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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
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    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

    The day I'm gonna talk about was when I was 10 years old. I used to come from school as I was tired and exhausted. I used to live in my living room and watch TV shows. That was really refreshing and made me very happy. I used to spend those time with my cousins. That made the environment and surrounding really comfortable. I really do like watching cartoons and shows on my TV. They were my unforgettable memories that I remember. After the school, watching TV shows, cartoons and serials made an unforgettable memory for me.

    Band 6-7

    So, it was last year during my thesis work in lab, when one day I realized that my professor was not around and we had not much of work left to do. So, the rest of the day I called it a day off and then I hung out with my friends. We went out nearby to have some tea and chill. Soon after, we went back home and then we relaxed for a bit. I winded off with, you know, listening to my favorite songs and then spending the day, you know, taking rest, watching movies, sleeping and cooking my favorite dinner which was chapati and butter paneer. So, I had scrumptious meal for dinner and then I called my parents and then I went to sleep. So, it was a very peaceful day, blissful day that I got time to spend with myself as well as with my friends. We discussed a lot of gossips and, you know, lab related problems and issues over tea and we bond for some time and then after that I go back home and relax and take some time out from all the tension in the work, leaving it behind in the lab and then coming back home and sort of resting and snoozing. So, it was a peaceful day. It was a restful day and yeah, that's how I spent my day off from work.

    Band 6-7

    Well, my usual day starts about at 8am and as I didn't have much to do, I woke up pretty late at 10am. Then it was the usuals. I woke up, brushed my teeth, had breakfast and I started to paint. I painted a portrait of myself and then I headed to my friend's place, Shreya, where even one of my friends arrived a bit late and then we just ordered in food and we had a lot of fun, we played games and we usually tend to do a lot of that when we meet, we connect on food and yes, I also spent a day with my, the rest of the day with my mom and I love it, I loved it. I spent it, I spent most of my day with Niyati, Shreya, that's, these are my two best friends, my only best friends and the rest of the day with my mom and I would say I loved it because quality time is something I value and it's my love language, spending time with my people so that's what I got to do today, I mean yesterday, so yes and I came home, spent time with my mom and then later joined an online class and danced about an hour or so and I was just so happy because it is one of my interests too.

    Band 6-7

    I would like to describe a time when I enjoyed a free day of work. It was a very recent happening when last Saturday I had a holiday from my office work and then I decided to visit one of the famous trek destinations in my locality. The name of that place is Pandavleni, known as Pandav Caves. These are the caves from very ancient prehistoric times and I planned, I read about it, I read about how can I go there for a trek and which of the necessary things I would pack in my bag to visit the place. In the early morning I left my place and reached there at 6 o'clock. Then I had a tea at the base of the Pandav Caves and I started walking towards the peak. The trek was short of 45 minutes and the roads were consist of lot of forest and lush greenery around me. I also was wearing my sweater as it was winter. Initially when I started walking, I felt really tired in the beginning but as and when I went longer, the place, the trek became really easy. I reached at the peak of the Pandav Caves.

    Band 6-7

    My day started with morning workout. I woke up, had my pre-workout meal which is two bananas and head out to my gym for workout. After workout, I had my oatmeal lunch. Oatmeal which was a very heavy meal which included oats, milk and dry fruits and wheat protein as well. I also brought in some chicken, cooked it as well. After coming from gym, I marinated the chicken and after some time, as I was scrolling Instagram, it was quite some time that I marinated chicken that I brought. I cooked it and ate it. After eating, I played a game of Valorant. I enjoyed playing it. I even was the match MVP for two consecutive games. After having a good Valorant session for 2-3 hours, in the evening, I head out to meet my friends who just landed in India. We went partying. We went for dinner as well. After dinner, we did some cheap thrills as you would say. We both came back at my place, had some merry time and that's all.

    Band 6-7

    Last Saturday, I had celebrated my friend's birthday, whose name is Ankit Mishra. So we planned, along with the four friends of our group, where we all... ...we had gone to meet him. He was not there. He was not there. He was not there. He was not there. He was not there. Last Friday, I along with my four friends, whose names are Ankit, Sinto, Suraj and Jagannath. We all planned for a leave. Last Friday, I along with some of my friends, planned for a leave as it was our friend's birthday, whose name is Ankit Mishra. Ankit is a very good guy with a tall, 7ft height, good brown hair and a fair skin. On that day, we all went to the Nala Supara, where Ankit stays. And from there, we took a bike, of which two people on each bike were sat. And we head off to the beach, where we planned to celebrate Ankit's birthday. It was really enjoyable, where the cold breezes, sunsets and all the fresh snacks we planned. And also, the cutting of the cake was very fantabulous as it was really a surprise for him. And additionally, we tried to make the birthday more memorable as we all have taken a leave on that day. So, we enjoyed the whole night and even played some sports such as cricket, football and even we did bike racing as well.

    Band 6-7

    I recently joined in a job in Pinnacle Hospital so I felt so stressed while doing the job. One day I got a free day off so I and my family planned to visit Argo valley for relaxation where we went by our own car. On that day we went to different places like Vanejangi, Varakesh, museum, chocolate factory and some gardens like sunflower garden, strawberry plantations where we clicked a lot of photographs. Still those are my favorite one and moreover we enjoyed a lot while spending time and especially I felt so relaxed and I made myself so relaxing and calm. I spent a lot of time with them and I discussed what problems I was facing there and how to manage them. My mother gave some suggestions by listening all of them and also we ate some special dish called bamboo chicken which is very famous in Argo valley. If not this trip I would be plan with my friends I would plan with my friends to outing like going to beach or going heading to any restaurant. If I had another free day off I'll sure I plan with my friends.

    Band 6-7

    Well, last Sunday of the month, at that day, it was the most enjoying day of my life, because at that day, along with the holiday, I hang out with my friends. Me along with three friends, first we went to the Centre Mall. There we did some shopping, then we ate some food there, and the food was a very ultimate class. After that, we went for a movie. That was a comic movie, Housefull Five. The main hero of the film was Jackie Shroff, Sanjay Dutt, Akshay Kumar, along with three actors. It was a very comic movie. It gave me a belly laugh. I was so excited after watching the movie, because it was a very stress-buster movie. We enjoyed a lot. Along with the movie, we had taken some popcorn and cold drink to drink. At the end of the day, we went to the gym. We did some physical exercise, because at that day, we got some free time. So we thought, why not spend in a gym? In this way, we can improve our physical health also. Of course, after that, although I am a very health-conscious person, at that time, we had some ice cream, chocolate and vanilla flavor. These two are my favorite flavors.

    Band 6-7

    It was one of my high school days. Our teachers were engaged in a principal meeting. On that day we formed a gang and started singing movie songs in the last bench. It was so special because our school always has gender-based rules. So girls and boys don't talk mostly. At that time we formed gangs without any gender barrier and started to sing together. And then we all write down our wishes.

    Band 6-7

    A time where I enjoyed a free day off of school was a week ago when I was sick. I started my day pretty late at around 11 am. I woke up to see my mother cooking in the kitchen. I went and greeted her. I came back to my room and contemplated whether I should study or I should have fun. Since I wasn't feeling that great any which ways, I decided to have fun. I took out my sketchbooks and started painting and sketching. I've always loved painting and sketching ever since I was a little child. I still remember going up to my mother and showing her all of my latest drawings. That's exactly what I did. I painted a blue sky and a large field of dandelions and I showed it to my mother. As usual, she added it to the collection of art on my fridge. After that, I had dinner. I had lunch with my mom and my dad and I waited for my sister to come back from school. After she came back, we all watched a movie together and I went to sleep and rest. In the evening, it was pretty peaceful. It started to rain and the weather was really nice. I talked to some of my friends caught up on the school work and then called it a day with a family dinner.
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