The IELTS speaking section is the last part of the exam, which is a face-to-face interview between the examiner and a candidate including three parts. Part 1 is the introductory part about yourself and your general interests. In part 2, the examiner will provide you with a task card or cue card on which you have to speak. Further, part 3 involves a longer discussion with the examiner related to your cue card only. Thus, in this blog, we will cover a cue card on the topic “Describe a Time That Something Changed Your Life in Good Ways.” Further, to improve your IELTS speaking part 2 we have provided some useful tips and tricks.
Table of Contents
1) How do you think the positive change has influenced your overall outlook on life?
2) Have you noticed any unexpected or unintended consequences from this change?
3) Do you think small changes can also have a big impact on a person’s life?
4) Can you share any strategies or methods you need to adapt to or embrace this change?
The cue card comes in the second part of the IELTS speaking section. It is a particular type of speaking task in the IELTS exam. Moreover, students are given a task or cue card that includes a topic with some pointers on which they have to speak. You will get one minute to prepare for the task and two minutes to talk about your topic. Moreover, IELTS cue cards are designed to evaluate your English skills majorly in four areas that are: fluency and coherence, vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation. The topics which are given to students are based on personal experiences, opinions or ideas. Further, let’s talk in the next section that how you should prepare for answering the cue card.
When answering the cue card, make sure that you are answering the question or the main topic and not unnecessary information. Further, you should start by introducing the topic and adding supporting details by giving examples and detailed explanations. You must take one minute to take down the notes and prepare accordingly for the cue card. Overall, by the end of the IELTS speaking part 2 examiner will make a rough idea of your score. Now let’s look below at the image and see what your cue card will look like in the exam.
The several points that you need to mention in your cue card “Describe a Time That Something Changed Your Life in Good Ways” are as follows:
Let us show you how your cue card will look like in the exam so that you have a better understanding. See the image.
Now you have an idea of what your cue card looks like. Further, we will now move forward to see the three sample answers for the cue card topic “Describe a Time That Something Changed Your Life in Good Ways.”
Here is the first sample answer for the given cue card. Read it and try to implement it in your exam.
Changes are an important part of our lives. It has become a part of everyone’s life these days. Today I would like to express the experience that changed me.
This happened a few years ago when I was in my final year of high school. I was continuously applying to several universities, and hoping to secure a spot in a putative institution. However, my scholarship application process was very prolonged and competitive, but I remained hopeful. Finally, one day, I received an email from my dream university declaring that I had been awarded a fully funded scholarship.
The scholarship which covered all my tuition fees and accommodation, and even provided a stipend for my living expenses. However, I was very devastated and it was more than just financial aid, plus recognition of my hard work, dedication, and potential. I felt great and realized that all my late nights of studying, getting involved in extracurricular activities, and sustaining high grades had finally paid off.
I was overwhelmed with joy, excitement, and relief. This news brought so much happiness to me and my family, who had always supported me in my whole academic journey. It felt like a huge burden had been removed from my shoulders, and knowing that my education would not be any more financial shear on me and my family.
The scholarship changed my life in several positive ways. Firstly, I was able to pursue my education without the worry of financial hindrances. Secondly, I was able to focus on my studies and engage in different activities. Moreover, the scholarship augmented my confidence and made me believe that I could achieve anything with hard work and perseverance. Also, the scholarship opened the doors for networking opportunities, internships, and career guidance which I couldn’t get otherwise.
Overall, receiving the scholarship from my dream university was a turning point in my life. I am forever grateful for this life-changing moment that has set me on the path to achieving my dreams.
Here is the second sample answer that you can use in the IELTS speaking section. Look at it and execute it in your exam.
Life is a journey of teaching us important lessons in the most unexpected places. Today I would like to share one of the transformative experiences that changed my life in good ways.
This life-changing experience happened a couple of years ago when I visited my ancestral village during my vacations. The village was surrounded by lush greenery and a serene atmosphere, which was a different view from my usual city life. I used to spend a lot of time there and it was meant to be a brief escape, but it ended up leaving a good impact on my life.
During my whole stay, I spent a lot of time with the villagers, observing their way of speaking and living. They lived with nominal resources but they were grateful for what they had. The elders of the village shared the stories of their lives, conveying wisdom on the importance of appreciating the little things, appraising relationships, and staying stable no matter what. Further, I also learned and observed how they cherished every meal, conversation, and every moment spent with loved ones.
Initially, I felt bored as the village life was not more connected but after spending time with the villagers I developed a sense of humility and gratitude. The simplicity of their lives and satisfaction with the little things made me consider my own life. It also made me feel that happiness doesn’t come from money but from respecting what we already have and taking care of our relationships.
This experience has changed my viewpoint on life. By living in the village, I learned the meaning of minimalism. Further, I also learned the importance of appreciating the people around me and respecting the time spent with them. These morals and lessons generated in me during this time and helped me develop a more positive side of everything. I became more confident, grounded, and focused on making consequential conversations rather than useless ones.
Overall, this time in the village was more than just a visit and a journey which I will always carry with me. I am forever grateful for the values I learned in the village that continue to make my decisions right.
Read the third sample answer for the given cue card and see the framing for achieving a high band score in the exam.
Life sometimes gives us unexpected moments that have the power to change us forever. One such change I would like to share which changed my life in a good way.
While pursuing my Bachelor’s at Mithibai College, I got the opportunity to work as an intern at a famous IT-based company in Pune. This internship was a very big deal for me as I was going to meet new people in the business sector. On the other hand, I was also nervous as it was my first internship that too in a big IT company.
Moving to Pune for an internship excited and scared me at the same time. The city was a hub of creativity and technical growth. At first, I thought it would be a total waste of time. But together with the experienced professionals, I learned a lot of things and I was going to work on real-world projects in the field of web design.
The internship was gratifying, and it was challenging too. I became a part of the team and I made the website for our new project. However, the work was quite hard and it took me time to learn about the programming language and techniques for managing the problems.
I was very much impacted by this experience. In addition, it enhanced my technical skills and provided me with valuable insights on time management, team ethics, and leadership. Furthermore, living in a city alone doubled my independence and adaptability. I became very confident in many of the things.
Overall, this internship was a major turning point in my life. It affected my career path and changed my outlook on my life.
So these were the sample responses for the given cue card. Now in the next section, let’s understand the meanings of difficult words used in the samples.
Also Read: Describe Something in Your Country That You Are Interested In
The below given table has provided the meaning of difficult words which we have used in samples above. Further, these words will enhance your vocabulary for IELTS exam.
| Lexical Resources | Meaning |
| Prolonged | Continuing for a long time |
| Putative | Thought to be or to exist |
| Devastated | Completely Destroyed |
| Accommodation | A place to stay or live |
| Sustaining | To allow something for a longer period of time |
| Overwhelmed | To defeat someone or something |
| Hindrances | Something that makes it more difficult for you |
| Perseverance | Continued effort to do something |
| Transformative | Causing a major change to something |
| Ancestral | Members of your family from the past |
| Serene | Peaceful and calm |
| Nominal | In name or thought but not in fact |
| Stable | Firmly fixed |
| Consequential | Happening as a result of something |
| Intern | A person working as a intern in some company |
| Gratifying | Pleasing |
| Valuable | Worth a lot of money |
Overall, these are the difficult words with their meanings that can help in your cue card round. The next section will let you know about the follow-up questions that will be asked in your IELTS speaking part 3.
After completing the cue card round, the examiner will have a further discussion with you that are called the follow-up questions. In these questions, you need to express your answers in detail to achieve the high band score. Thus, it will be a two-way conversation between you and the examiner. Now let’s have a look at some of the follow-up questions with answers that can be asked after your IELTS speaking part 2.
Answer: The positive changes in my life have helped me to be more optimistic about the future. They taught me to stay calm during the tough times and instead of seeing the negative sides look for the positive sides for every situation. Further, it also helped me to tackle challenges and solve problems without worrying about anything.
Answer: There is one unexpected impact this change has made on the other areas of my life. It has motivated me to evaluate my priority areas and add positive changes in the various areas of my life, like my career, personal life, and relationships.
Answer: Yes, I believe small changes can have a significant impact on a person’s life. There are very simple and basic habits like reading daily, exercising regularly, or spending more time with family that can improve one’s mental and physical well-being. Further, sometimes small changes can make a larger and more meaningful transformation. Even a little change in the routine can bring a good perspective and new energy to one’s daily life.
Answer: One strategy that has been very helpful for me in adapting to the change was approaching with an open and learning mindset. I have made constant efforts and also took support from my family and friends, who provided me the guidance along the way. I was also focused on taking smaller steps rather than filling myself with multiple things at the same time.
These were some of the follow-up questions with answers for the given cue card “Describe a Time That Something Changed Your Life in Good Ways.” In the next section, you will find out some tips to excel in the cue card round.
Some tips have been mentioned that will help you excel in the cue card round. Read them and implement them in your exam.
To sum up, preparing for the IELTS speaking section seems difficult but with the correct techniques and strategies students can excel in it. Thus, we have provided the Band8+ sample answers for the cue card topic “Describe a Time That Something Changed Your Life in Good Ways” Further, we talked about the follow-up questions and some tips that will help you ace the cue card round. Moreover, if you want to gain more experience or exposure on the cue cards take our free IELTS mock test of the speaking section. Also, you can join our offline or online IELTS classes at Gradding.com.
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