped, and I'd retreated to my room and was refusing to discuss it. Then my uncle appeared one evening, put a shoebox on my desk and left without a single word of sympathy, which, in hindsight, was very deliberate.

The reason I treasure it is the note. It said, "The race isn't over." Everyone else was either tiptoeing around me or dissecting my score, whereas he gave me something to do with my body instead of my thoughts. I started running along the Han River at dawn, and somewhere in those cold mornings I decided to resit the exam. A year later I got into the course I'd wanted all along. The shoes have long since disintegrated, but they're still sitting at the back of my wardrobe, and I suspect they always will be.

Why this is Band 8, not Band 9

Fluency and coherence: Effortless and coherent: the answer builds tension around the timing ("The timing is everything here") and resolves it with the note. Short of Band 9 only because the aside for the listener ("For anyone who doesn't know") is a familiar move.
Vocabulary: Wide and idiomatic: "a postman by trade and a marathon runner by obsession", "tiptoeing around me", "dissecting my score", "long since disintegrated". Band 9 would keep this precision even in the factual stretch about the exam.
Grammar: Flexible and accurate: inversion ("folded into the toe of the left one was a note"), past perfect, a contrast with "whereas", and will for prediction ("I suspect they always will be"). No errors; the gap to Band 9 is the occasional safe structure.

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

Rounding-off questions

What makes a gift meaningful?: Mostly the sense that the giver was paying attention. A gift that fits a particular moment in someone's life, or comes with a few honest words, means far more than anything picked off a shelf.
Are expensive gifts always better?: Not at all. Expensive gifts can even feel awkward, because the other person feels they owe you something. The shoes my uncle gave me weren't cheap, but it was the note that mattered.