Describe a time you helped someone.
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 you helped someone.
You should say
- who you helped
- what the situation was
- what you did
- and explain how you felt about it
60 seconds to prepare, up to 2 minutes to speak
A band 7 to 8 answer
About 197 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.About four years ago a younger colleague was clearly struggling in his first months and nobody had noticed, partly because he was extremely good at appearing fine. What gave it away was that his work was arriving late at night, consistently, which meant he was redoing everything after hours rather than asking anything during the day. What I did was fairly small. I asked him to explain a piece of work to me, not to check it but because I genuinely did not understand that part of the system, and that reversed the direction of the conversation. After that he asked me things. Within about two months he had stopped working nights. How I felt about it is complicated, because the honest answer includes some discomfort. I had noticed the same pattern in two other people over the years and done nothing, and the only reason I acted this time was that he sat near me. That is not a principle. It is proximity. He left the company about a year later for something better, and he told me on his last day that the afternoon I asked him to explain things was when he stopped panicking.
The words that earn marks
Each one links to how it is pronounced.
- struggling
the precise verb, with a clean ng ending
- consistently
four syllables with the stress on the second
- redoing
prefixed verb naming the hidden problem
- reversed
the key verb of what the action achieved
- discomfort
three syllables with the stress on the second
- principle
the noun, distinguished from principal
- proximity
four syllables with the stress on the second
How a strong answer is built
- 1Say who and how you noticed the problem.
- 2Describe what you actually did, precisely.
- 3Give the outcome with a real measure.
- 4Answer the feeling honestly, even if it is not flattering.
Sounds to watch
The ones this answer leans on most.
Straight answers
How long should my answer to “Describe a time you helped someone.” 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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