Describe a time when you helped someone
The cue card
Describe a time when you helped someone.
How to answer it
Keep it small. A neighbour with heavy bags told well outscores a grand act told vaguely, because the examiner is marking narrative language, not virtue. Give the situation, what you actually did, and what happened afterwards — including if it was awkward or unappreciated, which is more interesting than gratitude.
What moves the band
- Helping lexis: give someone a hand, go out of my way, it was no trouble, they were struggling with.
- The 'as willing as in the past' question is a trap for nostalgia — question the premise rather than agreeing automatically.
Part 3 questions reported with it
Part 3 follows the topic of the cue card, so these are the discussion questions the same candidates were asked next.
- Are people as willing to help as they were in the past?
- How do people help within their communities?
- How can children be taught to help others?
- Should schools encourage helpful behaviour?
These are candidate recalls. These are questions reported by test-takers after their exams, not official or leaked IELTS material. Wording varies by test version, location and memory. Use them for timed practice — never as a prediction of what you will be asked.
Practise these next
Know the number. Now move it.
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