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Describe a time when you felt incredibly sad.: IELTS Speaking Cue Card

You should say

  • What made you feel sad?
  • When and why did this happen?
  • How did you tackle it?
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33 unique answers with expert feedback

Show all 33 answers

Cue 1:What made you feel sad?

  • Clearly identify the event or situation that caused your sadness.
  • Express your emotions honestly to convey the depth of your feelings.

Example

I felt incredibly sad when I lost my grandmother last year. She was not just my family but also my best friend, and her absence left a huge void in my life.


Cue 2:When and why did this happen?

  • Provide a specific time frame for when this event occurred.
  • Explain the circumstances surrounding the event to give context.

Example

This happened in the summer of 2022, just a few months after I graduated from college. I had always looked forward to celebrating my achievements with her, and her passing felt especially painful because I couldn’t share those moments with her.


Cue 3:How did you tackle it?

  • Discuss the coping mechanisms you used to deal with your sadness.
  • Mention any support systems, such as friends or family, that helped you through this time.

Example

To cope with my sadness, I started journaling my feelings and talking to my friends about my memories of her. I also participated in a local support group, which helped me connect with others who were experiencing similar losses.


Conclusion

  • Summarize the impact of this experience on your life.
  • Reflect on any lessons learned or changes in perspective.

Example

In conclusion, losing my grandmother taught me the importance of cherishing loved ones and expressing my emotions. Although I still miss her dearly, I’ve learned to celebrate her life and the memories we shared.


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: Being Vague or General

Avoid giving vague answers that lack detail. This can make your response less engaging and informative, which may lead to a lower score.

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Tip

Provide specific examples and details about the event that made you sad. Use descriptive language to paint a clear picture.


2: Neglecting Emotional Impact

Don't overlook the emotional aspects of your experience. Failing to express how you felt can make your answer less relatable and impactful.

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Tip

Share your feelings openly. Explain how the situation affected you emotionally and why it was significant.


Rushing Through the Response

Avoid speaking too quickly or skipping important points. This can lead to a disorganized answer and may confuse the listener.

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Tip

Take your time to structure your response. Use the cues to guide your answer and ensure you cover all aspects clearly.


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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 5-6

Personally, I feel sad when mom and dad get angry on me. There was one incident I remember when I was in 10th standard. I came back from the school and my school teacher called my mom and dad. He did some kind of naughty mess in his class. Then my mom and dad started fighting with me. They were continuously speaking, saying, yeah you do this, you do that. These kind of things are not going to be tolerated in our home. Your sister is very good at studies, but you are not. But actually at that time, I did not do anything. But the teacher somehow suggested my name. When all class went to that point, Mahesh must have done everything. So at that time, it was not my fault and still I got to be guilty. It's the most disgusting thing that happened with me. Moreover, I feel sad. After that, no one looked at me. Everyone was judging me. Yeah, he is a bad student. He does this kind of work every day. But he got caught yesterday. I think that happened. But after 9-10 days, someone did that naughty thing and he got caught. Then everyone got to know. Mahesh was not the person who did this. At that time, everyone was saying sorry Mahesh. We don't judge you like this. But they actually did. So that's a very bad thing that happened with me. So I'm sad.

Band 5-6

The most, the incredibly sad incident was when I was in 10th standard, my family was visiting Tirumala, which is a sacred temple in India, where it has a historical history which make our wishes come true. So, when I was in 10th standard, my brother and me are studying in that school. So, the Tirumala is on the way, the Tirumala will cross the road through my school. So, my family members came to pick us, but the car was already full and only one member can go, but my brother should conformly go as he is the niece of my uncle's daughter. So, my brother wants to go. So, I am not able to go because the car was full. At that time, I felt very sad and also furious because I am not allowed to come with them. So, I felt incredibly sad at that time. Later on, I conserved myself and my mom called me and told few things to comfort me and to pick me out of that situation and that from sad situation. Later on, I conserved myself and got distracted from that and I studied as a distraction from that incident.

Band 5-6

In recent time, which made me feel so sad is when my friend passed away. He passed away in 2020 due to, because of accident. He lost because of accident and he and another, one of his best friend both are lost at one day at the same time. And I felt very sad. I didn't, I cried for one month. I literally, I cried for one month and I literally didn't do, I didn't concentrate on anything because he is my best friend. He is my, one of my best friend who always remains close to my heart. When he, when he passed away, I even, I didn't even, I didn't even think the situation would come to me. And this is the first time which, who passed away from one of my close friends. I wouldn't take it till I can't handle from now also. I still, if I would, if I would talk about that, I didn't, I, from, even for now, I feel very sad for his loss. And, and went to her parents. He, he has only, he is single, single child to her, to her parents, to her parents. And the both parents, both mother and father cried a lot. And recently we know, we came to know one more information, that is his father's death.
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