IELTS Speaking Part 2 & Part 3: A Time You Were Friendly to Someone You Didn’t Like & Band 9 Sample Answers

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IELTS Speaking Part 2: Describe a time you were friendly to someone you didn’t like

You should say:

When and where it happened
Who he/she was
Why you didn’t like this person
And explain why you were friendly to him/her on this occasion

Band 9 Model Answer 1:

IELTS cue card Describe a time you were friendly to someone you didn’t like

(When and where it happened) I had to do numerous group projects in college. I still remember fondly a group project I had in one of my classes, in which we had to find information about British geographical conditions, history, and business culture. While it was not the most fascinating project in my college life, it was a good one.

(Who he/she was) I had a group of friends in that class, so naturally, we’d stay together and form a group of our own. However, we did not meet the requirement regarding the number of people in a group, so more people joined us as insisted by the lecturer. There was this one student whom I didn’t have a good impression of.

(Why you didn’t like this person) It was not a groundless judgement that I passed on her. From what I could see: not only was she not very bright a student, but she was also a not very attentive one. We had a hard time getting her to start working, and even a harder time getting her to change the false information and correct the lexical and grammatical errors in her part.

(Why you were friendly with her on this occasion) I was getting impatient with her as I was the one who was in charge of overseeing the project, but I chose to remain friendly for the benefit of the group, whose spirit might have gone down were a big quarrel to happen. I even went so far as to correct her language mistakes because I wanted to send the lecturer our best product. Furthermore, it had previously been announced that the grading would be individual grade, which essentially meant others could still get decent grades if they worked hard. Thus, it was a lot easier to be nice to lazy students in the group.

Band 9 Model Answer 2:

To be honest, I am an introvert (someone who is quiet, shy, and prefers to spend time alone rather than communicating with other people) person, so I don’t like to socialize with other people and just prefer spending time with the like-minded (of people) sharing the same ideas, opinions, or interests) ones. But there was one time I had to try to be friendly with a classmate called Bill who lives in close proximity of (=near) my house.

Frankly speaking, we have nothing in common (to share interests or other characteristics with someone) in terms of personalities and interest, so it is really hard for me to communicate with him. Actually, he is quite extrovert (an energetic person who enjoys being with others), talkative, easy-going and quite humorous. He likes outdoor activities with all kinds of friends while I just want to spend time with close friends or stay alone to read books.

Unluckily, one day coming back from school, I fell off the bike and broke my legs. So I had to take a couple of weeks off from school and stay at home to rest. My mother was afraid that I couldn’t keep up with (to do whatever is necessary to stay level with someone) my friends after 2 weeks off from study, so she asked Bill to come over (to come to a place) my house every evening to help me study. At first, I felt quite awkward and couldn’t talk to him because I had never thought of one day I would communicate with him who I never wanted to. But I realized that I had to be polite and friendly to him, so that he was able to feel comfortable when teaching me. Although I appreciated his help a lot, those 2 weeks were really a nightmare to me.

IELTS Speaking Part 3 : Follow up Questions

Here some IELTS Speaking Part 3 questions asked during your speaking part 3 by IELTS examiner related to IELTS cue card “Describe a time you were friendly to someone you didn’t like”.

1. Why are people friendly with the person they don’t like?

Sample Answer 1: Well, we don’t live in a perfect world, so all people around us are not perfect. The person we don’t like is not intrinsically (in an essential or natural way) a bad person. The main reason you don’t get along ( =like each other) is that we have different values with them. So we don’t need to be friends with them but should be friendly to each other to create a better world.

Sample Answer 2: People can be friendly to others, even to people they don’t like, for various reasons. Some do that because those who they don’t like have what they want. Some are nice and friendly because the people they don’t like haven’t done anything harmful to them anyway. And some are just nice with everyone because they are genuinely nice and have friendly manners no matter who they are with.

2. What kinds of people are usually friendly?
As far as I’m concerned (according to what someone thinks), the vast majority of (the large number of) the people all over the world are friendly to others, especially the ones who work in education, customer service, sales & marketing, healthcare fields.

3. What are the differences between being friendly and polite?

Sample Answer 1: As far as I know, being friendly means you are nice, pleasant when talking with someone. Meanwhile, being polite is to follow the social norms and behaviors and doesn’t show levels of comfort and intimacy. For example, you can show your politeness by giving the seat for someone who is pregnant, but you don’t want to do so, deep down (in the part of your mind where your strongest & secret feelings are).

Sample Answer 2: Being polite is to adhere to social norms, such as making eye contact with a person with whom you are having a conversation, or respecting the personal space of others, while being friendly is showing sincere and positive affection towards someone. You don’t have to be friendly to be polite, but you have to be polite to be friendly.

4. What do you think about people who are always straightforward?
I think being a straightforward person has some advantages. The first advantage is that you can get immediately what you want without beating around the bush (avoid talking important things). Another one is that a straightforward person is the go-to (the best person for a particular purpose) one when they need an advice or suggestions because they don’t sugarcoat (to make something seem more pleasant or positive than it is) their words and usually tell the truth.

5. What are some qualities of a good friendship?

A good friendship is one in which both parties can point out each other’s flaws and make positive changes together accordingly. This process takes many other qualities to pull off (=to succeed in doing sth), such as trust, empathy, and loving affection. It is also a friendship where one can feel safe, and both parties are equal.

4. Is it important for people to have a good friendship with their colleagues?

Yes. People tend to perform better when working in a healthy and sociable environment. Moreover, having another person to chat with when you have a break, or knowing who to sit next to in a long meeting would be a source of comfort during working hours, especially if you have a mentally-taxing job.

Other IELTS Speaking Part 3 (Discussion)

What are some qualities of a good friendship?
Is it important for people to have a good friendship with their colleagues?