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Describe a time you enjoyed a free day off work or school: IELTS Speaking Cue Card

You should say

  • When the day was?
  • What you did during the day?
  • Who you spent it with?
  • And explain why it was enjoyable.
Show all 116 answers

Cue 1:When the day was?

  • Mention a specific date or time frame to give context to your story.
  • Explain why this day was significant for you, such as a holiday or a personal reason.

Example

The day I enjoyed my free day off was on the 15th of August, which is India's Independence Day. I had planned this day off in advance to celebrate the occasion with my family.

Cue 2:What you did during the day?

  • Describe the activities you engaged in throughout the day.
  • Include a mix of relaxing and engaging activities to show how you made the most of your time.

Example

I started my day with a leisurely breakfast at home, followed by watching the flag hoisting ceremony on television. Later, I took a walk in the nearby park, enjoying the fresh air and the festive atmosphere. In the afternoon, I prepared a special lunch with my family, and we even watched a patriotic movie together.

Cue 3:Who you spent it with?

  • Mention the people you shared this day with, highlighting their importance to you.
  • Explain how their presence contributed to the enjoyment of the day.

Example

I spent this day with my parents and younger sister. Being together as a family made the day even more special, as we shared stories about our country's history and enjoyed each other's company.

Cue 4:And explain why it was enjoyable.

  • Reflect on the feelings and emotions you experienced during the day.
  • Discuss the significance of taking a break from work or school and how it impacted your well-being.

Example

This day was enjoyable because it allowed me to relax and reconnect with my family. After a hectic work schedule, having a day off to celebrate our independence and bond with loved ones was refreshing. I felt grateful and happy, which made the day memorable.

Conclusion

    Example

    In conclusion, my free day off on Independence Day was a perfect blend of relaxation and celebration. It reminded me of the importance of family and taking time for myself, making it a truly enjoyable experience.

    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: Being Too Vague

    Candidates often give very general answers without specific details. This makes the response less engaging and informative.

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    Tip

    Include specific details about the day, such as activities, locations, and feelings to make your answer more vivid and interesting.

    2: Ignoring the Cues

    Some candidates forget to address all the cues provided, leading to incomplete answers that may not fully satisfy the examiner's expectations.

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    Tip

    Make sure to answer all the cues: when the day was, what you did, who you were with, and why it was enjoyable.

    Overly Complicated Language

    Using complex vocabulary or sentence structures can confuse the listener and detract from the clarity of your message.

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    Tip

    Use clear and simple language to express your ideas. Focus on being understandable rather than using difficult words.

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    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
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    Reported by

    Anonymous student Band 7.5

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    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
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    Reported by

    Anonymous student Band 8

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    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
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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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    Reported by

    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
    anonymous person icon

    Reported by

    Anonymous student Band 7.5

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    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

    After a tiresome two days work from office, I took a day off on Wednesday last week. After having a hectic day, when you get some time to spend with your parents, it is nothing but rejuvenating. Since my parents have come to visit me in Pune, I spent the entire day spending some time with them. Sometimes doing nothing, just resting in the couch and sharing your childhood memories refreshes your brain, refreshes your soul. That was my experience on that day. Me and my parents had a lot of chatter during those days. I remembered my childhood memories and shared a lot while talking. In the evening, we went out to have a delicious dinner at local seafood restaurant in Pune. That was one of the awesome meal that we had recently and we had a happy tummy and we went back home. While returning back home, slight drizzle made our day even better. Empty streets, slight bit of drizzle rain is all I wanted to end the day with.

    Band 6-7

    One day that I particularly remember is back in the school days, there was this one day when it was heavily pouring and it was raining continuously since the night. So the school had announced holiday because of rains. That day I didn't go to school because it was a holiday. So then I woke up early, got dressed and the school got cancelled. So instead of going to the school, I made paper boats and I took my umbrella and went out to get drenched in rain, play with my society friends, then came back home, changed into my clothes and then just watched TV shows, cartoons. It was a very memorable day for me because till date whenever I remember, it is such a fun feeling I get from it. There was no other stress or tension that we have right now. Then after watching the shows, I slept for an hour or two in the afternoon and then woke up, had snacks, played with my friends. It was a very pleasant day with lot of memories that I still cherish.

    Band 6-7

    I remember we had heavy rainfall during that time and because of the broken roads and the landslides happening frequently, the office declared a holiday and we were all so happy to sit at home and relax and listen to podcasts and watch Netflix during that time, during that one day of time. I spent most of the day with my mom, who I live with at my house, and my three pet dogs. I live in a one-room studio apartment so I can't escape all the distractions and the noisiness right now.

    Band 6-7

    So basically it was a time when I was in 10th standard and it was a day when there was raining cat and dogs and our school immediately closed schools on that day because of the weather. It was so terrible and after that when we got the message we were very happy as we got a free day and then my friend and I decided to do a get together and even it was successful as they came to my house moreover we enjoyed a lot by making reels and posts on social media because we all are influencers in such a teen age and also we did a lot of activities like cycling and even as I am passionate for drawing we draw portraits and a lot of things that are really we can't explain additionally after that this was the day when we enjoyed a lot because of a free day off and this was electrifying experience for me and for my friends.

    Band 6-7

    In my school time, one day I enjoyed a lot because that day my teachers, most of the teachers are not arrived to school, absent on that day. The whole day was like a sports day because we played all games on that day without any teachers. That's why I feel that that day was so special for me to enjoy with friends and also, only one teacher is attended to the school and he is my maths teacher, his name is Naresh Sir. He is very strict and he is also my class teacher and he took two periods and also six periods. We played and we enjoyed a lot and we had so much of fun on that day, we played cricket matches in our school ground and also we played indoor games like car show, cards like that. It was my best day of free enjoy with friends. Yeah, that's it.

    Band 6-7

    My office actually grants us 5 optional holidays, which are actually the government leaves, but due to the policies and everything, they have to keep us at any 5 days where we have to opt the holidays. And during that time, last year, during Guru Nanak Jayanti, I don't remember which day exactly it was, but I had opted for optional leave and I had a blast on that day, especially because I was alone at my place. I stayed with my mom, my sister and my grandmother, and they were at my native place. I guess they were for someone's marriage, and I had all the time by myself. I cooked my favorite food, which is pasta. I enjoyed it by playing music side by side, danced a little, and then after making pasta, I put on my favorite series, which is Friends. I got to know a lot about how things work in Friends, via Friends, and I had pasta and everything. I had woke up late on that day. I did whatever, all those things which my mom usually tells me not to do, and it was a good overall day. I needed that day. It was the most relaxing day ever. It recharged me, it recharged me completely, gave me, recharged me completely.

    Band 6-7

    An off day I got from my office was on a Monday and it was 15th of August. This day, I spent my time doing my self-care. Usually my day starts, my regular day at my office starts at, waking up at 4.15 am in the morning. So when I was on, when I got off from my office, I woke up really late which was at 9 am. I woke up late and then I carried out with my several activities which is taking care of myself. I really like to take care of myself because it enhances my confidence. First I did all my skin care, I did my hair care, I groomed myself which can, which helps me boost my confidence and it gives me a bold appearance which I, which I can wear to office every time and then in the end, I prepared my, I prepared my meal where I was cooking the food which I, from the videos which I had already saved in the past and then in the end, I worked out, worked out for like an hour which, while working out I was sweating, sweating and this sweat, in the end I was sweating and I went for a shower and then I went for a shower. I ended my day like that. I went to sleep early because I have to wake up the next morning at 4.15 am. The entire day made me feel so relaxed and gave me good sleep and also reset my mind to focus on the things which I have to do the next day. This is how I spend my off days preparing and putting work on myself.

    Band 6-7

    Well, usually I spend my leisure time by doing my hobbies and watching some my favorite movies. And here I would like to talk about one of my free day that I enjoyed a lot and that time I off from my work. It is none other than about 2 months ago and that time on Sunday I was free and unfortunately it was my mother's birthday and I prepared lot of things for my mother in order to give surprise to her. And that time I baked a cake for my mother by my own hands because she loved cake from my hands. And that time I called my relatives and my mother's friends to invite them attended for a birthday party. And that time I made lots of preparation for my mother's birthday. However, on this day I decorated my mother's room because I wanted to give her surprise on their birthday. And my sister and my brother also helped me a lot to do this work. Well, that was very busy day for me and also I enjoyed a lot that day. To capital that was a day that I off from my work and I enjoyed a lot.

    Band 6-7

    So, I would like to talk about one of the days where I took an off from office. So, it was a pleasant day and we had decided to go to shopping as well as have a lunch in Connaught Place with my office colleagues. So, as Connaught Place is one of my favorite place, it's the most vibrant place that I've ever been to. I went with my office colleague Ashmita over there and we had a really amazing time. We selected a nice cozy cafe and we sat there and chatted for long hours. We discussed about our goals for further in our future and also some of the office topics which were really bothering us. So, we had a good time over there. After that, we went to Janpath for some street shopping. Shopping is the best therapy for me and it really helped me remove all my stress and anxiety from off office. We bought a lot of interesting stuff. I got a handbag from there and she bought a cool t-shirt, daily wear t-shirt. So, it was a much needed break for us and we enjoyed a lot. We even discussed about our future plans which really helped us to pave our way forward in life. It was really delightful to be in her company as well as do what we love. We really enjoyed a lot.

    Band 6-7

    So, recently I had my weekend off, which is Saturday and Sunday of last week, and it was two days that I was looking forward to, so I spent it with a couple of my family friends who were pretty close to me and I always meet them when I'm down in Kerala. So, we went out for a late night movie, which was a Hindi movie that was recently released. It was a movie by Hrithik Roshan, who is a really well-known Bollywood actor. And after that movie, we went back home, chilled at home for a bit. And the next day morning, we got up pretty early, say around 5 am, and we went for a trek, which was a beautiful trek, which was a two-kilometre trek. And we went to this place called Aadharanpuri, which is about 20 kilometres off the main city of Thrissur. And it was a much-needed two days of just relaxing, and it was very calming. And it also added nice depth to the day.
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