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.

294 unique answers with expert feedback

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.

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.

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.

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.

IELTS Cue Cards asked last week

Reported by Leap students who gave IELTS

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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

I want to return it. I actually bought it from Uh, actually some days like some days before I bought in a book from amazon and I found out that I read the book and it I just found it. It's inappropriate for me I didn't like the book so much and I just bought it for the reason like it will enhance my knowledge But it didn't enhance my knowledge I just read that go through with the book and it was just meaningless book and it's just Kind of things like that only psychopaths or some kind of people read the kind of books so And I want to return this book through amazon and it shows that you can't return it after seven days and I used only like six days, but But I can say I just forgot about it. Um to return it and on the eighth day I tried to return it, but they say that can't return you you just um Yeah, the limit was passed the actually the limit was passed so I think I need to uh email them and Let's see what happened. I emailed those I emailed them. So let's see. What will Uh, what will they reply me and if it resolved or not? Okay, let's see

Band 6.5

Recently I happened to purchase a water bottle which was a branded one but when I used it I was told it was hot and cold resistant by the shopkeeper but when I happened to use it, it was not. When I put in the hot water inside the bottle it just came out and it made a huge sound and which typically said it was not hot water resistant. Additionally I reached out to the store and I told him that this was a miss selling because you claimed it was hot and cold resistant but when it was not and I wanted to return it very badly. Moreover, after explaining the whole issue, the shopkeeper behaved unbothered like it was not his fault. He told I did not tell it was hot and cold resistant. He claimed that I was just making up things. I was telling things on my own which was really embarrassing for me and I did not want to argue more about the same issue. So, I ended up coming home with a sad face after purchasing a bad water bottle or a useless water bottle. That was about it.

Band 6.5

An item that I bought that I really wanted to return was a little black dress. It was very beautiful and had a little black flower near the neck. I admired that a lot and I decided to buy that. But when the product arrived after two weeks, it was entirely different than it showed in that website. When I tried to return that, they said it has to have that tag in there. But unfortunately, I destroyed the tag and it couldn't be returned. So I was very disappointed and sad because I lost quite money for that product and also wanted to wear in a special occasion. I was having my graduation party for the next two days and since it was last minute, I couldn't buy what I wanted. If I had more time, I could have been prepared but since I solely depended on this product, I was having a quite tough time.

Band 6.0

Recently I had bought CR7 jersey. CR7 is a football player and the jersey was of Real Madrid. The number on the jersey was 7 and it was quite limited edition. When I bought CR7, the jersey was not there. Instead of jersey, there was a track pant present in that parcel. So I decided to return it but I faced so many problems in that. I called customer care that I want to return the delivery boy came here and he tried to check the parcel. He said this is not the right parcel you have changed. Then I called the customer care to say that the parcel you have sent is not my parcel. Then I convinced them that the parcel was not. I convinced them the parcel was not mine and you sent the wrong parcel to me. Then I tried them, I said them this is not my parcel and everything I have shared my problems with them that the parcel I have brought was CR7 jersey Real Madrid and they did and they had accepted the parcel. They did my refund though the parcel was too expensive.

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