what if the cue card is asking for some life experiences that i have not encountered?
For example,
Describe an accident you saw.
You should say:
Where the accident occurred?
Where you were then?
How the accident affected you.
Can i just talk about accident in general and not specifically answer each question on the cue card since i have not had experience of it?
cue card questions about experiences that the test-taker have not experienced
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David.IELTS.Examiner
- IELTS Examiner
- Posts: 1371
- Joined: Tue May 05, 2015 4:34 am
Re: cue card questions about experiences that the test-taker have not experienced
Hello!
The simple way to deal with this situation is to use your imagination. Also, you have probably seen an accident on TV or in a film.
You are lucky to be such a careful person. I remember falling off my bicycle when I was a kid! I remember just recently accidentally putting both tea and coffee in a mug!
Alternatively, ask anyone you know who has young kids, because they have accidents almost every day!
With these cue cards, do NOT talk about accidents in general. The question very specifically states that you should talk about AN accident.
Good luck with your preparations!
David
The simple way to deal with this situation is to use your imagination. Also, you have probably seen an accident on TV or in a film.
You are lucky to be such a careful person. I remember falling off my bicycle when I was a kid! I remember just recently accidentally putting both tea and coffee in a mug!
Alternatively, ask anyone you know who has young kids, because they have accidents almost every day!
With these cue cards, do NOT talk about accidents in general. The question very specifically states that you should talk about AN accident.
Good luck with your preparations!
David
Re: cue card questions about experiences that the test-taker have not experienced
Hi
The only way you can do the cue card well is by good preparation and practice
Also, the examiner is testing your level of English, not your general knowledge
Try to focus on activities on your daily life. If you are a student, you could think of any small accident that you witnessed while commuting to school/college or while coming back. If you are working, you can think of any small accident which occurred at your workplace. If you are a home maker, think of an accident that happened at home. It's not difficult if you have done practice sessions earlier. you should be able to organize your thoughts. Try not to think of any major trauma or a big accident. You may get overwhelmed and find it difficult to describe.
(PS: I am a doc, and I recommend nurses, doctors and others who deal with healthcare to describe a patient presenting to hospital as it is your line of work )
You must have an idea of how much 2 min is.
I would start off my speech with a very short introduction about accidents and how its unexpected nature can cause problems to anyone at any time ( 15 sec)
1 - Where the accident occurred?
Describe the place properly. This is very important. The area , location must be described properly. Also Talk of the approx day, date , time and how it happened as well (35-40 sec)
2 - Where you were then?
Describe this also properly. How far were you from the accident ? Did you see it live ? Did you hear it from someone or watch it on television ? Describe your surroundings. Also mention the advantages and disadvantages of being at that place i.e. where you lucky/unlucky etc ( 35-40 sec )
3 - How the accident affected you ?
This is actually the more difficult part. Describing emotions is not very easy. You must talk about how it affected you physically , emotionally and you must describe the lessons you have learnt from it ( 35-40 sec )
If you proceed in this order, most likely, you would be stopped in the middle of describing part 3 as time would be up and the examiner would move on to the part 3 of the speaking section ( 2 way disccussion ). This is a good thing.
You should not talk generally. I think you may lose marks because the examiner may think you have memorized and come. Also, the examiner is testing to see whether you can organize your speech in a coherent order by using their given 3 clues.
I think that many exam takers structure their speech wrongly.
for eg,
they will start off with ....
1). I witnessed an accident at ______ ( 10sec )
2) Next sentence is I was doing ______ at that time. ( 10 sec )
3) now you have to describe how it affected you for 1min :40 sec .
Its difficult to talk on just one clue for a long time and if you stop because you have nothing to say, you will not get a good score.
best wishes
The only way you can do the cue card well is by good preparation and practice
Also, the examiner is testing your level of English, not your general knowledge
Try to focus on activities on your daily life. If you are a student, you could think of any small accident that you witnessed while commuting to school/college or while coming back. If you are working, you can think of any small accident which occurred at your workplace. If you are a home maker, think of an accident that happened at home. It's not difficult if you have done practice sessions earlier. you should be able to organize your thoughts. Try not to think of any major trauma or a big accident. You may get overwhelmed and find it difficult to describe.
(PS: I am a doc, and I recommend nurses, doctors and others who deal with healthcare to describe a patient presenting to hospital as it is your line of work )
You must have an idea of how much 2 min is.
I would start off my speech with a very short introduction about accidents and how its unexpected nature can cause problems to anyone at any time ( 15 sec)
1 - Where the accident occurred?
Describe the place properly. This is very important. The area , location must be described properly. Also Talk of the approx day, date , time and how it happened as well (35-40 sec)
2 - Where you were then?
Describe this also properly. How far were you from the accident ? Did you see it live ? Did you hear it from someone or watch it on television ? Describe your surroundings. Also mention the advantages and disadvantages of being at that place i.e. where you lucky/unlucky etc ( 35-40 sec )
3 - How the accident affected you ?
This is actually the more difficult part. Describing emotions is not very easy. You must talk about how it affected you physically , emotionally and you must describe the lessons you have learnt from it ( 35-40 sec )
If you proceed in this order, most likely, you would be stopped in the middle of describing part 3 as time would be up and the examiner would move on to the part 3 of the speaking section ( 2 way disccussion ). This is a good thing.
You should not talk generally. I think you may lose marks because the examiner may think you have memorized and come. Also, the examiner is testing to see whether you can organize your speech in a coherent order by using their given 3 clues.
I think that many exam takers structure their speech wrongly.
for eg,
they will start off with ....
1). I witnessed an accident at ______ ( 10sec )
2) Next sentence is I was doing ______ at that time. ( 10 sec )
3) now you have to describe how it affected you for 1min :40 sec .
Its difficult to talk on just one clue for a long time and if you stop because you have nothing to say, you will not get a good score.
best wishes