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Describe an occasion when you helped a family member/relative with something: IELTS Speaking Cue Card

You should say

  • When it happened
  • Who you helped
  • How you helped
  • And explain how you felt about the experience
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15 unique answers with expert feedback

Show all 15 answers

Cue 1:When it happened

  • Mention a specific time frame, such as a recent event or a memorable occasion from the past.
  • Provide context about what was happening in your life at that time.

Example

This happened last summer during the monsoon season when my cousin was preparing for her final exams. She was feeling overwhelmed with her studies and needed some extra help.


Cue 2:Who you helped

  • Introduce the family member or relative you assisted, including their relationship to you.
  • Share a little background about them to make the story relatable.

Example

I helped my cousin, Priya, who is in her final year of college. She has always been a bright student, but this particular semester was challenging for her due to the heavy syllabus and the pressure of upcoming exams.


Cue 3:How you helped

  • Describe the specific actions you took to assist them, such as tutoring or providing emotional support.
  • Highlight any particular strategies or methods you used to make the process effective.

Example

I decided to tutor her in subjects she found difficult, especially mathematics and science. We created a study schedule together, and I helped her understand complex topics by breaking them down into simpler concepts. We also practiced past exam papers to build her confidence.


Cue 4:And explain how you felt about the experience

  • Share your emotions during the experience, such as satisfaction or pride.
  • Reflect on what you learned from helping your family member.

Example

I felt a great sense of satisfaction seeing Priya gradually regain her confidence and improve in her studies. It was rewarding to know that I could make a difference in her life. This experience also taught me the importance of family support during challenging times.


Conclusion

    Example

    In conclusion, helping my cousin not only strengthened our bond but also reminded me of the value of supporting each other in times of need. It was a fulfilling experience that I cherish, and I believe it brought us closer as a family.


    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

    Providing vague or unclear answers can make it difficult for the examiner to understand your experience. Specific details are essential for a strong response.

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    Tip

    Use clear examples and specific details about the occasion, such as the date, the person you helped, and what you did.


    2: Lack of Emotion

    Failing to express your feelings about the experience can make your answer less engaging. Emotions help to connect with the listener.

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    Tip

    Include how you felt during and after helping your family member, using descriptive language to convey your emotions.


    Ignoring Structure

    Not following the cue card prompts can lead to a disorganized answer. This may confuse the examiner and weaken your response.

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    Tip

    Structure your answer by addressing each cue in order: when it happened, who you helped, how you helped, and your feelings about it.


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    Anonymous student Band 7.5

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    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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    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

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    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
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    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
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    Reported by

    Anonymous student Band 7.5

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    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 5-6

    In my family, every occasion is celebrated very well. I remember that when I was 17 years old, that time my cousin sister's 16th birthday celebration, me and my family members went and one of my cousin sisters was there. Suddenly my mother called me and said that the birthday cake fell down on the road and we were very sad about the news. That time I went to the celebrated house and I suddenly think of my best friend's father. My father was a shop owner, a cake maker. I went to my cousin and she was very happy. The guests were very happy and they were appreciative to me for handling the situation.

    Band 5-6

    Yeah, I have a brother. His name is Sawan. He works with transport. He was facing some financial issue. That time he called me and asked some amount. That time I don't have money much. So, I collected with my friends and give it to him for fulfill their financial needs. After that, he didn't repay for me. Anyway, he is my brother. That's why I didn't worry about it. So, I repaid with my friends and closed that credit things. Moreover, after some days, he has again come to me and asked that money for something to do something. That's why I am hesitant to give that money because I also don't have money for that time. I need to pay my family and some other work related things. So, it is difficult for that time. Next month also he has some amount. Because I am ready to give some money because I don't have that much salary in our account. I am managing. Moreover, my maternal grandma also asking some amount. So, because of her medical claiming things, I paid for her medicals. Moreover, I am provided for transport in charge to my grandma. She is used to that transport. I have to go in hospitals. That's it. Moreover, I am helping more my friends also.

    Band 5-6

    In Maharashtra, the Diwali function is very important to our family members and family. In Diwali function, I help to my mother for making the cooks and buying some material from the market. And also I help to my father for decorate our homes and many of our relatives come to our home for the Diwali functions and he can sharing our experience and daily experience. And I also help to my mother for the clean the house and my father also help to my mothers and my mother also help to my family because of the Diwali function is very important to our culture of the Maharashtra. So in the Diwali function, we clean our entire house and we help each other to clean our part of the home very peacefully and very cleanly.

    Band 5-6

    During the festival time, I used to help my family members to get prepared for the festival. Especially for my mom and dad, I used to help them in cooking the food, or cleaning house, or doing some household chores. Actually, by doing such things, I feel relaxed, calm, and it made my surrounding also happy. And other than that, during that occasions, even there is a lot of relatives come to our house. So, interacting with them and communicating with them also helped me and my family.

    Band 5

    I helped of one of my uncle called we called as mama for for relation actually I helped not help too much because I am not a I am not a I helped one of my family member called mama he is my uncle by relation actually I not help too much because it not my it unable to my fulfill my capacity actually I am too younger than her so I I did not help in too much but but yeah I helped with the with the gold gold security deposit gold interest he have to given there and the same time her her daughter was get married so he have to urgently arrange the the amount for gold so he unable to arrange the gold amount gold amount so I I paid the one month of her interest of the gold so it is of ten thousand rupees only but I felt very good to help her and I am proud of myself to help her on on such a younger age to help one of our elder in a is very is very peaceful manner manner it is countlessly in countlessly enjoy the enjoy the that was a memorable experience that's why I am saying that I I am doing good so all of that's it
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