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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 80 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
    anonymous person icon

    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

    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

    Today, I am going to tell a storybook or you can say a novel which I like to read or seems to be interested that is Bhagavad Gita Mahapurana. So how did I get attracted with this book? So one day, a podcast was going on where Ranveer Singh and Amitabh Bachchan, these both personalities are very high personalities. So they were having conversation with each other. So Amitabh Bachchan told in his podcast, during the podcast, he told that how Lord Shri Krishna has given the rule of karma. Lord Krishna stated that every karma has its reaction. So he told in the brief that it means that whatever you do, like whether you are moving a hand or whether you are going here and there or whether you are helping any person, it has some reaction as well. So that point catches my eyes. So I found it very interesting. So I bought it on Amazon and started to read it. So I liked it. So after reading it, I found it very interesting because in this book, a various lot of facts has been written like how to control any situation in a very calm way. There is a verse in the Bhagavad Gita, but I do not know now exactly what was the number of the verse. But I roughly tell you that how it told me that how to control any unforgettable situation in a very calm way. So I found it very interesting and I also recommend other people as well to read it. Thank you.

    Band 6-7

    The novel which I have found very fascinating was The Dark Matter. I don't really remember the name of the author. I have read this book 6 months back and I found this very interesting and engaging because of its genre. The genre of this novel is thriller and it is based on time travel and various realities. Because of that it was very thought provoking. I was thinking what will happen if this is reality. For instance, if there are multiple realities, how would our life will be. Moreover, this book was very exciting and it helped me to think in a different manner. Also, I like to buy books from bookstores because when I physically go into the bookstore and buy the books, it will feel very different and I definitely like that feeling. When I stand in the bookstore, I will feel very happy and energetic.

    Band 6-7

    The book's name was Two States and the story was Falling in Love. I came to know about this book by one of my friends who suggested it to me last year when she was going through a tough time. I read the book few months back, I felt it was really interesting because it described the hurdles and the difficult times two people face when they are in love. Love stories are different, the endings are not always happy. There may be so many hurdles, so many difficulties but at last you have to reach a point where you know you both are meant to be together. Some love stories may have a good ending, some love stories may not. This book luckily had a good ending that's why I was keen to read it. I knew the ending well before but still I read it because the climax and the mystery was very nice in this book. Some of the other problems they were facing and it was very nice to know how they faced each problem with a brave heart. Even though their families were against this love marriage and whatever they were doing still they found out a solution to it. They were trying to convince them so hard, each day each problem used to come in front of them. Still they used to be with each other, try to hold each other's hand and never leave each other's hand. Also they were trying to be very much stubborn with their decision that they want to marry each other. Whatever may happen they will marry each other. Also I found the story very interesting because love is about compromise and sacrifices. That is what the book tells us. Sometimes one person has to compromise, sometimes the other person has to do. It's always 70-30 or 80-20. It's never 50-50. Love is always one person doing more than the other and that's what we need to learn how to be compatible with each other and live a happy life rather than fighting.

    Band 6-7

    So, I would like to describe a story which I saw in the movie because I don't read many books or novels so I hardly know any stories and there are no stories which really caught my attention or that I liked a lot. However, this movie that I saw recently on Netflix is titled Shakahari. So the story of the movie goes something like, it starts with a hotel run by one certain person and he ends up murdering a lot of people and the entire murder plot is based on his brother's wife and friend and eventually it ends up in such a way that the truth dies with everyone who dies in the story. So the police who are investigating the murder are left with no clues and are completely astonished in the end. To be honest, I did not really like the ending of the movie. It could have been better but overall, I was at the edge of my seat throughout the movie because it was really intriguing and in general, I love such movies which have suspense and thrillers and this was one of the top movies on my wishlist which I would love to repeat. And another important thing that I would like to mention is that the actor of the movie is one of my favourites of all time. His name is Yash and he has been starring for around 10 years. In the recent years, he has made more movies and I like all of his movies. The stories of each of his movies always catch me and it always gets to the core of my heart all the time.

    Band 6-7

    So when I was in elementary school and I was studying in the first or second class, my younger brother, he had a lot of books with him, he always used to read books in his room, so one day I just went into his room and I took a glimpse at all the books he had read, there was this book called Harry Potter, so I found it very interesting, the name of the book, so I just started reading it, after reading it, I get to know it's a wonderful story and I was very amused by it, so after that I borrowed all the volumes of the Harry Potter book story and I read it all and after that I can clearly say that it's the best story I've ever read in my life, because it's a fantasy story, magical fantasy story, so it was very amusing to me at that age, I find it very interesting, I have a keen interest in these magical stuff, so it was very amazing to me and I read all the books and even that I even watched the live-action movies of all the seven books, so it was fabulous, there is this character in that movie called Harry Potter, on his name the book is named, he has magical powers when he was born and his mission is to kill the dark Lord, his name is Voldemort, so it was a great story.

    Band 6-7

    An interesting novel that I've read is The Invisible Life of Eddie Leroux. The author of the book is V. E. Swap. I came across the book on Amazon while I was searching for bestseller novels and I read it about a year ago. And it was one of the most interesting novels I've read. It's about a girl who tries to escape from her forced marriage by making a deal with the devil. She basically asks the devil to extend her the duration of her life because she was unhappy and she wanted to live a longer and happier life and she believes that if she had a longer life she would find happiness. So eventually she realizes the faults in that deal and she has to suffer the consequences. It's a very interesting book. We get to see the main character Adeline survive three centuries of her life. Survive three centuries.

    Band 6-7

    Well, reading is the one of the greatest way to gain the knowledge. In my life I have read a lot of stories and noble books. Today I would like to talk about a story that seems quite interesting to me, which is none other than the Hare and the Tortoise. I have read this story during my 10th grade because it was included in our English test book. Our teacher has taught us this story in a dramatic and engaging way. Apart from this, my grandmother also told me this story during the bedtime tale that made it quite memorable. In this story, the purpose of the story was a race between the Hare and Tortoise where the Hare is fast and the Tortoise was naturally slow. So, the Hare became overconfident and decided to take a nap between the race. But the Tortoise continues walking slowly and wins the race in the last. So, it provides a powerful message that hard work and patience are always helpful in achieving the success. All in all, it was a fascinating story.

    Band 6-7

    So, I am a big time reader. I am an avid reader. I read a lot. I love books. So, I have read a lot of books in my life and one particular book that have really shaped and that have influenced me a lot is the book written by Linda LaPlante and the book name is Cold Shoulders. I have read it almost two years ago but I read it every two or three months because I just love the book. It's so interesting. It's so thrilling that you will go from one page to another with ease. So, it's a big book and it is written and it is about a dictative. It's a female-led character in the story. So, it's about a dictative lady who has her life went up and upside down, who lost her father, who lost her husband, who lost her children and she is kind of alone in life and she was very good at being a policeman and for being a dictative particularly but due to the tragedy that happened in her life, all her ambitions and all her fire which made her the first.

    Band 6-7

    When I was in 10th grade, I had a story to study in my Malayalam textbook by Bashir, who was the author of the novel which I am going to say about. So I got to know him through my textbook. Then I actually went in deep and gathered lot of his books and started reading it. There was one book called Madilugal, which he is expressing about the love or compassion between two people who was arrested and was in jail. And this story narrates beautifully in a way that we will be hooked in it. I literally read that book within one day because it was quite amazing. This story talks about a man called Veera and a female who was the leading role of a person called Malathi. They were stuck in the jail and in between the walls of it, it was a women's jail and beside that wall it was men's. And they were talking through the walls and was writing beautiful love letters and trying to exchange them. But they are getting caught and eventually the Veera was hanged and it conveys a lot of emotions and the layers of it is very difficult to digest also. It's very thought provoking in a way.

    Band 6-7

    I would like to talk about a story that I found very interesting, the story is based on MS Dhoni also known as Mahendra Singh Dhoni, it is an autobiography of MS Dhoni which I know through MS Dhoni's social media handle, the story is all about his hard working, dedication and passion, in this story I read how MS Dhoni started his career as a football player but later his coach suggested him to change his career in cricket, and where is the point then MS Dhoni starting his career in cricket, MS Dhoni is one of the most famous cricketer in India as well as in the world, he is playing a lot of cricket all over the world, in his story he tells about how he found his true love through cricket, he is well respected man in India, the story I like him about is that how he wins so many awards and making so many records in England as well as in Australia, on the other hand he also likes to go for bicycling and running a car.
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