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Describe a time when someone apologized to you: IELTS Speaking Cue Card

You should say

  • When it was
  • Who this person is
  • Why he/she apologized to you
  • And how you felt about it
Show all 43 answers

Cue 1:When it was

  • Mention the specific time or occasion when the apology took place.
  • Provide context about what was happening in your life at that moment.

Example

It was about six months ago, during the festive season of Diwali. I was busy preparing for the celebrations and was quite stressed with all the arrangements.


Cue 2:Who this person is

  • Introduce the person who apologized and explain your relationship with them.
  • Share a little background about this person to give context.

Example

The person who apologized was my younger brother, Rohan. We have a close relationship, and he often looks up to me for guidance, especially during important family events.


Cue 3:Why he/she apologized to you

  • Clearly state the reason for the apology and what led to it.
  • Explain how the situation affected you and why the apology was necessary.

Example

Rohan apologized because he had forgotten to buy the sweets I had asked him to get for our Diwali celebration. This was important to me as it was a tradition in our family, and I felt disappointed when I realized he hadn’t done it.


Cue 4:And how you felt about it

  • Describe your feelings when he apologized and how it impacted your relationship.
  • Reflect on whether you accepted the apology and how it made you feel afterward.

Example

When Rohan apologized, I felt a mix of frustration and understanding. I knew he didn’t mean to let me down, and his sincere apology made me feel appreciated. I accepted his apology, and it actually brought us closer as we laughed about it later while preparing for the festivities together.


Conclusion

    Example

    In conclusion, receiving an apology from my brother not only resolved the tension but also strengthened our bond. It reminded me of the importance of communication and understanding in relationships, especially during busy times like festivals.


    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 Responses

    Giving vague or unclear answers can make it difficult for the examiner to understand your experience. Specific details help create a clearer picture of the situation.

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    Tip

    Include specific details about the time, the person, and the reason for the apology to make your response more engaging.


    2: Neglecting Emotions

    Failing to express your feelings about the apology can make your answer less impactful. Emotions add depth to your story and show your personal connection to the experience.

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    Tip

    Describe how you felt at the moment of the apology and how it affected your relationship with the person.


    Overly Long Responses

    Providing overly long or complicated answers can confuse the listener and dilute your main points. Clarity and conciseness are key in speaking tests.

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    Tip

    Practice summarizing your story in a clear structure: when it happened, who was involved, why they apologized, and your feelings.


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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
    anonymous person icon

    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 5-6

    So, there is this thing, my boyfriend, he is trying to apologize me for the mistakes he is doing recently, so I need him to understand the way he do things and the way he apologize. So, if he apologizing me for the same mistake he is doing repeatedly, which make me feel so angry and make me feel so agitated, because he is doing the same mistakes again and again and always he says he is sorry for the mistakes, but again he keeps on doing the same mistake as always he do and later that he come to me and he try to apologize for the same mistakes, which doesn't have any meaning to it, so it make me feel more hurt for the things.

    Band 5-6

    So I am this time. I'm not a businessman because I am a very in loss on our business So I am doing a job for this time and I am get chance for any of foreign job recording to the our skill build up and many more money and other things like just like for He's a big opportunity like for I will appreciating the chance and I am very mistake during of my During of business time. So I am learn these things like for This is the very not best way because it was a very sophisticated and It is the developing for my mind and I am also very Very hesitate with like for any of other issues This is the main reason. Otherwise, I am a very obliged to the healing areas just like for some things Totally depend on the future according to

    Band 5-6

    yeah it happened a six months ago on the month of March the friend is that my friend Sarah who is a mutual friend for my birthday girl and I was planning a surprise birthday party too for a mutual friend spends for organizing everything spends for a week or a month and Sarah accidentally revealed the surprise few days before the event and totally my initial reaction was incredibly upset and reacted strongly among her and felt that my hard work was ruined and I want to rework on that how the birthday girl will surprise surprise for my reactions and the Sarah came to me and she apologized that Sarah came on that the same evening and she looked some distraught and disturbed and offered a heartfelt and a sincere apology to me and explained me like that it was an unintentional accident due to an excitement and I was over excited and she said that I don't repeat it again and did not make any excuses but acknowledged my feelings and there was a resolution for that and because that sincerity is evident and she offered to help and replan the slavage of the surprise and that was that I realized that we can plan it later and we planned it and we had a great surprise to the birthday girl and she was surprised and more than her friendship was not ruined and we are both are happily
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