IELTS Speaking Part 2

Describe a person who likes to grow plants or gardening: IELTS cue card with sample answer

An IELTS cue card for Speaking Part 2 with a Band 8 sample answer, the one-minute plan behind it, the vocabulary that lifts it and the Part 3 follow-up questions the examiner can ask next.
  • 246 words
  • A person
  • 1 minute to prepare
  • 2 minutes to speak

The cue card

Describe a person who likes to grow plants or gardening

You should say:

  • →Who this person is
  • →How you know them
  • →What plants they grow
  • →And explain why they enjoy gardening

One minute to prepare, then speak for one to two minutes.

A person

How to answer this cue card: a one-minute plan

  1. 1

    Choose a real person to make your description feel more authentic and natural.

  2. 2

    Jot down three distinct plant types to ensure you have enough detail to describe.

  3. 3

    Focus your prep on linking the activity to the person's personality or emotional state.

Model answer

Band 8 sample answer

Band 8246 words, about two minutes at a natural pace. Details are invented; use your own.

I’d like to talk about my maternal aunt, Sarah, who is an absolute fanatic when it comes to gardening. She lives in a quaint, semi-detached house on the outskirts of Oxford, and I’ve known her my entire life. We visit her every summer, and the moment you step into her back garden, the atmosphere shifts completely from the suburban noise to a tranquil, fragrant oasis. Sarah has cultivated a sprawling collection of plants, ranging from delicate English roses to more resilient Mediterranean herbs like rosemary and sage. She also has a dedicated section for a vegetable patch where she grows seasonal produce such as heirloom tomatoes, courgettes, and runner beans. It’s quite impressive to see how she manages to keep everything thriving despite our often unpredictable British weather. When I asked her why she’s so dedicated to it, she explained that gardening is her primary form of mindfulness. She finds the tactile nature of digging in the soil incredibly grounding, especially after a taxing week working as a primary school teacher. For her, it isn’t just about the aesthetics of a blooming flower bed or the yield of the vegetables, but rather the rhythmic, slow-paced process of nurturing something living. She often says that watching a seedling push through the earth gives her a profound sense of accomplishment and perspective. It acts as a necessary escape from our fast-paced, digital world, allowing her to reconnect with the natural cycle of life in a very tangible way.

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8 words

Useful vocabulary for this cue card

  • quaint

    attractively unusual or old-fashioned in a charming way

  • sprawling

    spreading out over a large area in untidy

  • heirloom

    traditional varieties of plants passed down through generations

  • mindfulness

    a mental state achieved by focusing on present

  • tactile

    connected with the sense of touch and feeling

  • grounding

    giving a feeling of stability and mental balance

  • taxing

    physically or mentally demanding and very tiring

  • tangible

    clear enough to be easily seen or felt

5 questions

Part 3 follow-up questions

  1. 1What role does society play in shaping our attitudes towards this?
  2. 2Has the way people view this changed over the years?
  3. 3How do you think it will develop in the future?
  4. 4What are the benefits and drawbacks?
  5. 5Do you think the government should be involved in regulating this area?

Answer each in three to five sentences: position, reason, example, limit. See how to answer IELTS Speaking Part 3.

Frequently asked questions

How should I start the cue card "Describe a person who likes to grow plants or gardening"?+

Choose a real person to make your description feel more authentic and natural.

How long should I speak on an IELTS cue card?+

You get one minute to prepare, then speak for the full two minutes, about 220 to 280 words at a natural pace. The examiner will stop you at two minutes, which is a good sign, not a problem.

How is the cue card scored?+

Part 2 is not scored on its own. Your whole Speaking test gets one band from four criteria: fluency and coherence, vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation. The cue card is where the examiner hears whether you can keep going for two minutes.

Can I use this sample answer in the exam?+

Use its structure and vocabulary, not its sentences. Examiners recognise memorised answers and mark fluency down; a shorter answer from your own memory scores higher than a recited one.

Keep practising

More cue cards: a person

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