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1 IELTS Cue Card Sample 1 -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 do you 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? Possible Answer: 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 behaviours 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.

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IELTS Cue Card Sample 1 -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 do you 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?

Possible Answer:

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 behaviours 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.

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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.

Alternative Answer:

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

behaviour, 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 neighbours' 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:

You already know a lot about your family members and this cue card should be an easy one to

answer. Just focus on the questions mentioned bellow the Cue card topic. Following questions

may come for this cue card and note the quick answers of these questions:

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1. Who is he/she? : My mother / My father/ My bother/ My sister etc.

2. Your relationship to this family member: She is my mother/ he is my father etc.

3. What you do together: We walk out together/ cook together/ study together/ talk a lot about

family issues etc.

4. What is s/he like: He/ She is kind, talented, energetic, works a lot, dedicated, caring, possess

a great personality, open minded etc.

5. How long do you know him /her: From my childhood/ all of my life/ for more than 20 years

etc.

6. How often do you see him/her: Everyday/ once in a month/ most of the time I stay at home/ in

every three months etc.

7. Why do you like him/ her or why do you admire him/ her?: S/he loves me a lot, very close to

me, very caring, have a good heart, talented, helpful, my best mentor etc.

While talking about what is s/he like or what qualities he /she has or even why do you like/

admire him/her you can use some of the following points:

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.

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.

IELTS Cue Card Sample 2 - Describe your favourite Restaurant.

You should say:

Where it is

What it looks like inside and outside

What kinds of foods they serve

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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 Answer:

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

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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.

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 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.

IELTS Cue Card Sample 3 - 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

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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?

Possible Answer:

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

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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:

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:

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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 - 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?

Possible Answer:

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

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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.

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.

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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.

IELTS Cue Card Sample 5 - 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?

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Possible Answer:

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:

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,

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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 - Describe an accident you saw

You should say:

Where the accident occured

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?

Possible Answer:

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

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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.

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.

IELTS Cue Card Sample 7 - Describe one of your childhood memories.

You should say:

What is it

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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?

Possible Answer:

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:

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

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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:

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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.

IELTS Cue Card Sample 8 - 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?

Possible Answer:

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

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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.

IELTS Cue Card Sample 9 - 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

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And explain why it was the best gift / present you have received ever.

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.

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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.

IELTS Cue Card Sample 10 - 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?

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• What are the changes brought about by the historic place in local economy, people, etc?

• What is the effect of tourists on the place?

Possible Answer:

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.

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

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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.

IELTS Cue Card Sample 11 - Describe a newspaper or a magazine

You should say:

What is it 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 to read 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?

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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.

Tips for answering this Cue Card Topic:

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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.

IELTS Cue Card Sample 12 - 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:

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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...)

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.

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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 1:

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

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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.

IELTS Cue Card Sample 13 - Describe a subject taught in your school

You Should Say: 1) What was it and who taught it?

2) How was it taught?

3) 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.

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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.

IELTS Cue Card Sample 14 - Describe a museum that you have visited

You should say:

• When you visited the museum

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• 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.

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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:

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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;

USA Metropolitan Museum of Art;

Guggenheim Museum;

National Portrait Gallery;

Philadelphia Museum of Art;

Hirshhorn Museum;

Australia Australian History Museum;

Macleay Museum;

Sydney Harbour Bridge Visitor

Centre;

Fort Denison;

Malaysia The national museum;

Petrosains museum;

Maritime museum;

National science museum;

Singapore Peranakan Museum;

Asian Civilisations Museum;

National Museum of

Singapore;

Vietnam War Remnants Museum;

Pakistan Lahore Museum;

National Museum of Pakistan

Iran National Museum of Iran;

Azadi Museum;

Spain Reina Sofía;

Institut Valencià d'Art Modern;

Guggenheim;

CaixaForum Barcelona;

MACBA;

Turkey Istanbul Modern;

UK British Museum;

Natural History Museum;

Victoria and Albert Museum;

National Gallery, London;

Royal Academy of Arts;

Tate Modern, London;

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;

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;

Thailand Royal Barge Museum;

Museum of Siam;

Bang Khun Thien Museum;

Bangkok Planetarium;

Prasart Museum;

Italy Vatican Museums, Rome;

Galleria Palatina, Florence;

Musei Capitolini, Rome;

Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan;

Greece Acropolis Museum;

National Archaeological

Museum of Athens;

Benaki Museum;

Athinais Culture Center;

Athens War Museum;

Archaeological Museum of

Komotini;

Nepal National Museum of Nepal;

Iraq National Museum of Iraq;

Japan Tokyo National Museum;

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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.

IELTS Cue Card Sample 15 - Describe Your Favorite movie

You should say: 1) What‟s the name of the movie/ film?

2) What‟s the theme of the movie/ film?

3) 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.

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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

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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.

IELTS Cue Card Sample 16 - Describe a foreign country you have never been to

You should say:

1) Where is the country?

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2) When will you go there?

3) Why would you like to go there?

and explain why this is a good country to visit

Follow-up Questions: • Say something about the tourism development in your country, facility, services and the effect

on environment.

• What is the importance of travel and tourism industry?

• What do you think the function of tourist guides?

Possible Answer:

The country that I have always wanted to go but have not visited yet is Italy. I've been dreaming

to visit Italy for more than 2-3 years. I'll definitely visit the country as soon as my graduation is

complete. Italy is in Southern Europe. Rome, the largest city and the Capital of Italy has been the

leading political and religious centre of the western civilization, serving as the capital of the both

Roman Empire and the Christianity. I'd like to go there to see the museums, arts, streets, cultural

and other attractions. Another reason I want to go there is to visit the Vatican City. I have read

and heard about numerous stories and history about this country and witnessing them would be a

great joy for me. There are plenty of things to see: arts, museums, Colosseum, Leaning Tower of

Pissa, Roman Forum, Florence Cathedral, St. Peter's Basilica, Milan Cathedral, Sistine Chapel,

Piazza SanMarco, Circus Maximux and lots of other places I'd love to visit.

Italy was one of the most advanced territories once and had lots of historically significant places

to visit. I've read about those places so many times and heard stories from many of my friends

that visiting this country has become a major wish for me. And I'm pretty positive about visiting

this country in next year.

Tips for answering this cue card topic:

Think of a country you know about. Now say that this is the country you have never been to. In

reality you may have visited Vietnam, India, and Australia but have never been to Russia. But if

you know very little about Russia, and say that you have never been to Russia, you would be in a

difficult position to tell about this country. Rather you should pick a county you know about and

the examiner is not going to check your passport if you have really been there or not!

State the face that you have read about this country, heard about this country and seen in TV

about this country but have never been to. You MUST NOT pick your own country as an answer

for this cue card.

Being able to state the following facts about the country you have never been to would help you

answering this cue card topic:

The capital of the country.

The location of the country.

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The religion, culture and population of the country.

Where have you heard or learned about this country.

If you have any plan to visit this country in the future. If so why would you like to go

there.

What tourist attractions does this country have.

The cultural distinction of this country.

Some major festivals of this country.

Some other topics you should be able to answer if you preparer for this cue card topic:

1. Describe a country you would like to visit in future.

2. Talk about a country other than yours where one of your relatives live.

3. Describe a country that has several tourists’ attractions.

4. Describe a country other than yours.

5. Describe a country which is a good tourist destination.

6. Describe a nation you know about.

7. Describe a nation other than yours.

8. Talk about a nation you know about.

IELTS Cue Card Sample 17 - Describe a party that you have attended

1) What is the party?

2) Where was the party held?

3) Who attended the party?

and describe what did you do in that party?

Follow-up Questions: • What are the differences between serious party and friendly party?

• Why are some people late for parties intentionally?

• Why do some people like party while others hate it?

• What would you do if the guests feel bored?

• Will there be more and more people to attend parties?

Possible Answer:

The party I'd like to describe is the New Year eve party that I attended 2 years back. Our

University friends invited me to join the party and I had to contribute some amount for that. The

party held on a 3 star hotel where the teachers, students and their relatives attended.

On the New Year eve one of my friends gave me a call and then I picked up a taxi to reach the

hotel. The name of the hotel was (..say a name you prefer...) and it was a beautiful hotel in our

city. After I reach the hotel I found that it has been gorgeously decorated with lights. Our party

was in the 2nd floor and I found most of my friends and some of the teachers already enjoying

the party.

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A local music band was singing and people were wearing mostly party dresses. We enjoyed the

party a lot and ate several local and foreign dishes. We started counting down the time at 11:59

pm and when the clock ticked at 12:00, we started shouting with the New Year wishes. We

stayed at the party till 2.00 am and all those time we enjoyed our time every way possible.

Tips for answering this cue card topic:

You are free to talk about any party you like to talk about for this cue card as it has not

specifically mentioned any particular party like New York party, School party, Birthday party

etc.

Following are of the points you can pick for answering this cue card:

1. Types of party: Birthday of a friend or a family member (you can also talk about your

birthday party), New Year party, a family party, re-union party, a small party arranged by your

friends, A party celebrated because one of your great achievements, a business party you threw

for a business success or you attended a business party that was threw by your business partner, a

party arranged by your office/ university etc.

2. Where it held?: It would depend who threw the party. If this is party arranged by you or your

family, say that it help on your house. Alternatively the party can held on a restaurant, hotel or

party center. University or office parties usually held on their premises. Finally the party can

help on your friend, relative or business partner‟s house or guest house.

3. Who attended there: For family party mostly your family members, close friends and

relatives would be joining. If this is an office or business party, your colleagues or associates

would be there. For university party or parties thrown by your friends, you will mostly have your

friends and classmates and sometimes teachers as well. If the party is thrown by a friend or their

family, then there would be some of your friends you know and others you won‟t know.

4. Some of the common features of the party: You gather and meet with lots of others people,

you talk to them, you have foods, drinks and other food items as part of the party, depending on

the party there would be music, dancing and other activities, you enjoy the party or the party was

boring for you, you meet new people and talk to them on different topics, you usually stay long

in the party.

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

1. Describe a birthday party you attended.

2. Describe a birthday celebration you did recently.

3. Talk about a party you attended and did not like.

4. Describe a family event you remember.

5. Describe a wedding party you attended.

6. Describe an occasion where you met new people.

7. Describe an event from your university.

8. Describe a celebration you attended.

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9. Describe a party that you threw for your friends.

10. Describe a party that you enjoyed.

IELTS Cue Card Sample 18 - "Describe a teacher who has influenced you in

your education."

You should say: • Where you met him/ her.

• What subject s/he taught.

• What was special about him /her

and explain why this person influenced you so much.

Follow-up Questions: • How has education changed in your country in the last 10 years?

• What changes do you foresee in the next 50 years?

• How do the expectations of today‟s school leavers compare with those of the previous

generation?

• What role do you think extracurricular activities play in education?

Possible Answer:

I consider myself lucky to get several very good teachers throughout my academic years. Among

them I'd like to talk about Mr. Smith who was an extraordinary teacher, a really good mentor and

who has a great influence in my education.

I met Mr. Smith when I was in class 4 and he was our math teacher. Initially we thought that he

would be a moody teacher and we would have to be very polite in front of him. This impression

came mostly because of his serious face and tidy dress-up. But soon we found that, he is a very

friendly person and teaches us very well. He never made things complicated and tried over and

over again to explain something to us. He had a very unique way of teaching. Seems like he

would start an interesting story and later we would find that he would relate the math with the

story. Thus everything we learned from him was interesting and that's why we remember most of

the theory and techniques of math he taught us.

I'd say he has a great influence in my education because he made a very strong foundation on

Mathematics. Later on I studied Science and the Mathematics was the most important subject. I

have always been good at math and that' mainly because of Mr. Smith who had a major role on

making the subject interesting to me. Before I learned math from Mr. Smith, my impression on

math was not good and I considered mathematics to be a very difficult and uninteresting subject.

But his teaching and influences changed my way of thinking about math and later on math

became my one the most favourite subject.

Tips for answering this cue card question:

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Talk about a teacher you remember and liked. Say his/her name and which class/ grade s/he

taught. Also mention which subject she taught and what have you learned from him/ her.

Following are some of the reasons a teacher becomes influential for a student that you can talk

about:

The way of teaching is very effective and interesting.

S/he has a great personality and leads an exemplary life.

S/he tells lots of example and stories to make the subject and topic interesting.

S/he is a famous teacher on your locality who also taught your elder brother, father etc.

S/he has a great personality and because of that students like his/ her very much.

S/he has is successful explaining difficult topics in an easy and intuitive way.

S/he behaves very politely with all and never discriminates among students.

S/he is brave and speaks the right thing no matter what.

S/he teaches lots of moral values as well as inspires students to study properly.

Apart from teaching s/he does some social works, creative stuffs and or anything which is

beneficial for others.

S/he is a great orator and has a great personality.

If you can answer this cue card, you should be able to answer the following topics as well:

1. Talk about a person from your childhood whom you still remember.

2. Describe a teacher from your school/college whom you want to meet.

3. Talk about your math/literature/history teacher from school.

4. Describe an old person who you admire.

5. Describe a subject taught in your school.

6. Describe a teacher who has helped you in your education greatly.

7. Describe an exemplary person from your home-town.

IELTS Cue Card Sample 19 - "Describe a friend who you really like to spend

time with."

You should say: • When and how you met.

• How often do you see this friend.

• What kind of personality your friend has

and say why do you like spending time with this particular person?

Follow-up Questions: • Is friendship important in your culture? How many close friends can you have?

• Are friends more important than family?

• What are the important things among good friends?

• Do you have any friends from foreign country?

• What are the difference between real life friends and pen friends?

Possible answer:

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The friend I like to spent time with is Steven. I met him when I was only 8 years old and was in

primary school. After that our intimacy grew up and we became best friends. One day he forgot

to bring his book in school and that day I helped him with my expire books. After that we talked

for a long after school and our friendship started to begin. We went to college together and then

got admitted in different Universities. Since we were studying in the same city, we can meet each

other and spend time together.

We are yet to finish our graduation and busy with our own stuffs but whenever we get vacation

we spend time together. Since our hometown is same, we go there together and thus we meet

each other at least twice in a month. He is a helpful and talented friend who helps people and

always wished best for people. He is studying Mathematics and he has a talent in Mathematics.

Sometimes he explains some complex mathematical theories in a very simple and interesting

way. He is passionate about reading books and that makes a good bonding with me. We often

exchange our thought and criticism about books and politics.

I like to spend time with him because we have many common interests between us. I never feel

bored spending time with him. Since we are friends for a long time, we understand each other. A

good friend always extends helping hands when in need and I've found Steven by my side

always. We do so many fun stuffs together and help each other in our study. Good friendship,

understanding and common interests makes us close friends and those are the major factors for

what I like to spend time with his.

Tips for answering this cue card topic:

This cue card should be an easy one as you would already know a lot about a friend you would

like to talk about. Topics like 'Describe a museum needs some brainstorming, remembering

things about a museum and then organizing answers for this topic. But when you are asked to

talk about a friend, you already know a lot. All you need to do is focus on the questions asked

and then answer the questions in details.

For this cue card, tell the name of a friend. Remember that you have picked a friend to talk about

that means s/he is a very close and special friends of yours. Talk about for how long you two are

friends, how you met him and how your friendship started.

Then say the things you two do together, why you like him/her, how is he/she and why you like

to spend time with him.

Following are some hints on the questions asked in this cue card topic.

When and how you met:

Answer from your experience. If you are out of idea, you can say:

You met him/her at the school, S/he is your neighbour and you two met in a family occasion, you

met him/her in a playground while playing, you met him/her in a relative‟s house, you met

him/her in a situation when s/he needed help and you were there to help or the vice versa, you

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can also mention you met at college/university or even all of a sudden in a shopping mall/

auditorium/ park. Sometimes friendship starts from fights and quarrel and for this you can

mention that you had a fight in an issue but later you two become close.

A friend can be an online friend whom you have met only few times or may be never met. In this

scenario your friendship can start from an online chat-room or from a social networking

platform.

How often do you meet?

To answer this question you need to focus on the previous question and the context. If you talk

about a friend who lives in the same street or study / work with you then you would meet him

daily. If you pick a friend from your hometown where you no longer live, then your meeting

frequency would be 2-5 times a year or so. For online friends whom you have never met, simply

say that you have never mate him/her in person but you talk/ chat over internet almost every day.

What kind of personality your friend has:

For this question, say that s/he is very friendly, helpful and caring. S/he values your friendship

and always raises a helping hand. For his/her personality, say that s/he is talented, creative and

has an attractive personality. Also mention that s/he is understanding and well-behaved. For

online friend, mentioning personality is bit tough as you might have never met him/her. In this

case, say that s/he is caring and have positive attitudes and his/her opinion on different issues

seems very well thought and positive. Mention something s/he does for the benefits or others and

you were attracted to some of his activities.

Why do you like spending time with this particular person?

Naturally people like to spend time with people who have common interest and have positive

attitudes. So you should mention what common interests you have and what you do together (for

online friends, say the topics you discuss and share). Also you can say you have learned many

positive things from him/her and you two have a great understanding. Also say that s/he is a

good friend who is ready to support you no matter what and has already advised you or helped

you in different issues.

Your preparation for this cue card topic should also help you answering the following topics:

1. Talk about a childhood friends you remember.

2. Describe a friend from your hometown.

3. Describe one of your online friends.

4. Describe an activity you do with your friends.

5. Describe a friend you like to spend time with.

6. Talk about a friend who helped you once.

7. Talk about a friend whom you helped.

8. Describe a friend from your college/ university.

9. Talk about a friend whom you met accidentally.

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IELTS Cue Card Sample 20 - Describe a person who accidentally became

your friend.

You should say:

Who is the person?

How did you meet?

What made you two to become friends?

and explain how is your friendship now.

Follow up Questions:

Which one is better, being introvert or extrovert?

What type of person you are?

What important aspects do you consider to make new friends?

Possible Answer:

Though I have many friends, my friendship with them grew up with times and mutual

understanding. But I can recall that my friendship with George grew up almost all of a sudden.

George is senior to me by 2-3 years and I did not meet him until I was in the 4th

semester in my

University. One of my term final exam's schedules was changed and I did not know that.

According to my previous exam schedule I reached my University and was totally confused what

to do when I heard that the exam was already over. I went to our Departmental head's office and

he could not find a way around of it. He blamed me that I should have been more careful about

the changes. I explained him that I was sick and did not come to university for 3-4 days and that

made me unaware of the exam schedule changes. Then I found that someone who was sitting

next to me in the departmental head's office asked me to meet the course teacher and explain the

situation. He then escorted me to our course teacher's room and talked to the teacher. It seemed

to me that George was already personally known to our teacher and they had an intimate

relationship. Hearing everything the teacher agreed to arrange an exam for me next day in his

office room.

My friendship with George grew up after that event and albeit our age differences we found that

we had many common interests and habits. We started spending time and I visited his home

many times. We worked in a retail shop for about 6 months and that helped us become more

intimate.

George is now staying in USA and we do not meet each other in person. But we have online

communications and we often let each other know our updates.

Tips for answering this cue card topic:

You should talk about a person who became your friend accidentally for this cue card. Usually

we have friends from our childhood, classes and locality but this this cue card would be bit

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different from the topic “Describe one of your friends”. This cue card expects you to talk about

a person who became your friend for a reason and whom you met accidentally i.e. you helped

him/ her sometime and later you became friends or can be opposite. However the basic rules for

describing this person would be very similar to describing a friend.

Read the tips for the cue card „Describe a friend who you really like to spend time with‟ that you

can also apply for answering this cue card.

We accidentally made friends in many different ways and some of the common ways are:

1. We meet someone in a party/ park/ occasion and start a conversation and find that there are

lots of common interests between us. We simply exchange our email address or phone number

and keep in touch.

2. We find someone in need of help and raise our helping hands and thus the person becomes

grateful and keeps communicating and thus the friendship grows.

3. Sometimes a friend introduces with his/her friend who later become our friend. (This is a very

common reason)

4. We meet someone helpful in a time when we need certain helps and thus the person helps us

can later become our friend.

5. We meet people in our journey and some of them have influential personality, common

interest and thus can become our friends.

6. We mistakenly get letters, emails or couriers from an unknown person who later becomes our

friend because of the follow up communications. etc.