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Describe An Unusual Holiday You Had: IELTS Speaking Cue Card

You should say

  • What holiday was it?
  • Who were you with?
  • What did you do?
  • Explain why it was unusual
Show all 30 answers

Cue 1:What holiday was it?

  • Begin by naming the holiday and providing some context about when it took place.
  • Mention any specific location or event that made this holiday memorable.

Example

The unusual holiday I want to talk about is my trip to the Rann of Kutch in Gujarat during the Rann Utsav. It was in January last year, and I had always wanted to experience this unique festival.


Cue 2:Who were you with?

  • Describe the people you traveled with and your relationship to them.
  • Explain why you chose to go with these particular individuals.

Example

I went with my family, including my parents and my younger sister. We decided to go together because we all love exploring new cultures and wanted to create lasting memories as a family.


Cue 3:What did you do?

  • Outline the activities you participated in during the holiday.
  • Highlight any special experiences or events that stood out.

Example

During the Rann Utsav, we enjoyed traditional music and dance performances, tried local cuisine, and even went on a camel safari under the full moon. The vibrant colors and the festive atmosphere were truly captivating.


Cue 4:Explain why it was unusual

  • Discuss what made this holiday different from your usual vacations.
  • Mention any unique experiences or cultural aspects that were particularly striking.

Example

This holiday was unusual because it was my first time visiting a salt desert and experiencing a festival that celebrates local culture so vibrantly. The vast white landscape of the Rann was unlike anything I had seen before, and the warmth of the local people made it even more special.


Conclusion

    Example

    In conclusion, my trip to the Rann of Kutch was not just a holiday; it was an eye-opening experience that allowed me to connect with my roots and appreciate the rich culture of India. It’s a memory I will cherish forever.


    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: Avoid Vague Descriptions

    Using vague language can make your answer less engaging and informative. It may leave the examiner confused about the details of your unusual holiday.

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    Tip

    Provide specific details about the holiday, such as the location, activities, and unique experiences to create a vivid picture.


    2: Don't Rush Your Answer

    Speaking too quickly can lead to unclear communication and missed opportunities to elaborate on your experiences. It may also affect your fluency score.

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    Tip

    Take your time to think and speak clearly. Use pauses to gather your thoughts and ensure your answer is well-structured.


    Neglecting Personal Feelings

    Failing to express your feelings about the holiday can make your response less personal and relatable. It may not fully convey why the holiday was unusual for you.

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    Tip

    Include your emotions and thoughts about the holiday. Explain how it impacted you personally to make your answer more engaging.


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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
    anonymous person icon

    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
    anonymous person icon

    Reported by

    Anonymous student Band 8

    location icon

    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
    anonymous person icon

    Reported by

    Anonymous student Band 6.5

    location icon

    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
    anonymous person icon

    Reported by

    Anonymous student Band 7

    location icon

    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

    location icon

    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

    and in my two childs, so I think the holiday is very interesting and I am momentable, the location is very and I go to very small locations and small to go in the temples, visit into temples and visited to enjoyable food and sometime to like to lake, sometime like to lake, lake moment, so I think whenever to, the moment is very, holiday is very go and also enjoyable the place as well as to and, I like it to holiday and I decided to go in the Simla and sometime I play booking to hotels and book hotels and I glow, I stay in four days and I decided to Simla, Goa and as well as Minali, Manali, so I think three places decided to and sometime to like visited in and I morning, early morning to, I am ready for the, ready for the Simla is visiting, so first of all, so first of all I visit to temples and first of all I break fast and so and then I take to and lots of things and lots of moment and the morning place is very beautiful because of the Simla is very cool and quiet place, so I think I enjoy holiday and with

    Band 5-6

    Till now, unusual holidays had been came in my life, mainly one of my best and memory was what done in on one holiday, it's a normal holiday was given by the college because the many issues and problems have faced by the college with some investigations. So they provided and they guaranteed some basic holidays for the children to aware from the issues. So on that day, I was with my friends and the semester was is going semester exams was is going on. So we are preparing and we suddenly surprised about that holiday and we suddenly plan to go some areas to visit in nearby my college and we decided and we went next day to visit some places like Bugga waterfalls and Brainpattanam lake and MJ lake. So we visited and we enjoyed. This is the best memory and sudden expected from our college for giving some daily break from the college and after some days the issues has been closed and they reopened the college and unhappily they did not provided some vacations and holidays and some functions in the college. So it's going seriously in the college. So it's critical to think that we will not get some holidays based on the issues. So it is very funny to remember that holidays and we experienced and make memories a lot.

    Band 5-6

    My unusual trip was to India. It was last year in February 2024. I went with my husband and my younger kid to India to spend some time. I didn't take my elder son because he was having school that time. He didn't get a holiday. As we reached there in India, the weather was very hot and bad and we can't stand the hot there, the temperature there. So we wear cotton clothes and we avoided that warm clothes there. It was very bad and unusual because we went there to enjoy time and we surprised that the weather was very hot and we became sick there, me and my husband. We got diarrhea and vomiting there. We spent most of the time in hospitals, going this hospital to that hospital and taking blood tests and all. That's all. That's why it was very bad for me. Also, I was really missing my older son. He was with his grandparents here in Muscat and I was really missing him. That's why I did not like it all that trip. If next time I will go, I will change the month of visit to summer because India in summer is very cool and rainy. So we can't spend much time there enjoying, taking pictures and going here and there instead of sitting in the hotel in an AC room.

    Band 5-6

    My unusual holiday was a recent trip when I was with my friends. It's unusual because I went to my friend's house, I think he was in the library, when he said to me that you have to go with us to Chakwata. Chakwata is a hill station near us, with a vicinity of around two hours. It's a very preserved, naturalistic hill station that we had in the Lhasa district, to our hometown, so when we go over there, there is so much scenic beauty. We went to Meadows, and there is a moolah tower, which we have to...

    Band 5-6

    The unusual holiday which I had is Manali trip, which I went with my friends, it was very horrible journey to me because there was a disturbance with my friends, there was a lot of fighting with the group of people and there was a something disturbance with my group of people, where I feel uncomfortable with them and it was happened one year ago, this is my unusual holiday with my friends.

    Band 5-6

    so I went to staycation at abroad resort when my brother came from USA it was his birthday on 28th Feb so we wanted to celebrate it as grand as he came from abroad a long time after a long time so we rushed to the resort with our whole family which included our kids my husband and my brother's girlfriend and our extended family as well with their kids so we all of us went there and had a lot of fun it included a fine dining spa and when we woke up in the morning we went to swimming it was a great unusual plan sometimes we should go to holidays plan okay not really occasionally but randomly because prior planning is just doesn't make us so much excited however I think so all of us had our best time there as we don't really get together but after a really long decade we got to meet with each other and play some games together

    Band 5

    You You have any questions, we really want to hear your thoughts. We all need break sometimes and holidays, we oftenly work in 5 days. We all need break sometimes and holidays, we oftenly work in 5 days. Everyone needs holidays in their lives, whether it's with their friends and their family. For a happy life, everyone needs holiday and in holidays what we do is, we just do funny activities and I still remember one unusual holiday with my friends. We go out for trip and we explore many things, we do adventure here and we do some entertainment things like we do rafting, we climb on mountain and we visit there and we do fun and this holiday is conducted in last month and I go with my friends and we all enjoy this and it is really unusual because we did not expecting any holiday and we just do this holiday. This holiday is unusual because everyone needs holiday and we can enjoy our holiday with our friends and our family and holiday is important for everyone because after holiday we just feel refreshed. Everyone needs holiday in their life because I think that holiday is the thing which we can refresh ourself and we can celebrate holiday with our family, our friends and holiday is important for us, we feel refreshed after the holiday and I still remember my unusual holiday. Last Saturday, I just go with my friends and we go to Holi, on the occasion of a festival, we just go to visit Rishikesh and we really enjoy this and this place is full of adventures and I really enjoy this and here we do rafting, rock climbing and many more things and we really enjoy this and when I am going with my friends, we play music and we vibe on the music and we really enjoy our holiday and I think that every person should go on a holiday and I guess that's it.

    Band 5

    lying down today I would like to talk about gasket when I was during Christmas holiday there uh I don't remember when I when I was my ten years of age my family my family or also friends also went to the Sabudhara which is located south of Patapuchat why this is why this place is unusual because in there only hill station not a moor this are like two hill station but in there were not any activity because we are we were going to the holiday as summer vacations and that time there are there was no facility available because there are only facility available and only winter also monsoon

    Band 5

    and you shall hardly you had this screen actually I forgot that what expecting this so I need to remember I need to collect what I what are the content is there but how would I do so we don't have an option so what we'll do for this time unusual holiday I don't I don't know the difference between the usual holidays and usual holiday so what I'm trying to think like so there is a photo

    Band <5

    जिन दुहां हाथ Greenland जिन दुहाथ Correct मैं जुर खेर आस्थे है और मैं सज़न कर देखागता मुर्द मेरे लिभत मुर्द मेरे लिभत मुर्द मेरे लिभत मुर्द मेरे लिभत
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