IELTS Speaking Part 2: IELTS Cue Card/ Candidate Task Card

Describe a building/ structure with architectural interest

: You should say

What is it
what’s the historical significance of it
Why should we preserve it
and describe the building / structure in details

: Sample Answer

The Leaning Tower of Pisa which is also known as Tower of Pisa is an interesting structure situated in the Pisa city of Italy. It is the third oldest structure in Pisa’s Cathedral Square and very famous for its unintended tilt to one side

The height of the tower is around 183 feet and the width is higher in the lower part than the top part. This tower has 296 steps and offers a great architectural value to the world. The tilt of this tower was not planned and occurred unintentionally. During the construction phase, the tilt was created because of the inadequate foundation on the soft ground. Later this tilt increased until the structure was stabilised. Around 200 years were taken to build this greatest structure. There are some debates about the real architect of this world famous structure and it has been credited to Guglielmo and Bonanno Pisano as the architect of this structure. But recent studies imply this credit to Diotisalvi as the original architect

This structure has many historic significance and was one of the seven medieval wonder of the world. The people of Pisa started building this structure to show the rest of the world about the importance of the Pisa city. The plan included a cathedral, a baptistery, a bell tower and a cemetery. The construction began at around 1173 and completed in the middle of 1300. This famous tower is not known only for the great beauty of its Romanesque architecture but also for its historical significance. The famous astronomer Galileo Galilei is said to have dropped a cannon ball and a musket ball bot hat a time from the Tower of Pisa to prove that weight does not affect the dropping speed of an object

This structure was listed in the UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987 and had been very famous as one of the Seven Wonders of the Medieval World