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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.

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    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.

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    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.

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    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.

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    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 problem that I had using computer, computer was when I, during my first year of job, when I accidentally, not accidentally, but when I deliberately deleted conversations from my whatsapp conversation and later on found out that I hadn't saved it to my, saved it to the memory, I think, so because of that it created a lot of problems for me at the time because I couldn't provide evidence for a crisis that was going on in my organization and that crisis related to a social media meme that couldn't be traced back to its creator, but I was made the scapegoat for my part in it. My part being that I was only, I had shown the meme to one of my peers only once and not...

    Band 6-7

    Well, I'd like to mention the time that I had a problem with using a computer. So I had problem when I was in my school, I was a higher primary kid back then, when I did not know how to use a paint application in a computer, I was struggling with it. It was a very basic thing to do, but I was a very dumb student back then in computer. I didn't even know how to start it, as well as where to open it and everything, literally nothing. That is when I felt bad about me, lacking the knowledge that I should be knowing about. Then by the end, I was able to learn it by taking help of my friends. They helped me with from the basic, they taught me everything from the basic, which I hesitated to ask directly with my mom. So they tutored, so they helped me with that and I was able to learn things how it worked. And by then, after a few days, again, when we went back to my computer lab, I was able to do a bit extra than I was taught to that showed me the progress of my work. So now, now I am a computer applications graduate, which now I am able to do many other tasks. Like I built a website application in my graduate age.

    Band 6-7

    yeah so I had a problem recently I faced a problem of using my computer and I was trying to I was trying to work on Android projects so I started installing all the packages that were required for Android packages in the studio but my laptop's version was very means the processor was very weak so it doesn't support the Android studio so how did I fixed it basically what was not supporting is the virtual device that and that we use during developing an Android app in Android studio so it was not working it was very lagging so what I did I used my physical phone so it happened when I was at home I was at home when it happened so what I did is I I used my physical phone and I connected it through the adb connect I used adb connect to connect my phone physically to it and I installed all the app the prebuilt the app in my phone and the app in my phone and started using it in my phone only and so I never had to use the Android studio and I've never had to open the Android studio but I have to keep it for the development process because it was required for the flutter app development so this is how I tackled it and now I have been developing apps since very long time and it's very good seeing that I can develop apps using my phone only I can connect through USB or through directly through wireless connection through the Wi-Fi thank you

    Band 6-7

    In general, I am a tech-savvy person. I like to play with computers and innovations and AI as well. However, there is one time I remember when I was doing something in my laptop and by accident I pulled some kind of firewall up and I tried to do everything in that moment of time. I wasn't able to get it down. I was at that time I was at a shopping mall shopping for something with my family and I just got this text from my manager that this needs to be done today itself. But because of that firewall, I was not able to do anything. There was kind of a child lock which has appeared to be on the screen. I have tried for hours, I have watched the YouTube videos for reference, moreover I have asked my husband for help. He is also good with tech devices, but he was not able to figure it out as well. At the end, I gave up and blessingly we were in the mall and there was a service center right in front of us. So we just took our laptop, walked to the service center and the guy just toggled some keys for a minute and then he just gave us back the laptop. He just told us that you have pulled up a security system in your laptop which was scanning your entire laptop for any sort of viruses or any sort of harmful files and that's the reason it was not working properly. Then I asked him to just get rid of that firewall because I don't want this accident to happen again in my life because I am a very busy person and if it happens again, it will affect my work, it will affect my quality and moreover I will be devastated if it happens somewhere and I was not able to figure out what is wrong with it and how to fix it. That's one.

    Band 6-7

    Yes, I've had trouble dealing with computer in the initial days of my internship, where I was assigned a task to deal with Excel worksheets, which I'm clearly unaware of, the functions and the commands, which is a complete foreign topic to me. But then my task was to complete it within 24 hours. So, for the first one hour, there was a senior standing next to me just to analyse how good I am with my basics. But then he got to know in like 10 minutes that my basics are really bad. He asked me to go through YouTube and Google references and recommended me to learn the basics of the Excel worksheets. So, I did follow his feedback and I've learned the basics through YouTube and Google and started my worksheet preparation. Initially, it was hard. But then when I kept repeating the commands, I got hold of the commands and sooner it got very easier. And then I also updated my worksheet suitable for a professional company and submitted that to my senior. It had a great feedback and appreciation from my senior over my improvement from basics.

    Band 6-7

    Hey, so to begin with the tech part, I have never been a very newbie to the world of computers. I've always been a tech friendly girl and always find my way to do things around them. But when it comes to the Apple products, the MacBooks and the iMacs, they are a bit tricky. So I'll tell you about an experience I had a few months ago, I was in a client meeting as an architect, I had to present a few things to my client. And I was there with a senior of mine as well. And we were about to present but the client asked us to present on his computer. So that was a MacBook, as far as I remember. So since it was a MacBook, it had a new interface, I was very new to the interface. And it took me a while to get used to the things that were...

    Band 6-7

    It was during the initial phase when I had my computer, actually it was just like I was not aware of anything, it was all new to me, so I was just eager to learn, the curiosity of it to learn, that helped me a lot, I learnt how to use it, perform tasks on it, it helped me in some similar ways like completing my project work, finding all the leads on Google, Chrome, help, nowadays it helps us to connect with our people, there are very much new technologies and media added to it, that it takes a time for us to connect with ourselves.

    Band 6-7

    I am generally pretty comfortable in using computers but once when I was in my college doing my undergraduate under graduation that time there was a file on which I was working and the computer stopped working altogether there was some software issue and it was in the classroom probably there was as far as I can recall there was a test going on and I got really nervous because the system was not working at all and I have to finish my test at that time I called upon the investigator and I explained to him the entire scenario and that time he was very quick to respond he went on to search for some other system that probably can help me take the test properly and at that time when he found out that there was one system that was vacant he shifted me there and then I give the entire test like all over again fortunately I was able to finish it on time and that is how I managed the situation I believe that computers can sometimes be problematic if they are not working as you want them to work and in those scenarios I think the only way to handle it is to have some backup or to reach out to someone who is expert into managing the issues getting frustrated or just banging on the the mouse or the keyboard is not something that I believe can help

    Band 6-7

    With the advancements in the technological sector, the dependence of the humans on technology has gained a lot of importance. I also am very much dependent on my computer for all of my work, but here I would like to talk about an incident when I had a problem with using my computer. I was quite young when I was in my 10th grade and I was preparing to submit for an assignment. I did not know how to use the computer in a good way. So while using the computer, the computer's battery shut down. This was a problem which I faced and I was very worried about the computer which I was using. The computer screen had blacked out and I got panicked. But then I got reminded by my mother that my brother is an engineer. So I called him about my computer, what had happened to it. Then he suggested that you should press some keys so that the computer can get started. Although he suggested me the steps in a good way, but I was not able to restart the computer. After all of the hard work I did to start my computer, I was unable to work on it. Then he suggested me a shop for repairing where I could get it repaired. Then I went to the shop and told the shopkeeper about the problem. He solved the problem in just 10 minutes and I was ready to go with the computer.

    Band 6-7

    A problem that I had with my computer recently is when I spilled coffee on it. Due to this the computer overheated and malfunctioned. I couldn't use it for a few days as I had to send it to the repair shop. The repairman told me that they would require a couple of components which they had to source from a few countries. So it would take some time to fix the laptop which caused a huge inconvenience for me. This happened right around my exam time which I was extremely stressed about because I needed my laptop to watch videos and go through course material. Moreover, I needed my laptop to attend online classes and submit my essays before my exams. All this was a really stressful time in my life because either I needed to get my laptop prepared quickly or find an alternative. Luckily, my father had a spare laptop at home which he allowed me to use because he knew how important these exams were for me in my career. I'm extremely grateful and lucky that my dad was kind enough to let me use the laptop and I will be grateful for him to do this. This experience taught me that I need to learn how to be more careful and less clumsy while using expensive things such as my laptop. Next time, I will try and be more efficient. This was something that was an unforeseen circumstance and things like this do happen in life.
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