In the IELTS Speaking test, being able to narrate personal experiences with sincerity and detail is key to achieving a high score. One of the most frequent topics you might encounter is to describe a promise you made to someone, a prompt that allows you to demonstrate your ability to use past tenses, conditional structures, and vocabulary related to ethics and relationships. This guide provides a Band 9 model answer, a simpler Band 7 version, and a deep dive into the linguistic strategies needed to excel in this Part 2 task.

The Cue Card

Describe a promise you made to someone.
You should say:
• To whom you made the promise
• What the promise was
• Why you made it
• And explain how you felt when you made this promise.

Band 9 Sample Answer

To be perfectly honest, I’m generally quite cautious about giving my word because I believe that integrity is the cornerstone of any relationship; however, I’d like to talk about a solemn vow I made to my younger brother, Leo, about eighteen months ago. At the time, Leo was going through a bit of a rough patch; he had recently failed his driving test for the third time and was feeling incredibly despondent, almost to the point of giving up entirely. Seeing him so dejected really tugged at my heartstrings, so I sat him down and promised that if he committed to practicing every single weekend, I would personally supervise his lessons and stay by his side until he had that license in his hand. I made this promise not just to help him with the mechanics of driving, but to rebuild his shattered confidence. It was a significant commitment for me because my weekends are usually my only time to decompress from a hectic work schedule, but I knew that without a firm nudge, he might have abandoned a skill that is essential for his future career. When I made the promise, I felt a profound sense of responsibility mixed with a touch of trepidation, as I knew I couldn’t afford to flake out on him. I realized that my reliability would be the catalyst for his success. Looking back, it was one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done because, after three months of grueling early-morning sessions, he finally passed with flying colors. The look of sheer jubilation on his face made every sacrificed Saturday morning worth it, and it reinforced the idea that patience and politeness in teaching can yield incredible results.

Band 7 Sample Answer

I would like to describe a promise I made to my best friend, Sarah, last year. We have been friends since primary school, and she was moving to a different city for a new job. She was very nervous about losing touch because we used to see each other every day. I promised her that I would call her every Sunday evening, no matter how busy I was, and that I would visit her at least once every two months. I made this promise because I wanted to reassure her that our friendship was a priority for me. At the time, I felt quite sentimental and a bit sad that she was leaving, but I also felt determined to keep my word. I knew that moving to a new place can be lonely, and I didn’t want her to feel isolated. So far, I have managed to keep this promise. We talk every week, and I have visited her three times already. Making this promise helped us stay close, even though we live far apart now. It taught me that keeping a promise is very important for maintaining a long-term friendship, and it’s a positive change in my routine to dedicate time to the people I care about.

How the Band 9 Answer Scores Top Marks

Fluency and Coherence

The Band 9 answer flows naturally without any noticeable effort to find words. The speaker uses sophisticated discourse markers like “To be perfectly honest” to set the tone and “Looking back” to signal a transition to reflection. The narrative follows a logical chronological order, but it also weaves in emotional context, which keeps the listener engaged. The use of cohesive devices like “however,” “not just… but to,” and “as I knew” ensures that the sentences are interconnected rather than being a list of isolated facts. This level of coherence is essential when you describe a time when you made a promise to someone.

Lexical Resource

The vocabulary is precise and high-level. Instead of saying “a bad time,” the speaker uses “a rough patch.” Instead of “sad,” they use “despondent” and “dejected.” Idiomatic expressions like “tugged at my heartstrings,” “passed with flying colors,” and “flake out” are used appropriately within the context of a spoken conversation. These choices demonstrate a wide range of vocabulary that is used flexibly to convey precise meanings, which is a hallmark of a Band 9 performance as outlined in the general overview of the IELTS speaking test.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy

The answer showcases a variety of complex structures. For instance, the use of a mixed conditional—“if he committed… I would personally supervise”—and the past perfect—“had recently failed”—shows mastery over time frames. The speaker also uses relative clauses (“which is essential for his future career”) and nominal clauses (“that integrity is the cornerstone…”). There are no grammatical errors, and the sentence structures are varied, avoiding the repetitive “subject-verb-object” pattern found in lower-band responses.

Pronunciation

While the text doesn’t show audio, the phrasing suggests natural intonation. The use of words like “incredible,” “profound,” and “jubilation” provides opportunities for the speaker to use word stress to emphasize emotion. A Band 9 candidate would use rhythmic stress and intonation to highlight the contrast between the brother’s initial sadness and his eventual success. For more help on this, check out our IELTS speaking tips.

Vocabulary and Idioms to Use

Word/Phrase	Meaning	Example Sentence
To give one’s word	To make a serious promise.	I gave my word that I would help him move house.
Integrity	The quality of being honest and having strong moral principles.	Keeping a promise is a matter of personal integrity.
To follow through	To continue an action or task to its completion.	It’s easy to make a promise, but harder to follow through.
A solemn vow	A very serious or formal promise.	They made a solemn vow to support each other.
To renege on	To fail to keep a promise or agreement.	He reneged on his promise to pay back the loan.
Reliability	The quality of being trustworthy or performing consistently well.	Her reliability made her the best person for the job.
To be dejected	To be sad and depressed; dispirited.	He felt dejected after losing the competition.
A rough patch	A period of difficulty or problems.	Every relationship goes through a rough patch occasionally.
To flake out	To cancel plans at the last minute; to be unreliable.	I hope he doesn’t flake out on our meeting tomorrow.
Jubilation	A feeling of great happiness and triumph.	There was a sense of jubilation when the results were announced.
To decompress	To relax and let go of stress.	I need the weekend to decompress after a long week.
Cornerstone	A fundamental principle or element.	Trust is the cornerstone of a successful marriage.

Grammar Structures That Boost Your Band Score

• Second Conditional for hypothetical situations: “If I didn’t keep my promises, people wouldn’t trust me.”
• Third Conditional for past regrets/reflections: “Had I not made that promise, he might have given up entirely.”
• Present Perfect for ongoing relevance: “I have always tried to be a person who stays true to their word.”
• Cleft Sentences for emphasis: “It was the look on his face that made me realize the importance of my promise.”
• Passive Voice for formal context: “The promise was made during a very emotional conversation.”
• Relative Clauses for detail: “My brother, who was struggling with his exams, needed my support.”
• Gerunds as subjects: “Keeping a promise is often more difficult than making one.”
• Modals for obligation: “I felt that I absolutely had to follow through with what I said.”

Part 3 Follow-up Questions

Why do children often make promises they can’t keep?

I believe children often make unrealistic promises because they lack a fully developed sense of time and consequence. In their eagerness to please adults or friends, they might promise to “never do something again” or “always share their toys” without realizing the effort required to sustain that behavior. Their world is very much focused on the immediate present, so a promise is often just a way to resolve a current conflict or gain approval. As they mature, they begin to understand that a promise is a social contract that carries weight, but in their early years, it’s more of an emotional gesture than a logical commitment.

Should parents always keep the promises they make to their children?

Absolutely. In my view, the relationship between a parent and a child is the first place where a child learns about trust and behaviour and patience. If a parent frequently breaks promises, it can create a sense of insecurity and teach the child that words don’t have much value. However, I also think it’s important for parents to be honest when circumstances change. If a promise truly cannot be kept due to an emergency, explaining the “why” to the child is a valuable lesson in itself. Overall, consistency is key to building a child’s character and their own sense of integrity.

Is it important to keep promises in a professional environment?

In the workplace, keeping promises—often referred to as meeting deadlines or fulfilling obligations—is vital for professional credibility. If an employee or a manager fails to deliver on what they pledged, it can disrupt the entire workflow and damage the team’s morale. In many ways, a job that is useful to society relies heavily on the reliability of the individuals involved. Reliability is a currency in the business world; once you lose it by breaking promises, it is incredibly difficult to earn back. Therefore, professional integrity is not just a moral choice but a practical necessity for career progression.

Why do some people find it very difficult to say ‘no’ and instead make promises they can’t keep?

This often stems from a psychological need for social approval, sometimes called “people-pleasing.” Many individuals find the immediate discomfort of saying ‘no’ to be more daunting than the future stress of breaking a promise. They might fear disappointing others or being perceived as unhelpful. Consequently, they overcommit themselves, hoping that they can somehow manage everything, but they eventually end up failing. It’s a bit of a paradox because by trying to avoid a small disappointment now, they often cause a much larger disappointment later when they inevitably fail to follow through.

How do promises between countries differ from promises between individuals?

Promises between nations, usually in the form of treaties or diplomatic agreements, are far more complex because they involve legal frameworks and the interests of millions of people. While an individual promise is based on personal honor, international promises are based on geopolitics, economics, and mutual benefit. If a country reneges on a promise, the consequences can be catastrophic, leading to trade wars or even armed conflict. Furthermore, individual promises can be made impulsively, whereas international pledges go through rigorous rounds of negotiation and ratification. Despite these differences, the underlying principle of trust remains the same; without it, cooperation is impossible.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Being too vague: Avoid saying “I made a promise to a friend and it was good.” Use specific names, locations, and emotions to make the story come alive.
• Over-complicating the story: Don’t try to tell a story that is so complex you get lost in the grammar. Choose a simple event and use complex language to describe it.
• Ignoring the “Why”: The examiner wants to see you explain your motivations. Don’t just say what you did; explain why it was important to you or the other person.
• Repetitive vocabulary: Try not to use the word “promise” in every sentence. Use synonyms like “commitment,” “vow,” “pledge,” or “word.”
• Losing track of time: Since this is a past event, ensure your tense consistency is accurate. Don’t flip-flop between past and present without a clear reason.
• Lack of emotion: A promise is an emotional topic. If you speak in a flat, robotic tone, you won’t hit the higher bands for pronunciation and fluency.

Practice Tips for This Cue Card

• Record yourself: Use your phone to record a 2-minute answer. Listen back and check if you used at least three of the advanced vocabulary items from the table above.
• Focus on the “Feeling”: Spend 30 seconds of your practice time specifically describing your emotions when you made the promise. This is often where students lose marks.
• Use a Timer: Practice speaking for exactly 2 minutes. Many students stop after 1 minute, which limits their ability to show off their range of language.
• Paraphrase the Prompt: Start your answer by paraphrasing the cue card. Instead of “I will describe a promise,” try “I’d like to recount a particular instance where I gave my word…”
• Link to other topics: Practice how you could adapt this story for other cue cards, such as describe a time you made a promise to someone or a time you helped someone.

Mastering the ability to describe a promise you made to someone requires a blend of narrative skill and grammatical precision. By focusing on specific details and using a range of idiomatic expressions, you can demonstrate the high-level proficiency that examiners look for. For more structured practice and personalized feedback, consider enrolling in our IELTS English Speaking Course or exploring our latest speaking topics for 2026. For official information on the test format, you can also visit the IELTS official website. Keep practicing, and remember that every promise kept to yourself regarding your study schedule brings you one step closer to your target band score!