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Lesson 11: Cue Card Structure (4-bullet roadmap)

Phase 2Part 2Target: Coherencea person who inspired you
The one win

turn the four printed bullets into a clear beginning–middle–end so your 2-minute talk never wanders.

Why this matters

Part 2 is the one moment where you control two full minutes. The examiner is listening for Fluency & Coherence: can you "speak at length" and organise ideas "logically", linking them "flexibly"? (See band descriptors cheatsheet, criterion 1.) A band 5 "can keep going but with effort" and is "sometimes hard to follow". A band 7 sounds planned even when it isn't. The secret: the cue card already hands you an outline. The four bullets are your roadmap — use them in order and you cannot get lost.

The Tip/Trick — the 4-bullet roadmap

Every Part 2 cue card has a title plus four bullets (usually what / when / who-or-where / why-or-how-you-feel). Treat each bullet as one mini-paragraph and bookend them with a one-sentence intro and a one-sentence wrap-up. That gives a clean six-part shape:

Intro → Bullet 1 → Bullet 2 → Bullet 3 → Bullet 4 (feeling) → Wrap-up.

Before (no roadmap): "I want to talk about my teacher. She is nice. She taught me English. I like her very much. Yeah… she is a good person." (≈25 seconds, then silence.)

After (roadmap): "I'd like to talk about a person who really inspired me — my secondary-school English teacher, Ms Lan. [intro] I first met her when… [bullet 1] What she's like is… [bullet 2] The reason she influenced me was… [bullet 3] And honestly, the way she made me feel was… [bullet 4] So all in all, she's someone I'll never forget. [wrap-up]"

Same person, but now you have a structure that fills two minutes effortlessly.

Grammar Focus — Past simple + descriptive adjectives

Rule: Use the past simple (regular -ed / irregular forms) for completed actions in the person's story, and stack precise adjectives to paint them (order: opinion → size → age → shape → colour). See grammar structures → Past simple + descriptive adjectives.

  • "She was a warm, softly-spoken older woman who taught me far more than grammar."
  • "He gave me my first job and believed in me when no one else did."
  • "She wore these bright, hand-knitted jumpers and spoke with this calm, patient voice."

Vocabulary Cluster — Describing a person

Use these natural collocations instead of repeating "nice" and "good":

  • a huge influence on me — someone who shaped you a lot — "My grandfather was a huge influence on me growing up."
  • down to earth — modest and practical — "Despite being famous locally, she's really down to earth."
  • a role model — someone you try to copy — "He became a role model for the whole team."
  • wise beyond her years — more mature than her age suggests — "Even as a student she was wise beyond her years."
  • bring out the best in people — make others perform well — "A great teacher brings out the best in people."
  • lead by example — set a standard through actions — "She never lectured us; she led by example."
  • have a heart of gold — be very kind — "He's tough on the outside but has a heart of gold."
  • look up to (someone) — admire and respect — "I've always looked up to my older sister."
  • leave a lasting impression — affect you long-term — "That one conversation left a lasting impression on me."

Drill these as flashcards — flip, then grade yourself.

Mastered 0/9

Answer Outline — the cue-card skeleton + 1-minute prep

You always get a card, paper, a pencil, and 1 minute to prepare. Don't write sentences — jot 3–4 keywords per bullet. Then speak from the keywords.

TITLE: a person who inspired you → Ms Lan (Eng teacher)
• WHO / how I know them: teacher, grade 9, 3 yrs
• WHAT they're like: patient, down-to-earth, funny
• WHAT they did / WHY inspiring: stayed late, believed in me
• HOW I FEEL: grateful, role model, lasting impression

Spoken frame to fill:

  1. Intro (10s): "I'd like to talk about…, who/that…"
  2. Bullet 1 (20s): "I first met/knew… when…"
  3. Bullet 2 (25s): "In terms of what she's like, …"
  4. Bullet 3 (35s): "The main reason she inspired me was…, for instance…"
  5. Bullet 4 — feeling (20s): "Looking back, she made me feel…"
  6. Wrap-up (10s): "So all in all, that's the person who…"

Model Answers: 5.0 vs 7.0

Question (cue card): Describe a person who has inspired you. You should say: who this person is; how you know them; what they are like; and explain why they have inspired you.

Band 5.0: "I talk about my teacher. Her name is Lan. I know her in school. She teach English. She is nice and kind. She help me a lot in study. I like her because she is good teacher and she is funny sometimes. So she inspire me. That's all about her, yeah."

Band 7.0: "I'd like to talk about someone who's been a huge influence on me — my secondary-school English teacher, Ms Lan. I first met her in grade nine, so I've known her for about three years now. In terms of what she's like, she was warm, incredibly patient and really down to earth, even though she was the best teacher in the school. What inspired me most was that she led by example: she stayed late to help weaker students and genuinely believed I could improve when I didn't believe it myself. Looking back, she brought out the best in me and left a lasting impression. All in all, she's the main reason I'm even sitting this exam."

What changed (upgrade moves):

  1. Paraphrased the prompt — "a person who has inspired me" → "someone who's been a huge influence on me".
  2. Collocations added — "down to earth", "led by example", "brought out the best in me", "left a lasting impression".
  3. Past simple + descriptive adjectives — "she was warm, incredibly patient and really down to earth".
  4. Coherence markers — "In terms of…", "What inspired me most was…", "Looking back…", "All in all…" (the roadmap, spoken).
  5. Tense accuracy — fixed "she teach / she help / she inspire" → correct past and present perfect ("I've known her").
Vietnamese-Speaker Pitfalls
  • Dropped -ed endings → past tense disappears: "she teach" / "he help me". Pronounce the ending: taught, helped /helpt/, believed /bɪˈliːvd/. (See pronunciation vietnamese, §3.)
  • Missing articles with the person's role: "she is good teacher" → "she is a good teacher". Don't drop a/the.
  • Adjective order / overload — avoid one flat word ("nice", "good"). Stack two precise adjectives instead: "warm and patient", not "very very nice".

Your Turn (Record)

Set a timer. 1 minute to make keyword notes on the cue card below, then speak for 2 minutes and record it on your phone.

Describe a person who has inspired you. You should say: who this person is; how you know them; what they are like; and explain why they have inspired you.

Rules: use the 6-part roadmap, hit all four bullets in order, and finish with a one-sentence wrap-up. Aim to still be talking at 1:50.

Your turn — record & get scored

Part 2
Prompt
  • Describe a person who has inspired you. You should say: who this person is; how you know them; what they are like; and explain why they have inspired you.
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0:00
Tap to record your spoken answer
or type / edit your transcript

Self-Check + Spaced Review

Done when:

  • I made keyword (not sentence) notes in under 1 minute.
  • My talk had an intro, all 4 bullets in order, and a wrap-up.
  • I spoke for at least 1:50 without long silences.
  • I used ≥3 "Describing a person" collocations and ≥2 past-tense verbs with clear -ed/irregular endings.

Spaced review (callbacks):

  1. Re-use the PREP answer-extension framework (Lesson 03) inside bullet 3 — give a Point, Reason, Example, Point for why the person inspired you.
  2. Recycle the linking & discourse markers (Lesson 05) as your roadmap signposts ("In terms of…", "What's more…", "All in all…").