Describe An Occasion When You Got Incorrect Information: IELTS Speaking Cue Card

You should say

When did you get it?
How did you get it?
How did you find it was incorrect?
And how do you feel about it?

7 unique answers with expert feedback

Show all 7 answers

Cue 1:When did you get it?

Start by mentioning the specific occasion when you received the incorrect information.
Provide context about why this information was important to you at that time.

Example

I received incorrect information about a job interview date last month. I was really looking forward to this opportunity as it was for a position I had been dreaming about for a long time.

Cue 2:How did you get it?

Explain how you received the information, whether it was through a phone call, email, or a message.
Mention who provided the information and your initial reaction to it.

Example

I got the information through an email from the HR department of the company. The email stated that my interview was scheduled for the 15th of September, and I was thrilled to have finally secured a chance to showcase my skills.

Cue 3:How did you find it was incorrect?

Describe the moment you realized the information was wrong.
Explain how you confirmed the correct details and what steps you took next.

Example

I found out the information was incorrect when I arrived at the venue on the 15th, only to discover that there were no interviews scheduled for that day. I quickly checked my email again and saw that I had misread the date; it was actually on the 25th.

Cue 4:And how do you feel about it?

Share your feelings about the situation, including any frustration or lessons learned.
Reflect on how this experience has impacted your approach to receiving information in the future.

Example

I felt quite embarrassed and frustrated when I realized my mistake. It taught me the importance of double-checking information, especially when it comes to something as crucial as a job interview. Now, I always verify details before making any plans.

Conclusion

Example

In conclusion, receiving incorrect information can be quite stressful, especially when it involves important events like job interviews. However, this experience has helped me become more cautious and attentive to details, ensuring that I don’t make the same mistake again.

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 Responses

Avoid giving vague or unclear answers. Being non-specific can make your response sound unconvincing and may not fully address the cue card prompts.

Tip

Provide specific details about the occasion, including exact times, places, and the nature of the incorrect information.

2: Lack of Structure

Failing to structure your response can lead to confusion. A disorganized answer may not effectively communicate your experience.

Tip

Follow a clear structure: start with when you received the information, how you got it, how you discovered it was incorrect, and your feelings about it.

Overly Emotional Responses

While expressing feelings is important, overly emotional responses can detract from the clarity of your answer and may seem unprofessional.

Tip

Balance your feelings with factual information. Explain your emotions clearly but keep the focus on the situation and its implications.

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

Reported by

Anonymous student Band 7.5

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

Reported by

Anonymous student Band 8

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

Reported by

Anonymous student Band 6.5

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

Reported by

Anonymous student Band 7

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

Reported by

Anonymous student Band 7.5

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

The time when I got the correct information was last month, I was working in real estate, so the job of a real estate agent is to assist in sale, purchase and renting of buildings. I was working as an industrial real estate agent, so it is difficult for an agent to make deals with limited buildings as sometimes there are few buildings available with each person, usually then we take buildings from other dealers, so there was a time I was with a party and we went to show 450 meter buildings, although I had a lot of buildings but the client didn't like none, didn't like all, so I asked my friend whose name is Himanshu and he told me that I can show 225 number, it was ground floor but when I went to 225 with the party, with the help of map, I didn't see it as there was a vacant lot there, so I called him again and told him about the situation, then he told me that it is not 225, it is 115, this led to a bad reputation of me and a bad impression of our company to the client, I was very frightened by that and I was very furious.

Band 6

So, the occasion when I got incorrect information is that when I changed my school in 2nd standard, I changed my school from SD Memorial School to Bluebells Public School. Now, there was a slight difference in the examination pattern of both the schools. Since till 1st class in SD Memorial School, we used to write answers of every question in the same sheet which was given to us as a question paper and we needed to write the answers in that sheet only. But in the Bluebells School, there was different examination pattern that you will get the question paper and you have to write in the answer sheet, the answers. So, I was new to that pattern, so I didn't know, so I asked one of the classmates which was sitting ahead of me that what should we do and we were like smaller kids, so he told me just write whatever is written in question paper, just copy and write that in the answer sheet. So, I got incorrect information from that and I wrote the same question as it is in my answer sheet and then I went home, my parents asked me how was your paper, so I said that it was quite easy that we need to just copy and write all the questions in the answer sheet, we do not need, we need not to do anything else, so that was the occasion that I got the incorrect information.

Band 6

While I am, I was in my nursing school in the first year, just entered in a first year. At that time, the college celebrated the function called fresher party. Fresher party was always given by our seniors. So at that time, what happened, the card was prepared by the senior. So they are mistaken in the card date, like it's 25th April. So mistakenly they type it like 26th April. And we all were there, all seniors are doing so much preparation. And when we entered, we saw there is so much decoration and chocolates and so many other things are there. Moreover, also we felt that today isn't any occasion, isn't any surprise party, but we all are in our uniform, school uniform. So we asked them about that. And even they cannot even see that they just mistakenly type. So it is so much, we also feel bad for them. Their cake and all things were ruined up. So just save that occasion, what we decided, we decided to get ready for that occasion only. And our teachers were also get support for the students. And we all going together and we all dress up. And we dress well and then we go to the party and we stay there.

Band 5-6

When I was 7 years old, I used to feel occasion is a holiday place where we should visit. When I was 8 years old, then I get to know that occasion means it's the happiest thing in our life which should be celebrated by our family members, friends and our relatives. Occasions create a peaceful life in our life which have a great meaning in our life. Occasions never end in anything. Each of our memory carriers are one of the occasions in our life. A beautiful meaning is an occasion which describes our faithfulness to the person to whom we love. Occasions is nothing but our decisions taken to the loved one to celebrate with them. Occasions have a unique meaning to gather our relatives.

Band 5-6

In past 3 months I was travel to Thailand. At that trip I have plan a different kind of things which I have to do by own. I have not book a tour package like many people who travel from India to Thailand they book packages. Although but I am a only person who has book directly without booking a different kinds of travelling agency and different kinds of tour to make tour cheaper. So at that time I was landed in Thailand airport in Bangkok. At that time I was asked one local person like how to travel to Pattaya. But the thing he has given me the wrong information that you have to go to bus station and you have to take a 12 number bus. After I travel to 12 number bus then I reach to that specific bus station. Then they give me that you have a wrong information that this bus never go to Pattaya. The reason I feel so bad that local people are not supporting the tourism because Thailand is totally depend on tourism. So people are not giving a right information about a tourist how to go to there and how to travel. So people are only focusing on their own customer who has book their package. So this is a wrong because if you help a tourist they can come more early and they can come every time. So it will directly affect to their financial GDP. So it is very important that local should support non package person also to make them more easy to travel in Thailand.

Band 5-6

When I was in my college, there was an important assignment that I had to submit, though I had incorrect information about the deadline of the assignment, it was funny that I did not know that. That was the time when I was on a call with one of my college classmates and how the talking turned into a whole chaos. The friend told me that it is just tomorrow that we have to submit the assignment. I just had to rush down to the stationery shop, get the necessary supplies for the assignment. I was just all over, it was even late at the time. I just rushed back to my home, started finishing off my assignment, even though my friend helped me doing it. In my head, the deadline was still later time and it was just a funny incident. At the time, I was in a whole chaotic brain. I was just rushing out to just finish off my work and somehow submit the assignment the next day so that I don't have my marks cut due to the delay.

Band 5-6

I got this incorrect information in 2022 when I was working at a company and this was regarding an Indian festival called the Dusshera which we were going to celebrate the next day so my colleague came to me she told me that everyone is going to wear a saree tomorrow so you should you have to follow that dress code tomorrow and I was like okay I can do that I don't have any problem