IELTS Speaking P.2 Topic: Describe a painting

[Maybo]

This is a practice text for the speaking part of the IELTS exam. Please correct it and make it colloquial.

Topic: Describe a painting or work of art (source)
You should say:

• When did you see this work of art?
• Where did you see it?
• What does it look like?

And explain why you like it.

My response:
I drew a painting for my younger brother when he was in hospital 10 years ago. He had a high fever and he felt lonely with strangers living in the same ward, so he asked me to draw a painting featuring our grandparents' chow chow dog. I was happy to take the request because I didn't know what else I could do to make him feel better.

At first, I tried to draw my grandfather playing the erhu, a Chinese instrument, and the dog dancing. However, it was my first time drawing a dancing, fluffy dog, so it was very challenging. In my first attempt, the dog looked like a stringed puppet who had difficulty moving. It looked ridiculous. I therefore enlisted one of my friends, Carmen, who is an artist to teach me. I quickly got the hang of it and created my piece in three hours. I was very satisfied with the outcome because the dog was lifelike. I love drawing, but I never thought I could reach the high level in a short time. The painting definitely showed my hard work and love, so I liked it very much.

When my brother saw my work, he was impressed that my painting skills had improved that far. He kept praising it and said, "The dog is cute". I knew he would love the painting. I’d chosen that scene because it always is the happiest moment in our family. I was glad that I’d captured that moment. I hoped my work could offer my brother some comfort when none of us was there to accompany him. When my brother studied abroad, he even brought it along. It's become a memorable thing now.

 

[Tarheel]

This is a practice text for the speaking part of the IELTS exam. Please correct it and make it colloquial.

Topic: Describe a painting or work of art (source)
You should say:

• When did you see this work of art?
• Where did you see it?
• What does it look like?

And explain why you like it.

My response:
I drew a painting for my younger brother when he was in hospital 10 years ago. He had a high fever and he felt lonely with strangers living in the same ward, so he asked me to draw a painting featuring our grandparents' chow chow dog. I was happy to take the request because I didn't know what else I could do to make him feel better.

At first, I tried to draw my grandfather playing the erhu, a Chinese instrument, and the dog dancing. However, it was my first time drawing a dancing, fluffy dog, so it was very challenging. In my first attempt, the dog looked like a stringed puppet who had difficulty moving. It looked ridiculous. I therefore enlisted one of my friends, Carmen, who is an artist to teach me. I quickly got the hang of it and created my piece in three hours. I was very satisfied with the outcome because the dog was lifelike. I love drawing, but I never thought I could reach SUCH A high level in SUCH a short time. The painting definitely showed my hard work and love, so I liked it very much.

When my brother saw my work, he was impressed that my painting skills had improved that MUCH. He kept praising it and said, "The dog is cute". I knew he would love the painting. I’d chosen that scene because it always is the happiest moment in our family. I was glad that I’d captured that moment. I hoped my work could offer my brother some comfort when none of us was there to accompany him. When my brother studied abroad, he even brought it along. It's become a memorable thing now.

Put a comma after "artist".

 

[emsr2d2]

We don't "draw paintings". We paint paintings. We draw drawings or pictures.

 

[emsr2d2]

Topic: Describe a painting or work of art (source)
You should say:

• When did you see this work of art?
• Where did you see it?
• What does it look like?

And explain why you like it.

Whilst it's an interesting story, I think you already know that the prompt was actually asking you about a work of art that someone else created. Your piece has really answered only the third of the three main points.

 

[Maybo]

Whilst it's an interesting story, I think you already know that the prompt was actually asking you about a work of art that someone else created. Your piece has really answered only the third of the three main points.

Right. I had considered other people’s work but I could only speak for 30 seconds. I might twist my story a bit, saying my mum painted it.

 

[emsr2d2]

You'll have to twist your story more than "a bit". Have you really never been to an art gallery or been anywhere at all where there's some artwork on the walls (even if displaying art isn't the main purpose of the building)?

 

[Maybo]

You'll have to twist your story more than "a bit". Have you really never been to an art gallery or been anywhere at all where there's some artwork on the walls (even if displaying art isn't the main purpose of the building)?

Yes. For example, The Scream by Edvard Munch.
At first, I wanted to talk about that.
“When I first saw the painting I found it interesting. There was a man screaming on a bridge. The sky and the river were twisting. The picture made me feel like the man was trying to shout but he couldn’t. The two people behind him didn’t have any reactions to it. The colours mostly used in the painting were striking blue and orange, making me feel uncomfortable.
However, I still like it because I believe many people might have the same experience; they can’t voice out their opinions in face of unfairness. Others just stands on the sidelines. Some people may feel relatable.”
At this point, I couldn’t come up with more ideas.

 

[emsr2d2]

Yes. For example, The Scream by Edvard Munch.
At first, I wanted to talk about that.
“When I first saw the painting I found it interesting. There was a man screaming on a bridge. The sky and the river were twisting. The picture made me feel like the man was trying to shout but he couldn’t. The two people behind him didn’t have any reactions to it. The colours mostly used in the painting were striking blue and orange, making me feel uncomfortable.
However, I still like it because I believe many people might have the same experience; they can’t voice out their opinions in face of unfairness. Others just stands on the sidelines. Some people may feel relatable.”
At this point, I couldn’t come up with more ideas.

Well, for a start, you've failed to answer the first two questions:

- When did you see it?
- Where did you see it?

Here's an idea of how you could open:

In November 2024, I was lucky enough to visit Oslo for a few days. There are myriad fantastic things for tourists to do in this beautiful capital city, but top of my list was a visit to The National Museum. It's situated a mere stone's throw from the port and marina, a popular area containing many bars and restaurants.
On a sunny Sunday morning, I paid the 350 Krone entrance fee and entered this fascinating building. It was relatively early so there weren't very many other people there. I wandered through various rooms but what I was really there for was to see one of my favourite paintings - "The Scream" by Edvard Munch. I'd heard of this painting many times throughout my life and it sounded intriguing. I decided a couple of years ago that I would try and see the real thing. This was my opportunity. The museum has an entire room dedicated to the works of Munch and I entered the room with butterflies in my stomach.

OK, that's enough creative writing for me for one afternoon. Can you see how I've taken the questions that were used in the prompt and made a story out of it? You need to use your imagination (and/or your memories of the event) to fill out the story. Of course simply saying "I saw Munch's The Scream at The National Museum in Oslo in 2024 and I found it fascinating. It's scary and colourful and it made me feel a bit weird" answers all the questions in the prompt but it's not going to fill the time. Let me know what you think of my suggested opening. How long do you think it would take you to say it as part of the spoken part of the exam?

 

[Maybo]

Let me know what you think of my suggested opening

Your opening is smooth!

How long do you think it would take you to say it as part of the spoken part of the exam?

I tried to read it aloud. It’s about 1.30min.

 

[Tarheel]

Well, it's a painting. I'm not surprised that you couldn't hear anything. (No audio.)

 

[jutfrank]

Let's remember this is a speaking test. It's not supposed to test how good you are at creative writing.

The way to practise this is by speaking, not writing.

 

[emsr2d2]

Let's remember this is a speaking test. It's not supposed to test how good you are at creative writing.

The way to practise this is by speaking, not writing.

That's a fair point. I was simply indicating that if the OP is struggling to fill the speaking time required with simple facts that answer the prompt questions, they're going to have to come up with lots of "filler" content. Of course it doesn't have to be as "creative" as mine. I was simply trying to give an idea (admittedly, an overdone one) of the sort of content that can be included to surround the basic facts. Speaking for a solid two minutes is quite a challenge when you've had just one minute to prepare a previously unknown topic!

 

[jutfrank]

Okay, I didn't mean to be critical of you and I see how you're helping. But I wanted to point out that I think what Maybo is doiing here is not a particularly useful way to prepare for the IELTS test, if that's her goal. The way that she writes often feels like writing, not speaking, and your suggestion in post #6 has the same feel in some places.

I don't see why Maybo can't speak into a microphone, turn into into text, and post that instead. At the moment, she's writing first and then reading it aloud, which is the wrong way round.

 

[emsr2d2]

I see your point! I agree entirely. @Maybo, I definitely think you should try jutfrank's suggestion above. Find a prompt online, set your phone timer for 60 seconds (thinking time), then hit Record on your phone or laptop and speak for two minutes. You can then either transcribe it yourself on here and we'll look at the text or, if you record it on something like Vocaroo, you can upload the recording itself for us to listen to.

 

[Maybo]

When I do the practice, I speak first but I often finish at around 1-1:30min. Then, when I post here, I add a lot more details.
Is it okay if I put my transcribe and recording on a same thread and post it in the writing forum?
(It’s acceptable for 1:30min but when I nervous, I tend to speak faster.)

 

[emsr2d2]

When I do the practice, I speak first but I often finish at around 1-1:30min. Then, when I post here, I add a lot more details.

If you're only coming up with 60-90 seconds of content when you speak, what's the point of adding extra details when you post here? That really doesn't make sense.

Is it okay if I put my transcribe transcription and recording on a the same thread and post it in the writing forum?

If you're going to post the recording, I suggest you don't post the transcription at all to start with. That'll mean you know we're listening to the recording without relying on a written version - after all, that's what the IELTS examiner is going to be doing.

(It’s acceptable for 1:30min but when I am nervous, I tend to speak faster.)

I don't know what the underlined part means.

 

[Maybo]

If you're only coming up with 60-90 seconds of content when you speak, what's the point of adding extra details when you post here? That really doesn't make sense.

I don't know what the underlined part means.

1.30min is the minimum requirement but I try to get closer to 2 min so that more vocabulary can be used. I try to make the story more organised and add some descriptive words to get higher marks

 

[jutfrank]

I only suggested posting a transcript because I thought that either you might not want to post an audio file or that the members here wouldn't want to be dealing with audio rather than text. Of course, we can evaluate your speaking far far better if we can hear what you're saying rather than relying on a transcript.

Practise getting the length as close as possible to the 2-minute mark without going over.

 

[Maybo]

Really? Out of curiosity I read your text out loud at a steady pace and it took me 130 seconds.

It seems like you wrote far too much.

For post #7, I used only 30 seconds.

 

[emsr2d2]

Really? Out of curiosity I read your text out loud at a steady pace and it took me 130 seconds.

That's true of post #1 but Maybo later said that all they could come up with in the first instance was what was in post #7. They later embellished it and posted it as the opening post of this thread.