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Describe an important decision made with the help of other people: IELTS Speaking Cue Card

You should say

  • What the decision was
  • Who helped you / how they helped
  • Why you needed help
  • And explain the result of the decision
Show all 55 answers

Cue 1:What the decision was

  • Clearly state the important decision you made, ensuring it is specific and relevant.
  • Provide context about why this decision was significant to you.

Example

The important decision I made was to pursue a master's degree in business administration. This was a significant step for me as I wanted to enhance my career prospects and gain deeper knowledge in my field.

Cue 2:Who helped you / how they helped

  • Mention the people who assisted you in making this decision, such as family, friends, or mentors.
  • Explain the specific ways they contributed, whether through advice, encouragement, or sharing their experiences.

Example

My parents played a crucial role in this decision. They encouraged me to pursue higher education and shared their own experiences of how it helped them in their careers. Additionally, my friend, who had already completed his MBA, provided insights into the program and its benefits.

Cue 3:Why you needed help

  • Discuss the reasons you felt you needed assistance in making this decision.
  • Highlight any uncertainties or challenges you faced that prompted you to seek guidance.

Example

I needed help because I was unsure about the right course and institution to choose. With so many options available, I felt overwhelmed and wanted to ensure that I made the best choice for my future.

Cue 4:And explain the result of the decision

  • Describe the outcome of your decision and how it impacted your life.
  • Reflect on any lessons learned or changes that occurred as a result.

Example

As a result of this decision, I successfully enrolled in a reputable MBA program. It has opened up numerous opportunities for me, including internships and job offers. I learned the importance of seeking advice and support from others when making significant life choices.

Conclusion

    Example

    In conclusion, making the decision to pursue my MBA with the help of my family and friends was a transformative experience. It taught me the value of collaboration and the importance of seeking guidance when faced with important choices.

    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

    Avoid being too general when describing the decision. Vague answers can make it hard for the examiner to understand the significance of the decision and the role of others.

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    Tip

    Provide specific details about the decision, including what it was and the exact contributions of those who helped you.

    2: Neglecting Personal Impact

    Don't forget to explain how the decision affected you personally. Failing to do so can make your response less engaging and meaningful.

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    Tip

    Include your feelings and thoughts about the decision and how it changed your perspective or situation.

    Ignoring the Result

    Avoid omitting the outcome of the decision. Not discussing the result can leave your answer incomplete and less impactful.

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    Tip

    Clearly explain the result of the decision and how it influenced your life or the lives of others involved.

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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 >7

    well I had made many important decision but one of the crucial decision that I remember was the maths project so I was not so good at the mathematics and I was assigned with a project on that subject so I was really struggling to find a perfect topic for the project and I decided to take help from my classmates and teacher so they suggested me a very good topic that was on trigonometry section of mathematics so they guided me throughout the session and they project about the subheadings and all so at last the content turned out to be so good and I presented that project to the examiner all the detailing about the subheadings headings was so presented with perfect manner and examiner was so impressed he asked me about from where I got ideas so yes I took the name of my classmates and teachers they also got praised from the examiner and at last when I scored good grades I thanked to my teacher as well as my friends and classmates they helped me with the subject and of course it was not my task and when with the help of them I was able to conquer it and I was so happy at last seeing my good grades and I also helped another student who was struggling in the biology and as I was good in that I was good at that subject I helped him with his project so yes his project also was made very good and at last he thanked me that I helped him and he also got good grades so it was one of the important decision that I made with the help of the other people and the decision was really very helpful for me

    Band 7

    An important decision that I have made with the help of other people, especially my parents, is the selection of my college for my bachelors. When I was in 11th and 12th, I was preparing for NEET, which is the All India Medical Exam, yet my passion lied elsewhere. I was really interested in the subject biotechnology and its various implications and applications that you see in our day-to-day lives, from manipulating the genome, to healthcare, to public health sector, etc. It was a subject that always fascinated me, however, just like how the Indian system forces you to become either a doctor or an engineer, I was also put into the rat race. But when I was in 12th, I came across this one chapter in my biology book which was about biotechnology, and that completely changed my career trajectory. When I gave my NEET exam, I did qualify and also got medical seat, however, since my passion lied elsewhere, my dad realized this and told me to do whatever you want to do. You have to always dream big. And that's why I decided to take biotechnology as my bachelors and I have not regretted that decision till this day. Because of the support my parents and friends showed, I was able to thrive in my degree and I have also got a first class with honors as I graduated from Christ University. Now I am aiming to do my masters in bioinformatics with the support from the same people that pushed me to biotechnology. Thank you.

    Band 7

    So, one important decision I had to make after my B.Sc. was to choose whether I would do my Master's in Physics or Master's in Geophysics. Actually, I got selected in IIT Kharagpur for Master's in Physics and also got selected for doing Master's in Geophysics in IIT Bombay. So, I was really confused at that time because if I chose IIT Bombay, it would lead to better job opportunities. But I was really interested in Physics, my passion was Physics, so I thought of choosing IIT Kharagpur also. So, it was a time I was very confused what to choose. In that time, my father and my family really helped me out. They advised me that I should not go after job opportunities instead of my passion. If I follow my passion, I will definitely get great jobs and job would not feel like working, it would feel like I am just enjoying my life. So, at that time, it was great. My entire family supported me, so I agreed to their decision and I took my next step as a post-graduate student in Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur. Currently, last year I have completed my post-graduation and now I feel that the decision was actually very great. So, if I did not agree with them and follow their own path, it might lead to very drastic results. Currently, I am really happy that I made that decision.

    Band 7

    A recent important decision I had to make was related to my dad's health as he was diagnosed with stage 4 cholangiocarcinoma and was said to have very limited time, me and my family had to make a decision whether or not to proceed with invasive procedures. Already knowing that dad will have limited time, we didn't want to disrupt his cycle as he is nearing his death. We wanted to have minimal invasive procedures as possible. We want him to live with dignity and with even the better quality of his life till his death. So this decision was made with the help of my family members and obviously doctors helped a lot. There were moments when we couldn't make or we didn't know what to do, then doctors stepped up to make the decision for ourselves and we are ready to do whatever we said. Along with others, family members, my sister, my mother, everyone played a huge role in this decision as to step away from any invasive procedures such as ventilation or any type of surgery. As we know nothing would help him other than just prolong him for some more time. We didn't want him to be in any kind of vegetative state. If he was alive, we wanted him to have a dignified life, not bedridden in the hospital.

    Band 7

    One of the most important decisions which I had to take in my life was choosing between the National Institute of Technology and the Government Engineering College of my district. So, when I completed my high school, I was presented with an option, either I could go to a National Institute of Technology for Production Engineering B.Tech or I could opt for B.Tech in Mechanical Engineering in the Government Engineering College of my own district. Now the dilemma was this that the course I wanted was Mechanical Engineering, but the institute I wanted was NIT. Now I could only choose the later or the former. So that is where I took the help of my friends and my family. I talked with my family regarding my issues. They helped me get connected to some experts in the field who have done their education from similar institutes. I had a talk with some of my friends who had their elder brothers and sisters who also had to make a similar choice. This went on for almost a month and I was very much confused to be honest. But at the end, I took a call and I decided to go to NIT for Production Engineering and it was one of the best decisions that I have made in my life. I am so happy for everyone who supported me in my decision as those four years were one of the best. I was able to learn a lot of new things. The technology and the facilities available in the campus were top-notch. And overall, the professors, the friends, even my job.

    Band 7

    One of the most important decisions an individual can make in their life would be probably your future career, your future ambition, your passion. And it's really hard to incorporate your interests as well as the amount of income you would need to live your desired life into forming a career that would effectively satisfy your needs while not tying you out. So the decision I made was probably my career path, to choose to study criminology. The decision was actually helped by my 11th grade psychology teacher who at random started talking about this new era of psychology, this new field of psychology and how, and how vital it is and how important the scope is to the future and how it is rapidly rising. That kind of, I've always seen psychology as a side interest, as something that is not a means of income and the environment that I primarily grew up in as well, it was something that was not encouraged, something that was not common, not really a common source of income. But I never really wanted to go to your typical 9-5 jobs as they gave me no interest or never really fueled my passion to work hard. So my teacher on giving her speech really inspired me to take on my interests and made me realize that it is actually possible to be happy with your job and earn a good income. And I think that was really impactful on my decisions on my education.

    Band 7

    One important decision I made with the help of other people was choosing my career path. After finishing school, I was confused whether to prepare for government exams or to go for engineering. My parents and teachers guided me a lot, my father explained the advantages of engineering and my teacher gave me examples of how my skills matched this field. I also spoke to some seniors who had already chosen this path and they shared their experiences. With their advice, I finally decided to join engineering. This was very important because it shaped my future studies and career. Without their guidance, I might have chosen the wrong path. I believe that sometimes others can see our strengths more clearly than we do ourselves. So basically, they played a very important role to choose and make an important decision for my career path. All these discussions gave me different perspectives. Finally, I decided to go for engineering. This decision was very important because it shaped my future decisions and directions. I realized that taking advice from experienced people can help us to make wiser choices. If I had made the decision alone, I might have been uncertain.

    Band 7

    So firstly when I got an offer to join the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science as a project assistant, I was very sceptical of joining because it is here in a new city with new people in it and it was my first time coming out of home. However, my mom and dad were really positive about it and they thought it would spark the scientist in me which I had really dreamt of for a long time. It has almost been a year I am at ICS working as a project assistant and to my utmost surprise what a huge difference I have in my field right now. From extracurricular activities to scientific thoughts to improving my presentation skills, I have really come a long way and you know there is much more to this. This decision not only helped me to become more smart but has also made me much more independent. Now I earn on my own, I can spend on whatever I want, I have to take financial responsibility, I have to think as an adult for now.

    Band 7

    An important decision that I made was choosing to go for higher studies. My parents helped me with this decision. I needed help since I was very confused. I was at crossroads and I couldn't decide which way to go. My parents helped me channelize my thoughts into meaningful cues to help me decide what I want to do. It's a very important decision since it changes the course of my life and is a major crossroad in the course of my life. In the course of my career and professional life.

    Band 6-7

    So, one main decision that I took was to pursue my higher studies. Right now I am currently pursuing my bachelors and I have taken the decision to pursue higher studies and not to go for a job. So my parents helped me take this decision and at this stage I needed this help because I was not very much matured to take a correct decision for my career. So at that point their support helped me channelize my path and decide what was right for me. And right now I am almost in process with my applications for the graduate admissions and I feel this is the correct decision because it would shape my path better and it was my dream to study higher always. And at that point I feel that the decision I have taken is the right one and yeah my parents have played a major role in helping me take that decision and I feel I have taken the best decision now. I am looking forward to get admitted into my dream universities and pursue my higher studies and look into a job maybe after 4-5 years. This decision has made me realize or has made me decide where I would stand down the lane next 5 years.
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