Describe An Occasion When You Waited A Long Time For A Nice Thing: IELTS Speaking Cue Card

You should say

When did it happen?
What was the nice thing?
How long have you waited?
Why do you wait for a long time?
Explain how you felt about the experience.

7 unique answers with expert feedback

Show all 7 answers

Cue 1:When did it happen?

Begin by mentioning the specific time or event when you experienced this long wait.
Provide some context about what was happening in your life at that time.

Example

This happened last year during the festive season when I was eagerly waiting for the release of a new smartphone that I had been eyeing for months.

Cue 2:What was the nice thing?

Describe the nice thing you were waiting for in detail.
Explain why this particular item or experience was special to you.

Example

The nice thing was the latest model of a smartphone that had amazing features, including a fantastic camera and long battery life. I had saved up for it and was excited to upgrade from my old phone.

Cue 3:How long have you waited?

Clearly state the duration of your wait.
Mention any specific events or milestones during this waiting period.

Example

I waited for about three weeks after the announcement of the phone. Each day felt longer as I checked online for updates and reviews.

Cue 4:Why do you wait for a long time?

Explain your reasons for waiting patiently instead of rushing to buy something else.
Discuss the importance of this item to you and your willingness to wait.

Example

I chose to wait because I wanted this specific model, knowing it would be worth the wait. I believed that investing in a good quality phone would enhance my daily life and photography.

Cue 5:Explain how you felt about the experience.

Share your emotions during the waiting period and after receiving the item.
Reflect on the satisfaction or excitement you felt once you finally got it.

Example

The wait was filled with anticipation and excitement. When I finally got the phone, I felt a rush of happiness and satisfaction. It was a rewarding experience that made me appreciate the value of patience.

Conclusion

Example

In conclusion, waiting for something special can be a test of patience, but it often leads to a more fulfilling experience. This occasion taught me that good things come to those who wait, and the joy of finally receiving what I desired made the wait worthwhile.

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: Rushing Through Your Story

Candidates often rush their answers, missing important details. This can make the story less engaging and harder to follow.

Tip

Take your time to explain each part of your story clearly, focusing on the key details that make the experience memorable.

2: Ignoring Emotional Impact

Some candidates forget to express their feelings about the experience. This can make the response feel flat and uninteresting.

Tip

Include your emotions and thoughts during the waiting period to create a deeper connection with the listener.

Lack of Structure in Response

A disorganized answer can confuse the listener. Candidates may jump between points without a clear flow.

Tip

Follow a clear structure: start with when it happened, describe the nice thing, mention the waiting time, and conclude with your feelings.

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 7

A month ago, I had gone to a water park. It was my summer holidays and I really wanted to go for a long time and so I just up and left one day. It was amazing. The water everywhere, the slides, the colors, the people bustling with excitement. It was incredible. I played a little, swam a little, went on the slides and then I saw a huge slide. You come like, it looked like you came from a hill. It was so high. I went up there. There were so many stairs. I was flabbergasted with the crowd there. But I waited. I waited for almost an hour to get on that slide. The only thing that was keeping me there was people screaming when they went down the slide. The screams told me that it was an amazing experience. So I waited and waited until I finally got my chance. And when I got it, damn, I was awestruck. It was so exciting. The adrenaline of falling from that height, amazing. It was a tunnel slide. We went down and down and down and down. It seemed like it was never ending, but it was all worth it. The wait was worth it. And that's why it's such a common saying, patience is the key to happiness. If you can be patient enough, you can achieve a lot of things in life. Be patient.

Band 6-7

It happened 2 years back. I asked my mom to buy me a watch. I am fond of watches. So I asked my mom to buy me a Seiko watch and it was one of the kind of expensive watch to buy when I was studying 12th standard. So my mom told me if I score 80 plus in all subjects, she would buy me that watch. So I tried, I studied very hard and I worked day and night to buy that watch. And then to showcase all my efforts, I was ready to show up for my exam. And then I scored and I knocked off everything. I broke the leg, I knocked off everything and I scored 80 plus in my exams. And I just came home. Mom, I just scored 80 plus in my exams and please buy me that watch. And then my mom, she just told me to wait for couple of days and then I was like asking my mom to buy me that watch. Please mom, please buy me that watch. And then with my pity eyes, I just hypnotized my mom to buy me that watch. And she brought me and I had to wait for another 7 days because the waiting period for that watch is 7 days. And I had to wait another 7 days to get that watch in my hand and I was eagerly sitting next to the door when I got the notification for the out of delivery of your product. And when I got the product, I was happily rejoicing and I was happily dancing. That was the best day that I was waiting for.

Band 6

The occasion which I have waited for a long time is completing my post-graduation study. After studying intermediate, I have joined the integrated post-graduation course which is called FAMDI. It is such a long course of having 6 years of study after intermediate. Moreover, it is having a long span of study along with the typical subjects including in it and project as well in the final year. Additionally, if I see that this is a long time to get my graduation certificate so that I can go on in my life to the next, take a good step in my life to get into the job and the dreams to fulfill. I have waited 6 years of my journey and now one month is left to reach out to complete my 6 years course. I feel delighted that I am completing it with a good percentage. After this final viva, I will get into the good job. I think I can implement this study into my life and career will go on like a jet plane. Hoping for the best that I have waited for this.

Band 6

People like to, people usually wait for a long time in order to receive gifts or things maybe. But today I would like to talk not about a thing but a person, my niece, her name is Emma. It was during my, it was during 2023 when my sister got pregnant and she was in Oman during that time. One day, on one random day she called me through a video call and she announced her pregnancy to me. I was really shocked as well as surprised to hear that. For a minute or two I was in unconscious after hearing that but suddenly I was, my mind was filled with thoughts and happiness. So after coming back, she came back from Oman after 3 months and she stayed in my home. During that period, I cared her, I pampered her, gave her whatever she required. However, we were also little bit tensed because this was her first pregnancy. Eventually, after 9 months of prayers, anticipation, a beautiful girl born into the earth and we named her Emma. That was the day I can never forget in my life. She is a cute little girl who has pimples on one of her cheeks when she smiles. Now she has almost turned 1 year old.

Band 6

My college admission process, I waited for that a lot. I had some colleges listed, which was kind of my dream college. And I used to see pictures of these colleges online. The infrastructure was pretty good. And I also heard that the teaching was nice. But I got another college because of my percentage in 12th standard. When I was in 12th after 12th, when I was applying for degree college. At that time it seemed I was a little bummed out. And it seemed a little off for me. But then I got to know that the admission that I got was very... It was a tuition fee waiver admission I received. So I saved a lot of money there. I don't have any regrets about that.

Band 6

That was an interesting question. So my native is India and I am a girl who is very fond of traditions, festivals, meeting new peoples, their cultures and so on. So one of the most awaited thing that happened very nice to me is that a festival that takes place every year in our area. So this is basically conducted by the temples which is located near to my home town. Its name is Sri Mugathala Murari Kshetram. This was an ancient temple and all the villagers and peoples living near that temple has vatic beliefs towards Lord Krishna because the temple is built for Lord Krishna. And its very ritualistic and many of auspicious occasions of our daily life that are conducted on that temple itself. So every year once there will be a festival which is not a kind of simple one. A grand festival happens. So which is the most awaited occasion that every individual in our home town are waiting for. So the last year's was on April. Then for this year of 2025 this festival is to be held on May 7th. So its a grand festival with a mass crowd of people coming from different locations of our natives and also many foreigners are visited because this is one of the second most popular festival that taking place.

Band 5

I think paintings, I like abstract paintings a lot or paintings that have human figures. It relates to what I draw, that is why I love that kind of paintings. Also the reason why I love these paintings is because I myself do these kind of paintings. So it is definitely amazing.