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Describe a writer you would like to meet

IELTS Cue Card/ Candidate Task Card 175 with Model Answer:

Describe a writer you would like to meet.

You should say:

    - who the writer is
    - what you know about this writer already
    - what you would like to find out about him/her

and explain why you would like to meet this writer.


Model Answer 1:
Sir Vidiadhar Surajprasad Naipaul, better known as V S Naipaul is my favourite writer and I like to meet him someday in my life. He is a Noble Prize winning writer.

V S Naipaul was born on August 17 in 1932 and most of his writings contain comical elements. He is considered as a genius to provoke thoughts inside the readers. The writings of Naipaul are highly interesting to me. It appears that the events are taking place right before my eyes. Born in a Hindu family, he is well aware of the facts about the cast and creeds of the society and accordingly he has manifested the issues on his writings perfectly. Besides, the comical events of his writings are highly enjoyable and the readers need to have a perfect sense of humour to comprehend the comical events. Moreover, the endings of his writings are adorable indeed.

Naipaul was born in Trinidad and it is known that his ancestors shifted to Trinidad from India in search of living. Most of the got involved into the local business and they did not have a close contact with their relatives living in India for some unknowns reasons. Besides, the generations of Naipaul was brought up in an environment when they had no scopes to meet with the relatives of their native land. He has mostly written novels on autobiography, travel and other relevant issues of life. He married Patricia Ann Hale in 1955. Hey had a very happy conjugal life that lasted till 1996 when Patricia died. She was the most important critique of Naipaul and helped him greatly to work on stories. Sometimes she also added her comments on his pieces to make them improved and Naipaul worked accordingly. Naipaul again married to Nadira Naipaul. He was awarded the Knighthood in 1989. The number of his books is over 30 and they include both the fictions and non-fictions.

I actually want to find about his private life and know about his intellectual fame. He had to remain busy with different tasks for his living and at the same time, he has composed some masterpieces in global literature. His writings are adorable in many senses and most of the times, I have observed, the readers turn his fan after reading only a single piece of his writing. He has some magical sense to make people amazed at the words of his books. Some of the statements of his writings are so interesting that the readers could hardly stop laughing and imagine the situations. He has been writing for over 50 years and this is a kind of miracle to me. If I meet him someday, I would ask him about the inspirations behind his writing career.

There are different reasons to meet this writer. He is one of the greatest starts in the arena of world literature. Most of his writings are genuine and interesting to read. Besides, he is a man of great heart (as I have heard). Presently, a man like him is rare to find at. He is also a man of letters and I think if I could spend few moments with him, it would be a great advantage for me to learn many interesting things. If the writer permits, I also want to have some photos with him and his autograph on the book – A House for Mr Biswas, which is composed in 1961 and brought him a global reputation. Moreover, I also would like to know about his feelings and emotions about writing and how he applied the comical elements even in some serious situations.

Model Answer 2:
I am very fond of English writer Joanne Rowling and want to meet her if I have the chance. She is familiar with her pen name J. K. Rowling and mostly famous for her series Harry Potter. She is also a film and television producer. Thank you for the question. Here is a brief about the novelist.

She is the author of the globally reputed series and her books been sold over millions of copies. Her outstanding writing style, narrative technique, character selection and the plots – everything is perfect. She also has won multiple awards for her fictions and now adored around the world. Her fictions have also been used to make films that made more popular than before. 

I know lots of information about her. In fact, she had to struggle a lot in the beginning of her career. Many of the publishers have rejected her manuscripts of Harry Potter series. The idea to generate the series happened in 1990 while she was waiting for a delayed train. Before pursuing writing as her career, she worked as a researcher. Her private life was filled with agonies before she completed the first novel. Her mother died, she got a divorce and her child was born at this time. So, she had to take care of everything and continue her writing at the same time.

I would like to know the secrets behind her success. She was extremely sincere about her writing. She suffered frustrations and rejections from the publishers. But she never gave up. She dealt with the hardest reality of life but now she is having a peaceful life. I want to know about the key to success from her. Her valuable suggestions will help me to get some ideas to deal with the cruelty of real-life. Moreover, I also would like to know about her feelings after becoming a successful author in the world. She became a multimillionaire within a short time and of course with her efforts. I want to learn something from this author that would elevate me to an upper level.

I like to meet the lady for some reasons. She is the inspiration for me. To be honest, I also want to be a famous person like her. In fact, I am trying to pen a novel and need her directives for the success of the project. I do not want to be famous overnight, instead, I want to grow gradually. She is the author who experienced huge ups and downs in her life. And so if she shares her experiences with me, it would be a great lesson for me. I would be able to set my goals and identify the obstacles and set strategies to deal with them as did she. It is the key reason to meet her.

Idea generation for this Cue Card topic:  

"Describe a writer you would like to meet." 

In your IELTS speaking part 2, you can answer the same question from a very different perspective based on your idea and experience. Few useful approaches are given below to make you decide the best one. Or you can also develop your own answer. Here they are:
1. Donald Richard is an American author and famous for his extraordinary novels. He is also renowned for his outstanding plays. His writings have covered a wide number of areas which made him popular among the contemporary writers. He became famous with ‘White Nose’ that he published in 1985. I would like to know how his thoughts are so much sharp that he pen downs all the nice copies. In fact, his writings are thought-provoking. I would like to meet him to know about the perfect way of writing books and how he gets his inspiration.     

2. As a contemporary writer, Haruki Murakami is on the top of the list in my country. This Japanese writer is famous for his great writing style. He became an internationally acclaimed author after his writings were translated into different languages. He prefers to write both fiction and non-fiction. All the stories are based on different backgrounds and so far he has won several prizes for his outstanding works. If I can meet him, I would ask him about his writing and how he produces the plots. Actually, I have been waiting to meet him to know about his personal experiences and his thought about writing fictions.

3. Few writers have the capacity to compose words in such a synchronized manner like John Winslow does. He is a distinguished American writer. He got his international success in 1978. Some of his books have been bestsellers for several months. His screenplay has been awarded in Academy Awards while some of his novels have been adapted to producing films as well. I would like to know about his writing style and how he adopts them. In fact, his writing expresses the inner feelings of the readers. Moreover, I would like to meet this writer as he is a wise and smart fellow.

4. The name Sir Ahmed Salman Rushdie is a popular one in the history of global literature. He is a prolific author with some extraordinary intelligence. He is a British-Indian novelist and famous for his novel ‘Midnight’s Children’. He has also won several prizes through his fictional plots are based on the Indian subcontinent. His writings have been subject to debates from different quarters but he combines some magical elements in his words. I would like to know about the way of thinking from this writer while composing the controversial issues. So, I would like to meet him.

5. Among the British authors, I like Zadie Smith for most of her excellent plots. She is also skilled in short-story writing while her essays are adorable. She is one of the prominent writers whose first novel achieved the status of bestseller immediately after publication. In line with her writing, she also works as faculty at New York University. If I meet her, I would like to know how she manages everything at the same time. In fact, this is really hard to write novels being engaged as a teacher. Moreover, I would like to meet her to get some tips on creative writing.

Part 3: Discussion topics:

Reading and children:

Q. What kinds of book are most popular with children in your country? Why do you think that is?
Well, usually children in India mostly prefer to read comic books. But there are some other children who prefer thrillers and detective novels and fictional books. The children mostly like to have the comic books for several reasons. The first and important feature of the comic books is that they are illustrated. The colourful books always attract the small children. But children who have entered into their teen prefer to read thrillers. Sometimes they also read novels of different writers as well which help them to get different ideas about the world. Science fictions are the other genres that the children like most but when the books come with some illustrations, they become more popular than the other books. Since the children are young in their mental faculty, the glittering states of the books attract them most and the comic books are advanced in this case. When they grow up, their tastes of reading books change and this is quite natural that they will move to some other genres to explore the realm of knowledge.

Q. Why do you think some children do not read books very often? 
Yes, there are some children who do not prefer to read books and they are habitually engaged in video games or use social networking sites. Besides, they are also attracted to television. In fact, they are not responsible as they lack the reading habit. It is their parents who did not inspire them in reading books from their early childhood. Reading is a habit and it needs to be formed from the early part of life. But a majority of the parents do not buy books for their children instead they buy smartphones for their kids so that they could get connected with them and everyone in virtual manners. If they had inspired them on reading different sorts of books, it would have been better for the children.

Q. How do you think children can be encouraged to read more?
This is a grave question to reply. Presently, a majority of the children are unwilling to read books and they prefer to pass their times with video games, social networks and watch different events in television frequently. I think this scenario should be altered. Children should be encouraged on reading books and for that, they should be presented books. The parents may present books on their birthdays or at any other occasions. But it should be considered that only presenting books will not inspire them. The parents should also take care of the issue that they are reading the books. Sometimes, participatory approaches may also be taken like the parents may ask them about the events of the books in brief which may appear effective to inspire the kids on reading books.

Reading for different purposes:

Q. Are there any occasions when reading at speed is a useful skill to have? What are they? 
Well, there are some particular occasions when someone needs to read at a speed. When you are complete a large chapter for your examination, you need to be a quick-reader. It happens before the examination that the students are to race against time and thus they need to read in a speedy mode. Further, when you are seeking something important, particularly on newspaper, you need to read quickly. The newspapers are filled with numerous information and you are to sort out specific information for your needs. Speedy readings will be a helpful skill for you at that time. Moreover, when you need to find out any specific lines from a book or any text, speedy reading is the most effective way.  

Q. Are there any jobs where people need to read a lot? What are they?
I think when people have to get involved in any research, they need to read. Before taking any decision for the research, they need to go through different important texts to get ideas. Moreover, when people are engaged in journalism, then they are badly in need of reading as without reading, they are unable to write about any issues. Further, teaching is another profession that requires reading. If the teacher does not read frequently, s/ he would be incapable of disseminating information among the students. Doctors are also to read more and more to know about the latest happenings in the arena of medical science. Newer life-saving technologies have been invented and many are in the pipeline and if they read frequently, they would be able to imply the knowledge of their patients.

Q. Do you think that reading novels is more interesting that reading factual books? Why is that?
Well, there is some confusion in me about this particular issue. I actually find interest in reading both types of books. When I read novels, I feel a different sort of pleasure. It refreshes my mind and helps me imagining the events before me, while sometimes I become the characters of the novels. If I consider the other side, reading the factual books, I also gather knowledge from those types of books. The factual books come with knowledge about different matters and facts and inform about the reality. But to be truthful, the interests are less than the fictional books. And I think you would agree with me on this point.

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