Describe A Successful Person Who You Once Studied Or Worked With

Describe a successful person who you once studied or worked with.

You should say:

Who this person is?
When you studied/worked with this person?
What you did together?
What this person did to become successful?
And explain how you felt about studying or working with this person.

Note: You will have to talk about the topic for one to two minutes. You have one minute to think about what you are going to say. You can make some notes to help you if you wish.

Model Answer:

Introduction: and Who this person is?
Life is a journey where we meet different people, each unique in their own way. One such individual who left a lasting impression on me is my former classmate, Ravi.

Ravi is a successful entrepreneur based in India. He is the founder of a leading tech startup that has revolutionized the e-commerce industry in the country.

When you studied/worked with this person?
I studied with Ravi during our undergraduate years at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT). We were both pursuing degrees in Computer Science and shared many classes together.

What you did together?
Ravi and I worked on several group projects together. We spent countless hours brainstorming ideas, writing code, and debugging programs. We also studied together for exams and helped each other understand complex concepts.

What this person did to become successful?
Ravi’s success can be attributed to his hard work, determination, and innovative thinking. He was always curious and eager to learn new things. He spent countless hours mastering his coding skills and understanding the nuances of the tech industry.

But what set Ravi apart was his ability to identify problems and come up with innovative solutions. He saw an opportunity in the e-commerce industry and took the bold step of starting his own company. Today, his startup is one of the leading e-commerce platforms in India.

And explain how you felt about studying or working with this person.
Studying with Ravi was an enriching experience. His passion for learning was contagious and motivated me to work harder. His success story inspires me to this day and reminds me that with hard work and determination, anything is possible.

IELTS Speaking Part 3 : Follow up Questions

Here some examples of follow up questions that you may asked during your speaking part 3 by examiner related to cue card “describe a successful person who you once studied or worked with”.

1. Is money the only measure of success in your country?
No, in my country wealth is not seen as the only criteria to establish success. Although, it is one of the factors and an important one, but not the only one. There are many successful people in my country who do not have a lot of money but are still considered successful because they have achieved tremendous feats in their life or professions.

2. How do you define whether one is a successful person?
First of all, I think the definition of success is subjective and varies from person to person. But still a broader definition of success would be about achieving personal goals and finding fulfilment in one’s pursuits.

3. What is the standard of success in your country?
The standard of success in India, like many other countries, is highly diverse and influenced by individual and societal expectations. In my country a person who has achieved good educational qualifications, financial stability and has good family ties is generally considered successful.

4. Is there a contradiction between success and happiness?
I think it depends. Success can contribute to happiness when it aligns with one’s personal values and goals, but it may lead to unhappiness if pursued at the expense of one’s well-being and contentment. Balancing both is key to a fulfilling life. For example a wealthy person with ill health will not be happy.

5. Is it easy to succeed in the national tests in your country?
Honestly speaking, in my country it is very difficult to clear national tests or competitive exams. Because of the humongous population there is immense competition in such examinations. To give you an example, almost 9 lac students give civil services exam every year and out of them only 1000 make the final cut.

6. What are the factors that influence students grades at school?
I would say there are myriad factors that play a role in students grades. Although, primarily it depends on the efforts/hard work put by students, the guidance from teachers and the support from parents is also very important. Apart from this nowadays.