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Describe an interesting traditional story: IELTS Speaking Cue Card

You should say

  • What the story is about
  • When/how you knew it
  • Who told you the story
  • And explain how you felt when you first heard it
Show all 66 answers

Cue 1:What the story is about

  • Begin by summarizing the main plot of the traditional story, highlighting its key themes and characters.
  • Mention any cultural significance or moral lessons that the story conveys.

Example

The story I want to share is about 'The Ramayana', an epic tale from Indian mythology. It narrates the journey of Lord Rama, who embarks on a quest to rescue his wife, Sita, from the demon king Ravana. The story is rich in themes of duty, honor, and the triumph of good over evil.

Cue 2:When/how you knew it

  • Describe the context in which you first encountered the story, whether it was through reading, storytelling, or media.
  • Mention any specific time or event that made this story memorable for you.

Example

I first heard this story during my childhood, when my grandmother used to narrate it to me every evening. It was a cherished family tradition, and I looked forward to those storytelling sessions, especially during the festive season of Diwali.

Cue 3:Who told you the story

  • Identify the person who shared the story with you and explain their relationship to you.
  • Share any personal anecdotes about how this person made the story come alive.

Example

My grandmother was the one who told me this story. She had a magical way of storytelling, using different voices for each character, which made the tale even more engaging. Her passion for the story made me feel like I was part of the adventure.

Cue 4:And explain how you felt when you first heard it

  • Express your emotions and thoughts during your first experience of hearing the story.
  • Discuss how the story impacted you personally or influenced your beliefs.

Example

When I first heard 'The Ramayana', I felt a mix of excitement and awe. The bravery of Lord Rama and the loyalty of Hanuman inspired me deeply. It instilled in me the values of courage and righteousness, which I carry with me to this day.

Conclusion

    Example

    In conclusion, this traditional story not only entertained me as a child but also shaped my understanding of moral values. It remains a significant part of my cultural heritage, reminding me of the importance of good over evil in our lives.

    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 Detail in Story Description

    Failing to provide enough detail about the story can make your answer seem vague and uninteresting. It's important to engage the listener with vivid descriptions.

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    Tip

    Include specific elements of the story, such as key characters, events, and settings, to make your answer more engaging.

    2: Ignoring Personal Connection

    Not sharing your personal feelings or experiences related to the story can make your response less relatable. Personal connections add depth to your answer.

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    Tip

    Explain how the story impacted you emotionally or what it taught you to create a more compelling narrative.

    Rushing Through the Answer

    Speaking too quickly can lead to unclear communication and missed opportunities to elaborate on important points. Take your time to articulate your thoughts.

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    Tip

    Pace your speech and pause briefly between points to allow the listener to absorb your ideas and to give yourself time to think.

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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
    anonymous person icon

    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

    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

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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
    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 7

    Well, I have come across many fascinating Indian traditional stories like the Jataka tales and Mahabharata, but the one that fascinated me the most is Ramayana, the story of Lord Rama. The story starts from when he was sent to exile for 14 years, and his wife Sita was kidnapped by the demon king Ravana. Then Rama fights a great battle along with his brother Lakshmana and Lord Hanuman and defeats Ravana and brings back Sita. What really excited me the most is the idea of the story, the patience and the things that the story carries which are relevant even today. My grandmother used to tell me this story when I was a child and I had been very passionate about it and I constantly wished to hear that from her, but she used to tell only one or two chapters every night. And the main character that fascinated me the most is Lord Hanuman and his superhuman power. He would carry mountains on his shoulder and his ability, his worship towards Lord Rama. The story is very interesting.

    Band 7

    I would like to talk about a very intriguing traditional story which is very much part of Assamese mythology and that is the story of Bordoisilla. Bordoisilla has always been an integral part of myths and legends that are talked about in Assamese culture and being an Assamese girl myself I have listened to the various versions of this story. However the most popular version of the story talks about Bordoisilla as a woman who visited Assam every time before the monsoon started. That is the period when we get to experience strong winds and heavy rains in Assam and it is believed that it is because Bordoisilla who is a character in our Assamese myth used to visit her mother's place during this period and whenever she was leaving her mother's place to go back to her husband's house or which was her house she would cry and throw tantrums because she wouldn't want to leave her mother's side. This story is very popular and the strong winds and torrential rainfall is associated with Bordoisilla's tantrums and unwillingness to leave her mother's house. The story has always captivated me and also the environmental aspect of it is pretty interesting in my opinion and therefore I always have felt a deep connect with this particular story. My mother was the first person who told me this story

    Band 7

    Today, I would like to describe a very famous traditional story from India called the story of King Harishchandra, which is known for its strong message of honesty and sacrifice. I first heard this story when I was a child, probably around the age of 7. My grandmother used to narrate it to me during festivals, especially on Diwali nights when the whole family gathered together. One important part of the story is that King Harishchandra was known for his commitment to truth. This was because he believed that a king must always set the right example for his people. For instance, even when he lost his kingdom and family due to a sage's curse, he refused to lie or take the easy way out. As a result, he became a symbol of integrity in Indian culture. Another significant aspect is the sacrifices he made. He went through extreme hardships, even working as crematorium keeper to pay off his debts. For example, there is a famous scene where he has to take payment for performing the last rites of his own son. Because of this, the story teaches children the value of honesty even in the most difficult situations. Finally, what makes this story truly special is its emotional and spiritual lesson. It shows that truth always wins in the end. When the gods finally restored his kingdom, it provided the patience and righteousness eventually led to justice. Overall, this traditional story has stayed with me for many years because of its powerful message about honesty and moral strength. That is why it is still told in Indian homes even today.

    Band 7

    An interesting traditional story that I came to know was about Krishna and Kujjela. Krishna, Lord Krishna, in his youth became the king of a land and Kujjela was his old friend. Kujjela was struggling with poverty and finding one square meal for his family. His wife instructed him to visit Krishna, his good friend. Kujjela was reluctant to meet his friend in this condition, but he still decided to go ahead. His wife prepared some plate rice to take along with him. Once Kujjela visits Krishna, he offers the plate rice that his wife makes. However, he is not confident about what he has to offer to Krishna. Krishna, however, devours the food that Kujjela brings and he is happy that Kujjela is there for him. He rewards Kujjela with a lot of gifts and he realizes the struggles that Kujjela faces. I think I heard the story from my mother when I was very small and at the time I was greatly fascinated by the story as I felt that kindness would be rewarded and I could also relate with Kujjela's sense of dignity and pride as I also had similar feelings.

    Band 7

    One interesting traditional Bengali folklore that I know very well about is of the Brahmaditya. So the Brahmaditya is said to be the ghost of a Brahmin man who had died and become a benevolent spirit who stays near the family protecting them, sits on the trees since the evening till dawn and just is very big and loves to eat. So I have been hearing this story since I was a child. I was first told about this story by my grandmother. I used to beg her for stories at night and one night she told me this and even scared me saying that even we had a big tree in our backyard which had a Brahmaditya in it. I was just very fascinated with this story and since then I have had an interest in paranormal things. I keep on researching and I still keep thinking if I should believe in it or not. Not only Brahmaditya, just the whole concept of paranormal creatures. I don't believe something until I see it. I just keep on hearing about it all the time. So someday maybe I would like to see if it's not too much of a hassle or if it's not too traumatic of an experience. I would definitely like to physically see and believe in it. Thanks for watching!

    Band 7

    An interesting traditional story that comes into my mind is the mongoose and the farmer's wife. So, a poor but honest farmer and his wife, they had a young baby and fiercely loyal mongoose. So one day while the parents were away, a dangerous snake slithered towards the newborn. The mongoose who saw the threat, he bravely fought and killed the snake to protect the baby. Unfortunately, when the farmer's wife returned, she saw the mongoose with blood on its mouth and without thinking and without investigating, she killed the mongoose as a reaction. However, she then discovered that the dead snake and she realized her mistake in judging the mongoose. So, the moral of this tale is that one's first reaction is not always the right one and it is crucial for us to investigate before judging or acting and trust if it's once broken often leads to lasting regret.

    Band 6-7

    well in my life I have read plenty of stories but today I would like to talk about one traditional story which I found quite captivating. To begin with when I was studying in school at that time my teacher taught me a story about race between tortoise and rabbit and furthermore in that story the rabbit and tortoise decide to race as we know tortoise had small step and rabbit had a good speed so in that race in the middle of the race rabbit decided to take a nap so they slept and with the small steps tortoise won the match so and suddenly rabbit was waked up and found rabbit tortoise was won the match so I learned many things from that story in addition first of all I learned the thing is never give up earlier because we do know we did we didn't know what this is what the result will second ones don't be overconfident because it's ruin our life as well as our decision third learned thing is without fail without attempting don't be quite earlier because we don't know the result so overall this story which I learned by my teacher when I was studying school and still it's my favorite traditional story

    Band 6-7

    So, a traditional story which I heard from my mother was when I was very young, I was a child, I was I guess around 10 years old and it was on the occasion of the Mahashivratri where we celebrate the marriage of our deity God, Shivji and Parvatiji. So the story goes like I used to stand for hours, I used to stand for hours serving the Gods during the puja or let's say the worship. My mother told me this story and I felt really amazed because now I don't have that kind of drive towards our deities because of my busy schedule, I can't spend a lot of time with them but the story felt very surprising and interesting to me because the drive I had when I was very young was everyone used to, everyone used to praise me for that.

    Band 6-7

    The interesting traditional story I heard from my father was about Rajasthan's culture and the tradition was that whenever a girl child was born there, they plant a tree and this tradition is really positive, environment friendly and it really gives us a positive enthusiastic energy. As my father served there in Rajasthan army for couple of years, so when he came home, he told me and my sibling the unique tradition of Rajasthan and this particular story really made me very inquisitive and emotional together because being a woman, celebrating the birth of a girl child really makes us feel more powerful and empowered.

    Band 6-7

    The traditional story which I heard recently and which was my most favorite is the story about my culture which was told by my mother and it is our culture's depiction to the God. What we used to do is, we used to go to our native town with all the family and with vessels, with the rice and lentils we bought from here in Chennai and we used to go there and we used to meet all the relatives there and one day we will be planning to visit the temple and then we go there and we cook with the rice and the lentils which we got from the places. All the relatives will be arrived there, they would cook and once that is done, we used to serve it to the God there and among our family, we have a priest which is my father's younger brother. So he used to say all the prayers saying that we all need to be very good and very wealthy and once all the prayer saying is done, the God will come into his body and it used to dance and it used to tell things, some random things or if we can also ask
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