The IELTS speaking section is designed to test your communication skills on everyday topics and common experiences. It has three parts. Part 1 talks about yourself, your family, and your hobbies. Further, in part 2 you will get a cue card to talk about a specific topic for 2 minutes. However, in this blog, we will be discussing the cue card topic “Describe a positive change in your life” along with the sample answers. Also, you will find the follow-up questions and tips to excel in the IELTS speaking part 2.
Table of Contents
An IELTS cue card is a specific type of question in the speaking section. In this round, candidates are presented with a cue card or topic, along with some prompts or questions related to the topic. However, the purpose of these IELTS cue cards is to assess a candidate’s ability to speak fluently and coherently on a given subject. You will get one minute to prepare your thoughts on the answer, and two minutes to talk about it. Once you are done with the preparation, then you need to start speaking on the topic. Thus, the next section will let you know how to answer your cue card task.
Once you receive your cue card topic, you must talk about the topic it provides by following a logical approach. However, you need to make sure that you are answering your cue card topic in the right way without going anywhere else. You can take your time to organize your thoughts. In addition, your answer must be assessed on the four criteria that are: Fluency and coherence, grammar, and pronunciation. By the end of IELTS speaking part 2, the examiner will get a rough idea of your score. Now let’s have a look below at the pointers that you need to cover up in your cue card topic.
The below given pointers must be covered in your cue card topic “Describe a Positive Change in Your Life.” They are as follows:
Let’s have a look at the below given image and see how your cue card will look like in the exam.
Now we have looked at how the image looks like of the cue card in the speaking section. In the next section, you will see the three sample answers for the given cue card topic “Describe a positive change in your life.”
Here is the first sample answer for the cue card “Describe a Positive Change in Your Life”. Read it to achieve a high band score.
Positive change is an initiative or move towards doing something better, whether in your personal life, within your community or in the world. Today I would like to talk about the positive change which changed my life in a better way.
Reading books or novels positively changed my life. I have always been fascinated by reading but I never got a chance to follow it. However, I had no problems studying my academic textbooks as I had to pass my exams at schools and colleges. But when I began to study fictional or non-fictional books, novels, and articles I was dazzled to know about such amazing things.
This change happened about two years ago when I understood the meaning of actually reading something and gaining a proper understanding of it. I decided to embrace this habit in my daily routine. Sometimes my parents used to bribe me to develop my reading habit but nothing was able to change my mind. But after some time along with engaging my academic textbooks, I chose to read other books too.
This change happened when I was a final-year student, and one of my favourite teachers encouraged me to read some interesting books, while she was gone for the summer holidays. I was very intrigued by the idea of reading books as it gave me the ability to think more, come up with creative ideas, and engage in conversations with my friends and cousins.
Reading books was a positive change as it gave me a certain kind of confidence by knowing about the concealed and amazing things about this world. Besides, after developing the habit of reading, I gained a great level of understanding and respect for knowing different kinds of people from different cultures, lifestyles, and backgrounds. However, I am still going on with this habit and waiting for the possibilities that it opens up for me.
Overall, this change has greatly positively transformed my life. Also, it helped me in my career and skill development.
The second sample response that you can use in the IELTS speaking section with the given format. Have a better understanding by reading it.
Change is an inevitable part of our lives. We all go through some different phases or changes that shape our lives in a better way. Today I would like to talk about the positive change which greatly impacted my life.
The change that I am referring to is my decision to start exercising regularly and taking care of my mental health. For a long time, I had been living a sedentary lifestyle and had become increasingly unhealthy. I decided to make a change about it, but I wasn’t sure where to start. Then I changed my lifestyle by waking up early in the morning.
This positive change happened about two or three months ago when I was going through a lot of distinctive challenges, and I realized that I needed to make a change in myself. I started waking up early at 6:00 am and going for walks which gradually increased the duration and intensity of my workouts. I also started following a healthy diet and used to track my progress using my fitness app.
I decided to make this change as I was persistently stressed, and my friend Raghav recommended yoga to me. However, finding the right time was challenging, but I started with a few simple steps and increased the duration and intricacy of my practice. During the starting period, it was very difficult for me to stick to this routine, but I slowly started seeing the results.
Exercising regularly and taking care of my mental health have made a profound impact on my life. I’ve noticed a tremendous decrease in my stress and anxiety levels, and developed healthy habits like waking up early in the morning, going to bed on time, and many other things. It also helped me develop discipline and perseverance, which has been invaluable in other areas of my life.
Overall, I am very grateful for this positive change that I made in my life, and I plan to continue to prioritize my health and well-being in the future.
Below given is the third sample answer for the cue card topic “Describe a Positive Change in Your Life.”
Changes are a natural part of our lives, some are positive, while others are negative. However, I would like to talk about the positive change that changed my life in different ways.
The positive change that took in my life was learning coding. I have been always interested in technology and computers but never got a chance to learn to code. One day, I read an article on coding and its benefits on it. This was a turning point in my life as I had never done something interesting like this. I had been thinking about it for a long time, and I finally decided to take the plunge and go for it.
This happened about a year ago when I read that article about coding and its benefits. Also, I was not feeling satisfied working at my job and I didn’t enjoy it and was feeling demotivated. Then I decided to do something interesting and beyond. That is when I started learning coding and software applications. I did some research online and found online courses to read.
As soon as I read the article, I was keen to know about new things, solve problems, and earn a good living by coding. I was inclined by the stories of many people who had learned to code and changed their lives in a better way. So, I started surfing through the internet and reading articles, watching videos of high-level programmers and exploring more and more.
Learning how to code was a positive change in my life because of several reasons. Firstly, it helped me in developing problem-solving skills. Secondly, it has given me a new skill that I could add to my resume or CV. Thirdly and most importantly, through coding, I was able to create new things such as websites and apps. And lastly, it helped me to think technically, logically, and practically.
Overall, learning coding was the best decision I’ve ever made, and it allowed me to pursue something I’m ardent about.
These are the three sample answers for the cue card topic “Describe a Positive Change in Your Life.” Now the below-given section will let you know about the lexical resources.
In the above sample answers, we have used difficult words that are known as lexical resources. Further, this section will let you know about the meaning of those hard words that would enhance your vocabulary for IELTS speaking section.
Lexical Resources | Meaning |
---|---|
Fascinated | Extremely interested |
Fictional | Imaginary |
Dazzled | Makes you unable to see |
Embrace | To accept something enthusiastically |
Insinuate | To suggest without being direct |
Intrigued | To interest someone a lot |
Concealed | Kept hidden |
Transformed | Having been changed in an important way |
Inevitable | Unable to be avoided |
Sedentary | Physical activity |
Distinctive | Something that is easy to recognize |
Persistently | Happening repeatedly |
Intricacy | Complicated details |
Tremendous | Extremely good |
Prioritize | To decide the priority of things |
Plunge | To move or fall suddenly |
Ardent | Showing strong feelings |
Programmers | A person who produce computer programs |
Inclined | Likely to do something |
Overall, these are some of the hard words you need to know before appearing for the IELTS exam. Now the next section will let you know about the follow-up questions related to your cue card topic.
In the last part of the speaking section, you will be asked some follow-up questions related to your cue card topic. However, the last part is considered the most easy one but varies from Part 1 and Part 2. IELTS speaking part 3 is called a two-way discussion round and assesses your ability to express your thoughts and opinions. Thus, in this section, we have mentioned the follow-up questions with answers that can be asked after your IELTS speaking part 2 or cue card round.
I don’t think changes are always good. However, changes can bring improvements in our lives, but can also challenge us. For example, the use of new technology can make our lives easier and help us work more efficiently for better education and communication.
Yes, people need to make changes according to their surroundings and shine. Further, adapting to one’s surroundings is essential for success and happiness, but it is also vital for people to maintain their core values and their individuality.
Constant learning keeps you always flexible by educating yourself and trying new things, you’ll learn that you are capable of change and growth, which keeps you open to new opportunities in life. Through continuous learning, people participate in multiple events that increase their confidence.
The hormones are the first big change. After that change, the next change happens is when we finish school and start doing a job after that. Then, we take our lives seriously. And the moment we get married is considered as one of the biggest changes in our lives. However, the last big change is when we retire from our work and live a peaceful life.
These are some of the follow-up questions that can be asked of you. In the next section, you will look over some tips that will help you excel in the cue card round.
The following section has mentioned some useful tips and tricks which will help you ace the IELTS cue card round.
In conclusion, the IELTS speaking section is the last part of the IELTS exam which needs proper planning for achieving 8+band scores. Thus, in this blog, we discussed the cue card topic “Describe a Positive Change in Your Life” with their three sample answers. Further, the blog also included the lexical resources along with the follow-up questions and tips to ace the cue card round. Moreover, if you are facing issues or want to explore more about the speaking section then join our offline or online IELTS classes and ace the IELTS exam on the first attempt.
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