Talk about a thing you complained about something (but finally got a good result): IELTS Speaking Cue Card

You should say

What did you complain about?
Who you complained to?
When it happened?
What was the result and why you were satisfied with the result?

15 unique answers with expert feedback

Show all 15 answers

Cue 1:What did you complain about?

Clearly state the issue you faced and why it was important to you.
Provide some context about how this issue affected you personally.

Example

I complained about the poor quality of service at my local grocery store. I often found expired products on the shelves, which not only wasted my time but also raised concerns about food safety.

Cue 2:Who you complained to?

Mention the person or organization you approached to voice your complaint.
Explain why you chose to complain to this particular person or entity.

Example

I decided to speak to the store manager directly. I felt it was important to address the issue with someone who had the authority to make changes and improve the situation.

Cue 3:When it happened?

Provide a specific timeframe for when you made the complaint.
Mention any relevant details about the circumstances surrounding the complaint.

Example

This happened about two months ago, during my regular shopping trip on a Saturday afternoon. I had just discovered another expired item, which prompted me to take action.

Cue 4:What was the result and why you were satisfied with the result?

Describe the outcome of your complaint and any actions taken by the store.
Explain why this result was satisfying and how it positively impacted your shopping experience.

Example

After I raised my concerns, the manager was very receptive and promised to improve their stock checks. A week later, I noticed that they had implemented a new system for checking expiration dates. I was satisfied because it showed that my complaint was taken seriously, and I felt more confident shopping there.

Conclusion

Example

In conclusion, complaining can sometimes lead to positive changes. My experience taught me that voicing concerns can not only help improve services but also enhance my own experience as a customer.

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 Responses

Avoid giving vague or unclear answers. Being too general can make your response less engaging and informative, which may lead to a lower score.

Tip

Provide specific details about your complaint, including what it was about and the context, to make your answer more compelling.

2: Lack of Structure

Failing to organize your response can confuse the listener. A disorganized answer may skip important points or lack coherence.

Tip

Follow the cue prompts in order, addressing each one clearly to create a logical flow in your response.

Neglecting Emotions

Not expressing your feelings about the situation can make your answer less relatable. Emotions help to engage the listener and add depth to your story.

Tip

Share how you felt during the complaint process and why the final result made you satisfied to enhance your narrative.

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

I went to the salon it was around 12 in the afternoon and I wanted to get a new haircut and I also wanted to get my hair washed so as I went inside the salon I saw there were two or three more customers before me they were getting their hair done some for getting face packs on their face so I just waited on the waiting chair and the helper of the main hairdresser came and she asked me if I would kindly sit on the chair so I could get my hair washed I sat on the chair and I felt that the helper might not have been washing my hair properly also because there were a lot of demands from customers sitting around and this was this chaotic moment in which everyone wanted the helper to attend them but two helpers couldn't attend so many customers there were less employees in the salon but later on I called my mother I asked her and hey mom this has happened and I feel that they didn't really properly wash my head and I feel that I don't really want to get through the haircut but my mother explained me that it's okay just go with the flow and they wash the hair they'll have to cut your hair so the main hairdresser comes and she starts cutting my hair moreover I wait some time and then they're pretty good results I feel my hair turned out to be pretty nice I love them and then I went to this party that I wanted to be at so yeah this was the thing I complained about on

Band 6

I remember I was in class 10th when I was the captain of my football team and we had a match around 1 o'clock in the afternoon where we were playing a school, a neighbourhood school. So, on that day we were not expecting any rains but unfortunately around 10 o'clock in the morning it started to rain and I started complaining about the rains that it would be difficult for us to play in the rain or it might not be in our favour. So, I complained about it to my mom that the rain might affect the level of the game that we usually play. So, when we went for the match, the bonding that our team shared, it helped us to play in the rain and we had a mutual agreement that we would use a particular strategy where we would lift up the ball and kick it rather than dribbling the ball because it would get stuck in the mud and it would not be very easy to dribble the ball at that time. So, around 1 o'clock when the match started, it was a 45-minute one-half match. So, when the match started, it was very difficult for both the teams to play but then we followed our strategy and we won the game by 2-0. So, I was very happy with the result and I thought that it might not turn in our favour but the strategy and my mother's advice that whenever you think that things are not in your favour, you have to believe in yourself and in your team that with the right strategy and with the right motivation, you will clear and you will win the game.

Band 6

Firstly, I felt like something which I complained about was not having friends, but when I was in school, I had two friends, actually one was my best friend, another was a forceful friend, which I didn't have a natural relationship with her, but I was forced a relationship with her, so I think that was something unfair I felt. And what was more was, she was trying to plot and plan against me, to turn my best friend against me, and that was something wrong I felt, and yeah, I really didn't enjoy with them much during my school days, and I was not given more access to and more volume to speak to other friends of mine who were studying in the same class as me, but because my best friend was really good, I just kept on self-resisting to speak to other friends, but I think that was something unfair again, but yes, she was a good friend of mine, but now that I'm not speaking to her, I realise that I could find more better friends than her, and now that I'm in college, I've been able to get better friends, and they've taught me to speak well, to understand myself better, and to love myself the way I am, and even if I'm not going to speak much, they're happy with it, I'm not that judgemental, so yeah, that is the difference which I found between my school friend and my college friends, and I think school friend was really judgemental, and she didn't like, she was really possessive, when I used to speak to other friends, she was really unhappy with that, and yes, I think that was something which I didn't like, but now that I'm in college, it helps me a lot, it has taught me a lot, and I think I'll be able to improve myself, and I'd like the better version of myself which I've been now, my college friends have helped me a lot, I'm truly happy to have them in my life, forever.

Band 6

Recently, yes there was a thing which I complained about, recently we went to a trip to Himachal Pradesh, it is 500 kilometers far from Delhi and as I was preparing for, during that time I was preparing for entrance examinations for my masters and my exams were very close, I had exam about a month after we were having the trip, so I did not really wanted to go there, but my sister who specially came for Bangalore for that trip was very much interested and so I had to say yes to her even though I didn't wanted it, but then we started the journey and I actually find it quite uncomfortable because we had to sit in a bus for around 12 hours and travel on mountains where the roads were not as plain and lot of obstacles were there when we were checking into the hotel and visiting the, doing the sightseeing, so I did not had, initially I thought it would not be that great, but there was an incident, there was a time when I got to see the snow and I felt that all the obstacles and all the things which has previously happened did not matter a lot and we enjoyed playing in snow, we did skiing, we did paragliding, so all of things were not possible if we initially didn't, if we initially cancelled the trip then I would not have got the chance to do so many fun activities and it was very relaxing spending time in the mountains, meditating, just inhaling fresh air, I was also mesmerized by the view.

Band 6

The thing that I complained about something was regarding a patient. I am a physiotherapist myself and I was looking after a patient who was diagnosed with frozen shoulder. A frozen shoulder is a type of condition in which the range of movement of your shoulder joint gets restricted. So the patient was suffering from frozen shoulder since the last one year. One year he did not do anything about it and after that he decided to have himself treated. So once we started with the sessions, I tried to apply all the techniques to break the adhesions in the joint but to my surprise I couldn't get any specific results. We continued with the sessions for several weeks but I could not see any significant difference. I used to always sit and complain about it to my colleagues and especially my parents as this was the first case where I actually could not produce any significant results. But my parents had always motivated me about it and they had always advised me to remain consistent with the sessions and after maintaining that consistency, in the third month I started to see a visual difference in his improvement. Like his range of motion actually improved from 0 to a 45-50 degree and gradually it actually came up to 170-180 degree in a span of 6 months.

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