arrow back icon Top Answers

Describe a way/change that helps you save a lot of time: IELTS Speaking Cue Card

You should say

  • How is it?
  • How do you implement it?
  • How difficult is it?
  • And explain how you feel about the way/change.
Show all 75 answers

Cue 1:How is it?

  • Begin by describing the specific way or change that helps you save time.
  • Mention the context in which you use this method or change.

Example

One significant change that has helped me save a lot of time is using a digital planner instead of a traditional paper diary. I started using it about a year ago, and it has transformed how I manage my daily tasks and appointments.


Cue 2:How do you implement it?

  • Explain the steps you take to use this method effectively.
  • Share any tools or apps you use to make this process easier.

Example

I implement this by setting aside a few minutes each morning to plan my day. I use an app called Todoist, where I list all my tasks and set reminders. This way, I can prioritize my work and ensure I don’t forget important deadlines.


Cue 3:How difficult is it?

  • Discuss any challenges you faced when adopting this change.
  • Explain how you overcame those challenges.

Example

Initially, I found it a bit challenging to switch from paper to digital. I was worried about losing my data or not being able to access it when needed. However, I overcame this by regularly backing up my planner and learning more about the app's features through online tutorials.


Cue 4:And explain how you feel about the way/change.

  • Share your feelings about the effectiveness of this change.
  • Mention any positive impacts it has had on your life.

Example

I feel incredibly positive about this change. It has not only saved me time but also reduced my stress levels. I can now focus more on my work and personal life without the constant worry of forgetting tasks. Overall, it has made me more organized and productive.


Conclusion

    Example

    In conclusion, switching to a digital planner has been a game-changer for me. It has streamlined my daily routine and allowed me to manage my time more effectively, which is essential in today’s fast-paced world.


    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 Descriptions

    Using vague language can make your answer unclear. It's important to provide specific details about the way or change you are describing to engage the listener.

    bulb icon

    Tip

    Use clear examples and specific details to illustrate your points. For instance, mention a particular app or method you use to save time.


    2: Ignoring Implementation Steps

    Failing to explain how you implement the change can leave your answer incomplete. It's crucial to show the process behind your time-saving method.

    bulb icon

    Tip

    Break down the steps you take to implement the change. Describe your routine or the tools you use to make it effective.


    Neglecting Personal Feelings

    Not sharing your feelings about the change can make your response less engaging. Personal reflections add depth and interest to your answer.

    bulb icon

    Tip

    Include your emotions or thoughts about the change. Explain how it has positively impacted your life or made you feel more productive.


    calendar icon

    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
    anonymous person icon

    Reported by

    Anonymous student Band 7.5

    location icon

    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
    anonymous person icon

    Reported by

    Anonymous student Band 8

    location icon

    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
    anonymous person icon

    Reported by

    Anonymous student Band 6.5

    location icon

    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
    anonymous person icon

    Reported by

    Anonymous student Band 7

    location icon

    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

    location icon

    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

    A way that changed my whole life was my habits, earlier I used to get up at 9 or 10 am after my parents used to take breakfast but recently I started following one person he is like Premanand Maharaj he told his people that you should wake up early in the morning so I started waking up early in the morning like 5 am to 6 am between 5 am to 6 am so it was very helpful for me after that I used to go to gym and it helped me in many many ways like it helped me to save my time and my time schedule was also good my body was start developing not by strength but my mental health was also good after that I started following Brahmacharya the Brahmacharya means you should not eat non-veg or you should stand up like wake up early in the morning so I started wake up at 5 to 6 between 5 to 6 it helped me a lot in my life after that I achieved many things in my life so I will suggest all the person people to wake up early in the morning before sun used to arrive the sun used to sunrise before that if you used to wake up

    Band 6-7

    Yes, the change that helped me a lot in a recent time is that I used to wake up so late around 11-12 pm and I didn't have much time to do my personal work such as homework or my personal tasks or if I had a particular bank work or anything which I was not able to accomplish it. So, later on I realized that I used to wake up and I have to wake up early just so I can have much time and I could do my tasks at the particular time and I would also have extra hours for my entire day. First of all, I started waking up early around 6-7 am and after waking up early I had so much time and I also felt energetic throughout the day and my tasks started happening easily and that made my father feel happy also because he always used to scold me that you wake up so late and you should start waking up early. So, it felt him better and I also accomplished my biggest fear that I wasn't able to accomplish anything in my entire life. So, first of all I started sleeping early at around 10 pm and it also helped me in such a way and after I realized that I was not able to sleep early I started working out hardly for the entire day so it made me give more time and this made me felt so disciplined and happy and I felt this change helped me a lot.

    Band 6-7

    As of now, I am preparing for my entrance examination. I find breaking tasks and effectively managing them has been difficult for me. Time management plays a crucial role in this situation and I found it more problematic when I couldn't complete my tasks with the given deadline. So I preferred getting a timetable for myself to convert what I have been dealing with into shorter tasks so that I could achieve it in the long term. I always believed that management can be way more effective when it comes to studies. Most of the time I feel in this way because I have been cramming up everything to get things done at the time but the results were quite neglected, quite undisturbing as we spoke. At some point I find myself getting too much distracted by other things. So I prepared a good timetable to convert and elaborate my tasks and analyze it more for getting it in order of their preferences and priorities.

    Band 6-7

    A change that has helped me save a lot of time is waking up early in the morning. Initially it used to be really difficult for me but over the time I got used to it. I do it by keeping an alarm which rings in the same time every day and it helps me wake up at the same time every day no matter what. This has helped me to set my circadian rhythm and also save a lot of time. I am able to plan things better for myself. I am able to keep a schedule of all the things going on in my life. I take out time for each activity starting with yoga, then lattes, then cooking food for myself, having a proper meal and breakfast. Everything gets sorted when you have a good start to the day. Also I get to interact more with people as I am able to pick calls from my family members. I have a fresh start to the day. Furthermore adding to it, I think waking up early is a good sign because it helps you be a better person, it helps you be punctual in life, you are able to manage things in a better manner which is a good skill for your future progress. Also I feel you are more bound to getting to know yourself better when you wake up early. Furthermore adding to it, I feel whenever you are not feeling good about it, you should try to do it more often.

    Band 6-7

    A change that helped me to save a lot of time was waking up early. First it was difficult. As you know I am a person who used to sleep till 8 o'clock. So it was very difficult to wake up before 6. But during the days of exams I found it no difficult to wake up at 3 am. But on a usual day I wake up at 8 am.

    Band 6-7

    Jotting down what I want to say in a journal helps me a lot with personal development cause that way I can precisely know what I'm going to do in a day that saves a lot of time and improves my efficiency. It's not that difficult of a process. Jotting down general things that I might need later is very helpful because it helps me remember things and improve my efficiency. Journaling is a very calming activity. It helps me regulate my own emotions and also validate emotions of other people that makes me emotionally more intelligent and helps me maintain my warm personality. I think we should journal on a daily basis cause it helps a lot in living your life and yeah.

    Band 6-7

    So, a way that helps me change, okay I think I have to try again, how is it, I mean what is the way, that is time management and multi-tasking ability, how do I implement it, because of my stress per situation work-life balance, to maintain it I will have to along with this social life I had to maintain, so that my studies are not hampered and my work deliverables are also delivered in the correct, in the appropriate span of time with quality results. How do I implement it? I divide my day into slots, where starting from 8 am I assign myself study sessions, because I log in at 10 am, so it becomes easier for me to start my day at 8, okay prepare myself for self-study, then start slot-wise working sessions for my job. So these slots, this time slots help me to focus and sometimes it becomes difficult, so a way that helps me to save a lot of time is basically time management with multi-tasking ability. So, like being a working professional and a student at the same time, for me managing time is a very important task, otherwise my schedule will get messed up and it will become very stressful for me to complete my task on time, because being a working professional I had to maintain a work-life balance along with my studies, as there is a lot of work pressure and at the same time the modules which I am studying also require equal attention, so multi-tasking ability is essential part with proper time management. How do I implement it is in a way? I start my day at 8 am every day and I divide my day into particular time slots of 2-2 hours, so I don't work 24x7, but dividing my time into slots and first managing my studies before logging for my work and then managing my studies after logging my work with equal amount of breaks of duration around 20 minutes gives a boost to my memory and helps me to deliver my work with efficiency and also complete my learning with quality results. So yeah, I think this essential step which I have implemented in my daily routine has helped me not only to grow myself in the professional field, but also to develop my skills as a student and I am gaining both real and practical world experience because of this ability to manage my task with multi-tasking capabilities and I would really suggest people to implement it as it's a life-changing skill and once if a person master it, it's good for them.

    Band 6-7

    So, one of the ways that I have learned from my professor at the university is time blocking that has saved a lot of my time. So, this technique I basically implemented every day. So, I make a to-do list firstly about everything that I have to do within the day followed by an estimation of how much time each task would take. Then after that, I continue performing the tasks and once the task is done, I take it off from my checklist. This has actually boosted my productivity to the maximum level and I would really recommend it to everyone. To master this task, I don't think it should take more than a week's time. Every day you can just make a list and see how much productive you are and then alter it accordingly. So, I use this time blocking method for almost all of my work such as studying, going to the gym, eating, spending time with my friends. It gives me an overview of my entire day and how I spent it. So, the next day I can be more productive and see where I can spend less time doing the things that are not very fruitful.

    Band 6-7

    A change that helps me save a lot of time is that I have tried picking up the habit of sleeping early and it improves my sleep schedule. It helps me wake up early, get a good start for the day. Along with that, it energizes me. Using this habit of mine, especially in a schedule of MBA where there are strict deadlines to meet, I find that this change in my lifestyle is something which would help me become a more healthy person. Along with that, it has been difficult implementing it because most of the days we are tired by our hectic schedule and by the end of the day, we want to give time to social media or binge watch a Netflix series and these things, even though they are not extremely productive things, have habit of keeping us up late at night and is distracting at times. But despite all of that, I wish that I continue this habit of sleeping early because it gives a good start to my life the next day. It helps me feel energized. Along with that, a healthy sleep is a start to a healthy lifestyle.

    Band 6-7

    I think adopting some good habits can make you change that in a way that helps you save a lot of time like if you wake up early in the morning you are able to do a lot of course like you can make your bed you can clean your room and then you can get ready in time and go to your work or lab or something school where you can you want to go and after coming back you can make a time to rest yourself so I think adopting good habit like getting up early in the morning can make help you save a lot of time and other thing that I can mention is to take things seriously and

    Master IELTS Speaking with Leap's Self-Prep Course

    student enroll count

    Students Enrolled

    review count

    2,411 Reviews

    app download banner image
    See Course Details

    Master IELTS Speaking with Leap's Self-Prep Course

    student enroll count

    Students Enrolled

    review count

    2,411 Reviews

    app download banner image
    See Course Details