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Describe something that surprised you and made you happy: IELTS Speaking Cue Card

You should say

  • What it was?
  • Who did this?
  • How you found out about it and what you did?
  • And explain why it surprised you and made you happy.
Show all 44 answers

Cue 1:What it was?

  • Begin by clearly stating what the surprising event was.
  • Provide some context about the event to engage the listener.

Example

The surprise that made me incredibly happy was when I received a scholarship for my master's degree. I had applied for it months ago and had almost forgotten about it.

Cue 2:Who did this?

  • Mention the organization or person responsible for the surprise.
  • Explain their significance in your life or studies.

Example

The scholarship was awarded by a well-known educational foundation in India that supports students pursuing higher education. This foundation has helped many students like me, and being chosen felt like a huge honor.

Cue 3:How you found out about it and what you did?

  • Describe how you learned about the scholarship award.
  • Share your immediate reaction and any actions you took afterward.

Example

I found out about the scholarship through an email notification while I was studying at home. When I read the subject line, my heart raced, and I quickly opened it. I was overjoyed and immediately called my family to share the good news.

Cue 4:And explain why it surprised you and made you happy.

  • Reflect on your feelings of surprise and happiness.
  • Connect the event to your future aspirations or goals.

Example

It surprised me because I didn’t expect to receive such a prestigious scholarship, given the number of applicants. It made me happy because it not only eased my financial burden but also motivated me to work harder in my studies, knowing that someone believed in my potential.

Conclusion

    Example

    In conclusion, receiving the scholarship was a life-changing moment for me. It reminded me of the importance of perseverance and the joy that comes from unexpected good news.

    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: Being Vague About the Surprise

    Candidates often give unclear descriptions of what surprised them. This can make it hard for the examiner to understand the significance of the event.

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    Tip

    Be specific about the event. Use clear details to explain what happened and why it was surprising.

    2: Neglecting Emotional Impact

    Some candidates forget to express their feelings about the surprise. This can make their response less engaging and personal.

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    Tip

    Share your emotions. Explain how the surprise made you feel happy and why it was meaningful to you.

    Rushing Through the Explanation

    Candidates often rush their answers, skipping important details. This can lead to a disorganized response that lacks depth.

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    Tip

    Take your time. Structure your answer by addressing each cue clearly and thoroughly to create a complete picture.

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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.
    Describe a time you were in a place where you didn't know the local language
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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.
    Describe a book you recently read
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    Anonymous student Band 7.5

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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

    So, it was when I was giving GATE examination in 2023, then I was not expecting to get into a top university like IISc Bangalore, especially in India, that is the top research institute I was kind of expecting more sort of institutes below IISc like some IITs, but even though I applied for my own branch in IISc and several other branches, I thought if I would not get my preferred branch, maybe I can get some other branch in IISc. But when the result came out and I got the mail from them, like I was selected in that institute, IISc, that surprised me and when I saw that, I was like extremely proud of me and I was happy about the result. Suddenly, I remember, I get out of my bed and just call my parents, told them about my results, go to my friend's house and celebrated with them. I still feel goosebumps about thinking about the result on that day. So, I was very happy about that. It was an unexpected moment for me to realize even then and then when I came to IISc in 2023, I was extremely proud of my decision to write GATE exam.

    Band 6-7

    the thing that made me happy and also surprised that was my test I was obviously I was always a regular and an average student in my class but in my final exams I tried and gave my best in the exams and due to when I get the result it's completely changed my mind it gave me happiness and surprised my parents as well as my mind also because I've never expected that I did get that much that much of marks in my whole career of whole time and also it made me happy because

    Band 6-7

    A few years back, on my wedding day, my husband surprised me with a family visa because my husband worked in Qatar as a technician and after my marriage, he went to Qatar. So I felt a lonely life with my son. My son had one year old at that time. So on a wedding day, my husband told me that we got a family visa. So within two days, he will purchase a ticket so I can travel to Qatar. And the most amazing thing I was surprised is about my first journey to Qatar in a flight. And when I reached at the airport, I was very surprised about the amenities provided by the airport. And the first step to the flight was very fascinating thing about me because I found everything happy and it was very surprising for me. My kid was also very surprised with the new environment and that excitement gave me more pleasure in my life. And when I reached at the Qatar airport, the Qatar staff welcomed us with a lot of flowers because my husband's friends was there at the immigration office.

    Band 6-7

    it was my birthday surprise my friend gave me that surprise to me last year March 25th at 12 o'clock he gave me a surprise like all the brothers and sisters gather one gather in one house and they are waiting for me and when I when I go there they will give me a surprise like wishing me as a birthday party then I I will feel very happy because I never had that type of surprise in my birthday it will make me very happy and very surprised

    Band 6

    So, I would like to describe an incident that surprised me and which in turn made me happy as well. This day is the most memorable one. This happened on 7th October, my birthday and my parents were out of town, so it was just me and my sister at home and we didn't have any plans to celebrate this birthday. So, it was just a normal day, but they did end up wishing me and I was happy about it. But the best part, what happened was, my sister had planned a surprise without letting out any clues, so I wasn't expecting anything like that, I was just hoping it would be a normal day, but then when she bought that surprise, it just amazed me, how could she have planned all those without me knowing anything. So, she had planned for a birthday celebration with my friends, furthermore, the best part of this was, she had bought a gift with her savings, so she had accumulated all her savings just to buy a present. That really was the moment she made my day very very precious and to this day I question her why did you have to spend so much on buying such expensive gifts or organising such a big party, but then she says it's just her affection towards me. I have honestly never organised anything like this before to anybody and that was an extremely joyful moment.

    Band 6

    Well, I have surprised with a smartphone that has given by my brother. Since I have been using a keypad phones for a long time. In keypad phones, we cannot find a camera, WhatsApp, Facebook, Internet, all these things. We can only find that it is only used for texting messages and calling purposes. Later, my brother has been decided to buy me a smartphone. He surprised me in my birthday. I have been very surprised that I have got a brand new smartphone. It is branded as Samsung. The smartphone has all types of features like camera, WhatsApp, Facebook, all the things. It was a very memorable day. I have not forgotten about that. At last, when I am recalling the moments of that day, I will feel very nostalgic and I will feel that I have been a part of that moment again.

    Band 6

    when I was in college my boyfriend gifted me a promise ring as a birthday present for my 21st birthday since then I have never taken it off I still vividly remember it was 12 a.m. he literally surprised me with a big birthday bash with all my close friends and family went down on one knee and promised me with that promise ring what shook me was I was not even aware about everything that he had planned behind my back whenever I look at that ring it provides me positivity and emotional support even in stressful situations since then I have never taken it off because it basically symbolizes love commitment and emotional support to me

    Band 6

    While I was around 10 years of age, there was an experience that made me very happy and made me feel joy. It was my mother's birthday and during that time my family, that is my cousins and also my aunt and uncle, they knew how much I loved pets and how much I adored them. So, what was the experience is that when it was my mother's birthday and actually my mother is a person who does not really love animals that much and might get a bit infuriated by having them around or looking at the mess they have made. But I am someone who really adores and admires pets and animals. So, it was my mother's birthday and my cousin got this cute little puppy who was my best friend and they got it on my mother's birthday so that she couldn't say anything because she was already in a joyous mood and having a lot of fun along with her family and her cousins. Hence, I got my best friend has a pet and it made me really happy and my mother wasn't annoyed or infuriated about it either. So, it was a really happy experience for me as well and that's something that really surprised me as well and also made me happy at the same time, simultaneously.

    Band 6

    Well, in my life, there are so many events or something that made me surprised and made me feel happy, but here I would like to talk about speech, like I am not confident as much I can, like I don't feel confident in public speaking, like in front of people, I am just like freezing, my brain is not braining at that time, but back in time, when I was in my 10th grade, there was a speech competition and my English teacher, who is my favorite teacher, motivated me and encouraged me that I give speech in front of all the students on like climate change and that time, I feel so like bad because I don't even speak well at that time, so I practice a lot, firstly I say, I think I could not do it, but by my teacher motivation and by watching some videos, I feel motivated and I practice a lot, like burning midnight oil for that speech and I speech in front of everyone and when I speak and my teacher recording me.

    Band 6

    So, the thing that surprised me was buying a pet dog. Hopefully, my friend bought me a pet dog on my 21st birthday, which I was surprised and shocked extremely. My friend named Meghana had bought it for me on my birthday. So, as my birthday gift, I never expected this from her and I was completely shocked because I wanted to buy a puppy for a very long time. However, it was too cute and I couldn't handle its cuteness. It was really adorable and it was the way I wanted it to be. I love Golden Retriever, a breed of dogs. That was the greatest friend of a human being. But when she bought that to me, I was completely speechless and I was on top of the world, on cloud nine as we can say. So, it really got into me and I love to spend the time with it and make a good friend of it, make myself a good friend for it. But I was completely surprised and I thanked her a lot. I even cried out of joy and the emotion was unexplainable. I have been asking my parents for a pet dog for a very long time and when my friend did that to me...
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