Home IELTS Speaking Speaking Part 2 Describe a family member you are closest to

Describe a family member you are closest to

You should say:

  • who this person is;
  • describe some things you have done together;

And explain why you like this person.

 

Band 9.0 Sample Answer

I’m grateful to have such a supportive and caring family who are always there for me no matter what. We have 5 members in the house that’s always full of laughter: my parents, my two sisters and me. Even though I love them all to the moon and back, my younger sister, Jade, is the one that’s closest to me.

Jade is seven years younger than me, which might create some sense of generation gap, yet, we still get along well, or at least most of the time. She is in high school now and has a dream of becoming a doctor one day. In term of appearance, we have little in common. By that I mean while I’m kind of tall, she’s relatively short; while I take after my father, she’s my mom’s splitting image. Same thing with our characteristics. I am people-oriented and a true free spirit, Jade, on the contrary, is quite introverted and into stability. Hence, it came as a huge surprise when others acknowledge our strong bond. We’re like 2 sides of the same coin. No matter how different we are, we have never neglected or abandoned each other. In fact, we are partners in crime in so many impulsive and silly acts that our family has lost count. Once, I tried to play the victim with my uncle as I accidentally broke a crystal vase that my aunt adored, Jade backed me up as we put the blame on our poor cousin. What a shameful act! But that was years ago and we learnt our lesson the hard way. Another time when my sister’s teacher asked to meet our parents because Jade had ditched class. In her defense, that subject was boring and I was the one who talked to her teacher. In the end, Jade had to serve more time at the library and we kept this from our parents and so were many other things. We got each other’s back and we always will because that’s what sisters do and simply because I love her.

Vocabulary & Useful expression

  • love someone/ something to the moon and back: love someone/something more than anything
  • get along well: have a harmonious or friendly relationship
  • have … in common: to share interests or characteristics
  • take after: resemble (a parent or ancestor)
  • splitting image: a person who bears a strong physical resemblance to another, esp to a relative
  • 2 sides of the same coin: very closely related although they seem different
  • partners in crime: good friends who get in trouble together or get each other in trouble
  • impulsive (a): acting suddenly without thinking carefully about what might happen because of what you are doing
  • lost count: to fail to be able to count someone or something, especially because there are so many
  • play the victim: the act of pretending to be the one who has been done wrong to manipulate others or seek attention
  • back someone up = have one’s back: support or help someone
  • put the blame on = blame something on someone = blame someone for something: say that someone or something has done something bad learn something the hard
  • way: learn something by experience, especially by an unpleasant experience
  • in someone’s defense: used at the beginning of a sentence to indicate that the subsequent statement will justify some action or decision one made

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