IELTS Cue Card Sample | نمونه تسک 2 اسپیکینگ آیلتس

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Cue Card Sample


In the IELTS Speaking test, You will be given exactly 1 minute to prepare yourself to talk about a particular topic and this topic is called IELTS Cue card or Candidate Task Card. The instructions to guide your talk are written on a card given to you by the examiner. Your talk should last for approximately 2 minutes until the examiner asks you to stop. The examiner will (ه..ask one or two questions at the end. The cue card/ candidate task card issue lasts for 3-4 minutes -- (including preparation time of 1 minute​
 

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Describe someone in your family who you really admire

Describe someone in your family who you really admire

Describe someone in your family who you really admire.

You should say:

what relation this person is to you
what are your first memories of this person
how often you see this person
and explain why you really admire this person.

Follow-up Questions:

What are the values of family in your country?
How family bonding is necessary for happiness in life?
What type of family do you like? Nuclear family or joint family?
How family value and bonding have changed over the last decade?


IELTS_Cue_Card-_describe_someone_in_your_family.jpg

Model Answer 1:

I've got a small family with only 5 members and all of us are very close to each other and we love each other very much. Among them I love my mother more than anyone else in the whole world. I adore my mother for her caring, loving, adorable behaviors and wit. She is the person I can share everything with and that's the reason I worship her so much.

Possibly she was the first human I saw when I opened my eyes in this world. A relationship with a mother is divine and all of my childhood memories are either related to my mom or my school. I can still remember a day I was late to come back home after school and that's because there was a ceremony at the school I did not know about. All of a certain I found that my mother was entering through the school-gate to find me. I was so frightened that my mother would rebuke me for being late unnoticed and she must be mad at me. But to my best surprise, when my mother saw me she had a warm smile in her face that I'll never forget till my last breath in this earth. Then she hugged me and gave me a kiss. I felt then that I love my mother more than me. She attended the program at the school and afterward we came back home together.

I spent my 19 years or so with my father and mother but I stay at a metropolitan city now for my education. Whenever I get vacation I meet my mother at my village home. On an average I spend 2/3 months with my mother each year but I talk to her over phone almost twice a day.

The reasons why I admire her are endless. She is caring, tender, she has got a big heart and she possesses love for everyone. She had been an ideal mother to raise 3 kids and making sure our education and moral values. She had made a lot of sacrifices all of her life and had never complained about anything to my best knowledge. She is the person who reminds me the power of love and caring.

Sample Answer 2:

A person I admire is my “Mother” because she is a fighter. You may ask why? To start of my mom got pregnant, with me at the age of 18. She did not have the support of my grandparents. Her own parents wanted to kick her out the house when they found out. She convinced them to let her stay, but she could not ask them for any help when raising the baby. Knowing all this my mom still decided to have the baby.
Besides not having the support of her parents, she also did not receive any help from my father. Although my father cared about me, he never gave my mom money or clothes to help her maintain me as a baby. She had to provide for me on her own. Going to school and working was killing her, but she wanted me to have a good life so she did anything that she could. My mom got pregnant again two years later, with the same man. The only thing was this time - it was worse. He left her life completely and her dad was sick. Therefore, he could no longer work. Now, not only did she have to provide for her two babies, but also for her parents. She was overwhelmed with everything happening; she didn't know what to do.
Finally, she decided to attend college and become a teacher for she can support the family she was now in charge of. It was not an easy thing to do. After she finished college it took her a while to find a job. It is not easy to find a job in Nicaragua. However, my mom never quit, no matter how hard things got for her she fought through it. To provide for her kids and parents.


Alternative Answer 3:

I have got 6 family members and all of them are very dear and close to me. If I need to pick one family member among them to talk about, that would be my father. My father’s name is (say your father’s name) and he is around 50 years old. He is the kind of person I would want my offspring to be. He did his graduation in a time when formal education was not people’s first choice. They would rather start earning from work rather than going to school. My father fought to ensure his education with the people who thought working or doing some sort of business has more value than education. But my father believed that education is the most important part of a man’s life. He heartily held the idea that education shapes a man’s life and is the kind of power and asset that would always accompany him.

I have lots of memories of my father and I see him every day. There exists a strong bonding between us that only two of us feel. I still remember those days of my childhood when I used to wait in the evening for my father to return from office. He would then play with me and help on completing my lessons. I vividly remember him sometimes taking me to the market and buy me gifts. When I was an infant he moved to the city from the village to ensure me better schooling and environment. That was a decision that has changed my life path. He himself helped me finishing my home works and lessons, always allured me of gifts if I could complete my study. Besides my education he taught me lots of moral values and important things of life.

He used to work in a Government organization and for his hard-working and kindness; he is revered by all of our relatives, his friends and neighbors.
He believes in humanity, good behavior, our creator, and leads a life that can be exemplary. He still does most of his own works and helps my mom on her house hold works. After retirement he has picked 2 new habits: gardening and teaching neighbors’ kids. He is a quiet and intelligent man who has benevolent heart and that what make him so admirable to me. He is still the pillar of our family and all of our family members love and respect him very much.

Tips for answering this Cue Card Sample

For father: He is honest, brave, had a good heart, talented, leads an ideal life. has sacrificed a lot to up-bring us, is an exemplary person, everybody respects him, is the best person I have ever seen, Loves me very much, hardworking, punctual, talented etc.

For mother: She is so caring, loving, hardworking and possesses a good heart, had done a lot to up-bring us, very close to me, very understanding, one of my best friends, knows a lot of things and has so many practical skills etc.

For brother: He is so brave, talented, well mannered, knows a lot about different things, had always been supportive to you, loved by others, cooperative and have lots of memories together, like a mentor to me, is my best buddy, taught me almost everything he knows, always protects me etc.

For sister: She is caring, a good friend, loving, a good mentor, helps you on study or on other tasks, supportive, a very good friends, talented and well-mannered


Necessary vocabulary for this cue card:
Relatives = Your family members are also your relatives.
Nuclear family = A nuclear family, also called an elementary family, is a type of family group consisting of a pair of adults and their children.
Extended family= An extended family extends beyond the nuclear family, including grandparents, aunts, uncles, and other relatives.
Sibling = Siblings are your brothers and sisters.
Relationship Synonyms = Tie, link, attachment.
Admire Synonyms: Adore, idolize, respect, revere, honour, hold in high regard, think highly of, esteem.
Memory Synonyms: Remembrance, thought, reminiscence, recollection, musing.
Phrase with meaning:
Bring up = Raise a child.
Look after = Take care of.
Rely on = Depend on:
Be close to = Having a strong bonding.
Get along with -= Being close and friendly.
Admire = To respect and like someone.


If you prepare for this cue card you should be able to answer the following cue cards as well with very little changes:

1. Talk about someone who cares you a lot.
2. Describe a person who you like very much.
3. Describe the person whom you admire most.
4. Talk about a person you know for a long.
5. Talk about a senior person whom you like a lot.
6. Talk about a person who has a great influence in your life.

 
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IELTS Cue Card Sample 2 - Your favorite restaurant

IELTS Cue Card Sample 2 - Your favorite restaurant

Describe your favorite Restaurant.

You should say:
Where it is
What it looks like inside and outside
What kinds of foods they serve
What makes this restaurant so special to you and others.

Follow-up Questions:
Which one is better: home-made foods or foods from restaurant?
What traditional foods do you have in your country?
What are the tourist attractions in your city?


cue_card_sample_2-_Describe_your_favorite_Restaurant.jpg
Cue card Answer 1:
Thank you very much for giving me the chance to talk about my favourite restaurant. The name of my favourite restaurant is (say the name of the restaurant you are going to talk about) and it’s situated at the centre of the city I am currently living in. Not only I like the spacious, serene environment, tasty menus that the restaurant serves, but I have lots of memories related to this restaurant. I remember that my parents celebrated some of my birthday parties there, our college friends arranged the get-together parties, one of my cousins’ marriage ceremony was celebrated there and similarly I attended lots of other parties at this very restaurant.

The restaurant has 3 floors and the sitting arrangement is quite nice. Paintings of famous artists have been hanging on the walls and the place is quite neat and clean. The interior decoration is charming and gorgeous feeling. The ground floor is spacious and can accommodate more than 50 cars' parking. The front view of the restaurant is different as the place gives the impression of an urban garden.

The restaurant offers several dishes including exotic desserts, ice-creams and also offers a separate place for the kids to play and have fun. The prices are reasonable and the foods are served quickly as opposed to some other restaurants where you will have to wait for a long for your foods to appear on your table. The waiters and other staffs are friendly and welcoming. The restaurant offers Chinese, Italian, Indian, Thai, Pakistani and local menus that gives you a wide ranges and options to pick from. The soft background music and instrumentals make the environment more enjoyable and soothing. The tables are not congested and people can chat over their personal topics without interruption. The long glass made windows offer the city view which makes the place worth visiting besides the delicious foods. The place must be a good place to be as I often found the foreign tourists visiting the restaurant. The authority lets the customers provide their feedbacks and comments on foods and the place and as I have noticed they take prompt action on a customer complaint.

In short, this is a really nice restaurant to go and enjoy the delicious meals.


Cue card Answer 2:

Today I am going to talk about my favourite restaurant. Where it is, what it looks like, the kinds of food it serves and why it is so special to me.
My favourite restaurant is in England! It is actually in the suburbs of the city of Sheffield which is where I live. The restaurant is on a busy street very near to a large park. It is quite a small and hectic place called Jonty’s because Jonty is the name of the person who set up the business.
From the outside the restaurant doesn’t look very impressive. It has large glass windows at the front, and some benches outside for people to sit on if they are waiting to go in. There used to be a large sign with the name of the restaurant written on it in big letters, but recently they have taken down the sign and not yet replaced it! Inside there are lots of square wooden tables, each with about four chairs around them. The restaurant is on two levels, I prefer to go upstairs to the first floor, because there you can sometimes get a window seat and enjoy watching people as they go past in the street outside.
The restaurant serves mainly breakfast and lunch meals. It does really good coffee – I like their latte’s best – and lots of sandwiches, salads and special soups. The restaurant also has a selection of delicious, gooey home-made cakes. However, when I go, I always have the same thing – scrambled egg on wholemeal toast with mushrooms, because that is what I like best!
The restaurant is very special to me and my friends because we meet their every Saturday. On Saturday’s about 500 people go to the local park for 9.00 in the morning to take part in a 5 km run. Afterwards, I like to go to breakfast at Jonty’s with three of my best friends. We feel we deserve a big breakfast after our run, and we enjoy catching up with each other’s news over a leisurely meal together.
So if ever you are in Sheffield, I hope you will find Jonty’s and enjoy it as much as I do.


Tips for answering this Cue Card Sample:

You should talk about a restaurant that you know about. Do not pick a renowned restaurant that you know very little. You are free to describe the interior design, service, external environment, dishes served of the restaurant the way you like. It does not have to be an exact match with the restaurant you actually go a lot. You should add some of your memorable events of this restaurant. Some of the common features that people like about a restaurants are:

1. Delicious dishes.
2. Reasonable price.
3. Easy to go there from home.
4. Quiet and nice environment.
5. Attractive decoration and view.
6. Playground for kids.
7. Open space.
8. Privacy.
9. Service and behaviour of the staffs.
10. Special treats for the regular customer.
11. Variety of foods.
12. Past memory related to the restaurant.
13. Recommendation from friends and family members.
14. Discounts, etc.

In your answer you can use the above mentioned points.

If you are prepared for this cue card sample you should be able to answer the following cue cards as well:


1. Talk about a place you often go to.
You can say that you often go to this restaurant
2. Describe a place you would recommend your friends to visit.
3. Describe a party centre you went recently.
4. Describe a restaurant you recently visited.
5. Talk about a place where you often meet your friends.
6. Describe a restaurant that you enjoyed going to.
 
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IELTS Cue Card Sample 3 - Describe a book that had a major influence on you

IELTS Cue Card Sample 3 - Describe a book that had a major influence on you

Describe a book that had a major influence on you.

You should say:
What is the name of the book and the author
How did you first hear of the book
What's the main story of the book
and why does it play such an important role in your life.

Follow up Questions:
How often do you read books?
How books can impact on a man's life?
Name some of the famous writer of your country?
Have you ever thought about writing a book?
How reading books is different from watching movies?

IELTS_Cue_Card_Describe_a_book_.jpg

Possible Answer 1:
Whenever I get time, I try to read books and the ranges vary from profession related books, technical, religious, fiction, classic and contemporary books. The book I would like to describe is a novel called ‘Kane and Abel’ and is written by the famous British writer Jeffrey Archer. Sometimes I read book reviews on internet and after reading 2/3 books by Jeffrey archer, I tried to get the list of all books by Jeffrey Archer. I found that most of the Jeffrey Archer fans have recommended the book ‘Kane & Abel’. Some people even commented that this is the best book ever written by the same author. I made my mind at this very moment to read this book. After one month or so, I bought the book from a book store and started reading it.

The book was first published in 1979 in the United Kingdom and in USA in 1980. The book was the international success and reached No. 1 position on the New York Times best-selling book list. The story-line started with the birth of two infants named Kane and Abel in the year 1906. One of them was born to a life of prosperity and eases in USA in a rich family while the other one to a world of hardship and struggle. On different sides of the Globes, they grew up: one shaped by a luxurious upbringing, fine schooling and history he read, the other one who lost his mother at the time of his birth and did not know who his father was, well tempered by war, slavery and history he was part of. The story telling of Jeffrey Archer is magical and enchanting. Most of his story simply mesmerizes the readers and for Kane and Abel the attraction worked even more. Every page I turned tempted me to read further. Not for a single moment I could have stop thinking about the events and characters of the books and that had a major influence on me. The characters have their own charismatic powers and followed their own paths. One is gold, meritorious while the other one is steel and have forfeited the Dead himself. On their journey in life, they confront each other and became the ultimate adversary of each other. In their relentless battle, both men knew that there could be only one victor- and one vanquished.

Across three generations and around a rapidly changing world, their war rages unchecked, for the love of a dream, the loss of an empire, and the lure of a fortune. Kane became the owner of the largest bank in USA while Abel came to USA as a penniless emigrant after the World War I. With intelligence Kane started flourishing the banking business, while Abel made his fortune at last in Hotel business. The first time they confronted each other as a bank owner and a debtor. Though Kane wanted to help Abel regain his business by financing further, but could not do so because of the bank’s board members’ decision. After that Abel considered Kane as his greatest enemy and sought to destroy Kane. As time passed both had to fight their own fates but the vendetta remained on their hearts. When both men finally grew older, their son and daughter fell in love and got married. They never agreed on the marriage because of their personal hatred of each other. Abel succeeded to buy the bank stocks of Kane’s Bank to hold the power to veto Kane. At the end of the story both confronted each other for the second and last time. After that Kane died and after his death, Abel learned that it was Kane who backed him financially to start his hotel business. The story was told like a magician and is a powerful portrait of a world and two men that a reader would never forget.



Alternative Answer 2:

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to talk about a book that had a major influence on me. I am going to tell you the name of the book and the author, what I remember of it and why it is so significant to me.

Funnily enough I was thinking about this book only the other day. It is called ‘The Adventures of the Little Wooden Horse’, I don’t know why I remembered it suddenly, but I had to google to look up the author. It is by Ursula Moray Williams, but I didn’t know that when I first read it.
As to how I first heard of the book, I can’t really say! It is actually a children’s book, and I think it must have been chosen for me by my parents as I don’t remember actually buying it with anyone, and I don’t think it was a birthday gift or it would have had an inscription in its front cover. The copy I had was a rather tatty paper back with an orange cover and published by a then famous book company called Puffin Books. It had a picture of crudely fashioned toy wooden horse on the front. The horse had a cylindrical body and straight legs fastened onto a board with four wheels on it. The horse had a flowing mane and tail, and in my copy was facing away from the reader, heading off on its’ adventures.
The story was so very sad! The horse in the title was a toy horse originally supposed to be sold by his maker. The little wooden horse is very loyal and wants only to stay with his Uncle Peder who crafted him. However, sadly the toymaker is forced out of business as mass produced toys become available, and the little wooden horse sets out to try and make his fortune so the two of them can stay together. Terrible things happen to the horse, he is sometimes lonely and unhappy. Eventually though, he does make his fortune (I can’t remember how) and returns home only to find the toymaker has vanished! It is heart-breaking. In the end the little wooden horse and the toy maker are reunited by chance and there is at last a happy ending after a harrowing set of adventures.
The reason this book is important to me is because it is the first book I remember really wanting to read for myself. My mum and dad would take turns to read me just one chapter at night, but there were lots and lots of chapters – about twenty I think, and I was so upset not knowing how the story would end if one chapter was finished and the poor little wooden horse was left in distress! I could read a bit, but not that well, and not well enough to read silently in my head. Anyway, one night, after my parents had closed the book and left me alone, I carried on reading all by myself. I had to read out loud, and the story was so sad I was sobbing as I read, which made it even harder for me to get the words out and finish the story. Even so, I carried on reading right to the end and fortunately the story did end happily! I can still remember this, even though I must have only been about four years old at the time. My parents remember the episode too. They could hear me in my room reading aloud and crying, and they said it was heart-rending to listen to, but also quite impressive, as I was so stubbornly determined to do this, and on my own.
I have never re-read the book as an adult. I’m afraid if I did and found it wasn’t really very good or very well written it might spoilthe memory for me. I prefer to imagine it as the most brilliant story ever written even if that isn’t true at all! So the book is special because it is probably the book that encouraged me to read, as well as being probably my earliest memory.

Alternative Answer 3:
The book that tremendously influenced me in my college level is titled "Pather Panchali" by Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay. This book was published in 1929 and later a movie was made with the same title by Satyajit Ray. The book is a tragedy and family drama which is considered to be one of the finest literary works in Bengali literature.
This book deals with the life, happiness, sadness and inner-picture of Roy family in a rural area. Later they moved to a different place in search of a better life but they had to face great deal of anguish and loss during their travel to a new transition.

The book describes the rural life, the people of this rural place, their sufferings, their joys, the beautiful country-side, green fields, paddy-fields, flowers and many more things that become alive in the story. The story line, the mastery of story-telling ability, the scenic beauty of rural area, the tragic death of a touchy character all were so profoundly expressed that I was deeply touched. Moreover this book was written by one of the superior writer who has a talent to describe the rural beauty in a style that no other writer can do.

The book reminded me rural are I had once been. It was like travelling to the past in a time machine. Bibhutibhushan is a gifted writer and probably the best of his type. He had an ability to depict the rural life and scenic beauty profoundly and perfectly. The characters of his books come from ordinary places and lead ordinary lives, but the impression they create in readers' mind is extraordinary.



Tips for answering this cue card sample:

This cue card asks you to talk about a book you have read. You should pick a book that you know well. Let's say you have read a book which was very interesting but you have forgotten the name of the author or the publisher, you can't tell the story in an organised fashion, then you should not talk about that one. Rather pick a book which is interesting, you have read and you know the writer and story of the book. If you are not sure of such a book, think about one, google for the details of the book and remember the following information about the book:

1. Writer.
2. Publisher.
3. Publishing year.
4. Some other book names by the same author.
5. Story of the book.
6. Why the book was critically acclaimed.
7. Some characters of the book.


For the part why this book has a great influenced on you mention some of the following points:
1. The book was written by a writer who has a great way of telling a story.
2. The story is a page turner and you had hard time keeping it away.
3. You have learned an important lesson from this book.
4. The characters of this book gave you great impression.
5. Some of the trivia and facts about the book. etc.


If you prepare for this cue card, you should also be able to answer the following cue card topics:
1. Describe a book you have recently read.
2. Describe your favourite book.
3. Describe a book you read and remember.
4. Talk about a book you enjoyed reading.
5. Describe a book you would recommend your friends to read.
6. Talk about a book your one of your friends recommended you.
7. Describe a worth reading book.

Since the cue card topic is asking to describe a book that has a major influence on you, not necessarily you have to talk about a story book. You can pick any academic book, religious book or specific subject or technology related books as well.

For instance if you pick the major book of your religion, you can say how it has changed your view of life and world. How it had helped you learning morality and humanity and religious lessons that you follow in your life. There are so many things we learn from our religion and you can talk about these.

If you pick an academic book, let’s say JAVA programming language book, Introduction to business or Accounting you can tell how this book has changed your view on this specific subject and created a solid base on the subject and influenced you to later study on that subject further.



 
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IELTS Cue Card Sample 4 - A journey you went on

IELTS Cue Card Sample 4 - A journey you went on

​​
Describe a journey you went on.

You Should say:

  • Where did you go on your journey?
  • Why did you got to this particular place?
  • What did you do and with whom?
and describe why you enjoyed your journey? Or if not why?

Follow up Questions:

  • What are the importance of traveling?
  • What type of places do you recommend people to visit on vacation?
  • What places do you want to visit in future? Why?

IELTS_Cue_Card_Describe_a_journey_you_went_on.jpg

Possible Answer 1:
I like visiting famous places and whenever I get vacation, I try to visit new places or places that I have heard about. One such trip that I took with one of my friends was a journey to Holland. I would like to talk about this tour to Holland that we took 2 years age.

Both of us (me and my friend) wanted to visit Holland and specifically Amsterdam, Hague and Rotterdam very much because we saw pictures and heard stories from friends about how beautiful and wonderful the place is. So finally we applied for visa, bought plane tickets, booked a hotel, packed our bags and our trip began.
We spent a lot of time before our holiday, researching of all the interesting places to visit and all the sights to see. So we went to Rijks museum, Van Gogh museum, Amstell Beer museum, took a romantic sunset cruise in the water channels, drove to Volendam, a small prettiest fisherman village, visited a cheese farm. We went to Rotterdam, which is the architecture city of Holland that stimulates innovation. We enjoyed the architectures and building there as much as we did walking in the neat roads and besides the beaches. Visiting the famous Anne Frank house was an exciting moment for me. I've read the Anne Frank's Diary in my early childhood and witnessing the place was very much exciting.

Every evening we took long walks along the channels, resting in small gardens, which Amsterdam has a lot of. Street artists were performing everywhere and a lot of people came to watch their show.

We enjoyed very much everything we did and especially in such a beautiful country. Having my friend by my side on this trip made it even more fun. Since we have never been to Holland, everything we saw and did seemed interesting and completely new to us. The people, their way to interpretation their culture attracted us very much. Before leaving the place, both of us agreed that the place is worth visiting and someday we would come back to re-explore it.


Possible Answer 2:

Once I was reading an article when I came across the lines of Rabindranath Tagore highlighting the beauty of Taj Mahal. It stated, “The Taj Mahal rises above the banks of the river like a solitary tear suspended on the cheek of time.” The lines encouraged me to visit the monument of love, The Taj Mahal.

Taj Mahal is included in the Seven Wonders of the World. So, before even I think of visiting any other site, it becomes more of a responsibility to give a visit to the heritage site of India. It was the prime reason I visited Taj Mahal.
It was a short trip with my family. My parents and my brother accompanied on my trip. It was a fun-filled trip as after a long time I got an opportunity to spend time with my family. Moreover, we opted for a road trip so that we had the flexibility to visit other famous places in Agra. It is rightly said, that journey matters, and not the destination, and this is what I experienced during my short-trip.



Tips for answering this Cue card question:
You are free to talk about any journey you are comfortable to talk about. It can be journey to another city of your country, to a historic or tourist place, a foreign country or to a relative or friend's house to a different location. While talking about this cue card, take some notes about a journey you remember particularly where you went, what was the purpose of going there, how you travelled there, what you saw on your way and at the place, what you did, how long you stayed, whom you met there, who you went there with.
If you liked the journey tell about some exciting things you watched and did there than the usual things you do. For instance: you can mention some of the great places you visited there, the sightseeing of the journey. Do not focus too much on the place you went rather emphasize what happened on the way. This cue card is bit different that 'Describe a place you have visited' where you would mostly describe things you watched and did on the place but for this cue card you should mostly tell about your experience during the journey.


Some key points to mention for this cue card:


  • You had a plan to visit this place for a long time and when you had the journey, you had been excited about the whole thing.
  • You would meet a friend or relative after a long and that made you feel good.
  • You have some memories related to this place and visiting there was a good experience for you.
  • If this is a foreign country, say that you had a longing to visit this country.
  • The weather was comfortable and there was no interruption on the way.
  • You had friends with you and you enjoyed their company as well as the vehicles.
  • This was not a typical journey that you usually take.
  • The natural beauty surrounding the roads was charming.
  • You observed some different custom and culture there.


If you plan to say that you did not enjoy the journey focus on the following points:


  • You did not intend to go there but you had no other choice.
  • The weather was not good and that made the journey difficult.
  • You did not like the vehicles that you took for the journey.
  • It took a very long time which was tiresome.
  • You got sick during the journey.
  • There was no interesting thing to do or watch.
  • The vehicle was a public transport and stopped several times.


Some other cue cards that you should be able to answer if you prepare for this cue card:

1. Talk about an interesting journey you took recently.
2. Describe a visit to one of your relative's house.
3. Describe your journey to your home town.
4. Describe a journey you took to a foreign city.
5. Talk about a journey you disliked.
6. Describe a journey you remember.
7. Describe one of your memorable journeys.



Follow up Questions:

  • What are the importance of traveling?
Answer: There are many important elements associated with traveling. It plays a vital role in developing a person’s character. It helps an individual to break the barriers of mind and become open minded. The closed bubble gets burst, and people get an opportunity to come outside of their comfort zone. Traveling is the way to escape from the daily chores and get some time for your own self. Sometimes it is really what a person needs to move forward in life.


  • What type of places do you recommend people to visit on vacation?
Answer: When I say traveling is about breaking barriers, I would restrict myself from recommending any particular places, as it will act as a barrier in deciding future destination. Even I would like to leave it on time, and would prefer to take every opportunity as and when it comes.
 
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IELTS Cue Card Sample 5 - A website you often browse

IELTS Cue Card Sample 5 - A website you often browse

Describe a website you often browse.

You should say:

  • what is it
  • how long have you been using it
  • detailed information about the website
and explain why you often browse this website.

Follow-up Questions:


  • How long have you been using the internet?
  • How internet has changed our life-style?
  • What would be the possible uses of internet in the future?


IELTS_Cue_Card_Describe_a_website_you_often_browse.jpg

Model Answer 1:
I have just a few minutes to tell you about a website I often browse. I will tell you what the website is, how long I’ve been using it, a bit about what is on it and why I visit it so often.
The website is the BBC news website. You can find it at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news but I just have it as a favourite on my toolbar. I am a complete BBC junkie! I visit the website several times a day if I can, and have been using it for as long as I can remember. Possibly for as long as the website has been in existence but definitely for the past ten years or more.
The BBC news website is massive. It contains rolling headlines of breaking news, and from the landing page you can jump to sections on different types of news categories. For example there are tabs for world news; health issues; environmental reports; education; sport; education and science as well as entertainment and arts stories. You can read just text based articles illustrated with a few pictures – which is my preferred way of accessing news and information – or you can opt to see news film or audio clips. I think the website is really comprehensive and easy to use too.
The BBC news website for me, is a one-stop location for all current affairs and news items. I really like that I can see headlines of breaking news almost instantaneously, but it also includes more thoughtful reporting. Detailed online articles with considered analysis about global or local events. I can also find out what the weather forecast is – always handy in the UK where it can change so quickly, plus I like to be able to keep an eye on what is happening locally to me in Sheffield where I live. I also trust the BBC website to give balanced reporting, I think it has journalistic integrity, so I feel if I read it every day, I will have a good perspective on what is going on in the world, and enough information to come to my own conclusions on current affairs across the globe.The only downside of the website is that I find it can be a bit addictive! Because it is updated frequently it is tempting to keep going back and having another look if there is some running news item that I am following. It can lead me to procrastinate when I am supposed to be working, but I tell myself it is important to keep up to date with what is going on in the world, even though I know that really, it wouldn’t hurt to limit myself to a news ‘fix’ just a couple of times a day!
I wonder if you use the website too, and if you do, whether you might as avid a follower as me!


Possible Answer 2:

I've been using the internet for more than 10 years and from the very beginning till now there are some websites those I use almost every day. www.yahoo.com is one of those web-sites and possibly I'll use this site forever. www.yahoo.com is basically an e-mail service provider and a very popular search engine. I can still remember my first day at a cyber-cafe where I opened the first web site of my life and that was yahoo.com and the cafe owner helped me to open an e-mail address and I still use this email address to send and receive e-mails and for chatting. www.yahoo.com is a popular search engine possibly next to www.google.com but as an e-mail service provider it is more popular than www.google.com in my country .This web-site has many other useful features like: the homepage contains up-to-date news and feeds. It also gives the option to open free websites to its users etc. www.my.yahoo.com is a very popular service and recently the www.answers.yahoo.com has become one of the most popular questions and answers web-site that's millions of people are using.


Alternative Answer 3:

I use internet daily and there are lots of websites that I often browse for different reasons. But probably www.facebook.com is the one I most often browse. It is a social networking website and probably is one of the top 5 most visited websites in the world. The website mainly facilitates me stay connected with my friends and helps me update and broadcast my news as well. Though the primary purpose of this website is to let people communicate friends and known people but there are lots of other features as well. It offers games, eCommerce facility, emailing, chatting, making new friends, social marketing, different campaign, fan page opening etc. I have been using the website from 2004 and it is important to me because all of my friends and relatives are connected there. If a friend has a birthday, the website notifies me and I can wish him/ her a birthday, if someone has a new photo or news to share, I can see it from my account. I can share my photo, video, updates, thought as well. If someone opines on an issue, others can comment on it. For me, the website is important because my childhood friends, adolescence friends, college & University friends are connected there. I get their updates regularly and can let them know what's happening over here. In no other way I could have been connected to the people I am now connected via facebook. I use this website from my computer and from my cell phone as well. For me this is a social networking website where I remain close to my friends and relatives. But with its own right it has become a powerful eCommerce platform, gaming place, marketing channel, and many more other business related platform.
Nowadays everybody owns a facebook ID. Making new friends is easy in facebook and that helps people grow their friends beyond boundary. Millions of people use facebook and it is almost impossible to connect with people you care and know without this website.​

Tips for answering this Cue Card question:
Pick a website which is popular and you often visit. If you prefer to talk about a website which is not known to all, mention that this is not a very popular website but I visit it for this particular reason. You can pick a social networking website, email service providing website, news channel website, your university or office website, a website you have developed and visit for updating it, Wikipedia like website etc. If you pick a website which is popular, do not give any fictitious information. Giving false information about a well-known website like Google, Yahoo or Facebook would create some doubts in the examiner's mind as s/he might also be a user of this website.
Do not worry if you do not know every details of the website even if the question asks you to describe about it. If you do not know the owner name, operation since, technical aspects of the website, simply skip those parts instead of giving imaginary information. You can focus on what the website offers to the visitors and what you do from this website. For instance:
Social Networking websites:
Most of my friends are also connected in this website/ social network and I get their updates.
I can publish my updates and let my friends know about it.
It helps me finding my old friends/ family members.
It offers me to use third party applications and play games.
I can share my images and videos.
Help me find out information related to my education/ job.
Chat with my friends.

Email Service providers:

I send emails from this website.
I check the emails sent to me.
I can send attachments.
Has a good spam filtering and threat detection service.

Wikipedia like website:

Helps me finding reliable and details information on various topics.
Loads faster and has subscription option.
I can contribute on updating the information.
Most of the topics are covered and you can get almost all of the information you need.

News websites:

Provides updated and latest news.
Both local and international news are served.
Has email notification service on my selective topics.
Gives sports news and events.
Offers interesting supplementary and magazines as well.
News presentation is outstanding and sources are very reliable.
Covers last minute news as well.​


Some similar cue card topics that you should be able to answer as well:
1. Talk about a famous social networking website.
2. Describe a helpful website that you have visited.
3. Describe a website you and your friends often browse.
4. Talk about a worth visiting website.
5. Describe a website that you would recommend your friends.
 
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IELTS Cue Card Sample 6 - An accident you saw

IELTS Cue Card Sample 6 - An accident you saw

Describe an accident you saw.


You should say:


  • Where the accident occurred
  • Where you were then
  • How the accident affected you

and give detailed information about the accident.

Follow-up Questions:

  • What should be done to reduce the road accident?
  • Who should be responsible for the accidents?
  • What losses do you think occur when an accident happen?
IELTS_Cue_Card_Describe_an_accident_you_saw.jpg


Possible Answer 1:
The most devastating accident that I have ever seen is the one that I witnessed near (say the name of the place) while a train smashed a passing bus. I saw accident almost 4 years back and yet I can remember the event clearly. I was on my way to home from the capital city that I’m currently residing in. There is a train pass in the road and our bus stopped at the signal. I was busy reading a magazine in the bus and all of a sudden I heard a loud blasting sound and I looked through the window. What I saw was unbelievable: The quickly passing train has hit a bus that was trying to pass the train road. The bus had been thrown away like a toy and we could hear the unbearable screaming of victims. Lots of people have gathered the place and the train was passing slowly. People became speechless on the effect of the devastating accident. I could see people were trying to help the wounded people and 2-3 ambulances reached there after 15 minutes. The bus driver was blamed for the incident and I heard that he was dead too. We could not move on from the place as a huge jam occurred. The wounded people were moved to nearby hospitals and medical centers and the dead people were placed in a nearby field. The entire place became a gloomy area and people mourned on the event. I started feeling sick and tried to help the wounded people.

I have witnessed more than 30 people were lying dead and their relatives were crying and mourning heavily. I left the place after 8/9 hours and could not think anything else. The whole event occurred in a few minutes and the effect was devastating. I had spent nearly 2 weeks in a hallucination and thought a lot about the people who died there and about their
relatives. It came to my mind that, our life is hanging on the cliffs and we are so helpless sometimes deciding our fates.


Describe an accident you saw (funny)

Model Answer 2:
The idea of an accident sounds like it should be bad. But sometimes accidents are quite comical to watch and if nobody is hurt then I think it is OK to laugh.
I’m going to tell you a story about an accident I saw a very, very long time ago, but I can remember it really well, you’ll find out why in a bit… I’ll explain where the accident took place, where I was, a bit of detail about the incident and how it affected me.
The accident took place in a large old house that was in very poor repair. I was unemployed at the time, and was sharing the house with a few friends who were also job-seeking as we had all just finished at university.
It was in the 1980s and it was very difficult to get work in the UK at that time. We had chosen the house because it was really cheap. The way it was set out wasn’t very safe, there was a tiny kitchen on a stair well that we all had to share, and this meant that many of our communal chats took place sitting on the stairs gathered around the landing.
On this particular day it was first thing in the morning.
We were all half asleep and stumbling around just in our dressing gowns or nightwear. I was sat at the top of the stairs (near to the kitchen) waiting to use the kitchen as one of my friends, Gill, had got in their first and there wasn’t room for both of us. Another of our house mates appeared at the bottom of the stairs and sat there looking tearful and crestfallen.
She had had a terrible argument with her boyfriend and was very upset. Gill, who was already in the kitchen, kindly offered to make her a cup of tea – but as she was putting the kettle on she was distracted by the tears of our upset mutual friend. Gill turned to talk to her just as she was lighting the gas – catastrophe! The flame caught her dressing gown and the next moment the whole garment seemed on fire. I gasped, my tea-making friend thought quickly, she ripped off her clothes, and rolled on the floor, tumbling down the stairs ending up in a ***** heap at the feet of our crying companion. The shock of this sight caused the sobs to stop. ‘Why are you at the bottom of the stairs and why have you got no clothes on?’ queried our now no-longer crying friend. Me and my friend Gill just laughed uproariously, partly with relief (it could have been a lot worse) and partly with disbelief.
Our upset friend had been so preoccupied with her own worries she’d missed the entire thing. We couldn’t believe it when it was all so dramatic.
How did the accident affect me? It just made me laugh a lot at the time, and even now when I remember it I do so with a smile. It was such a ridiculous thing to happen, and it certainly broke the rather serious mood the morning had started with. I also think we were very lucky, it might not have ended that way. There is a saying that ‘all’s well that ends well’ – that was certainly the case here.Perhaps it isn’t true to say that no-one was hurt in this story, I think that maybe pride was hurt quite a bit, but it was a long time ago and the main ‘victim’ of this story, Gill, still laughs about it with me now!

[ Written by - Lucy Marris | Careers Adviser (UK), TEFL teacher (Vietnam) ]

Describe an accident you saw (serious)

Model Answer 3:
Wow, talking about an accident I saw is quite challenging! I can think an example, but it wasn’t nice to witness. I’ll tell you where the accident occurred and where I was at the time, a bit of extra detail about what happened, and then finally I’ll tell you what happened.
That seems a logical way to explain it.
The accident took place in the outdoor arena of a large horse riding school, where I was sharing a jumping lesson with a friend.
The backdrop to where it took place is really beautiful, as the equestrian centre is set in a rural location in the picturesque countryside of Glossop, which is within an area known as the High Peaks in the county of Derbyshire, England.
My friend and I both wanted to improve our technique show jumping. I’m quite an experienced rider, but not very confident jumping – I prefer flat work, my friend is a great athlete, but new to horse riding, she was very confident, but not very experienced. We had warmed up already, riding our horses around under the guidance of an instructor at walk, trot and canter. We’d taken the horses over some low cross-poles, which are small jumps you commonly use when you are teaching either a horse or rider to jump so they can gain confidence. About 15 minutes into the lesson, we started to take it in turns to try slightly bigger fences, but nothing too challenging.

I’d already taken my horse over, and it was my friend’s turn to try. So I was sat on my horse watching her as she rode towards the fence. The instructor and I were both very calm, as was my friend, it was a small cross pole, and nothing she and the horse hadn’t done before.
She trotted her pony to the jump, but then at the last minute, her mount just stumbled, literally tripping over the poles. Perhaps because my friend was a bit inexperienced, it caused her to lose her balance, the teacher and I both gasped, and then laughed as she seemed to recover herself and ended up back in the saddle… Unfortunately, we relaxed too soon, the horse seemed to still have her feet in a knot and so tripped again, this time the forward momentum catapulted my friend into the air. We watched in slow motion as she went up in a huge arc, and then fell towards the ground. Unfortunately, her instinct was to put her hand out to break her fall, this meant her arm was completely extended and she took the full weight of her body onto just one hand. We heard a sickening split as the bones in her lower arm broke, and it was very obvious that she had a serious injury.She was still conscious, but in an awful lot of pain.You never quite know how you will behave in an accident.
I went into very calm mode, I quickly dismounted and caught the loose horse, who was a bit confused about what had happened. The instructor called an ambulance, and I took the horses back to the yard, explained what had happened, and arranged for people to stand at various points on the property to help direct the ambulance to where it was needed before going back to the school.

Unfortunately, the instructor was rather squeamish, she couldn’t bear the sight of blood and so although she was handling the situation well, she couldn’t really look at my friend. So I sat near her and tried to keep her talking while we all waited for the ambulance. We knew it was very important she didn’t move in case she had broken her back as well, and we were trying to keep her conscious so it would be possible for the paramedics to assess her more easily when they came.
The ambulance took a very, very long time to arrive because of our remote location. However, when they came they were fantastic.
They gave my friend a lot of morphine – which is a very powerful pain killer – and were incredibly calm. I had to help roll her onto the stretcher, but we were very relieved when she went off to hospital safely. Her arm was very badly damaged. She has had lots of operations and I’m not sure if she will be riding again!
The accident affected me quite a lot, because I was astounded that she was so unlucky in how she fell. The horse just tripped, it wasn’t being naughty or difficult, and it all happened in slow motion so right up until the last minute I thought she might be alright. I was pleased how well me and the instructor worked together to get help, and that I’d been able to stay calm and focused at the time. Since then I have jumped again, but really I think I’ve decided to stick to flat work (dressage) from now on. Watching an accident makes you realise how fragile life can be and how easily and quickly you can be hurt, not through being stupid, but just through being unlucky.

[ Written by - Lucy Marris | Careers Adviser (UK), TEFL teacher (Vietnam) ]



Tips for answering this cue card topic:
Watching an accident and its effect is a devastating experience. So describe how dangerous the accident was, how awfully you felt about it. Even if you have not seen any major accident, you should talk about one. Pick some of the points from the below list to describe this cue card:

1. It was a car accident/ bus accident/ train accident.
2. You were just passing by/ were in another transport while the accident occurred.
3. Everything happened all of a sudden and you were devastated to watch it.
4. You can also talk about a plane crash but for that mention that you watched it on TV.
5. If you live in a country where water transportations are available, you can talk about the boat accident due to storm as well.
6. Describe how severely the accident caused damage.
7. Mention that due to the accident you were stuck there for a long time and raised your helping hand.
8. Tell how bad you felt and what steps should be taken to prevent such unexpected and unbearable accident.
9. If you were the victim of the accident, give details on how the accident occurred and how you were safe.
10. Tell that you had a hard time forgetting this mournful experience.
11. Regarding the part 'how the accident affected you' say about your feeling of the unsafety of the road, how uncertain our lives are, what changes you bought to your life after the accident etc.


Some similar cue card topics that can be answered in a similar fashion:
1. Describe a bad experience you have.

2. Describe an experience you have that you wish you did not have.
3. Talk about a road accident you know about.
4. Describe something terrible you witnessed.
5. Describe a car accident you saw.
 
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IELTS Cue Card Sample 7 - A Childhood Memory

IELTS Cue Card Sample 7 - A Childhood Memory

Describe one of your childhood memories.

You should say:


  • what it is
  • when it happened
  • how it affected you in your life

and explain why you still remember it.

Follow-up Questions:

Why childhood is important ?
How did you spend your childhood?
Who was your childhood hero? Did you want to be like him/her?


IELTS_Cue_Card_Describe_one_of_your_childhood_memories.jpg


Sample Answer 1:
Childhood memories are strange things, because sometimes you can’t quite be sure if you really remember something, or if you just think you do because others have told you about it, or you have seen a photo of the event later on. I’m going to talk to you about a memory that I’m very confident is real. I’ll tell you what it is, when it happened, how it affected me and why I still remember it.

The memory is the earliest one I have of me and my Dad. I was very small indeed, I’m not exactly sure how old, but I’d guess about three years old, maybe even younger. My Dad was not a particularly tall or strong man, but I was small enough, and by comparison, he was big enough then, for me to stand with both my feet on one of his, and to reach up with my arms and cling onto his leg. I would then hang on and laugh delightedly as he tried to go about his daily business, walking around the house with me gripping on tightly refusing to be budged. It was a favourite game.
I don’t know that I can honestly say it affected me in my life. However, in my family we don’t really talk about things very much or do a lot together. We don’t live particularly close to one another so see each other rather infrequently. I suppose the way the incident affected me was by making me at a subconscious level feel close to my Dad even years later as we had shared that happy play time together when I was tiny.
I didn’t know I had held onto this memory until quite recently. Sadly my Dad died, he had been very ill for a long time, so it wasn’t unexpected, but of course it was very sad. I wanted to say something about him at his funeral, and I wanted to pick a memory that was personal just to him and to me. For some reason that image of me tiny and laughing and him solemnly ‘pretending’ that he hadn’t noticed I was there came into my mind and it seemed very appropriate somehow to share that one. It was a happy memory, but also an intimate one. I think he would have been really pleased that I could recall it so many decades later.
So why can I remember it? I’m not sure, but I like to think the memory was there dormant all the time just waiting for the moment when I needed to retrieve it. It is a comforting thing to recall. The human mind is an amazing thing!

[ Written by - Lucy Marris | Careers Adviser (UK), TEFL teacher (Vietnam) ]



Possible Answer 2:
I can still remember lots of thing I did in my childhood and things that happened when I was a child. Sometimes those memories seem so lucid that it seems those events occurred only few days back. Anyway, a childhood memory I can still remember so clearly is the first time when I saw massive death. I was a kid of class three or four then and one day I heard that there had been an accident near our home. My mother asked me whether I want to go or not. I went with her and speculated lots of thing about the accident but when I watched 10 dead people were kept lying in the ground and among them there were 2 kids too, I was devastated about the massive dead scene. I started feeling sick and started vomiting there. My mother took me back to our home and I was ill for about two days.

This memory was important to me because it helped me to think about the life in a different way. I could realize then what the dead is and how fragile our lives are. This memory helped me to grow faster and opened my eyes of vision.

Alternative Answer 3:
I was born in a beautiful urban area called ..... (say your birthplace name) and the place was full of magic and wonder. I spent my whole childhood there and the place is full with my childhood memories. Childhood, is perhaps, the most magical and beautiful time of our life and I cherish my childhood memory. The one particular memory of my childhood I would never forget is the time I first saw the devastating effect of accident. This event has a significant importance of my life.
Like most other newly school going kids, I wanted to be Superman or Spiderman. The life was full of dreams and fantasy. One day I was walking with my mom and heard from the neighbours that a severe accident has happened nearby. I was bit confused what was it all about. Finally I and mom reached at the place where the accident took place. We saw that people had made a crowd around the victims who were already dead. I observed the dead for the first time in my life. We did not stay there for a long. After returning home I felt sick. Later on I started realizing that our lives are fragile and are not eternal. We all will die someday no matter what we think we are. That event helped me growing up mentally. Not that I become pessimist from the event, but a realization always knocked me. I started changing some of my silly attitudes after the event. I started caring for my parents, relatives, known and unknown people. I learned that our days are numbered and we've to make best use of it. I was so deeply touched that I started praying everyday and became kind to insects and animals. Some people might think that the event was devastating for a kid, but to me, it revealed reality in front of me.


Tips for answering this cue card questions:
Start this cue card with a very brief of your childhood and how much you cherish your childhood. Mention that you have lots of childhood experience and you would like to talk about this particular one.
You can say one of the following positive experiences from your childhood:
1. First day you went to your school.
2. A major ceremony where many people came and you enjoyed it thoroughly.
3. The first exam in your life.
4. A new place you went to visit with your parents.
5. First day you went to a museum, art show.
6. First time you won a sports/ quick competition.
7. First day you came to stay at your school boarding and left home.
8. First time you were successful to swim, ride a bicycle, car.
9. An outstanding performance in arts, music or exam.


If you want to talk about some negative experience or memory of your childhood you can pick one of the following topics as well:

1. One of your close relatives died and you were very sad.
2. You had to watch a devastating incidence that you still can't forget.
3. Your first experience of sinking in water, hit by car, falling from a building etc.
4. Your fight with your neighbouring kids.
5. You had to leave your school and you felt very bad about that.



Similar cue card topics:
1. Describe something interesting you did in your childhood.
2. Talk about a bad experience you have from your childhood.
3. Describe your childhood.
4. Describe a typical day in your life when you a child.
 

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IELTS Cue Card Sample 8 - Your Study room

IELTS Cue Card Sample 8 - Your Study room

Describe your study room

You should say:


  • How it looks
  • How much time you spend in this room
  • How an ideal study room should be
and give details of your study room.

Follow-up Questions:

How does a study room help a student?
Do you like to study? What type of books do you read?
Which do you prefer? Reading or traveling? Why?

IELTS_Cue_Card_Describe_your_study_room.jpg


Model Answer 1:
Describing my study room is easy – but perhaps a little embarrassing! Firstly, I will tell you what it looks like, then I’ll talk about how much I spend using it before comparing it with what my ideal study room might be like. That way you will have all the details of my study room.
I am lucky because there is a ‘spare’ room in my flat which I can use as a study space. That’s the good news. The problem is that the room has also ended up being a dumping ground for everything else that doesn’t have a home. It is full of clutter. The room hosts a large double bed, already made up in case of guests, and a wardrobe. There is also a small chest of drawers and a bedside table. Also stored in the room are a Henry Hoover (a type of vacuum cleaner); an ironing board, a clothes rack and a set of low clothes rails that I use to hang out washing to dry. These items and bits of furniture all added together don’t leave very much space for me to work in. Even so, I have a table in the corner of the room. It is quite light, as it is positioned right underneath a duplex window – that’s a sort of sloping window set into the roof – my flat is on the top floor of a converted old house, so it is actually an attic space.
The table is reasonably sized, but I’m afraid it’s also rather cluttered. I have a couple of sets of in-trays on my desk, full of writing paper items (notebooks and reams of A4 paper), together with letters and documents awaiting my attention. There is also a tin full of pens, pencils, highlighters and other odds and ends which takes up more space, and a an old shoe box full of envelopes and cards that I tend to stock up on in case I need to send a friend a birthday card or quick message. I still like to send messages traditionally through the post for special occasions, rather than using email or texting. In the middle of my desk is my laptop, on which I do all my work. That doesn’t leave any spare room, so my printer is on the floor under the table. I have to crawl on my hands and knees to retrieve paper from it when necessary!
Even though the space isn’t ideal, I do try and discipline myself to go in there every day to do some work free of other distractions. At least a couple of hours a day, but obviously if I have an important deadline then I can spend all day and half the night in there ‘burning the midnight oil’ to use an English expression. I sit on a little swivel office chair, that was actually very, very cheap to purchase and looks rather flimsy, but is in fact extremely comfortable. That was a bargain buy, I must have had it 15 years at least.
My ideal study room would be airy, spacious and uncluttered. It would be a dedicated room, rather than a shared space that ends up collecting all the over-flow from every other room in the home. I’d have a huge table, with neat piles of documents and space to spread out reference materials if needed. I’d prefer a window I could properly see out of, rather than one in the roof, but I do like the natural light. If money were no object, all my stationery would match, and I’d have a printer that never jammed or ran out of ink. A neat wooden filing cabinet would contain all my paperwork filed away in an orderly fashion. In one corner I’d have a cosy armchair by a window overlooking a beautiful garden. When I needed inspiration I’d be able to sit in it, gazing out of the view and thinking wise thoughts. I’d also like an endlessly refilling pot of hot fresh coffee, though I expect if I did all that caffeine would be very bad for me.
So you can see why I’m a little embarrassed by my study room, I’m ashamed it is such a cluttered area. Even so, when I find I’m really focused on some interesting project I don’t notice my surroundings. Unfortunately, if I don’t really want to face up to the task I’m supposed to be working on then it is very easy to be distracted when I’m so squashed in by the chaos around me. One day I might have to have a serious clear up, though I really don’t know where else I’d put all those things if I do.

[ Written by - Lucy Marris: Careers Adviser (UK), TEFL teacher (Vietnam) ]


Sample Answer 2:
My study room and living room is the same one and I spend most of my time in this room whenever I am home. It’s a square size room that has been painted in white colour. It has got 2 doors, 2 windows, one attached bathroom and a north facing veranda. The bed is placed beside the bigger window. Warm and fresh air keeps the room healthy for breathing. Among other possessions I’ve got a computer desk, a bed table, a wardrobe, 2 bookshelves, one reading desk, one bed table, and a dressing table. One bookshelf is full of novels and story books and the other one with academic books. I keep my notepads, diary, boxes and other necessary things amid of the study desk. I read mostly on my desk and sometimes on my bed. In case of story books, I prefer to read in bed. For academic reading and writing I mostly use my desk. My study room has not got plenty of luxurious furniture but I keep my things organized and clean. In day time I keep my windows and prefer not to turn on the light. My mother sometimes takes the authority to arrange and clean the room. I have arranged my story books based on Author and the academic books on Subject.

My study room and living room gives me comfort in terms of quietness. Sometimes I pick my chair on the Veranda and lit a table light and read book there at night. There are several other rooms in our house but my study room is quite soothing to me. I feel more comfortable at my study room than any other room in our house.


Tips for talking about this cue card topic:

While describing your study room you should say if this is a separate room or you use your bed room for study. If this is a separate room say if this is private study room or is it shared by other family members. This cue card usually expects you to be able to talk about the details of your reading room so give every details possible including the dimension, colour, size of the room and even the number of window, door and balcony. Then give details about the furnitures and books you have there. Explain why this is an ideal place for study and how often you read there. you will have 1 minute to prepare for the cue card and within this one minute picture an ideal study room using your imagination and take points of those. Then one by one describe those points.

Following is an example of the points you should take in the preparation phase of one minute:
1. separate room, lots of books: academic books, story books and magazines.
2. square shaped, have 2 book shelves, books are categorized.
3. about 400 square foot, white colour, open spaces. quiet and peaceful.
4. Furniture: Tables, chairs, laptop, table lamp, couch etc.
5. An ideal room for study: quiet, spacious, lots of fresh air


Now that you have enough points to describe your topic cards, arrange your sentences and describe them one by one. That you give you enough points for talking about more than 4-5 minutes.​

If you prepare for this cue card you should also be able to answer the following cue cards:

1. Describe an ideal study room.
2. Describe a room of your house.
3. Describe the room you live in.
4. Describe a room in your house that is special to you.
 

P O U R I A

مدیر مهندسی شیمی مدیر تالار گفتگوی آزاد
مدیر تالار
IELTS Cue Card Sample 9 - Best gift / present you have received

IELTS Cue Card Sample 9 - Best gift / present you have received

Describe the best gift/ present you have received.

You should say:


  • What is the gift
  • Who sent it to you
  • When did you receive it
And explain why it was the best gift / present you have ever received.

Follow-up Questions:


  • Do you think that present giving will play an important role in daily life? Why?
  • Compare the gift which people have received 10 years ago to the present that people now are receiving? What's the difference between them?
  • Do you think that the brand name is very important for sales?

Possible Answer:
In my life I have got numerous gifts and presents and among them most exciting and best gift was the Laptop my father gave me when I was 14 years old. When I was 10 years old, I found that many of my friends had their own laptops and desktop computers. I was heavily fascinated about this wonder machine and dreamed about owning one someday. After getting admitted in grade 6, I got admitted in a computer training center and learned the basic computing. Whenever I visited any my friends who had a computer, I felt overwhelmed playing games, learning new software, trying to browse internet etc. over there. I sometimes visited some of my friends’ houses more often than usual only because they had computers. Thus this machine became the only dream of my life. As I knew that my father won’t be able to buy a computer for me, I did not ask for one. I made a dummy computer using papers and boards and played with it. One day I bought a savings bank and started saving coins and notes there. After one month I found that I have saved very few amount to purchase a computer!

I got busy with other stuffs and could hardly find times to visit friends’ houses to use their computer but in a corner of my heart I felt the same fascination for owning a computer. On my 14th birthday, my father told me that he wants to take me to the computer shop and purchase one for me. I could not believe what I was hearing. That night it was tough for me to sleep. In the morning I wake up earlier than usual and went to the computer shop with my father. He bought a Dell Laptop that was Pentium 4 machine. While returning home, I found myself flying in joy. I opened the box after returning home and showed it to my mother and other relatives.

As a kid, that was a long expected gift that my father gave me and till now it’s the best gift/ present I have ever received.

IELTS_Cue_Card_best_gift_present_you_have_received.jpg


Tips for answering this Cue card question:

Think about a gift that you received from one of your family members, relatives, friends, colleges or someone else. Write down the name and the person who gave it to you as well as when did you receive it and what was the occasion. Being able to point out those questions would help you to answer this cue card. The give can be from someone special and for this the gift can be a simple friendship card or a book. Does not matter if it is an expensive and exclusive gift or not, most important part is the importance of the gift.

The gift can be something other than the conventional gift items like: a life changing advice that you consider as a gift. If you are father, you can say your kid is the best gift you have got is your kid and that was given by the almighty.

For gifts like cell phone, computer or a necessary equipment or device, mention that you have been wishing to own this but could not and after you received that, you felt overwhelmed. A gift from parents on your birthday can also be a good example of best gift you received. For such gifts, mention that you received it in your childhood and had been touched by the whole idea.

For this cue card the gift item is not itself important, be it an ordinary piece of gift or a very luxurious item, so emphasize on your feeling rather than the gift itself.


Some similar cue card topics that you can answer in a similar fashion:


  1. Describe a thing which is important to you.
  2. Talk about a gift you received in your childhood.
  3. Describe a gift you received on your birthday.
  4. Describe something you bought this year.
  5. Describe a memorable gift.
  6. Describe a valuable possession you have.
  7. Describe an expensive gift you got.
  8. Describe a gift you gave to someone.
  9. Describe a gift you gave to your friend.
 

P O U R I A

مدیر مهندسی شیمی مدیر تالار گفتگوی آزاد
مدیر تالار
IELTS Cue Card Sample 10 - A historical place

IELTS Cue Card Sample 10 - A historical place

Describe a historical place that you know about.

You should say:


  • What the place is
  • Where it is located
  • What is the historical meaning of the place
and describe your experience of the place.

Follow-up Questions:
• What do you think of the future trend of historic places?
• Will government strengthen its protection toward historic places?
• What are the changes brought about by the historic place in local economy, people, etc?
• What is the effect of tourists on the place?


Model Answer 1:
I have a special interest on visiting famous places and on my list historical places always get preferences. I have visited many historical places like Machu Picchu in Peru, The Pyramids at Giza, Taj Mahal, Parthenon in Greece and many more. The historical significance and the site attractions sometimes mesmerized me. The historical place that I would like to talk about today is Colosseum (also known as Coliseum, also known as the Flavian Amphitheatre) which is situated in Rome, Italy. It is basically an elliptical amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy which is the largest amphitheatre in the world and is made of concrete and stone. The construction of Colosseum began under the emperor Vespasian in 70 AD and was completed under Titus in 80 AD.

The Colosseum could hold approximately 50,000 to 80,000 spectators and was used for gladiatorial contests and public spectacles such as mock sea battles, animal hunts, executions, re-enactments of famous battles etc. The Colosseum was listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1980 and was also included among the New Seven Wonders of the World. It is 189 meters long, and 156 meters wide, with a base area of 6 acres .The height of the outer wall is 48 meters. The Colosseum nowadays is one of the major tourist attractions in Rome with thousands of tourists each year paying to view the interior arena.

I have heard and seen of this famous place a lot and when I witnessed it for the first time, I became speechless. The huge architect, the overwhelming interior and exterior decoration was beyond appreciation. The place kept reminding me the classical mythological and historical facts I have read and heard about.

IELTS Cue Card Topic: Describe an historical place that you know about.
Sample Answer 2:
I am going to talk about an amazing historical place that I know about, even though I’ve never visited it. I’ll tell you what it is, where it is and as much as I can about the historical meaning of the place and finally my own reactions/ experiences regarding it.

I want to tell you about Stonehenge. This is an ancient set of standing stones, arranged in a circle. It is located in Wiltshire, in England, but I think it would be fair to say the image of it would be recognised worldwide, as it is possibly one of the most famous historic sites in the world.
In terms of the meaning of the place it’s really impossible to say. It is so very old, even archaeologists aren’t sure exactly when it was built, estimates go back to as long ago as 3000 BC, which is mind boggling to me! It is certainly accurate to describe it as a prehistoric monument. Some people think it might have started as a burial mound and be even more ancient that 5,000 years. The colossal slabs are arranged like huge door frames, no-one really knows how they were erected without the technology of modern times, but everyone agrees it was an incredible feat of engineering and showed foresight and tenacity in spaces! However, it is certain that they were somehow aligned so that at key stages of the lunar (moon) and solar (sun) cycles, the way the light strikes the stones is of some significance. Apparently it was deliberately constructed so that the rising sun only reached the middle of the stones for just one day of the year.
Lots of people like to try and imagine what sort of ceremonies and importance the stones might have had for the people who built it, but the truth is we can’t say. Even today, modern day druids have for many years gathered at the stones for the summer solstice (longest day of the year) and winter solstice (shortest day of the year) to watch the sun rise and mark the event with their own celebrations.
For me I think this is the ultimate historical place, even though I have yet to visit it. It is just so remarkable to think it was constructed all those thousands of years ago just by physical labour. Even the stones themselves – the largest of which are up to 30 feet and weigh about 25 tons, had to be brought to the site from about 20 miles away, how on earth was that possible? For me the stones prove that with determination, tenacity and working together it is sometimes possible to achieve what seems impossible. At the same time, the way they have endured over time, gives perspective on our place in the world. Time passes, people and generations pass too, but they can leave a legacy behind even if it only one of many unanswered questions for future people to ponder over!

[ Written by - Lucy Marris | Careers Adviser (UK), TEFL teacher (Vietnam) ]

IELTS_Cue_Card_historical_place_that_you_know_about.jpg


Tips for answering this cue card topic:

This cue card is different from the cue card 'describe a historic place you have visited'. For the later one you should pick a historic place which is usually located in your country and you have visited. In this case you need to say when you visited and what you enjoyed there. But for the cue card 'describe a historic place that you know about', you can talk about any historic place located at anywhere in the world. Not necessarily you need to visit a place to know about it.

Do not pick a place which has very little historic significance or the places that store historic evidences but not itself is a historic place. For instance, you can learn a lot about history from museum but the museum is not a historic place.

A historic place can be part of national history or international history. For instance, some places in your country may be the part of the history of your country but not known in world history. In your IELTS you can pick such nationally recognized historic places.

There is a subtle difference between a famous place and the historic place. To be a historic place, the place itself has to be qualified and registered for the historic place.
Don't pick a broad area or a whole city as a historic place, rather pick the particular place. Like, there are lots of historic places in Rome like: Colosseum, The Pantheon, St Peter's Basilica etc. and if you pick Rome as the historic place, you won't be able to cover all the historic significance of this city. Alternatively, picking only Colosseum or The Pantheon would give you a better option to describe it.

With your ability to answer this cue card topic, you should be able to answer following cue cards as well:
1. Describe a place you recently visited.
2. Describe a worth visiting famous place.
3. Talk about a place you would recommend others to visit.
4. Describe a famous place in your locality.
5. Talk about a place you have planned to visit in the future.
 

P O U R I A

مدیر مهندسی شیمی مدیر تالار گفتگوی آزاد
مدیر تالار
Describe a newspaper or a magazine.

You should say:


  • What it is and why you read it
  • What are the benefits of reading a newspaper or a magazine
  • How often you read it and what are the contents of it
and explain why do you like reading this newspaper or magazine.

Follow-up Questions:
• What do you think the important qualities for a news reporter?
• What's the main difference between newspaper and magazine?
• What’s the function of a report to the society?
• What kinds of books/newspapers/magazines do adolescents read in your country?
• With the popularity of Internet, do you think newspapers and magazines will disappear?


Possible Answer:
I read newspaper almost every day and sometimes I purchase or borrow magazines to read as well. I'd like to describe a magazine that I usually buy each month and enjoy reading a lot. The name of this magazine is PC World which is a global computer magazine published monthly by IDG in USA. It offers advice on various aspects of PCs and related items, the Internet, and other personal-technology products and services. In each publication, PC World reviews and tests hardware and software products from a variety of manufacturers, as well as other technology related devices such as still and video cameras, audio devices and televisions.

I have been reading this magazine for the last 6-7 years or so. It is specifically useful for people who love computers, other technology devices; software and IT related news and updates. I am doing my graduation in Computer Science and Engineering and love to learn about new hardware and software. This is a magazine that offers great hardware & software reviews, tips on advanced computing and many other useful articles.

Reading a newspaper or a magazine is always helpful for learning new information. Newspapers provide contemporary local news, international news, editorials, entertainment, news, sports news and so on. Without reading newspapers or magazines one can't keep himself / herself updated with the latest news and views of the world. I purchase the PC World magazine every month and read it for about 7 days. Sometimes I read older versions as well to find out any particular reviews or articles. This magazine is helpful for basic, moderate and advanced computer users and techno lovers. Someone who has a computer should read it to increase his/ her knowledge on hardware and software. Even it’s helpful for those who are going to buy computers, printers, cameras, scanners, software or other hardware devices. I enjoy reading it a lot.



IELTS_Cue_Card_a_newspaper_or_a_magazine.jpg


Sample Answer 2:
Today I’m going to talk about one of my favourite magazines. It’s quite fun to think about it, first I’ll tell you what it is and why I read it. Then I’ll try and persuade you of the benefits of doing so, and a bit about how often I read it and what the contents are. Finally, I’ll explain why I like to read it so much.


The magazine is called ‘Women’s Running’. It’s a monthly publication, dedicated to helping female runners, at every level to improve their running and learn more about the sport.

For me the benefits of reading this periodical are huge. It has great information about running techniques and nutrition; advertising features on new running related products; helpful articles on topics like ‘how to choose new trainers’ and advice on running events and how to prepare for them. That is great in itself, but even more importantly for me, it contains lots of human interest stories. Real women talking about their experiences of running, why they do it and how they stay motivated, keep positive and enjoy the sport.

Even though I do like the magazine, it is really expensive, it’s £4 a time, so I’m embarrassed to admit I don’t buy my own copy. Instead, I have a friend who subscribes to it regularly. Every few months she has a big clear out, and she drops off a great big bag of magazines for me to read. I then have a binge of reading about running – which is a bit ironic really, I should be out doing it rather than reading about it! So I don’t read it each month, but every few months I’ll have a whole weekend curled up on the sofa avidly soaking up every article. I read each copy from cover to cover. I like the personal accounts best. Women talking about perhaps over-coming injuries and illness to keep on running; forming friendships and achieving goals they never thought possible. It can be really inspirational! It makes me believe that I too can do more than I think. Once I’ve read all the magazines I keep them for a while to refer back to, but eventually I too need to de-clutter, so I’ll pass them on to another running friend, and so the cycle continues!


Through reading the magazine I’ve started to think of myself more as part of the ‘running community’ whatever that means! I’ve started to realise that not everyone who takes part in running is choosing to do ultra-marathons, we can all run at our own level and still get the fitness and social benefits at whatever level you are at. The main competition is not with other people but with yourself, other runners can support and help you whether that’s with advice on how to up your speed or distances to get a new Personal Best or agreeing to go out with you on a wet and windy night when really the sofa looks a great deal more appealing than a rain soaked pavement in winter!


[ Written by - Lucy Marris | Careers Adviser (UK), TEFL teacher ]



Tips for answering this Cue Card Topic:
To answer this cue card, first decide if you are going to talk about a newspaper or a magazine. If you want to talk about a newspaper, decide which one you would like to talk. For the magazine you should finalize the magazine name also. Deciding a particular newspaper or magazine would help you focus on the features and characteristics of it. There are some differences between a daily newspaper and a magazine.


If you decide to talk about the magazine focus on following points:
a) What type of magazine it is: weekly, monthly etc.
b) what's it about: Lifestyle, technology, fun, business travel, fashion etc.
c) For magazine describe the topics and issues it covers. Like a computer magazine covers the software and hardware reviews, tips on computing, tutorials, and price list etc. whereas a fashion magazine highlights the current trends in fashion, new arrivals and focus on brands.
d) Why do I read it? Entertainment, tutorials, academic or professional benefits, new recipes etc.
e) Why this magazine is better than similar other magazines? Article presentation, economic, has subscription facility, exclusive etc.


If you talk about a newspaper focus on their news presentation, editorial and overall contribution to help people get unbiased and quality news and articles.
Since, almost all the daily newspapers cover same type of news i.e. political, sports, editorial, international, business etc. you should focus less on the type of news they present. Rather emphasize what makes it a worth reading newspaper.



Use the same techniques to answer the following cue cards also:
1. Describe a magazine that you read often.
2. Describe the newspaper that you read daily.
3. Describe you favourite magazine.
 

P O U R I A

مدیر مهندسی شیمی مدیر تالار گفتگوی آزاد
مدیر تالار
Describe a happy event of your life

You should say:


  • When it happened
  • Where it happened
  • What it was
and explain why this event is a happy event in your life.

Follow-up Questions:
• What do you think is important in achieving happiness?
• How do you celebrate some happy events?
• What do the camera and video play in celebrating?


Possible Answer:
I can remember many happy events of my life and among them I would like to talk about the event that I can still remember vividly. The moment I heard that I have got scholarship on the board exam was a very happy moment for me. I spent almost a month with great anxiety regarding my result publication. I started speculating so many things and many of them were negative. I could hardly keep away the tensions about my upcoming result. The result was so important that my college admission would have depended on it. I could not sleep well in the night before the result publishing.

The result was published at around 11.00 am and I found that I did exceptionally well. I was so relieved and happy that I literally shouted. Then I hurriedly came back to our home and gave the news to my parents. They were happy too. My father bought sweets and my mother gave it to our neighbours. I felt excited, happy and relieved. At that time I was about 15 years old. It happened at our hometown called (... say the name of your home-town...)

IELTS_Cue_Card_Describe_a_happy_event_of_your_life.jpg

Tips for answering this cue card:
"Describe a happy event of your life" is an example of cue card topic that gives a candidate a wide range of options to pick from. You are virtually free to talk about any event that you think you would be flexible to talk about. On the contrary the topic like "Describe a famous writer in your country" narrows your option. You can't just pick any writer and start talking about him. For the later topic you need to think about such a writer and give some factual information about him.

The cue cards that give you wide options are usually easier to talk about since you won't have to wonder a lot to pick what you would talk about. For this cue card i.e. "Describe a happy event of your life" think about an event of your life that made you happy. If you take it from your life rather than making it up, you would be able to give more details and extend the topic.


Following are some of the ideas you can take as examples of happy events of your life but always try to speak about a real event of your life.
1. Your father got promoted and your family celebrated it.
2. You got admitted to a school/ college/ university where you dreamed to study.
3. The birth of your younger sister/ brother/ nephew/ niece or even your own kid if you are a father/ mother.
4. One of your family members was severely ill but got healed miraculously.
5. You won a competition.
6. You did something for others and people acclaimed that.
7. You got scholarship.
8. You overcame one of your obstacles.
9. You went to visit a foreign country
10. You achieved something noteworthy.
11. You saved someone from a big problem.

If you can talk about this cue card, you should be able to answer the following cue cards as well:
1. Describe a memorable event of your life.
2. Talk about an event that made you happy.
3. Describe a happy memory you have.
4. Describe a success you achieved in your life.



Answers Submitted by our students:
Model Answer 2:
In my face, I feel a glow whenever I remember the day I went to the International trade fair with some of my friends. That was my first International trade fair visit and this was such a happy experience that I still feel a great joy reciting the memory of this event. It was January, 1998 and that time I was in my first year of college.


Till my college I was like a new born lady, who had never visited any places without her places of her local area. After I got admitted in to the college, I started exploring the world and the amazing things that invites people like us. One day I planned with my friends that we would visit International trade fair. This might seem like a very usual and banal event for others but to me that was a really exciting thing to do. Later on we did as we thought and finalized our visit to the fair. After break period at college, we escaped by back door (As a side note, I would like to mention that I’d no previous record of escaping school or college before). We were five in members and we hired taxi to reach the trade fair. There wasn’t enough space to sit in the back side of the taxi and the taxi driver gave a suspicious look at us. That’s why with a fishy smile we took the decision that one of us would sit in front of the baby taxi with the taxi driver. It was a funny decision but there was no alternative to us and we enjoyed it.


After few minutes we reached at the fair and then collected the tickets. We were thoroughly enjoying everything we did that time. We entered the fair and took a deep breath to ease ourselves. We were kind of overwhelmed to observe the vast area with hundreds of shops and stalls. People were all around us and we felt like somehow we have come to a fairy land. Wherever we went, I was feeling so excited, everything was totally new for me as a grown up lady. We took lots of photos from different views, purchased few interesting things within our limited budget and roamed in the whole area of the fair. I forgot my usual area, boundaries and the same thing I do almost every day and felt a happiness that I missed for a long. We spent almost 4-5 hours in the trade fair and at last retuned to our home in the evening. We returned home by bus and I was so happy that I felt like discovering a new continent.
 

P O U R I A

مدیر مهندسی شیمی مدیر تالار گفتگوی آزاد
مدیر تالار
Describe a subject taught in your school

You Should Say:


  • What was it and who taught it?
  • How was it taught?
  • What did you learn from the class?
and explain how it helped you.

Follow-up Questions:
• Is there any difference between the traditional and modern educational systems?
• What are the pros and cons of the current educational system in your country?
• Do you think it is necessary to give comment or criticism to teachers?


Possible Answer:
The subject that I'd like to describe is Physics that was taught in our school. We had this subject in each year of our high school and each year a new teacher used to taught us the subject. Even we had to read physics in college as Science was my major. I remember Mr. Alex, Burter, John, David and Mrs. Jeniffer took Physics in different years. We were lucky to have good Physics teachers who could make the subject interesting and enjoyable. Our teachers used to tell us stories first and then would explain the theory, experiment or math of the text books. They would then relate the story with the study. Later they would explain us the real examples and facts. Sometimes they used to take us to the Physics labs and explain how something works. I have learned numerous things of physics from simple definition of mass to the complex explanation of Einstein's Theory of Relativity. My foundation of physics grew up and expanded with the help of those teachers.

The subject itself is utterly interesting if one can have passion for it. It is one such subject that one would start loving it if s/he starts understanding the underlying concepts of it. Physics is all around us and the lesson I learned from my School had helped me greatly throughout my higher academic years.




Tips for answering this cue card topic:

You should pick a real academic subject like Math, English, Physics, Chemistry, Literature, and Biology to answer this cue card. Then quickly take some notes including the following:
1. In which class was it taught?
2. Do not pick a subject taught in your college or university level as the cue card is asking you to talk about a subject taught in your school.
3. Try to remember a teacher's name. You can mention multiple teachers' name as the same subject in school is taught by different teachers in different classes.
4. Give a short detail what the subject. For example: The Geography would discuss about the Earth, the other planet in the solar system, atmosphere, and climate changes etc. and you should mention those.
5. Next describe how the teacher taught the subject and what things you learned from the class.
6. Mention some interesting things you learned from the class and how the teacher made things easier to understand for you.
7. Describe how interested you were about the subject and the class.
8. Relate how this subject has later helped you/ influenced you in your education and learning process.
9. Finally give a conclusion by mentioning how beneficial the subject for students.


If you pick Math try to focus on the following issues:

1. The teacher was very good explaining the intricacies of the subject.
2. You learned many theories and formulas of math.
3. This teacher explained how math would be helpful for the rest of the life and academic years.
4. You learned the importance of Math for higher study.
5. The teacher not only explained the math from the academic book but also has taken interesting and thought provoking math from other sources.

If you prefer to talk about Literature say:
1. The teacher helped you enjoy the literature.
2. S/he told stories of classic literature that you still remember.
3. S/he was a gifted story teller and she had been successful creating your interest on literature.
4. You became a good reader because of the classes and the teacher.

Similarly you can talk about any subject that you were interested in your school level. In your whole conversation you should talk about the subject itself for about 2 minutes , 1 minutes about the teacher and his/her way of teaching and for the remaining time say how benefitted you had been from those classes.
If you can talk about this cue card you would also be able to answer the following cue cards with little changes:

1. Describe a teacher from your school.
2. Describe something you learned from your school.
3. Talk about a subject you enjoyed in your school.
4. Describe a subject taught in your school/ college/ university.
5. Talk about your favourite teacher from school.
6. Talk about a teacher you still remember from school.
 

P O U R I A

مدیر مهندسی شیمی مدیر تالار گفتگوی آزاد
مدیر تالار
IELTS Cue Card Sample 14 - Describe a museum

IELTS Cue Card Sample 14 - Describe a museum

Describe a museum that you have visited.

You should say:


  • when you visited the museum
  • describe the museum
  • how you felt after going there
and describe your experience of the visit.

Possible Answer:
I have visited 5-6 museums in total in different countries and enjoyed visiting the (tell a museum name you know about) in (say the country name). I went to the museum 2 years back while visiting the city. Visiting the museum was not in our tour plan and yet we went there as it was prominently expressing its present in front of us. I went there with my 2 friends and one cousin who were my tour partners. My cousin and one of my friends were not at all interested to roam inside the museum as they had other plans. I insisted them to go there and convinced them by saying that if you do not enjoy it; I would pay for the dinner!

After we bought our tickets, we entered in to the museum and the colossal front side of the museum building and the large open garden in front of it mesmerized us. At that time I had a feeling that our time would worth the visit.

After we entered inside the museum, we found that the place is even larger than we initially thought it would be. There were 5 floors in the museum and the inside architecture reminded us the imperial age. We could see the top of the building from the ground flood. People from different age groups and countries were closely observing the museum. Taking photo was prohibited and yet I was sometimes allured to take some hidden snaps especially when I saw the colossal dinosaur fossil and alien ship!

The first floor of the museum had some art from famous artist of the world and sculptures from different era. The first floor gave us the impression of visiting a theatre or art gallery rather than museum. We came to know that some of the arts were so expensive that one can buy an island by selling it! Then we moved to the second floor which was full of Second World War memories. Guns, tanks and other war materials from 1945 WW II had been arranged there. A video was showing some of the fighting scenes of WW II.

When we reached third floor, it’s been already 2.5 hours. We found all the costumes and traditional things from different parts of the world have been placed here. One can easily learn about the customs of different ages and countries just by visiting this floor. The next floor had more adventure and surprises for us. It has placed all the major inventions of different ages and they were historically famous. I felt overwhelmed seeing the First computer, Speed boat, Wheel, Motor Engine and many more famous invention of history at this floor. I was so much dying to touch the first 4 wheeler that had been placed there.

We had visited the whole museum as much as possible and spent almost the whole day. We were so enthralled to visit the place that we literally forgot to have our lunch. The overall experience was fantastic and I learned so many things in few hours. As soon as I left the place, I planned to revisit it someday.

Follow-up Questions:


  • How often do you visit museums?
  • What type of museum is popular in your country?
  • What do you think of the importance of museums in history?
  • How do you think of the heritage of a country?
  • Compare the museums nowadays and in the past.
  • Have you ever been to a foreign museum?



Tips for answering this Cue Card Topic:

While describing a museum you should pick the national stadium of your country. If you have already visited the museum, you should be comfortable describing it. Since this is the museum that the examiner might also know about, you should give the factual information of it. Start by saying when you visited it, with whom you went there, number of times you went there, the exterior or interior of the museum, number of floors of the museum, things you did there, the things present there and so on. If you can't remember an exact museum try to visualize one and describe the museum as if you have visited it. If you ever been to a foreign country and visited a museum of that city, you can also mention that museum. If the cue card topic asks you to describe a museum in your country, you would then have to describe a museum located at your country.


Some of the common features of a museum:
1. A museum is a place where collection of artifacts and other things are preserved for public exhibition.
2. Almost all of the countries have museums in their major cities.
3. The things preserved there are generally of scientific, cultural, historic and artistic interests.
4. Things are arranged and categorized on different floors for the convenience of the visitors.

There are several types of museums based on the types of things they present for public exhibition and you can talk about any type of museum you like and know about. General categories of museum are as following:

Cultural museum, historic museum, science and technology museum, craft museum, fine arts museum, archaeology museum, natural history museum, children’s museum, modern art museum, military history museum, aviation museum, universal museum etc.

A botanical garden or a zoological garden is also referred as a museum but avoid describing one of these two unless you have no clue about the other types of museum. If you plan to describe a botanical garden or a zoological garden as a museum, make it clear at the very first level of your speaking so that the examiner does not have any confusion.



Following are some of the museums in different cities of the world that you can google to find the details about them:
USA:
Metropolitan Museum of Art; Guggenheim Museum; National Portrait Gallery; Philadelphia Museum of Art; Hirshhorn Museum.


India:

National Museum, New Delhi; Indian Museum, Kolkata; Salarjung Museum, Hyderabad; Government Museum, Bangalore; Victoria Memorial, Kolkata.


Indonesia:

National Museum of Indonesia; Jakarta History Museum; Museum of PKI Treason; Bali Museum.


Australia:

Australian History Museum; Macleay Museum; Sydney Harbour Bridge Visitor Centre; Fort Denison.


Germany:

Deutsches Museum, Pergamon Museum, Deutsches Historisches Museum, Neues Museum.


Malaysia

The national museum; Petrosains museum; Maritime museum; National science museum.


Singapore

Peranakan Museum; Asian Civilisations Museum; National Museum of Singapore.


UK:

British Museum; Natural History Museum; Victoria and Albert Museum; National Gallery, London; Royal Academy of Arts; Tate Modern, London.


Ireland:

National Museum of Ireland, Ulster Museum, National Museum of Ireland – Archaeology, Irish Museum of Modern Art.


Pakistan:

Lahore Museum; National Museum of Pakistan, Peshawar Museum, Pakistan Museum of Natural History, Sindh Museum.


Philippines:

National Museum of the Philippines, Ayala Museum, UST Museum of Arts and Sciences, Casa Manila.


South Africa:

Apartheid Museum, Iziko South African Museum, South African National Gallery, Ditsong National Museum of Cultural History.


Iran:

National Museum of Iran; Azadi Museum, Reza Abbasi Museum, Pars Museum, Malik National Museum of Iran, Zagros Paleolithic Museum.


Spain:

Reina Sofía; Institut Valencià d'Art Modern; Guggenheim; CaixaForum Barcelona; MACBA.


China:

Nanjing Educational Museum; Capital Museum; Tianjin Museum; The National Museum of China; The Capital Museum; Beijing Planetarium; Xibaipo Memorial.


Kazakhstan:

Abai Kununbaev Museum; Museums and Art Galleries; Almaty City History Museum; Central State Museum; Geology Museum; Kazakhstan Museum of Arts.


Russia:

Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts; State Historical Museum; State Hermitage; State Darwin Museum; State Russian Museum; Zurab Tsereteli's Art Gallery; Novosibirsk State Art Museum; Moscow Kremlin.


Greece:

Acropolis Museum; National Archaeological Museum of Athens; Benaki Museum; Athinais Culture Center; Athens War Museum; Archaeological Museum of Komotini.


Italy:

Vatican Museums, Rome; Galleria Palatina, Florence; Musei Capitolini, Rome; Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan.


Vietnam:

War Remnants Museum, Vietnam Museum of Ethnology, National Museum of Vietnamese History, Museum of Cham Sculpture,


Turkey:

Hagia Sophia, Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum, Istanbul Archaeology Museums, Istanbul Modern Art Museum , Jewish Museum of Turkey.


France:

The Louvre, Musée d'Orsay, Centre Georges Pompidou, Musée Rodin, Palace of Versailles.


Thailand:

Royal Barge Museum; Museum of Siam; Bang Khun Thien Museum; Bangkok Planetarium; Prasart Museum.


Nepal:

National Museum of Nepal, Hanumandhoka Palace Complex, Pujarimath Museum, Kapilvastu Museum.


Iraq:

National Museum of Iraq; Mosul Museum, Tikrit Museum, Baghdadi Museum.


Japan:

Tokyo National Museum; National Museum of Art, Osaka; Adachi Museum of Art; Museum of Modern Art, Toyama.




Some other Cue card topics that you should be able to answer as well if you prepare for this cue card:
1. Describe a worth visiting place in your city.
2. Talk about a museum you have visited.
3. Describe a place where you would like to go.
4. Describe an interesting place you have visited.
 

P O U R I A

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مدیر تالار
IELTS Cue Card Sample 15 - Your favourite movie

IELTS Cue Card Sample 15 - Your favourite movie

Describe Your Favorite movie

You should say:


  • What’s the name of the movie/ film?
  • What’s the theme of the movie/ film?
  • Why do you like it?
and describe the story of the movie in brief.

Follow-up Questions:
• Describe a war movie you like.
• What’s the difference between the movies or your country and Hollywood movies?
• What do you think of the violent films?
• Why movies need computer techniques? Any example of movie using computer techniques?
• Which parts of movie are the most important and how to improve it?


Possible Answer:
The name of my faourite movie is 'Casablanca' which was directed by Michael Curtiz. It was released in 1943 and the story was adopted from a stage-play named 'Everybody comes to Ricks'. The movie starred Humphery Bogart & Ingrid Bergman and was made in USA. It was a romantic drama film and the story-line was set during the World War II.

It focuses on a man torn between love & virtue. In 1941 American expatriot Rick who professed to be neutral by all means met his former lover Ilsa in his nightclub & gambling den. She was accompanied by her husband, Laszlo, a renowned fugitive Czech Resistance Leader. They needed a letter to escape to America, where he can continue his work against Nazis. German Major came to Casablanca to see that Laszlo does not succeed. One night Ilsa confronted Rich in the deserted cafe and asked for the letter. She threatened him with a gun for the letter and later on confessed that she still loves him. Rick's bitterness dissolved learning that IIsa was married to Laszlo before even their relationship began. When Rick and IIsa planned to flew together, she could not do so because all of a sudden she found that her husband was still alive and needed her badly to recover. Hearing the story Rick calmed down and agreed to give the letter to Laszlo so that he can fly to America safely. They would take a different path to fly away together. But finally Rick let IIsa and Laszlo fly to America which surprised IIsa very much.

In 1989, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry a being deemed 'Culturally', 'Historically' and 'Aesthetically' significant. It is the 2nd best movie of all time based on AFI's 100 best movies of all time.
I've seen the movie more than 2-3 times. The story is excellent, the casting, plot, acting, dialogues and all other aspects of the movie is superb. The movie deeply touched me and became the most favourite movie I have ever seen.



Preparation Tips for this cue card topic:
As part of your preparation for this cue card, chose a movie that was based on real war and has historic value and was adopted from a book. Doing so you would be able to answer the following cue cards as well:
1. Describe a movie that was made based on a real event.
2. Describe a movie that created based on a historic event.
3. Describe a war movie you have watched.
4. Talk about a film which was adopted from a book.
5. Talk about a critically acclaimed film you that you watched.
6. Describe the best film you saw this year.


Following are some of such Hollywood movies/ films that you can describe. To pick such movie names and their details those were made in your own country, Google it.

Movies based on real events:
Empire State
Act of Valor
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
The Devil's Double
The Social Network
Fair Game
Public Enemies
The Killing of John Lennon
A Beautiful Mind


Movies based on real event and War
Emperor
Everyman's War
Valkyrie
Hurt Locker
The Pianist
Behind Enemy Lines


Movies based on Books
The Motorcycle Diaries
Twilight
Stardust
Pride and prejudice
The Godfather
Schindler's List
The bridge on the river Kwai
Scarface




Tips for answering this Cue card topic:
1. Talk about a movie that you have watched as this would help you describing the story of the movie.
2. You should know the names of the main actor, actress, genre, producer and director of the movie.
3. Describe the story in brief. Do not start describing the details of the story from the beginning as you will run out of time before finishing the whole story.
4. Mention some of the following reasons for the question 'Why you liked it"


  • This is a critically acclaimed movie.
  • The story line is touchy and has good morality.
  • The movie was based on a real story.
  • The story depicts a historic events/ national events/ real life issue.
  • I enjoyed the acting and story of the movie.
  • The outstanding performance by an actor/ actress.
  • The movie has lots of special effect/ actions that you enjoyed.
  • It is one of the best movies based on some reliable ratings.
  • It was recommended by a friend/ family member/ teacher
  • The story reveals a fact that touched you.
Note that Movie and Film indicates the same thing. 'Film' is used in British English where as both words are used in American English. So do not get confused if the cue card asks you to talk about a film while you consider it as 'Movie'.



Similar Cue Card Topics
Your ability to talk about this Cue Card would enable you to talk about the following Cue Cards as well:
1. Describe a movie you have recently watched.
2. Describe a foreign movie that you have watched.
3. Describe a movie you would recomment others to watch.
4. Talk about a movie that you enjoyed watching.
5. Describe a film you have recently watched.
 

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