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Describe A Story Or Novel That Was Interesting To You: IELTS Speaking Cue Card

You should say

  • What story or novel was it?
  • Where did you come to know about it?
  • When did you read it?
  • How did you feel about it?
Show all 70 answers

Cue 1:What story or novel was it?

  • Begin by mentioning the title of the story or novel clearly.
  • Briefly describe the main theme or genre of the book.

Example

The novel I found particularly interesting is 'The Alchemist' by Paulo Coelho. It is a philosophical story about a young shepherd named Santiago who dreams of finding treasure in Egypt.

Cue 2:Where did you come to know about it?

  • Share how you first heard about the book, whether through a friend, school, or online.
  • Mention any specific recommendations or reviews that influenced your decision to read it.

Example

I first came to know about 'The Alchemist' from a friend who recommended it during our college days. She spoke highly of its inspirational messages, which piqued my interest.

Cue 3:When did you read it?

  • State the time period when you read the book, such as during a specific year or season.
  • You can also mention any particular circumstances that made you choose to read it at that time.

Example

I read this novel about two years ago during my summer vacation. I had some free time, and I wanted to read something that could motivate me.

Cue 4:How did you feel about it?

  • Express your emotions and thoughts after reading the book.
  • Discuss any lessons learned or how it impacted your perspective on life.

Example

After finishing 'The Alchemist', I felt inspired and hopeful. The story taught me about following my dreams and listening to my heart, which has influenced my decisions since then.

Conclusion

    Example

    In conclusion, 'The Alchemist' is not just a novel; it’s a journey of self-discovery that resonates with many readers. Its timeless message encourages us to pursue our dreams, making it a memorable read for me.

    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: Avoid Vague Descriptions

    Using vague language can make your answer less engaging and informative. It’s important to provide specific details about the story or novel to capture the examiner's interest.

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    Tip

    Include key plot points, character names, and specific themes to make your description vivid and memorable.

    2: Don't Rush Your Response

    Rushing through your answer can lead to unclear explanations and missed details. Take your time to think about each cue and structure your response logically.

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    Tip

    Pause briefly to organize your thoughts before answering each cue, ensuring clarity and coherence in your response.

    Neglecting Personal Feelings

    Failing to express your personal feelings about the story can make your answer less relatable. The examiner wants to hear your unique perspective and emotional connection.

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    Tip

    Share how the story impacted you personally, discussing your feelings and thoughts to create a more engaging narrative.

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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
    anonymous person icon

    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

    A novel that I find interesting is Rich Dad Poor Dad which is authored by Robert T. Kiyosaki. It is a self-help novel which explores relevant themes of financial literacy that are not taught in schools. Financial literacy is an important topic in these days or modern times. It needs to be explored in deep detail so that a person can be equipped with the apt skills when he or she becomes an adult. It was interesting because I want to pursue a career in financial analytics data, analytics data science and investment banking. I knew about it from an inspiring school teacher who was my mathematics teacher who taught me how to manage wealth and how to compound your wealth. So, I read the novel Rich Dad Poor Dad in 9th grade. I felt a lot more educated about finance than I was ever by my school. This novel also indicated me financial literacy which I am sure will help me in my future endeavours while managing my financial resources once I become an adult. Hence, this was an interesting novel.

    Band 6-7

    So, a novel that I found extremely interesting was The Wedding List by Lucy Foley. I came across this book actually on ChatGPT. My friend recently allowed me to borrow her Kindle and I wanted to get into the habit of reading again, especially before I sleep because I prefer reading over being on my phone. So, I used ChatGPT to get a list of interesting crime and murder mystery books and this was number one. The book is based in Ireland. It follows the story of a young couple who is about to get married but there are a lot of secrets, a lot of dark twists. There's a lot happening right before the wedding and finally on the wedding day, somebody is murdered and we don't find out who is murdered and who is the murderer by the end of the book. So, for me, I found it extremely interesting because instead of actually helping me sleep, it kept me awake all night thinking about who the killer might be. I also found it interesting because by the end, I think I had some kind of idea about the character that was accused.

    Band 6-7

    I have always been a person who likes to read the stories and enjoy the comics as well. Recently I have read a novel called Aswinner which is a Telugu novel where the story is totally about the person who evolved from a low situation to a high standard. When coming to the novel or the story, it is in this a child who started his schooling and he wants to become an athletic athlete. Also he used to run every day for 4 to 5 kilometers. So whenever there is a district competition, he always used to come second. So he always been thinking of that and he motivated himself. But one day he lost the race with a very slight margin. Then he thought he would study rather than be an athlete. But his father motivated him that failures are the stepping stone to success. And he followed that and he encouraged himself and he used to run for 4 to 5 kilometers. Then he became a successful person and he became an athletic and he was one of the role models for the future generations. So the moral of the story is...

    Band 6-7

    When I was in my final year, I discovered a book named The Something I've Never Told You. It is written by Shravya Binder and this book was a love story of Rohanak and Ayesha. Ayesha was crush of Rohan since his childhood and this is a very beautiful story portraying the two characters and their lives revolving around career, love and their path. They both have separate paths but somehow their life connected them many times. But after achieving Kaavya, Rohan never valued Ayesha. At the end, Ayesha went in coma after meeting an accident because Rohan never paid attention on Ayesha. That's a pretty heartbreaking story but it concludes the second part, The Something I Wish I'd Tell You. It is also written by Shravya Binder. I hope it would be a great story again but I didn't read this book. So it was my first novel on a love story which I liked most.

    Band 6-7

    Yeah, I recently read a book that I borrowed from my friend named the alchemist by the famous writer Paolo Coelho. The book describes us about a young boy who keeps following his dreams and along his way he discovers the true meaning of life. What made me what made it interesting was a line that said if you really want something the whole world conspires to help you achieve it. I found it really motivating. That very line did a lot to me. The story briefs about the young boy named San Diego. Once he had a dream of finding a treasure in those Egyptian pyramids and he keeps following his dreams and along his way he meets lots of people and finally meets an alchemist who teaches him the true meaning of life, the life lessons. The story is based upon that and that very line. I would recommend that book to anyone who needs some motivation. It's an amazing piece of work.

    Band 6-7

    I feel that Harry Potter is one of my favorite novels. I found it very interesting. My father told me about it and I read it when I was 11 years old as a child. I found it so interesting because it acquires all genres of novels. It's thrilling, it's imagination and as fantasy genre it's really amazing. I found inspiration from it and it's very relative, relating for me because I was a child and the lead role of the of the novel Harry himself was a child. We were the same age, 11 years old and it's story is very inspiring for me because it tells tales about magic. I love magic at all and my imagination boosted when I listened and read the story.

    Band 6-7

    The novel or the book that has interested me most among fictions is The Alchemist and the author of Alchemist is Paolo Collo, who is one of the best-selling authors in his time. I read the book many years ago, like when I was in school and I remember having, traveling through the pages because I love reading and whenever I read, I just immerse into whatever the author is trying to tell the readers. Alchemist was a story, as far as I can remember, about a person named Santiago who is a shepherd and this boy is searching for treasure all around when he had the treasure right at the place where he was residing. And this is a metaphor which the author has used to tell the readers that you may search for treasures all around but the real treasure is the potential or the talents which is hidden right inside of you as a person and you need to excavate these things first, i.e. to get to know yourself first before traveling or just trying to figure out how to do life. Maybe you can figure out yourself first. So this is the basic thing the whole story revolves around. I love the Alchemist because the structure in which it is written, like it has a mysterious effect and it keeps the readers curious from the beginning till the end to know did Santiago actually find the gold or the treasure that he was searching for. And on the way there are also so many other twists in the plot and I really love mysteries and adventures so this has a combination of both of these, I think, so that makes it different.

    Band 6-7

    Okay, so I remember reading a book quite recently and it is a part of trilogy and I have completed two books of the trilogy and I am already on the third part, I have reached half way. Now the author of this book is an Indian writer called Akshat Gupta and the genre is sci-fi and mythology and I could say that this book is the perfect amalgamation of both these genres. Now this book has a range of plot twists and the story primarily revolves around, I could start over. Quite recently, reading a trilogy and I have completed two books so far and have reached half way to the third book, half way of the third book. So I am quite recently reading, I am recently reading a trilogy, not quite an avid reader but I do sometimes, I am not quite an avid reader but I love reading sometimes and recently I have been reading this trilogy where I have completed two books. I am not quite an avid reader but I read sometimes and recently I have been reading this trilogy where I have already completed two books and I am half way through my third book. So this trilogy is written by an Indian author called Akshat Gupta and the plot of this book, the genre of this book is, and mark my words, I am not quite an avid reader but I do read sometimes and recently I have been reading a trilogy and I have completed two books and I am half way through my third book. The author of this book is an Indian author named Akshat Gupta and the genre for this book is science fiction and mythology. Now this book is the perfect amalgamation of both these genres and it has a lot of plot twists. The story primarily revolves around a man who is immortal and some scientists have found him and are interrogating him and he has been interrogated about how he became immortal, what is his purpose in life and many things. Now this story, as I said, has a lot of plot twists. This man was said to be living from almost more than 1000 or 2000 years and has been recently discovered and he says that he is here to protect something and later on in the story, other immortals come in to rescue him from the place he is being interrogated and there is an ultimate motive of a villain who is trying to stop this immortal man and the other immortals along with him from saving the world.

    Band 6-7

    I would like to talk about a novel which is written by the Canadian author Jan Martel which goes by the title of The Life of Pi. I first came across this novel when a movie having the same title suggested to me by my friend which later I realized was an adaptation of the novel by Jan Martel. So I felt curious by the synopsis which was given to me by my friend when he was talking about the movie which really made me so fascinated with the main theme, the story the novel was talking about. So I somehow gained access to the digital version of the novel by subscribing to the platform the Amazon Kindle platform and I sat down to read the book. As I got started I got to realize that it is something that I had never come across before since it mentions about a boy named Pi Patel who was of an Indian origin who gets stranded in the Indian Ocean on a ship. He later survives a shipwreck and somehow lands on a boat however the problem that he endures there is quite worse than the shipwreck that he had already survived. He found himself with a lion named Richard Parker on that lifeboat which makes him so worried about the very fact of a tiger being by his side. However it turns out to be that he and the tiger develop a very good friend.

    Band 6-7

    So, I recently read a novel which is a courtroom drama and the name of the novel is Khamosh Adalat Jariye and it is written by Vijay Tendulkar in 1970 and while I was reading that novel it was quite intriguing to me. It's a story of a lady who is not married yet but is having a child and she was indulged in some courtroom drama and eventually leads to the case of the fetus death inside the mother womb and at the end it leads to the conclusion that the judge orders the court to kill the baby inside the womb of the woman rather than killing the woman herself.
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