IELTS Speaking Part 2: describe a building

Describe a modern building. You should say:

• where it is
• what it is used for
• and why you like/dislike it.

Here's my example description of a building in Manchester:

1. I'm going to describe a modern building in Manchester. It's called the Beetham Tower, and it's the tallest building in the city, with about 50 floors.
2. Although it's called the Beetham Tower, most people know this building as the Hilton Hotel. In fact, the bottom half of the tower is the hotel and the top half is apartments. The apartments are expensive because the location and views make them very desirable.
3. I'm not sure if I like the design of the building, it's just a huge glass tower, but it definitely stands out. It has become a famous landmark in the city. You can see it as you approach Manchester, and it's an easy place to meet people because it's so distinctive and easy to find. The most interesting thing about the Beetham Tower is that there is a bar/restaurant on the 23rd floor which has spectacular views of the city; it's definitely the best vantage point in Manchester because there are no walls, only huge windows, so you can look out over the city in any direction. I'd recommend anyone who visits Manchester to go there and experience the view.

Comments

[jiya khan]

hi simon
thanks for your response can u please give me a study plan for 1 month so i can improve my band from 6.5 to 7.5 in all.i desperately want to achieve a high band in ielts.
thanks

[Simon]

Hi Jiya,

I'm afraid I can't help you individually, but you just need to keep practising and working hard.

Try to follow the daily lessons on this site, use the Cambridge IELTS books for test practice, and try to find a teacher or native speaker who can check your work, correct your mistakes, and help you to improve.

Good luck!

[tosiba]

Hi, Simon.
in recent time you have often repeated lessons that you posted quite long time ago.Thank you very much for your useful lessons, and i will more thanks if you post further new lessons, particularly finished lessons about speaking part 2.
Thank you

[Ahmad]

The tallest building I know is Khalifa’s Tower in Dubai. I saw it last year, when I was on a groupic trip that was organized by my college. This skyscraper, with a height of 355 m, is a result of a joint efforts of local and global architectures and I found it a unique one . Actually, it is a multipurpose building. from the brushier introduces this lofty, I found that it accommodate tow five starts hotels, TV antennas, satellites receivers used for phones companies and several local radios senders in addition to some prestigious offices.
This gigantic building has totally changed the view of Dubai, in other words khalifa’s Tower is now another name for trade and tourism, what Dubai is famous for. Looking at the dark blue coloured tallest building, tourist and traveller now easily recognize where this place is? The moving- restaurant that located in its 44 floor let visitors to see almost entire city just within the time they eat their lunch or dinner or simply drink Arabic tea and cookies. Because of this, now many visitors not only save handful money they used to spend on taxies to have a tour of the city, but also save time to enjoy other activities. I with my classmate bought some precious needed electronics and gifts because of this saved amount.
I recommend enjoying of its moving restaurant to those who are short in time, or can’t afford to find how Dubai looks like.

[Simon]

Hi Tosiba,

Yes, I try to do a mix of new lessons, old lessons and old lessons that I've changed or improved.

One reason I'm doing this is because many students don't go back to the oldest lessons. The fact that you noticed that I'm using some old lessons means that you must be using the site really well! Keep up the good work, and excuse me if I repeat things here and there.

...

Thanks for sharing Ahmad.

[Ahmad]

The city I love to visit

The city I love to visit is Maidan Shahr in the south-west cost of Kabul city. This city is also called the apple’s city because the largest apple gardens are located in this city. The city nestles among the hills and sea. But, what outsiders little know about it is the scenic beauty of this place. The cleanliness and the proper planning of the city is completely exceptional which has no parallel in the area. The valise and beaches in many places are yet not touched by tourists. The sight of the sea and the cityscape from the hill is a breath taking sight. There are also many historic mosques with a lot of stone carving and classic minatory called Kohzad’s School that are astound.

I find this city very charming and ideal place to relax in.

[murali603]

I am going to describe a Building which is the talled in Hyderabd with about 35 floors.

Its apartment kind of building where people used to live. This building has so much demand in the city because of its location and city view we get from this building.

I like this building because its situated near to the software industry area beside newly builted four-lane high way so its nearer to office of many people. We can get some clear view of the city from this building.

[Jianyang Zhang]

Hi Simon,

I feel really confident after I have finished reading all the articles you wrote.It is so kind of you to orgaise this website.As a Chinese candidate whose first language is not English, I really want to say thanks to you.

But Simon could you please tell me how to describe an old building? I think this is very difficult.

Thanks.

[Simon]

No problem Jianyang, I'm glad you like my lessons.

I'll try to do a lesson about an old building next week.

[Amir]

Hi Simon. My IELTS band is 6.00 and it have not been improving for 2 month. I do listening and reading tests, however, the band is not changing! what advice could you give me ? thanks in advance!

[larry]

Hi Simon,

I am going to describe a modern building in Shanghai. It’s called Shanghai World Financial Center which is a supertall skyscraper located in the Pudong District of Shanghai, China. With a height of over 492 meters, it was the second tallest building in the world and the tallest structure in China. As you may know, it was exceeded in height by another building named Shanghai tower in 2013.

Although it’s called Shanghai World Financial Center, it is a mixed-use skyscraper, consisting of offices, hotels, conference rooms, observation decks, and ground-floor shopping malls. The famous Hyatt hotel is occupying the 79th to the 93rd floors of SWFC, comprising 174 rooms and suites, making it the second-highest hotel in the world.

I'm not sure if I like the design of the building, it's just a huge glass structure, but it definitely stands out. It has become a famous landmark in the city. You can see it as you approach Shanghai, and it's an easy place to meet people because it's so distinctive and easy to find. The most interesting thing about SWFC is the observation decks where you can have a spectacular view over the city. I'd recommend anyone who visits Manchester to go there and experience the view.

[harry]

Hi,
Please tell me some solutions to improve speaking...?

[ravindra kumar]

Hi, Please tell me my favorite building is world trade park(W.T.P) in jaipur so, how to describe it?

[Chandrakant]

My topic is A building that you think unusal

[san]

Hi Simon,
I am very thankful to yours lessons they helped me a lot i have improved my speaking from 5 band to 6.5 ..
thank you so much.
But Simon please gave me an advise so that i can score good ..

[Bal Gill]

Hi , Simon
My Question is Usual Buliding in Your City . Can you give me the relevent ideas for this topic?
Thanks

[deep]

Hiiithanks its helful to me in speking module

[MeetPatel]

hi simon
thanks for your response can u please give me a study plan for 2 month so i can improve my band from 6.5 to 7.5 in all.i desperately want to achieve a high band in ielts.
thanks

[Kamal]

Mainu speaking vich bahut problem aa ki kra please give me aa solution

[Katarina]

I like to start all of my answers on cue cards with special sentence and then continue

Thank you very much for the opportunity to speak about a particular building, which I like.
I am going to describe you the Bratislava castle. As the name says, this castle is located in capital city of Slovakia, Bratislava.
More specifically, on the hill in the middle of the city, from where you could see the spectacular scenery of the city. There is a lot´s of to see around - the river Danube, our famous UFO - that is a restaurant on the New Bridge, whole city part Petržalka and if you use special binoculars, you could reach even the Austrian windmills.
The whole castle has the shape of a white cube with 4 turrets in the corners. The middle of the castle is empty, what I mean with that is that there is a main royal square. The whole building is used as storage of old documents, library, gallery and so on. Furthermore, our head of the Slovak republic has the right to have meetings there or he could use his palace in the middle of the city.
I would totally forget, there is dungeon under the castle. It is possible to go to see it, it is an amazing attraction for tourists. After a small fee, you will a guide and the possibility to explore the secret way out of the castle. The surround of the castle consist of stables, the house for the helpers of the king, storage of the food and one of the buildings is transformed into a restaurant. Moreover, there is a small park, where you could find some statues of the kings, and remains of the cemetery.
When you finish your walk in the park, you could continue walking around the castle and leave it by the second gate of the castle, which is formed by stairs. It is not just a few, there is a lot of stairs which will lead you under the hill in the old part of the city center.

[Harpreet]

Hlo sir I have problem in reading plz tell me how can I improve my reading skills.

[Wei]

I would like to talk about a stadium in Central South University where I obtained the bachelor’s degree.
The stadium has an area of thousands of square meters and is capable of seating tens of thousands of spectators, thus providing the suitable venue for events such as the sport games and ceremonies. (Also, it owns a big gym, a tennis court and a training center.) Interestingly, we call it the nest in Central South University because it is extremely similar with the renowned national stadium named the Nest in Beijing where the Olympic Games was held successfully in 2008.

I am fond of the famous landmark in the university as it gave me a good memory of the campus life. During my university, I could see the nest when standing in the balcony of my dormitory. Particularly, I witnessed the establishment process of the building. It was in construction in the first two years. So I took part in the opening ceremony in another new year in the stadium. The headmaster, Dr. Huang, gave a wonderful speech passionately and encouraged us to chase the dreams. Although most students could not participate in the Olympic Games ceremony, we attended the first celebration in the Central South University nest.

This is my first speaking sample, and my goal is 7. Could you give me any relevant advice, please? Thank you very much.