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Describe a time when you lost your pet.: IELTS Speaking Cue Card

You should say

  • What animal was it?
  • What happened to it & when?
  • How did you feel about it?
Show all 41 answers

Cue 1:What animal was it?

  • Begin by clearly identifying the type of pet you lost, including its name and breed.
  • Share a brief description of your pet's personality or any special traits that made it unique.

Example

I had a lovely golden retriever named Max. He was not just a pet but a part of my family. Max was playful, friendly, and always eager to please, which made him a joy to be around.

Cue 2:What happened to it & when?

  • Describe the circumstances surrounding the loss of your pet, including specific details about the event.
  • Mention when this incident occurred and any actions you took to find your pet.

Example

One evening, about six months ago, I took Max for his usual walk in the park. He was chasing a squirrel when he suddenly ran off. I called out to him, but he didn’t return. I searched the park for hours, calling his name, but he was nowhere to be found.

Cue 3:How did you feel about it?

  • Express your emotions during and after the incident, highlighting the impact of losing your pet.
  • Reflect on how this experience affected you personally and emotionally.

Example

I felt an overwhelming sense of panic and sadness when I realized Max was missing. It was heartbreaking to think that he might be lost or scared. I spent the next few days feeling anxious and worried, constantly hoping to hear news about him.

Conclusion

  • Summarize your experience and the lessons learned from losing your pet.
  • Mention any steps you took afterward to cope with the loss or to prevent it from happening again.

Example

Losing Max taught me the importance of being more vigilant during walks. I also learned to cherish every moment with pets, as they bring so much joy into our lives. Although I never found him, I still remember him fondly and keep his memory alive.

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. It's important to provide specific details about your pet and the situation to create a clearer picture for the examiner.

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Tip

Include specific details about the type of pet, its name, and the exact circumstances of its loss to make your story more vivid.

2: Don't Rush Your Story

Rushing through your answer can lead to missing important details. This may make your response sound unstructured and less impactful.

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Tip

Take your time to organize your thoughts. Start with what happened, then explain your feelings, and finish with any lessons learned.

Avoid Overly Emotional Responses

While it's natural to feel emotional about losing a pet, overly dramatic responses can distract from the main points of your answer.

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Tip

Express your feelings in a balanced way. Share your emotions but also focus on the facts and what you learned from the experience.

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Talk about a toy you liked in your childhood
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Anonymous student Band 8

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Anonymous student Band 6.5

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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.
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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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All Answers

Here are all the answers by real-users practicing speaking for IELTS Cue Cards on our IELTS Prep App.

Band 6-7

wood so we had a great bond to share but you know over the years when he was getting going old day by day his health was deteriorating he had an issue with his head and also with his digestion and it was just so hard looking at him with each passing day you know getting closer to death yeah good morning to everyone so I would like to share a story with you all I had a pet once his name was Charlie he was a black Labrador when we got him it was only 40 days old when I got him and I was just 16 you know my life was always around him like now if I look back in those eight years the memories that I have is all I can cherish now he was a small puppy that we got I was just you know back home for my tuitions and it was really great to have him around you know just to play with him every day feed him every day take him to the walks every day it was just you know what was my life surrounded by but now after you know when he was drifting apart from us he with each day passing he was growing old you know looking at him growing old was a little I could say I was feeling very overwhelmed looking at the moment that time but yeah to be very honest it was disheartening too he was an old dog who was you know suffering from very much but you know as you say that dogs cannot speak they are you know the souls that can't speak but can express through their eyes so much every day I could see it in his eyes that you know he's failing day by day now when I don't have him around me it's just I don't feel good I feel that he was the reason that I was smiling every day he was everything

Band 6-7

I remember being young we had a pet cat named Manu. I used to love playing and enjoying my time with him. One day suddenly he got out of his house and didn't came back. Even though Manu was used to the whole neighborhood area he didn't came back to our house for three consecutive days. In search for him me and my sister went out for an entire day calling out his name but we couldn't find him. We were extremely worried because we didn't know the whereabouts of him and around the fourth day Manu came back on his own. Even though he was this tiny kitten he was strong and brave. After that we were relaxed enough to know nothing bad could ever happen to him. He proved that he is capable of managing everything on his own. Now he is seven years old and there were days where he doesn't come back for a week or two but I still don't get as worried because I know he would figure it out.

Band 6-7

I used to have a small pet tortoise which I had when I was 11 years old. We used to keep him in a common basin in our house. I loved the pet but sadly I lost it after one year and it was a tragic event. Because one day we left him in the water in the basin. But I don't know somehow the water got all soaked up and when we came back there were a lot of red ants who were eating him and I saw that and I was really traumatized for life. So we hold a burial ceremony for him and we had to let him go. But that was my first and last pet and I loved the small tortoise that I had. But it was a tragic loss so I don't think I would be able to keep a pet again but I loved my tortoise.

Band 6-7

Here I would like to describe a time when I lost my pet. When I was working in a hospital, that time I just had to stay in an apartment. So that time I didn't have anyone to accompany with me. So as a result I just ended up buying a dog to be a good companion. So every Sunday I just take my dog to the beach. So one day, last month, one Sunday I was going to the beach. I was about to go to the beach. So that time my dog looked at something, a stranger's thing, and it got so angry and as well as a bit agitated. So therefore it just running behind that stranger thing, which is nothing but a pig, like a black pig. So it was running furiously and fastly. So I couldn't able to manage the pace with my dog. Furthermore, it suddenly vanished. My dog vanished. Some vehicles came across between us. So I just unleashed the dog's leash. And after that I felt very detrimental and as well as saddened. After that I was crying a lot. And just I gave a complaint to the police station. So they also filed FIR. And after that I left to home.

Band 6-7

My pet name is Woody. He is a dog, Lhasa breed. He is one of my entire life where I feel the happiest when I see him. One day when I was going to take him for a walk, suddenly he saw a stranger and then he jumped on him and started running towards him wherever he was going. He looked like a thief. So I think maybe the reason why my dog went to know what is wrong with that person. So that day, Woody didn't appear to my house. I went searching for him. I waited in my home that he's going to come back, he's going to come back, but he didn't come back. And I felt very devastated. And I was crying, my parents were shouting at me and it was like the worst day I could ever have. Woody is someone who's very smart. I don't know all of a sudden, he went and jumped on that stranger and he kept on running till he met to an end point, maybe a stranger must be doing or something like that. But after two days, we found him. He came back to our home and we were searching for him. He came back with a very dirty fur and felt like he somehow managed to escape from the place he was there trapped with. Maybe the stranger with whom he was running with, he trapped him somewhere and I felt relaxed when he came back home.

Band 6

So, the one and only pet I ever had was a Persian cat. My father gifted it to me on my 10th birthday. It costed us around 20,000. The color of the cat was like reddish brown. So it was like I had it since like it was like really small. It was like four or five months old. So when it turned to like eight or 10 years old, which is the average lifespan of a cat, we started seeing a lot of diseases on her. So one time we take her to a veterinary doctor and he told me that your cat's life is up. He might die of any natural causes at any time. So one night when I woke up and I see that my cat was like really like died, died after. So like it just died. So I was really like first I was not able to anticipate it like how could it die because I was really small back then. But once it died, once the initial trauma was up, I just accepted it that yes, it died and it's never going to come back to me. So like it left a lifetime trauma of it. So now I'm really scared of owning a pet because I don't have to go through that again. So I want to own a pet. I want to adopt a pet right now. Maybe I will adopt a pet in near future. It might be a dog or it can be a cat. But right now I'm not, I'm really into that trauma. So right now I'm not ready for it. So yeah, that's the only pet I ever have and that's how the story unfolded.

Band 6

I'm very passionate about having a pet. Since my childhood we are having Rocky. He's a dog. He's just a normal breed. So we did pick it up from one of our trips when we went to Sahastrakund. It is a small fall near our place. So that was the day of Indian Republic Day. It's 26th January. So we celebrate his birthday on 26th January itself. So when I was in grade four I just took him out for walking where that's the time when he poops and he does lathering. So at that time another group of dogs came and Rocky did jump towards them. So I did loosen the grip and he went after that after running them. He went after them running. So that was very shocked for me. Accidentally I just loosened the grip and he just got away from me. And even though he knew all the area but I was terrified and I started crying. The passerby uncle told me to go home and tell this story to your parents. So I went home. I was very sorry. I felt guilty. But mom and dad were considerate. They didn't scold me. They were like it's okay it happens. He will come back. But that I felt very bad. I couldn't sleep that day. So next day he

Band 5-6

so I had a pet named Rocky it's breed was a Labrador Retriever so it was aged about four years I've bought it when I was studying my intermediate so when when we took it it was always coughing for a few weeks so we have we had to take it to the vet and the vet prescribed few medicines but still it couldn't recover from its infection so we took it again to the vet and he ordered few blitters and we had realized that it had a lung infection so it happened during my intermediate so it suffered from this infection for few years and I was very depressed listening to this I was very depressed after looking at the results I couldn't concentrate on my academics and it made me very helpless that I couldn't help this poor dog so I couldn't do anything that could bolster this situation so at the end I have decided that I need to give up on this dog and the last few days I have spent with dog the last few days I have spent was few days I spent I had a optimistic approach towards this dog such that the dog wouldn't feel anything

Band 5-6

My family is a dog lover and from the time I can remember, we always had pets. So during 2020, I believe, I'm not quite sure. So we had a pocket dog and his name was Lukey. So he was doing really well, but he was only 8 months old. He started not eating well and not feeding well properly.

Band 5

Ever since I was a child, I have always been surrounded by pets. My family was a very pet-friendly family and we've always had cows, cats, dogs, goats and everything. For me personally, I've always been connected with cats and I used to have a lot of cats when I was a child. I had one particular cat from when I was in 8th standard. Her name was Kattu.
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