# Describe a person you disliked at first: IELTS Speaking sample answers

Speaking Part 2 - People

Describe a person you disliked at first but later became friends with.

You should say:
- who this person is
- how you met this person
- why you did not like them at first
- and explain how you became friends

Source: Sample answers and examiner notes are written by Testmigo.

## Band 7 sample

I'd like to talk about Kenji, who was my roommate in my first year at university and who is now one of my closest friends.

We met on the first day, when the university put us in the same room in the student halls. I didn't choose him, it was just random. He's from a different city, and he was studying engineering, while I was studying economics, so we didn't have much in common, or at least that's what I thought.

To be honest, I didn't like him at all at first. He was very quiet and he hardly talked to me, so I thought he was unfriendly or maybe even a bit arrogant. Also, our habits were totally different. He went to bed at ten o'clock and woke up at five to go for running, and I was the opposite, I liked to stay up late and sleeping until lunchtime. He was also extremely tidy and he used to complain when I left my clothes on the floor, which annoyed me a lot.

Things changed in the second term, when I got very sick with a fever and couldn't get out of bed for almost a week. Kenji brought me food every day, he went to the pharmacy for me and he even collected notes from my lectures. I was really surprised. While I was recovering, we started talking more, and I realised that he wasn't arrogant, he was just shy. We found out that we both love the same old films, and after that we watched movies together nearly every weekend. Now, years later, we still meet up regularly, and he was even the best man at my wedding.

**Examiner notes.** This Band 7 answer tells a clear before-and-after story with a believable turning point. Vocabulary is good ("in common", "arrogant", "stay up late", "recovering", "best man"), but linking relies on "and", "also" and "so", and there are typical slips in longer sentences: "to go for running" (rather than "to go running") and "stay up late and sleeping" (rather than "and sleep"). Band 8 would add more precise, idiomatic vocabulary for personality and feelings and a more varied range of sentence structures.

The Band 8 sample is free with an account on the [topic page](https://testmigo.com/ielts/speaking/topics/describe-a-person-you-disliked-at-first).

## Common questions

### How long should an IELTS Speaking Part 2 answer be?

You get one minute to prepare and then speak for up to two minutes; the examiner stops you at two. Aim to keep talking for the full time, which is usually 220 to 300 words.

### Can I use these sample answers in my test?

No. Examiners are trained to spot memorised answers, and a learned script is marked down. Use the samples to see what each band does, then answer in your own words.