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Describe an experience you had as a member of a team: IELTS Speaking Cue Card

You should say

  • What it was?
  • Who were the members of the team?
  • Who were the members of the team?
  • Explain how you felt.
Show all 81 answers

Cue 1:What it was?

  • Begin by clearly stating the team activity you were involved in, such as a project, sports event, or community service.
  • Provide some context about the purpose of the team and what you aimed to achieve together.

Example

I participated in a community service project where our team aimed to clean up a local park. This initiative was organized by my college to promote environmental awareness and community involvement.

Cue 2:Who were the members of the team?

  • Introduce the team members, mentioning their roles and how you knew them, whether they were classmates, friends, or colleagues.
  • Highlight any unique skills or contributions that each member brought to the team.

Example

The team consisted of five members, including my close friends from college and a couple of seniors. My friend Aditi was great at organizing events, while Rohan had experience in community service, which helped us plan effectively.

Cue 3:What did you do together?

  • Describe the specific tasks you worked on as a team and how you collaborated to achieve your goals.
  • Mention any challenges you faced and how you overcame them together.

Example

We divided the tasks among ourselves; some of us collected litter while others set up awareness banners. Initially, we struggled with coordination, but after a quick discussion, we established a clear plan that made our efforts more efficient.

Cue 4:Explain how you felt.

  • Share your emotions during the experience, focusing on feelings of teamwork, accomplishment, or any challenges faced.
  • Reflect on what you learned from this experience and how it impacted you personally.

Example

I felt a strong sense of camaraderie and fulfillment as we worked together. Seeing the park transform made me proud, and I learned the importance of teamwork and community spirit. It was rewarding to know that our efforts made a difference.

Conclusion

    Example

    Overall, this experience taught me valuable lessons about collaboration and the impact of collective efforts. It reinforced my belief in the power of teamwork and motivated me to engage more in community activities.

    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: Lack of Specific Details

    Avoid vague descriptions of the experience. Specific details help the examiner understand your role and contributions within the team, making your answer more engaging.

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    Tip

    Include specific examples of tasks you performed and how they contributed to the team's success.

    2: Ignoring Team Dynamics

    Neglecting to mention the roles of other team members can make your response seem incomplete. It's important to acknowledge how teamwork functions.

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    Tip

    Briefly describe each member's role and how they interacted with you to achieve the team's goals.

    Overlooking Personal Feelings

    Failing to express your feelings about the experience can make your answer less relatable. Personal emotions add depth to your story.

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    Tip

    Share your feelings during the experience, such as excitement or challenges, to connect with the examiner on a personal level.

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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 >7

    Okay, while I was doing an internship, I was a member of a team and that time I had experience as a member of the team. Nitin and Abhilash were my team members with whom I got to learn about a new software named as Winman, which is used for TDS and income tax filings. They also helped me in learning different softwares such as ClearTax which is also one of the software which is used to fill GST returns and to file GST returns, it is a really hard task to do because retrieving information from the customers is literally a hard deal to break and sometimes customers will not allow you to give such information while me and my members tried really hard to extract the information out of the customers. Sometimes the customer will speak to you in a very rude way but then we need to be calm in that situation and need to tackle the situation where I did a lot better than my team members because the way they speak are not that much apt and when I spoke to them it was nice, calm and soothing to them so they would agree to whatever I said. I tried, still now I am trying to have that kind of experience and yes it was a delightful experience with them while I was doing my internship, it was really a fantastic experience with them.

    Band 7

    One memorable experience I had as a member of our team was during my final year of the school when I participated in a science exhibition project. Our goal was to create a working model that demonstrates renewable energy in action. So we decided to build a miniature wind turbine that could actually generate electricity. Our team had five members including myself. Each of us brought something different to the table. Two of my teammates were great at designing and assembling the physical structure. Another one was in charge of handling the presentation and explanation and I took the role of research and coordination. I gathered data, managed the timeline, and made sure everything stayed on track. The process was not always smooth. We had creative differences, a few technical glitches, and tight deadlines. But in the end, we managed to pull everything together just in time. On the day of the exhibition, not only did our model work flawlessly, but we also received special recognition from the judges for innovation in the teamwork. Being a part of the team felt incredibly rewarding. I realized how powerful collaboration can be when everyone contributes their strength. It also taught me how to compromise, communicate effectively, and support others under pressure. It was one of those experiences that stays with you because it was more than just about winning. It was about learning and growing together.

    Band 7

    One memorable experience I had as a part of a team was during my final year of university when we worked on a research project for a national science competition. The aim was to develop an eco-friendly alternative to plastic packaging using biodegradable materials. Our team consisted of four members including myself. There was Meera who handled the research and literature review, Akshay who was responsible for experimental part in the lab, Priya who took care of documentation and presentation slides. And I was the team coordinator managing the timelines, contributing to both research and writing and ensuring smooth communication among us. We spent nearly two months brainstorming, conducting experiments and refining our prototype. There were times when we disagreed on our ideas, especially during the testing phase when some of our results didn't meet the expectations. But instead of letting that demotivate us, we used our setbacks as learning points. We scheduled extra sessions, discussed openly and supported one another. In the end, our project not only met the competition standards but also won the third place at national level, which was a huge achievement considering the level of competition. I felt incredibly proud to be a part of that team. The experience taught me the value of collaboration, respecting diverse opinions and staying resilient. It gave me a real sense of accomplishment, not just because of the award, but because we had built something meaningful together. It also strengthened my confidence in working within a team setting and which I believe is a critical skill in both academic and personal life. This experience actually gave me a better opportunity to understand the challenges and

    Band 7

    I was in a team in my workspace where we had to develop a formulation. My team consisted of my seniors and my juniors of about six people. We had varied work portfolio wherein we were asked to come up with better ideas to formulate a emulsion, to formulate an emulsion. The emulsion was faced with a problem of consistency, odour and colour. Hence our team carried out literature survey wherein we found out different methods to develop a formulation with better consistency. We further thought of adding artificial colours as well as good odourants to improve the smell and the colour. The emulsion finally achieved the required consistency, odour and colour. Hence the product was approved for market. This shows the great teamwork and better results come with union of great brains and better people. Teamwork always leads to good results which can always be counted upon.

    Band 7

    One memorable experience I had as a member of team was working my final year in college. When we had to work on a group project for our marketing course, the task was to create a full-fledged marketing campaign for a fictional product and present it to our professors and classmates. Our team had six members, all from different academic backgrounds, which made the experience even more interesting. I assigned the role of a team coordinator because I am quite organized and good at planning. I made sure we had clear deadlines, divided the work evenly, and conducted regular catch-up meetings to track our progress. Each person brought something unique to the table. One of us was great with design, another handled market research, while someone else worked on the budget and analytics. I mostly focused on the presentation part and overall strategy, ensuring that everything tied together smoothly.

    Band 7

    One experience that stands out in my mind as a member of a team was when I worked on a group project in university. We were tasked with developing a marketing campaign for a new product and our team consisted of five members with different skill sets and strengths. I was responsible for creating the social media strategy while my teammates worked on market research, content creation and design. What I found particularly challenging was coordinating our efforts and ensuring that everyone was on the same page. However, through regular meetings and open communication, we were able to overcome our differences and work towards a common goal. Our team leader played a crucial role in facilitating discussions and making sure that everyone's ideas were heard. The project was a huge success and we received excellent feedback from our professor and peers. What I learned from this experience is the importance of teamwork, communication and adaptability. I realized that when individuals with different perspectives and skills come together, they can achieve something truly remarkable. This experience has taught me the value of collaboration and has helped me develop essential skills that I can apply in future team-based projects.

    Band 7

    One memorable experience I had working with a member of a team was during my college anatomy class. Our professor assigned us a project in groups of four, consisting of two girls and two boys. What made this experience special was our exceptional teamwork and camaraderie. We communicated effectively and collaborated seamlessly, which allowed us to complete our project ahead of schedule. The enjoyment we felt while working together was palpable and our efforts were recognized when our professor praised us in front of the entire class. I cherish the memories of that project and the strong bond we formed. As my teammates, their names were Koshi, Shivani, Arjun, and Kunal, and I still keep in touch today with them. They are my friends, and this was one of the memorable experiences.

    Band 7

    One memorable experience I had as a member of a team was during my final year at a college when we participated in an intercollegiate business plan competition. Our team consisted of five students from different departments and we were required to develop and present a comprehensive business idea to a panel of judges. I was assigned the role of team coordinator and content developer. My responsibilities included ensuring smooth communication within the team, assigning tasks based on individual strengths and preparing the written content for the final presentation. Our business idea focused on a sustainable packaging solution for small food businesses. We conducted thorough research, prepared a marketing and financial plan and designed a prototype. We worked collaboratively over several weeks, often staying back after lectures to discuss progress and make improvements. Being a part of this team was an extremely positive and enriching experience. I learned the value of cooperation, time management and how to resolve differences respectfully. Most importantly, it helped me understand the importance of listening to diverse perspectives which ultimately made our project stronger. Our hard work paid off when we won the second prize and it was a moment of great pride.

    Band 7

    during surgery. I was an assistant surgeon in a team of orthopedic surgeons. I worked in Rex hospitals, Coimbatore, especially in the post COVID period of 2021 to 2024. We happened to see a lot of steroid abuse related cases then. The experience during this period helped me bring out the team spirit in me. I also learned that collaboration to overcome complications played a major role during surgeries. We also had outings and involved in outpatient department proceedings. We would have journal club meetings every Thursday during which we will teach our junior residents. It was an insightful experience. Moreover, there were many patients who benefited from our service. My learning curve had a major part in this hospital and I learned a lot of orthopedics during my stay in Rex hospitals. I would like to give the credits to Dr. C. Rex who was the head of the department there and my juniors. I would also give the credit to the patients.

    Band 7

    One memorable experience I had was when I participated in a university moot court competition. A moot court is basically a simulation of a court proceeding where law students argue imaginary cases and cases of practice. I was part of a three member team and we represented our university in a national level competition. Our preparation lasted for weeks, we divided responsibilities among ourselves, handled facts of the case, issues, and we were also each responsible for drafting our own issues so that we could understand what we were going to argue about. There were times when we disagreed on legal strategies or interpretations, but instead of letting the conflict take the better of us, we openly discussed about these issues and collectively reached a solution. We practiced daily, often late into the night, helping each other improve our speaking skills and anticipate tough questions from the judges. This experience taught me not just about the law, but it also taught me about collaboration and adaptability and the importance of trust and communication in a team setting. Although we didn't win off at the top in the competition, we still made it to the semifinals, which is still a great achievement given the level of competition. It will be something that I will always remember and draw upon in the future group projects.
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