Part 2 · Band 8

Describe a person who encouraged you to achieve a goal.

Illustrative target band for this model answer · 245 words

AI-completed learning example

The first person who comes to my mind when I think of somebody who has inspired me to achieve my goal is perhaps my father. He is a man who is so resilient. The number of challenges life has thrown at him and the number of times he has gotten up and faced them with determination is something I have always admired. He used that same patient attitude when helping me prepare for a presentation. I had to give a short talk in class and was worried that I would forget what to say. My father suggested that I practise with a few notes rather than try to memorise a whole script. He listened to me at home and asked simple questions afterwards, which showed me where my explanation was unclear. What helped most was that he did not expect the first attempt to be perfect. He encouraged me to improve one thing at a time, such as speaking a little more slowly or giving an example before moving on. After several practices, the presentation felt like something I could manage instead of a test I was certain to fail. On the day, I was still nervous, but I finished the talk and answered a question. I felt proud of the progress rather than disappointed that I was not completely relaxed. His encouragement mattered because it combined reassurance with a practical method. I still use that approach when a large task makes me feel uncertain.

Answer analysis

Fluency & Coherence

The goal, the person’s actual encouragement and its effect should be explicit. The wording “somebody who has inspired me to achieve my goal” is the opening practice focus. Use a short introduction and develop the actual event without memorised preambles. This is a text-based planning guide; no recorded fluency score can be inferred from the transcript.

Lexical Resource

The phrase “somebody who has inspired me to achieve my goal” is a useful point for improving precision. Naming the actual goal makes the opening specific. The alternative “someone who helped me prepare for a presentation” stays connected to this particular cue card. Prefer concrete actions and observations to dramatic adjectives or broad claims about everyone’s experience.

Grammatical Range & Accuracy

The revision of “He is a man who is so resilient” is “He is remarkably resilient”. An optional concise description, not a grammar correction. Keep the tense of the event distinct from the present explanation of why it matters. Use shorter controlled clauses where the source loses a clear subject or connection; do not treat every optional style change as a grammatical error.

Pronunciation

No audio is available, so pronunciation cannot be scored. Practise “someone who helped me prepare for a presentation” and “He is remarkably resilient” as thought groups, marking the words that carry the main contrast. Record the whole answer and check whether the listener can follow the sequence without reading the transcript.

A transcript shows language and organisation. Fluency, delivery and pronunciation require an audio recording; the synthetic voice demonstrates the text, not the original speaker.

  • The goal, the person’s actual encouragement and its effect should be explicit. Use the actual event to organise the response.
  • Practise the quoted revisions in complete sentences and retain personal details already given.
  • Record one continuous answer, then check pauses and emphasis against the sequence of ideas.

Plan your answer

Try your own response before reading the samples.

Ideas to explore

  • Name one specific goal and explain why it mattered to you.
  • Describe two concrete ways the person supported you, such as setting small targets and giving feedback.
  • Explain what changed after the encouragement and what you learned from the experience.

Suggested structure

  1. Briefly introduce the person and your relationship.
  2. State the goal and why you found it challenging.
  3. Give specific examples of how the person encouraged you.
  4. Describe the result and reflect on why the support mattered.
Useful vocabulary & examples
set manageable targets
choose small, realistic steps towards a larger goal

My mother helped me set manageable targets for practising my speaking.

offer gentle feedback
give suggestions in a supportive, non-critical way

After each practice, she offered gentle feedback on one thing I could improve.

grow in confidence
become more self-assured over time

I began to grow in confidence as I spoke more often in class.

break a goal into steps
divide a larger aim into smaller actions

It became easier to make progress once I broke my goal into steps.

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