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Describe something that you can't live without (not a computer/phone): IELTS Speaking Cue Card

You should say

  • What is it?
  • What do you do with it?
  • How it helps you in your life?
  • And explain why you can't live without it.
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59 unique answers with expert feedback

Show all 59 answers

Cue 1:What is it?

  • Begin by clearly stating what the item is and its significance in your life.
  • Provide a brief background on how you came to value this item.

Example

The item I can't live without is my journal. I started writing in it during my college days as a way to express my thoughts and feelings.


Cue 2:What do you do with it?

  • Describe the activities you engage in with this item.
  • Mention any specific routines or practices you have developed around it.

Example

I use my journal daily to jot down my thoughts, plan my day, and reflect on my experiences. Every morning, I spend about 15 minutes writing about my goals and what I am grateful for.


Cue 3:How it helps you in your life?

  • Explain the benefits this item brings to your life, both emotionally and practically.
  • Share any personal anecdotes that highlight its importance.

Example

My journal helps me manage stress and anxiety. Whenever I feel overwhelmed, I write down my worries, which makes them feel more manageable. It also helps me track my personal growth over time.


Cue 4:And explain why you can't live without it.

  • Conclude with a strong statement about the emotional connection you have with this item.
  • Reflect on how your life would be different without it.

Example

I can't live without my journal because it serves as my emotional outlet. Without it, I would struggle to process my thoughts and feelings, which would negatively impact my mental health.


Conclusion

    Example

    In summary, my journal is more than just a book; it is a vital part of my daily routine and mental well-being. It helps me stay organized, reflect on my life, and cope with challenges, making it truly irreplaceable.


    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 makes your answer unclear. Avoid general statements that do not provide specific details about the item you can't live without.

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    Tip

    Be specific about the item. Describe its features and why it is important to you to create a vivid picture for the examiner.


    2: Lack of Personal Connection

    Failing to explain your personal connection to the item can make your response less engaging. It's important to share your feelings and experiences.

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    Tip

    Include personal anecdotes or stories about how this item has impacted your life to make your answer more relatable.


    Ignoring Cue Card Questions

    Not addressing all the cue card questions can lead to an incomplete answer. Each part of the cue card is important for a well-rounded response.

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    Tip

    Structure your answer by clearly addressing each cue. Use phrases like 'First, I will explain...' to ensure you cover all points.


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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 6-7

    I cannot live without my parents, my family, my friends because they are helping me each and every day. They are motivating me in my ups and downs and every time they are with me and they are my well-wishers and they usually help me in my work daily routine and I cannot live without them because they are everything to me and today wherever I am I am because of them, my parents, my family and of course my friends also they keep me motivating every day whenever I feel I'm down I'm not in good mood or I'm thinking negative thoughts or anything which is harming my success they help me to increase my positivity positive thoughts and positive way to achieve something good in my life

    Band 6-7

    A thing which I can't live without is my bike, because apart from human beings, one non-living thing that can feel my emotion is my bike. Further, with the speed of my bike itself, someone can indicate that whether I am happy or sad. Whenever I am angry, I used to ride my bike faster, unknowingly. Moreover, I used to self-talk with my bike often when I am riding alone. To illustrate, even for this IELTS exam, I used to practice while I am traveling with my bike. I brought this bike when I was in the third year of my college. I chose my bike when it was arrived newly in the market. It's none other than Ronin TVS. I purchased this bike for a main reason, because of its engine capability. Obviously most of us know that TVS is a good product, but you don't want to maintain it so good, as their manufacturing will be so epic and you don't want to bother much about the maintenance. To be honest, Ronin bike was their first implementation to attract the riders, because

    Band 6-7

    There are so many things I can't live without, but to elaborate this answer, here I will use an example, speaking. So the thing is I can't live without communicating with people. Communicating with people gives me ideas about how life is, how people are, how I am in person, and there are so many things which when you communicate with other people, you get to know. You get to know about everything like abroad, what news, international news, Indian news, everything, everything, everything.

    Band 6-7

    There are many things in my life I can't live without them but they are not the computer or the phone, it is the Merck veterinary manual because I love this textbook and it helps me find various topics of veterinary medicine, it is because of this reason I love this textbook because I am preferring for the NAVLI exam and it will be very useful for me to refer this textbook and it gives me sufficient knowledge in an effective way through which I can clear the exam and many of my friends used this textbook and they cleared the exam so they referred me to read it so nowadays I am unable to live without this textbook because I am very fond of this, by reading this I am very I am getting very excited and I want to know more about the diseases and know more about the diagnosis part of the disease and I want I am getting enthusiastic that I want to treat animals in a efficient way so this books helps me a lot to do better in veterinary medicine and I also

    Band 6-7

    Gardening is one of the hobbies I like the most. I have a small plot of area near to my house where I do gardening. I have some kinds of fruits, trees and vegetables. I have fruit trees such as guava, mango, custard apple and star fruit. The vegetables include tomatoes, larry's finger, brinjal and cabbage. I do a lot of work in the garden. I spend two hours daily watering my garden, giving them pesticides and fertilizers. It is a great exercise for me. Since I stand on my foot for two hours, it helps me to sleep like a baby at night. It assists me in my diet. I pick out the weeds from my garden and I do hard work. It keeps me active and agile all throughout the day.

    Band 6-7

    I'm sure everyone will agree on this that the food and water is necessary for everyone and nobody can live without it these. I'll elaborate on both one by one firstly as we all know that water is the main element which sustains all life forms on the earth and without it all creatures will vanish. Moreover the earth is covered by 70% of water and our human body itself has the highest percentage of water despite being muscular, having bones and other elements. In addition to water food is another important item without which we cannot think our existence on this earth. Food includes vegetables, meat, milk and milk products extra and creatures are also based on their food requirements and habits. Mostly there are three categories of creatures depending on their food habits. They are defined as vegetarians, non-vegetarians and omnivorous. Vegetarian who depends on vegetables, non-vegetarian depends on meat and omnivorous eat both type of food meat and vegetarian food.

    Band 6-7

    An object I cannot live without is my water bottle. Not only does it carry my water bottle but it gives me a sense of safety. I cannot trust water outside and carrying water bottle helps me stay hydrated and confident in wherever I go because I always have my water with me. And when I am in a very tensed state and I need to do something, I reach out to my water bottle and drink a sip of water. It gives me a feeling of home and comfort that a lot of other stuff in my life, a lot of objects around cannot give me. I depend on my water bottle as an emotional support. At the same time, the benefits of carrying a water bottle is just a pro. My water bottle not only carries water but during winters it carries hot drinks like coffee or tea and during summers it carries my cold drinks like lemonade or my buttermilk which help me stay, according to the weather, help me maintain my health. So my water bottle is my object that I cannot live without and I would carry it anywhere and this is the one thing that can help me protect myself too. Like, wag my steel water bottle around anybody's head and I am protected from stranger danger. This is not only a water bottle but multiple things and I can never live without it. Can never not live without it.

    Band 6-7

    I well there are a number of things that I can't live without here I would like to talk about a thing that about a thing that is a teddy bear that I can't live without because it I love teddy bears and that teddy bear is given to me by my mother on my last birthday I vividly remember that after two years ago I I asked my mother for for a mobile phone on my next birthday so on that time my mother rejected that decision and she and she told to me that I should concentrate more on my studies apart from concentrating on mobile phone so on that time I accept my mother's decision and after that I said to my mom that I want a teddy bear that is very bigger and approximately five feet on there and then on my birthday my mother gave me that teddy bear it is very close to me because I love teddy bears I always keep it with me in the night I can't sleep without it because now it is my habit to sleep with it and it is very soft and it is in a pink color I love pink colors so so that it is a thing that I can't live without

    Band 6-7

    The one thing I can't live without is my phone and it's because I cannot imagine my life without a mobile phone as I take notes in it, I pay at various places online payments, I also commute through my phone, transportation and the kind of applications in today's day, I connect with my family and friends and I cannot really imagine without a mobile phone in today's life that one can survive because I think it is very very essential commodity and it has become the need of the hour, it's a necessary evil and so a mobile phone is something I cannot manage even a day without and because a loss of a mobile phone would disconnect me from the world primarily and secondly would stop my work then and there itself, I usually I'm pretty dependent on my phone when it comes to even taking notes, making records and even preparing for examinations so a phone is something that I require all through the year 24 by 7, 365 days and it's become inevitable part of life, it also does a lot of harm I do agree on it but it's something I cannot really imagine and live without and the dependency on any such thing is not really appreciated but I think in today's day this is the scenario.

    Band 6-7

    There are two things that I can't live without, which include mobile phone and books. Because mobile phone is a way through which I can communicate with all the people around me and also around the world. My friends who are studying in Australia, who are studying in Germany and who are studying in France, I'll be able to communicate with them only with the help of my mobile phone. Friends are my most important part in my life. They are inevitable in my life. So I always want to talk to them regularly. So my mobile phone helps me to do that. So that is one important crucial thing that I would never live without. Another thing is my books because I am a person who enjoys reading books. Because books help me to read certain things to escape from reality. And I always love books because they are my kind of therapy. So there has never been a single day without me reading a book. So books and me are inseparable things and so I would definitely love to have a book. And I can't imagine myself without a book. And that's the reason why I can't live without these two because they play a crucial role in my life more than any other things.
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