This IELTS speaking part 2 topic is a very recent and common one, and it is quite an easy topic card to talk about. People exchange gifts on differents occasions or to celebrate something special such as a promotion or good result. The title of the topic card is ‘Describe the best gift or present you have received’. You will find notes on the topic card, a model answer, some part 3 questions and a bonus tip. Hopefully, these sample answers will help you to prepare for the cue card and some other cards as well.

Let’s have a look at the topic card first.

Now, before starting to talk about the card, let’s make some notes:

• the gift – a MacBook Pro
• who gave – parents
• when – after college final year exam – for a brilliant result
• never got something like this before – unexpected – special – could do lots of stuff using it – helpful for studies and entertainment.

Model answer:

Gift is something that people get from loved ones mostly on special occasions such as birthdays, anniversaries or promotions. Gifts are also presented to celebrate any big achievements or just to show love for someone. For this cue card, I’m going to talk about a MacBook that I got as a present from my father.

My father had promised me to present me something unique given that I might accomplish the required grades in the final exams of my college a couple of months ago. To my utter surprise, I got such a gift that is the finest blessing so far for me. My dad presented a tablet and was a MacBook Pro 16 for me which was in fact very exceptional.

I was extremely delighted with the present and I recalled all the hard days of fighting and hard work before the examination. I wasn’t really a bright student in fact, and the grades in most of my exams were ordinary. So, my parents arranged the present for me as a reward for my success in the year-end test of my university. My dad went to our nearby Apple store to buy a laptop for me. Something else I expect. I was really dreaming of something else like a Samsung smartphone or desktop computer perhaps. But I was astounded when I unwrapped a gift- box on my reading table and found the MacBook inside. I was so thrilled that I gave a joyful scream.

I am the only child of my parents and they were extremely jovial with my special result as I earned a merit place in the exam among all my classmates in the college. My father told me to study hard before the test so that I could get an unexpected result. I followed his suggestion and studied harder than ever. Usually, many students don’t like to follow any pre-planned schedule before the exam, but I was a little different. I strictly followed the daily routine and attended the exam and thus I achieved success. However, it was quite a shock for me as I longed to be a proud owner of such a thing. My father is a teacher of social studies and mostly he remains busy in college with his works. At first, I thought that my father had completely forgotten about the present when the result was published. He guaranteed me for the present but he didn’t show any action to bring that at home. In addition, I had no idea at all about what it would be. At night I returned to my room after dinner and found a gift box on my reading table and unwrapping it I found MacBook Pro16, the latest Apple laptop. Then I figured it out that my parents did not say anything about the present only to give me a pleasant surprise. I still remember that I was so happy about the present that I called all my cousins and friends and told them about it.

I have never received such a precious gift before. This was very special because it became a part of my studies. I could do many important projects and use online resources using the MacBook. It helped me to get connected with my studies more than ever. Moreover, I could entertain myself sometimes by playing games and listening to music. Overall, it was really an awesome gift for me when I got the MacBook Pro and I think that it was one of the greatest gifts of my life.

That’s all. Thank you.

Part 3 discussion questions based on part 2:

1. What kind of gifts did you receive as a child? (-talk about different gifts such as toy cars, dolls, action figures, kites, etc.)
2. Is gift-giving considered as a culture/tradition in your country? (-say yes and explain tips or other gifts that you get and give on different festivals)
3. How much change have you observed in gift-giving since your childhood? (-talk about tech-gadgets and compare them with your childhood presents/gifts)
4. Will there be more changes in gift-giving in the coming future? (-try to be positive and show your speculations according to your judgment on future changes)
5. Can different represent different attitudes and personalities? (-say yes and explain that gifts like dolls and cars show childlike attributes and gifts such as money shows commercial attitudes and so on.)

Bonus tips:

It is often seen that IELTS candidates complain about Speaking part 3 questions and say that the questions were not as they expected.

You need to understand the fact that the IELTS examiner wants you to give a detailed response in PART 3 and so he/she will ask you to show comparison, talk about past and future, speculate (if-questions), provide opinions, etc.

Therefore, you need to take a good preparation for IELTS speaking part 3. Remember, this part is the hardest and examiners will decide whether to give you a band score of 6.5 or more.

Here are some model answers to some other topic cards for your preparation:

A sport or exercise that you do for fitness

Describe a handsome person you know

Describe someone you know who does something well

Describe a situation when you were late

Describe an important decision made by you

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