Describe a person you know who runs a successful business.
This test has appeared in 8 seasons · 3 reported by test takers
- Sep–Dec/2026
- May–Aug/2026
- May–Aug/2025
- Sep–Dec/2024
- May–Aug/2024
- Jan–Apr/2024
- Sep–Dec/2023
- Jan–Apr/2022
Reported by test takers Forecast only
Part 1
The examiner asks about you and two familiar topics. About 4–5 minutes.
Your home town
- Where is your home town? (Tell me more about that.)
- What do you like most about it? (Tell me more about that.)
- Has it changed much since you were a child? (Why is that?)
- Would you like to live there in the future? (Why is that?)
Tidiness
- Are you a tidy person? (Why is that?)
- Is your room usually tidy? (Why is that?)
- Did your parents ask you to tidy your room when you were young? (Why is that?)
- Do you think tidy people work better? (Why is that?)
Stars and outer space
- Do you like looking at the stars? (Why is that?)
- Is it easy to see the stars where you live? (Why is that?)
- Did you learn about space at school? (Why is that?)
- Would you like to travel into space one day? (Why is that?)
Part 2
One minute to prepare, then speak for one to two minutes.
Describe a person you know who runs a successful business.
You should say:
- who this person is
- what kind of business it is
- how they started it
and explain why you think the business is successful.
Follow-up question after your talk: Would you like to run your own business one day? / How long has that business been open?
Part 3
A broader, more abstract discussion of the Part 2 topic. About 4–5 minutes.
running a small business
- Can you explain why many small businesses close within a year?
- In general, which qualities does a person need to run a business well?
- How would you contrast working for yourself with working for a large company?
business and technology
- Can you explain how the internet has made it easier to start a business?
- What could be done about new businesses that fail in their first year?
- Can you speculate on how people will start their own businesses ten years from now?
Test titles follow test-taker reports and each season's forecasts — IELTS does not publish its papers. "Reported" means someone reported meeting this topic in a dated test. The questions are written by us in the format of the real test.