Describe A Difficult Decision That You Once Made: 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.

7 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.
Include any relevant details that help the listener understand the significance of the decision.

Example

The difficult decision I made was whether to accept a job offer in a different city or stay in my hometown. I had been working at my current job for several years, and the thought of leaving my comfort zone was daunting.

Cue 2:When did you make the decision?

Mention the timeframe when you faced this decision, providing a specific month or year if possible.
Explain any events leading up to the decision that may have influenced your timing.

Example

I made this decision in June 2022, just after I received the job offer. It was a pivotal moment in my career, and I had to weigh my options carefully.

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

Discuss the duration it took you to arrive at your decision, whether it was a few days, weeks, or longer.
Share any methods you used to help you think through the decision.

Example

It took me about two weeks to make my decision. During this time, I made a pros and cons list, talked to my family and friends, and even consulted a mentor for advice.

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

Describe the factors that made the decision challenging, such as emotional ties, financial implications, or career aspirations.
Share your feelings during the decision-making process to convey the weight of the choice.

Example

This decision was difficult because I had strong ties to my family and friends in my hometown. Leaving them behind felt like a huge sacrifice, but I also knew that this job could provide better career opportunities and personal growth.

Conclusion

Example

In the end, I decided to accept the job offer. It was a tough choice, but I realized that taking risks is essential for growth. Looking back, I am glad I made that decision, as it opened new doors for my career and helped me develop as a person.

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 are essential for a strong response.

Tip

Use clear examples and specific details about the decision to enhance your answer and engage the listener.

2: Ignoring Timeframe

Failing to mention when you made the decision can leave your answer feeling incomplete. Context is important for understanding the situation.

Tip

Clearly state the timeframe of your decision to provide context and show the significance of the timing in your explanation.

Lack of Reflection

Not explaining why the decision was difficult can make your answer seem superficial. Reflecting on your feelings adds depth to your response.

Tip

Take a moment to discuss your emotions and the factors that made the decision challenging to create a more engaging narrative.

IELTS Cue Cards asked last week

Reported by Leap students who gave IELTS

Describe your favourite food at a traditional festival or a special event in your country

Reported by

Anonymous student Band 7.5

Pitampura Test Centre, New Delhi

Answer

I like to taste different types of cuisine. Here I would like to talk about my favorite dish at my traditional festival of Onam which is Sadya. Sadya is popular in my city. We are experimenting these cuisines on Onam festival day. Onam is a famous festival in my city. All family members get together in my home and we make a delicious Sadya. There are many ingredients includes that Sadya. Moreover, we make a big feast that day as well as we create a lot of memories together and we wear that day the traditional dress called Sari and men wear the Dhotis. That festival is really important to us because the whole day we are conducting different kinds of games at our homes and all the family members came together. It's a memorable day in my life. This is the festival. We are making the Sambar and Aviyal. These all the kinds of foods are making with the vegetables.

Talk about a toy you liked in your childhood

Reported by

Anonymous student Band 8

Sector 34 Test Centre, Chandigarh

Answer

The toy which I liked in my childhood was a panda doll, which makes me pleasant and makes me more blush. The pandas are the most beautiful creatures of the world, which looks gigantic and has pooshy cheeks and they are like stars in the clouds and they dream in me. Furthermore, these have been given by my father. My father is a very very beautiful artistic person, who makes me think of that. Every day you will face every difficulties and make you suffer and move forward. Pandas are always seen in Japanese countries. It is my lifelong dream to visit a Japanese country and click a photo with the original pandas, which makes sounds better.

Describe a time you were in a place where you didn't know the local language

Reported by

Anonymous student Band 6.5

Whitefield Test Center, Bengaluru

Answer

As India is a very large country full of diversity, so there are many places which have their own language and speak their native language. The place which I visited and I didn't know about their language was Leladakh, which is about 300 km away from my hometown and it is a very good place as it consists of different kind of trees, animals and have many scenic views and I visited over there last year in summers as it was the best time to visit because it has many, it was cold over there and we had summers in our area so it was the best time to visit over there and I went over there with my whole family.

Describe a time when your friend damaged something you owned

Reported by

Anonymous student Band 7

Begumpet Test Centre, Hyderabad

Answer

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.

Describe a book you recently read

Reported by

Anonymous student Band 7.5

CBD Belapur Test Centre, Navi Mumbai

Answer

It Ends With Us is a book I read recently. It's by the author Colleen Hoare. It's mainly a story about two teenagers, Atlas and Lily, and how they just handle their life going through high school, adolescence, and just domestic violence at home. Both of them come from very, very different families. However, they have one common determining factor between them, which is domestic violence. The abuse that they've seen their moms go through is just insane, and they connect through that on a different level. They're actually in the same high school, but they never speak to each other until Atlas actually crashes into an empty house next to Lily's villa. When Atlas is homeless and he doesn't have anywhere to go, he just comes and breaks into the house next to Lily's, and Lily helps him with all the daily necessities like clothes and food, medicines and stuff. Furthermore, their friendship blossoms into love, but it doesn't really fructify as Atlas has to leave. This book really gave me a lot of knowledge about domestic abuse and how to deal with it.

All Answers

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

Band 6-7

So the difficult decision was about my studies, like I have to go to my college place to rent a hostel because of my studies as it was a long distance for me to travel every day. So I made this decision after getting admission as it was a very far distance for me to travel So I took around two months to think about this with my family and I made a decision of taking this difficult situation to move from my home to college to reside. So I made this decision as it was a very difficult situation for me to travel a long distance from my home to my college, so that's why I made this decision.

Band 6-7

The difficult decision that I made was choosing engineering that too in Artificial Intelligence and Data Science. This was because my parents and myself had many expectations that I would get a good score in my 12th but unexpectedly I just scored only 54 percentage in my mathematics and choosing engineering after such a low mark was very difficult for me and my parents didn't allow because as AI and data science requires like lots and lots of mathematics and statistics experience so they didn't allow me but I was very stubborn that I have to take this because I really wanted to pursue AI since I was in my 11th standard and it really took around six months to convince my parents and but thank God it was a COVID during that six months it was COVID time so I got lots of time also to explore and do many things like in what ways I can improve myself and I think that's the most toughest decision I made but the decision was worth it because I passed out my engineering with first class with distinction and now I'm working in an corporate company called Barrow as an AI developer so I'm really happy that all those hard decisions as well as the hard work paid off to me

Band 6-7

Well, I have made many decisions in my life. Here I would like to talk about the difficult decisions which I made. Actually, during the pandemic I used to get bored at home. That's why I made up my mind to learn the painting. Firstly, I watched a lot of videos on YouTube. Luckily, I found a channel which was providing free of cost painting course. Without wasting time, I enrolled in it. During the first fortnight, they told me how to generate primary colors from the secondary ones. After that, they teach me about how to use Posca markers to highlight the main part of the painting. After that, they tell me how to make an oil painting. Actually, it is the most difficult part of the painting. After that, they told me about the water, how to use the watercolors. Then I participated in art and craft competition and I decided to make the picture of a toddler. And I made an oil painting in which I made a picture of a toddler carrying a backpack in which he has a sapling, gives oxygen through this painting. I just wanted to give a message that we should save the planet. Fortunately, judges liked my idea and I was able to second runner up position. And I think it was the decision which I made because making an oil painting is not a cup of tea for me. But I successfully done it.

Band 6

I would like to share one of the incidents from my past where during my 12th standard I was at the stage where I had to choose my career path and I was stuck between the two paths. At that time I was studying commerce with one marketing and according to my parents they wanted me to go in that field and they were forcing me and my tutor to make me ready for the government examinations where I can further go into banking. But I really didn't wanted to go in that field because I did not feel that I am capable of that. So I decided to tell my parents that I am really interested and passionate for doing bachelors in designing. Later I convinced them how passionate I am about doing fashion for a lifestyle and I want to build a career in that. Additionally I convinced them how I can pursue that without any help. So I started preparing for the examinations. They gave me a deal if I crack it in one go so they let me do what I want. But then I was also preparing for the subject I am not interested in. So I gave the examination and finally I was selected for the college I want to go in.

Band 5-6

Here I would like to talk about a decision that I that's difficult for me. It's none other than it was choosing my subjects for higher studies. After 10 the major dilemma I faced whether to go for medicine or engineer or choose schooling like commerce or science subjects. But my parents told me you should take science because you score a full mark in your SSLC so science is better goes for you. But I'm very confused what subject to choose because that career depend on my which subjects I choose in my senior secondary and also my future is also depends on that subject. So I'm very tensed and I don't know what to do. That time I asked help for my sir. His name is Anoop. Anoop sir he is my tuition teacher and also one of my favorite teacher in my life. So I called immediately and asked him what to do in my career discussion. He recommended me that you should choose science as your career because you have the capability to study that subject. But my friends even focused me to choose medical field or engineering field but I didn't like professional courses. That's why I few weeks later I made up my mind to take science.

Band 5

So a difficult decision for me is to planning my master's from abroad, which decision is really very tough for me to take a first step towards that because I have tried, firstly I have a dream to join Indian Armed Forces and that's why I was not be able for some medical reasons to join Indian Armed Forces and after getting a disappointment from that part and now I am moving further for, I have a backup option of planning a master's from completing it from abroad but as I am a single parent child and I have many responsibility of my mom and younger sister, so I am worried about them that and to moving abroad is really not very easy for me to live alone over there with rest of my family and it's not about for one day or one week, it's almost for two years, so that would be really very difficult for me but my mom motivate me to pursue my master's degree and completing it and achieve your dream goal and get settled in your life so you will get a better job and better stability in your career which help you to take more better quality or to live a quality of life with us, with my mom and younger sister and then only I am be able to more responsible and taking a more responsibility of my mother and sister as well, so she motivates me and after all I take this decision after discussing with my grandfather as well and he motivates me that every man has to face many struggle and after that he will achieve that success and the success is not a chocolate that you can eat and get it and you just have to do many hard works and lots of sacrifice on that.

Band <5

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