Describe an important plant in your country

You should say:

What the plant is
How you know it
Why it is important
And explain how much you like the plant.

Band 8 Sample

Well I’d love to talk about rice, the most important agricultural plant in my country.

Ever since I was in my early elementary years, the rice plant has appeared in almost every subject, from literature to natural science to geography. And even in real life, the rice plant can be spotted all across the countryside around Vietnam.

It never ceases to amaze me how such a simple plant could support a whole nation’s economy. Up to this day, millions of Vietnamese families are still dependent on the cultivation of rice to make ends meet. And the fact that Vietnam has become one of the world’s leading rice exporters is more solid proof of the relevance of this plant in my country. Besides this, rice has been an indispensable part of the main meal of most families for centuries and children practice the habit of eating rice from a very young age, and as for the older generation, they cannot go a day without rice in some form or the other.

Over thousands of years, the rice plant has played a really important role in Vietnamese culture and many traditions and ceremonies originate from the farmers hopes for an abundant crop, and many of these traditions are considered as important established customs to foreign visitors.

I think that the rice plant has become one of the greatest symbols for the Vietnamese spirit and deserves large appreciation from all generations.

Vocabulary highlights:

1. agricultural – related to farming
2. elementary – first years of school eg. grades 1-7
3. spotted – seen or found
4. it never ceases to amaze me – to be always surprised
5. dependent – to be supported by something or someone
6. the cultivation of rice – the growing and farming or rice
7. make ends meet – to earn enough money to live and pay all of your bills
8. solid proof – something that shows that something is true
9. indispensable – necessary, or too important not to have
10. cannot go a day without – need it everyday
11. originate from – comes from, the source
12. abundant crop – a large or good amount of the plant or vegetable grown
13. established customs – a tradition, belief or way of behaving that has been around for a long time