# Describe a traditional story from your country: IELTS Speaking sample answers

Speaking Part 2 - Media

Describe an interesting traditional story from your country.

You should say:
- what the story is about
- when you first heard it
- who told it to you
- and explain why you find this story interesting

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

## Band 7 sample

The story I'd like to talk about is a Korean folk tale which is usually called The Sun and the Moon. I first heard it when I was about five or six, from my grandmother. She lived with us when I was small, and she used to tell me stories at bedtime, and this was the one I always asked for, even though it was a bit scary.

The story is about a poor mother who has two children, a boy and a girl. One day she's walking home over the mountains with some rice cakes, and a tiger stops her and says, give me a rice cake and I won't eat you. She gives him one, but he keeps coming back and asking for more, and in the end he eats her. Then the tiger puts on her clothes and goes to the house, pretending to be the mother. The children notice that her hands are hairy, so they realise it's the tiger, and then they escape and climb up a tall tree. Then they pray to the sky for help, and a strong rope comes down and pulls them up. The tiger also prays, but he gets a rotten rope, and it breaks and he falls. In the end, the boy becomes the moon and the girl becomes the sun.

I find it interesting because it's quite dark for a children story, but it teaches children to be careful of strangers and to be clever. Also, my grandmother always changed her voice for the tiger, so it was really funny and frightening in the same time. Now when I think of the story, I always think of her.

**Examiner notes.** This Band 7 answer retells the folk tale clearly and in the right order, which is not easy under time pressure, and links it to a personal memory of the grandmother. Narrative vocabulary like "pretending to be", "escape" and "rotten rope" is used appropriately. The retelling relies heavily on "and" and "then", and there are typical errors: "in the same time" (rather than "at the same time") and "a children story" (rather than "a children's story"). For Band 8, the speaker would summarise the plot more economically and spend more time analysing why the story matters, using more precise vocabulary.

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

## 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.