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Describe a piece of good advice that you gave to someone: IELTS Speaking Cue Card

You should say

  • Who did you advice?
  • What was the advice?
  • Why did you give the advice?
  • How was it helpful, and how did he/she feel about it?
Show all 212 answers

Cue 1:Who did you advise?

  • Begin by introducing the person you gave advice to, including your relationship with them.
  • Mention any relevant background information that helps to understand the context.

Example

I advised my younger sister, who is currently in her final year of college. She was feeling overwhelmed with her studies and unsure about her future career path.


Cue 2:What was the advice?

  • Clearly state the advice you gave, ensuring it is specific and actionable.
  • Explain any reasoning behind your advice to provide context.

Example

I told her to take a step back and focus on her strengths and interests. I suggested that she explore internships related to her field of study to gain practical experience and clarity on what she truly enjoys.


Cue 3:Why did you give the advice?

  • Share your motivation for giving this advice, including any personal experiences that influenced your decision.
  • Discuss the importance of the situation to emphasize why your advice was necessary.

Example

I gave this advice because I had faced similar challenges during my college years. I remember feeling lost and stressed about my future, and I wanted to help her avoid that anxiety by guiding her towards practical experiences.


Cue 4:How was it helpful, and how did he/she feel about it?

  • Describe the outcome of your advice and how it positively impacted the person.
  • Share their feelings or reactions to your advice to illustrate its effectiveness.

Example

After following my advice, my sister secured an internship at a local marketing firm. She felt much more confident and excited about her future. She expressed gratitude for my support and mentioned that it helped her gain clarity about her career goals.


Conclusion

    Example

    In conclusion, giving advice to my sister not only strengthened our bond but also helped her navigate a crucial phase in her life. It was rewarding to see her grow and find direction, and it reminded me of the importance of sharing experiences and supporting loved ones.


    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

    Avoid giving vague or general answers that lack detail. This can make your response less engaging and informative, leading to a lower score.

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    Tip

    Provide specific examples and details about the advice you gave, including the context and the person's situation.


    2: Neglecting Emotional Impact

    Failing to discuss how the advice affected the person emotionally can weaken your response. It's important to show the significance of your advice.

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    Tip

    Include how the person felt after receiving your advice and the positive changes it brought to their life.


    Ignoring the 'Why'

    Not explaining why you gave the advice can leave your answer incomplete. This is crucial for understanding your thought process.

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    Tip

    Clearly articulate your reasons for giving the advice, linking it to the person's needs or situation.


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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 6-7

    One piece of advice that I gave to someone, who was my sister, to stay positive and believe in God, is that I gave it to her mainly because she was very stressed about her job and was on the verge of quitting it due to the pressure she had. So I told her not to quit it and to follow her heart and to stay positive and rely on God because everything happens for a reason. I also gave an example of myself, which was when I was in my first year of college. My friend participated in a debate competition and she asked me to join her, but I refused because I thought I wasn't good at debating, but after she compelled me to, I joined her. And in the debate competition, I surprisingly performed really well and I got the first place in it. It made me realize my own value and what I'm good at. It also gave me a lot of confidence and I got to know why I'm confident and what's my area of expertise. It made me realize that I'm good at debating, which was very nice and everything happens for a reason. So I told her to stay positive and follow her heart and do what she wants and not to become stressed. And it really helped her to improve and she didn't quit her job, but to the surprise, the next month she got promoted as a team leader, which really helped her to stay confident and she was really happy. She thanked me later that the advice was really good or else she would have quit her job. So it was one piece of advice which I gave to my sister and it really helped her in overcoming her stress and to stay positive throughout her life.

    Band 6-7

    One of my friends was going through a rough patch in life, her husband was alcoholic and abusive, she could not get out of the marriage because of the social pressures, however I advised her that it's her life and she has to take control of her life and the best way if she can improve the man, but it is impossible to correct such an abusive and alcoholic person because he was unwilling to go to any de-addiction centers, as such she took the reins of life in her own hand and now she is leading a very happy and contented life after separating from her husband, this is the best piece of advice I had given to anybody because I see her happy now.

    Band 6-7

    A piece of advice that I have given is regarding the importance of human values and I have given that advice during my master's program. I was, I ran my master's in social work and during the time of my fieldwork practicum, we were supposed to conduct summer camps and during the time of summer camps, I advised the children regarding the importance of human values. Human values are important because it is one of our important aspects in our day-to-day life. It helps in shaping individuals to a better individual and it also helps in the personal growth and overall development of an individual because it helps to know about the values and how we can treat others because it includes values such as kindness, respect and empathy and so on. By being kind and showing respect to others, it will help in our overall development and it was helpful because it helped the children to gain more insight regarding the importance of human values as human values should be taught and many of the students doesn't know regarding the importance of human values because they are not having much social interaction compared to their older times as many are exposed to social media and they are not having direct contact with the people. So being empathetic means understanding others feelings and we should understand others feelings then only we can have a better connection and also it helps in fostering connections and also to become a better human, we should follow the human values. It also helps in understanding about other people's problems and also we can help them in their problems so respect also should be given, it is also an important human value.

    Band 6-7

    Recently my friend was feeling very low due to her relationship problem and work culture problems, so and she came to me for help. I suggested that to make a good life you have to incorporate few good habits in your daily routine so that this will help and enhance your day by % and it will improve your mood. Hence she incorporated some few values in her day to day routine that now has really helped a lot, firstly she has started getting up early in the morning and sleeping early at night, this has helped her get better sleep so that she is always fresh and mind is always clear. Secondly she has also started drinking a lot of water to keep herself hydrated and when your body is hydrated you feel less stressed, your hormones get better, sleeping and eating good and drinking lot of fluids help your body recover that heals your mind and the body and she has practiced it for a few days and I certainly can see a very good improvement in her, she is living better and more happily as compared to her previous resentful life.

    Band 6-7

    A piece of good advice that I recently gave someone was to just focus on the work that one has to do and forget about the results or not worry about the results too much. I gave this advice to my younger sibling as she was struggling with her examinations in her institution. She was constantly disturbed by what result she might get and therefore could not focus on other things. I said her that do not focus so much on what the outcome would be but rather focus on giving your best no matter the situation. Whatever happens we can take it as a feedback or an achievement later and then retrospect about what could have been done better and apply that in our life. This has helped her a lot since then and she has started focusing on giving her best to every opportunity that she gets to prove her mettle rather than worrying about what the outcome might be.

    Band 6-7

    give up on trying it. I've given advice to my friend, her name is Niveda and this advice is about saying no to certain things. She tends to help people even though in her difficult times and times she couldn't help them she feels bad. So I simply told her it's okay to say no. There are some times where we are not in a position to help people. It's okay to not, it's okay to say no to people. It's okay to let them know that you are not able to do that. She felt it very uncomfortable at the beginning because she's not a person who says no. By the time I told her about my story she realized that saying no is actually not bad thing because saying a no will give them an idea that we are not in a position to help them out and also it will not put them in a position where they have to believe us and when we fail to help them out there will be a huge disappointment from their side. So it's better to say no or it's better to say convey that we are not able to do the help. So it will not harm the person. It will, the damage will be lesser and then getting heartbroken or disappointed at the last where I say sorry I couldn't help you at the last. So it was difficult for even for me when I started saying no because I was similar to her. We were sharing both similar characters and then finally when I learned to say no it helped me and also the other person who asked for the help. So I will say no.

    Band 6-7

    My cousin called me two months back for the advice that what he should choose and make his career in. My cousin called me two months back and he asked me for an opinion. He told me that he is very confused about what he should choose after 12th. So as I was in commerce My cousin called me two months back and he asked me for an opinion. Two months back my cousin called me and he was very confused that what he should choose after 12th as a degree. So he was looking for my advice and he told me that he is not sure whether he should opt for BBA or BCom or he should go for law. So as I am his off stream only, I told him that choose the stream which you can give your best effort and hard work to. I told about all the pros and cons of BCom and the other degrees which my friends are doing who are of commerce only. So I guided him the best way I can. At the end of the talk he said to me that he is now feeling better and he thanked me for the advice.

    Band 6-7

    Yes, recently I advised my daughter because she wasn't getting good marks in her exams. So I told her not to waste time by watching TV and mobile. These won't help. Don't deviate by other things such, just focus on your studies. If you want any help, I will help you. And also be strong. No matter who will underestimate you. Don't be downhearted and don't take them to your heart. Because they will spoil your brain. And also you don't get temper over small things. Why? Because I told these are, I want to make my daughter strong and educated.

    Band 6-7

    I gave the advice to my colleague, the advice was that one should never be afraid of failures. In Gita it is written that a person has to act and the result of that action is not with the person. So a person should not be afraid of failures and failure should not determine what our future holds.

    Band 6-7

    First of all, I don't give advice to anyone, but the advice I give to my friend, he is very close to me, that's why I advise him. He is very confused in opening a restaurant or clothing shop. And I suggest him to open a restaurant because today's generation is too much addicted to fast food and this business is good for him. And in my city, no food areas are available, that's why it's good for him, that's why I advise him to open a restaurant. And after that one year, this advice is good for him, his business is too good and he earns $1 lakh approximately annually. And now he feels very good and very thankful to me and he says I am a good path for him.

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