The IELTS exam is one of the most popular tests in the world for those who wish to study abroad. Moreover, the 4 sections in this test are: Reading, Writing, Speaking, and Listening section. Among them, the IELTS speaking section is one of the most important part which is further divided into 3 tasks, that are: Personal Introduction, Cue Card and Follow-up Questions. So, in this blog, you will read about the IELTS speaking part 2, i.e. cue card.
Table of Contents
The cue card is one of the most crucial tasks of the IELTS speaking section. Here, you will get a cue card from the examiner with a situation or a topic to describe. Moreover, you will talk about the same for almost 2 minutes in your own words. Furthermore, you will get a minute to plan your response and then 2 minutes to speak. Thus, let us understand how to answer a cue card below.
The main idea behind a cue card is to check your fluency and ability to think and express your thoughts in a limited time. So, you must practice your speaking skills to be fluent in the exam. Moreover, in the topic “Describe a Cafe You Like To Visit”, you will be answering by giving the name of the cafe, the location, and your choices of the food and drinks there. In the end, you will describe why you would like to go there. So, your IELTS cue card will look like:
You Should Say
And Explain Why You Like to Go There?
In this blog, you will find 3 samples of the topic ‘Describe a Cafe You Like To Visit’ with the answers to possible follow-up questions based on your response.
Here is the first example of the cue card. You can use the structure and tone of the response to score well in the IELTS exam.
When I was in college, I used to visit a cafe named “Joypur”.
This cafe was situated near my college and was under stone's throw away. Moreover, because it was a busy area of the city, making it easy for us to go there.
This place was very well known for its Italian food, such as pasta and pizza. However, it had a huge menu that included Indian, Chinese, Italian, and Mexican food options. Furthermore, the most famous drink in that place was Blue Lagoon. I was personally a huge fan of the same and used to order it daily. Besides, they had sundry options, such as mocktails, mojitos, and Indian drinks.
I used to go there every day with my classmates, and we played UNO, which is a card game. Moreover, when we had a break from the lectures, that cafe was our first choice to sit and wait for the next class.
The main reason why I wanted to go there was my company. No doubt the food and ambience were great there, and the place was peaceful, but because I had my friends and this cafe was our collective choice, that made it a fun place to go.
So, Joypur is the place that holds a lot of memories and moments I spent with my friends.
Here is another sample response to the cue card. This will help you with variations in the cue card answer.
Whenever I used to feel stressed, I always went to “FPF” cafe for a strong coffee.
This cafe was situated 2 buildings away from my office. So, whenever I wanted to, it took me not more than 5 minutes to get there.
The FPF cafe is basically known for its cold coffee and snacks. Moreover, they had multiple options for drinks. For example, Oreo shake was my second favorite, and it had almost all the shakes that I knew. Furthermore, their Maggie was the best among the food options. They also had many options to eat, such as fries and other quick snacks.
And as I said earlier, I used to go there whenever I felt stressed. So, I used to order a cold coffee, put on my headphones, and listen to some music until my mind felt tranquil.
That cafe was one of the most serene places in that area because I used to go there during the day, and people mostly came there late in the evening. So, because I wanted to be alone for some time, that’s why I liked that place. Also, the lights there were dim, and it was, to be honest, a sluggish place, which was my topmost priority.
So, FPF is the cafe that I have always liked because that place gave me peace and was my favourite coffee of all time.
This is the last sample response of the cue card. By these 3 samples, you will learn how you can do variations in the responses.
Me with my family used to go to the “Big Tree Cafe” on a monthly basis.
This cafe is located around 10-15 km away from our house. So, the main reason for going so far was that we could spend some extra time together on the way.
This cafe has a lot of tasty options when it comes to food and drinks. There was Indian food, Chinese, Korean, Italian, Mexican, French, etc., and that too with the best taste. Furthermore, I always ordered a tangerine rosemary mocktail, and others had their own fixed choices.
We used to go there and have our food and drinks. We also used to talk a lot and spend some valuable time there because that was the only free time we had in a month out of our frantic schedule. So, from the evening of our home to coming back, we talked a lot, shared our entire month, and laughed a lot together.
As aforecited, this was the only time of the month when we used to get together for a few hours and spend some valuable time together.
So, yes, The Big Tree is not only a cafe but an emotion for me because I get together with my family there for some valuable time.
So, these were the samples of the cue card ‘describe a cafe you like to visit’. You can follow the tone of the response to score well in IELTS speaking part 2. Now, you will go through the vocabulary for IELTS that was used in these samples, which are known as lexical resources.
Now, when describing the situation of your IELTS cue card, it is important to use an advanced word bank to put a positive impression on the examiner. Thus, in the table below, you will see some of the hard words used in the above samples and their meanings. You can also use them during your examination.
| Words | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Stone's throw away | Short distance |
| Sundry | Several |
| Ambience | The character and atmosphere of a place |
| Tranquil | Free from disturbance |
| Serene | Calm, Peaceful |
| Sluggish | Inactive |
| Precedence | Priority in importance |
| Frantic | Emotionally out of control |
| Aforecited | Having been cited, quoted or named earlier |
These are some of the lexical words that can help you improve your IELTS score. Now, in the next section, you will go through some of the follow-up questions that the examiner can ask you in the 3rd part of the speaking section. Also, their answers are given so that you can go through them to get an idea of what kind of questions the examiner can ask and how to answer them.
Once the candidate is done with the IELTS speaking part 2, the examiner will ask you the follow-up questions based on your response. So, you need to be attentive in this part as you will be asked anything but only related to your response. Moreover, this activity takes 4 to 5 minutes in total.
Thus, below are some possible follow-up questions the examiner may ask in the IELTS exam.
Ans: Yes, I think that cafes are more popular than restaurants nowadays. The reason behind this is I believe that restaurants are more of a formal place where people go to eat. However, cafes are places to hang out with your friends and family while having your favourite food.
Ans: As I have been to cafes a lot, I have noticed that a group of friends, a family, and also sometimes professionals visit the cafes.
Ans: Although the cafe I visited was superb, I would like it more if they added some Indian continental food options to their menu. By doing this, I will get a variety of food in one place, and it will also be beneficial for them.
Now that you have read the samples, lexical resources, and possible follow-up questions, it is time to understand how you can improve your score on this test.
Hopefully, now you are aware that IELTS is a crucial part of your study abroad journey, and you have to put some extra effort into scoring well in the IELTS speaking section, especially on the cue card. Therefore, below are some tips by which you can excel in your score on this exam.
So, these are some of the tips that will help you improve your preparations and your scores in the exam.
To summarize, the above-mentioned samples and follow-up questions will help you understand the tone and approach that you need to carry out while submitting your response. Also, the tips mentioned above will help you in getting a better score. So, this blog has everything you need to understand the IELTS speaking section. Moreover, if you still face any issues in your IELTS preparation, there is an option to opt for online IELTS classes, which will help you with expert guidance. So, start your IELTS journey now to make your dream of studying abroad come true.
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