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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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    Anonymous student Band 8

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    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.
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    Anonymous student Band 6.5

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    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.
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    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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    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

    One day after my results, I had got very low marks in maths, so I was really demotivated at that time. I spoke to one of my teachers and he motivated me by telling me that maths isn't a subject you should be scared of. If you study maths in a playful way, it would help you in remembering sums and formulas. So I inculcated my teacher's advice and I really felt very motivated after what he told me and in the later exam, I scored good marks in maths.

    Band 6-7

    I would describe the situation that I had with my aunty, my aunt, where she was the, she being the most supportive person in my life, in every part of my, even if it's personal life or professional life. So the situation was regarding the collection of my post-graduation degree course. So since I have been always being academically scored well, my family has always preferred to go somewhere in science or some kind of technological aspect or commercial background, where I knew I don't belong to. So I always have preferred going to somewhere in the humanities field, which my family has agreed, but my aunt backed, came up with really good points, where she told me to follow your dreams, kind of, you know, try to ignore the negativity that people are passing on to you, to love. She, maybe the suggestion or the advice she told me was, if you really are passionate about something, go find it. And if the passion is not there, you can't dedicate to your profession. So if you love your profession, you do, you will get opportunities as much as you could. So she was sharing her experience where she was not able to do or carry out, carry on with her dream or decide profession. So she was suggesting me not to give up on my dreams or whatever I like personally. And that's where I chose social work and which remains to be the best decision of my life.

    Band 6-7

    The girl that sat next to me, her name is Lisa. She is a native German who sat beside me on flight when I came to Germany for the first time for my higher education. We have a great time in the flight. She made my journey very useful and as well as entertaining. She told me many things about German education and she said you have to learn German in order to study in Germany even if your courses are in English because if you want to work a part time job or you have to communicate with people so you must learn German. You have to speak their own language which give me a positive vibe that we have to learn something beyond what we think. I mean I like to learn German just because of her sweet words. She also told me that you have to apply for works in these websites and she gave me her email as well. So she is a stranger who sat beside me but gave me a plenty of advices and suggestions which is obviously great. So I would like to meet her again and ask for a good advice.

    Band 6-7

    In my entire life, I have received a lot of advices from my relatives, family, friends and friends. Those are many pieces of advice that I found really valuable for my life. They helped me do something better, however today I would like to talk about the valuable advice I received from my mother. When I was a student in class 10, one of my teachers told me that I had to take part in competition. There was a festival and at that time everyone was giving their speeches and my teacher wanted me to participate as well. However I was really an introverted person, so it was difficult for me. I could not make sense of it, I decided I wanted to participate. When I went home and expressed my feelings to my mother, she gave me a suggestion and told me valuable and powerful words that motivated me and made me feel strong. For instance, she told me that people who achieve success in their lives have patience and think deeply about their actions. They take everything seriously and as a result everything becomes a piece of cake for them. But nothing is spontaneous, everyone has to work hard. Those motivational sentences she shared with me made me feel confident. When I participated, I won first prize and I felt like I was on a mission.

    Band 6-7

    My sister, Suganya, who gave me the suggestion about my studies, what she said was that the IT field is on its progression, so we should learn more and more about it and everyday learning is much more important. The suggestion that I took on it was, I should learn more and more, that affects me, honestly, that I should everyday learn about the industry and the English knowledge and everything. What I took from that was, it's all about everyday learning.

    Band 6-7

    Today, I am going to talk about a person who gave me advice that is which results in a positive impact on me, his name is Dr. Shivakumar, as I mentioned earlier, I am working as a staff nurse in a post-operative cardiothoracic intensive care unit, so when I was sent for a patient who was undergoing a tracheostomy, before that I didn't attend or assist tracheostomy procedure for any surgeons or intensivist, that was my first time, I am a little bit nervous about it, he saw that I am nervous and he advised me to read an article about, a magazine about tracheostomy procedure, which was released by World Health Organization, he gave me about 5 to 10 minutes before the procedure to read the article and then I tried to, and then I read full article within 5 to 10 minutes because of, because the patient was sedated and the doctor was waiting for me to complete my, to read and then when I finished reading, he asked me some questions about the tracheostomy procedure, it's like a viva and still now it's nerve wracking for me and I did well, I did pretty well because I am a bit nerd, that time to impress Dr. Shivakumar, I finished that reading within 5 minutes and tried to answer him, answered all questions asked by him and then when we were doing a procedure and I assessed the procedure for him and then we were doing a procedure, he asked me to assist in putting the tracheostomy hole and then the sutures to secure the tracheostomy.

    Band 6-7

    I would like to talk about two persons who is responsible for giving my advice or suggestions about my work. So, first I start with one person called my advisor. He is explaining about all my technical abilities and motivating me in my career and like to involve me in such. And next one is my manager. He is also motivating me but still challenging to cope up with him but he is also decreding me also in terms of communication and other things also. So, I feel bit depressed because of his explanation.

    Band 6-7

    There was a day in my life when I entered into the litigation practice of law and under a senior I got a person named Saurabh Kaushik who is a leading advocate and an officer of the court in Delhi. He gave me a very good suggestions on how to practice and on to which area of practice should a lawyer should go for. So firstly when I met him, I met him as a senior but afterwards he became as my big brother and he gave knowledge about the law like that. He suggested me to go for litigation practice that is the basically the main and the basic practice of a lawyer to convey your messages, your things to the court, to the judges. That is the main thing a person, a lawyer should do. He suggested me not to go for law firms and corporate law. Why? Because in corporate law and law firms, most of the lawyers, mostly 90% of the lawyers are engaged in secondary activities of law such as drafting, writing, client consultations and all. These all are the secondary things of a lawyer. If you want to be a good lawyer, you should go for practice. Practicing is a slow process. It will take 5 years. If you want to become a successful lawyer, it will take at least 4 to 5 years. Then cases will come to you. You are going to judge. Saying that to the court. That makes a person a good human being. He is a good human being. He is having his parents in Delhi. His big brother is a major Indian Army. He is my hero. He is my karta karta.

    Band 6-7

    The person who always advises me about my work is my project guide. He is Shravan sir in my college. I have done my major project and many projects near this sir. And he usually makes me to learn many wide variety of subjects and diverse things in the topics. When I went to sir about one project which I want to do, then he just suggested me many types of other projects like in machine learning, in digital, in analog. Where I asked him that I don't want to do in these fields, but he suggested me to do the project in those fields. Because those are the upcoming technologies where I can find many job opportunities based on those projects.

    Band 6-7

    Silence Silence I would like to share my views on an occasion when my teachers gave me a positive advice about my study. At that time I was completed my 10th class exam and I wanted to do further study. At that time my teachers gave me advice to select the best course in my plus one class. She tells me about all the course related to commerce, science, medical, non-medical. She tells me that commerce stream is related to accounts and medical stream is related to science and non-medical stream is related to mathematicals. She tells me all the positive and all the things related to all streams. Next she tells me about the good things of all the subjects as she knows that I was interested in doing the accounting activities. So she tells me to prefer the subjects related to commerce. So I took the advice of my teachers and I took the admission in a university in commerce stream. As now I am a chartered accountant so I am thankful to my teacher who gave me that good advice to me at that time. Thank you.
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