The cue card
Describe a time when you helped someone.
You should say:
- who you helped
- when this happened
- how you helped this person
and explain how you felt about helping.
You have one minute to make notes, then speak for one to two minutes.
Band 8–9 sample answer
Written by Abroadway as a model of natural, high-band speaking (not an official IELTS sample).
I'd like to talk about a boy called Rafi, whom I helped with his studies about two years ago. Rafi is the son of the caretaker in our apartment building in Mirpur, in Dhaka, and at the time he was in Class Ten, preparing for his SSC exams. One evening his father mentioned, almost apologetically, that Rafi was doing reasonably well in most subjects but was really struggling with English, and that the family couldn't afford a private tutor. I'd just finished my HSC exams, so I had a few months of free time, and I offered to help.
For about four months, Rafi came up to our flat two or three evenings a week, and we sat at the dining table working through grammar, reading passages and, above all, writing. What I quickly noticed was that his real problem wasn't a lack of ability but a lack of confidence. He'd been told so often that he was weak at English that he'd almost stopped trying. So, instead of drilling him with rules, I started by getting him to write short paragraphs about things he cared about, like cricket and his family's village in Kurigram, and I only corrected the most important mistakes.
Gradually, his writing became longer and more accurate, and he began asking questions rather than waiting to be told the answers. As for how I felt, it was one of the most rewarding things I've ever done. There were frustrating evenings, of course, when nothing seemed to sink in, and I had to remind myself to be patient. But when the results came out and he'd got a solid grade in English, his father came upstairs with a box of sweets, and I was genuinely moved.
It also made me appreciate how much difference a little time and encouragement can make, and how unequal access to education really is.
Useful phrases from this answer
- sink in
- become fully understood or remembered
- genuinely moved
- truly touched emotionally
- made a real difference
- had an important, positive effect
- a sense of purpose
- the feeling that what you do has meaning and value
- a box to tick
- something done only because it is required, not because you care
- in the immediate aftermath
- in the period straight after a bad event
- better placed to
- in a better position or more able to do something
Part 3 follow-up questions and answers
Why do some people enjoy helping others?
I think the most straightforward reason is that it makes them feel good. Knowing that you've made a real difference to someone's life gives you a sense of purpose that's hard to find in most everyday activities. For some people, helping others is also connected to their upbringing or religious beliefs; in Bangladesh, for instance, giving to those in need is strongly encouraged during Ramadan and Eid. There may be a social element too, since helping others tends to build trust and respect within a community. Of course, a cynic might say that some people help mainly to be seen helping, but I'd argue that most people do it out of genuine empathy.
Are people today less willing to help strangers than in the past?
It depends on where you look, but in big cities I suspect people are more hesitant than they used to be. Life is faster and more anonymous, so people are often too busy or preoccupied to notice someone in difficulty. There's also more fear of being cheated, since most of us have heard of scams involving people pretending to need help. That said, I don't think people have become less kind at heart. When there's a real emergency, such as a road accident or a flood, you still see strangers rushing to help, and online fundraising has made it easier than ever to support people you've never met. So the willingness is there; it just takes different forms.
Should schools encourage students to do voluntary work?
Yes, I think they should, as long as it's encouraged rather than forced. Voluntary work exposes students to parts of society they might never otherwise see, and that can make them more empathetic and less self-centred. It also develops practical skills such as teamwork, organisation and communication, which are just as useful as anything learnt in a classroom. For example, students might help run a blood donation camp or teach younger children in their area. However, if it becomes compulsory and is simply a box to tick for a university application, it can lose much of its value. The key is to give students a genuine choice, so that they find a cause they actually care about.
How can communities support people affected by natural disasters such as floods?
In the immediate aftermath, the priority is to get basic supplies to people quickly: clean water, dry food, medicine and somewhere safe to sleep. Local communities are often better placed to do this than distant authorities, because they know exactly which households are most vulnerable. In Bangladesh, it's common for students and youth groups to collect donations and distribute relief packages after floods, and that can make a real difference. But I'd argue that longer-term support matters just as much. Once the water goes down, families need help rebuilding their homes, replacing livestock and getting children back to school, and that's exactly when public attention and donations tend to fade.
What kinds of help should governments provide, and what should be left to charities?
I'd say governments should be responsible for the essentials that everyone depends on, such as healthcare, education, disaster preparedness and major infrastructure like flood embankments and cyclone shelters. These require enormous resources and long-term planning, which realistically only the state can provide. Charities, on the other hand, are often more flexible and closer to the ground, so they're well suited to filling gaps, for example by reaching remote communities or supporting groups that official programmes overlook. Ideally, the two should cooperate rather than compete. The danger comes when governments rely too heavily on charities to do their job, because charitable funding can be unpredictable, whereas people's basic needs are not.
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