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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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    IELTS Cue Cards asked last week

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    Talk about a toy you liked in your childhood
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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

    Nice question. It was my dad. I had just came back from military service. We had a vacation and we sat down together. We drank a cup of tea and I told him dad that I want to enroll in a online university where I'd only have to attend one time just to do the final and he was shocked. He was like all studies have shown that online studying is not beneficial and you can get easily distracted. This advice changed me and changed my perspective and the way I think about studying and at the time I didn't agree with him. I was like I'm just 18 years old. I have experience in life or at least that's what I thought. Moreover this advice is one of the most beneficial advices anybody has ever gave me and I sat down and thought about it and I knew I would get easily distracted. I'd just hop on my phone or do something else while the professor was just giving the lesson online. To conclude I ate his claim that e-learning is not beneficial and it will never be beneficial. So I just changed my university, changed my preference in Napa and as simple as that, that piece of advice was the reason and the belief that I claim.

    Band 6-7

    I am Shantanu Das. I am now working as a JRF and I am planning for higher studies. When I was in school then my teacher gave me suggestion about my study and what should I do in my future and he is my principal of my school and he motivates me to study for and going to higher studies. Now I am planning for higher studies and his valuable suggestions are very useful of my career. Now I am thinking what a grateful suggestion was gave me and I am very proud of my teacher.

    Band 6-7

    I think the occasion where someone gave me the positive advice was my brother. While starting my career I was in a fear that I won't be able to do it but then he he explained me that the life goes on and yes you have got a better opportunity where you can improve yourself your skills and everything and that can only be done if you are capable of you know taking challenges positively the first challenge that come across is meeting people greeting people and helping understanding them the challenges was making them positive that we were getting a lot of work burden in our office and he told that this work burden is to make sure that when you go up into a better position you will be able to handle it without any chaos and I think after after being a customer service executive and then changing to a better position I got to know that we have ample of works other than handling the customers we have to give daily reports to our agents and all which helped me in understanding that that not only we should be multitasking but we should be taking things positively in order to grow ourselves for future

    Band 6-7

    That's an interesting question. At my sister's wedding, all the families gathered there. At that time, I was studying B.Tech final year where I got full 100% mark in every subject. Since these family members told me before to my father that I can't do anything. I can't do anything good or better. I can't have a future etc. But finally, when I got these marks, these members were appreciating me in front of my father and mother which makes them feel so proud and they gave me some advices about the master studies and they offered me to go to the Khalifa University which is in Abu Dhabi. When I took that advice and went to there and now my life is full settled and I am having a good peaceful life.

    Band 6-7

    So, I would love to talk about experience, about getting a positive suggestion from one of my friends. His name is Shoman and I met him in my BSc times in an online tuition. So it was a time when we were preparing for our IIT exam exam for the entrance to the IITs for doing masters. And in the initial days, I feel a little back because my exam scores were not that much great. I think that they could be. So, and I was the topper of my class always. I was thinking like, I am not able to do in a competitive exam test, but doing so much well in my college test. So, is the competitive thing is not really for me and I overthink a lot about that. I was a little bit depressed also because getting in IIT was really one of my dream event that would take place. Shoman understood that and gave me a piece of advice that you cannot really think and rely on what stops you from doing the best. You have to identify the flaws. Rather than what has happened, you have to find what causing you or stopping you from achieving the best. You accept your failure because there is no term such as failure. You either learn or you actually win. So learning is a very important step of acquiring knowledge. And I think that piece of advice really helped me a lot for doing a great result, which eventually gave me a chance.

    Band 6-7

    I'm a medical professional always dealing with medically ill patients so that I need to be become more active. One time my senior staff told me that in our position we need to stay every time positive and we are the hero of the patient's recovery so when we sad that affected the patient condition so we need to always more energetic that words always give me a positive energy because that is a positive word for me to achieve my goal and become a good medical care professional always remember her words

    Band 6-7

    Well, the incident happened two years back, exactly on March 1st, 2023, when I joined as assistant professor in ocular oncology at Malabar Cancer Center. After completing my fellowship in medical retina, I got chosen for the post of assistant professor here, and I had no other choice but to join because my husband had already joined here as an assistant professor in medical oncology. After joining, I was in a totally new environment. I was the only ophthalmologist in the hospital, and I was seeing patients who had cancers, which was completely new to me. Moreover, on the third day, I had an influx of patients post-transplant who were sent to me in order to screen for ocular GVHD. In fact, I never knew what ocular GVHD was. I completely broke down on the fourth day, and I even thought of quitting the job, but it was my husband who came over to calm me down. He is in fact the reason why I am still pursuing my job here at MCC. He told me that initial days are difficult for anyone. Once you're tied over the initial phase, the rest of the sea is smoother. So I understood. I started working on, I started working, I started reading new things which I had to see, and eventually I picked up. It was his decision and his support that I was able to tide over the initial difficult phase, and I would suggest that life is easy.

    Band 6-7

    The person was my aunt who gave me advice about my further studies and my further education. Recently I completed my PLUS II with 71%. Now I am trying to pass out the IELTS exam. My uncle gave me the advice to study abroad in Australia. I am now working on my IELTS. In 6-5 months I will give my IELTS exam and I will take 6.5 grand in each. My aunt has advised me to study abroad and she has given me advice and I will work also on it. I am going good as well on his pathway of his advice and I will achieve it also. My aunt is also a IELTS trainer in a city. He also teaches to many students and he has given me advice. I would like to thank you to my uncle for giving me a good advice and I follow my uncle's pathways. I really want to thank my uncle because I will be something in my becoming of something. The main role would be of my uncle. At last I want to say thank you uncle. I love you.

    Band 6-7

    So when I was in 8th grade, I showed one of my answer sheets to my politics teacher because I had scored pretty low marks even though I had studied everything really well. So I was kind of surprised. So I approached the politics teacher and she told that it was because your way of writing was not right. At first, I was shocked by hearing this because I have always scored full on politics and she was a new teacher at the time. So I asked her what should I improve. At first, I was only in 8th grade at that time and I was a person who kind of did not like taking criticism. So I took it in a bad way but I think she understood that and she first of all tried to make me understand that my answer points were correct but the way of writing was wrong. So she asked me that I should write in points instead of paragraphs. At first, I was confused about it but later I found that it was very helpful because whenever I got to higher classes, I was always the person getting the highest marks for subjects like science and it was not because I studied anything more than others. It was just because I wrote the answers in points. So I was a person who used to write the answers in paragraphs. So that suggestion of the teacher helped me very much in my future and I understood that people always look for points and it also gave me an important lesson of sometimes not all suggestions which people might give will be correct but most of them will be very helpful. So you have ears, you can just take the suggestions and if you find it helpful, just apply it once in your life. If you don't like it, just throw it out the other ear.

    Band 6-7

    The best advice I have been received by anyone is from my mentor. When I was in college, I struggled to do my daily homeworks and my projects. I am not that much interested in this because I think the education system is failing on me. But my mentor advises a lot of things to improve my scores. He suggests that I need to focus on concentrating more on the topics and increase my interest in this subject. He always felt as my guide and he always advises me to improve in what areas I should be really careful about. This advice has improved my passion a lot. It trains interesting subjects and I really like the way I am doing and the work I am doing. It has increased my knowledge by increasing a lot of opportunities I even get. The suggestion he gave me is a life-changing suggestion because it opened a lot of opportunities for me by increasing my communication skill, my interest in this particular research topic. The suggestion was life-changing for me. It clears every doubt from my mind and I am very perfect at all the tasks given by other faculties at that time. I scored about 90% in the exam which I was pretty
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