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Describe your favourite food at a traditional festival or a special event in your country .: IELTS Speaking Cue Card

You should say

  • What it is
  • At which festival/event you eat it
  • How it is made
  • And explain why you like it
Show all 43 answers

Cue 1:What it is

  • Begin by clearly naming the food and giving a brief description of it.
  • Mention any unique characteristics that make this food special.

Example

My favourite food is 'Puran Poli', a sweet flatbread stuffed with a mixture of jaggery and lentils. It's a traditional dish that is not only delicious but also holds a special place in my heart.

Cue 2:At which festival/event you eat it

  • Identify the specific festival or event where this food is commonly enjoyed.
  • Explain the significance of this food during the festival or event.

Example

I usually eat Puran Poli during the festival of 'Gudi Padwa', which marks the Marathi New Year. This festival is celebrated with great enthusiasm, and Puran Poli is a must-have dish that symbolizes prosperity and happiness.

Cue 3:How it is made

  • Describe the basic ingredients and the cooking process involved in making the food.
  • Highlight any special techniques or traditions associated with its preparation.

Example

Puran Poli is made using whole wheat flour, jaggery, and split chickpeas. The lentils are cooked and mashed with jaggery to create a sweet filling, which is then encased in a thin layer of dough and rolled out before being cooked on a hot griddle. The aroma of ghee adds to its irresistible taste.

Cue 4:And explain why you like it

  • Share personal feelings or memories associated with the food.
  • Explain how this food connects you to your culture or family traditions.

Example

I love Puran Poli because it reminds me of my childhood when my grandmother would make it for us during Gudi Padwa. The taste brings back fond memories of family gatherings and celebrations, making it not just a dish, but a cherished part of my heritage.

Conclusion

  • Summarize your feelings about the food and its importance in your life.
  • Reiterate how it enhances the festive experience.

Example

In conclusion, Puran Poli is more than just a delicious treat; it represents my cultural roots and the joy of celebrating festivals with loved ones. It truly enhances the festive spirit of Gudi Padwa.

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 terms can make your answer unclear. Avoid general statements that do not provide specific details about the food or the festival.

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Tip

Be specific about the food's ingredients, flavors, and the unique aspects of the festival to create a vivid picture.

2: Lack of Structure

Failing to follow the cue prompts can lead to a disorganized response. This may confuse the listener and weaken your answer.

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Tip

Organize your response by addressing each cue in order: what it is, when you eat it, how it's made, and why you like it.

Overly Short Answers

Providing very brief answers can make your response seem incomplete. This may limit your ability to showcase your language skills.

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Tip

Expand on each point with examples or personal experiences to give a fuller, more engaging answer.

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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

My favorite food at a traditional festival is a biryani. Biryani is very famous in my hometown especially. This is because most of the Malabar regions of Kerala which is the north side of Kerala, even though if there is a festival which most people eat vegetarian food, in the Malabar region it comes with a twist. of people eating non-vegetarian. It is much frowned upon by the other people who contradict this. And one of my dream would be to learn how to cook biryani. I know it's a very far-fetched dream because I am not very well-versed in cooking. I have cooking skills enough to survive myself but not to give a party or give a feast to anyone. I would love to learn how to cook biryani so I can give a treat to myself or my loved ones.

Band 6-7

Yeah, my favorite food is Thali. In the sense, a full meal which is served in banana leaf, it might be a non-veg or a vegetarian. Actually, my the most favorite is non-vegetarian. Basically, I love to eat seafood. Seafood, in the sense, it includes crab, lobster, prawn, fish. And among these, I wish to and I love to eat is fish fry. That too in the style which is cooked with the style of southern part of India, especially in Kanyakumari district. Then I used to love to have food which is cooked with coconut oil and where coconut is added more.

Band 6-7

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. We are using vegetable

Band 6-7

So hi, I am Akshay. I am from Telangana, a state in India. So, there is a one festival in Telangana called Dasara. There are lot of food items which will be prepared for this occasion, including from sweets to non-veg, everything small to large. Every size of food items will be prepared especially for this festival. So this festival is considered as one of the biggest festival in my state. Generally, my mother used to prepare the food from 5 am to afternoon, because my house will be occupied with all the guests who arrived for the festival. So, I love eating that food. Apart from this, my mother also makes sweet in the evening, that is too delicious. Whenever I speak about that, I get water in my mouth. That is a special food.

Band 6-7

well in India we have many festival in in a year but my favorite festival is Karva Chauth. In this I like to eat salty bread and and I also like the festival Navratri. In this festival we eat chapati. It's a like a special chapati with mashed potatoes

Band 6-7

My favorite food is Biryani. If any person says India, it is Biryani. Biryani is a part and parcel of the culture in India. So, Biryani is found in almost every festival, every celebration in India. Even vegetable Biryani is kept in a vegetarian setup. Biryani brings out joy, brings out emotions and it is also a very, it is part and parcel of everything we do as an Indian. Cooking Biryani is done by a specialist or even every homemaker in India. Every homemaker knows how to cook Biryani because it is, it is, it is, it is important that, it is important part and parcel of every celebration in India. It is, it can be found in birthday parties, from, you know, even in Western type of parties like DJ parties, you find Biryani. It is, it is irrespective of the tone of the celebration, Biryani can be found in any part of the celebration.

Band 6.5

In my country, there is always food attached to the events or festivals. Usually, food makes people very excited and eager to look forward for the festivals. For example, when it is Diwali or a new year, according to the Hindu tradition, we always look forward for eating Mithais, which is usually sweets. There can be many types of it. Many different states are known for their Mithai. For Dussehra, we look forward for Jalebi, which is also a very demanding dessert in India. And my personal favorite is when there is a Makar Sankrati or also we call Kite Festival. There is a specific dish which is known in Gujarat, that is Undhiyu, which is made of all the different types of vegetables available. It requires a lot amount of time to prepare. And people are very excited to just eat it, because there is always a large amount of line that we see whenever we go to buy some. Usually, it can be prepared at home also, but it is a very lengthy and lethargic process. So, people prefer to buy it from outside stalls. And also during Uttarayan, we enjoy sweet snacks, which are made from rice crackers and peanuts. And in other festivals, I usually prefer to eat Khaman, which is made out of chickpea flour. People usually adore it in Gujarat. So, basically I would say that whenever there is a festival or an event coming, we try to celebrate it by enjoying good food. And that is usually something sweet and savory, combination of both. I would further say that my favorite is anything that comes in Surat, because Surat has really good choices and availability of variety of food.

Band 6

The favorite food which I almost love it and I find it in almost every function is Chicken Masala Tikka and Chicken Malai Tikka. So, Chicken Malai Tikka is something which I love the most and why it is so much tasty and so much tender is because of its preparation. And I will say that I am almost find it everywhere wherever I go in our functions. This is a very common dish and usually in birthday parties and receptions this is very common. And the preparation is also not very difficult but very complex. Like we marinate the chicken with some spices and lime and a bit of salt and then we kept it overnight so that it becomes more tender and soft. And after preparing it we stick it on the sticks and burn it on coal flames. So, that becomes very interesting preparation and after all the heating it comes out on a dish on which we put cream and desi ghee to make it more flavorful. The best part of this Tikka is that whenever you will eat it you won't find it very heavy. You will find it soft and calming. You can have 4-5 pieces at once and you will not feel that you are bloated or you are feeling heavy. Because the spices which are mixed in this Tikka are very uncommon and very relevant.

Band 6

I like the sweet food that is made generally during Holi time which is a festival that is celebrated in India. It is a festival of colors. It is generally celebrated in the March month and the dish is Gujiya which is the sweet dish made in all household of northern parts of the country. It is generally made with the dairy product and it has all the dry fruits. I liked it very much because it is very delicious and it has the sweeter side also and it can be made with saltier dish also. It has the coconut grating in it. So it makes a very healthy option to have it in the festival time. I generally made it in my home town. It is generally made by my mother during the festival. Moreover it is also used to serve to the guests when they arrive during the festival and it gives you a very good feeling that you have something that you cannot have it in the market. So it gives me a great pleasure to have it and this product is made with whole family and also additionally it gives you a great pleasure which you cannot forget to have it in the year.

Band 5-6

my favorite food is chicken biryani chicken biryani we will prepare on hindu festival ingredients for making chicken biryani is chopped onion chopped tomato ginger garlic paste and coriander leaves and ghee first we will
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