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Describe an unforgettable experience that you had: IELTS Speaking Cue Card

You should say

  • What the experience was?
  • When and where it happened?
  • What made it memorable?
  • And explain how it changed you.
Show all 117 answers

Cue 1:What the experience was?

  • Begin by clearly stating the unforgettable experience you had.
  • Make sure to include specific details that highlight why this experience stands out to you.

Example

One unforgettable experience I had was when I went on a solo trip to the beautiful hill station of Manali in Himachal Pradesh. It was my first time traveling alone, and I was both excited and nervous.

Cue 2:When and where it happened?

  • Provide the time frame of your experience, including the month and year.
  • Describe the location in a way that helps the listener visualize it.

Example

This trip took place in June 2022, during the summer holidays. Manali is a stunning place surrounded by snow-capped mountains and lush green valleys, which made it the perfect getaway from the heat of the plains.

Cue 3:What made it memorable?

  • Share specific moments or events that made this experience special.
  • Explain your feelings during these moments to convey the significance of the experience.

Example

What made this trip memorable was the sense of freedom I felt while exploring the local culture, trying adventure sports like paragliding, and meeting new friends from different parts of India. One evening, I sat by the river, watching the sunset, and I felt a deep sense of peace and happiness.

Cue 4:And explain how it changed you.

  • Reflect on the personal growth or insights you gained from this experience.
  • Discuss how this experience has influenced your perspective or future decisions.

Example

This experience changed me by boosting my confidence and independence. I learned that stepping out of my comfort zone can lead to wonderful experiences. It inspired me to travel more and embrace new challenges in life.

Conclusion

    Example

    In conclusion, my solo trip to Manali was not just a vacation; it was a transformative experience that taught me valuable life lessons and helped me grow as a person. I will always cherish the memories I made during that trip.

    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 Descriptions

    Using vague language can make your answer less engaging and informative. It's important to provide specific details about your experience to capture the listener's interest.

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    Tip

    Include specific names, places, and emotions to create a vivid picture of your unforgettable experience.

    2: Lack of Structure

    A disorganized response can confuse the listener. It's essential to follow a clear structure to ensure your answer flows logically and covers all cues.

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    Tip

    Use the provided cues as a guide to structure your answer: start with the experience, then the time and place, followed by what made it memorable, and finally how it changed you.

    Overly Short Answers

    Providing overly brief answers can make it seem like you have nothing to say. This can lead to a lower score as it may not demonstrate your speaking ability.

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    Tip

    Expand on each cue with detailed explanations and personal reflections to showcase your language skills and depth of thought.

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    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
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    Reported by

    Anonymous student Band 7.5

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    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
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    Reported by

    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
    anonymous person icon

    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 6-7

    One beautiful memory that I hold very close to my heart is the experience that I had on my graduation day. I was on cloud nine because I was happy that I am graduating school and I need not have to go to college the very next day and I'm free of all the daily routines and schedules related to school. But then our principal had a talk on the graduation day and he talked about all the students in general. But when it came to me, his eyes was filled with tears and he told that I was one of a kind of a person and he didn't want to miss a person like me in the college and that made me go emotional. The perspective which I had towards my college faculty members and teachers completely changed that very minute because what I thought the whole time was maybe I'm feeling, I felt somewhat targeted but maybe that was on my only issue or inner feelings which wasn't true. And it happened to be I went so emotional, I started crying and further I felt very emotional about it and later I came back home and told my parents about it and they told me like you'll have to be so grateful because your principal had this kind of opinion about you and you'll have to try to keep it and maintain it for a longer period. And wherever you go, you're supposed to follow the main etiquettes which is taught from your house. So that is one memory that I would love to keep closer.

    Band 6-7

    One of the most unforgettable experience that I ever had was witnessing the city of London from my own eyes. It was really incredible experience that I had because it was always my dream to go to London. When I first arrived in UK, it took me 6 months to go to London. And I collected all the funds so that I can go enjoy each and every places that I always dreamed or dreamt of. And the first place that I went to was the London Eye. It was incredible. It was really really beautiful. I enjoyed the view. I took my pictures and I video called my parents, showed them. And I was numb watching that view. After that I did a boat ride from London Eye to London Bridge. And seeing London Bridge from that boat was really really incredible experience. I can never forget that thing in my life ever. It was really a dream come true.

    Band 6-7

    The unforgettable experience that I had is when my boyfriend proposed me for marriage. We were in a relationship since 8 years and we both are in love with each other. But on our 7th anniversary, he took me with him on a trip to mountains where he proposed me with a diamond ring. He got on his one knee and asked me if I will marry him and I said yes. This was the most unforgettable experience that I had. I loved the moment, I fell more in love with him and after that I became a different person. The love for him in me has been increased and I have become a calm and patient person. And I used to be.

    Band 6-7

    Well, I am a person who embraces new experiences. So, one of the great experiences I had was recently. So, me and my friends decided to go for a trek in Uttarakhand, which is specifically known as the Valley of Flowers National Park trek. So, it mainly opens in the specific time of the year. Because after the rain goes, the valley will have so many flowers. So, at that time the valley will be open. So, in total it is a 21 km trek. And we started the trek the day before. At 3 pm we started, me and my friends were there. And therefore, we went forward and it was so beautiful and it was totally a nature's paradise. So, we moved forward through crossing these beautiful streams, coming from the top of the mountains and through the valleys of other mountains, in between pine trees. So, it was a serene experience all though. And we moved forward and at 8.30 pm we reached the base camp. So, we stayed there at night and it was so cold. And we had breathing difficulties before reaching the base camp. The next day early morning we started to the valley. And we walked and the path was so beautiful, beautiful than the path we crossed the day before. And we just reached the valley. And it was a great and awesome experience. I haven't had that kind of experience in my life before. Because the place was so beautiful and it was like in a magic land. The valley was full of colorful flowers, different colors.

    Band 6-7

    I had an unbelievable experience actually not just unforgettable because in July 9 on July 9 actually I went on a trek with my friends in Pune. It was at the Toran Fort and it was unforgettable to me because I was with my friends and this was the first ever trek I have ever did and it was unbelievable and it was amazing and the one of the most important things that I learned on that trek was no matter how difficult the path is the destination the final destination is always going to be so beautiful because after we climbed that fort the sky the environment everything was just breathtaking it was so beautiful I just can't I didn't imagine it would be like that and yes I spent that entire day with my friends and it was amazing

    Band 6-7

    I had an unforgettable experience in Manali. It was when I was visiting a hill station and found out a snow mountain has fallen and when I got to visit it, I was getting higher and higher. The mountains were very cold and filled with snow and greenery. When we looked at the top, it was covered in snow and when we looked at the bottom, there was greenery. But when the mountain fell, all the snow has fallen into a river which has caused a flood in a nearby city and rescuers were there to help. I was also there and I thought, how high would this hill be? So, I thought, I will study on mountains that why does they fall because of heavy winds, many trees or when they are too long.

    Band 6-7

    In our personal lives, some memories stay along and it remains as a memorable one. Maybe it's happened based on its experience or the Indian city or something else. Here I'd like to mention about a trip which I made with my friend Rahul towards the metro city Kochi from my hometown. The trip was not planned earlier and I really remember the day, it's a Sunday. At around 12 pm, we just planned to move to Kochi and we made it fast. And our aim is to reach Kochi by 4 or 4.30 because we need to meet a person there. So with the help of my friend Rahul, using his car, we moved to that area. Our car seems to be somewhat slow speed. We need to cover a large distance. It's a huge rainy day. We didn't access any other related because we need to reach the destination before 5 pm. So our car moved very fastly. While we reached near to Kochi, I really remember the place near the Kochi naval base, our car met with an accident. It was a small accident but we lost. The other person hit our car's bumper and it got damaged. We spent some time there. We asked for the compensation. He gave us a minimal amount. We didn't claim it for legally because our car didn't have a valid insurance. And with that minimal amount, we moved back and met our friend and came back to our hometown.

    Band 6-7

    The most memorable thing I remember is that when I start working there was this girl admitted to the hospital. She was about an age of 20. She works in the same hospital in pharmacology department and she stays in hostel. She was admitted with the complaints of poisoning and she is feeling dizziness. She was admitted and she was kept in the observation room. Infusion started and she was all okay and no problem. She was talking to me when I was checking her vitals. But suddenly after some time, all of it suddenly changes. She was fainting, almost fainting and she asked me that she can't breathe properly and I immediately panicked because it was my first time experience as a nurse. So, I immediately called the other nurses and informed the doctor as well. She was immediately shifted to the observation casualty and the side effect of the infusion was the problem of her sudden changes and she was administered the medications immediately for that and her vitals became normal and she became stable after that. That particular incident, I never ever forget because the

    Band 6-7

    Well, an unforgettable experience I have had is my birthday, my 21st birthday. It's because I'm from a conventional strict family where birthdays are not celebrated. I didn't have a memory of celebrating my birthday and that was the first time I celebrated my birthday by cutting a cake. In my home, the birthdays are generally celebrated by making some sweets, traditionally called payasam. Other than that, we didn't celebrate birthdays like cutting cakes or gathering people. And what makes it extra special is that it was a surprise. I didn't expect that from my friends. When I moved to a hostel at my 18, I made a small friend group and I was so comfortable with them. We are like a family. I created a family away from my home and I was so happy with them. And that day, they were acting so naturally, I didn't expect that. I didn't predict that I will get a surprise. In the night, as usual, I went to bed at 10 p.m. and I was sleeping and I didn't get a cue of whether they are planning my birthday. And when the clock hit 12, my friend came with a cake, with a cake and a candle and was so surprised. I cried with the surprise and at that time, I have understood that how important to give some surprises to a loved one and how much make them feel happy or special. And in my relationship, I also like to give some surprises to my loved ones to make the relationship more long lasting.

    Band 6-7

    One unforgettable experience I had was when my friends threw me a surprise birthday party last year. Actually it was the time when we went for experiential learning in Chennai and Bangalore. And in that time period I had my birthday. So I thought we will just simply cut the cake and all. But I never expected that anything like this, like they threw a big birthday party for me or something. So as a regular routine, after completing my experiential classes, I was returning to my hotel room. And as I went there, they said to me that we have to go somewhere. We have to go and meet some other friends. I said, okay, yeah, let's go. It was my birthday that day, okay. So I went with them. I didn't have a slight idea of this. So I went there and suddenly they blindfolded me and they took me somewhere. I got a little idea that time. I was nervous and boom. They threw a birthday party. It was so good. And they even knew my favorite color, the favorite flavor of cake, brownie, everything was there. And on the screen, actually songs were playing, videos were going on of my childhood videos. My mom sent them actually. I didn't know my mom was also involved in this. And decorations, the photo albums they kept on the wall and everything. Wow, what an experience it was. What made it unforgettable was that they remembered small things I like. Like I mentioned favorite cake, handmade decorations and even the playlist of songs I love. So it made me feel seen and loved, especially during a time when I was missing home. I will never forget that day because it reminded me of how powerful they were.
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