IELTS Part 2 Question Types – Describing People

Just like the others parts of the exam, Part 2 of the IELTS Speaking Test features consistent question types. This means you can improve your preparation by familiarising yourself with the IELTS Part 2 question types:

Telling linear stories – Experiences, Holidays, Trips and more
- Click here to learn more about this question type

Describing places – Cities, Parks, Countries, Buildings and more
- Click here to learn more about this question type
Describing future plans and wishes – Jobs, Goals, Ambitions and more
- Click here to learn more about this question type
Describing Objects – Phones, Furniture, Cameras and more
- Click here to learn more about this question type

In this post, we’re going to look at how to Describe People in the IELTS Speaking Test Part 2.

Why do I need to know this?

Many IELTS Part 2 questions ask you to describe people, such as celebrities, friends, family members, historical figures or even interesting strangers.

For example:

Describe one of your best friends
Describe someone you know who you think is a good parent
Describe a famous person you would like to meet
Describe a successful sports person that you like

How do I answer these Part 2 Question Types?

Here is a list of useful sentence patterns, grammar points and vocabulary ideas you can use to describe people in IELTS Part 2 questions.

Go back to the start

As you might remember from the Part 2 post about Linear Stories, there is always more information to share in the past. Starting as early as you can gives you more to say, and usually makes a considerably difference to the length of your story – meaning that it’s easier to talk for 2 minutes!

You can apply the same method here.

Here are some example phrases to help you – each phrase has a different preposition so pay attention and take note:

We first met at a party / at school / at university
We met each other through a (mutual) friend / family / work / video games / Facebook
We were introduced by a friend of mine / a colleague / a teacher

Another high-level storytelling technique is to describe your early relationship, especially if it was difficult or ‘frosty’ at first.

Here are some useful (phrasal) verbs you can use to describe your friendship.

At first, we didn’t really get along, but eventually we became good friends.
In the beginning, we weren’t close friends, but after we got to know each other better…
We weren’t very close until we realised that we both had a lot in common…
Actually at first, we didn’t like each other at all, but after a while…

Superlatives

Superlatives Adjectives and highest and strongest degree of an adjective. Since you don’t have to be completely truthful (i.e. you can lie) in the IELTS Speaking Test, you can embellish and exaggerate some details, in order to demonstrate a wider variety of your English skills.

For example:

“My friend Peter is the smartest person I know.”
“Mohammed Salah is the best footballer player in Egypt.”
“My mum is definitely one of the most patient people in my family.”

You can also construct sentences another way by using ‘the most’ after a [verb + object pronoun].

For example:

“Out of everyone in my family, my father has definitely inspired me the most.“
“My maths teacher certainly helped me the most out of all my other teachers at school.”
“Out of all the historical figures in England, Lord Nelson interests me the most.”

Remember, superlative adjectives always need an article ‘the’. Forgetting this article is a common and easily-avoidable grammar mistake which will affect your score.

…

Give an example

After you use a superlative adjective to describe someone, try to give a physical example that demonstrates that quality.

Some flexible yet impressive phrases to use are If (1st conditional), When or Whenever.

He’s very patient. If I am running late he never gets angry and always waits for me.”
She’s one of the most creative people in my group of friends. When I was setting up my business, she helped me design a fantastic-looking logo which I still use today.”
Brian is just the funniest guy I know. Even when I’m feeling down, he can still cheer me up, or if we’re in a bad situation, he can find the humour in it.”

Similar to the technique I mentioned to Describe Places in Part 2, choosing 3 different characteristics or features of someone his will not only help you talk for longer, but also provide a clearer and more detailed description of the person you are describing.

Putting it all together

Here is an example IELTS Part 2 answer – applying the new techniques you saw in this post.

Describe one of your best friends. You should say:

how you first met
how long you’ve been friends
what you used to do together

and say why you like this person.

“I’m going to talk about one of my best and oldest friends called Nate. We met when we were both about 18 or 19 years old, and we were introduced by a mutual friend. Even though we grew up in a same town and had a lot of mutual friends, we had never actually spoken to each other before. To be honest, at first we didn’t get along very well, but after some drinks we got to know each other better and we quickly realised we had a lot in common. Since then, we’ve become great friends.

Nate is definitely one of the funniest people I know. Whenever we hang out, he always cracks me up with some of his silly jokes. He has also travelled a lot and so he has lots of hilarious stories to share about this travels and his adventures.

Second, out of all my friends he is probably the most popular. Almost everybody in my hometown knows Nate, so I’ve met a lot of new friends through him. If we go out in the evening, we usually end up talking to 10 or 20 mutual friends in each bar or pub.

Finally, he’s also the hardest worker I know. He’s a journalist, so works long hours in the office, and he’s actually just finishing writing his first book, so he’s a very busy guy, but he still makes time to see his friends, which I really appreciate and admire.

The next time I’m in the UK, I’ll definitely head to London to catch up with him.”

Don’t forget! There are more posts, just like this one, loaded with flexible, realible techniques you can use in your IELTS Speaking Test. Check out the other posts on IELTS Part 2 question types:

Telling Linear Stories – Experiences, Holidays, Trips and more
- Click here to learn more about this question type

Describing places – Cities, Parks, Countries, Buildings and more
- Click here to learn more about this question type
Describing future plans and wishes – Jobs, Goals, Ambitions and more
- Click here to learn more about this question type
Describing Objects – Phones, Furniture, Cameras and more
- Click here to learn more about this question type

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