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Describe Something That Surprised You: IELTS Speaking Cue Card

You should say

  • What was the surprise?
  • When did it happen?
  • How you found about it?
  • How did you feel about it?
Show all 22 answers

Cue 1:What was the surprise?

  • Begin by clearly stating what surprised you and why it was unexpected.
  • Provide some context to help the listener understand the significance of the surprise.

Example

The surprise that I experienced was when my younger sister, who had been struggling with her studies, topped her class in the recent exams. I never expected her to achieve such a remarkable feat, especially since she had been feeling quite demotivated about her performance.

Cue 2:When did it happen?

  • Mention the specific time frame when this event occurred.
  • You can also include any relevant details about the day or occasion.

Example

This happened just a few weeks ago, right after the results were announced for the semester exams. It was a Saturday morning, and I was having breakfast when I received the news.

Cue 3:How you found out about it?

  • Describe how you received the news about the surprise.
  • You can mention who informed you and the manner in which they conveyed the information.

Example

I found out about it through a phone call from my mother. She was so excited and couldn’t stop praising my sister. I could hear the joy in her voice, which made me curious to know more.

Cue 4:How did you feel about it?

  • Share your emotional reaction to the surprise.
  • Explain why you felt that way and how it affected your relationship with the person involved.

Example

I felt an overwhelming sense of pride and happiness. It was a relief to see my sister succeed after all her hard work. This achievement brought us closer, and I felt motivated to support her even more in her future endeavors.

Conclusion

    Example

    In conclusion, this surprise not only filled me with joy but also taught me the importance of perseverance. It reminded me that with dedication and hard work, anyone can achieve their goals, and I am proud to be part of my sister's journey.

    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 unclear and unengaging. Specific details help the examiner understand your experience better and keep their interest.

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    Tip

    Include specific details about the surprise, such as what happened, where it took place, and any relevant context to make your story more vivid.

    2: Lack of Emotion

    Failing to express your feelings can make your response flat. Emotions are key to connecting with the listener and making your story memorable.

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    Tip

    Share your feelings about the surprise, such as excitement or confusion, to convey the impact it had on you and engage the examiner.

    Ignoring the Cues

    Not addressing all the cue prompts can lead to an incomplete answer. Each cue is designed to help structure your response effectively.

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    Tip

    Make sure to answer all the cues provided, such as when it happened and how you found out, to create a well-rounded response.

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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

    location icon

    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 6

    The time I have received a surprise gift from my parents, it was after my secondary school examination. I have performed well in the exam, therefore I have received a surprise gift from my parents. It was a car and I am surprised this car lot of features, I have a curious to learn lot of specialties in this car, therefore I have a intense to know more advanced features included in it. It was the most unexpected gift I have received my parents, I did not expect such a beautiful gift after completing my TOEFL standard. I did not forget such a moment in my life, I feel excited after receiving this gift and I proud and happy after receiving this gift after completing my TOEFL standard.

    Band 6

    The surprise gift I received during my birthday, that was the gift that surprised me. It was given by my husband. It was a smartwatch because I have found of using smartwatch for a long time. I was waiting to get this gift and it was so much exciting for me and I wasn't expected from that from my husband. Smartwatch helped me to understand my daily routine, how much time I walk. I usually used to keep 10,000 footsteps daily to keep my life healthier. This always checked my palpitation, heart rate and everything. So I found nowadays the new version of smartwatch helps to understand the ECG of the people and paramedics. It helps to assess early detection of any diseases and things like that. Also this gift is very important for me nowadays. Everyday I have to charge it to understand how it works on my body. It is very useful for me and this is the surprise gift I never expected.

    Band 6

    Okay, I would like to explain a thing that has happened in my life. In my 18th birthday, I got a surprise from my family, that is a birthday party, a gathering of birthday party with my family and friends and all of my neighbors. I'm so happy on that day because there are a lot of happiness and a lot of events and special moments which happened in there and one of the most attraction is my friends. I lost my friends because of my busy life, so I got it return and I spend lot of time with them and it make me more memorizing my old, old year memories. So that was one of the main attraction on that party and also my family give a gift like a bike. I'm really happy to that also because it's a really colorful bike, I'm really needed to that, so moreover I'm really excited and I'm really happy to that because I'm not expecting this kind of gifts and this kind of parties in my life, however it's a nice event and I spend most of my time with my loved ones. The event was really happy and I never miss my days with them and also a special one that is a dish in that time, I'm really happy to that because lot of my favorite dish are in that party, like my favorite is Spanish foods, so they arranged me a Spanish kind of foods, I'm so happy to that also, in that day I never missed because

    Band 6

    Well, one fine evening, I remember it was in the hostel when I was doing my higher studies. I was the general secretary of the hostel and I saw one of my friend running towards me. So what she told me was, there is so many threats that's happening nowadays and there has been a situation, mobile phones of people are getting lost and there are four complaints being registered on the same day. So I told I'll get refreshed and I'll come back and look into it. So what happened was, before that I just want to go make a call to my home. I went and I saw that my mobile was missing. So I just had as if my whole world is coming down because just now I heard the news stating that there are so many mobile phones getting lost and now my own mobile phone is lost. So what I did, I immediately changed my dress and I went in search of it, I couldn't get it. So I was like literally in the state of crying and my friends, as soon as I went into the room, I saw four or five friends decorate, my room was well decorated with that pink colour balloons which I like and I was like what you people are doing, what's wrong with you. Already I am in so much of distressed state, I knew people are frustrating me more and what they told me was, it was a surprise it seems. Actually I scored the first mark in the university exam and they want to reveal me that through this because that was the day of my result and I was in a mood like I'll just go change my dress and then I'll go to library to look into the results and they have got the results prior, they want to surprise me and this is the way they surprise. That's the worst surprise I would say in my entire life but it was little bit different because even now when I think about it, it's a beautiful memory to cherish actually.

    Band 6

    At the time of my last year birthday, my cousin came from America and he gifted me a brand new iPhone 15 Pro Max. It is very surprising for me because this iPhone is very good for me. Since I was in school, I was dreaming to buy a new iPhone for me but at this time my brother gave me iPhone. It's lots of good for me. When he came at home, I seen that he takes some gifted box with him. But after cake cutting, he gave me. I think that it was not an iPhone. It is small watch or something like that. But when I opened it, I was shocked about that he gave me an iPhone. So, this is very good and best feeling for me because I never used any iPhone yet and I never, never. I very thankful for my brother for giving me this iPhone and it is very sweet and best gift for me.

    Band 6

    Well, when I was in college at that time, my friends and my friends provided me a surprise birthday party when I entered in my 18th year of my life and it was exam time so I was quite busy due to lots of calculation and project preparation. When I was really tired so I slept and my friend called me to come at, to vent his pain so I went there by using my bike and unfortunately when he opened his door, my friends, my family and all the members were there so I got surprised and they prepared a big cake for me and I cut that cake and it was a big celebration and then after we go to the restaurant where they served, they provided me a great dinner in which they had prepared, they prepared a great dish named South Indian recipe which was my favourite recipe and I enjoyed a lot with my friends and my family and then we took lots of photographs with them. It was a great time because it was the first time in my life that people provided me a party so I enjoyed a lot with myself and overall I feel very over the moon.

    Band 6

    The thing I surprised was last year, my father went on a Dubai trip which was conducted by his office and I asked him for a smartphone which is very expensive, it is around 1 lakh and I sent him some photos about the phone and I was not expecting the phone because it was very expensive and he sent some photos of the phone at some time but after that there is no information about it and we cannot contact him and after returning I checked his bag but there is no phone and there are only chocolates and other clothings. After some time he showed me the phone, he told me that I hidden that phone. I felt very thankful and good after seeing the phone.

    Band 5-6

    yeah everyone has different experience in his life so here I would like to talk about a surprising thing that happens in my life when I was in seven standards a my friend named Vikas Sharma was studying with me with me and his financial condition was not good at that time so she was belongs to a very poor family but she was very intelligent in study so when I asked him that what your future plan and then he asked me and he told me that I want to join Air Force but my financial condition is not good so when when he passed secondary standard and he he has work hard by himself to support his study then he work hard very much and he applied for IAS officer paper so he got first rank in in the examinations and now he he is a IAS officer when I was watching my TV and I found him that he was when he was on TV he was rewarded by a good work and ethics

    Band 5-6

    There are I think surprises is the crucial part of life and I am the person who loves surprises and today I would like to shed some light upon a time when I was totally surprised and it was a time when I was in my school and I always I always wanted a mobile phone when I was in my 12th standard I always I always phoned off a high phone and I I always asked my father to get get that phone and because I love that phone love that phone I also admire the features of the phone and at the same time my all the friends having the same mobile phone but my father told me uh every day my father told me that you do you do I do not give you that mobile because it is very expensive and at the same time that is not your age but I remember it was my birthday and on my birthday there was uh there was a little ceremony and all the guests and relatives and my friends are invited and at that time I the cake ceremony is going on and after the cake ceremony my father came to me and gave me a gift box and I have never I have never think that in the this box there is a mobile phone and when I open the box I thought there is something else when I open the box and I feel very surprised and and I was over the moon and I feel very proud of that moment that whatever I want my father always give me that thing and at the same time I get a lesson

    Band 5

    Last year on my birthday, all my best friends planned a surprise at my birthday party. So, I was very surprised and almost I am not able to act. By seeing the surprise, I am almost being cried for an hour. So, I obviously think I am going to miss my elder sister on my birthday. So, I was planning that.
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