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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.
Show all 77 answers

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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    All Answers

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

    Band 6-7

    An important or difficult decision that I made was after my 12th class I choose fine arts as my career option. So I decided to take bachelor's degree in fine arts after my high school. I got 100 out of 100 marks in my painting as I choose an additional subject in my 12th class. After that I gained confidence and I was on seventh heaven when I got these marks. So I decided that I will made up my career and future in this in this fine arts course only. So I opted bachelor's of fine arts degree but it was a little confusing also for me and for my parents also as it was a new course for us.

    Band 6-7

    One of the most difficult decisions I've ever had to make is making a career switch. After completing my degree in commerce and working in a data-heavy back-end role in audits at PwC, I decided to switch careers into something that was more creative in the fashion and marketing industry. I realised that the job I was in was something that I was passionate about. I was always more drawn to more creative areas and this was a very difficult decision to make because it was completely different from my area of specialisation which was finance. Marketing was just one of my minor subjects in college and making that jump was sort of like a risky leap but it was finally worth it.

    Band 6-7

    ...and have a good background. The fuck? Okay, the most difficult time in my life to take a decision, to make a decision, which pretty much had a very good result, was when I was pursuing my degree and I had to choose between two streams, which was biology and commerce. And both had nothing to do with each other. And I ended up choosing both of them and it was kind of hectic for my schedule to cope up with both the degrees. I used to run from this end of the city to the other, which also made a big difference in my daily schedule. And it was very hard for me to cope up with it. I also ended up having some health issues. But it was a very good decision, so now I have enough knowledge about both the streams and both the backgrounds.

    Band 6-7

    After completion of my graduation, I also thought to get a job like others in a good reputed company. I tried my best, but I am an average student. I can tell you that I am a below average student. I also thought, why will I not get a job like others. I tried, tried a lot and tried a lot. I entered into a BPO and after that entered into some other small, small, small scale companies. After that, I made a decision that I need to go for a coaching for 6 months. It's like around 4 to 5 lakhs of investment I need to, I mean it's a tuition fee. If we are not going to get, just they will train us, they will not give a job. Just they will train us. By the training, we need to change our, what we say, technology and everything and we need to enter into a job. With their, they will be like a backbone for us. 6 months of training. Ours is like very small, small, like daily wages labor. My dad is daily wages. Entering into a software industry is very difficult. But after entering there, I did it. I did it and I went into a reputed company. I got starting, starting only 50k per month. My parents were happy and I am happy. My life got settled there. Yeah, it's very, very big decision which I made in my career. So, it is giving me a good opportunity. It gave me a good opportunity. And now I am in a good position. That helped me now to...

    Band 6-7

    So, I come from an Indian household where people usually want to be a doctor or an engineer. I wanted to be a doctor because of my love for science and biology. Later, I changed my career course to wanting to be a psychologist because Corona hit and I realized the importance of mental health. So, being a doctor was more focused to physical health but I feel like Covid made me realize that how important mental health is and both are equally important. There are many good doctors in the industry of health care but I want to be one of those who are good in the industry of mental health care. It was a difficult choice to make because firstly, my parents had high expectations from me because I come from a pure science background and they wanted me to write a competitive exam to qualify to be a doctor and my dreams revolved around that till I was in 10th grade. Then Covid hit when I was in 10th grade and everything changed. People passed away around me due to Covid and I realized how important it is to value mental health and I don't want anyone to go through what I did. It was a very anxious time for me. It was challenging for me because my parents already had high hopes from me so changing my career course which didn't have as much potential in India was very challenging because they didn't see much scope in it but thankfully I'm doing great at it now because I proved myself over to them, over and again to them. So, yeah.

    Band 6-7

    so the one deciding whether to accept the job offer or to go for studying was a real conundrum for me it happened 6 months back when I was trying to get a job opportunity as well as I was trying for higher studies I got offer from a very big institution for direct PhD position as well as I got a decent job which has a pay scale of 13-15 LPA which is quite good so in that situation I was caught in between job and studies I was determined to study but after taking a break I was not confident enough to pursue studies at the same time, it would have been an easy choice for me to go for a job and settle in, get money but I made myself clear about going and pursuing studies because this is the time where I can explore after this time is gone, I don't think I will be ever able to return to the same state of mind where I wanted to do something for myself I wanted to grow myself I think this age is meant for learning and I guess PhD is the toughest among the all

    Band 6-7

    The difficult situation that I made and had a good results in my life is that to let go of a person who I was holding for a long time. This happened a couple of months back and since then my life is so fresh and as a new life that I have been having good things happening for me since the past two months. But to make this decision it took me a year long, one year long to make this decision for myself to let go of a person you still hoping that the unbelievable thing can happen in the future and you still hang on to them. It is very difficult that you have so much love still to give them but you still have to let go of that person. I valued them very much but the feelings haven't reciprocate the same from their side. So it was time for me to let go of the person and it helped me to reinvent myself to how I was initially before I met that person and how my life was happy and finally I learned how to smile again. I used to have panic attacks and I overcame all the obstacles. The obstacles were like high as the mountains and I climbed all the mountains and I came down to earth again and it felt so good to come back to earth once again after climbing the

    Band 6-7

    hello everyone so my difficult decision was when I passed my graduation and after passing my graduation I think in which subject I will start my post-graduation so after thinking so much because in graduation I have both subjects math and economics so I decided that I will continue my post-graduation in economics so in that period I was very confused so I decided to continue my post-graduation in economics after spending two to three months by deciding this I will pursue and I am very happy that I I I make this decision okay so it was done by from my side

    Band 6-7

    One of the most difficult decisions I've made was choosing to change my stream after 10th grade. It was between commerce and science. It happened around 2 years ago and it was a really stressful time because everyone around me had different opinions. My parents wanted me to take commerce since it seemed easier and more stable, but deep down I always wanted to become a doctor. Since I was a kid, my goal was to become a doctor. At first, I really was confused because science has a heavy workload and I wasn't sure if I could handle the pressure or score well enough for medical entrance exam. I remember making a list of pros and cons, talking to my teachers and watching a few motivational videos online to help me decide. After thinking through for a few weeks, I finally decided to follow my passion and take

    Band 6-7

    So, a recent difficult decision that I had to make was stepping out of my home and moving to Pune. So, I was leading a rather comfortable and easy life back at home and I did not want to become too cozy and that is why I made this decision along with my family to move to Pune. It was rather made to challenge myself to adapt to new situations. So, I decided to move to Pune and to find, the first thing in this process was to find a job for myself. So, I interviewed at a couple of hospitals here and finally I decided to join Sahadri Hospital. Secondly, I had to find a home for myself. So, I made the decision of choosing a hostel nearby the hospital and I came across the Dyaniketan Hostel and I decided to stay there. I loved the hostel because it was a quiet and serene place with all the amenities which were required and would support my busy lifestyle. It was challenging in the beginning for me to understand the roads and traffic signal rules, but with time I got to know about the different rules of one ways and how the traffic goes and later I became adept at using the metro railway also, thanks to one of my friends who taught me the same. I enjoyed the culinary variety that Pune has to offer and sometimes I do miss my food back at home, but my friends and the experience of travelling and exploring the city makes it all worthwhile. Now that I have moved to Pune, I have a good job satisfaction.
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