IELTS Speaking Part 2: Describe a Piece of Advice You Received (Band 7.0)

Now, I'm going to give you a topic,

and I'd like you to talk about it for one to two minutes.

Describe a piece of advice you received.

You have one minute to think about what you'd like to say.

Thank you. I know exactly what to talk about!

All right? Please start speaking now.

I'd like to talk about some advice from my aunt,

who runs a small bakery in my hometown.

She's the kind of person who always tells you the truth!

I received it about three years ago,

when I'd just started university.

I'd never lived away from home before,

and the city felt enormous and lonely.

Everyone in my class seemed far cleverer than me.

While they were asking smart questions,

I was secretly thinking about dropping out.

One night, I called my aunt in tears,

and she just listened.

When I finally stopped crying, she said something simple.

She told me not to compare my chapter one

to someone else's chapter twenty.

At first, I didn't really understand what she meant!

But the next morning, it suddenly made sense.

The others must have struggled at first too,

but they simply hid it better!

So I stopped comparing myself, and I joined a study group.

By the end of the year, I'd passed every exam,

and I'd made some real friends too!

What I remember most is how calm she sounded,

and it calmed me down too.

If a friend felt like that today,

I'd give them exactly the same advice.

I just wish I'd called her sooner!

These days, I tutor first-year students who feel lost,

and I always pass her words on.

Do you often give advice to other people?

Only when they ask for it!

Unwanted advice is rarely welcome, in my experience.

And is your aunt pleased that it helped?

Very! She tells everyone at the bakery about it!

Thank you. That's the end of Part Two.