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Describe a situation when you were late.: IELTS Speaking Cue Card

You should say

  • What was the event?
  • Why were you late?
  • How did you feel about it?
Show all 48 answers

Cue 1:What was the event?

  • Begin by clearly stating the event you were late for, such as a meeting, a family gathering, or an exam.
  • Provide some context about the significance of the event to you.

Example

I was supposed to attend my friend's wedding, which was a significant event for me as we had been friends since childhood.

Cue 2:Why were you late?

  • Explain the reason for your delay, whether it was due to traffic, personal issues, or something unexpected.
  • Make sure to include any details that highlight the situation, such as the time you left home or any obstacles you faced.

Example

I left my house on time, but there was an unexpected traffic jam due to road construction. I was stuck for almost an hour, which made me late.

Cue 3:How did you feel about it?

  • Share your emotions regarding being late, such as anxiety, embarrassment, or frustration.
  • Reflect on how your feelings might have affected your experience of the event.

Example

I felt really anxious and embarrassed when I arrived. I was worried that I would miss important moments of the wedding, and I hated the thought of letting my friend down.

Conclusion

  • Summarize the overall experience and what you learned from it.
  • Mention how you might handle a similar situation differently in the future.

Example

In the end, I enjoyed the wedding, but I learned the importance of leaving even earlier for important events. Now, I always plan for extra travel time to avoid being late.

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

Giving vague or unclear answers can make your response less engaging. It may leave the examiner confused about your experience and feelings.

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Tip

Provide specific details about the event, such as the location and people involved, to create a clearer picture.

2: Lack of Emotion

Failing to express your feelings about being late can make your answer sound flat. Emotions help connect with the listener and make your story memorable.

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Tip

Share your feelings honestly, whether it was embarrassment, frustration, or something else, to add depth to your response.

Overly Complicated Language

Using complex vocabulary or grammar can lead to mistakes and misunderstandings. It's important to communicate clearly and effectively.

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Tip

Stick to simple and clear language to ensure your message is understood, focusing on fluency over complexity.

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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
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Reported by

Anonymous student Band 7.5

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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
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Reported by

Anonymous student Band 8

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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
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Reported by

Anonymous student Band 6.5

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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
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Reported by

Anonymous student Band 7

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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
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Reported by

Anonymous student Band 7.5

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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, last year, I was about to attend the wedding of one of my best friends, so you can imagine, I was preparing for this event for nearly 4-5 months. We kept speaking about it and I got my perfect outfit. I was all ready, all my bags were packed and I was just about to get out of the door to get into my cab which was taking me to the airport because I had to travel around 3 hours by flight to get to another metropolitan city which was in a nearby city. So, during this time, I noticed that we had entered directly into the rush hour, peak traffic time and there was a lot of honking all around me, the roads were congested and my cab was moving at a snail's pace. I started getting nervous but I thought, no, maybe we will get to the airport on time. However, when there were just around 5 minutes left, I understood that this is not going to work out. I thought that I would have to make a dash for it but by God's grace, I was able to make it to the airport on time. I was feeling so nervous, my heart was beating out of my chest. I also felt that my chest was tightening and I was almost ready to make an apology to my friend for missing her wedding. It would have devastated her. But all the same, I somehow made it to the airport and I started relaxing only after I got to my seat. Till then, it was a nail-biting moment, moments right before getting into that plane.

Band 6-7

It was a basketball tournament which was held in a stadium at Sarjapura road. I used to travel there quite often to my practice sessions. On the day of the tournament, I woke up late and I left my house at 10 am. By 12 pm, I used to be there usually. I had the tournament on 9 am. That day, I woke up at 6 am, got ready by 7 am, left my house, crossed JP Nagar signal on my way to the destination. I encountered huge traffic in Sarjapura road. Due to that, my destiny was delayed by 50 minutes due to the traffic. By the time I reached the tournament place, the match was already started. Our team were already playing the second quarter. I immediately got up ready and asked for a sub. My other friends did not allow me to take a sub. It was an awkward situation and I repent doing on it, due to which it results in my overall team loss and I was blamed for not being on time by my coach, which was a big problem.

Band 6-7

In the 2024 winters, I had an exam in a different college, so I went there, but turned out that I had assumed a wrong college. So when I reached there, I found out there was a lack of information in my cue card and I got to know that I had an exam in another sector, so I had to run to the other college and then I had to enter the examination centre 15 minutes late. This was because I didn't have enough knowledge of where my exam was going to be held and I did not prepare well before that. I also should have reached the first place a bit early so I had time to spare, but because I didn't do that and there was a lot of traffic, I reached the second college 15 minutes late. I feel this was something a bit awkward for me. I usually like to be punctual, but at this time when it was an exam, it was a bit, you know, disappointing from my end. However, I learned my lesson and now whenever I have an exam or something important to go to, I always look at the location twice and leave my home at least 30 minutes early.

Band 6-7

During the Durga Puja last year, I planned on going out with my office colleagues for Puja Pandal Hopping. We were given the time of meeting at 11.30 am and I got late because I was supposed to take a local train from the station near to my place, but unfortunately the day was very rainy and I missed the train. The next train was approximately 25 minutes late, hence I couldn't reach there on time and they had to wait for long. They were about to skip the plan, but thankfully I reached there and we continued our Puja Pandal Hopping and moreover it was a great day, we had a lot of fun, we saw a lot of Durga Pandals and we were really exhausted after all the hopping and we came back home safe.

Band 6-7

Hi, so I remember the situation happened with me two years ago when I was in my college. It was the first day of my internship. I applied for a company there and I was supposed to be joining one week later when I applied. It was a Monday morning. I was very much excited to go to my office because that was my very first experience so I was pretty nervous about it. But then, you know, that was a rainy season and I was in my college. I was actually, I took a break from my college, I stood, you know, with the office. But as it was raining heavily, I couldn't manage to reach the office on time, like, I tried my level best. There was no Uber or I couldn't find any means of transport to get to the office. I even didn't have any umbrella and all my peers have went to their classes and I have no one who could help me to drop me in the office. I was stuck in my home. I was trying my level best to get ways possible but it was, it seemed like I couldn't manage to go but somehow after the rain stopped, I rushed to the office. I visited and I felt very much, you know, I felt very embarrassed that it was my first ever day and how can I be so late. My manager, although it was my first day, he didn't scold me and he did not say much to me but anyways, I felt that whatever I did was wrong. I shouldn't have been so late. I could have reached on time. That situation made me feel so embarrassed and I could never forget about it.

Band 6-7

So, it was my friend's birthday on Thursday, and I had planned to take him out for a lunch. For that, I called him to a place called as Andheri, and I was about to meet him at five o'clock sharp. When I reached Virar station, I saw that all the local trains were running late, due to which I was not able to reach at exact five o'clock pm, and I got late. When I saw my friend's face, my face turned blue due to his furious expressions, and I felt terrible about it. I knew that I ruined my friend's special day, and he was very upset. Now, I thought how to make up for the mess that I've created, so I took him to a nice cafe on the beach side, and treated him his favorite delicacies. At the end of the day, he was happy and cheerful, however, the whole experience made me feel upset because I wasn't able to reach there on time. I wasn't able to fulfill the commitment that I gave, and I decided from next time, I won't be late. Instead, I will try to come twenty minutes earlier than the time that I commit. And so, since then, I never reach late for any occasion, and I try to be early than anyone else on the site. It's better to be late than never, as people say.

Band 6-7

When I was appearing for my class 9th final exams, I remember one time my father was dropping me off at school and it was raining heavily on that day. And as we don't have a car, my father usually drops me off at school using his bike. So as it was raining, the roads were all slippery and accidentally our bike's tyre got slipped in the rain water and we both fell. We met an accident and hence we couldn't reach my school on time. When we reached there, my knee was still bleeding and my father's right hand had a severe injury. So when we reached school, my teachers didn't let me give my exam anymore because I was late but they did give us some first aid, some medicines and some food. They were very understandable, they were very understanding. They didn't let me give my exam that day because I wasn't on time but they did let me take a retest on the next day after I finished my other exams. So it was very kind and helpful and very mindful gesture of my teachers which I still remember till this day and I'll always be grateful for their help and advice.

Band 6-7

So, the situation where I was late was the first day of my job, working as a teacher here in Kuwait. On my first day, I went to the school by bus. Since it was my first time travelling by the bus to reach there, I had no idea of the traffic that would be there in the morning. It was really congested in the morning, so I was almost 20-30 minutes late by the time I reached at school. And since it was my first day, I was feeling very embarrassed and nervous to meet the principal and face him, but however, he asked me the reason for being late and I explained him that I had to take a bus and I had no idea that it would take so long because of the traffic to reach the school, which was not so far from my home. And eventually, he understood my situation and he said that it was okay for being late for the first day, but I shouldn't repeat it from the next day and be on time, so that gave me a sign of relief and I felt okay after talking to him. Initially, during my journey from my home to the school, it was very congested.

Band 6-7

Well, I am a very punctual person and try to reach everywhere on time. I got this habit from my father who is very disciplined and strict about time. And if I had an appointment, I take extra caution and try to reach at least 10 minutes before my appointment. But sometimes even giving myself the extra time has not helped and I have been late. I remember being late to my best friend's wedding. My best friend, her scout married last year. He is the first one to get married among my friends and we were all very excited. Indian wedding ceremonies are very lavish and usually there are 2-3 functions before ceremony. A day before wedding, there had been a sangeet ceremony where we dance and party till late night. I was tired in the morning but woke up and got ready on time. The wedding ceremony was in the Sikh temple on the outskirts of our city. About 15 km away from my home. I had been there before with Harsh and he had given me the direction that time. But I am very bad with direction and road name. I always depend on my google maps. On the wedding day, I put the address in my phone and started well on time from my home. After 40 minutes, my mobile GPS said I have arrived my destination and when I look around, there was no Sikh temple and just some old buildings there. I realized that since the Sikh temple was new and away from the city, the map had not recognized the address and taken me to the different address. I got out and asked around. Fortunately, someone know the exact location and tell me the direction. By the time I reached the location and

Band 6-7

So, this is about the time when I got up late. I woke up very late and I was late for my Renewable Energy, Energy Harvesting exam. So, I usually put an alarm up before going to bed and the alarm wakes me up. However, this time the alarm did wake me up but I was so sleepy, I was so tired and exhausted, I went to sleep again and I put an alarm to a hold, I think. I don't remember it exactly. However, luckily, after half an hour, my friend calls me and asks me, okay, when am I coming? I looked at the time, it was around half an hour late to the time I was supposed to be woken up. So, I actually panicked because the thing is that I had to wake up, I had to get ready, then I had to find transportation, then I had to leave and I reached the examination center. The examination center was actually my college. So, I was very panicking because I had to give that exam and if I was late for more than 15 minutes, the teacher wouldn't allow me to get into the building. So, without brushing my teeth, I just changed my clothes and I just rushed outside my house to get to the college as soon as possible. Usually, I take the city bus. However, the city bus timings can be very uncertain. So, I picked a cab and I rushed towards my college. Fortunately, I reached my college on time, but I was still 10 minutes late. If I had been five minutes more late, then I wouldn't have been possible to give that exam and I had to give that exam the next year. So, I really escaped that day.
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