Person Who Influenced You at Band 8 round·English Tests·Hard·20 min

IELTS Speaking Part 2 — Person Who Influenced You at Band 8

20 min · 1 credit · scorecard at the end

Take this on a laptop or desktop — not your phone. The live interview needs a full screen and keyboard (including a sketch whiteboard on coding rounds). You can buy now, but start it from a computer.

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Updated 2026-05-16 · Newly added · be among the first to take it

Field: English Tests
Company: IELTS Academic (British Council / IDP)
Role: IELTS Academic Speaking Part 2 Candidate
Duration: 20 min
Difficulty: Hard
Completions: New
Updated: 2026-05-16

How to prepare

What this round tests, what strong and weak answers sound like, and the traps to sidestep.

What this round is about

Topic focus. You speak alone for one to two minutes on the cue card describe a person who has influenced you, covering who they are, how you know them, what they do, and how they influenced you.
Round format. The examiner reads the card aloud, gives you exactly one minute of silent preparation with notes, takes the long turn, asks one short rounding-off question, then opens a brief Part 3 discussion on role models.
Conversation dynamic. The examiner is warm at the start then strictly neutral, manages time precisely, gives no band and no feedback while the test runs, and redirects answers that are clearly recited.
What gets tested. Whether you sustain a developed two-minute turn built on one concrete story rather than a list of virtues, with band 8 control of vocabulary, grammar and delivery.

What strong answers look like

One person, fast. You name a single specific person and your relationship with a hook in roughly the first fifteen seconds, for example back in my second year of engineering my robotics mentor changed how I think about failure.
One developed story. The body is a single episode where the influence is visible in action, not a list of adjectives like she is kind, he is hardworking.
One honest detail. You add an unexpected or honest detail, a setback, a flaw, a turning point, so the answer sounds lived rather than rehearsed.
Reflective close. You finish by saying what you personally changed because of this person, and you keep going naturally until you are stopped.

What weak answers look like (and how to avoid them)

List of virtues. Reeling off adjectives about the person with no story; fix it by committing to one episode and telling it in scene.
Drying up early. Stopping around a minute; fix it by planning one story deep enough to extend with what happened next and how you felt.
Recited answer. A memorised, written-style speech that collapses if the card differs; fix it by learning a structure and improvising the content from a real person.
Wrong question answered. Rephrasing the card into a topic you prefer; fix it by checking each of the four bullets is actually covered.

Pre-interview checklist (2 minutes before you start)

Pick one real person now. Choose someone you actually know well so the how you know them bullet has lived detail.
Have one episode ready. Decide the single concrete story that shows the influence happening, not several thin ones.
Recall a time anchor. Fix when this happened, for example during my final year, so the long turn has a clear opening.
Identify one honest detail. Have a flaw, setback or turning point ready so the description does not sound rehearsed.
Think of the reflective close. Know in one line what you personally changed because of this person.
Re-read the four bullets. Plan to cover who, how you know them, what they do, and the influence, in that order.

How the AI behaves

Follows the real procedure. Reads the card aloud, enforces the one minute prep, lets you run to two minutes, then asks one rounding-off question and a short Part 3 set.
No mid-test praise. It will not say great answer or tell you your band while the test is running; it stays neutral like a real examiner.
Probes every gap. It pushes once on a thin or memorised answer with a short neutral prompt, never feeding you the structure or vocabulary.
Redirects recitation. If you sound clearly rehearsed it interrupts gently and asks for the real, specific detail instead.

Common traps in this type of round

Adjective list. Describing the person only through virtues with no scene where the influence is visible.
Broad example. Choosing an example so general it cannot be pictured, leaving the answer vague.
Point repetition. Repeating the same idea in slightly different words because time still remains instead of developing further.
Memorised collapse. A rehearsed answer that breaks down or sounds written when the card is not exactly the one practised.
Card rephrase. Quietly switching the cue card into a different question you would rather answer.
Flat delivery. A syllable-timed monotone with dropped word endings that lowers intelligibility and pronunciation marks.

Reference

The full breakdown

How you're scored, the questions candidates ask most, and the research this interview is built on. Skim it — or just start the interview.

Interview framework

You will be scored on these 6 dimensions. The full rubric with definitions is below.

Cue Card Coverage

Whether all four bullets get covered with one specific named person, not a vague or partial answer.

20%

Topic Development And Coherence

Whether the long turn is one developed story with clear progression, not a looping list of virtues.

20%

Lexical Resource Range

How varied and precise your vocabulary is, including natural idiomatic items and paraphrase under pressure.

15%

Grammatical Range And Accuracy

Whether you mix simple and complex structures with most sentences accurate across the turn.

15%

Long Turn Stamina

Whether you sustain a developed answer toward two minutes without drying up or repeating to fill time.

15%

Delivery And Spontaneity

Whether delivery is natural and stress-timed with content-driven hesitation, not recited or flat and monotone.

15%

What we evaluate

Your final scorecard breaks down across these dimensions. The full rubric and tier criteria are revealed inside the interview itself.

Common questions

What does the IELTS Speaking Part 2 'person who influenced you' cue card actually test?

It tests whether you can speak alone for one to two minutes on a People topic and cover all four bullet points: who the person is, how you know them, what they do, and how they influenced you. The examiner scores four equally weighted areas: fluency and coherence, lexical resource, grammatical range and accuracy, and pronunciation. A band 8 long turn names one specific person, develops one concrete story rather than listing virtues, and keeps going naturally until the examiner stops you at two minutes.

How should I structure my two-minute answer for band 8?

Open by naming the person and your relationship with a hook in the first fifteen seconds, for example a teacher, an uncle, or a coach and why they matter. Use a clear time anchor such as back in my second year of engineering. Spend the body on one episode that shows the influence happening, add one honest or unexpected detail like a setback they recovered from, then close by reflecting on how it changed your own behaviour. Cover every bullet on the card and keep talking until you are stopped.

What are the most common mistakes that keep candidates at band 6 on this card?

The biggest one is listing adjectives about the person, she is kind, he is hardworking, she is helpful, without a single story. Others include stopping after about a minute so the long turn is under-developed, repeating the same point because time remains, choosing an example too broad to picture, and reciting a memorised answer that sounds written. Rephrasing the card into a different question you would rather answer also costs marks because you stop covering the bullets given.

How is this AI examiner different from a real IELTS examiner?

It follows the real procedure closely: it reads the cue card aloud, gives one minute of preparation, lets you speak for one to two minutes, asks one rounding-off question, then runs a short Part 3 discussion. Like a real examiner it stays neutral, never tells you your band, and redirects clearly memorised answers. The difference is that afterwards you get a transcript-backed scorecard naming the exact bullet you under-developed and where delivery slipped, which a real examiner never gives you.

How is the practice scored?

Scoring mirrors the public band descriptors. The system tracks whether you covered all four bullets, whether you used one concrete developed story, your topic development and coherence, your vocabulary range and paraphrase, your grammatical range and accuracy, and your delivery features like stress and intonation. Each dimension has band-anchored descriptions so the report can show where you sat between band 6, band 7 and band 8, and what specifically pulled the score down.

What should I do during the one minute of preparation?

Take quick notes against each of the four bullets rather than writing full sentences, and order them the way you intend to speak. Decide on one specific person and one concrete episode instead of several thin examples. Note a time anchor and one honest detail you can build the story around. Keep planning until you are asked to begin, and do not waste the minute choosing between several people.

How do I handle it if I run out of things to say before two minutes?

Do not stop and do not repeat the same point in different words. Extend the story instead: add what the person did next, how others reacted, what you felt at the time, or how the influence still shows up today. Move into the reflective close, how it changed your own choices, and keep developing until the examiner stops you. Drying up early is one of the clearest band 6 signals, so plan one story deep enough to last.

What does a strong band 8 answer actually sound like?

It sounds like one continuous, well-organised story rather than a list. The speaker names the person and relationship fast, anchors it in time, develops a single episode where the influence is visible, drops in one honest or surprising detail so it does not sound rehearsed, and closes by reflecting on the lasting effect. Vocabulary is varied with some idiomatic phrases used naturally, sentences mix simple and complex structures accurately, and the rhythm is stress-timed with natural intonation throughout.

Can I choose a famous person I admire but have never met?

You can, but it makes the 'how you know this person' bullet hard to develop authentically, which is a common reported weakness. If you pick a public figure, be honest that you know them through their work, books or interviews, and put your development effort into the influence bullet with a concrete example of something you changed because of them. A person you actually know, a teacher, relative, mentor or coach, usually gives you richer material for a band 8 long turn.

What happens after the long turn in Part 3?

The examiner asks one short rounding-off question such as whether you still see this person or whether they have influenced others, which needs only a brief answer, not a second monologue. Then Part 3 opens up the theme into discussion: whether children need role models, whether celebrities or family members are better role models, and whether someone can be influenced by a person they have never met. Part 3 answers should be longer and justified with reasons and examples, not yes or no.

Does my Indian English accent lower my band?

No. Examiners accept all accents, including Indian English, as long as you are clearly understood. What is assessed is the range and control of pronunciation features: word stress, sentence stress, rhythm, intonation and chunking. The common India-specific issue is a flat, syllable-timed rhythm with dropped word endings, which reduces intelligibility and pronunciation marks. Working on stress-timed delivery and natural rise and fall helps far more than trying to imitate a British or American accent.

Sources this interview is built on

Real candidate-report URLs (Glassdoor / AmbitionBox / PrepInsta / GeeksforGeeks / Medium) reviewed when authoring the questions, persona, and rubric. Verify the realism yourself.