arrow back icon Top Answers

Describe a plan that you had to change recently: IELTS Speaking Cue Card

You should say

  • What the original plan was?
  • Why you had to change it?
  • What you did differently?
  • And explain how you felt about the change.
Show all 135 answers

Cue 1:What the original plan was?

  • Begin by clearly stating what your original plan was, including details like the time and place.
  • Mention any specific goals or expectations you had for this plan.

Example

My original plan was to travel to Manali with my friends for a week-long vacation during the summer holidays. We had booked our tickets in advance and were really looking forward to enjoying the beautiful mountains and the cool weather.

Cue 2:Why you had to change it?

  • Explain the reason for the change, focusing on any unexpected circumstances that arose.
  • Be honest about how this change affected your initial excitement or plans.

Example

However, just a week before our trip, I received a call from my family informing me that my grandmother had fallen ill. I felt it was important to stay back and support my family during this difficult time, so I had to cancel my trip.

Cue 3:What you did differently?

  • Describe what alternative plans you made instead of the original trip.
  • Share how you adjusted your time and activities to accommodate the change.

Example

Instead of going to Manali, I decided to spend my time at home with my family. I helped take care of my grandmother and also spent quality time with my relatives who came to visit. We shared stories and memories, which brought us closer together.

Cue 4:And explain how you felt about the change.

  • Reflect on your feelings regarding the change, both positive and negative.
  • Discuss any lessons learned or insights gained from the experience.

Example

Initially, I felt disappointed about missing the trip, as I had been looking forward to it for months. However, as I spent time with my family, I realized how important it was to be there for them. It taught me that sometimes, family comes first, and I felt a sense of fulfillment in being supportive.

Conclusion

    Example

    In conclusion, while I had to change my travel plans due to unforeseen circumstances, I found value in the time spent with my family. This experience reminded me that life can be unpredictable, and adapting to changes can lead to meaningful moments.

    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. Candidates often fail to provide specific details about their original plan or the changes made, which can lead to a lack of engagement.

    bulb icon

    Tip

    Be specific about your original plan and the changes. Use clear examples and details to illustrate your points.

    2: Neglecting Emotions

    Ignoring how you felt about the change can make your response less personal and relatable. Candidates often focus only on facts and miss the emotional aspect of their experience.

    bulb icon

    Tip

    Include your feelings about the change. Describe how it affected you emotionally to create a more engaging narrative.

    Lack of Structure

    A disorganized response can confuse the listener. Candidates sometimes jump between points without a clear structure, making it hard to follow their story.

    bulb icon

    Tip

    Follow a clear structure: start with the original plan, explain the reason for the change, describe what you did differently, and conclude with your feelings.

    calendar icon

    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
    anonymous person icon

    Reported by

    Anonymous student Band 7.5

    location icon

    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
    anonymous person icon

    Reported by

    Anonymous student Band 8

    location icon

    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
    anonymous person icon

    Reported by

    Anonymous student Band 6.5

    location icon

    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
    anonymous person icon

    Reported by

    Anonymous student Band 7

    location icon

    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
    anonymous person icon

    Reported by

    Anonymous student Band 7.5

    location icon

    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

    I had to alter my plans recently because I decided to go for higher studies abroad. Initially my plan was to go to Kuala Lumpur for my OTA training program and I was completely up to it following all the guidelines and instructions I have been amended to. My entire plan has been altered in the recent times because initially I was about to join the OTA qualier and undergo my training program as a lieutenant because I have previously told you that I am an NCC officer in my institution so there are certain criterias which I have to undergo so that is the thing which happens to take place in OTA qualier. This was my long-term goal since I joined this college. I have been playing the role as assistant professor and NCC officer but I also had this dream of pursuing my higher studies in abroad and have applied to many universities in Europe and I have got into UCD. The offer letter was sanctioned in the month of May and I was processing for IELTS and my visa process to pursue my higher studies but suddenly in the month of June I have received the letter from OTA qualier stating that I have been selected to attend the course. This was the hardest decision I have to make ever because my dreams becoming reality has been completely ratified by pursuing my higher studies for the betterment of my future. Of course I was bit traumatized and later I had cope up with that staring the future in front of my eyes for my personal and my family's development so now I'm confident that

    Band 6-7

    If I talk about myself, my plans get changed very frequently. One plan that I can remember that got changed recently was my friend's birthday party. The original plan was to get there and meet all my friends but when I was very close to the place where the birthday party was taking place, my family just called me and they said that they are having a family function at a relative's house. At that moment, I was very sad because we all friends were meeting after a very long time and I didn't get the opportunity to meet them and talk with them but when I reached at my family function, all the relatives and my cousins were present there. Moreover, I enjoyed talking with my cousins and also talking with them was a great experience because we were meeting after a very long time just like my friends and we had many talks about studies, about how life is going on and moreover, I did felt bad about that I was not able to go at the birthday party but on the other hand, I enjoyed being with my cousins very much. I think that my cousins had replaced my friends at that time so I can say that my plan was not changed badly. I would have enjoyed at my friend's party but I enjoyed myself more while being with my cousins and talking with them.

    Band 6-7

    Well, changes are part of our life and we all have to take little changes in our life. Well, changes are crucial in every individual's life. Like we all have to change little bit in our life to make our life more interesting. So here I would like to talk about a plan that I changed. It's my daily routine. Well, my daily routine, if I talk about in past, my daily routine was like very hectic schedule and I do not have time to spend with me. Like my own skin care, not for my healthy diet. So like I am very unaware of my health and my body. So I can make decision to change this. From last month, I changed this and like I was going into the heaven. Moreover, I changed my daily routine. Like firstly, I wake up at 5 o'clock in the morning and after that I started doing my personal care like skin care. Firstly, I do take bath and some skin care. After that, I do yoga and go for morning walk. After that, I take my breakfast. Additionally, at the afternoon, I also spend most of the time with my family members and doing my work. Additionally, in the evening times, I also take some salads and fruits. And I also do exercising and go for evening walk in the park that is just a month away from my accommodation with my grandmother. And I also spend time with my family members. However, I feel very happy because I have to give time for me. Like from past, I am very busy person. But now I have time to take care of myself and my body and my personal life.

    Band 6-7

    Honestly speaking, you may know more bodily kinesthetic or athletic people than me. I know them in my surroundings too. But when it comes to personally training myself into more activities like running, jogging, yoga, gym, exercise or body workout, I am very lethargic and lazy. I try to procrastinate it several times, tomorrow, day after tomorrow, next week, maybe after my menstrual cycle but every time I postpone it to the next time, I forget it or keep pushing it further. So when I plan to change my schedule and add one hour of jogging before I start my morning routine which is getting ready for the day, doing basic chores but as I said I am lethargic and I procrastinate a lot, I thought I would do it when my monthly cycle end because it was starting in like 2-3 days but then I thought let the monthly cycle end, I will start it after that but after cycle ended, I totally forgot about it. It was in the back of my mind but I said I will do it maybe from tomorrow, I have a month till the next monthly cycle but I did not do it, so I have to change the plan and sleep through that time but then again after a few days, I saw a few videos, reels very specifically encouraging young girls to make our body fit because when our body is fit, we feel beautiful inside out and that's very good for us but I started to do it.

    Band 6-7

    So recently we are on a trip to Manali and during that trip the organiser told us to choose one of the transport methods first one is the bus and second is the bike for inner Manali trip because there are various options available during that time so most of people choose the bike ride because enjoying the nature and natural environment and we also choose that method but at the day of trip I don't know what happened but one of my friend denied to ride a bike while the day of trip and we tried to convince him but it didn't convinced and then we decided to change the method of travelling and we changed the way and go with the bus and I don't know it is good or bad for us I think I feel bad for our trip because we can't enjoy that road trip with bus ride because whenever you are on the bike on the location such as the cold weather and icy snow coming from the sky so it's a kind of totally different experience you have you have experience so I feel little

    Band 6-7

    Recently, me and my friend decided to go to Dwarika. It is a religious place in India. So, we have prepared for it. But suddenly, we have shown news that there was very heavy monsoon because it was the peak of monsoon in that area or the season was of monsoon. So, we have decided to change our plan. Instead of going Dwarika, we have decided to go Ujjain and we went to the Ujjain Mahakal Temple. So, it was totally in opposite side. So, we went there by train and it was very good decision for us because Dwarika was very good place. But it was dangerous time to went there. So, we have initially changed the plan at last minute and prepared for the Ujjain Mahakal trip and we went there. And I was totally enjoyed the journey because there was very good atmosphere. It was also rainy season but it was very far away from the sea. So, it was not dangerous for us to go there. And I enjoyed my journey. It was very amazing. My journey was good and beautiful. We have visited many temples. So, it was very hard decision for us to change and sudden time. But somehow we have managed it and it was done by us. So, it was good experience.

    Band 6-7

    So, a plan that I recently made with my friends was to go to a waterpark to enjoy slides in water. It was basically during the summer time but due to rains, unexpected rains, we couldn't follow the plan and we had to change it to a trekking trip to a hill station nearby. Not everyone was really excited for this trip because we had booked it last minute and everyone was very lazy to walk so much but I was really enthusiastic because I love going on treks because of the view that is worth it after climbing a lot of steps. I think this was a good change for us because we got to explore a different aspect rather than going on slides in the waterpark. I think hill stations are really beautiful. That is why we really loved the weather because it was raining. I think we planned this trip basically by seeing a post on Instagram but I think it was the best decision we ever made. Even though not everyone was enthusiastic, they had a really good experience of climbing and experiencing the serene view.

    Band 6-7

    This is even funny when I am literally giving the exam right now. So back then I was planning not to give the IELTS exam unless it is required by the universities. At first I have applied for Masters in Epidemiology in various universities and I was selected in some of the premium universities and there as it is a MSc course it was not required, IELTS course was not required by them. Later on I was going through other course options, later on I submitted applications for, I applied for Masters in Public Health course in few universities and gladly I got a good, I got in a Central London University where there was good scholarship for me, offer for me, I would like to take half that and I got the conditional offer requesting for my IELTS, I even submitted my medium of instruction but they were, they suggested me it would be, it would be fine, it would be much needed that I have to submit my IELTS score. After listening to that I was devastated because I didn't prepare, I didn't start my preparation then and I had not much time with me as I was working and coming back my work, it was really tough. Later on I resigned my job and spend my time a week or two fully for this IELTS preparation and I wasn't confident and I took up a small crash course where they gave me proper training like by myself, it is all self learning and nothing was taught but there were few modules where the person have videos, I took all those and continuously gave mock test and corrected myself and asked ChachiBT to correct my errors and all and where we have a training.

    Band 6-7

    So, we had planned, decided to visit Lonavala 2-3 months ago and everything was planned and everyone was ready to visit Lonavala but suddenly an issue came out that we had not budgeted to visit Lonavala. So, we all decided that we should visit another place which will work in our budget.

    Band 6-7

    I had planned to attend a 30 days residential yoga course that was yoga teacher certification course which included prenatal and postnatal yoga practices as well in Uttarakhand. I had already signed up for the course, I had searched for my accommodation and I had booked the train tickets to Uttarakhand as well but two days prior to my departure from Gandhinagar one of my cousin died due to heart attack at a very young age of 30 years. So I could not attend my yoga classes as I had to stay back in Gandhinagar until his last rites and his 12th day rites were performed but actually I was devastated because of the feeling and it was a paradoxical situation for me because dying due to heart attack at such a young age it was a clear signal for all the other family members to start being conscious about the health. So I so badly wanted to go to attend my yoga classes but I also had actually the death of my cousin who was so near to me actually left me disheartening and I was not in the mental state to do or learn any new thing. But yeah I will not drop my idea as I want to do something for myself for my mental physical health and for the upcoming
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
    ielts logo

    Get the IELTS Prep App

    Star rating icon

    4.2

    1M+ Installs

     app download banner image

    Get the app link on your phone

    +91

    Or download app from

    google play storeapp store
    master ielts speaking ad