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Describe A Difficult Decision That You Made And Had A Good Result: IELTS Speaking Cue Card

You should say

  • What was the decision?
  • When did you make the decision?
  • How long did it take you to make the decision?
  • Explain why it was a difficult decision to make.
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43 unique answers with expert feedback

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Cue 1:What was the decision?

  • Clearly state the decision you made, providing context about the situation.
  • Mention the potential outcomes of the decision to highlight its significance.

Example

The difficult decision I made was to leave my stable job in a multinational company to pursue my passion for photography. I had been working there for over three years, and while it provided financial security, I felt unfulfilled.

Cue 2:When did you make the decision?

  • Specify the time frame when you made this decision, such as a particular month or year.
  • Share any relevant events that led up to this decision to give it more context.

Example

I made this decision in early 2022, after attending a photography workshop that reignited my passion. The workshop made me realize that I wanted to turn my hobby into a career.

Cue 3:How long did it take you to make the decision?

  • Discuss the duration it took you to arrive at this decision, emphasizing any internal conflict.
  • Mention any discussions you had with friends or family that influenced your decision-making process.

Example

It took me about two months to make this decision. I spent countless nights weighing the pros and cons, and I also spoke to my family and friends, who encouraged me to follow my dreams.

Cue 4:Explain why it was a difficult decision to make.

  • Describe the fears or concerns you had about making this decision.
  • Explain how the fear of failure or uncertainty contributed to the difficulty of the decision.

Example

This was a difficult decision because I was afraid of financial instability and the fear of failing in a competitive field. Leaving a secure job felt risky, and I worried about what others would think of my choice.

Conclusion

    Example

    In the end, I took the leap and started my own photography business. It was challenging at first, but I am now thriving and feel more fulfilled than ever. This decision taught me the importance of following my passion and believing in myself.

    Following this structure will ensure you cover all the essential points while providing a clear and engaging response to the cue card topic.

    Tips to answer this Cue Card

    1: Vague Responses

    Providing vague or unclear answers can make it difficult for the examiner to understand your experience. Specific details help create a clearer picture of your decision-making process.

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    Tip

    Use specific examples and details when describing your decision to make your response more engaging and informative.

    2: Rushing Through the Explanation

    Rushing through your explanation can lead to missing important points. It may also make your answer sound unstructured and less convincing.

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    Tip

    Take your time to explain each cue clearly, ensuring you cover all aspects of the decision-making process.

    Neglecting Emotional Impact

    Ignoring the emotional aspects of your decision can make your response less relatable. Emotions often play a significant role in difficult decisions.

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    Tip

    Include how you felt during the decision-making process to add depth and connect with the examiner.

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    When I was a kid, I had a little pencil box which had these four buttons which gave the pencil box an operative use. When you press the button, the box would open up. When you press the second button, a little part of it would slide out. Basically it was just a little electronical and a fun thing to have and I owned it when I was in 6th. One day after break, I was standing and talking there with one of my friends and another friend of mine was running through the hallway and accidentally she pushed my shoulder and my pencil box hit the ground and it broke into multiple pieces to the point that it was not functional anymore.
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    All Answers

    Here are all the answers by real-users practicing speaking for IELTS Cue Cards on our IELTS Prep App.

    Band 6-7

    A very difficult decision that I made that changed my course of life was to study engineering. When I was in 10th, I was in a great dilemma to study literature or engineering or science because that is the stage where I had to make a very crucial decision of my life on which my whole career and my life depended on. Surely it was a very difficult decision to make because considering the exposure that we have at that stage or age is very less and the experience that you have around yourself is not very much to make a decision, quick decision, but yes, it took a whole year to let me understand my interests and what I want to pursue in life. There were two options, basically one was literature to become a teacher was my goal and second was studying technology. I went forward to take the decision of studying a technical field and I completed my computer engineering. Surely this decision changed me as a person because I got more interested and intrigued in technical stuff and how the softwares and various apps are built, how it functions, what is the back end, front end, everything it changed to my whole perspective of life and later in my stage, I also pursued yoga and became an instructor. I fulfilled both of my career aspirations that I wanted to because yoga helps me to lead a life and studying engineering helps me to be

    Band 6-7

    A difficult decision I made in my life was, I was choosing nursing as my career. You know, I was studying in the 12th grade, my brother was studying nursing. So it inspired me to do the same. So I was like asking my parents' opinion and my brother's opinion. They were not interested in my decision because they were reluctant to send me to this nursing education. They were telling me that nursing is not good for girls. So I was thinking what to do. I have a dilemma that because I got the chance to go for engineering as well as nursing. So I was thinking which career would be best for me. So even though it was very hard for me to take a decision that time, I finally chose nursing as my career because everywhere nurses has many opportunities as well as health industry is a growing industry. That makes me to think, choose nursing as my career. Apart from that, I think this is actually a, you know, bluff in disguise. Because people are maybe thinking they choose the wrong decision or they have to take the wrong decision, but later it become like a blessing for them. So I felt in my life.

    Band 6-7

    The most difficult decision which I made in my life was discontinuing my automobile engineering degree. I discontinued it because I met with an accident during the period of the course and I was not able to go to college for like three months because of my injuries so and I failed in three out of five subjects so I was a little bit taken back because of that so I decided to discontinue it and take BCA degree which is Bachelor of Computer and Applications and that was that was the most difficult decision which I took in my life and and now I'm very happy because I scored good marks in Bachelor of Computer and Computer Applications because it is very easy and that's all.

    Band 6-7

    A difficult decision that I made and that made a good result was after completing my higher secondary school, the decision I took to choose the course was between medical and computer science and I chose computer science as I had a huge interest in it. So after choosing it, I went into my college which is Wales University at Pallavaram. So over there, while learning computer science, I had a lot of struggle and many difficult time while doing my course where it's actually based upon, my course is all based upon coding and while running the code I faced a lot of bugs and errors in it. So at the starting stage, I really hated it but in a time I decided to change my course but then I started to learn coding from many social, from online courses. So then after reading all the coding, it actually made it a bit simpler, simple where all the errors and the things I faced, the problems that I faced became more helpful where I started to solve it by myself and after completely mastered in it, I decided to do web development where I basically build a website from scratch and maintain it. So after doing that, I got an internship now at an AI company and I recently started doing AI.

    Band 6-7

    After my 12th grade, it was a crucial time for me to decide what stream I would be taking for my tertiary education. The hard part was not about choosing what to study, but it was whether to stay at home or to move away from home. I was really apprehensive about moving away from home, but at the same time, I did want to do this. I did want to take that difficult step, because I knew if I stayed at home, I would just be more impoverished. Everything would be just perfect to me. Whereas, if I leave home and stay in a hostel, I would be forced to do all the things that I do in life, take care of my own affairs, manage the fucking money that I would be given, do my studies on an everyday basis, without somebody nurturing me, take care of my food, etc. So I made that difficult decision, and I did find it hard at first. I remember begging my mother to stay for a few more hours, because I was terrified to be living alone. Gradually, homesickness reduced and I grew more accustomed to my surroundings. I made new friends, I started to develop a timetable where I was comfortable managing my affairs. Looking back, I think that made me the person who I was, who I am today. It had a huge role to play in my personal development, in being independent and being self-sufficient.

    Band 6-7

    The decision that I took lately was going to the gym. Moreover, it was a new year resolution. I always wanted a slim and a fit body and in addition a healthy body. And the answer to that would be going to the gym or working out at home. I am someone who is very lazy and never ever took a chance of working out at home. So my mother pushed me to join the gym. It was the best decision that she has pushed me to do. I will always be thankful to her for doing that. And now I feel that it has been one of the best steps that I have taken because I can see the change in my body and also the relaxation and happiness I get out of doing it. More than the relaxation, I am also happy that I am striving towards leading a better and a healthy lifestyle which is very important for each one of us to lead a happy life. It was a difficult decision for me because I am someone who is very reserved and never likes stepping out of my house. So for someone like me it is a difficult decision.

    Band 6-7

    The hard decision that I had to make during my lifetime is the time when I was working in a private company and I had decided to quit the company. Firstly, there was no proper growth and the increment in salary provided by the company was quite low. So, to enhance my development in career, I had decided to take a break from working. Instead, I had decided to prepare for a competitive examination known as GATE, which is essential for recruitment in public sector companies and also for admission of masters in IITs. This decision was taken about a decade ago and it was a good decision eventually because I had utilized my time well to prepare for GATE examination and eventually secured a rank which guarantees me admission in IIT for pursuing my masters. The decision was quite difficult to make because I was getting resistance from all corners whether it was from my friend or my family and I was pondering to consider this decision over a period of two months. Finally, I have taken this decision.

    Band 6-7

    The toughest difficult decision of my life is choosing Agriculture BSc to do my Masters because after completing plus 2 which is intermediate, my parents requested me to choose MBBS in order to made me doctor but I was personally interested in Agriculture BSc which relates to the plants and their technology and this decision I took after completing my intermediate and it took too long, I guess it take 5 plus months in order to take the decision and it is so difficult for me because due to that decision my career will depend on that decision so I need to calculate my career opportunities in order to choose either MBBS or Agriculture BSc and it is one of the toughest decisions of my life and even it impacted my life in many more ways because personally I chose the subject and so my parents accepted it and I was happy for that, I am happy for that and I continued studying Agriculture BSc, it really helped me develop personally and my personality changed a little, I was happier than before and I was stress free because mostly Agriculture depends on practical classes rather than theory so it is fun to do all the practical sessions live on the field with friends and lecturers so choosing Agriculture BSc after plus 2 is one of the toughest decisions that I have taken in my career and I regret, I did not regret it because I was enjoying it and I have best career opportunities and now I want to

    Band 6-7

    A life changing decision which I took was moving to China after my 12th standard for pursuing MBBS which turned out to be the most best decision which I ever made. Initially I had no clue. I couldn't secure a good rank in Indian medical exams but I had to. I badly wanted to be a doctor so I thought of moving to a different country for my higher education. My family was against that. They were not ready to let me go because I was the youngest child. Through all these 18 years I was staying at home. They were not sure whether I could manage things on my own in a different country with a different language and culture. They were worried.

    Band 6-7

    The difficult decision that I have made but turned out to be the best is my decision of taking my career in biotechnology. During the 12th results when everyone after giving the entrance exams everyone asked me to go into IT sector or CS or EC as these are more commonly chosen subjects and courses among us but I was very fast passionate about biology I never wanted to go and come and pursue my career with the computers. I like studying biology how the biology and human interaction works how it works within nature so that was always my decision of choosing this career. It really took a long time for me to decide whether I should opt for this or not with lot of consultation and my teacher's opinion I get up to choose up this course. Initially everyone opposed this but though I didn't give up and I took it a step forward to continue here and as I stepped into the college and this course for biotechnology I never felt any insecurity or feeling that my decision was the bad one. I always felt like this is the one that will fit to me because this has helped me to gain so much knowledge and what I really wanted to study. So this was never my regretted decision but to take this decision it took ample of time and a huge effort to convince everyone and then choose up though many are now happy with me what I am doing so this is the best decision that I ever had and has turned out to be
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