Describe a time when you had to be patient.
A strong long turn names the subject in the first sentence, spends most of the two minutes on the last bullet — the why — and arrives at a prepared final line rather than trailing off.
The question, as the examiner gives it
Describe a time when you had to be patient.
You should say
- what the situation was
- how long it lasted
- how you coped
- and explain what the outcome was
60 seconds to prepare, up to 2 minutes to speak
A band 7 to 8 answer
About 193 words at a natural pace — roughly what 120 seconds holds.
Answer it yourself first
Record your own answer first. A model you have read three times comes out with a flattened rhythm, and examiners are trained to hear exactly that. Read it afterwards for the vocabulary and the shape, not to memorise the sentences.Three years ago I applied for a document from a government office that, on paper, takes about six weeks and in practice took eleven months. There was no single obstacle. It was a sequence of small ones, a missing signature, an office that had moved, a form that had been replaced, each of which cost three or four weeks and none of which was anybody's fault in particular. How I coped, badly at first. I rang every week for the first two months and achieved nothing except my own irritation. What eventually worked was treating it as a background process rather than a problem. I set a reminder to make one call a fortnight, kept a written record of every conversation with the date and the name, and stopped thinking about it in between. The outcome was that it arrived, eventually, and the written record turned out to be the thing that finished it, because on the last call I could say exactly what had been promised and when. I have used that written record method twice since for completely unrelated things, and both times it has been the thing that finished it.
The words that earn marks
Each one links to how it is pronounced.
- obstacle
three syllables with the stress on the first
- sequence
the right noun for a series of delays
- signature
three syllables with the stress on the first
- irritation
four syllables with the stress on the third
- fortnight
a British time noun few candidates use
- record
the noun, stressed on the first syllable
- promised
past participle with an audible ending
How a strong answer is built
- 1Give the situation and the gap between expectation and reality.
- 2Explain why it took so long, concretely.
- 3Say what did not work before what did.
- 4Give the outcome and the thing that actually helped.
Sounds to watch
The ones this answer leans on most.
Straight answers
How long should my answer to “Describe a time when you had to be patient.” be?
You get 60 seconds to make notes and then speak for up to two minutes without interruption. Aim to still be talking at ninety seconds: finishing at forty is the commonest way to lose marks on this part.
Should I memorise the model answer?
No. Record your own version first, then read the model for the shape and the vocabulary. A memorised answer changes rhythm and pace noticeably, and examiners are trained to hear it — it usually costs more than the better wording gains.
Does sayit score this answer?
It scores what a microphone can observe: an estimate from fluency and pronunciation only — not an official band, and not a mark for vocabulary or grammar.
What the band on your result means
An estimate from fluency and pronunciation only — not an official band, and not a mark for vocabulary or grammar.One question a day until your test
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