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?

48 unique answers with expert feedback

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.

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.

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.

Tip

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

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

So this event happened quite a long time ago, I would say. So I was running late for this event. This event was a prize distribution for students who have won various kinds of awards in art, sports, academics, and various stuff like that. So I was running late because I was very anxious about this event and I forgot to set up an alarm for the morning. So I woke up late and I was running really late. I really felt bad about this because a lot of students were waiting for me. Since I was the host of this event, I was the center. So this event couldn't have took place without me. A lot of people, including the faculty, the students, their parents, waited for me for I think around 30 minutes. I felt terrible about it. I apologized immediately and I even explained them the situation that this was a thing that I had. So I definitely learned that even if you do find something stressful and if you are anxious about something, you just need to let it go and just try to do your best. Try to be on time because you're not just wasting your time, but you are wasting a lot of other people's valuable time. So I definitely feel horrible about this situation now that I think about it and this was a very important lesson for me.

Band 5-6

I got late to my economics viva when in my last semester it was that was because I forgot my project report I forgot my project report in my room and I and I was I have to go to my I just have to go to my room and get it as soon as possible so that I that is because I forgot my project report that has to be submitted in the office room that has to be submitted in the office room so that I got where I got now I got very much nervous in that situation so that I felt like I felt like I'm losing something I may lost marks

Band 5-6

It was during my graduation ceremony. I was late because of rainy and because of rainy it is very heavy traffic in the road. So I went there before the program after the program starts and it makes me feel very bad and so sorry they were waiting for me till 10 o'clock and it has to be start about 9.55. So they were all waiting for me to attend them. So I went there and say sorry for everything because I didn't I could not make it up to punctual time. At that time onwards I feel that we have to prepare more cautious even though rain or traffic becomes a game.

Band 5-6

It looks like she's having muscle cramps. So I'm trying to cuddle with her head. It wasолжonaязak o nawy better once. I pushed her forward. She seemed to be heavy, so I pushed her behind my back. That was the day when there was an interview I had to give, but unfortunately I didn't get trained timely because there was some technical glitch on the other hand, so train was not on time, but the time was about 12 hours, so I just reached, I didn't reach it at that time, so I was not able to get the train timely, so I had a phone, so I booked an online cab for that interview place, so when I was entered at that place, the interview was going on, and somehow it was very shocking because at all the persons, the interview was sticking at me, and he told me that the interview time was 9 o'clock and you were 2 hours late, so it was very embarrassing for me, so I just decided that next time I will make sure that I will not late, so.

Band 5-6

so this thing was when I was late it was yesterday and unfortunately I got late to arrive on time and I was not really happy about it and the main reason why I was late because I was not well health wise I was sick and I got up late because I was high on medicines so I ended up getting up late I got up very late which made me arrive school late I did not really feel good about it because usually I'm a person who arrives on time and I always ensure that I'm punctual when it's come when it comes to arriving at your workplace and this is how it should be there was another instance where I was late for one of my friend's birthday parties and I didn't have an excuse because I started late from my place and on the way I had to get her a gift and that all queued up one after another which made me reach an hour late to her party and she was not really displeased by it but I thought I should have reached a bit more early so I would have got more time with her so yeah that's it

Band 5-6

at last week I want to attend my brother marriage it was one of the fantastic moment in my whole life and I was going late for in date because my taxi was too late and then I finish my bridal section and then I go for that marriage there will be a fantastic outstanding appearance are there and I saw my brother and my brother's wife they were too kind and polite and then after I returned to my home I feel it is so bad because I went late for that function everyone were seeking more important in that but I was not able to do that but marriage was one of my most memorable thing in my whole life thank you

Band 5-6

If I talk about the situation when I was late, the situation is that when I was in 11th standard in target defence academy then in night we all used to go to nightfall for counting for attendance and after that once a day I was late to attend the fall in so I went there sometime late and because of that I was punished from the teachers and they said why are you late, you don't have any type of discipline like that, they all had criticized me and I really feeling so bad because it's my first time that I was late because I am a regular boy, I was always present in everywhere on time at class at night or fall in and anywhere like that but that's the first time and I was punished for it I'm really feeling so embarrassed for at the time when I was going I knew that before sometime I knew that I was I will be late for sometime for fall in and I was not expecting that I was punished by teachers because I am regular boy and so I was punished by them that's all

Band 5-6

There are several days that I become very late and one day, at this situation, one day I was completely out of my mind and I was being late at that time. When I was in college, I used to go by train and at that time, our college held that event where we have to report it on 11 o'clock but because of my negligence, I reported at 9.30 and our train was departed by 9.45 so I reached at 9.30 though but because of my negligence, my friends were getting angry at me and at that time, I was so afraid and so nervous as well so basically, I was stuck in the traffic and because of that also, I got, I got, I reached late at the station. Thank God that at that time, I managed to survive to reach the platform and still, there was that situation, my friends were, kept shouting at me and I felt guilt at that time but I got lucky at that time.

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