Part 2 — Long turnQ3/2026Difficulty 3/5

Describe an important object you own

IELTS Speaking questions reported by recent test-takers, compiled each quarter. Cambridge does not publish the active list, so this is a compilation of reports, not official material.

Questions

Question 160s to prepare · 120s to speak

Describe an important object you own. You should say: • what it is • how you got it • how long you have had it • and explain why it is important to you

Model answer

Written by 8020 teachers. Do not memorise it — take the structure and the way ideas are developed, then speak about your own life.

The object I want to talk about is my father's wristwatch, which I've had since he passed away six years ago. It's not valuable — it's a Seiko he bought in the nineteen-nineties, and if I sold it I'd probably get less than a hundred dollars. The glass has a scratch across it that he never fixed. How I got it is straightforward: my mother gave it to me when we were sorting through his things, and she gave my sister his camera. It wasn't a formal decision, it just seemed obvious to everyone which of us should have which. I've had it about six years now, and I wear it maybe once a week, not every day. That's deliberate. If I wore it constantly it would become just a watch, and I'd stop noticing it. Why is it important? Partly the obvious reason, which is that it belonged to him. But more specifically, it's the scratch. He got it fixing a bicycle chain and decided it wasn't worth repairing, and that decision is very much who he was — things had to work, they didn't have to look good. So the damage is more him than the watch is. I mean, if I'd inherited something in perfect condition I don't think it would carry the same weight.

Vocabulary you can use today

pass away
qua đời — lịch sự hơn 'die'
sort through someone's things
sắp xếp lại đồ đạc của người đã mất
that's deliberate
đó là có chủ ý
it would become just a watch
nó sẽ chỉ còn là một cái đồng hồ
that is very much who he was
điều đó đúng là tính cách của ông
carry the same weight
có cùng ý nghĩa, cùng sức nặng

Common traps for Vietnamese speakers

Chọn đồ RẺ. Đồ đắt buộc bạn nói về giá, mà giá thì không có gì để phân tích. Đồ rẻ có ý nghĩa riêng thì mở ra được ý thứ tư. Chi tiết ăn điểm nhất trong bài là vết xước — một khiếm khuyết mang ý nghĩa. Tìm một chi tiết KHÔNG hoàn hảo của đồ vật rồi giải thích nó nói gì về người hoặc về bạn. Nếu đề nhắc tới người đã mất, không cần né. Nhưng giữ giọng bình thản — bài mẫu kể vết xước chứ không kể nỗi buồn, và vì thế nó chạm hơn.

âm cuối /tʃ/ trong watch, scratch — hai từ khoá của bài/θ/ trong things, father→/ð/, weightâm cuối /d/ trong belonged, decided, inherited/v/ trong valuable, very — đừng thành /f/

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