Part 2 cue cardSkills and success

Describe someone who inspired you to do something

"How they did it" is the bullet most answers skip. Inspiration rarely comes from a speech, so show the method: an example set, an invitation, one moment. Then make the effect concrete, with present perfect for what you've kept doing.

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

Describe someone who inspired you to do something.

You should say:

who the person is
what they inspired you to do
how they did it
and explain how it affected you

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

who the person isAyesha, economics classmate, Lahore
what they inspired you to doSaturday maths for domestic workers' children
how they did itno lecture: one worksheet, cover one class
and explain how it affected youtwo years in, patient, recruited two friends

Sample answers

223 words · about 1:56 spoken at a Band 6 pace

I'm going to talk about Ayesha, she is my classmate at university in Lahore. We study economics together, and she's one of the most organised person I know.

She inspired me to start volunteering. Every Saturday she is teaching children of domestic workers in a small community centre near Model Town, because most of these kids can't afford good schools. Now I also teach maths there since two years.

The interesting thing is how she did it, because she never told me 'you should help'. One day I invited her to a cricket match and she said she can't come because of her class. Then she showed me a worksheet of a ten-year-old girl, and the girl's handwriting was so beautiful but the sums were all wrong. After few weeks Ayesha got sick and she asked me to take her class only one time. I was very nervous, but the children were so excited and they asked me to come back.

It affected me in a lot of ways. I became more patience, because some kids need the same explanation five times. I also realised how lucky I am. Before, I used to complain about small things like slow internet, but now I'm more grateful. And I have brought two of my friends to the centre, so maybe I'm inspiring other people now.

The mistakes that keep it at Band 6

one of the most organised person should be one of the most organised people
Every Saturday she is teaching should be Every Saturday she teaches
I also teach maths there since two years should be I've also been teaching maths there for two years
she said she can't come should be she said she couldn't come
a worksheet of a ten-year-old girl should be a ten-year-old girl's worksheet
After few weeks should be After a few weeks
take her class only one time should be take her class just once
I became more patience should be I became more patient

Why this is Band 6, not Band 7

Fluency and coherence: Speaks at length and follows the bullets, even flagging the key one ("The interesting thing is how she did it"). It stays at Band 6 because the effects at the end come as a list joined by "also" and "And", so the last bullet is covered rather than developed.
Vocabulary: Has the words for the story ("volunteering", "domestic workers", "worksheet", "grateful"), but some are misused: "more patience" uses the noun for the adjective, and "take her class only one time" is an awkward way to say once. Band 7 would choose more precise, less common items.
Grammar: Mixes simple and complex sentences, including reported speech, but the complex structures carry errors: "she said she can't come" does not backshift, "I also teach maths there since two years" needs a perfect form with for, and "After few weeks" drops the article.

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

253 words · about 1:57 spoken at a Band 7 pace

Someone who genuinely inspired me is Ayesha, a classmate from my economics course in Lahore. She's the kind of person who has a colour-coded diary and actually sticks to it.

What she inspired me to do was volunteer. For the past two years I've been teaching maths every Saturday morning at a little community centre near Model Town, where the children of domestic workers come for a free lessons, because most of them are at schools with sixty kids in a class.

The way she did it was really subtle. She never gave me a lecture about giving back; in fact, I only found out about the classes because she kept turning down invitations to watch cricket on Saturdays. When I finally asked, she showed me a worksheet from a ten-year-old girl whose handwriting was immaculate but whose sums were nearly all wrong, and she said, 'She isn't bad at maths; nobody's ever explained it to her.' A few weeks later Ayesha came down with flu and asked me to cover just one session. I was terrified, but by the end the kids were begging me to come back.

It's affected me more than I expected. I've become far more patient, since some concepts take five or six attempts to land. It's also made me much more aware of how fortunate I've been, so I've stopped moaning about trivial things like a slow internet connection. And, oddly, I've ended up doing what she did to me: I've talked two friends into joining us.

The slips

for a free lessons should be for free lessons

Why this is Band 7, not Band 8

Fluency and coherence: Speaks at length without effort and signposts the bullets flexibly ("What she inspired me to do", "The way she did it", "It's affected me"). Not Band 8 because the frame is still visible: each paragraph begins by naming its bullet, so the story feels assembled rather than told.
Vocabulary: Some less common and idiomatic items, well chosen: "giving back", "turning down invitations", "came down with flu", "take five or six attempts to land". Band 8 would sustain that precision; "really subtle" and "trivial things" are adequate rather than exact.
Grammar: A range of complex structures with frequent error-free sentences: paired relative clauses ("whose handwriting was immaculate but whose sums were"), present perfect continuous, reported speech. One slip, "for a free lessons", which puts a singular article before a plural.

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

270 words · about 1:52 spoken at a Band 8 pace

I'd say Ayesha, who I met on my economics course in Lahore. She's frighteningly organised, the sort of person who plans her week in colour-coded blocks, but what struck me about her took a while to surface.

She's the reason I volunteer. For two years now I've spent every Saturday morning teaching maths at a small community centre near Model Town, which runs free classes for the children of domestic workers, most of whom are crammed into government schools with sixty pupils to a room.

What's interesting is how she went about it, because she never once tried to persuade me. I only discovered the classes because she kept declining invitations to Saturday cricket, and when I pressed her, she pulled out a worksheet belonging to a ten-year-old called Sana: flawless handwriting, almost every answer wrong. Ayesha's comment was simply, 'She's not slow. She's just never had anyone sit with her.' That stayed with me. Then, a few weeks later, she was laid up with flu and asked if I'd stand in for one morning. I went in dreading it and came out completely hooked.

The effect on me has been out of all proportion to that one favour. I've become noticeably more patient, because a concept sometimes needs explaining six different ways before it clicks. I've also had to confront how sheltered my own upbringing was, which has taken the edge off a lot of my petty complaints. And without quite meaning to, I've started doing exactly what she did: two of my friends now teach there as well, and I never had to give them a speech either.

Why this is Band 8, not Band 9

Fluency and coherence: Effortless and coherent: the story builds to a turning point ("I went in dreading it and came out completely hooked"), and the ending mirrors the way she inspired him. Band 9 would vary its transitions slightly more than "What's interesting is" and "Then".
Vocabulary: Precise and idiomatic: "laid up with flu", "stand in for one morning", "out of all proportion", "taken the edge off". The step to Band 9 is consistency, since a few phrases such as "frighteningly organised" are lively but familiar.
Grammar: Wide-ranging and accurate: "most of whom are crammed", a gerund with passive meaning ("needs explaining six different ways"), present perfect for a continuing effect, a participle phrase ("belonging to a ten-year-old"). No errors.

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

Rounding-off questions

Do you think you could inspire someone in the same way?: I'd like to think so, and in a small way I already have, with the two friends who joined. I suspect it works best when you don't try too hard and simply let people see what you do.
Is it important to have people who inspire us?: Yes, I think so. Most of us know what we ought to do, but seeing someone ordinary actually doing it makes it feel possible. Without Ayesha, I'd still be watching cricket every Saturday.