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Describe an occasion when you were not allowed to use your mobile phone: IELTS Speaking Cue Card

You should say

  • When it was
  • Where it was
  • Why you were not allowed to use your mobile phone
  • And how you felt about it
Show all 18 answers

Cue 1:When it was

  • Begin by mentioning the specific date or time period when this occasion happened.
  • Provide some context about what was happening in your life at that time.

Example

It was during my final exams last year, specifically in the month of April. I was feeling quite stressed as I was preparing for my last few subjects, and I needed to focus completely on my studies.

Cue 2:Where it was

  • Describe the location where you were not allowed to use your mobile phone.
  • Mention any relevant details about the environment that made it significant.

Example

I was at my college, specifically in the examination hall. The atmosphere was tense, with students quietly preparing for their papers, and the invigilators were strictly monitoring everyone.

Cue 3:Why you were not allowed to use your mobile phone

  • Explain the rules or policies in place that prohibited mobile phone usage.
  • Discuss the importance of these rules in the context of the situation.

Example

We were not allowed to use our mobile phones during the exam to prevent cheating. The college had a strict policy against any electronic devices to ensure fairness and integrity in the examination process.

Cue 4:And how you felt about it

  • Share your feelings about not being able to use your phone during this time.
  • Reflect on how it affected your concentration and overall experience.

Example

At first, I felt anxious because I rely on my phone for quick information and support. However, as the exam progressed, I realized that not having my phone helped me concentrate better on my answers, and I felt more focused without the distractions.

Conclusion

    Example

    In conclusion, while it was challenging to be without my mobile phone during such a crucial time, I believe it ultimately helped me perform better in my exams. It taught me the value of staying focused and the importance of following rules in academic settings.

    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 your response less engaging and informative. It may lead to a lack of detail that examiners look for in your speaking test.

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    Tip

    Be specific about the occasion, including details like the date, location, and circumstances to create a vivid picture.

    2: Ignoring Emotional Impact

    Failing to express how you felt about not using your mobile phone can make your answer less personal and relatable. Emotions add depth to your response.

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    Tip

    Include your feelings about the situation, such as frustration or relief, to connect better with the examiner.

    Lack of Structure

    A disorganized answer can confuse the listener and make it hard to follow your story. Structure helps convey your message clearly.

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    Tip

    Follow the cue prompts in order, addressing each point systematically to ensure a coherent and logical flow.

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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.
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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

    Back in 2020, when I was doing a story in Kashmir, it was for a magazine called the Parlour Magazine, which is a US-based magazine, and the story was on the human rights of Kashmir. We were in a place called Tral, which lies in the southern part of Kashmir, and an encounter between the rebels and the security forces was going along, and police did not allow us to use our mobile phones or record or shoot anything because of the security issues that were on the surface at that time. It was really a disheartening feeling at that particular moment because I was not used to such circumstances and had never encountered any such event before. It was kind of a surprising moment for all of the journalists out there, but it was also quite fun as we learned to work in tough and hard situations like that one.

    Band 6-7

    The last time when I was not allowed to use my phone was during my college years, which was my 11th and 12th standard. We were not allowed to use them during our lectures as the professors believed that it could hinder the concentration of the child and hence the children will not pay attention to whatever is being taught. It is also correct to not allow us to use our phones because then everybody just looks into their phones and nobody pays attention to whatever is actually being taught. I was pretty okay with the fact that we cannot use our phones for our lectures as it is extremely important for you to understand the topics in depth. Also not using our phones during our lectures makes absolute sense, at least to me. It also helps us to concentrate on the subjects and the explanation of the teacher.

    Band 6-7

    A place on my phone which I'm not allowed to use my smartphone is my working premises. They called ODC. We are not able to, we are not supposed to use our smartphone in that premises because of the confidential data of our customers. It feels very good because we can easily maintain our work without distraction by watching some videos and checking some messages. And also it will prevent the leaking of data from company to other sector because sometimes without knowing our camera will record or capturing some pictures. So we can easily get to know that we can avoid the data getting leaked. That will be very helpful. And also when it comes to our work, it will improve the efficiency when we are working without watching videos and anything checking device. And yeah there are some drawbacks also there. When it comes to emergency, we are not able to attend those calls. So apart from that everything will be very helpful. So we can focus on our work to get very productive. In that terms we can easily complete our work within the duration so we can leave company earlier. In the beginning I thought it is very difficult to live without phone in outside the working premises. After sometime I used it because the policies show the same thing. It will be a lot to focus on.

    Band 6-7

    Mobile phones have become a very important part of our lives. This myth was busted when I visited a temple of my family, a goddess. This temple is situated in interiors of Maharashtra in an area called Satara. I had been there a month ago. I was asked to keep my mobile phone away and deposit it at the gates of the temple. This was because photography was strictly prohibited in the temple. Initially, I felt uneasy with the rules as I was not in habit of leaving my phone aside. I always carried it with me whenever and wherever I went for work. But once I entered the temple, I felt at ease. The aura and the environment, the spiritual energy that the temple possessed made me reflect on the fact that human beings can function without any electronic gadgets. I felt more connected to my family goddess and surrendering all our luxuries was the most surreal feeling that I experienced there. Also, it made me realize that we humans rely on external things for comfort.

    Band 6-7

    I would like to talk about my visit to Mansa Devi temple. So since it is a religious place most of the people are not allowed to use their smartphones and are advised and instructed to submit their phones into a locker. The sheer experience of not using phone and connecting to God was blissful because in today's world where everything is related to technology and phones I guess that two to three hours where I was not with my phone I felt a type of connection which was very emotionally awakening for me because I felt that the phones are such big distractions that you don't connect to people which are present in front of you. This experience overall made me feel that stopping the use of cell phones for some while can give you peace.

    Band 6-7

    So the one time I was not allowed to use my phone is when I was on the flight to the U.S. In the beginning, I was really scared about how I'm going to pass my time, but as time passed, I started watching a few movies on the in-flight entertainment system, and also I started eating food to keep me occupied, but it was a really long journey. So at one point, I started to retrospect about my life, and I started to realize that this might be the one time where I actually am free of social media and the screen time from the phone. So I started to enjoy my time rather than sit and get bored, and I also started to think about the fact that our ancestors had no phone. So all they had was the nature and environment to see, and they could not even tell time. They could only tell time by looking at the sun or the moon. So yeah, this was an interesting time.

    Band 6-7

    I vividly remember the time when I was in 12th standard back in 2014. We all student we had a two month of holiday but we were not allowed to go to our hometown because we were supposed to prepare for our exam during our vacation time in the hostel itself. So the restriction which was enforced is not to use our mobile phone during our study period. However some student might use it during that period of time but there was teachers who were on duty to see whether the students are using phones or not. But that experience made me realize that it is better not to use your phone during studying time because it will definitely disrupt whatever you're studying and learning. It will definitely distract you from anything that you're doing. It was kind of hard for all of us but somehow we managed manage that situation and we all got a good marks in our exam by following this instruction.

    Band 6-7

    Back then when I was a kid, I was around 10 years old, I was not allowed to use a mobile phone in my home. My parents used to think that usage of mobile phone by such a small kid would be very inappropriate. My parents never allowed me to use mobile phone at home or any other place. I tried to use their mobile phone by sneaking their phones but whenever my parents found out that I tried to use their mobile phone, I got scolded a lot. The reason behind that I was not allowed to use mobile phone is that my parents were very strict. They never wanted any of their child to use mobile phone. My siblings were not allowed to use mobile phone. I felt very angry and frustrated about that why I am not allowed to use mobile phone. My brother is 10 years older than me. He was allowed to use mobile phone. After seeing that, I was very frustrated that I am not even allowed to touch the mobile phone. Then why he is the one who is getting the chance to use the mobile phone. But with time, moreover with time I got to know that it was for my benefit only.

    Band 6

    I once went to a yoga camp in Bengaluru and it was a very strict it was a very beautiful strict calming experience for me but we had to submit our mobile phones to the headquarters and we were not allowed to click any pictures any videos we were not allowed to take any videos anything like that so it was personally for me it was at first very draining I was very nervous I think that about what I should do I was very indecisive what will I do without my cell phone but after a point I realized that I had been so addicted to my phone that I could not realize how much beauty is behind me around me so I when I gave my phone away I started noticing things I started noticing how the world is so pretty and it made me realize how badly how severely addicted to phone I was so that's why I think it was a very good experience I had a month to get cleansed I had time to you know I had time to overall clean my mind I had time to relax and I got a reset I could reset myself and I could feel so that I could feel better about it and not guilty about using my phone for many many many hours and after that experience I stopped using my phone for a bit and my screen time decreased very much I once which was eight nine hours is now one two hours

    Band 6

    I remember a time when me and my all cousins had gathered to celebrate Eid at my aunt's house and everyone was busy with their mobile phones, some of them were chatting, some of them were watching some videos. Me and my cousin took an initiative that we will just put our cell phones down and we will not use it for at least 4 hours and we will just enjoy this time to ourselves. So that just turned out to be a very great thing for all of us. We all have collectively agreed on that thing and we have kept our phones aside and we have played a lot of games like Truth and Dare, played some music, had so much fun, we chatted the whole night. We initially just planned to not use mobile phones just for 4 hours but actually we haven't used mobile phones throughout the night and we have spent the whole night to ourselves. We went on a long drive and we had Maggi and ice creams in the midnight. That was a very good and wholesome experience. Furthermore, I would love to have those kind of nights and I would love to enjoy those kind of moments because sometimes you need to be away from social media to actually enjoy the situation more.
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