The cue card
Describe a photograph that you like.
You should say:
- what the photograph shows
- when and where it was taken
- who took it
and explain why you like this photograph.
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).
The photograph I'd like to talk about is an old black-and-white picture that hangs in my parents' living room. It shows my grandfather as a young man, probably in his mid-twenties, standing in front of a small school building with a tin roof. He's wearing a white shirt and a lungi and holding a brass bell, and he's surrounded by about twenty children, some of them barefoot, most of them squinting into the sun. A few are grinning, but my grandfather looks very serious, almost stern, which amuses me because I only ever knew him as a gentle, smiling old man.
As far as we know, it was taken in the late nineteen-seventies in his village, not far from Sylhet. He'd just been appointed as one of the first teachers at the village primary school, and the picture was taken on the day the new building was opened.
Hardly anyone in the village owned a camera in those days, so the school committee had hired a photographer from the town, who apparently arrived on a bicycle with his equipment strapped to the back. Unfortunately, nobody remembers his name. My grandfather kept the print in a tin trunk for decades, and by the time my father found it, it was faded and creased, so he had it restored and framed.
There are a few reasons why it means a lot to me. Firstly, it's the only picture we have of my grandfather when he was young, so it gives me a glimpse of a side of him I never saw. But more than that, it sums up something my family has always believed in, which is the value of education. He spent his whole career teaching in that school, and several of those barefoot children went on to become teachers themselves. Whenever I'm finding my studies tough, I look at that photo and it puts things into perspective.
Useful phrases from this answer
- squinting into the sun
- half-closing your eyes because the sunlight is too bright
- a glimpse of
- a quick or partial view of something
- sums up
- shows the main idea of something in a short way
- went on to become
- later became
- puts things into perspective
- helps you see what is really important
- fade from memory
- slowly be forgotten
- creative outlet
- an activity that lets you express your creativity
- sparingly
- only a little, carefully, not often
Part 3 follow-up questions and answers
Why do people like taking photographs?
I think the main reason is that photos help us hold on to moments that would otherwise fade from memory. We take pictures at weddings, on holidays or when friends get together because we know these occasions won't come again in exactly the same way. Photography has also become a form of communication; people share images to show others what they're doing or how they're feeling, often instead of writing anything. And for some, it's a genuine creative outlet, a way of noticing beauty in ordinary things like light on a street or a stranger's expression. So the motives range from sentimental to social to artistic.
How has digital technology changed photography?
It's transformed it almost completely. In the past, film was expensive and you had to wait for prints to be developed, so people took photos sparingly and mostly on special occasions. Now anyone with a phone can take hundreds of pictures for free, see them instantly and edit them in seconds. That has made photography far more democratic, since you no longer need expensive equipment to take a good picture. On the downside, photos have arguably become less precious; because they're so easy to take, many are never looked at again, and editing tools mean we can't always trust that an image shows reality.
Do people take too many photographs nowadays?
In many situations, I'd say yes. It's common to see people at concerts or in beautiful places watching the whole experience through their phone screens instead of actually enjoying it. And since most of those photos just sit on a device unseen, you have to wonder what the point was. Some people also seem more concerned with getting the perfect shot for social media than with the moment itself. That said, I wouldn't want to criticise it too harshly. Taking lots of photos isn't harmful in itself, and occasionally one of those casual snapshots becomes a treasured memory years later.
Can a photograph be considered a work of art?
Absolutely, in my opinion, although not every photograph is one. A skilled photographer makes deliberate decisions about composition, lighting, timing and subject, in much the same way a painter does, and the best images can provoke strong emotions or make us see something familiar in a completely new way. Some documentary photographs, for instance, capture moments in history with a power that words can't match. Of course, a quick snap of your lunch isn't art in that sense. So I'd say what makes a photo artistic isn't the camera but the intention and skill behind it, and the effect it has on the viewer.
Should people be allowed to take photographs of strangers in public places?
It's a complicated question, and I think it depends on how the photo is taken and used. In public spaces, people can't reasonably expect to be completely invisible, and banning all photography of strangers would make journalism and street photography almost impossible. However, there's a big difference between someone appearing in the background of a tourist's picture and someone being deliberately photographed and posted online without their consent. I'd argue that photographers have an ethical duty to ask permission when a person is the clear focus of the image, especially children or people in vulnerable situations, and laws should protect people from being harassed or humiliated.
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