arrow back icon Top Answers

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.

    bulb icon

    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.

    bulb icon

    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.

    bulb icon

    Tip

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

    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

    I needed help deciding if I had to live in a hostel or in a flat while I was doing my master's in Hyderabad which I also currently am and the reason that I did not have it that I needed help of my friends, family, colleagues while I was working is that I had absolutely no exposure or experience living alone without the help and support of my family outside and my friends, family, people from my workplace they helped me understand through their own empirical evidences that it was essential in order to gain an insight on how to live alone you could choose a flat it would help you to learn basic skills like cooking and taking care of your things not relying on other people for that it might build a foundation for how your life will look like when you gain experience or start working however they also suggested me that while because it is just one year in Hyderabad and not even a full year it's mostly seven to eight or nine months it would be better if I chose to live in a hostel along with other people a couple of reasons they stated was they stated were that the rental expenses will be really less as opposed to staying in a flat another great point that they brought up was I will have more time to devote for my studies rather than doing the same for cleaning, cooking, etc. The result was that I ended up choosing the hostel because I realized comparing and analyzing between both options that it was better suited to my needs the hostel is closer to my college campus there is a mess facility available which I can

    Band 6-7

    We all have to make decisions from time to time. Some decisions are simple like what to wear or what to eat. However, some decisions can have a lasting impact on our lives, such as selecting a career or a life partner. One important decision I made was choosing my subjects for senior school. After completing my 10th grade, I had to decide between medical, non-medical, commerce, and art stream. Many of my friends opted for the non-medical stream, but I realized that math was not my strong subject. I discussed my options with my parents, but they encouraged me to make the decision myself. I approached my teacher, Ms. Cheshtha, who was also my mentor and lived in my neighborhood. She advised me to choose medical, knowing my strength better suited for this field. I trusted my teacher's advice and chose medical stream. Today, I feel content with my choice.

    Band 6-7

    I would say there are two important decisions that I made in my life with the help of other people, be it my parents or the society in whole. The first important decision was that choosing bio-maths, a group in my 11th and 12th standard. I was not really interested in biology, but I was kind of forced to choose that group. And also, when it comes to my bachelor's degree, I was again pushed by society, and so societal pressure made my parents also force me to choose computer science, actually engineering. But I decided all by myself that I'm not just going to choose computer science engineering just for the sake of other society people, but I also had an interest towards business systems, so I wisely chose computer science and business system when it comes to my bachelor's. I would say it created a very big impact, but thankfully, I found that I have interest towards business management from the part of my bachelor's degree, which is like computer science and business systems. There's also a good thing that because the society has forced me to do B.Tech, it was a four-year course, and it makes me easier to complete credits and so that I can go for my higher studies in a much more easier way because I have enough number of credits in my business studies as well, business studies background as well, not just, I mean, the overall credits, not just the business-related courses.

    Band 6-7

    So an important decision in my life would be moving from my schooling to my university. So ever since I was a child, I was relying on becoming a doctor. I have put all my efforts into studying for NEET, one of the most competitive exams. But unfortunately, my results weren't up to the grade, and I was not given an admit to any of the medical schools in India. I had no other choice but to look for other alternate as an engineering. So when I was looking for engineering universities, I was completely lost, and I was not sure on which university would be the right fit for me. And that's when I contacted my seniors, and they were of great help. They sat down with me, made me sure I was feeling comfortable, and I explored all the various options, which is being in the present, which aligns with my interest towards biomedical engineering. And that's when I came to the University of Associate College of Engineering, where it complemented my high grades, along with my passion towards, you know, medicine. And hence, with their guidance, I chose to pursue biomedical engineering. It was a very tough incident for me, because imagine having your whole life planned to do one degree, and at the end, you do something else. But they gave me advices, and allowed me to understand that life doesn't end there, and that there are plenty of opportunities available in the future, and that I should acquire them and go forward.

    Band 6-7

    I discussed my decision with my teachers and my professors. Actually, my group of friends decided to do masters in Germany after completion of my BTech. Everyone was saying negatively about Germany and there is no good education and also there is not available proper jobs. This time rumours are going on someone mode. I discussed mainly with my professors. They advised me not to think negatively about the education which is given by Germany. Also, you can do the masters very well. They encouraged me and also gave me support. Due to their inspiration and well wishes, we completed all the process for higher studies. Also, this type of decision helped me a lot. My professors helped me a lot by giving support and also they encouraged me. They gave me curiosity according to the studies which is... ...Euregreen branch of Mechanical Engineering. Germany is best for mechanical students and I pursued my BTech in Mechanical.

    Band 6-7

    One of the most important decisions in my life, I remember when I was working as a teacher, my co-partner helped me when I was baffled, what to do in this situation. I was stuck to leave the job rather to stay, then she helped me, she lifted me up, she encouraged me and she had so many options and in that way I have continued my job. And today I am really thankful in whichever position I am because of that one decision.

    Band 6-7

    The most important decision of my life is to keep myself calm and quiet in every difficult situation because I used to get very angry and hyper on small things but that's why my health also get affected but my father helped me and trying to guide me that be very calm and try to control my anger so that my health was not getting worse. He taught me that anger is not a solution of every problem and being angry is not a good thing to other people also because your words and your actions may hurt people or your loved one so try to keep yourself calm and quiet during those type of situations and if you are getting very angry or getting very exhausted or frustrated then you should go to the other room and calm yourself and then when your mood is okay and your mood is fine then you can talk on that situation if anything hurts you.

    Band 6-7

    I made so many decisions in my life since childhood to nowadays but today I would like to talk about a decision that I made with the help of Professor Amit. It is a professor of Chandigarh University. Then approximately 4-5 years ago when I completed my 10th class then I was confused to choose a stream in 12th. Then I was very confused then I took approximately 2-3 weeks to decide which stream is best for my future. Then firstly I went to go for my parents and take a decision which subject is best for me to choose. But my parents gave me advice which you take a decision yourself according to your interest. Then I meet a professor Aman. He is a professor of Chandigarh University. Then he gave me advice to take a science stream or an art stream which is both are best for the career. I had a keen interest of art stream. Then I had took an art stream. It is a very impressive and good decision for me because I am happy to take an art stream and it is a very beneficial for my future. Then this is a decision I made with.

    Band 6-7

    Well, if I talk about an important decision I made with the help of other people, it would be choosing college after my 12th, which was very important in my life. I took help of my elders in my family as well as my friends because I was not sure which college to choose and what degree would help me. So we decided and came on an agreement that I will go for a university in Banaras, where I took admission and the course they helped me choose was English Honours. I would say it was not a good decision because they were also not aware of much and I didn't know much about my future perspective, which I will choose after graduation. I really wanted to do an MBA and for that in my country we had to give a competitive exam, which is known as CAT, Common Admission Test, and to get into a better college we had to secure at least 99 percentile. There was a subject in that exam, which was English and my English was not very good at that time, so I decided to take English Honours because I thought it would help me to improve my English and also let me get more marks, but however it was not a good decision, I should have chosen.

    Band 6-7

    During my master's in Naipur Mohali, I was planning to do my PhD in India only, but during that master's I came across several people, mostly my PhD seniors, where in discussions I came to know about the pros and cons of doing PhD in India and what are the things I will miss if I do PhD in India. They suggested me that you should try for abroad and after that I have taken that advice seriously and started preparing for going abroad, where I have tried several things like writing an email to a professor and for that also as I don't have many experiences of approaching professor, which lab has good work or where should I try, which countries I should target for my PhD. I again went for advice to my seniors, there they have advised me several things and those advices really helped me out on my endeavour to getting a PhD in USA. So by following those advice and thanks to their help, I got PhD in USA.
    1 2 3 4 5 6
    ielts logo

    Get the IELTS Prep App

    Star rating icon

    4.2

    1M+ Installs

     app download banner image

    Get the app link on your phone

    +91

    Or download app from

    google play storeapp store
    master ielts speaking ad