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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
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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

    So, there are many qualities that an individual must possess, among all the qualities, keeping a promise is very much important because it shows the character of a person. I have made many promises in my life, and here I am going to speak about a promise that I made to someone, and that is when I was, it was during my 11th grade when I was, I was not serious in my studies, and my parents were very much worried about my future, so they kept on bothering me and reminding me of the responsibilities I have to do in my studies. So, I finally promised them to study well and be responsible enough. So, after that, I made sure that I studied properly all the subjects well, and at last, I cleared my exams with flying colors, and it was not an

    Band 6-7

    Honestly speaking, I made a promise to my mother when I was in my 10th standard. I made a promise that I would be achieving a 90 percentile which is considered as a merit certificate or merit standard in our country. I made that promise because I was overly involved in cricket. My mother was never against it but again she wanted me to be good in academics as well.

    Band 6-7

    Well, the promise that I made to was myself. I took a really important decision and promised myself that I would start mindful eating as well as I would incorporate daily exercises in my routine as well as I would not procrastinate. Moreover, I would stop wasting time on social media apps and I took this indispensable decision because I realized about myself while staying so much indoors. I was spending most of my time on social media apps and I was procrastinating. I wasn't socializing with people. Furthermore, I wasn't interacting with the other members of my family as well. Initially, the decision I took wasn't easy to follow. It was really difficult for me to wake up early in the morning and as a person who has led a very sedentary lifestyle, it wasn't really easy for me to incorporate daily exercises in my routine.

    Band 6-7

    I gave promise to my mother because she like to travel in flight but she didn't not have any awareness of flight. She is not educated and she have some pretty interest and hopes or goals to travel in flight and I gave her a promise and fulfilling her dream. I gave my mother a promise because she done much more for my family and for motherhood and she didn't achieved anything and she didn't get anything. So I decided to take my mother to Tirupati by flight, so this is my promise which is given by mom.

    Band 6-7

    I made a promise to my dad. I made it when I was about to get married. It was entirely about the financial settlements and the need of money, which is required for my marriage to happen. So it was a crucial time after the COVID period, which is a pandemic one where nobody was paid in our family. We did not get our salary and running the day-to-day life itself was very difficult to us. During that time, I got a proposal from one of my distant family. Having said that it was a good family and a proposal, my father wanted me to get married. So amidst of all those trials, we had to make that marriage happen. So I promised my dad that I'll be repaying the debt, whichever we are being in debt of. And that promise was not definitely easy to achieve because after marriage you will have so many responsibilities towards the new family as well as to my parents. So the earnings which I made, I had to carefully spend towards the debt and as well as I had to save for my future. Additionally, I had to make this promise to my dad because I don't want my dad to face the situation alone because I know it is definitely hard for him.

    Band 6-7

    I have made a promise long back that is before 13 years and that promise was made to my boyfriend about our relationship that I will only marry him after 10 years and now it has happened but not after 10 years it's after 13 years yeah I'm married to my sweetheart and it was not very easy to make that promise because there were so many so many people were against our relationship because of the different religions we belong to but we were very strong and somehow managed to make both the families to meet and make this marriage happen and everybody is now very happy but the most sad thing is we are not together because he is abroad and I am in my hometown trying to be together I'm very much sad nowadays because my man is far away from me and I'm trying to move to him but everything is not happening in the right place I think everything will be will be in the right place after some more time I have struggled for 13 years for this marriage and after the marriage again I'm struggling but I think it will be in the right place right yeah it's all for the God

    Band 6-7

    Well in my entire life I have done so many difficult activities such as cooking and learning the Arabic language. Now I would like to talk about a difficult experience that I had when I started my A-Levels. I remember approximately 12 months ago when I started my A-Levels journey. At that time I did not understand which subjects to choose and how to study to get a good grade. And I faced a lot of problems and it was very difficult for me to grasp the knowledge. However, when I started to practice regularly and shared my experiences with the other people I knew and my friends who were in the same boat, it became much easier for me. And now I can say that I am able to solve the past papers as well as achieve good grades. But once I achieved proficiency in my subjects, it became much easier. Everyone faces difficult activities or challenges at some point but with practice and support from your friends, it is possible to overcome them. So I had made a promise to myself in the beginning of my A-Levels journey that I will try my best to achieve my A-Star grades and I felt proud of my progress. It taught me the value of perseverance and the importance of seeking help from others.

    Band 6-7

    So, I would like to recount this one promise that I made with my group of friends back in school days. So, we had a really close group of friends, we three friends were really close and we were famously called the three musketeers back in school and well, we had been together since the 7th standard around 10 years of age and we were kind of best companions of each other. So, we met when we coincidentally got the same classrooms back in school and from that year onwards, our friendship just grew day by day and really the understanding and the care that we had for each other was phenomenal and we, by the end of the high school, we were that close that we had made a pact that before, we knew that we will drift apart because of our careers, we had different streams to focus on. So, we made a pact that whatever happens, we will meet at just before the first guy's wedding and have a really great bachelor's party and do everything that we had planned but that unfortunately didn't happen. Because last year, the first of our three friends got married and we didn't have a chance to meet up. Yes, that promise was very difficult to keep, I couldn't keep it but yes, we went to the wedding, we had a reunion at the wedding, so it was a great experience that way.

    Band 6-7

    So, I made a promise to myself that I would score or I would pass my bachelor's degree without getting any kind of ATKTs or good marks in my subjects, in all the subjects and I made that promise while I started my degree college which was back in around 2012. I made this promise to myself because I was not doing studies in my earlier days or you can say in my primary days when I was in school, I used to fail in lot of subjects. To overcome that thing, I wanted to keep a small promise to myself that I would change myself and get good amount of marks in my whole degree. So, I made that promise to myself. It was a little bit difficult to achieve because as I said I was not a good student and not a great student that would get flying colours in every subject. But, I could try to get good marks in my bachelor's degree and clear all first semesters without having ATK. It was quite a challenging experience for me but I did overcome it with great enthusiasm and now I am preparing myself for my further studies in abroad.

    Band 6-7

    I made a promise to my boyfriend in the starting of the relationship that I will not be as avoidant and I will try to open up more about my past and my present and my feelings and my thoughts so that we are able to have a perfectly normal communication and then there are no gaps in the communication for us which would be better for our relationship. That promise was pretty hard to keep because I am usually an avoidant person who avoids topics and doesn't like to discuss difficult things. I had to practically work on my inner psyche and understand that there have been people in the past who have hurt me because I have opened up a lot but my boyfriend will not be one of them. He wants to understand me and love me after understanding me instead of trying to have the side of hurting me. That promise was important to both me and my boyfriend because it would help us in bettering our relationship as well as it would also help us understand whether we have the same future in mind and whether we can last or not. Because our relationship throughout the course we are trying to figure out whether this is something that we both want and we both desire in long term or that is not feasible because of our personalities and stuff like that.
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