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[How to Describe a Role Model for IELTS Speaking Part 2]-[🧑‍🚀 Describe a famous person that is a role model for young people (Part 2) + Transcript]

IELTS Speaking for Success · B1 · 2024-12-04

LanguageIELTS
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📋 Summary

Navigating the IELTS Speaking Task: Describing a Role Model

In the context of the IELTS Speaking Part 2, candidates are often asked to describe a famous person who serves as a role model. This task requires more than just listing facts; it demands a structured narrative that explains why the chosen individual is worthy of admiration. As highlighted in the podcast, selecting the right person—someone who is not "tainted by scandal"—is the first hurdle in crafting a successful response.

The Challenge of Selecting a Role Model

Choosing a public figure can be difficult in an era where many celebrities are associated with "dark things" or public drama. The podcast suggests choosing a figure with a generally positive reputation, such as Dolly Parton. The key is to select someone whose "reputation has not been damaged" by controversy, allowing the speaker to focus on positive attributes rather than defending the person’s character. For those who struggle to find a candidate, athletes like Usain Bolt or Lionel Messi are often cited as "safe options" due to their broad appeal and contribution to their respective fields.

Structuring Your Response

To deliver a high-scoring answer, the speaker suggests a clear framework:

  1. Background Information: Introduce the person and explain how you know them. Using personal anecdotes, such as growing up listening to their music or watching their concerts, adds a layer of authenticity to the story.
  2. Professional Achievements: Mention their career milestones. For an artist like Dolly Parton, this includes a "massive fan base" and having "released lots of music over the decades."
  3. Defining the Role Model Qualities: This is the core of the task. Rather than focusing on superficial aspects like plastic surgery—which is deemed "not relevant"—the speaker emphasizes internal traits such as "work ethic" and "wisdom built up over time."

Key Attributes of an Effective Role Model

An ideal role model, according to the discussion, possesses qualities that are accessible and replicable for young people. The podcast outlines three major arguments for why someone like Dolly Parton fits this criteria:

  • Commitment to Charity and Literacy: A significant reason for admiration is her "charity work" and efforts to "promote literacy in the United States." This demonstrates the importance of helping others and highlights that "being able to read is pretty crucial to being successful."
  • Supportive Nature: Being "supportive of other people, even if they aren't perfect" is a vital lesson. By acting as a non-judgmental mentor, the role model demonstrates empathy, which is a "good act for young people to follow."
  • Realistic Impact: Perhaps most importantly, the podcast notes that a role model does not need to have "moved mountains" or "achieved the impossible." Instead, they should show that helping others is a "realistic and easily accessible" goal, rather than requiring one to be a "superhuman."

Language Tips for Success

To achieve a high band score, the podcast recommends using sophisticated vocabulary and appropriate grammatical structures:

  • Vocabulary: Incorporate terms like "work ethic" (a system of accepted beliefs that control behavior), "sizable media presence," and "iconic" to describe influential figures.
  • Grammar: When discussing a living person, use the "present perfect" tense to describe their ongoing achievements (e.g., "she has released," "she has maintained"). If describing a historical figure, stick to the past tense.
  • Cohesion: Use transitional phrases like "another thing is" and "the reason she makes a good role model is connected to..." to ensure the answer flows logically.

By following these guidelines, candidates can provide a thoughtful, articulate, and well-structured response that satisfies the examiner’s expectations while showcasing their English proficiency.

🎯Key Sentences

1
It's hard to think of someone who isn't tainted by some sort of scandal these days.
2
If you've stayed alive this long, then good for you.
3
It is crazy.
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📝Key Phrases

1
tainted by scandal
2
set a good example
3
massive fan base
4
work ethic
5
media presence
Expand All

📖 Transcript

Hello, hello dear listener and welcome into IELTS speaking part 2.
Describe a famous person that is a role model for young people.
You should say who he or she is, how you knew them, what they've done and explain why they can be a role model for young people.
So Rory, could you tell us who a role model is?
A role model is a person that people aspire to be like.
Right. So they set a good example of how to do things, allegedly.

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