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Describe A Time When You Missed An Appointment: IELTS Speaking Cue Card

You should say

  • When and where it happened?
  • What the appointment was for?
  • What happened when you missed it?
  • How did you feel about it?
Show all 29 answers

Cue 1:When and where it happened?

  • Begin by specifying the date and location of the missed appointment.
  • Provide context about why you were there at that time.

Example

It was a sunny afternoon in July, and I was at my college campus for a study group session. I had an appointment with my academic advisor scheduled for 3 PM in her office.

Cue 2:What the appointment was for?

  • Clearly state the purpose of the appointment.
  • Mention why this appointment was important to you.

Example

The appointment was to discuss my course selection for the upcoming semester. It was crucial for me because I wanted to ensure I was on track to graduate on time and to get advice on which electives would benefit my career.

Cue 3:What happened when you missed it?

  • Describe the events that led to you missing the appointment.
  • Explain any consequences or follow-up actions you had to take.

Example

Unfortunately, I lost track of time while studying with my friends and completely forgot about the appointment. When I realized it was already 3:30 PM, I rushed to her office, but she had already left for the day. I felt terrible and had to email her to reschedule.

Cue 4:How did you feel about it?

  • Share your emotions regarding missing the appointment.
  • Reflect on what you learned from this experience.

Example

I felt really disappointed and anxious because I knew how important this meeting was for my academic planning. It taught me to manage my time better and set reminders for important commitments.

Conclusion

    Example

    In conclusion, missing that appointment was a wake-up call for me. It highlighted the importance of time management and being mindful of my commitments. Since then, I have made it a point to keep a planner and set reminders for all my important appointments.

    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: Lack of Specific Details

    Avoid vague answers that lack specific details about the appointment. This can make your response less engaging and informative.

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    Tip

    Include specific information such as the date, location, and purpose of the appointment to create a clearer picture.

    2: Not Explaining the Consequences

    Failing to explain what happened when you missed the appointment can leave your answer incomplete and unconvincing.

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    Tip

    Discuss the impact of missing the appointment, such as any missed opportunities or how it affected others.

    Ignoring Personal Feelings

    Neglecting to express your feelings about missing the appointment can make your response less personal and relatable.

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    Tip

    Share your emotions, such as disappointment or frustration, to connect better with the listener and add depth to your answer.

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    IELTS Cue Cards asked last week

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    Describe your favourite food at a traditional festival or a special event in your country
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    Anonymous student Band 7.5

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    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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    Anonymous student Band 8

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    Sector 34 Test Centre, Chandigarh

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    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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    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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    Anonymous student Band 7.5

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    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 7

    Approximately two years back, I was called from a big multinational firm named Accenture for an appointment for my interview as a German translator. It was a brilliant opportunity for me to get into the corporate sector and expand my horizons. I was extremely excited but at the same time nervous for this interview. My family was also extremely happy that I have got this opportunity. At night, I slept with my alarm clock on with the alarm at 8 am in the morning as my interview was scheduled at 10 am in Gurgaon sector 67 and I needed at least two hours to commute on metro. Unfortunately, I forgot that my alarm clock was not functioning and alarm didn't ring in the morning. When I woke up, it was already 10 am and I was extremely shattered to know that I have missed my appointment. I couldn't control sobbing and my family was also in tears. So I tried to contact the human resource department of the company so that I can get another appointment scheduled but luck was not in my favour at all. They said it was a walk-in interview only scheduled on that particular day and there are no further dates available and they cannot hire me if I am not punctual. This was the biggest lesson for me in my life to realise that how important it is to be disciplined and punctual if you want to get into a good workplace or office. Furthermore, I could not help myself and even my family was broken after this incident but I am trying to get back to the normal life.

    Band 6-7

    Two years ago, it was my cousin sister's marriage, and before one day of the marriage, I have to work for late night in my research lab in the college because I had some work to complete and give reports to my professors. And I had my haircut appointment on that evening that I missed. I felt very bad because it was my sister's marriage, but when I reached home, it was nine already, so I went to a local haircut shop and get my hair done. But I was very disappointed because my hair wasn't look that much good, and it was the marriage very big event of my family. And I think work life and personal life should be separate, and people and employers should understand that personal life is also important for the employees. And I was disappointed on myself because I was not able to make it to my appointment. That was really a bad experience for me and as well as for my family. But it was great, I learned so much from that incident, and now I never miss my appointment.

    Band 6-7

    Usually I don't, usually I am a person with more punctual, I usually don't miss an appointment, but last month I had missed a very big opportunity in my VFS center, it's my VFS appointment for my visa, it's happened by accident, my friend and I were traveling, we booked a flight to travel to Chennai to the VFS office, but the day before, the day before the flight was, we got a notification that the flight was cancelled without any proper evidence or something, then we were puzzled what to do the next, then suddenly we jumped into one train that goes to, that go via Chennai, however we used to get in that train, but unfortunately the train also had met with an accident and there are many casualties occurred with that, so I didn't make to go there, I feel so sad and I had cried a lot for it because the VFS had, if I had visited the VFS center last month, sometimes I will be in Germany today, but I also thanks to God because I did not have, got nothing in the train accident, so I will be always grateful.

    Band 6-7

    Last year I took an appointment of a doctor, gynecologist doctor due to PCOD problem. It was in Amritsar and too far from my location and suddenly I got notified that on the same appointment day I had an exam. So I missed that appointment due to my examination because my exam is very crucial to me to go abroad. So then when I missed my appointment I feel very bad. After that I haven't got any chance to to take a new appointment because that hospital is very busy and there are a lot of people come and go. So taking an appointment is very difficult there. But somehow I managed my medication and my exam, my medical examination here nearby. So that's covered.

    Band 6-7

    Okay, so with a heavy heart, I would like to describe the time when I missed an appointment. It was more of the opportunity which got sipsed from my hand. It was during the Corona time when there was a havoc of this deadful disease worldwide. It was the year 2021. I still remember I had read an advertisement in the newspaper regarding teachers required for the IFO school Jamnagar and luckily I found my subject, that is science. I applied, I got a call, I went for an interview, I passed the interview, but the thing was I was still in my fourth semester of my BA exam, so I didn't have my marks sheet with me and as a defense industry, they need all the documents perfect. So I failed to submit it due to the Corona period and as universities were closed, none of the personal officials was answering the phone calls. So yes, that was more of my opportunity than an appointment, which I missed in my life. I regret it very much, yes, but thanks to God also, today I am doing a great job. My placement has been done in a well-to-do school, but yes, the difference is Air Force was purely central government based, but the present job is corporate based. Thank you.

    Band 6-7

    So the time when I missed an appointment was two years back when luckily I got the appointment of the most famous psychologist in our area. His appointment was very difficult to get due to his unavailability and busy schedules. But somehow I became very fortunate and got that opportunity to interact with him. But then situation doesn't worked in my favor. Initially everything was going according to the plan a day before the appointment and I was fully prepared, took a leave from my office as well to visit the doctor. Since the location was pretty far from my place, so car arrangements and availability of one of my family members, everything was done and dusted. But the most important thing which I later realized that I missed was that I didn't took the permission of my senior manager because there was an upcoming project coming up and I failed to take the permission. So the very next day when I was just about to leave for the appointment, the manager came and told me that since I didn't took permission from him, I cannot take the leave and I have to complete the work and leave it right now. And that moment I was very broke and disheartened because that day was very important for me. I was struggling through stressful situations in my life and needed to visit the high quality psychologist that would help me to deal with these situations. So that day was very miserable for me. I failed to attend the appointment of the doctor and somehow I lost the chance to miss him. So I realized that little uncertainties in life can lead to disaster.

    Band 6-7

    Well, I am very good with my memories and here I am going to talk about a time when I missed an appointment. It was one month ago. I was in office and I was doing my work. Then a call came from a dentist office that you have an appointment. The appointment is related to my dentist. They called me again and they told me that you have an appointment with us. So I was so much feeling very surprised that how I forgot that appointment. The staff is so polite and they gave me another appointment and I feel so much shameful that I forgot the appointment.

    Band 6-7

    I would like to talk about one of my personal experience where I lost an interview because I rarely remember the date. It was during my NEET counseling when I applied for Telangana State Counseling I I didn't remember the date properly so I almost lost it. The appointment after that I got to know the few people who scored lesser than me even got the medical seats in their state. After that I felt really sorry for me and I was almost depressed during that time. After that I applied for my AP State and during that time the cutoff was very high for my state when it comes to a category wise. So it's really difficult for me to digest these things during that time. Somehow I got into veterinary field. After that I came to know that I should I should I should I should have remembered the date properly so that I could get into the medical field rather than this veterinary field. At first I'm not very interested in my field that's that's why I just curse myself many times but of course we have to encounter all these things in life but it's it was my major opportunity that I have missed. It's really a deep sorrow for me and I don't want to talk about this with anyone because I know they will say why you shouldn't have missed or like that so that's why I never shared these things with anyone but somehow at some part of my heart still feel for that that's after that I never missed an appointment.

    Band 6-7

    Well, it's been a week since I missed my IELTS examination. It was the first time I missed an exam and that was my first appointment. I felt incredibly sad because it's like I missed an opportunity and that was quite disheartening. It's like, I'll tell you the story. What happened is that it was early in the morning. I was well prepared for the exam and I was all ready to go. But the moment I started, I realized I forgot my passport. Then I went back to home and I took it. Then I was on the way to the examination center. Then I realized I was surrounded by the congestion traffic, which was quite horrible and it was a nightmare. Then I realized I had just 30 minutes for the examination. Moreover, I was very restless and at ease during the travel. So, I wasn't much comfortable in writing the exam. Then I went to the examination center. Then I realized I have missed the appointment over there. It was the first time in my life I felt really regretful for my decisions, for whatever I have done. Yeah, so that was one of the horrible experiences. Another was with a doctor that happened recently, before two days. I felt sick and I went for the doctor. However, doctor cancelled the appointment for his own convenience. And that's how I missed my second meeting. In my opinion, the lesson, what we learned behind missing these appointments are quite crucial. Because that helps you enhance your experience and learning, so that we don't do this mistake again in our life.

    Band 6-7

    I would like to talk about a time when I missed an important appointment. I got an appointment from my dermatologist. It was very hard to get an appointment in a week. But luckily I had some connection in a dermatologist clinic. So I got this appointment within a week. But unfortunately I forgot about this appointment because I was so busy with the preparation of my examination. It totally slipped out of my mind. I got an email from my dermatologist about my missing appointment. I called him and told him about the situation. He was such a good person. He booked again an early appointment for me. It was a very bad experience for me because he is such a good person and provided me an appointment within a week which was very hard to get it. But I missed it. So I felt sorry about missing the appointment and sorry to my dermatologist.
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