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Describe A Time You Had To Finish Something Quickly: IELTS Speaking Cue Card

You should say

  • What it was?
  • When it happened?
  • How you finished it?
  • Why you had to finish it quickly?
  • Explain how you felt about it.
Show all 26 answers

Cue 1:What it was?

  • Clearly state what task or project you had to finish quickly.
  • Provide some context about the importance of this task.

Example

The task I had to finish quickly was my final project for college. It was a group assignment that required extensive research and presentation, and it was crucial for my overall grade.


Cue 2:When it happened?

  • Mention the specific time frame when this occurred.
  • Include any relevant details about deadlines or time constraints.

Example

This happened just a week before the submission deadline, which was on a Friday. We had started the project late, and I realized that we were running out of time.


Cue 3:How you finished it?

  • Describe the steps you took to complete the task quickly.
  • Mention any strategies or tools you used to manage your time effectively.

Example

To finish it quickly, I organized a meeting with my group members. We divided the work based on each person's strengths and set specific deadlines for each section. I also used online tools to collaborate efficiently.


Cue 4:Why you had to finish it quickly?

  • Explain the reasons that made it necessary to complete the task in a hurry.
  • Discuss any consequences of not finishing on time.

Example

We had to finish it quickly because it was worth 40% of our final grade. If we missed the deadline, we would not only lose marks but also risk failing the course.


Cue 5:Explain how you felt about it.

  • Share your emotions during the process of completing the task.
  • Reflect on what you learned from the experience.

Example

I felt a mix of anxiety and determination. It was stressful to work under pressure, but I also felt proud of our teamwork and the final product we submitted. This experience taught me the importance of time management.


Conclusion

    Example

    In conclusion, finishing that project quickly was a challenging yet rewarding experience. It helped me develop better organizational skills and reinforced the value of teamwork in achieving our goals.


    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: Rushing Through Your Answer

    Candidates often rush their responses, leading to unclear or incomplete answers. This can make it difficult for the examiner to follow your story.

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    Tip

    Take a moment to organize your thoughts before speaking. Use a clear structure to ensure you cover all the cues effectively.


    2: Lack of Detail

    Providing vague or minimal details can make your answer less engaging. Examiners look for specific examples to assess your language skills.

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    Tip

    Include specific details about the situation, such as what you were finishing, when it happened, and how you felt during the process.


    Ignoring Emotional Impact

    Failing to express your feelings about the experience can make your answer sound flat. Emotions add depth and interest to your response.

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    Tip

    Reflect on your feelings during the experience and share them. Explain why finishing quickly was important to you and how it affected you.


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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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    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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    Anonymous student Band 6.5

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    Whitefield Test Center, Bengaluru

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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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    Anonymous student Band 7.5

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    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 5-6

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    Band 5-6

    I know that when I was in 6th grade, I received my holidays homework in my summer vacation. I know that when the summer vacation held, I do my holidays homework in very less time. I do in one to two days, so that I can enjoy my entire holidays. Because in that holidays, I remember that my family planned to go to the hill station, where I enjoy with my family. And I was also happy that I done my homework without any tension, so I can enjoy the entire holidays without any workload on my mind. It also very satisfied my mind. After that, I will, after 6th grade, I do my all holidays, summer holidays homework, work in very few days, so that I can enjoy the entire holidays, so that I can...

    Band 5-6

    Yes, I had a very bad experience when I was traveling at my home via train. That was a very bad experience because in a sleeper class, a person adjacent to me, sitting adjacent to me and says that you Sikh peoples are not good peoples and you all are very fraud and all. You are a Khalistani and all these things he is saying to me. But after that, because that is the reason I want to change my seat, I talked to TT at that time. And TT says that no seat you cannot exchange. If anyone available there, then you can talk to him and he give you chance to exchange your seat. But that's the main reason that I want to change it quickly. Finish something you can say a time. That is the time when I want to finish something quickly. And that was a very bad experience of my life after that. But at that time, you can say that when train was from Lucknow, sorry, from Chandigarh to Lucknow, that was a medium from Chandigarh to Lucknow, that is 12 hours journey. In that 12 hours, I was thinking about my past experiences. And my mother says that you have to book in AC, but I preferred in sleeper class. And she says that why are you preferring in sleeper class in AC tier 2 or AC tier 3? They are not much as chargeable as that. That is if that is 400 tickets, rupees ticket, and that is only 1000 rupees ticket. So that is not much chargeable. But I proceed with that.

    Band 5-6

    As I remember, it was my first role of a teacher, as a teacher, and I am so excited and so curious about my teaching experience, but I realize that I am facing so many problems during the teaching because of my scheduling. I cannot comfortable to teach the students.

    Band 5-6

    When I was on duty time, there was one patient in critical situation, that's the time, no doctors are available in my department. Me and my colleagues are running very hurry to save life for this patient. My colleagues are calling my doctors, they are immediately coming, they said that the time me and my colleagues start to give CPR and that's the time, patient giving, responding, so we are happy that moment and also we start IV cannula, that the time doctors came and giving medication, that the time again that patient collapse and we are make a team to start CPR at 2-3 cycle, we are finished, finished CPR, then that the time we have lacking of medicine and very hard situation and me I am running to another department to take that medication and that the

    Band <5

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