IELTS Speaking Part 1

Anger: questions and Band 8 answers

The examiner asks three to five short questions on two or three everyday topics in the first four to five minutes. Here are 5 questions about anger written by BandLadder in the examiner's style, each with a Band 8 sample answer. Aim for two or three sentences each: answer, reason, one detail.
  • 5 questions
  • 5 Band 8 answers
  • 4 to 5 minutes

5 answers

Sample answers

1

Do you get angry very often?

Not really, to be honest. I'm generally quite an easy-going person, so it takes a lot to actually wind me up. I might get mildly irritated if my morning train is delayed, but full-blown anger is pretty rare for me.

2

What kinds of things make you angry?

I suppose bad manners and selfishness really get on my nerves. For instance, when people drop litter right next to a rubbish bin or talk loudly on their mobile phones in a quiet train carriage, that definitely makes my blood boil a bit.

3

What do you usually do when you feel angry?

I tend to step away from the situation rather than lash out. Usually, I'll go for a brisk walk around the block or put on my headphones to listen to some upbeat music until I feel more level-headed.

4

Do you think you get angry more or less than when you were younger?

Definitely less. When I was a teenager, I had quite a short fuse and would lose my temper over tiny things, like losing a video game. Nowadays, I've learnt to take a deep breath and keep things in perspective.

5

How do you feel when other people around you are angry?

I find it quite uncomfortable, to be fair. If a colleague loses their cool at work, the whole room feels tense. I usually try to stay neutral and give them some space until things blow over.

Details are invented. Use the shape, not the sentences: examiners mark memorised answers down.

Answer out loud and get a band

The AI examiner asks Part 1 questions like these, listens, and scores fluency, vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation, with the words that cost you.

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8 words

Useful vocabulary

  • easy-going

    relaxed and not easily upset or annoyed

  • wind (someone) up

    deliberately irritate or annoy someone

  • get on my nerves

    annoy or irritate someone continuously

  • make my blood boil

    cause someone to become extremely angry

  • lash out

    suddenly speak or act with anger

  • level-headed

    calm, sensible, and able to make good decisions

  • short fuse

    a tendency to lose one's temper very quickly

  • blow over

    gradually fade away or end without serious harm

  • →Use a range of synonyms and idioms for irritation and calmness instead of repeating the word 'angry'.
  • →Describe concrete everyday situations, like travel delays or minor rudeness, to make your examples realistic.
  • →Acknowledge small daily frustrations rather than claiming you never feel angry, which can sound unnatural.

Keep practising

More Part 1 topics

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