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Describe A Time You Made A Promise To Someone: IELTS Speaking Cue Card

You should say

  • To whom did you make the promise?
  • What was the promise?
  • Why did you make the promise?
  • Was the promise easy to achieve?
Show all 41 answers

Cue 1:To whom did you make the promise?

  • Begin by introducing the person to whom you made the promise, including your relationship with them.
  • Share a little background about why this person is significant to you.

Example

I made the promise to my younger sister, Priya. She is someone I am very close to, and we share a strong bond. Growing up, I always tried to be a good role model for her, and she looks up to me for guidance.

Cue 2:What was the promise?

  • Clearly state what the promise was, making sure to include specific details.
  • Explain the context in which the promise was made to give it more depth.

Example

The promise I made was to help her prepare for her upcoming board exams. She was feeling overwhelmed and anxious about her studies, and I assured her that I would dedicate time every day to tutor her and help her with difficult subjects.

Cue 3:Why did you make the promise?

  • Discuss your motivations for making the promise, focusing on your feelings and intentions.
  • Mention any specific events or conversations that led to this promise.

Example

I made this promise because I could see how stressed she was becoming. I remembered how I struggled during my own exams, and I wanted to support her in any way I could. I felt it was my responsibility as her older sibling to be there for her.

Cue 4:Was the promise easy to achieve?

  • Reflect on the challenges you faced while trying to keep the promise.
  • Share how you managed to fulfill the promise despite any difficulties.

Example

Initially, it was challenging to balance my own work and studies while helping her. However, I created a study schedule that worked for both of us. I found that dedicating just a couple of hours each evening made a significant difference, and it was rewarding to see her progress.

Conclusion

    Example

    In conclusion, making that promise to my sister not only strengthened our bond but also taught me the importance of commitment and support. It was a fulfilling experience, and I was proud to see her succeed in her exams, knowing I played a part in her journey.

    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 Responses

    Avoid giving vague or unclear answers. Being too general can make your response less engaging and informative, which may not impress the examiner.

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    Tip

    Provide specific details about the promise, including who it was made to and the context, to create a more vivid picture.

    2: Neglecting Emotions

    Failing to express emotions related to the promise can make your answer less relatable. Emotions help to connect with the listener and add depth to your story.

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    Tip

    Share how you felt when making the promise and any emotions involved in keeping or breaking it to enhance your narrative.

    Ignoring Challenges

    Not discussing any difficulties faced while keeping the promise can make your answer seem unrealistic. Challenges add interest and show personal growth.

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    Tip

    Mention any obstacles you encountered and how you overcame them to demonstrate resilience and commitment.

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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 7

    Okay, so this is a very interesting story. During my academy days, we used to have a really tight schedule with respect to physical training. There was one of my juniors named Shivam Shukla, who was not able to do even a single pull up to pass the test. However, I promised him that by the end of the term, which is a time period of six months, he will be able to pass the test. And we started practicing for it regularly. Initially, the person was very weak. He was not able to do a single chin up. However, he required to do at least three to pass the test. So we started practicing with dead hanging. Dead hanging is an important part of the process, because it builds your strength so that you can hold the bar for a long amount of time without having pain in your arms. Eventually, he started to do pull up step by step, first going till halfway around the bar, then doing a complete chin up. By the end of three months, he was able to do one to two pull ups depending upon the time of the day and his strength levels. Later, I made him do vertical stand ups, push ups, rope climbing, and many other exercises which helped in improving his strength. Definitely it was not an easy task to get him past the push up test and the pull up test. However, with continuous efforts, we achieved the stage wherein he was giving his best to do the things. At the end of about five months, the fellow who was not even able to do a single pull up was able to do at least five. He passed the test in third attempt and he went for his full leave. That was our prime motivation.

    Band 7

    I can recall a time where I promised something to someone, that was a promise to my father. I told him that I would score 99 PR in my 12th board class's exam at any cost. I made the promise to him because I wanted him to feel proud about his investment in me for providing me sufficient education from class 1 to class 12. It was time that I do something for my father, due to that I will be able to get scholarships in my college days, also get a good admission in one of the greatest colleges of India. And the promise was not at all easy to achieve. I had to spend endless hours revising my curriculum, taking notes of various important chapters and going through them every day. I was not sleeping even for 5-6 hours a night, there were lots of sleepless nights for me and the days were exhausting as well. The only focus that I had in my mind was to execute the promise and see my father smiling as well as crying with happy tears. I achieved it, but it was also due to the blessings of my father. Without him, it would not have been possible, even my mother supported me during that time as well. She used to provide me regular meals 3 times a day and also provided me with the coffee at night so that I stay awake and focus well on my studies.

    Band 6-7

    I remember a time when I promised my younger cousin that I would help him preparing for his school debut competition. Although I had a very busy schedule at that time, I was determined to keep my word because I knew how much it meant to him. I spent several evenings guiding him through the research and practicing his speech, which not only helped his perform confidently but also strengthened our bond. Keeping that promise gave me a sense of responsibility and satisfaction. And also it made him happy, which I believe was the most and most interesting part of the promise, as I believe that honoring promises reflects trust and reliability. That experience not only reinforced our friendship but also reminded me of the value of commitment and integrity.

    Band 6-7

    I made a promise to my children that I want to school them if they didn't achieve good scores in the examinations and it was quite hard for me to resist with that promise but I had to meet that promise because nowadays children are getting frustrated with the amount of pressure we parents build up on making them learn right and achieve their goals so I kind of thought of letting them follow into a more easier way or an easier manner of studies where they are open-minded with their decision-making and they are more relaxed to get those scores so it was it was during the examination time that I allowed them to take up the time for studies have their own preparation tasks a self-study base and to practice that self-study and what they can learn from it because only practice means makes everybody perfect so if they are practicing a lot without any pressure from our side they could be a well-balanced manner even if they do a pure concentration and focus on just an hour of studies they can do wonders I feel. I had to keep the promise still going because I could see a change in them that my behavior really helps them to achieve and to navigate through the exams

    Band 6-7

    The first promise that came to my mind when I saw the question was, I gave a promise to my dad that I'll complete my graduate degree without any backlogs. It was in 2017 when I started the course. My father asked me whether I'll complete it successfully or are you finding it difficult. I felt I didn't know about the course that time I just started it but I wanted to give my father promise that I will complete it successfully without any ideas just to make him proud. You know he likes to brag about me and as a kid it was my responsibility to make my parents proud so I told him I will complete it with a good grade. I said I will not be the topper or something but I'll get good grades so I'll not have any backlogs in my entire course for the four-year course and he said yeah try yourself. Anyway after four years I was able to achieve it. I completed my degree with 7.3 GPA without any backlogs. I was happy. My parents were happy and even though he you know gave me a challenge he was so proud of me even though it was my event, it made me happy.

    Band 6-7

    Once I made a promise to my girlfriend that I'll never leave her and I'll be loving her through my entire life and I'll be giving my entire life to her. So, she made me fall in love when I was 20 years old and now I'm around 23. From the last 3 years she was so comfortable with me and she will be loving me every time. I promise that I'll never leave her and I'll be well-wisher to her. Thank you.

    Band 6-7

    What happened That is the initial stage of computers We were not we were not having any proper backup for the work we did That was the end of month I could remember the date actually to say 28 28th of the month the time what happened is that a data what under your group for that whole month got erased by a mistake by one of our staff and I say the data entry operator I have to do all the work again our manager very much annoyed with me for not taking the backup then I promised him that I will do within a week and I will give you the month month and reports it was very hard time I faced I worked for the one week day and night and completed my work and that monthly reports we had taken and I submitted to our database that's the team real time my manager also appreciated me

    Band 6-7

    I made a promise to my friend Amit who has been struggling to find a better college for his MBA and in the meantime I researched about different colleges and whichever institute matches his profile I recommended him the best institute based on his academic profile, work experience and entrance test scores of different management exams and bodies. Also I helped him to find the college which is nearby to his location. I also researched on placement. In addition to that I also found the ranking of the college based on which I shortlisted different colleges for him.

    Band 6-7

    Well, to begin with, making a promise is not a cup of tea for everyone, as it requires a lot of efforts and practice. Here I would like to talk about the time when I made a promise to my cousin brother. I vividly remember last year, he felt very sad and depressed because of his exam. To cheer him up, I made a promise to take him to his favorite amusement park if he scored well in his exam and passed her exam with flying colors. Apart from that, he always admired me as a mentor whenever he faced any difficulties regarding in his study, he directly asked from me. What's more, I made this promise to motivate her. Firstly, it was very hard not to crack for me as my exam was around the corner, so it was difficult to me, but as I gave my words to him, so I planned the whole schedule and made my promise. As I went with him to the park where he played with his friends and I also enjoyed with him as there was colorful flowers and a peaceful environment over there and also I made this promise because I wanted to encourage him.

    Band 6-7

    I am a professional cricketer. I play professional matches at weekends. In my undergraduate, I had a season called GPL where I led a team called GATT Titans. The season was started and I made a promise to my mother saying that I would bring a winning trophy of this championship and give it to her. So, this was the promise I made to my mother saying that I would get the trophy. And moreover, secondly, when the league was started, I played immense now, gave beautiful knocks to the team most runs as I am a batter and scored significant runs and made my team to get a champion trophy which I was so happy that I kept my promise. As an outcome, as I promised to my mother, I took the trophy to my house and my mother was so happy and she actively kissed me and she told me that she is very much proud of me. And that was the happiest day where I made a promise and I completed the promise which I made to dream come true and I fulfilled it to my mother.
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