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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 127 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 7

The gift that I received on my birthday was Alexa, which was given to me by my parents. I wished for it because I am interested in the field of AI chatbots. I genuinely like to be present with the various chatbots or various types of AI elements or AI systems around me. Alexa can perform various tasks for me like it can be my friend and chat with me. It can also help me with my questions. Furthermore, it helps me with telling me about my surroundings and also improves my communication skills. It works with me to enhance my general experience of AI fields. I wanted Alexa from my parents for quite a long time and it also helped me to create my own chatbot in the future. I have already started working on some of its aspects like how to make a question-answering chatbot and how to effectively retrieve data from the uploaded files. And ACAR chatbot uses that data as its knowledge base. I know that this field is watched and it is expanding dramatically. I just want to be a part of it and be successful in this field.

Band 7

Well, I believe that exchanging gifts is the best way to show our emotions towards others and I have received many gifts in my life. However, today I am going to talk about a time when I received a book as a gift. Well, I can easily recall that time. Two years ago, my friend Sanjam gifted me a book on my birthday. Sanjam and I spent a lot of time together so she knew my taste very well. The name of the book is The Test of My Life which is the autobiography of former Indian cricketer Yuvaraj Singh. Yuvaraj Singh is a very famous and successful cricketer. The book is all about the recovery period of Yuvaraj Singh from cancer diagnosis. Actually, in 2011, he was prone to cancer and in this book, he has written about his experience, his ups and downs and his recovery. This book is very motivational for people who are suffering from illness. This book motivates people to use their willpower as willpower is not just a word, it is a great weapon. I read this book in just 10 days and I found it very interesting. There are some lines in this book which attracted me a lot like in this book, Yuvaraj Singh has written that if you can, you can. Not only this, Yuvaraj Singh is my favorite cricketer. He became a hero when he hit 6 sixes and he ran fastest

Band 7

My favourite, the gift that I received was a bracelet. A free bracelet in Goa. I was 10 and I was in Goa. And we went to this accessories shop to get some gifts for our families, to get some Toshkis. And while we were searching for it, I saw a seashell and I was like, wow, I should actually get it. I got it and the person at the counter asked me a few questions. Questions like where I was from, what my name was, how old was I. And I replied like a typical 10 year old. And he was really happy and we chit chatted our way till my family got some Toshkis for our relatives and we got a picture clicked. So while I was leaving, that uncle at the counter gave me a bracelet. I asked him, of course I hesitated at first, but then I asked him why was he giving it to me for free. And he said, well kindness doesn't come with a charge and so should not yours. And I felt really awestruck as in kindness can do great to you. And I felt really, I felt touched. I felt as if someone acknowledged my kindness for the first time because it's actually really rare to find kindness being appreciated. And that was my favorite, to be honest, my most favorite memory that Goa gave me.

Band 7

Given that I am a student and have never earned money of my own, so everything I have received up until this point from jewellery, clothes, accessories to education and food have been pretty much a gift. A gift from my parents and the greatest gift I've got is the gift of life itself. From the moment I was born it has been a constant adventure. And though there have been times when I felt low and there have been times when I felt high but all of those times have collectively taught me something and it has helped me develop a sense of gratitude towards my parents and towards the creator himself. Without the gift that I got around 17 years ago I wouldn't be talking to you and life would be pretty much a void.

Band 7

I usually love receiving gifts and one such gift which I cherish for my entire lifetime would be a gold chain that was gifted to me by my mother. This gift was quite memorable because it was the first gift my mom bought it for me from her first salary as a teacher at a primary school. She had worked really hard to receive that job and had continuously undergone different circumstances to be there. As a caregiver and a homemaker she had constantly prepared for her career and achieved this milestone. I was really surprised to receive this gift from my mother because I was totally not expecting her to give me anything at that point of time. While gifting that while gifting the gold chain she was really happy and felt I could see pride gleaming on her face. My whole family were really happy to have seen my mother achieve her dreams and moreover it was the pride in her face and the happiness that spread across her face that was the best gift that I could ever see. The gold chain is a symbol of her hard work and perseverance. In addition to it I wear the gold chain every day to remember how my mother have achieved her dreams through hard work. I work every day to make her proud.

Band 7

Well, receiving something as a free or as a gift from someone is a very happiest moment of life. Here, I would like to talk about a thing which I received without any kind of payment. It was a mobile phone which was gifted by my elder brother. It happened around 2 months ago when I was in my 12th standard. I just completed my examinations and scored good marks in my academics. So, my brother gave me an iPhone as a gift after completion of my 12th class. When I received that phone, it was a very grateful experience and I felt over the moon. I can't express my feelings towards my brother. This phone has had good features like 3 cameras and having a great storage and good facilities which is very helpful in my work as well as study purpose. All in all, it is very interesting gift which was given by my brother.

Band 7

Something I've received for free, I'd like to talk about my birthday gift which my best friend gave me. She handmade the whole thing. It was a bouquet. It was made out of simply craft paper, red and black craft paper. Various gift items were wrapped inside this bouquet. It consisted of a few roses and also some makeup essentials that I've previously saved in my cart in an online shopping app. She somehow managed to take a screenshot of all of them and ordered them for me. She wrapped them all in a beautiful, gorgeous manner. She gave it to me on my birthday and the moment I saw it, I was overwhelmed with happiness. I almost got emotional and cried because I felt very noticed and loved by her actions. It was the first time I've ever received such attention from someone so dear to me and I've noticed how much time and thoughts she had spent into it. I felt that was a really thoughtful gift and she also helped me decorate the house further. We put on ribbons on the walls and she even took some pictures for me which I posted all over social media. I kept posting about her here and there because she spent a lot for me on that birthday and it will forever be a memorable day for me because of her. I believe that was a very great day.

Band 7

Two years ago, during Christmas, I had a family get-together at my uncle's place. There, uncle had given a lot of gifts to everyone. Even I received a gift. I remember I received a top which was of blue colour and it was from H&M. Furthermore, when I was asking others, I got to know that my cousin, my elder cousin, she got a gift from Westside. Apparently, she was not interested in that gift. She did not like it. Plus, that gift was a smaller size than her size. It didn't fit her. So, she returned it to the uncle. Uncle felt sad because he didn't have the bill to return it again. He lost it. Apparently, the gift came into my hands. And guess what? I was fortunate enough that I received two gifts at the same day. One from H&M and one from Westside. I was happy. Walking and shouting everywhere, yelling, screaming, laughing just because I received two gifts at the same day. The other gift was a crop top which had written Girl Power on the back. It was back printed crop top which could go on my cargoes. I was really happy that day.

Band 7

Something that I received for free and I will never be able to forget it is my phone. It was a flagship phone made by Samsung. The none other than the S24 Ultra. The camera on it was exceptional to say the least. It had five cameras. One main, one for telephoto, one for wide-angle views, another for taking macro pictures and the last but not the least was a laser lens with which you can take good portrait photos. The display was buttery smooth owing to the fact that it had a 120 Hertz display. It also hosted a flagship processor the Snapdragon Gen 3 which made tasks like gaming and also multitasking very easy. To summarize it, it was an exceptional phone. It was a very good phone.

Band 7

I think the most precious gift I received was from one of my cancer patients. It was a hand crocheted flower which she had made herself for all of us in the team. When she gave me mine, I thought it was really pretty and such a sweet and kind thing to do while we were treating her, she was treating us too. It was a very hand held and sweet gesture according to me and I also really appreciated the colours of the flower. It made me feel special, it made me understand what I was doing and why I was doing it. So it was a very cute moment and it was also very heartfelt for us to have received that gift from her and her family. Furthermore, it was just an enjoyable time and we could come out of the hospital chaos and just be with her as human beings. So it was a very nice and sweet gift that will always make me remember her.
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