IELTS SPEAKING CUE CARD
[PART 2]
PERSON IN THE NEWS YOU
WANT TO MEET
Describe a person in the news who you want to meet
You should say:
- Who this person is
- Why he is in the news
- What is he/she like
And explain why you want to meet him/her
A N S W E R
I’ve never been a fan of the British Royal Family since I could never understand their relevance to society or even the world. Or maybe I’m just ignorant of not knowing their contributions to their homeland and to the world. Anyway, for the past few months, the news about Prince Harry has been all over the internet – on social media platforms, some online forums, and legitimate online news portals and that piqued my interest.
LEXICAL RESOURCE
Relevance [noun] – importance
Homeland [noun] – a person’s native land
All over [phrase] – everywhere
News portal [noun] – online communication medium for internet users which are read all over the world
Pique one’s interest [idiom] – make somebody very interested in something
TIP
i.) The speaker didn’t immediately give his answer, instead, he shared his comment about the British Royal Family first as his opening, then connected it to his answer of who that person whom he would like to meet. That’s a very creative way to develop his introduction. In that way, he’s already showing his language skills to the examiner.
Despite my indifference to that royal family, I just couldn’t help but feed my curiosity when the news about Prince Harry broke out. I learned that he gave up his royal title and stepped back from his royal duties, and based on the reports that I read, it was because of his wife Megan Markle. Although his wife kept mum on the real reason behind their royal exit, she somehow gave some hint to the press about the pressure she had to deal with, with the queen and the other royal members and that eventually took a toll on her mental health.
LEXICAL RESOURCE
Indifference [noun] – lack of interest
Feed one’s curiosity [expression] – to satisfy one’s curiosity by knowing or learning something
Break out [phrasal verb] – to emerge
Step back [phrasal verb] – to stop
Keep mum [phrase] – to remain silent
Deal with [phrasal verb] – to experience; to take action on
Take a toll on [phrase] – to damage or hurt someone
TIP
i.) In this part, the speaker started talking about the subject of his story and answered one of the prompts in the cue card on why that person was in the news. He did elaborate on his answer in order for the examiner to understand the story better. This was the part where he provided the important details of his story as this acted as the foundation of his story. You need to have a good foundation for your story so that your examiner will not be confused by your story. And take note, that’s well-connected to his introduction. He already achieved Coherence in this part.
Well, considering Prince Harry’s decision, I reckon that he’s a loving man and a man of principle. He didn’t mind losing his luxurious way of life for the sake of protecting his wife, and honestly, it takes a real man to do such a thing. With what he did, it just goes to show that love conquers all! I would love to meet him if I had a once-in-a-lifetime chance, and if that becomes a reality, I just want to ask him how he’s doing after making a radical decision in his life and I want to wish him a happy and blessed life.
LEXICAL RESOURCE
Reckon [verb] – believe; think
Man of principle [expression] – refers to a person who strictly follows his standard belief
For the sake [phrase] – when you do something for the sake of something, you do it for that purpose in order to achieve that result
Love conquers all [saying] – love wins over the adversities
Radical [adj.] – reforming; revolutionary
TIPS
i.) The speaker simply answered the two remaining prompts on the cue card on ‘what is he like and explain why you want to meet him’. In his answer, he described the character traits of Prince Harry and explained a little as to why he believed that person possessed those traits. He also added a very good saying that would best describe the situation of Prince Harry and his wife.
ii.) The last part of the story was about the speaker’s wish if he could meet him in person. He used the conditional tense to express his idea, which is very good, as it helps him achieve a better mark in the criterion, Grammar and Accuracy. That last line was a very good way to wrap up his monologue.
PART 3
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN NEWS REPORTING
NOW AND BEFORE | CELEBRITIES | TYPES
OF PEOPLE IN THE NEWS | CREDIBILITY
OF NEWS
Are local and international news important?
Yes, definitely but too much of those is not good for our mental health. I mean it is our obligation to ourselves to be aware of what is happening in our community and in the world since having knowledge of current affairs helps us become better citizens. Like, when we are well-informed about news on environmental issues, we can contribute to protecting Mother Earth even in our own little ways, or when we keep ourselves abreast of the political situation in our country, we get to understand how leaders in our country govern our nation, and that helps us decide in choosing better leaders next time if they are ineffective.
However, too much news is not healthy for us, considering these days that most news are sensationalized and unfortunately some news outlets have become purveyors of fake news.
LEXICAL RESOURCE
Obligation [noun] – duty
Keep abreast of [phrase] – to stay up-to-date
Sensationalize [verb] – presenting information that arouses the interest of the public
Purveyor [noun] – a person or group that spreads or promotes an idea, or view
TIP
i.) The speaker gave a direct positive answer to the question and expressed his opinion that it’s everyone’s obligation to be informed of the latest news. He gave a specific example in order for him to explain his argument better. However, he also emphasized that people should not read news too much as it would have a negative impact on people’s mental health. His answer is well-explained and at the same time equipped with topic vocabulary words.
Is news often about famous people? Why?
Yes, and that is simply because they appeal to the masses. Besides, news stories concerning prominent people like politicians or superstars are profitable. News writers never write a story in which it features a nobody, in the first place. How could their news agencies make a profit from that? When news reporters get an exposé of a high-profile personality, the richer their company becomes since a great amount of news readers will buy their news.
For example, when the news about former President in the US Bill Clinton’s affair with his secretary broke out, all of the news agencies wrote stories about it since it appealed to the masses, considering he was the most powerful man in the world at that time. More and more people got interested in reading news stories about his sexual relationship with his secretary, and that generated large amounts of money for media companies. That is how it works – it is all about business! So it is no wonder why media companies invest in writing or reporting news about famous personalities.
LEXICAL RESOURCE
Appeal [verb] – be attractive or interesting
(the) masses [noun] – the ordinary people in society in contrast to the leaders or the highly-educated people
Prominent [adj.] – important; famous
Exposé [noun] – a report in the media that can harm the reputation of the person
No wonder [phrase] – not surprising
TIP
i.) The speaker gave a direct answer to the question with a direct reason. He talked about the business behind the news media companies as the main reason why we see famous people in the news all the time. To support his answer, he gave one example of when the media was so obsessed with talking about the scandal that the former US president was involved in the past. He explained how that news was profitable to all media companies. The answer was realistic with a very good example to support his argument.
Do you think the delivery of news has changed over the years?
Certainly! Thanks to the development of internet technology, people can now access news conveniently online anywhere and anytime. Unlike in the past, in which people needed to set a schedule to watch news on TV, listen to news radio, and subscribe to newspapers in order to get updated with the latest happenings. However, these days, news information is at everyone’s fingertips and it is free of charge.
Not only that, news can now reach a wider audience since it can be shared by people on social media. This trend is revolutionizing but it is also undeniable that it has its disadvantages such as the proliferation of fake news.
LEXICAL RESOURCE
Certainly [adv.] – definitely; admittedly
(at) everyone’s fingertips [phrase] – if you have the information at your fingertips, it means you can get it and use it easily
Free of charge [phrase] – free; no need to pay
Revolutionizing [adj.] – a change that is radical
Proliferation [noun] – a rapid increase
TIP
.) The speaker gave a positive answer using a very good expression that expresses an agreement. Then he talked about the development of technology which it had changed the way media present their news and how people accessed news in this era. He used the comparison and contrast technique for him to express his ideas clearly. That’s a realistic answer!
Can superstars have a positive influence on the public?
Yes, they can! They are public figures who are looked up to so they have the power to influence the people to do something good to the community. Take, for instance, the Hollywood actress, Angelina Jolie, she has surely influenced other people with her humanitarian works outside the movie industry.
As we know, she has done so much in the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees as an ambassadress. She takes advantage of her fame and wealth to contribute to uplifting the lives of refugees around the world and that is more than commendable. Well, superstars are considered role models, however, not all of them are making use of their popularity and fortune to bring positive influence to the public, but realistically, we cannot blame them because they are not born to be like Angelina.
LEXICAL RESOURCE
Look up to [phrasal verb] – admire
Humanitarian [adj.] – humane; compassionate
Ambassadress [noun] – a woman who acts as a representative of an organization
Take advantage of [phrase] – to use an opportunity to achieve results
Uplift [verb] – to elevate someone morally and spiritually
Commendable [adj.] – admirable
Make use of [phrase] – to use someone or something for a particular purpose that is beneficial
TIP
i.) The speaker provided a positive answer and talked about how powerful superstars were in influencing the general public. He talked about one Hollywood actress as an example for him to express his answer better – he focused on talking about what that actress did to the world. Right after that, he transitioned talking about how other superstars missed the chance to influence the public in a positive way.
Learn how to answer the recent
IELTS Speaking PART 1 Topic
about CELEBRITIES.
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Meaning of Words and Phrases Sources: Collins, Macmillan, Cambridge, Oxford
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