The cue card
Describe a gift you gave to someone.
You should say:
- what the gift was
- who you gave it to
- why you chose it
and explain how the person felt when they received it.
You have one minute to make notes, then speak for one to two minutes.
Band 8–9 sample answer
Written by Abroadway as a model of natural, high-band speaking (not an official IELTS sample).
I'd like to describe a gift I gave my uncle last winter. He's my mother's younger brother, and he's lived in Birmingham, in England, for over twenty years, where he worked as a bus driver until he retired last year. I went to stay with him and his family for a few weeks, partly to celebrate his retirement.
The gift was a wooden chess set, a proper, heavy one with a folding board inlaid with two shades of wood and hand-carved pieces. I found it in a small antiques shop in the city centre, and it wasn't cheap by my standards; I'd been putting money aside for it for months before the trip.
As for why I chose it, there's quite a long story behind it. When I was a child, my uncle used to visit us in Dhaka every couple of years, and on each visit he'd spend hours teaching me chess on a cheap plastic set with a few missing pieces, which we replaced with coins. He was incredibly patient, but he never let me win on purpose, so the first time I genuinely beat him, at about thirteen, I felt like a world champion. I knew that after retiring he'd have much more free time, and I hoped the set would remind him of those games and perhaps get him playing again, this time with his grandchildren.
When he opened it, he didn't say anything for a moment, which made me slightly nervous. Then he picked up one of the knights, turned it over in his hand and asked if I remembered the coins. He was clearly quite moved. That evening he insisted we play a match straight away, and I'm sorry to say he beat me rather convincingly. The set now has pride of place in his living room.
Useful phrases from this answer
- putting money aside
- saving money for a particular purpose
- on purpose
- deliberately, not by accident
- quite moved
- emotionally touched, almost close to tears
- pride of place
- the most important or noticeable position
- put into words
- express a feeling using language
- carry social weight
- be important in how other people judge you
- with you in mind
- thinking specifically about you while doing it
- keep up appearances
- try to look richer or more successful than you really are
Part 3 follow-up questions and answers
Why do people give gifts to each other?
Mostly to express feelings that are sometimes hard to put into words, like gratitude, affection or even an apology. A gift is a tangible way of showing that you've been thinking about someone. Gifts also play an important social role; at weddings, Eid or birthdays, giving something is part of the tradition, and not doing so might be seen as disrespectful. In some cases there's an element of obligation or even strategy, for example when businesses give presents to clients to maintain good relationships. So I'd say the motives range from completely sincere to fairly practical, and very often it's a mixture of both.
Is the price of a gift important?
Generally, I'd say it matters less than people think, although it isn't completely irrelevant. What most people value is the sense that the giver has put some thought into it, so a cheap but personal present can mean far more than an expensive one chosen in a hurry. That said, in some contexts price does carry social weight. At weddings in Bangladesh, for instance, families sometimes notice what each guest has given, and people may feel embarrassed if their gift seems too modest. I think the ideal is for a gift to suit the relationship and to be something the giver can realistically afford.
Are handmade gifts more meaningful than ones bought in shops?
In many cases, yes, because a handmade gift represents time and effort, which are in some ways more personal than money. If someone spends weeks knitting a scarf or painting a picture for you, it's unique and clearly made with you in mind. However, I wouldn't say that's always true. A handmade gift can be impractical or simply not to the person's taste, while a shop-bought item can be very meaningful if it's chosen carefully, like a book the person has been longing to read. So I think the real measure is thoughtfulness rather than whether something was made or bought.
Do people spend too much money on gifts nowadays?
I'd say some people do, particularly around big occasions like weddings and festivals. There seems to be growing pressure, partly fuelled by social media, to give impressive and visibly expensive presents, and some families end up borrowing money just to keep up appearances. Businesses also encourage this by heavily marketing occasions like Valentine's Day. On the other hand, it's hard to generalise, because for many people gift-giving remains modest and sensible. I think the problem arises when gifts become about status rather than affection, because then the spending stops being meaningful and simply becomes a burden.
How have gift-giving traditions changed over the years?
From what older relatives tell me, gifts used to be much simpler and more practical, such as clothes, sweets or household items, and they were usually handed over in person on specific occasions like Eid. Nowadays the range is far wider, and people often give gadgets, vouchers or even money sent digitally. Online shopping means gifts can be delivered across the country or even abroad without the giver being present, which is convenient but perhaps a little less personal. New occasions have appeared too, like Valentine's Day or wedding anniversaries, which weren't widely marked in Bangladesh a generation or two ago.
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