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Describe something you were disappointed about.: IELTS Speaking Cue Card

You should say

  • What was it about?
  • When did it happen?
  • Why did it disappoint you?
Show all 46 answers

Cue 1:What was it about?

  • Clearly state the event or situation that caused your disappointment.
  • Provide some background information to help the listener understand the context.

Example

I was really disappointed when I found out that my favorite music concert was canceled. I had been looking forward to it for months, as it was a chance to see my favorite band live.

Cue 2:When did it happen?

  • Mention the date or time frame when the event occurred.
  • Describe any preparations you made leading up to the event.

Example

The concert was scheduled for last Saturday evening. I had already bought my ticket weeks in advance and even planned to go with my friends, which made the anticipation even more exciting.

Cue 3:Why did it disappoint you?

  • Explain your feelings about the cancellation and why it mattered to you.
  • Discuss any personal significance the event held for you.

Example

It disappointed me because I had been eagerly waiting for this concert as it was a rare opportunity to see my favorite band perform live. I felt let down not just because of the cancellation, but also because I had made plans with my friends, and we were all looking forward to the experience together.

Conclusion

  • Summarize your feelings about the disappointment.
  • Reflect on any lessons learned or how you coped with the situation.

Example

In conclusion, while I was very disappointed about the concert being canceled, I learned to appreciate the moments I have with friends, even if they don't go as planned. We ended up having a fun evening together at home, which turned out to be a memorable experience in its own way.

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 answer unclear. If you don't provide specific details about the disappointment, the examiner may find it hard to understand your experience.

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Tip

Use specific examples and details to describe the situation clearly. Mention what happened and how it affected you.

2: Lack of Structure

A disorganized response can confuse the listener. If you jump between points without a clear order, it may be difficult for the examiner to follow your story.

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Tip

Organize your answer by following the cues: start with what it was about, then when it happened, and finally why it disappointed you.

Overly Negative Tone

Focusing too much on negativity can make your answer less engaging. While disappointment is a valid emotion, it's important to balance it with some positive reflections.

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Tip

After explaining your disappointment, consider adding a lesson learned or how you moved on from the experience to create a more balanced response.

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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

I would like to narrate an incident where I was extremely disappointed. This incident happened in 2018 November. I was an NCC cadet and as a part of the Republic Days parade camp selection, the selectors initially had to process all the cadets through their drills. And once the process was done, I was shortlisted among 100 cadets. But the next day, all the selected cadets were once again called on the ground and we were informed that the selection process would be reviewed. And as a part of this decision, the selectors chose to select the cadets of their choice who had more influence from higher officials, in which I was rejected. So this was the most disappointing moment for me.

Band 6-7

I think there's not a specific thing which disappoints me. The most common factor which makes me sad is realizing how people betray me, like how people leave me, and like it happens because of me. Like I keep a lot of expectations from people and then if they do something, that would definitely disappoint me. Recently, one of my friend, like I expected from my friend that she would bought me a good bouquet of red roses as I gifted her on her birthday. I expected the same, like she would gift me the same thing but she didn't appear, she didn't even bother to wish me on my birthday. So that was very depressing for me. Like I felt, if I am giving you my 100%, if I am very loyal to you, if I am very sincere to you, why can't you be the same way with me? Is it necessary for people to, you know, act abnormal? Like it hurts, it makes me, you know, it makes me depressed. And I don't feel anything about those people but most depressing part is why can't people understand and even they don't even realize that they have hurted someone because of them, someone is badly injured. Like they don't even feel or they don't even realize, they don't even bother to apologize also. And it's common for me, like I face such sort of disappointments each day and it's common for me.

Band 6-7

So talking about disappointments, disappointments in life make you a better person or they leave you heartbroken. Sometimes people take disappointments so much on their heart and mind that they are not able to go ahead. I would like to talk about a disappointment which happened with me recently on 5th December. So my actuarial exams result were awaiting on 5th December and they came really unexpected as I failed by just one mark which was really disheartening for me to go through that. I really could not imagine that why I failed an actuarial exam because I had really worked hard for it, I had put all my energy, days and nights into it, I slogged really hard in order to achieve a score which would at least give me a pass mark in order to be so. However when the results came at night, my parents were there and we were waiting for a positive one but it came out to be a negative one as I just failed by one mark. Failure is a part of life and I take it as a challenge in order to succeed for the next time which I will be giving an April exam and actuarial exams happen after every 6 months. So I was a little saddened on that part that the next exam would be after like 6 months and I have to wait so long for that. However as my uncle used to say that you should celebrate your failures and be intact with it. So I have promised myself that I will work a little bit more harder and with perseverance and determination.

Band 6-7

I was very disappointed when my dad promised me and my sisters a trip during our vacation but he got caught up with the work and couldn't stand by his promise. This happened last year during May. We actually had a plan on going to Goa in the May but because of my dad's urgent requirement in the office couldn't make the trip possible. I was very disappointed that though my dad apologized several times I just could not get over it and forgive him. I tried understanding him but my expectations were up too high on going to the trip and having a pleasant vacation time there. It just made me sad.

Band 6-7

I was disappointed about the fact that I had received my university's first semester examination results and it was not up to the level of expectation that I had. I was expecting around a CGPA of 8, but rather I got, I secured a CGPA of 6.7 which deeply affected me and made me heartbroken. I realized that my preparation was not enough and I had to focus on my academics much more than what I was presently doing. It was very difficult to endure such a situation and I realized that only if I did future amendments I would be able to survive in the job market because a CGPA of 6.7 is no way to approach a career and it is not enough to make a way for ourself.

Band 6-7

Today I would like to talk about a disappointment that happened during my intern year of my medical school. What really happened is that I have been preparing for this exam called USMLE which stands for the United States Medical Licensing Exam which is the toughest exam that any medical student cannot crack. So what really happened was that when I was preparing for this exam during my second year and third year I kept my heart and soul to it. So I have been preparing it till my intern year and during the intern year I gave the exam in Beijing. So during the travel I had to face many problems. I had to book a hotel which costed around $3,000 and then from the hotel to exam center I had to book a taxi which costed me a hectic amount. Apart from this on the exam hall they stopped me to check my passport and then they were like you could you cannot write the exam because you have a wrong passport address. I just told them like this is my correct address and can you check it again. Those guys checked the passport and let me in. As the exam started I was panicking because of this incident I could not perform well on the exam. As the result came after two months I was heartbroken and felt really really sad.

Band 6-7

During my graduate studies in the college, I had this subject called biostatics. It was really different from my graduate major as I was having botany majors and the subject was mainly about biostatics which involves a detailing of statistics in the biology. And firstly, I found it very challenging because I had lost touch with all my mathematics and statistics skills after 12th because I haven't used any of it in my graduate studies and then I learned a lot of things about it. I took my time to learn it and then I also teach my friends about the subject so they could get a clear view and also it will improve my skills. And when the exam came, I was very disappointed because actually I didn't get the answer for one question and I was very nervous and frustrated at the same time and I lost a lot of time for the exam and it turned out very bad and the scores also came very inefficient and this was a great disappointment for me because I cried a lot and then I called my parents and I said that I couldn't do it and they actually consoled me by saying that you did your best job and you have to be more practical and do it. If you can improve it, do it and then I considered that as really challenging and rewarding at the same time so it was really frustrating. The point was that I teach my friends and I knew everything about it but I actually failed in my exam. Not failed but I kind of went very bad.

Band 6-7

Recently, I've been very disappointed about how people in general have come to view the city of Hyderabad, which is where I reside. I think a lot of people view the city as something that doesn't have a lot to offer, especially for the youth. But I think especially with the kind of governance that's come about in the past 10 years, there's been a lot of growth, not just in the infrastructural capabilities of the city, but in terms of what it has to offer for the youth, for entertainment, for growth, and for networking. One of the primary reasons I feel so is because of the recent improvement in the Gachibowli area, where they've developed the Knowledge City, Knowledge Park, and Next City, which is like a junction of three different places that have a lot to offer in their own individual capacity. Next City has a building called The Loft, where they have a lot of coffee shops along with bookstores. Along with this, they also have Paul, Nando's, and other popular chains that provide a great place for socializing for today's youth. Besides, there is also Knowledge City, which has a lot of scope in terms of corporate life, because a lot of buildings there, and there's a lot of stores that are available downstairs that people can access as soon as they leave their offices. Given that most of the youth today work in areas nearby, it is very beneficial to have a place like this that can act like a networking hotspot, and also like a place for them to cool off. Lastly, there is the Knowledge Center, which is a great place for people to come to just cool off and go for very chill dinners, along with we have the capabilities to grab a drink or just watch a show on the massive screen that's available in the forefront. This is some of the primary reasons why I think Hyderabad is a great place to live and why the youth should consider it.

Band 6-7

Well, it's a very interesting topic. I would say, as of now, I recall one moment where I disappointed a lot. There was a time in 2021, when in my initial stage, I was starting trading forex. At that time, I was using trade a lot in forex. There are so many currency pairs, which I used to trade on a regular basis. It was really a good feeling. I actually learned well while I'm doing trading there. There was a moment when in 2023, when I got my one account in $5,000 USD. I was about to clear that phase, but because of my greed and my sick mentality, I totally lost my $5,000 there. That was the moment. I was very disappointed with my nature, with my behavior as well. It's a totally disappointing moment. I got a win in my hand, but suddenly, everything changed. I lost everything. I was very disappointed at that time. Why should I do this stuff?

Band 5-6

One thing that disappointed me when my family members and I planned the trip to the beach it was a Sunday, I was really excited till that day however I was disappointed when we woke up on the planned date of trip and finding the weather forecast which says the storm is approaching the planned destination therefore we had ended up in cancelling the trip that was very disappointed me and my younger siblings who had counted the day until the day of the trip however we had managed to spend time with family members we were playing indoor games and indoor picnics we had a great time with my family instead of going out, we will manage the time indoors
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