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Describe something you received for free.: IELTS Speaking Cue Card

You should say

  • What was it?
  • When and from whom did you receive it?
  • How did you feel?
Show all 142 answers

Cue 1:What was it?

  • Begin by clearly stating what the item or service was that you received for free.
  • Provide a brief description of its significance or usefulness to you.

Example

I received a beautiful handmade scarf from my grandmother. It was made from soft wool and had intricate patterns that reflected our cultural heritage.


Cue 2:When and from whom did you receive it?

  • Mention the occasion or event during which you received the item.
  • Specify who gave it to you and their relationship to you.

Example

I received the scarf last winter during my birthday celebration. My grandmother, who is very dear to me, gifted it to me as a surprise.


Cue 3:How did you feel?

  • Share your emotional response upon receiving the gift.
  • Explain why this feeling was significant to you.

Example

I felt incredibly touched and grateful when I received the scarf. It reminded me of the love and care my grandmother puts into everything she makes, making it even more special.


Conclusion

  • Summarize the importance of the gift in your life.
  • Reflect on how receiving this free item impacted your relationship with the giver.

Example

In conclusion, receiving the scarf from my grandmother not only warmed me physically during the cold months but also strengthened our bond. It serves as a constant reminder of her love and our family traditions.


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: Giving Vague Answers

Avoid being too general or vague in your response. Specific details make your answer more engaging and memorable. Vague answers can lead to a lack of clarity.

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Tip

Include specific details about the item you received, such as its appearance, purpose, and significance to you.


2: Neglecting Emotional Impact

Failing to express your feelings can make your answer less impactful. Emotions help to connect with the listener and make your story more relatable.

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Tip

Share how receiving the item made you feel at the moment and how it affects you now, using descriptive language.


Ignoring the Context

Not providing context about when and from whom you received the item can leave your answer feeling incomplete. Context adds depth to your story.

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Tip

Clearly explain the situation surrounding the gift, including the occasion and the relationship with the giver.


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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
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Reported by

Anonymous student Band 7.5

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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
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Reported by

Anonymous student Band 8

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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
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Reported by

Anonymous student Band 6.5

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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
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Reported by

Anonymous student Band 7

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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
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Reported by

Anonymous student Band 7.5

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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

So, when I was in my 7th grade, I had to travel around 2-3 km everyday walking to my tuition and at that time I had received a surprising gift from my grandma which was a gear bicycle. That moment was very special for me.

Band 6-7

I usually love gift, I usually love the idea of giving gift and receiving gifts so one of the most precious gifts that I got is a bicycle. I got it as a birthday present when I was 10 years old. My grandfather gifted me this and when I got the bicycle I was so happy because I always wanted to have a bicycle so at last finally when I got the bicycle I was so happy. Also my grandfather is a very close person to me so something which I got from him is very close to my heart. I still preserve that bicycle in my go-down so that I can feel the presence of my grandfather in that bicycle who is no more with me. I have very fond memories with that bicycle. I used to wander around on that bicycles with my friends. On those days my each of my day will actually start from these bicycles. When I ride from waking up I will go take the bicycle and go for a round around my neighborhood with my friends. I will feel fresh air while riding the bicycle and I used to buy stuff for my brother such as groceries in the kitchen using the bicycle. So it was so happy I was so happy back then so I still keep this bicycle as a memory of my childhood and for my grandfather because as I said he is no more with me.

Band 6-7

So, the gift I received from my maternal uncle was a vintage classic 350 Royal Enfield bike. And that was not just a gift, but a reward for me. He told me if I would pass my exam, then I would definitely get the bike. So when I passed the exam with flying colors, I got this classic vintage bike and I rode it from Delhi to my hometown, Hubli. And I felt very happy because of what I got as a gift. And I was on cloud nine at that time. And also, that was a very precious gift I ever got in my life and definitely I received that for free. And I would go to my college daily on that bike.

Band 6-7

I've been receiving gifts since my childhood. My parents used to gift me various items on different occasions, especially on my birthdays. Once, when I was in 6th standard, on my birthday, my dad came and gifted me a bat. It was not an ordinary bat, yet it was a signed bat from a famous cricketer, Mr. Mahindra Singh Dhoni. I was too fascinated from the gift. As I am currently a sportsperson, I am still having that bat in my kid bag. That gives me immense confidence and pleasure to play cricket with that bat. Though sometimes I feel gifting is not as free as we think of, but we have emotion attached to that and people tend to think what is usually applicable for the person that has that gift. Thank you.

Band 6-7

So something I received for free was a wristwatch which was gifted to me by my brother back in 2019 or 2018 when I was in high school in class 11 or 12. So at that time my brother is like 5 or 6 years older to me so he was, he just started working in a company and with his first salary he actually gifted me that wristwatch. So I treasure it very much and even I treasured it then and I still wear it now to this day because of its significance that he gifted me and other free gifts would be my phone that my mother gifted me on my birthday during COVID and yeah I still use both of my things till date because of the memories it holds and how much I, like whenever I look at the watch and the phone I remember their gift to me and similarly I value it very much.

Band 6-7

My favourite gift is a painting titled Family Tradition and Nature. I got this as a gift from my uncle on my 18th birthday. It was in the year 2021 while I was reading in first year B.Com in Government Arts College that I got this as a gift. Even though it's nearly been 3 years since I got this as a gift, I still remember it like it was just yesterday. The painting looks quite sublime and felt almost surreal when I got this as a gift. I just could not believe my eyes as it was like a dream come true for me. It was a painting of a beautiful girl with gorgeous wavy hair, lovely blue eyes, adorable darkish complexion, charming and luscious lips and extraordinarily sharp and striking facial features. Standing in the backdrop of picturesque hills, luscious valleys surrounded with verdant landscapes and amidst idyllic countrysides. Looking at her home constructed in a traditional architectural style with sloping roofs and clay tiles placed on the wooden rafters with grand and splendid facades. The painting looked so colourful and resplendent that I have often felt as if the rainbow itself had been grabbed from the sky and squeezed inside the painting. I really adore this gift for an array of reasons. Firstly, this painting is done by Raja Ravi Verma, a painter par excellence. He made about 3 pieces of it himself and I got one of it. So, it's very rare and expensive gift. Secondly, gift was quite propitious to me. Lot of good things have happened in my life after I got this as a gift and lot of positive outcomes has followed my possession of this gift. Also, this painting made me the centre of attraction among my friends. Many of my friends have never had a painting let alone such a rare and expensive one. Hence, for all the aforementioned reasons, this painting is my favourite gift.

Band 6-7

When I remember something which I received for free, it was a cup which is used for having coffee. It's kind of a coffee mug which was very attractive. And this cup I received when I visited for an interview. So it was an unexpected moment, like we don't generally expect when we come for interviews we will be receiving a gift. That was actually a women's day celebration going on and due to that they have arranged the event. So in that event, it was an interview schedule for different programs they were having the interviews and I was one of the candidates who visited for that. And after clearing the first round of interview, actually they asked us to wait in the lounge area but due to some reasons or some like unforeseen circumstances, they were not able to arrange for the panel discussion. So the panel was not available and they asked us to leave. So while leaving they called us back and they have given this gift as a token of appreciation or it's kind of a love which they have showed us. So that was really happy moment because like nobody expects like when we go for an interview you will be receiving a gift and that too it was a women's day which was very special. So even it was an unexpected gift. So it was given by the HR and they have called us back and the effort they took in order to give that gift that was really appreciable because like even we have left for the day and nobody is going to ask them like whether they have given but it was giving as a positive

Band 6-7

When I was in my 12th grade, I got this, I used to participate in these radio shows, quizzes. From there, I won one of the contests wherein I received a free haircut, a hamper or a coupon that you would say, to get a, from the salon called Hakim Alam. Probably that's one of the best things that's happened because I'm someone who loves experimenting with my haircuts, hair colors, hairstyles. So, it was very surprising and it, I felt so happy. So, usually, I love listening to radio. So, this happened to be one of the, one of the questions where I had to guess which song was playing in the background, which happened to be of Taylor Swift's. It just made me so happy that I was able to get it right and, you know, I love Taylor Swift and getting a gift in return for free, especially a haircut, was just perfect.

Band 6-7

One of the most special gift which I have received so far is from one of my bestest friend and his name is Siddhesh. So he and I were office colleagues previously and we started working together in office and gradually we became best of friends. Even after office we used to meet, he started liking me. Then as a token of gift he gave me a silver ring for which I was very much emotional. On a Valentine's day he came and he gave me that ring. He said, Dhanashree, I know you are going to Germany and this is not something that I am proposing you right now. I just want to give you this ring as the token of my love for you. I just want you to make sure and know that I am always with you no matter what. You can just look at the ring whenever you miss me and you will get to know that yes someone is there with me even though we are not in the same country. So far in long distance also I want you to remember me so this is so far the special gift I have received and it is very much connected to my heart.

Band 6-7

Everyone in this world like to have gifts from their dear ones. Recently I also got beautiful gifts from my children. It was 5th of September, the teacher's day, when my students gave me surprise and they give amazing red pens and beautiful thank you cards. I was overwhelmed with the gesture and I had tears in my eyes because they showed lot of love and respect and they gave token of appreciation for whatever I have been doing for them. They gave beautiful red pens and whenever I take out to correct the notebooks with those red pens, I remember my children and their love and affection for me. I always wanted to give them gifts but I could not do that. In future whenever I will meet them definitely I will give them also some token of love. Gifts really make us feel very happy and it uplifts our mood and regulates the stress and anxiety. The pens were very very special to me as it helped me to remember them, the love and respect they showed to me. Recently I lost the pens that my friends had given to me and I got very upset because they were very special to me and furthermore I searched them everywhere, finally I got them back.

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