Describe a family member that made you proud.

Band 8 Sample

There is no one else in this world I hold more respect for than my mother. She is my guardian, my friend and my role model.

My mother is well into her forties now, but she still manages to maintain a youthful appearance. In terms of her personality, she is an extremely compassionate, kind-hearted and attentive person who always takes care of her children. She is both a mother and a friend to me as she always gives me valuable advice and is always willing to be there for me during all of the ups and downs in my life. Although sometimes she drives me crazy, because she’s such a perfectionist, I still hold a lot of pride and respect for her.

The reason that I am so proud of her is because she is such a strong-willed person. Ever since she was young, she had to learn to be independent as my grandparents were constantly busy and always on the go. She had to take care of almost everything, her younger brother, household chores and herself. Such challenges shaped her into the strong woman that she is now. Her independence has also been strengthened through all the hardship she has dealt with in her life. When she reached her thirties, she decided that she wanted to run her own business, a clothing store. All the members in our family tried to prevent her from doing this since we all thought it was a bad idea because she would have to face a lot of competition from other nearby shops.

But through her determination and perseverance she has managed to make a success out of her business and it really is something for us to look up to, and I keep reminding myself every day to try to be as strong as my mother, a real-life “wonder woman.”

Vocabulary highlights:

1. guardian – someone who protects you
2. role model – someone to admire or look up to
3. maintain a youthful appearance – to stay looking young
4. the ups and downs – the good and bad times
5. drives me crazy – when something or someone is annoying
6. perfectionist – someone who likes to do things exactly or perfectly
7. strong-willed – to be determined, not give up easily
8. on the go – always doing something or going somewhere
9. hardship – a time in life that is difficult or causes suffering
10. prevent – to stop something from happening
11. perseverance – to continue trying to achieve something
12. to look up to – to admire or respect someone