Talk About A Special Day Which Was Not That Expensive: IELTS Speaking Cue Card

You should say

What is the occasion?
Where did you go?
Who did you celebrate with?
Why it didn’t cost you much?

4 unique answers with expert feedback

Show all 4 answers

Cue 1:What is the occasion?

Begin by clearly stating the special day you are referring to, such as a birthday, anniversary, or festival.
Share a brief background about why this day was significant to you.

Example

The special day I want to talk about is my younger sister's birthday. It was her 18th birthday, which is a significant milestone in our culture as it marks the transition into adulthood.

Cue 2:Where did you go?

Describe the location where you celebrated the occasion, whether it was at home, a park, or a local restaurant.
Mention any special features of the place that made it suitable for the celebration.

Example

We celebrated at our home, which was decorated with balloons and lights. We chose to stay in because it allowed us to create a cozy and intimate atmosphere, perfect for family gatherings.

Cue 3:Who did you celebrate with?

List the people who were part of the celebration, such as family members or close friends.
Explain the significance of their presence and how it contributed to the joy of the occasion.

Example

I celebrated with my family and a few close friends. Having them around made the day even more special, as we shared laughter, stories, and created beautiful memories together.

Cue 4:Why it didn’t cost you much?

Explain the choices you made that kept the costs low, such as homemade food or simple decorations.
Highlight the importance of enjoying the day without spending excessively.

Example

We kept the celebration budget-friendly by preparing homemade food instead of ordering from a restaurant. We also used decorations we already had at home, which made it a heartfelt celebration without the high costs.

Conclusion

Example

In conclusion, my sister's 18th birthday was a memorable occasion that didn't require a lot of money to be special. It taught me that the joy of celebrating comes from the people we are with and the love we share, rather than the amount we spend.

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: Being Vague About the Occasion

Candidates often give unclear descriptions of the occasion, making it hard for the examiner to understand its significance. This can lead to a lack of engagement in the response.

Tip

Clearly state the occasion and provide specific details about what made it special to you. Use descriptive language to paint a vivid picture.

2: Neglecting to Describe the Location

Failing to mention where the celebration took place can leave the answer feeling incomplete. The location can add context and depth to your story.

Tip

Include specific details about the location, such as its atmosphere or why it was chosen. This helps create a more engaging narrative.

Not Explaining Cost Factors

Candidates often forget to explain why the day was not expensive, which is crucial for this cue card. This can make the response feel disconnected from the prompt.

Tip

Discuss specific choices you made that kept costs low, such as DIY elements or free activities, to show thoughtful planning and creativity.

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

Reported by

Anonymous student Band 7.5

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

Reported by

Anonymous student Band 8

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

Reported by

Anonymous student Band 6.5

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

Reported by

Anonymous student Band 7

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

Reported by

Anonymous student Band 7.5

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

A few days earlier it was Eid and I was celebrating my Eid without being at home. I was at my friend's home and it didn't cost me much because I was just going to my friend's home and eating their food. And I celebrated Eid by going for namaz. Then I returned from namaz. Then I visited few more friend's home where I ate biryani, sevai and few more things. It was a very special day for me because it was the first time when I was not at my home on Eid and I was expecting it to be very bad but the Eid went right. I did had a lot of fun. I enjoyed the Eid.

Band 6

The special day was the farewell of my 12th grade. This was special because this was the last day of our school and I had my chance to say goodbyes to my friends and family and my teachers. Moreover we took a lot of photos which were memorable and will last forever. This was during the COVID time, that is the reason why it was more special because we met after almost one month of lockdown and this was definitely emotional. There were a lot of events that had taken place, for example there were juniors dancing for us, there were many professional DJs that had come to perform, there were more singers such as DJ Snake that came to perform a live event, additionally there were even stand up comedians who performed on the last day of my school. This particular event was free of entry, that is also one of the reasons why this is special. This happened in my school backyard, there was a small hockey ground that was there. Our juniors had built a professional set up, a stage and even arranged a lot of chairs to accommodate us. We had a chance to say goodbyes to our teachers.

Band 6

Talking about the special day which was not expensive was the day when I got my dog. I was not sure that we were not sure that we needed a dog but we just went there to see the puppies, golden retriever puppies and Lucy just came up to us, our female dog in from all the puppies she was the one who came up to us and sat in front of us that is how I knew that I was going to adopt her. She was the first born female and she was the healthiest pup and the naughtiest one and I went at my friend's house to adopt Lucy, I went at my friend's house to adopt Lucy. Over there, there were several puppies and this day is not expensive because it was full of joy and it did not require any expenditure to travel to my friend's house as he was living nearby. It was the best day of my life.

Band 6

A special occasion was my birthday when I planned to go on a trip to Paris which is a spiritual destination. Since it was my birthday and I am quite a spiritual person, I chose to go to that place and have my calm time there. It was really a great trip. It had adventure and it had great experience. Getting out of my work schedule which was quite hectic, it was really a good experience to have by going to the temple which I always wanted to. Since it was my birthday, I did some special rituals in the temple and I was on a cloud nine when I had this special opportunity to be on my favourite temple on the special occasion of my birthday. I was with a stranger who joined me by the roads of the transportation. It didn't cost me much because I usually use public transportation and I am a backpack traveller. I met people, I opened up to people by asking them about what's the best option for stay, travel and transport. It didn't cost me much and since it was a temple trip, there were no much expenses compared to other leisure activities or whatever we do on other special days. Meeting a stranger and travelling with him to the temple was quite some experience because he was elder to me and he shared most of his life experiences to me which gave me insights and opened up my mind.