Home / Question bank

Describe a time when someone helped you make a difficult decision.

This test has appeared in 1 seasons · 1 reported by test takers

  • May–Aug/2025

Reported by test takers Forecast only

Take this test with the AI examiner

Part 1

The examiner asks about you and two familiar topics. About 4–5 minutes.

Your home town

  1. Where is your home town? (Tell me more about that.)
  2. What do you like most about it? (Tell me more about that.)
  3. Has it changed much since you were a child? (Why is that?)
  4. Would you like to live there in the future? (Why is that?)

Cooking

  1. Do you cook very often? (Why is that?)
  2. What dish are you best at cooking? (Tell me more about that.)
  3. Who taught you how to cook? (Tell me more about that.)
  4. Do you think everyone should learn how to cook? (Why is that?)

Noise and quiet places

  1. Is the area where you live noisy or quiet? (Why is that?)
  2. What kind of noise annoys you most? (Tell me more about that.)
  3. Has your neighbourhood become noisier over the years? (Why is that?)
  4. Do you prefer working in a quiet place or with some background noise? (Why is that?)

Part 2

One minute to prepare, then speak for one to two minutes.

Describe a time when someone helped you make a difficult decision.

You should say:

  • what the decision was
  • who helped you
  • how they helped you

and explain how you felt about the decision you made.

Follow-up question after your talk: Do you usually ask others for advice? / How long did it take you to decide?

Part 3

A broader, more abstract discussion of the Part 2 topic. About 4–5 minutes.

how people make difficult decisions

  1. Can you explain why people ask others for advice before deciding something important?
  2. In general, what do people find hardest about making decisions?
  3. How would you compare deciding quickly with taking a long time to decide?

decisions in families and at work

  1. Can you explain how families make decisions that affect everyone?
  2. What could be done about workers who are never asked before decisions are made?
  3. Can you speculate on how technology will help people make decisions in the future?

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.