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Describe a disagreement you had with someone: IELTS Speaking Cue Card

You should say

  • Who was the person?
  • Why did you have the disagreement?
  • Was the issue resolved? If yes, how?
  • And explain what happened after the disagreement.
Show all 117 answers

Cue 1:Who was the person?

  • Introduce the person you had the disagreement with, mentioning your relationship with them.
  • Provide some context about how long you have known this person and the nature of your interactions.

Example

The person I had a disagreement with was my younger brother, Rohan. We have been close since childhood, sharing everything from toys to secrets. We often have friendly debates, but this particular disagreement was more serious.

Cue 2:Why did you have the disagreement?

  • Clearly explain the topic of the disagreement and why it was important to both of you.
  • Share your perspective and Rohan's perspective to give a balanced view.

Example

The disagreement arose over our plans for a family vacation. I wanted to go to the mountains for some adventure, while Rohan insisted on a beach destination for relaxation. Both of us felt strongly about our choices, as I wanted to experience the thrill of trekking, and he wanted to unwind by the sea.

Cue 3:Was the issue resolved? If yes, how?

  • Discuss how you both approached the resolution of the disagreement.
  • Mention any compromises or discussions that led to a solution.

Example

Eventually, we decided to sit down and talk it out. We listed the pros and cons of each destination and realized that we could combine both ideas. We agreed to spend a few days in the mountains and then relax at the beach. This compromise made both of us happy.

Cue 4:And explain what happened after the disagreement.

  • Describe the aftermath of the disagreement and how it affected your relationship.
  • Share any positive outcomes or lessons learned from the experience.

Example

After resolving the disagreement, our relationship grew stronger. We learned to appreciate each other's viewpoints more. The trip turned out to be a fantastic experience, and we created wonderful memories together. It taught us the importance of communication and compromise.

Conclusion

    Example

    In conclusion, disagreements can be challenging, but they also provide opportunities for growth and understanding. My experience with Rohan taught me that listening and finding common ground can lead to better relationships and enjoyable experiences.

    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 Descriptions

    Using vague language can make your answer unclear. It's important to provide specific details about the disagreement to engage the listener and demonstrate your language skills.

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    Tip

    Use clear examples and specific details about the disagreement, such as the person involved and the exact issue to make your response more vivid.

    2: Ignoring Resolution

    Failing to discuss how the disagreement was resolved can leave your answer incomplete. It’s essential to show how conflicts can be managed and resolved.

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    Tip

    Always include how the issue was resolved, whether through discussion, compromise, or another method, to show your problem-solving skills.

    Lack of Reflection

    Not reflecting on what happened after the disagreement can make your answer seem shallow. It's important to show personal growth or changes in your relationship.

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    Tip

    Conclude by explaining what you learned from the disagreement and how it affected your relationship with the person involved.

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    Anonymous student Band 8

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    Anonymous student Band 6.5

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    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.
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    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 >7

    Recently I had a disagreement with my dentist because I said that I was pursuing my higher education in AI and healthcare rather than I was moving into the PD of this industry field. The thing that he said when I told about him about this program is that he said AI or data science all are just a trend that is being upheld by many young generation. Trend will drastically decrease during the time, during the upcoming years and I never understood the point that he was about to make because as the population increases, as the development advances, data is always going to increase. As the data increases, we need more and more sources and technologies to cope up with that situation. AI is the future and will be always developing, evolving to make our life much more easier to assist us in every sector, in every area that humans have reached. So learning AI will always help us to move forward in this generation and moving ahead by learning NLP or deep learning and we will be one step ahead. I believe that I will be one step ahead than the rest of the doctors around here. So I think this is not just a trend, it is the future and it is always better to know things more about AI and to understand how the technological aspects work.

    Band >7

    I'm not someone who usually disagrees to people, but there are some times where I had to step in and, you know, counter some issues. So one major disagreement that I could remember was when I argued with my milkman to reduce the use of plastic. This happened a couple of months ago. This was because the milk was delivered in a plastic bag. I offered him a couple of other alternatives that he could opt for, like bringing the container up to my house and then taking the milk in a container or a small bowl, and that would reduce the use of plastic for both of us. I also let him in my house, gave him a glass of water, and discussed about how plastic is such a bad thing for Earth. It takes years and years of, I told him it takes years and years of, you know, uh...

    Band 7

    While I attended a party in Melbourne, I had a friend who started talking about social issues, about how the world is changing and how sustainability has become a priority, as it should be, I said. But at the same time, he kept on saying that how the ocean has it all, how the ocean makes it more easy to grab resources, even though these large bodies of water which are unknown to the mankind and are not a lot to explore there. He kept on persisting about how deep sea mining can be something that is more fruitful for a man, even though it has its own causes and risks. This man made it seem like the sea has everything to offer us and we are entitled to take anything we want from it. But then I disagreed and made it very clear that my opinion on deep sea mining was and has always been a very reluctant one. Deep sea mining has something that most of the creatures do not wish to have upon them. This is a part of humanity that has been more ignorant and that is what touches me the most. People think that there is more for the world to offer than they have to offer to the world. But that is absolutely wrong and we should look into sustainability and continue the practice for our future generations.

    Band 7

    A very recent disagreement that I had was with my own mother. My mother has always been a homemaker and has taken care of us throughout our child and adult life. I happen to be a mother too, a mother of a young son. I happen to be a working mother unlike my mother. That's what caused the disagreement. She did not agree with the fact that I was working and she thought that I was not paying enough attention to my son. She spoke probably on the conditions that she lived in where she took complete care of the family. I chose to disagree with her because I thought that it is equally important for a woman to be working. It is also equally important to be investing that amount of time with the child, which I do. It's only after I come back from work do I get that time with my son. She is still a staunch believer of the fact that as a mother I should be giving complete amount of time to my child. Well, throughout the disagreement we chose to agree and accept each other's viewpoints and move on. She never emphasizes or forces anything on me. She will very gently put it across to me and so do I. But we respect each other's boundaries and we understand where we come from. We understand the generational gap and we understand the difference between the times then and now. That was a very recent one and I guess we chose to end it on a good note.

    Band 7

    One disagreement I remember clearly was with one of my close friends during our final year of college, where we were working on a project work together, we had very different opinions about how to approach the topic. I wanted to focus more on particular research and real world examples, while she preferred a more theoretical approach based on textbooks. At first, we tried to convenience each other politely, but as the deadline got closer, the discussion became a bit tense. Eventually, we both realized that arguing wasn't helping, so we decided to divide the work based on our strengths. She worked on the theoretical part and I handled the practical research. In the end, our project was well balanced and we eventually got good feedback from our professor. I felt a little uncomfortable during the disagreement, especially since we are usually on the same page, but I was glad we managed to resolve it maturely. I thought it might be that disagreements don't have to damage relationships as long as both people are willing to compromise and communicate honestly.

    Band 7

    I would like to share one of my college experiences with you. While I was working in a team, I had one of my friends as my partner for an assignment. So we had to make a research paper on a particular topic and while deciding the topic, we argued a lot. The disagreement began when she opposed every idea that I was proposing to her. It irritated me at the end and we kind of got into a fight as well. But after a while, one of our teachers came to us and explained that it's important for you guys to build some understanding between yourselves and start doing your assignment as we did not have enough time to do the assignment. Later, I brought her favorite food that was biryani for her and she was very happy and we said sorry to each other and we promised each other that we would not produce such argument again and try to understand each other's point. At that moment, I understood that it's important that you learn that while you are working with someone, disagreement is going to come in the way.

    Band 7

    One disagreement that stands out in my memory happened between me and one of my closest friends during a group research in college. At first it seemed like we had shared a vision, but as we began diving deeper into the work, our priorities started clashing. I was focused on keeping everything structured and sticking to academic standards, whereas my friend was more interested in making the presentation visually engaging and informal. Now disagreements in themselves are dangerous. It's how we handle them that matters. Initially we both got a bit defensive. He thought I was being rigid, and I felt like he wasn't taking the project seriously enough, but instead of letting it spiral into resentment, I decided to take a step back and reflect. I reminded myself that disagreements aren't about winning, they are about understanding. So I initiated a conversation. He sat down, put the egos aside, and talked like adults. I explained why structure and credibility mattered for our grading, and he explained how design and engagement would make our work stand out. What we realized was we were both right. Our goals weren't contradictory, they were complementary. The realization transformed everything. We divided responsibilities, played to our strengths, and ended up with a project that not only met academic expectations, but also wowed the audience. What I learned from that experience is powerful. Disagreement doesn't mean disconnection. If anything, it's a signal to a pause, listen harder, collaborate better. Since then, I've approached conflicts not as a threat, but as a chance to evaluate the outcome. When handed will, even the toughest conversation can become the turning point anywhere.

    Band 7

    I don't usually argue with people, it's not in my nature, but one of the disagreements I recently had was with one of my friends, Raghu. He is generally very arrogant of nature and always wants to dominate his opinion upon others, which is one of the things that I don't like about him. It was the project that we were assigned to in data sciences, that we had to make use of AI intelligence and we had a very big disagreement owing to what kind of method we will employ to design our project. I remember I had already confirmed it with the tutor about the usage of the particular tool that I was planning to use, but Raghu had another idea and we had a very bad disagreement over the group project and everyone else were so concerned that whether the project will happen or not. Then one of the other friends, who knew both of us, tried to reconcile us by coming to a middle, what we say, agreement. I agreed that we could use his method, but he also had to agree that the project presentation and everything that followed will be planned by me. So in this way, the disagreement had to be resolved, otherwise the project would not have been possible.

    Band 7

    I had a disagreement with one of my friend. The topic was that girls need not to work after completion of their studies. They don't have to pay more attention towards their work life or professional life as much as men have to. So, this was the point of view of my friend initially when our discussion began. So, I did not feel the same way as he thought because I feel it is not the point that girls don't have to look after the professional life. They do have to. In my opinion, I would definitely choose to look after a personal life and to balance them equally. For me, being financially independent is a very important and essential factor because that would make me stand out from all other people. Apart from this, I would always choose my career as my priority because standing on my own feet is something that I really appreciate from beneath of my heart. So, it was completely wrong that he said girls do not need to

    Band 7

    So this is a disagreement I had with my father regarding curating the wedding guest list. I was of the opinion that we should have a very intimate wedding with very close family members as the audience, as the members attending the wedding, whereas my father was strongly of the opinion that a marriage is the union of two families and two cultures coming together and we should be inviting all our near and far, you know, people and they all should be invited. And long story short, after a very, very long, tedious rebuttal, we came to a common consensus where we assessed our funds and we assessed our, you know, economic viability on how to feed such a large banquet of people. And we then curated, we came to a middle ground and curated the wedding guest list where it was a win-win situation for the both of us.
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