Part 2 · Band 4

Describe a person who encouraged you to achieve a goal.

Illustrative target band for this model answer · 208 words

AI-completed learning example

I'd like to talk about my boss, who has been a mentor to me since my first day in the marketing industry. He's a demanding person, always pushing me to do my best, which can be frustrating at times. But beyond that, he's also incredibly supportive and encouraging. He's always there to offer advice and help me think through problems instead of simply telling me what to do. Last year, I wanted to take on more responsibility and lead a campaign for a new client. At first, I doubted myself because I had never managed a project of that size. My boss encouraged me to break the work into smaller steps and helped me set realistic deadlines. He also made time to review my ideas, but he let me make the final decisions myself. I remember feeling much more confident when I presented the campaign plan to the client. In the end, the client approved it, and I was able to lead the project successfully. What I value most is that my boss didn't just help me reach one goal; he also taught me to trust my own judgement. His support encouraged me to take on new challenges, so I still think of him as an important mentor.

Answer analysis

Fluency & Coherence

The ideas develop in a clear sequence: you introduce your boss, balance his demanding and supportive qualities, describe a specific campaign goal, and explain the result and its personal impact. That progression gives the answer a satisfying ending. Since this is text only, fluency cannot be scored. Practise speaking it in two minutes, using the campaign story as the central section, then check whether each point connects naturally.

Lexical Resource

The answer uses relevant, varied expressions, including “take on more responsibility,” “set realistic deadlines,” and “trust my own judgement.” These choices communicate both the goal and the mentor’s influence clearly. “Supportive and encouraging” expresses closely related qualities, so you could make the description more concise by retaining one and adding a distinct quality, such as patient or constructive, if it accurately reflects your meaning.

Grammatical Range & Accuracy

There is good control of sentence structures, including the relative clause “who has been a mentor to me” and the contrast in “but he let me make the final decisions myself.” Tense choices also distinguish the ongoing relationship from last year’s goal. For further range, practise adding one natural conditional or a sentence with “which” to explain the longer-term effect, while keeping your spoken delivery easy to follow.

Pronunciation

Pronunciation cannot be assessed from text, and this practice guide is not an assessment of a recording. Practise the word stress in “responsibility” and “successfully,” and group the campaign story into thought units: “Last year, I wanted to take on more responsibility / and lead a campaign for a new client.” Record a timed version, then check that stressed content words are clear and pauses separate ideas rather than individual words.

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

  • Practise the campaign story as a short sequence: your initial doubt, the smaller steps your boss suggested, your presentation, and the outcome.
  • When rehearsing, replace one of “supportive” or “encouraging” with a distinct quality only if it accurately describes your boss.
  • Record a two-minute response and check that the final reflection explains how the experience changed your confidence, rather than ending immediately after the client approved the plan.

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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