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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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    IELTS Cue Cards asked last week

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    Describe your favourite food at a traditional festival or a special event in your country
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    Anonymous student Band 7.5

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    Pitampura Test Centre, New Delhi

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    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

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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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    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
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    Reported by

    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

    So a couple of years back I was in the second year of college where I took part in SAE International who organized the competition named Aero Design West where I was surprised when the final result came out because we stood 3 globally. It was one of the stunning thing because we didn't expect it and it was our first time for taking into the international event so it was amazing.

    Band 6

    I would like to talk about one thing that would be surprised me is my parents give me a laptop when I was in the 12th std because in 12th std I get good marks in the exam and my parents are very really very happy and they decided to give me a surprise gift to me and they had brought a new laptop for me and the laptop was very heavy and very expensive and very high features in the laptop and that type of features are very connection for me these things are very connected to me because it's given by my parents and it's great experience for me

    Band 6

    I remember a memorable time when my best friend Neha told me about getting the visa from study visa from England, England University it was such a surprising such a such a surprising moment for me because I knew how hard she worked to get that visa it was her dream to study in England University so when he told when she when she told me that she's she's moving to England in the next week her flight booking is on is after the five days I was surprised but also happy for her I wanted to make a gift for her I wanted to buy a gift for her that's how I bought a watch for her I thought that it would be with her all the time and it would be a memorable gift for her also an important one and I bought that I threw a party for her on a small cafe it was just me and me and our other two friends we enjoyed the party and we had a cake for her but when when it was the day of her moving to England it was the day of her flight to England we all were so very emotional because we didn't know when we get to meet each other again

    Band 6

    So, two years back I was alone and was trying to celebrate my birthday. I did not have any friends to hang out with as such. So, I just gone out to a local club and I was just sitting over there observing people because that's something that I like to do. I like to observe people and how their emotions fluctuate with surroundings and how they end up being in sync with the surroundings. It was a day before my birthday basically, it was 5th April rather than 6th and I was just sitting over there and one of my colleagues ended up coming over there. So, they did know that it was my birthday. Around 12 o'clock at midnight they wished me and they played the happy birthday song. A stranger at that time who did not know me at all approached me and got a cake from the local seller. I was flabbergasted by his initiation to give me a cake. It was different than how I expected my birthday to go. I was very shocked and happy about the fact that a stranger came in and gave me a cake. I thanked him profusely. However, that incident did make me very happy and made me feel less lonely. Why it surprised me was because in the modern world no one really cares about the other person. Someone did, however.

    Band 6

    It was my first test in a new school that I got into, and I was not expecting anything good, but I scored the highest in the class, and I'm not even a topper. I topped in the whole class, and I was not even confident I would pass, but I legit passed. It was the first day of new college, and I had an upcoming physics test that weekend. I just studied on my own, and I tried to do as much as I could do, and when the results were out, I was scared and skeptical I might not even have passed in that test, but guess what? I was the one who scored the highest on that test, and I just sat down with dedication. Actually, I didn't even have anything in my mind. I just sat down, and I studied. I wasn't thinking anything. I wasn't worried about the outcome. I just did what I could do, and yeah, that did give me good results.

    Band 6

    I am a type of a person who generally don't like surprises because I like to know things in prior so during my birthday last year my best friend surprised me with Lots of gift because as it was my 25th birthday so my best friend surprised me with 25 different small gifts and I was feeling very Extremely happy and Blessed to have such a good best friend because I think nobody did that to anyone Being a best friend and she gave me 25 different gifts which have small small things like hairband and clutches handbag wallet and different type of Things I like she made a list of 25 Objects One month before my birthday because she was preparing for it from one month prior however, I am a person who Don't give surprises or take surprises much, but she knows how to Make me happy or surprised and during that birthday. I was not feeling very Happy and to celebrate my birthday, but she did that so that make me so much happy and she made my day and we also go to a restaurant to Do a party for my birthday where she was invited And I didn't really invite much people over there because I don't like a lot of people around me

    Band 6

    Usually, I don't receive gifts from anyone, but when I was studying in Savansem, I received a gift from my friend, but we were not talking since 2 years because of misconsumption, but I was not accepting since she was giving me a gift for my birthday, even though she was not directly involved in communicating with me. She sent a gift through my mutual friend, so I could not able to guess that she gave me that gift, but after some day, my mutual friend told me that she gave me that gift, so I was so surprised that she wished me for my birthday even though I was not in touch with her. After knowing that thing, I called her instantly and convey my regarding that I was so happy to receive that gift, and I also conveyed her that there was my mistake of not talking to her even though she communicated with me.

    Band 6

    Okay, I have seen in my dreams that I am going to Maha Govind which is a very spiritual type of place and yeah, actually it was very grateful to me for seeing such a dream because in that dream my father was also there which have expired last two years ago and that's why it's the most of the grateful for me to seeing this type of dreams and the other thing is that in my dreams was I am going to that special place which has been coming in between the 143 weeks 143 months means it comes once in 143 months

    Band 6

    So, something that surprised me and made me happy was my birthday that I celebrated in the last year. So, all my family members, they just planned together to surprise me on my birthday. And they somehow planned to send me out of the house for a few times so that they can make the arrangements and surprise me with this decoration and with my favorite cake. And so, after some time, I came back to my home and I just felt that something was abnormal or suspicious in their behavior. They just off all the lights in the hall of my house and then I just, you know, I just started thinking that something is going to happen now and just suddenly all the lights were on and they surprised me. They were shouting together like happy birthday to me, singing the song and everyone was, you know, popping the poppers and so all of this was happened. And I just, it just made me feel so happy. So after a long time, we celebrated, we were with all the smiles on everyone's face. That made me feel so special and so happy and I was surprised that my family could do something like this to make me happy, the efforts they put on to just see that smile and surprise on my face. That's really something that's a very, you know, a tremendous experience that I felt on that day.

    Band 6

    I wish to talk about a thing which I got surprised and made me so joyful. So usually I don't like to celebrate my birthday which is on November 16th. So the last birthday which is November 16th, 2024, I was just thinking to just celebrate it. But at the same time I don't feel like to celebrate that birthday. So I was just keep quiet like every birthday. And somehow my sister noticed that I wanted to wish, I wanted to celebrate the birthday. So she surprised me with a cake and she invited all my friends around nearby my place. It made me so much, I was shocked because everyone just came suddenly and was like what happened here. Then they bring the cake with them. So I get the cake and I serve the cake to everyone. It was a good moment. It made me so happy, so joyful. She made me that, it's like a cherry on the top. Like already she gave me some gifts and she invited all of my friends. So it was like a cherry on top and I enjoyed that days very much.
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