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IELTS Speaking Part 2: IELTS Cue Card/ Candidate Task Card.

Describe a person you once lived with.

You should say:

• who this person was
• how long you lived with this person
• why you lived with him/ her

and explain why you no longer live with him /her.

[You will have to talk about the topic for one to two minutes. You have one minute to think about what you're going to say. You can make some notes to help you if you wish.]

Model Answer 1:
Describing a person has never exactly been my “forte” but describing Rebecca, who was my roommate until recently, is rather easy because she is very much like an open book.

Now, being a woman, I should always appreciate Rebecca because when I was really struggling to find a suitable place to stay as a new university student in a big city, after moving from my small home town, it was she who came to me as a ‘saviour” as a roommate. Besides, when Rebecca told me that she had the same major as mine, I didn’t think a second time about becoming her roommate. After moving with her as a roommate, I also came to know that Rebecca didn’t really have many friends, just like me, relating to her became even easier.

Rebecca was also very good with her time management skills, and so it was not really easy for me to sleep or waste my time when we needed to study. So, it is fair to say that Rebecca had a really good influence on me as far as my study was concerned. By the way, one of the main reasons, for which I chose to stay with Rebecca as a roommate, was that she was living really close to the university campus which made it rather easy to commute back and forth from my university. Besides, Rebecca knew her way to make quick food or quick snacks, in case if I felt hungry suddenly, which made my life rather easy.

Anyway, I don’t live with Rebecca any more now because I have already graduated from the university, and my parents don’t really like for me to live in a big city unless there is a very valid reason to do so. Besides, living in a big city was a bit expensive for me, and my parents wanted me to stay close to them and apply for suitable jobs. Finally, even if I wanted to live with Rebecca after graduation, it wasn’t really possible because Rebecca had got a good job as soon as she graduated.

Sample Answer 2:
I lived with my parents and siblings for most of my life. After I got married, I started living with my husband, Johny, and now I live in our own apartment with my husband and my daughter, Emma. However, for this cue card topic, I would like to talk about my university friend, Sienna, with whom I've lived more than 5 years. I thank you for this opportunity to talk about a person I once lived with.

Sienna is an interior designer and works in a large private company which is reputed as one of the best designing firms in our country. She is married to a doctor and they have two children. I first met Sienna when I started living in my university residential hall. She was my roommate and was an ideal roommate with whom I stayed in the same room until I finished my graduation.

Our luck brought us together and we started living in the same room without even knowing each other ever before. However, we became best friends and we were lucky to have each other as roommates and friends. She was very supportive, compassionate, talented, helpful and humble. During our senior years at our university, we could have arranged a single room for each of us and live separately. But, I did not do that and preferred to live with Sienna. She was the sister I never had! Since both of us had the same major in the university, we studied together, helped each other completing our assignments, and planned for our extracurricular activities together. That was a great help for both of us and due to the peer pressure, we always studied hard and passed most of our exams with flying colours.

Why don't we live together anymore? Well, both of us got married and we no longer are university students. We have our family and our own career and family. However, we are still good friends and she lives in the same city I live in. We often meet and our friendship is still important to us. We have so many memories together and hopefully, our friendship will last n matter how busy our lives become or how far we live.

Sample Answer 3:
With the passage of time, families have been split and the number of nuclear families is on the rise while relationships are on the decline. In my childhood, I used to live with my cousin – Alex Bryan. But now scenarios are different. We live in different parts of the city.

Presently, I live with my parents in Oakwood in Leeds in England. I have seen the unification of families in my childhood days. But due to urbanisation, the trend has been changed to a great extent. I used to live in a large family filled with happiness and more family members. As part of the living, I got Bryan, my paternal cousin. In fact, he was living with his parents at the same home we were living in. The days were great. We had lots of fun and mischievous acts together. I along with my sister and Bryan with is junior Abram had the fun. We planned for different activities and made them come true. I am proud of having such a cousin who helped me always and cared for a sibling.    

We lived for around 10 years together until my uncle shifted to Chapel Allerton area in the same city. He moved there to run his own business. Most importantly the house we lived in at that time was smaller than we needed. We were four kids together and each of us required rooms for our own. We were growing up then. But it was impossible to arrange for four more rooms in the house which were made by grandpa. Consequently, uncle decided to shift in the area where he had an established business. It was really troublesome for us, especially for me, to leave my uncle’s family. Though we are connected to each other and maintain a very warm relation, I miss the former days when we all had lots of fun together after every evening.  

Bryan was senior to me for two and a half years. So, I met him as a family member and more importantly as my brother. I did not consider the issue that he was my cousin rather I loved him like my own brother. The similar was for me from his part. Since the two families shared the same roof, and I had to stay with them, so I lived with him for the years. In these years, I have learnt a lot from him and experienced the finest days of life. Often Bryan used to take me for some sports with his local buddies or took me to have some adventures on the streets. Riding bicycles was his hobby and I was allowed to sit back on the bicycle while he drove it on downtown of a city.

Now both of us are adults and engaged in our respective career and academic activities. The family tie has been stronger but we are unable to meet every day for the past days. Due to the uncle’s shift from our house, we had to get separated. In fact, it was the reality and I think someday we had to split for some other reasons. Relations are better when you are living separately. So, if he would have been with us, I think there would be a decline in the relationship between us and this is quite natural. Undoubtedly, we would have engaged in brawls over petty issues or there would be any emotional imbalance between us. Actually, I am realising the issues now that my uncle apprehended 15 years before. So, I no longer live with him but we maintain a cool relation.

More Ideas to talk about this Cue Card/ Candidate Task Card topic:

Topic: Describe a person you once lived with.

1. Joseph was my roommate at my university here in Paris. In fact, both of us were international students here. I lived with him for around three years. I had to live with him because the university authority assigned a double bedroom for us and he was my partner in the room. After completing graduation, both of us went back to our respective country and got split. But I have a cordial relationship with him even today.

2. I lived with Mr Henry when I was in the USA. I lived with him for over eight and a half years. We were colleagues and rented an apartment near the office here in Chicago. But as he got married suddenly with his fiancé, he left the apartment. So, we are not separate but we have good bondage between us. I often go to meet him and his wife. And recall the days when we used to live in the same apartment.

3. Samantha, my elder sister used to live with me here in Melbourne. I have been living with her since my childhood. My parents allotted the same room for me and her. So, we shared the room at the house and now the entire room is mine. She has been married off recently and got her own family in another city. So, I miss her often. But this is good that she has got a family of her own. And often I go to visit her and recall the olden days together.

4. My grandpa was the oldest person in my family and used to live with him. I lived with him for over five years together. He used to share my room with me because of the room shortage in the house. It was an extended family in India and all my relatives used to live together in the same house. After his death, I owned the room entirely. But I often feel lonely and remember all the memories a gathered with this old wise man.

5. Living with my younger brother was an interesting experience for me. We used to fight all the time. I have lived with him for a long time – approximately 11 years. I loved him so much and so my parents made an arrangement for our living together in the house. He is now a matured man like me and has gone abroad for pursuing a foreign degree. So, I have become alone and living in the same place without his presence. But when he returns occasionally, he still loves to share my bed.

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