arrow back icon Top Answers

Describe a time when you had a problem with using the computer: IELTS Speaking Cue Card

You should say

  • When did it happen?
  • Where did it happen?
  • What was the problem?
  • How did you solve the problem in the end?
Show all 118 answers

Cue 1:When did it happen?

  • Mention a specific time frame, such as a particular day or month, to give context to your experience.
  • Explain any relevant circumstances that led to the problem occurring at that time.

Example

It happened about three months ago, during the peak of my final exams. I was preparing for my computer science paper, and I had planned to complete my project that evening.

Cue 2:Where did it happen?

  • Describe the location where you were using the computer, such as your home, a library, or a friend's place.
  • Include details about the environment that might have contributed to the situation.

Example

I was at home, sitting at my study desk in my room. It was a quiet evening, and I had all my study materials spread out around me, creating a focused atmosphere.

Cue 3:What was the problem?

  • Clearly state the issue you faced with the computer, such as a software crash or hardware failure.
  • Explain how this problem affected your ability to complete your tasks.

Example

Suddenly, my computer froze while I was running a crucial software program for my project. I panicked because I hadn’t saved my work in a while, and I was worried about losing everything.

Cue 4:How did you solve the problem in the end?

  • Discuss the steps you took to resolve the issue, including any troubleshooting methods or help you sought.
  • Mention the outcome and what you learned from the experience.

Example

I took a deep breath and decided to restart my computer. Thankfully, when it rebooted, I found that the auto-recovery feature had saved my work. I also learned the importance of saving my work frequently and started using cloud storage for future projects.

Conclusion

    Example

    This experience taught me valuable lessons about technology and the importance of being prepared for unexpected issues. Now, I always make sure to back up my work regularly, which has made my study sessions much less stressful.

    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 Descriptions

    Using vague language can make your response unclear. Avoid general statements that do not provide specific details about the problem or the situation.

    bulb icon

    Tip

    Be specific about the time, place, and nature of the problem. Use clear examples to illustrate your experience.

    2: Ignoring the Cues

    Not addressing all the cues can lead to an incomplete answer. Each cue is designed to help structure your response effectively.

    bulb icon

    Tip

    Make sure to answer all the cues in order. This will help you stay organized and cover all important aspects of your experience.

    Lack of Problem-Solving Detail

    Failing to explain how you solved the problem can make your response less engaging. It's important to show your thought process and actions.

    bulb icon

    Tip

    Describe the steps you took to resolve the issue. Highlight any challenges you faced and how you overcame them to add depth to your answer.

    calendar icon

    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

    location icon

    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
    anonymous person icon

    Reported by

    Anonymous student Band 8

    location icon

    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

    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

    So the first time when I got the chance to use computer is when I was in school at the second standard, the subject was introduced newly to our school with the development. They used to charge 70 rupees per month to all of the students who are willing to learn computer in the school. It was very challenging and difficult for us to learn our new thing back then, but with the support of my teacher, all of us students, we got familiar to the device and slowly we learned how to use it. Still we are learning only because there are so many updates like AI etc which is being continuously introduced in the system. Also the internet which is being used in the device is very helpful. I am a working professional right now and when I see the life without computer, it is not even possible nowadays. I use various software of Microsoft like Excel, MS Word, Paint. All these softwares are very helpful for me in my work. Also I love to do browsing, play games and other stuffs which are done in the computer.

    Band 6-7

    I got my laptop a couple of years back, and as recently as last month, its battery started swelling up. It happened when I was in the college, so I got home as quickly as possible. Once I reached home, I used a couple of screwdrivers to get rid of all the screws. I took out the bottom plate of the laptop and unplugged the battery. Once the battery was unplugged, I disposed it off safely, ordered a new battery, got it the same day, and then as soon as I was plugging it in, I realized that the connector it was supposed to go into was not really working. So I started researching on what could be the issue. As soon as I figured the issue out, I fixed it, plugged in the battery, and started the laptop, but I soon realized that the laptop was not turning on. So I went into the details of what could the issue be, then started figuring it out. Once I realized that the RAM was mistakenly unplugged while removing the battery, which was swollen, I decided to remove the RAM, clean it up, and re-plug it. While doing so, I checked out the fans of the system, which were also clogged with dust. So I decided to remove the dust as well. Once I was done with it, I started screwing everything back up. I checked every component if it was properly in place or not. I screwed the backplate back on the laptop, and plugged it in the wall. As soon as the power was on, the laptop turned on instantly.

    Band 6-7

    When I was in 6th grade, my dad bought me a laptop. I was so happy that now I will be able to play games and show it to my friends and make some cool projects and so on. But one time when I was using my computer, it just suddenly crashed down. I was just staring at the blue screen and whatever method I tried to do, it just won't turn on. So, I called my dad and he took a look at the laptop and he was also not able to solve the problem or he didn't know what was the problem. So, we took the laptop to the repair center and they told us that it was a power failure. Which means that the power from the battery was not being supplied or there was some connection error in the motherboard. So, the motherboard was not turning on.

    Band 6-7

    I am an accountant by profession. I have to work on a computer on a daily basis. So, in my computer, I use Tally software for my accounting work. Last month, while I was trying to work on the software, I faced an issue with my computer wherein the computer was getting switched off on its own and was getting restarted again and again. After a while, I checked on it and I came to a conclusion that there was some problem with the software. I was not able to solve the issue. So, I asked my fellow colleague to help me with the problem. He guided me on how I could solve the issue. After solving the computer issue, I found out that the Tally software needed an upgrade. I told my officials that it is required, it is pending and then it was done. Along with that, I even found out that there was an issue with the antivirus software, that is, QuickHeal software. In that QuickHeal, I saw that the purchase had expired and there was a need to renew the software again. After seeing all the problems together, I went to my boss and I asked him to give me the permission to solve all these issues and he allowed me with the same. I solved all the problems and

    Band 6-7

    So there was a time during a college project when I faced a problem while trying to install a software tool for my computer. It was a data visualization tool required for my presentation, but no matter how many times I tried, the installation kept failing. I double-clicked the software system requirements and realized OS version was incompatible with the latest version of the software. Instead of panicking, I repurposed older versions of the tool for one of the masks in my system and then managed to get it worked after some trials and errors. I even learned how to read some configuration files in the process. It was very frustrating at the start, but later it did taught me a lot of patience and troubleshooting skills and its importance of keeping my system up to date. Yeah, that was a pretty hilarious thing. But yeah, later our project was successful and we were rewarded as the best project of the year, you see.

    Band 6-7

    I am a college student, and I am doing lots of assignments on my laptop, mobile and computer. I have mobile, laptop and computer, but I am very convinced with a computer over the laptop because it's very convincing to sit down and I can open every file and document in the computer. According to me, when I was in first year, I was using the MS Word and I was writing something in MS Word and my assignment, so I find some difficulty like some error, network issue, typing issue and text management. So, first of all, I was trying to solve, but one hour ago, two hour ago, but I can't solve. So, I called the technician and the technician came. They set up the computer program and gave me, then I solved the problem. Now, right now, I couldn't find any problem in my computer. So, it was a bad experience for that time.

    Band 6-7

    Well, a year ago I was using my computer and suddenly my Excel crashed. So, I tried to restart my computer and then what I find is that I cannot start the Excel. I cannot work or use any document to edit. So, apparently the Excel switched my product key and it was not letting me use it. So, it was asking a product key which I had already. I did put the product key when I initially purchased the laptop and now it is showing that I can't use it. So, I was working on some project at home and I tried emailing to the support personnel on Microsoft that my Excel has crashed and it is asking the product key which I already had. And whenever I put the product key, it says that it is not usable, it is not a valid key. But then after quite a while, like one month or two, I restarted the Excel, I put the same product key and then I updated the Windows that we get the Windows update every maybe month or so. And I tried to update it and then it cleared. Somehow I expired the Excel and I thought I wouldn't be able to use it but I just thought to try once more. And then I got it. So, that was a strange experience from Excel. I don't know how and why it happened but it happened and it sorted. So, that's a good thing that I can use it now.

    Band 6-7

    So, a time when I had a problem with using the computer. So, I'll be honest with you, I never had a problem with using computers because I have always been very good with electronic devices, tech, computers, mobile phones, everything all of that. Even my parents, my siblings, everyone used to take help from such stuff. But there was one such time I found a trouble with computer, not exactly computer but a specific tool in the computer. It's like a different operating system which is like very unfamiliar to me. So, I find it to be very difficult to navigate through and I had to take a special help from online. Moreover, this was the only operating system that was considered the hardest system in the whole world. So, it took me quite some time to get around it but I finally understood how to actually operate this operating system. It basically operates on user commands. This is unlike any other operating systems like Windows, Mac or anything like that which operates on user inputs. But this basically operates on commands given by the end user. And it took me quite a time but however I got my head around it, I understood how to use this operating system and finally I made a lot of projects using this operating system. But if I had to teach this specific operating system to someone else, then I would actually recommend learning this operating system using a lot of other tools. There are a lot of other tools which rely on this specific system. So, yeah.

    Band 6-7

    In recent days, like one month, I was working on one project in my laptop at night. But my laptop got suddenly some problem issues with software. So I have been feeling very stressed about that. Because my project was incomplete and the laptop suddenly stopped working. So the next day I went to the service center to get it repaired. But the service center officials told me that they need 10 to 15 days to get it repaired. That time I was very stuck in the process because I had to submit my work also that time. It's very hard to face things like that.

    Band 6-7

    When I was in my office last Friday, there was some network issue in the beginning. I tried to fix it by myself, but it was not a total success. So my team leader suggested me to go to the IT team. However, I was not much familiar with the IT team members. So in the beginning, I was a little hesitated to go and find out the IT team. However, my TL suggested he will come with me and we both went to the IT team. So they told it is some bug, I mean some IT issue, some IT issue like that. So we waited there for a whole day. Actually, he waited with me for an hour. Later he told he has some work and he left there. I was waiting with my computer in the IT room. Nearly after few minutes, a few people came and they checked my laptop and they told this is the issue and it takes time to resolve. So I was like, okay, should I wait in the IT room or I should wait? Can I go? They told I can move out and when they call me, I can come back. So I went out and it was a great day. Why? Because I had no work in the office. I literally went to the coffee shop nearby and had an iced tea. I even took one of my friends, even though she was having the work, she joined me and we both enjoyed, we both had a great time together. We were saying so many stories, my family stories, her family stories and we had a great time together. And later, maybe after, after
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
    ielts logo

    Get the IELTS Prep App

    Star rating icon

    4.2

    1M+ Installs

     app download banner image

    Get the app link on your phone

    +91

    Or download app from

    google play storeapp store
    master ielts speaking ad