arrow back icon Top Answers

Describe something you bought that you really wanted to return: IELTS Speaking Cue Card

You should say

  • What you bought?
  • Why you wanted to return it?
  • What happened when you tried to return it?
  • And explain how you felt afterward.
Show all 294 answers

Cue 1:What you bought?

  • Begin by clearly stating the item you purchased and its significance to you.
  • Include details about where and when you bought it to set the context.

Example

I bought a pair of expensive wireless headphones from an online store during a sale. I had been wanting them for months because I love listening to music while commuting and exercising.

Cue 2:Why you wanted to return it?

  • Explain the specific reasons that led you to want to return the item.
  • Mention any expectations you had that were not met.

Example

After using the headphones for a few days, I realized that the sound quality was not as good as I had hoped. Additionally, they were uncomfortable to wear for long periods, which was disappointing since I had read many positive reviews.

Cue 3:What happened when you tried to return it?

  • Describe the process you went through to return the item.
  • Share any challenges or frustrations you faced during the return process.

Example

When I contacted customer service to initiate the return, I faced long wait times on the phone. They informed me that I needed to send the headphones back at my own expense, which I found frustrating. Eventually, I managed to send them back, but it took a lot longer than I expected.

Cue 4:And explain how you felt afterward.

  • Reflect on your emotions after the return process was completed.
  • Discuss any lessons learned from the experience.

Example

After finally returning the headphones, I felt relieved but also a bit frustrated with the whole experience. I learned to be more cautious when buying expensive items online and to read reviews more thoroughly before making a purchase.

Conclusion

    Example

    In conclusion, returning the headphones was a challenging experience, but it taught me valuable lessons about online shopping and managing expectations. I now feel more confident in making future purchases.

    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 response unclear. Avoid general statements that do not provide specific details about the item you bought or your feelings about returning it.

    bulb icon

    Tip

    Be specific about the item, including its name and features. Describe your feelings and experiences in detail to create a clearer picture.

    2: Neglecting Emotional Impact

    Failing to express your emotions can make your answer less engaging. It's important to convey how the experience affected you personally.

    bulb icon

    Tip

    Share your feelings before and after the return process. Use descriptive language to express your emotions, such as frustration or relief.

    Ignoring the Return Process

    Not explaining what happened during the return process can leave your answer incomplete. Candidates often skip this crucial part, which can lead to a lack of depth.

    bulb icon

    Tip

    Detail the steps you took to return the item, including any challenges faced. This adds depth to your story and shows your problem-solving skills.

    calendar icon

    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

    Just a few weeks back, we went for shopping and I had seen a dress which is very beautiful. The color, its texture, everything is so good that I did not even trial the dress. I immediately liked it and I asked him to pack the dress and bought it home. After coming home, I tried the dress and then I got to know that the zip got failed in the back. Then immediately I informed my mom and I told her that was the situation there. Then I called the shop immediately and I asked them if I will be able to return the damaged piece and take a new one. They said to return to the shop immediately so that they will see and do the process. I went to the shop and then I showed them the damaged piece and I raised the complaint regarding selling the damaged products. The manager requested me and said sorry for selling such damaged products and it won't be repeated next time. Then they showed me a new collection of BVA dresses and they asked me to trial and then select if I am completely willing to buy only. Then I saw each and everything in a proper way. I checked everything, the zips, buttons, everything and then I tried it. I took the slip, bill and then I tried it.

    Band 6-7

    A thing that I bought, recently I bought a potty chair for my daughter, I ordered it through shopping online app called amazon, usually if I want to order something, before I order, I go to review page and go through all the reviews and comments on particular product, so I have reviewed for my potty chair and they have given 4 stars out of 5, the comments were very satisfied, so I have decided to buy it, after I received it, I felt disappointment because the quality is not up to the mark and the color also just opposite what I ordered, so I wanted to return it, but they neglect to receive it, so it gave me the worst experience.

    Band 6-7

    I would like to speak about the thing which I bought recently from Zodio store when I went for a dinner a few days back. I have purchased a few t-shirts for my husband which are double XL in size and when I bought it home and when he tried those t-shirts they were somewhat tight for him. So we have decided to return those t-shirts and in exchange we can take some of the other thing which is comfortable for him. So on the next day we have gone to a nearby Zodio store to return the product with the invoice which we had while we purchased the t-shirts at a different store. However they took the product, they checked whether the tags are present or not, they have checked everything and whether it is used or not, they checked everything and also given us a chit so that we can exchange in return for this product. So I have purchased some other t-shirts and shirts for him which are comfortable for him as he is with me at that moment. So yeah, it's a good experience I had with Zodio and I would recommend this place to my friends and my sister who is a shopaholic.

    Band 6-7

    Recently, I shopped for a t-shirt from an online shopping brand. When I was purchasing it, the color was so pretty and decent. It had very simple design. After few days, when I received the parcel of the t-shirt, I found it in a very bad condition. The t-shirt was not at all good. The color that I got was totally different from the one that I ordered. In addition to it, it was so loose and was very dirty. Moreover, I ordered a floral dress and I got any other print. I tried to return it and put a complaint against it. But there was no response from the seller and I felt so awkward. Also, my money was wasted as it was so expensive. Moreover, it was a branded t-shirt and I didn't expect something like that from brand sellers. However, I felt so awkward and it was a such bad experience for me.

    Band 6-7

    I would like to talk about a pair of sneakers that I recently bought online. So this was a white colored sneakers of red tape company which I bought through Amazon. The reason I want to return this is because it has very poor quality and the image does not do justice to the product itself. The product is totally different in style, design and sole color when compared to the image provided by the seller. I tried contacting the customer support but it was very difficult to reach them. I tried multiple times and failed to reach them. Finally I emailed my issue to them and they reverted it back to me after 7 days. The customer representative called back and told that the return policy is already over for this product and it cannot be returned further. So I was very disappointed by this because it is a very expensive pair of sneakers. It costs around 3000 Rs. So it was one of the most expensive pair that I own. Now I have to wear it compulsorily because I don't have any other choice. But if given the option to return it, I would definitely try to return it and purchase something better with better quality and other brand.

    Band 6-7

    I bought a piece of clothing from an online brand clothing store last week. I was attracted to it because of its design and color that I saw in Instagram page. I checked the details and the price was also reasonable because they were giving with a 50% off. That is why I bought it and I got within a one week and when I opened the, when I unboxed the cloth, it was okay, all the color, details, patterns, everything was up to the mark what they have said in Instagram. But what happened later was really dissatisfying for me. After I wore it one time and then I washed it with my hand, but all the colors have faded. The bright color has faded and the cloth became like a polyester thing because there was, then only I understood that there was a wax-like coating on the cloth which makes it looking like a branded clothing. But that was fake and I was, so I couldn't return it because I washed it already. So I put a photo of the cloth, take a photo of the clothing store and put it in the comment section and I gave really a bad comment. I called the customer care section and told my complaints. So they didn't reply instantly, but after one week, they replied with that, can you please delete that bad comment from the clothing store because it was a mistake and they told me they would return the money. So, because actually the cloth was not bad.

    Band 6-7

    I recently brought a iPad's keyboard which I wanted to return because it was not compatible with the model I had of my iPad. So I wanted to return it. I bought it through an e-commerce platform called Flipkart and when I tried to return the product, the seller stated that the product is not returnable. The seller did not have the return policy and it was completely the seller's fault because the product's description said it was compatible with my iPad model. So I ordered it without much doubt. However, when the keyboard arrived, I realized that it was not compatible at all. It simply didn't connect to my device. So I checked the listing again and noticed that the seller had given misleading, incomplete information. So I decided to return but unfortunately, they did not have a proper return policy. This was quite frustrating because it was not my fault. It was clearly the seller's mistake. I tried to explain the issue but they refused to accept the return. In the end, I was left with the keyboard that was completely useless to me and was worth like 8000 rupees. I felt disappointed and cheated because I had trusted the product description. At the same time, I also felt helpless as there was nothing I could do to get my money back. So I tried contacting the brand's customer service. The brand clearly stated that you brought it from a third-party seller but we understand that you have put your money and your trust in us. So they asked me to reach their service center and get the possible solution for the problem I am facing. So I went to the service center and then they

    Band 6-7

    Okay, so I don't have a specific thing, but in general it has to be my bags that I want to return because I fantasize over them and I just stock them a lot, but I hardly use it once or twice. That's because most of my collections are not suitable for regular use and I just use three or four of them for my day-to-day activities, so which I feel guilty and I think I'm just a splash on these bags. So I just wanted to return it, like every time I open my wardrobe it's just full of bags more than clothes. So every time I say that I feel so awkward and guilty, which makes me to return it on spot, but till date I'm doing the same, like I don't have any solution for it. That's because I think it's from my dad, he used to collect bags like anything, he has a set of collections, but he's like me, he doesn't even use more than once or twice. So I think I have to control on it because at the end of the day it's all money and I'm just burning my amount on this, like I used to be frugal on other things to be superfluous on it. So I'm actually looking for a remedy to avoid this habit, so I believe, I think I would get rid of this soon.

    Band 6-7

    whilst growing up I used to play table tennis a lot and so I always used to order table tennis rackets but one day when I ordered it and came to my house it was broken hence I had to return it back and after I returned it back I was like why I would have easily fixed it the rubber was amazing the handle was amazing everything was fantastic I returned it back and after I did I complained to the company which sent me the thing whilst growing up I always used to play table tennis I went to nationals playing table tennis so it was a hobby of mine to collect rackets and I ordered one from Amazon and when it got delivered to my house I was pretty excited I opened the package in front of my family we're pretty happy and as I opened it I saw that the handle was kind of broken and a few swings later the entire racket broke the rubber and the handle got separated the rubber was very good so was the handle so it was kind of a shame that it broke but when I tried to return the racket Amazon wouldn't accept it as I had opened the package and threw the box away along with the receipt so I had to treasure the racket and I took out the rubber and applied it on a new racket and that's the racket I use to play table tennis now which is an amazing racket

    Band 6-7

    So, it was this one time when me and my family went to a tailor to stitch a pair of trousers for my university, for my uni. It was going to open, it was going to re-open and everything was going fine. And we went to the tailor, we selected some nice material for my new pair of trousers. We asked the tailor to stitch them according to my measurements. And what went wrong was, I think the tailor made a mistake. He kind of, near the groin area, he didn't measure I believe and it was too tight near my groin area. And I noticed this only after when I reached my home and yeah, when I wore it, I wasn't able to, it was difficult for me to sit, stand with the pants and I was, it really impacted my mobility. And I asked my parents to go and try to fix this trouser but they were not agreeing with me as the tailor was someone from, someone we knew and he was from our state and it would be really awkward because it was his mistake and we spent 70-70, total 140 dirhams in this, while stitching our pants.
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
    ielts logo

    Get the IELTS Prep App

    Star rating icon

    4.2

    1M+ Installs

     app download banner image

    Get the app link on your phone

    +91

    Or download app from

    google play storeapp store
    master ielts speaking ad