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IELTS Speaking Part 2 – A Person Who Loves to Grow Plants

This is a very recent IELTS speaking part 2 question. Many of my students have tried talking about a person who loves to grow plants and found it very difficult.

This post will show you a band 9 model answer with some higher-level vocabulary to give you some ideas of how you could answer this. I use the PPF method in my answer, which is explained in the link. This way of planning your IELTS speaking part 2 answer can really help you to make a great answer when talking about a thing (noun) or a person.

I think this question is challenging because it asks about a topic that my students may be unfamiliar with, but remember it asks about the person as well not just the topic.

The question:

Describe a person you know who loves to grow plants (e.g., vegetables, fruits, flowers, etc.)

You should say:

  • who this person is
  • what he/she grows
  • where he/she grows them
  • and explain why he/she enjoys growing plants.

The following is my answer, I will explain the vocabulary at the end. I have answered using the PPF method:

I’ve decided to talk about my mum. She is an avid gardener and is incredibly keen on gardening and cultivating all kinds of plants. Although her garden is relatively small, it has a huge assortment of gorgeous flowers, herbs and vegetables. She seems to be very gifted at looking after plants and you could even say that she has green fingers. Her garden is a beautiful little sanctuary with sunny places and shady spots that are perfect for an English summer’s day.

She has always been fairly into gardening but I think her passion really took off when she retired 8 years ago. I guess she had more time on her hands after she became a pensioner. 

I really hope that she is able to garden for many years to come and will enjoy the fruits of her labours in the future.

Grammar

I’ve decided to talk about (present perfect)

Vocabulary

Avid (adj) – Having a keen interest

Keen on (pv) – Likes a lot

Cultivating (v) – Growing a plant

Assortment (n) – Collection of many things

Gifted (adj) – Good at doing something

Look after (pv) – Care fore

Green fingers (idiom) – Great at gardening

Took off (idiom) – Started

Pensioner (n) – Someone who gets paid a pension

Fruits of (her) labours (idiom) – Outcome of hard work

That is my model answer which I used the PPF method to plan along with some higher-level vocabulary. I have a question for you about my answer.

Which idiom about time do I use and what does it mean? Can you tell me in the comments below?

If you would like to learn more and get help preparing for your IELTS test then follow this link to the Simple IELTS Solution Academy.

Thanks for reading and good luck with your IELTS test.

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IELTS Speaking IELTS Speaking Part 3 Model Answer Uncategorized

What are the differences between famous people today and those in the past?  

What are the differences between famous people today and those in the past?  

Compare & Contrast Question

This is what we call a compare and contrast question’. This is one of the most difficult types of questions to answer in IELTS speaking part 3. It invites you to talk about 2 different things. It could be the past and present, different people or different areas.

How can you answer these questions?

Answering is actually very simple but many students get confused and end up talking themselves in circles. To avoid this follow my advice.

  1. Organize Your Answer

2. Talk about one thing then the other

It is as simple as that. By keeping the 2 things separate, you can easily think and talk about each thing at a time.

This is my answer to the above question:

Back in the day, celebrities were famous for their business exploits, like Henry Ford, or for their talent. For instance, Elvis was a well-know singer or Audrey Hepburn, a famous actress.

These days the same is true to some extent but many people are simply famous for being famous. Take the Kardasians for instance, their incredible popularity isn’t based on any particular talent but rather having a rich father and an ultra-glamorous lifestyle. 

This is the video that I have made answering questions on the topic of famous people.

Linking phrase/Discours marker 

Back in the day (phrase) – Introduce something in the past

Take the….for instance (phrase) – Way to introduce something

Vocabulary

Business exploits (collocation) – Business achievements 

Talent (n) – Something someone is good at

Incredible (adj) – Amazing (very good)

Popularity (n) – Being liked and admired by many people

Ultra-glamorous (adj) – Very appealing and luxury 

Now it is your turn to answer a question. Answer the following question using the technique above

What are the differences between the homes people live in nowadays and to where they lived in the past?