Describe Something That Was Broken In Your Home And Then Repaired: IELTS Speaking Cue Card

You should say

What is it?
How was it broken?
How you got it repaired?
How you felt about it?

15 unique answers with expert feedback

Show all 15 answers

Cue 1:What is it?

Begin by clearly identifying the item that was broken in your home.
Provide a brief description of its importance or function in your daily life.

Example

The item that was broken in my home was a beautiful ceramic vase that my grandmother had gifted me. It was not just a decorative piece; it held sentimental value as it reminded me of my childhood and family gatherings.

Cue 2:How was it broken?

Describe the incident that led to the item being broken.
Use vivid details to make the story engaging and relatable.

Example

One day, while I was dusting the shelves, I accidentally knocked the vase off the table. It fell to the floor and shattered into several pieces. I felt a wave of panic as I watched it break, knowing how much it meant to me.

Cue 3:How you got it repaired?

Explain the steps you took to get the item repaired.
Mention any professionals you consulted or DIY methods you tried.

Example

After the vase broke, I felt devastated but decided to try and repair it. I collected all the pieces and searched online for tips on how to fix ceramic items. I found a local artisan who specialized in pottery repair and took the pieces to him. He used a special adhesive and worked meticulously to restore it.

Cue 4:How you felt about it?

Share your emotions during the repair process and after the item was fixed.
Reflect on the significance of the repaired item in your life.

Example

When I saw the vase restored to its former glory, I felt an immense sense of relief and happiness. It was as if a part of my family history had been saved. I realized that even though things can break, they can also be mended, which gave me a deeper appreciation for my belongings.

Conclusion

Example

In conclusion, the experience of breaking and repairing the vase taught me valuable lessons about care and the importance of memories. It reinforced my belief that while material things can be damaged, the memories they hold are what truly matter.

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. It's important to provide specific details about the item that was broken and the repair process to engage the listener.

Tip

Use descriptive words and specific examples to clearly explain what was broken and how it was repaired.

2: Ignoring Emotions

Failing to express your feelings about the situation can make your response less engaging. Emotions add depth to your story and connect with the listener.

Tip

Share your feelings about the broken item and the repair process to make your answer more relatable and interesting.

Lack of Structure

A disorganized response can confuse the listener. It's essential to follow a clear structure when answering the cue card to ensure your points are understood.

Tip

Organize your answer by addressing each cue in order: what it was, how it broke, how it was repaired, and how you felt about it.

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

Reported by

Anonymous student Band 7.5

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

Reported by

Anonymous student Band 8

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

Reported by

Anonymous student Band 6.5

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

Reported by

Anonymous student Band 7

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

Reported by

Anonymous student Band 7.5

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

It's that moment! She was wondering if she stayed in Ikebukuro for a long while,apart from going to the vet. She saw me once more there. In fact, I went to the rescue of my former colleague. I was so worried but she finally opened her mouth and asked me to hold her. Everyone knew this time. I thought I was going to get in trouble if I held my poems again. She says it was like a huge karma to hold the poems. I decided to hold you because I can do it right next to you right away. I was so worried but she finally opened her mouth and asked me to hold her. Everyone knew this time. I thought I was going to get in trouble if I held my poems again. I decided to hold you because I can do it right next to you right away. Everyone knew this time. I decided to hold you because I can do it right next to you right away. cough cough A couple of years before we brought an aquarium to our home. We were maintaining that as our baby and we were doing the things for it. Like we were maintaining clean and etc. For at least we were maintaining 10-11 fishes in that aquarium because it is a very big aquarium. A few days before, I think it may be 14 days before, the aquarium fell down. As I was going to college in a hurry, suddenly my hand touched the aquarium and it fell down. I felt really bad and it was broken. Later, my husband saw that and he felt very bad because he brought that aquarium with his own money. He sees that aquarium as a very important thing in his life. Then, at the same day evening, we both took that aquarium to the aquarium shop. cough We did it. We repaired that aquarium. A few days later, the shopkeeper brought that aquarium to our home. Later, I felt really good after repairing it. I thought it won't be repaired again.

Band 5-6

There was this precious thing in my house which was a crystal figure of a dancing lady that was gifted to my mother by my father. One day me and my brother were playing with this ball inside our hall where there was this display unit that has that showpiece kept on it. So we were playing and we were not allowed to play inside with the ball in our house. We were often told not to play inside the house with the ball as it will break something. But then we decided since nobody is at home, me and my brother, we will play the ball and we will see as to what will happen. And then suddenly we were playing catch and catch and the ball hits that showpiece and it, the glass shattered. And both of us got so scared, we felt as if now we will get bashed for this, we will be punished or something will be, our TV time will be cut, our playing time will be cut. Then what happened, it was my brother who is elder to me, decided that we will put fevicol and we will glue it together and keep it as it is and when the next day somebody just uses it and we will say we don't know how it went, maybe the maid was dusting and it fell from her and that piece got broken. So we were just repairing it and then the doorbell rang and it was my mother. Both of us were very scared as to what will happen, what will happen and we decided, both of us individually decided that we will put the blame on each other so that there will be chaos and everything will be forgotten. So she comes in and she says how did this fell and what happened, what were you guys doing, what naughty children are having. We were just there standing, listening and then I said it was my brother who did it and he said it was she who did it and then finally all this chaos, then we started fighting. So my mother had to stop us and in that she

Band 5-6

I watch a movie with my friends, I watch TV with my friends, I talk to them out, I watch TV with my friends, watch it on a laptop. My friend with me fully concentrate on watch film, not concentrate on tea, fell down of my laptop. After decade my laptop, my parents scold me as well as my friends. My parents is very hungry of me, it is very sad, it is very bad things of me, I only concentrate on my watch film, I do not like feel good because my parents scold to me. My parents scold to me fast time, I always with my friends collect together you watch film, always broken in one things such as now present time fell down of tea on laptop. And last year I broken things of mobile phone, my laptop I go to with my friends market, I has go to market show of my laptop mechanic shop. My mechanic shop is live in shop from laptop, after 10 years repairing time show to me.

Band 5-6

So I have received a lot of gifts in my life but today I'm going to talk about one of the thing that I received last year only and that was PlayStation 5. I really enjoy playing games on it because it is something that is very close to me. Playstations are basically the next-gen consoles that helps you out to enjoy your time, feeling relaxed. Since my childhood I used to play a lot of games. This was gift that was very special to me and was gifted to me by my cousin. Her name is Ushreen Kaur. She's someone who's very close to me. So it was about the time when one of my cousin's sister's son came at my home. He was roaming all around and all of sudden he just went near the PlayStation and picked it up and dropped it down. That was very awkward for me because I didn't expected it at all. It broke into pieces and the motherboard was probably dead. I was just guessing around that particular period of time. So I went to the market which is Kocha market in my city. I know one of the shops out there. The name of the shop was Prince Electronics. He's someone I had to go that place a lot of times. I find the nature of the owner very amiable. He is someone who always helps me out. I had bought a lot of PS2 and PS3 games in my past. Repairing the PlayStation was kind of dilemma for him and it was not a piece of cake at all. But he tried his best to overcome that particular situation and after two months he gave me back. It was like burning the midnight oil because the motherboard was completely dead. Though the cost that was introduced to me as a repair cost was approximately around seven thousand rupees. But at the end of the day you just need your thing to be alright and you need to move on.

Band 5-6

The thing which was broke in our home was a mirror. It was a dressing mirror which is located in my mom's room. However, it was my mom's favorite mirror because he dress up herself in that mirror whenever we go out or do something. It was a favorite mirror. It was broken because me and my friends were chilling and playing some games in the home in my mother's room. So one of my friend known as Arbaaz hit the ball to the mirror. At that time it was broken and it sounds so disgusting that everyone came into the room because it was a large voice of breaking the mirror. And all the mirror particles were distributed among the floor and in addition to it, I have repaired it on time before my father or mother came to my home. I brought, I have called a skilled technician of glass. He came and he came and fix it up within the time and I have paid him an extra tip because he have done an excellent work and also in addition to it, he give such responses that you have to be careful with these things, mirror is very sharp and all. I felt very guilty because it was my mom's favorite mirror. I was so depressed that I have broken that mirror. That's why I have felt guilty on that time. Moreover, I haven't done any other activities from now.

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