Describe A Time When You Were Stuck In A Traffic Jam: IELTS Speaking Cue Card

You should say

When and where it happened?
How long you were in the traffic jam?
What you did while waiting?
Explain how you felt when you were in that traffic jam.

7 unique answers with expert feedback

Show all 7 answers

Cue 1:When and where it happened?

Begin by specifying the exact location and time of the traffic jam, such as a busy road or a specific city.
Mention any relevant details about the day, like weather conditions or events happening nearby.

Example

It was a Tuesday evening around 6 PM, and I was driving home from work in Bangalore. The roads were particularly congested due to a local festival, which always attracts a lot of traffic.

Cue 2:How long you were in the traffic jam?

Clearly state the duration of the traffic jam, using specific time frames like minutes or hours.
You can also mention if it felt longer or shorter than expected.

Example

I ended up stuck in that traffic jam for nearly an hour. At first, it felt like it would be a quick delay, but as the minutes passed, it seemed to drag on forever.

Cue 3:What you did while waiting?

Describe the activities you engaged in while waiting, such as listening to music or making phone calls.
Mention any thoughts or reflections you had during this time.

Example

While I was waiting, I decided to listen to some music to pass the time. I also called a friend to chat, which helped distract me from the frustration of being stuck.

Cue 4:Explain how you felt when you were in that traffic jam.

Share your emotions during the traffic jam, whether it was frustration, boredom, or something else.
You can also reflect on how you coped with those feelings.

Example

I felt quite frustrated at first, especially knowing I was missing dinner plans. However, as time went on, I tried to stay calm and reminded myself that getting upset wouldn’t change the situation.

Conclusion

Example

Overall, being stuck in that traffic jam was a test of patience. It taught me to be more mindful of my travel times and to always have a backup plan for busy days. Despite the inconvenience, I managed to turn it into a moment of relaxation by listening to music and connecting with a friend.

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 answer less engaging and informative. Specific details help the examiner understand your experience better.

Tip

Include specific details about the location, time, and circumstances of the traffic jam to make your answer more vivid.

2: Neglecting Emotions

Failing to express your feelings during the traffic jam can make your response less relatable. Emotions add depth to your story.

Tip

Share how you felt during the traffic jam, whether it was frustration, boredom, or something else, to connect with the examiner.

Lack of Structure

A disorganized response can confuse the listener. A clear structure helps convey your message effectively.

Tip

Follow the cue prompts in order, discussing when and where it happened, how long you were stuck, what you did, and your feelings.

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Reported by

Anonymous student Band 7.5

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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

Reported by

Anonymous student Band 8

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

Reported by

Anonymous student Band 6.5

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

Reported by

Anonymous student Band 7

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

Reported by

Anonymous student Band 7.5

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

A time when I was struck in a traffic jam, I remember it was during my 10th public exam, the board exam. I will never forget that moment because I'm rushing to the school to be on time for my board exam. I'm not able to miss the timing, you know, because they will not allow me to get inside. Then I wanted to know why the hell this traffic was so heavy. I got down from my bus and I wanted to check. Then there was an accident on the road. It took a very long time for the ambulance to come and clear the road, but somehow I made it on time. My bus driver drove the bus very fast to get me to the school. I remember that one incident. The other one was recently I was struck in a traffic jam, that was last month when I was running out of time to pick up my younger kid at school. It was already 12 o'clock, but something has happened. And I didn't know what was wrong for that traffic. I was so tensed, I couldn't help anything. So what I did was I dropped the bike near a platform. I walked a mile to get away from the traffic. Then I got an auto. I was rushing to the school to get my younger one because he will not be able to wait for a long time in the ground after the dispersal. So that was the second time I remember I was struck.

Band 6

Well, in my life I stuck in a traffic jam once. I still remember the time that last month I had an appointment with my doctor in Patiala city. So I wanted to go there with my father and I had to reach there at about 9. But unfortunately when I was on the road, my father and I stuck in a traffic jam and we stuck in there for about an hour. And while stuck in the traffic jam, I was feeling really bored. So at last I had a great conversation with my father. We talked on various topics. We were having conversation about childhood and our hobbies and even we also talked about the life about future, like what I want to do in my future and where will I be in 2030. So it was an interesting topic. But I was feeling really bored at first. However, after having conversation with my father, I felt happy and light. So indeed, that was the time when I was stuck in traffic jam with my father.

Band 6

So the time I was stuck in traffic, I have a very memorable experience. It was a terrible experience. It was my first or second day to work actually and I had taken a bus. So I was sitting in this city public bus and I was on my way to home from work and I was stuck in an extremely heavy traffic. It took me almost an hour or more, one and a half hour to reach home and all I could do was just sit there in the bus. I was already worried about the commute and I was afraid because my work was quite far from my home so I was worried about the time and since this was my second day, I was even more horrified thinking that this is how my routine is going to be and this is how much time I am going to have to spend in the future. Later fortunately, I realized that that particular day was especially heavy and that is not how usually it is. So to my relief, I don't have to be stuck in traffic one and a half hour every day. But that day, it was terrible. My phone's battery ran down so I had nothing to do except just sit there and wait and I felt extremely agitated, irritated and frustrated and I was doing nothing but just waiting for the traffic to get over and for myself to reach home in time. I remember when I reached back home, I felt relieved. I was really rethinking traveling by bus and going to work every day. I was really wishing to or hoping to get remote work option if possible because I was really scared of this traffic and having to spend this much time of my day every day in traffic.

Band 5-6

Actually, I'm staying in Gantok, Sikkim, which is the capital of Sikkim. I'm studying there. I'm pursuing my master's degree in Gantok. So, we don't call Gantok, actually, we call it Jamtok. Because almost like every time you get stuck in Jam, like to reach Bajaj, the main market, it takes like 10 to 15 minutes if there is no jam. But you reach market by almost one hour, like sometimes it takes more than that due to the jam. And which I hate about when I was, my story about jam is that in my exam time, actually I was stuck in jam for almost 45 minutes. I thought I will reach by like 20 to like, it will take half an hour. But I was 15 minutes late for my exam. I was in the verge of crying and I just called my HOD and told them I'm stuck in jam.

Band 5-6

When I moved to Chennai for the first time, I feel, I feel, I feel, what's the traffic it is at the time after completion of office, when I'm moving to home, I'll stuck in the traffic. I don't know what to do at that time because this was the first time I am seeing so much of traffic. So it was about half an hour and then traffic is not reducing and later, later then, I am just called to my mother and complained about the traffic in Chennai. She consoled me, like, if you move to Chennai, it was like this only, you don't feel about that.

Band 5-6

Hello, my name is Deep Mala Patel. I belong to a small village. Here life is simple and peaceful. People in my village are kind, hardworking and constant to nature. However, for better connections and career approach, I should more than much for my study. Mumbai is a city of farm dream, full of air, friendly and approximates life. There is fast-paced and challenging, but it is as exciting and full of learning experience. I am currently studying to become a marine nurse. I am 28 years old. Earlier I was preparing for a teaching career, but I could not qualify. So I decided to move to Mumbai and finish my studies in the maritime field. Coming from a small village, this journey has been challenging. My family has always been my biggest support system. They encouraged me to step out of my comfort zone and work towards my dreams. Today this is my first appointment with him in my life and I am excited to share my journey.

Band 5-6

I would like to explain a horrible situation when I faced in my life that is I felt I was in a traffic jam when I was in an early morning I have a morning shift so I go fastly to my hospital so that the time I got a traffic jam I am very depressed because I am so I am already late and also the traffic jam was lengthy and it's very horrible I am not good in drive so I have so I have worries on that words also when I was trouble situation it's make very very difficult it's happened around 3 to 8 months ago but the situation is smooth and I handle that but however if I feel if I saw any traffic or any block situation I feel oh my god why it is I always have a worries in between that sometimes I feel a rocket signs and other time I feel it's not my cup of tea and all the time I feel very bad because I don't like traffic if I think in a future it's will be a change in the future I definitely there is a change in the future so I thoroughly believe on that and also I would like to explain a traffic jam when I did that is in a kadavandras junction I make a traffic jam because when I just stuck in the middle of the road