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Describe When Someone Gave You Something: IELTS Speaking Cue Card

You should say

  • Who gave it to you?
  • What was the thing?
  • When did you receive it?
  • How did you feel about it?
Show all 17 answers

Cue 1:Who gave it to you?

  • Start by introducing the person who gave you the gift. Mention your relationship with them.
  • Explain why this person chose to give you something special.

Example

The gift was given to me by my younger sister, Priya. We have a close bond, and she always knows how to make me feel special.

Cue 2:What was the thing?

  • Describe the item you received in detail. Mention its significance or uniqueness.
  • Share any specific features that made it memorable for you.

Example

She gave me a beautiful handmade bracelet that she crafted herself. It was made of colorful beads and had a charm that represented our family.

Cue 3:When did you receive it?

  • Mention the occasion or event during which you received the gift.
  • Provide some context about the timing and why it was meaningful.

Example

I received this bracelet on my birthday last year. It was a surprise gift, and I was touched that she had put so much effort into making it for me.

Cue 4:How did you feel about it?

  • Express your emotions upon receiving the gift. Use descriptive language to convey your feelings.
  • Explain why this gift was particularly meaningful to you.

Example

When I opened the gift, I felt an overwhelming sense of joy and gratitude. It was not just a bracelet; it symbolized the love and thoughtfulness of my sister.

Conclusion

    Example

    In conclusion, receiving that handmade bracelet from my sister was a memorable moment for me. It reminded me of our strong bond and the importance of family, making it a cherished gift that I will always treasure.

    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: Lack of Detail in Responses

    Providing vague answers can make your response less engaging and informative. It's important to include specific details about the gift and the giver to create a vivid picture.

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    Tip

    Use descriptive language and include personal anecdotes to enhance your answer. For example, explain why the gift was meaningful to you.

    2: Ignoring the Emotional Aspect

    Failing to express your feelings about receiving the gift can make your response feel flat. Emotions add depth and connection to your story.

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    Tip

    Share your emotions clearly. Describe how the gift made you feel at the moment and why it was significant to you.

    Rushing Through the Answer

    Speaking too quickly can lead to unclear communication and missed opportunities to elaborate on your points. Take your time to articulate your thoughts.

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    Tip

    Pace your speech and pause between points. This allows you to think and gives the listener time to absorb your story.

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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
    anonymous person icon

    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
    anonymous person icon

    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
    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 7

    The one time that really stands out for me is when my best friend gave me a handmade photo album for my birthday. It wasn't a very expensive gift but was incredibly meaningful and thoughtful. She had spent weeks collecting photos of our memories together, from school trips to birthday parties, random hangouts, and even silly selfies. Each page had small notes, jokes, or quotes written next to the picture. She even decorated it with little stickers and drawings. I honestly was surprised because I wasn't expecting something so personal. She gave it to me on my 16th birthday and she said it went her way of thanking me for always being there for her. I didn't even know she was working on it, so it really caught me off guard in the best way possible. I felt so touched and emotional when I received it. It showed me that true friendship isn't about expensive gifts but about the time and effort someone is willing to put in for you. I still have that album and every time I look at it, it brings back great memories and reminds me of how strong our bond is.

    Band 6-7

    Everyone gives something in a special occasion, today I would like to talk about one thing which I have been received by my uncle whenever he came back to the South Africa he purchased a western dress for me and it was a very new for me because my family was orthodox family and at that time they did not allow me to wear a western dress and I was very confused whenever my uncle came to me and hand over a gift wrapped with a paper with lot of doodles so I was stunned at that time and after that I ripped off the wrapper of gift and I saw that it was a very nice dress and I was over the moon, it was a black in a color and with lot of glitters and it has a side cut and whenever I saw the dress I was over the moon and I was literally so happy I couldn't even express my feeling towards my uncle as well as I took a lot of pictures and posted on Instagram on different social media platforms and people admired me for that and it was a very good moment and I have enjoyed this with my family also my uncle had a party so at that time I wore this dress and everyone gave me a lot of compliments.

    Band 6

    No audio text available

    Band 6

    My boyfriend gave me a Titan watch on my 20th birthday. I was very shocked but I really liked that because I love him but I did not express my love to him. So I very enjoyed and that feel is very different to express to him and also it's my dream plan. However and also he gave food for the poor people on my birthday. It is the most lovable thing to me. He is very impressed me and I felt very very blessed. So this is my experience in my life and I am very enjoyed that time. Now also I wear that watch. It's very sentimentally close to my heart and this gives a feel he is always present in my hand like that. So I love this.

    Band 6

    Well, to receive a gift is something very interesting and you feel so important and you feel so attended to and you feel so happy about it. We love to get attention when we are kids and from the time I was small, I have received gifts from my parents, from my brothers and my brother, my eldest brother has a habit of gifting books and he would also neatly cover it for me and I would feel very happy when I read those books, mostly English or grammar books or any such thing. And my second brother, whenever he went out anywhere, he used to get at least a small trinket for me, anything, it might not be something costly or something very valuable but it will be something to remind me that, oh my brother got this for me, I have to, so and my sister, whenever she comes, my sister and her family, they would always buy something for me to eat, which I relish, so it gives us such important things in life. It may not always be a costly thing, it might just be a small thing which you might have missed out in something, maybe a small, to put it in simple sentences, it might be just a small hook to hang your picture which you were missing, I wasn't missing.

    Band 6

    Oh, it was given by one of my colleagues who is working with me in my present school. I received a particular gift in the time of a teacher's day. So till now, I'm not mingled with the schoolings. So I started my career as a freshers over there. When they conduct some programs, a teacher's program, that time I received that gift, one of my friend. So I didn't expect the gift from her. It's a very special gift for me. Even it is a home product. But I like the product so, and a useful item for me also. After that, it make me too closer with her because I'm not introduced to anyone that much because that is my fresh day on that school. So that moment, it give me a pleasure to mingle with them and start my career in the particular schools. So it's a special moment for me. It make me so special in that school. After that moment, I started to engage with myself in each and every moment. I started to work with them. So with the happiest way. Thank you.

    Band 6

    Yeah, I got very special present from my friend at my 10th grade. So earlier when I am in 10th grade, I went to attempt a maths examination which is further away from my town. It is in Visakhapatnam. So I went there along with my classmates and my juniors, obviously, because it's a kind of high school maths competition. So after completion of exam, we reached to our town and surprisingly, at the time I am leaving, they gave me a gift which is a broken cup actually. It's not actually it's even great, but it's a broken cup. But I felt really happy because it's my birthday that day. So they present me that one. It's a printed yet broken, but it filled me a great of joy that I have these wonderful friends who gave me this present. So they actually told me to not take it, but I insisted to take it because it's not about the present. It's the thing, it's an object that I get with the warmth of love. So what I see is the emotion, the expression which is in with them. So it's a great experience for me. And also it's my first gift that I have ever received from anybody. I'm still grateful and thankful to them.

    Band 6

    Recently, after completing my graduation, my father had given me a unique gift where I felt so special and furthermore I loved using that. The thing was, it was a car. The car was my father's special car where he gifted me his special thing to me. I felt so good and I felt so overwhelmed when he gave me his personal gift where he made me feel so special when he gave me that unique thing. It was so special for me where I couldn't imagine that I am getting that car for myself and I am using it for my own purpose. The car has a lot of features in that where I can go anywhere I want and I can go with my friends to long drives and I cannot imagine how special I felt that time.

    Band 6

    So, I try not to expect something from the people, like when it comes to material possessions, but there are some times when we surprisingly end up receiving some gifts from our close ones will end up in tremendous joy. So I would like to talk about one such occasion when someone offered something that I really wanted. It was back then in the year 2022, May 6th, it was my birthday, and I received a watch. Surprisingly, it was given by my friend. So I didn't expect that thing from my friend because I didn't give any sort of gift to her, but when it comes to me, she didn't even think for a while to give or lend her something to me. So I think it is the best one I have ever received from a friend. So, it was a rose gold watch that I love the color and its completion of the minute works was really appreciable. And I think it is worth around 2500. I think it was really expensive when it comes to us during our college days, it was really expensive to us.

    Band 6

    In my life, the thing the most I need was the time and affection by people. So my friends understood what I need and they gave their time, despite their busy life, whenever I needed, even if it's mid-time, they'll help me through it if I'm going through something. It feels so good to have some people, have the emotional capacity, emotional understanding that if some person is needing of something, that we have to provide it to them, those kind of bonds that cannot be replaced by anyone or anything. Emotional availability is a gift, actually. It's a particular gift in this era, in this Gen Z era, everyone needed that because sympathy and empathy has been fading away, poor people are being poor and rich people are being rich, there is no connection between them because people, nowadays people are not helping each other because it's full of competitions and everything. It's very special to me whenever my friends spend time with me because I feel very lonely, I feel their time, their presence is the greatest gift of all, not just my friends, even my family, they are all very busy people but still they tend to give their time to me whenever I need it, at whatever time, be it on time or during mid-days also.
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