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Describe an occasion when someone gave you positive advice or suggestions about your work/study: IELTS Speaking Cue Card

You should say

  • Who is the person?
  • What he/she said?
  • How the advice/suggestion affected you?
  • And explain how you felt about the advice/suggestions.
Show all 161 answers

Cue 1:Who is the person?

  • Introduce the person who gave you the advice, mentioning their relationship to you, such as a teacher, mentor, or friend.
  • Provide some context about their background or expertise that makes their advice valuable.

Example

The person who gave me positive advice was my college professor, Dr. Sharma. He was not only my mentor but also an expert in the field of environmental science, which is my area of study.

Cue 2:What he/she said?

  • Summarize the key points of the advice or suggestions they provided.
  • Make sure to include specific phrases or ideas that stood out to you.

Example

Dr. Sharma suggested that I focus on practical projects to enhance my understanding of theoretical concepts. He said, 'Real-world experience will make your resume stand out and deepen your knowledge.'

Cue 3:How the advice/suggestion affected you?

  • Explain how you implemented the advice in your work or studies.
  • Discuss any changes in your approach or mindset as a result of the advice.

Example

After his suggestion, I started participating in various environmental projects and internships. This hands-on experience helped me grasp complex theories better and boosted my confidence in my abilities.

Cue 4:And explain how you felt about the advice/suggestions.

  • Share your feelings about receiving the advice and how it impacted your relationship with the person.
  • Reflect on the long-term benefits of the advice on your personal and professional growth.

Example

I felt grateful and inspired by Dr. Sharma's advice. It strengthened my respect for him and motivated me to pursue my studies with more passion. I realized that good guidance can truly shape one's career.

Conclusion

    Example

    In conclusion, receiving positive advice from Dr. Sharma not only improved my academic performance but also instilled a sense of direction in my career. It reminded me of the importance of seeking guidance and learning from experienced individuals.

    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 Specificity

    Being vague about the advice received can weaken your response. Specific details help illustrate the impact of the advice and make your answer more engaging.

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    Tip

    Include specific examples of what the person said and how it directly influenced your work or study.

    2: Ignoring Personal Feelings

    Failing to express your feelings about the advice can make your response less personal. Sharing your emotions adds depth to your answer.

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    Tip

    Describe how the advice made you feel, whether it was motivated, inspired, or relieved.

    Overly Complex Language

    Using complicated vocabulary or structures can confuse the listener. Clarity is key in speaking tasks, especially for non-native speakers.

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    Tip

    Use simple and clear language to convey your thoughts effectively, ensuring your message is understood.

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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 6-7

    So, I had recently completed my undergraduate degree in B.Sc. Physics Honours from St. Stephen's College, University of Delhi, where I had completed my physics study in three years. It was basically an honours degree. So, when I was in my last semester, in sixth semester, a professor named Mr. Abhinav Gupta had given me advice that you are such a talented student, you should go study for the mathematics. Your mathematics is more stronger than your physics. You are very good in solving mathematics problem than physics problem. So, you should go to the mathematics department. So, I listened to the advice and I am really interested in the mathematics, like in the data science, in the machine learning, in this part where the mathematics is used hardly. So, I applied for the master's program at University of Melbourne, Australia. So, where I got, where I, where my application is even progressed. So, I applied for the master's of physics, but I can take electives of mathematics like Bayesian statistics learning and some other courses like mathematical modelling, where I am more interested. So, really this advice affected me and it helped me in choosing the right career and path in my future. So, it really helped me and this gives me a shift that where I am interested in. So, I am very thankful to my teacher and that's all about it. Thank you.

    Band 6-7

    Okay, so an occasion when someone gave me a positive advice or suggestion was, when I was in dilemma after my 12th class, I didn't know what I was going to do after my 12th, that what stream should I choose, like whether I should go for arts, whether I should go for the computers, I was in really confusion, I was really puzzled about it, at that time I went to my cousin, he is my first cousin, he is an HOD at a college, he is an HOD of economic subject and I went up to him, I asked for his advice and he gave me a precise, a crisp advice on my confusion, he told me to follow whatever I liked, whichever subject interested me, I should follow the same subject, he told me to follow my interest, to follow my instinct and my instinct was that I had such a great interest in the subject English, so consequently I chose BA Honours in English and it really impacted my course of life ahead, then I pursued Masters of English, that also I did in Honours and because of the subject that interested me most, I could follow it passionately, I could, you know, give it my heart and labour and I really excelled in it.

    Band 6-7

    A time when I posted an ad on OLX app to sell my bike and a person just connected to me to discuss about the selling of the vehicle and when he talked with me he agrees to buy my bike at a great price and he scheduled a meeting at my house and after that my father dealt with him for the bike and he also told my father that your son is intelligent and his communication skills are also very nice and I was very happy hearing good about me to my father

    Band 6-7

    For the past few weeks or months, I have felt a lot, how can we say it, a lot of stuck in terms of my study as I have only completed my bachelor's and I wish to pursue master's in my coming future. I was a lot held back and confused on what to do and from where to do. So at that very time, one of my closest friends helped me through it. She came up with a very good suggestion that I should apply for a foreign university and see how that goes. She helped me through it all. She suggested me some good universities and I took her advice and applied and after that I got a very good response. I even got an offer letter from one of the top institutes of the world. Now this made me feel quite elated and I felt very grateful to have such a friend in my life who is not just with me in my happy times but also when I am feeling low and trying to help me in whichever way she can. I will always be eternally grateful to her because at the end of the day, the suggestion which me

    Band 6-7

    As I am a person who never likes to take advice from someone because I am a very self-motivated person and I avoid taking these, but today I would like to talk about an occasion when my friend gave me a positive advice about my studies. I was very stressed when my board exams were taking place. It was about 4-5 months back when I was very, very nervous about the exams and I was feeling very stressed to get a good score. So I practised a lot, I did a lot of hard work, but my friend was the one who keeps on motivating me and inspiring me that I am able to do it and she used to send me the positive quotes and thoughts which keeps me motivating and she also sent me some positive lectures on YouTube which taught me how to tackle with the ups and downs of life. So that was a time I felt very positive and learnt how to overcome the obstacles which one faces. I believe that a person should never give up in his or her life no matter how tough the journey gets. So yes, she was the person who gave me a positive advice and I felt very overwhelming after receiving that advice and the results were outstanding.

    Band 6-7

    One time I remember getting suggestions and help in my study was when I was in school and I was preparing for my exams. I was having a hard time preparing for my math exam and even thought of giving up. But then I went to my cousin brother and asked for his help. Since he has always been good at math, he decided to help me and every evening for two weeks he sat with me, practiced problems and gave me tips on how to remember formulas and how to solve the questions faster. Slowly his help boosted my confidence and in the end the results were very positive. I did really well in my exam. Even I scored one of the highest marks in the class. It made me really proud of myself and because of his suggestions I could get really great marks. So I helped him and that situation also helped us grow stronger. It also reminded me that no matter what a small amount of help can go through a long way. Since the day I decided that if I find myself in a situation where I can help people and give my advice or suggestions, I am always going to do that.

    Band 6-7

    Well, I believe good advice at the right time can really change the way we think or work. Today, I would like to talk about an occasion when I received some really helpful advice about my studies from my elder brother. He's always been a guiding figure in my life, especially when it comes to academics. This particular instance happened last year when I was preparing for my final semester exam. I felt quite stressed and overwhelmed due to because there was so much labor left and I don't have enough time to prepare it because I don't have any proper plans to study. So noticing my stress, my older brother sat down close to me and gave me some calm and little advice. He said, instead of trying to study everything at once, you might do a syllabus in little chunks or use AI or some creativity to divide your syllabus. Surprisingly, it helped me a lot and I feel a little bit more stressed. I feel calm and I feel like the situation is now under my control. I can do all the syllabus in very few weeks, a few days, and I will be able to study more effectively and score better than much I expected in the exam. This advice really changed the way I approach the study, but task in general. It taught me the importance of planning, consistency, and mental relaxation. In that, I felt extremely grateful for his suggestion. It boosted my confidence and taught me a practice skill that I still use today. His words were simple, but they made a big difference in my academic journey. So yeah, if someone is giving you advice, you should have to listen to him properly because he has more experience than you.

    Band 6-7

    The one positive, I would like to talk about a positive opinion that my sister suggested about the my studies, my higher studies. She told me to take nursing as my as my profession because she all had always wished to become a nurse but due to some reasons she can't achieve this goal and she chose engineering rather than nursing. So she really wants to see me as a nurse and I also love nursing since my childhood. I always love to serve people and it's a job which requires a lot of passion and patience. I think I am a very good person. I am a person with lot more patience and a nurse is the backbone of a hospital. So my sister recommended me this course and I really love to, I always listen to her advices because she always give me valuable suggestions in my life. She provide me with opinions whenever I feel stressed or whenever I am not able to take a decision on myself. So her opinion always give me a positive impact, always has a positive impact on me.

    Band 6-7

    so I was really struggling with my exam and I was cramming a lot so my friend I asked my friend for advice and he advised me that first I need to shorten down the important part and then focus on that more and then later maybe I can go for the other one and maybe if if you don't want to do that then don't do that but whatever I know I should be doing it to the maximum so that is the advice that I till now follow to this day that instead of cramming every single thing what I should do is whatever I'm good at or whatever the easiest one I should do that first and then go for the larger one or just don't go because that's a smart work than hard work I believe that you

    Band 6-7

    Well, one time when my principal was taking a round, he entered my class and said, that, Radhika, you teach Israeli well. He liked the activity which we were doing in the class related to the English language. And that was the occasion or the time when someone gave me positive advice, a suggestion about my study and my work. So, there were more occasions when somebody gave me some positive advice about my work. They liked my teaching skills very much. Thank you.
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