IELTS Speaking · Part 2 Cue Card
Describe a teacher who influenced you
A complete preparation guide: the cue card itself, a 60-second prep framework, a band 7.5 sample answer, topic vocabulary, and likely Part 3 follow-up questions.
Cue card
Describe a teacher who influenced you.
You should say:
- •Who they were
- •What they taught
- •What made them special
- •And explain how they influenced you
How to use your 1 minute of prep time
Specific to this cue card — not generic advice.
- 1Don't describe them as 'kind and helpful' — every teacher gets that. Find the specific quirk.
- 2Pick a moment in class you can describe almost shot by shot.
- 3Show contrast: how were they different from other teachers you had?
- 4Connect their influence to something you still do or believe today.
Sample answer (band 7.5)
Read it once for shape, then aloud for rhythm. Don't memorise it — examiners can tell.
The teacher who had the biggest impact on me was Mr Chen, who taught me history when I was about fifteen. He was a slightly unusual teacher — he never followed the textbook, and he refused to use the projector. Everything was discussion or chalk. What made him special wasn't that he was charismatic; he wasn't, particularly. It was that he treated us as if our opinions actually mattered, even when they were poorly thought out. He'd ask a question, we'd answer with something half-formed, and then he'd say, 'Okay, now defend it,' and force us to argue our position for ten minutes. The first time he did it I was furious. I remember leaving class genuinely upset. But about three weeks in I noticed I was thinking before I spoke, in his class and outside it. The way he influenced me has only become clearer with time. I work in policy now, and the habit of having to justify a casual statement turns out to be enormously useful. Most of my schooling rewarded the right answer; he rewarded the well-defended one. That's a much harder thing to teach, and I haven't met another teacher who did it as deliberately.
Topic vocabulary & collocations
Phrases used in the sample answer that lift fluency naturally.
shot by shot
in close detail, frame by frame
textbook
official course book
half-formed
incomplete, partly thought out
defend a position
argue in support of an opinion
well-defended
supported by strong reasoning
as deliberately
with as much intention
Likely Part 3 follow-up questions
The examiner will move from your story (Part 2) to broader, abstract questions (Part 3). Prepare answers for these.
- What makes a teacher truly memorable?
- Should teachers in schools be paid more?
- Has the role of the teacher changed because of technology?
- Are some subjects better taught online than in person?
- Should students be able to give feedback on their teachers?
Common pitfalls on this card
- ⚠Saying they were 'patient and kind' — too generic to score band 7.
- ⚠Describing them as a person but not their actual teaching style.
- ⚠Forgetting to link their influence to your current life.