IELTS Speaking Part 2: Describe a Teacher Who Influenced You (Band 9 Sample)
This Part 2 cue card asks you to describe a teacher who had an influence on you and to explain that influence. A band-9 answer brings the teacher to life with specific detail and lands one clear, developed reason for their impact, rather than just listing qualities. Below is a model long-turn of about 235 words in a natural spoken register, followed by a breakdown of why it earns a 9 on all four speaking criteria and the collocations worth stealing.
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01 · The cue card
- who this teacher was
- what subject they taught
- what they were like
- and explain how they influenced you
02 · Band 9 sample answer
The teacher I'd like to talk about is Mr Hùng, who taught me literature in my final two years of secondary school. On paper he taught a single subject, but looking back, the lessons he gave went far beyond the syllabus.
He was quite an unusual teacher. He had this brilliant knack for making a dusty old text suddenly feel urgent and relevant, and he never just told us what to think — he'd ask a difficult question, then sit back and let us argue it out. He genuinely listened to teenagers' opinions, which, at that age, felt incredibly rare and made us take the subject seriously. He was demanding, too — he'd hand back an essay covered in comments — but you always knew it came from a place of wanting you to do better.
The way he influenced me was by teaching me how to think, rather than what to think. Before his class, I saw learning as memorising the right answer; he showed me that asking good questions matters far more. That mindset has shaped everything I've done since, from university to running my own business, where questioning assumptions is basically the whole job. I'm not sure he ever realised quite how much of a difference he made.
03 · Why this scores Band 9
The answer covers each cue-card point — who, the subject, what he was like, and the influence — with natural linking ("He was quite an unusual teacher...", "The way he influenced me was..."). It builds to a clear, personal conclusion and sustains a full two-minute turn.
Precise, idiomatic vocabulary — "a knack for", "beyond the syllabus", "argue it out", "from a place of wanting you to do better", "questioning assumptions" — and character is shown through behaviour rather than a flat list of adjectives.
A wide range is controlled accurately: a non-defining relative clause ("Mr Hùng, who taught me literature"), a past habit with "would" ("he'd ask a difficult question, then sit back"), and a cleft ("The way he influenced me was by teaching me how to think"). No error interrupts the flow.
The script is built from speakable, stress-timed phrases with natural chunking, and the reflective content invites genuine intonation, so the recording lands clear sentence stress without tongue-twisting clusters.
04 · Useful phrases for this topic
Tap a phrase to see what it means and how to use it. Natural phrases like these lift your Lexical Resource score.
05 · Frequently asked questions
Does the teacher have to be from school?
Not necessarily — a university lecturer, a coach or even a mentor can work if the cue card allows. But a school teacher is often easiest, because you spent a lot of time with them and have concrete memories to draw on.
How do I describe their personality well?
Show their character through what they did rather than listing adjectives. "He'd hand back an essay covered in comments" tells the examiner far more than "he was strict". Concrete behaviour scores higher under Lexical Resource.
How important is the "how they influenced you" part?
It's the heart of the task. The examiner wants a developed, personal reason. This answer lands on being taught "how to think, rather than what to think", and traces its lasting effect, rather than just saying "he was a great teacher".
What tense should I use?
Mostly past tenses for the teacher and school ("he taught literature", "he'd ask a question"), with present perfect for the lasting influence ("that mindset has shaped everything I've done since"). Accurate mixing lifts the grammar score.
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