Cue Cards For IELTS

48 Particular Topics (Cue Cards)
Chapter Three
PARTICULAR TOPICS (CUE CARDS)
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About Part 2 of Interview

Types of cue cards
Talking about a topic
Asking questions
Interviews with follow-ups
How to plan a cue card
Cue cards plus planning diagram
Sample cue cards plus speech scripts
Cue cards plus sample speech and follow-up
questions
Try to add footnotes to the pages

indicating expressions and phrases
along with special vocabularies and
collocations.
Chapter Three
PARTICULAR TOPICS (CUE CARDS)
ABOUT PART TWO OF INTERVIEW__________________________
In the second part of the interview the examiner gives you a card which
tells you what topic you should talk about. Bear the following important
facts in mind:
1. The cue cards will give you some prompts- questions and situationsabout what you should add to your speech.
2. You are given one minute or a bit more to read the cue card and plan
your speech.
3.
You are also given a paper and a pencil to plan what you want to say.
(Jot down some notes and use them while talking about the card)
4. The examiner will tell you when to start and when to finish.
5. The normal time for section two is 2 minutes but you ought to practice
sample cue cards in a way to be able to talk at least for 3 miniutes.
6. You may be asked one or two questions about the card before the
examiner moves on to part three of the interview.
Here is an example for you to look at:

Describe your school life.
You should say:
How long your school day was
What subjects you studied
Who your favorite teachers were
and explain whether or not you think that your education was useful.
IELTS Speaking Skill
50
TYPES OF CUE CARDS__________________________________

Cue cards are ususally divided up into three types:
Type One: Talking about a topic

The card starting with a sentence describing a particular issue such as a
person, an entity, an object, a place, a situation, an event, a memory, a
time in the past or present, or an activity. The theme of such cards is
usually social issues. Such a cue card is very common in IELTS real
interview.
Sample Card
Describe a day you spent with you friends in the country
You should say
When/where you went
Who you were with
Why you remember this day
Describe a wild animal that can be found in your country.
Type Two: Asking questions

You should say:
The card starting

with a topic and a description about a particular issue
What it looks like
like a club or group,
terms and conditions, extension of a
Where it membership
lives
What
you like/dont
like aboutservices,
it
research project,
excursion,
academic
internet services, or book
And explain
how people
your country
generally
it. the
clubs and
book stores.
The inpurpose
of such
cardsfeel
is about
to make
candidate to ask questions about the academic issues. The examiner

waits for the questions and tries to give short answers. This is the
candidates duty to ask as many questions as possible to prove his/her
abilities to the examiner. Look at the sample cue card below:
Sample Card
AN ENVIRONMENTAL GROUP
You are interested in joining a group of students at the university who work
to protect the environment.
Ask the examiner about:
The name of the group, Action that they take
The cost of membership, What members have to do
Number of members, When the group was founded
Type Three: Cue Cards with follow-ups

These cue cards are not given to the candidates in time of real
examination. You can find such cards in IELTS preparatory books and
articles. We have prepared some of this type to help you predict what the
examiner may ask you after you finish your talk. The themes of such
cards are both academic and general. Here is a sample for you to
consider:
Describe a child you know.
How old is he or she?
What does he look like?
How are you related?

________________________________________________
Describe a museum
How often do you visit the museum?
Which type of museum is popular in your country?
Why do you want to visit the museum?
Follow-up:
What do you think of the importance of museums in history?
How do you think of the heritage of a country?
52
Compare the museums nowadays and in the past.
HOW TO PLAN A CUE CARD______________________________

Based on the type of cue cards described above, you can plan any card
before you start talking about it. Cards are easy to plan if you:
1. Think about the topic
2. Know about the topic
3. Have information about the questions
4. Know how to maneuver if you dont have a good answer
5. Know how to digress (beat about the bush and deviate from the point in an
intelligent way) and to get back to the point with ease.
6. Be quick in digression
7. Draw a flowchart for questions
8. Draw pictures by dramatizing the topic in your mind
9. Start your plan with major topics and then go to minor ones
10. Be fast and brief but informative in taking notes and planning
11. Knowing how to draw a simple tree diagram like this one
M
A
a
n
a
n
s
o
w
er
rt
o
s
o
s
p
t
c
o
CONCLUSION
Planning phases are as follows:

Put the main title of the cue card on top of the tree diagram. Then on three or
four main nodes and branches of the diagram quickly write some answers to WH
words and whatever word or small phrase coming to your mind. The last step is

the conclusion which is normally a word or a phrase. Always try to start with a
nice motivator (ice-breaker) such as Oh, well let me see, or Basically
speaking, When it comes to ..., Lets turn the clock back to 20 years ago when
I was only 10 years old, etc.
Check the tree diagram below and try to form the same shape in the
empty box following the tree diagram:
Describe your hometown

You should say
Where it is
What it looks like
Why you like/dislike it
Tehran
Where
looks like
Iran, capital
Asia
crown
big and nice
why like
patriot
Various Culture
Enjoying city life
Describe the happiest day of your life

You should say
Where you were
What you were doing
Who was there
Why that day was so happy
why dislike
busy, crowded
pollution, population
54
SAMPLE
CUE
CARDS
DIAGRAM________________
CUE CARD 1.
PLUS
PLANNING
GOING P
ICNIC
CONCLUSION
Describe a day you spent with your friends in the country.

You should say about
When/where you went
What you did in that day
Who you were with
Why you remember this day
Day-picnic
When/where?
Last year
Names?
Sea
To do
who with?
cooking
Fishing
eating
Why so nice?
my brother
school friends
sunny
clean air
Feeling free and happy
CUE CARD 2.
WILD ANIMAL
Describe a wild animal that can be found in your country.

What it looks like
Where it lives
What you like/dont like about it
And explain how people in your country generally feel about it.
Iranian leopard
Looks like
Beautiful skin
Like other cats
place to live
north of Iran
like/dislike
fast, wild, rare

dangerous
peoples attitude
no feeling
no information
CUE CARD 3.
MUSIC
Extinction of rare animals

Describe a song or a piece of music you like.
What the song or music is
What kind of song or music it is
Where you first heard it
And explain why you like it.
A piece of music
The piece of music
Music type
The Four seasons Classical music

Antonio Vivaldi
Baroque time
Italian
first heard
Why like
my brothers house
heavenly like
Satellite channel MEZZO
Unique
The effect of music on human personality
CUE CARD 4.
JOB
Describe your favourite job.

What the job is
Where you like to work
How much you like to earn
And explain why you have chosen such a job.
Teaching English
What kind job
English teacher
Teaching adults
where to work
institutes and schools

private students
money to earn
the more the better

quality no price
why I like it
refreshing
alive
56
CUE CARD 5.
WHERE TO LIVE
Teaching is energizing and fun

Describe where you are living at the moment.
What the size of that place is
How to get to school or work
What the type of neighborhood would be
And explain the best or worst part about it.
My house
Size of place
Small but cozy
distance from work
quite a drive
Heavy traffic
neighborhood type
quiet and green

full of trees
de/merits
full of children
friendly families
Tight parking/ clean pool
CUE CARD 6.
SOMEONE INFLUENCED YOUR LIFE
Describe somebody who has influenced your life in a positive way.

Who they are
How you came to meet them
What makes you admire them
And explain why this person is important to you.
My grand parents
Who
how to meet
Grandmother
Grandfather
since childhood
reasons to admire
special features
lovely and honest

supportive
disciplinary
intelligent and wise
Learning to be independent
CUE CARD 7.
A NICE PLACE TO VISIT
Describe a place you have enjoyed visiting.

Where it is
How you came to go there
What makes you like to go there
And explain why others might enjoy it too.
SAADABAD palace
Where
how you got there
Tehran, Niavaran
A nice garden
by chance
a friend mine
why like it
Iranian majesty
Iranian dignity
why others like it
Iranian pride
splendor of the king
The reminiscence of Irans power
CUE CARD 8.
TRIP
Describe an enjoyable trip.

Where you went
Why you particularly liked the trip
What made it worth remembering
And say what features of this trip you would repeat.
Trip to north of Iran

Where
why like it
Talesh
very nice jungle
Near the border kind people
CUE CARD 9.
remembrance of what
features
the quiet Gisoom seaside

clean air
a special chicken food (LAVANGI)
HEALTH PROBLEM
58
Describe a health problem.

The nature of the health problem
Why the problem occurred
What you (or the other person) could not do because of the
problem
What you (or the other person) had to do to get better
Hypertension
Nature
why it occurred
disability
High blood pressure Eating too much

Posing serious health risk red meat
exercise, eat freely

eye damage, stroke
how got better
healthy diet
walking
Good health is a gift of God
CUE CARD 10. WEBSITE

Describe a useful website.
What the website was
How you found the address for this website
What the website contained
And explain why it was useful to you.
A4esl
Webs name
www.a4esl.org
how you found it
while surfing internet
web contents
why useful
language exercises encouraging

All skills
informative
SAMPLE CUE CARDS PLUS SPEECH SCRIPTS_________________

Good to be autonomous in learning English
CARD 1
EDUCATION SYSTEM (TRACK 01)
INSTRUCTIONS
Please read the topic below carefully. You will be asked to talk about it for 1 to 2 minutes. You
have one minute to think about what youre going to say. You can make some notes to help you if
you wish.
Describe a feature of the education system:

What it is
Why you find it interesting
What makes it important and note-worthy
And say how this feature might be used elsewhere.
SPEECH SCRIPT
When it comes to education, one might

consider many factors that may contribute with the promotion of education in a
country.
CARD 2
TEACHER
(TRACK 02)
INSTRUCTIONS
you wish.
Describe a teacher who has influenced you in your education.

You should say:
Where you met them
What subject they taught
What was special about them
And explain why this person influenced you so much.
60
SPEECH SCRIPT
Teacher is for certain the dearest of all. I was a

college student and I met a professor whose words were so inspiring. For the
first time in my life in a class, I felt like a real human.
CARD 3
BEST FRIEND
(TRACK 03)
INSTRUCTIONS
you wish.
Describe your best friend:

How long you have known each other
Where you met
What you like about her/him
And explain what friendship factors you consider for a best friend.
SPEECH SCRIPT
Some people might think of finding a good

friend to be with. I think that I should be a good friend first for others then I can
expect them to be a good one for me. When I first met Amir, a side kick of mine
now, I was walking in the park
CARD 4
PROPERTY (TRACK
04)
INSTRUCTIONS
you wish.
Describe something you own which is very important to you.

You should say:
Where you got it from
How long you have had it
What you use it for
And explain why it is so important to you.
62
SPEECH SCRIPT
Everyone has something valuable and precious

to be happy with. I have a small boat and I inherited it from my grandfather who
lived in England.
CARD 5
SPORTS
(TRACK 05)
INSTRUCTIONS
you wish.
Talk about your favorite sport;

You should include:
What kind of sports girls and boys are interested in?

Why football is most wanted?
Football or other sports
SPEECH SCRIPT
A sport of any form and kind is refreshing. I

personally believe that sports are the indispensable part of human life.
CARD 6
FASHION (TRACK
06)
64
INSTRUCTIONS
you wish.
Describe your favorite style of dress;

You should include:
What kind of clothes you like to wear
What fabrics and colours you prefer
What (or who) influences you in your choice of clothes
SPEECH SCRIPT
Basically speaking, ones outfit may be the indicative of

ones personality. The choice of dress is quite dependent on the context we are
in.
Lets turn the clock back to the time when I

was a teenager.
CARD 7
CHILDHOOD (TRACK
07)
INSTRUCTIONS
you wish.
Describe a memory of your childhood.

You should include:
What was that?

When did it happen?
How did it affect your later life?
SPEECH SCRIPT
CARD 8
TV PROGRAMME (TRACK
08)
INSTRUCTIONS
you wish.
Describe a TV programme you like very much.

You should include:
When it is on
Why you like it
What it is about
66
SPEECH SCRIPT
To tell you the truth, I am not a TV fan, but I think that

there should be some good TV programs, because people spend a great deal of
time watching them. This show box allures us with its colorful programs
A FILM OR A THEATRE (TRACK 09)
INSTRUCTIONS
you wish.
Describe a film, theatre or TV performer you admire.

You should include:
What they look like

What they do
What you like about them
SPEECH SCRIPT
To me, films of any kind can be interesting.

Film directors try to make films for all tastes.
CARD 9
CARD 10
CARD 11
CARD 12
CARD 13
CARD 10 EVENT (TRACK
10)
68
INSTRUCTIONS
you wish.
Describe an organized event that you have attended (a concert, a show, etc.)
You should include:
When you attended the event and what you saw

Where the event was held
Why you chose to see this event
SPEECH SCRIPT
A few months ago I was in receipt of an

email from an old friend indicating a concert by one of the greatest Jazz stars,
David Glimore.
CUE
CARDS
PLUS
QUESTIONS____
SAMPLE
SPEECH
AND
FOLLOW-UP
CARD 1 Describe a museum

1) How often do you visit the museum?
2) Which type of museum is popular in your country?
3) Why do you want to visit the museum?
Follow-up:
What do you think of the importance of museums in history?

How do you think of the heritage of a country?
Compare the museums nowadays and in the past.
CARD 2 Describe your favourite photograph

1)
2)
3)
4)
Where was the photo taken?

Who took the photo?
What can be seen from the photo?
Explain why it is the favourite photograph for you.
Follow-up:
How can we take a good photo?

When do people use camera?
How can the new technology put cinemas skill advanced?
CARD 3 Describe a party

1)
2)
3)
4)
What is the party?

Why was the party held?
Who attended the party?
What did you do for that party?
Follow-up:
What are the differences between a formal party and a friendly/casual

party?
Why are some people late for parties intentionally?
Why do some people like parties while others hate them?
What would you do if the guests feel bored?
Will there be more and more people to attend parties?
CARD 4 Describe a subject taught in your school?

1) Who teaches it?
2) How is it taught?
3) What do you learn from the class?
Follow-up:
70
Are there any differences between the traditional and modern educational
systems?
What are the pros and cons of the current educational system in your
country?
Do you think it is necessary to give comment or criticism to teachers?
CARD 5 What is an important invention before the age

of computer?
1) What is the invention?
2) Why do you think it is very important?
3) What are the advantages and disadvantages of the invention?
Follow-up:
What is the significant impact of modern inventions on life?

Which skills do you want to study in the future?
Do you think its necessary to develop modern invention in the
countryside?
CARD 6 Describe a foreign country you have never

been to
1) Where is the country?
2) When will you go there?
3) Why would you like to go there?
Follow-up:
Say something about the tourism development in Iran, facilities, services

and the effects on environment.
What is the importance of travel and tourism industry?
What do you think about the role of tourist guides?
CARD 7 Describe your favourite film/movie

1) Whats the name of the film/movie?
2) Whats the theme of the film/movie?
3) Why do you like it?
Follow-up:
Describe a type of movie you like.

What are the major differences between Iranian and American movies?
What do you think of the violent films/movies (Hollywood films/movies)?
Why films/movies need computer techniques? Can you provide any
examples of film/movie using computer techniques

Which parts of cinema/the movies are the most important and describe
how it can be improved?
CARD 8 Describe a newspaper or magazine

1) What kind of newspapers/magazines do you usually read?
2) What are the advantages of reading magazines?
3) What are the main differences between newspapers and magazines?
Follow-up:
What do you think the important qualities of news reporters are?

What are the important functions of reports in the society?
What kinds of newspapers/magazines do Iranian adolescents and young
people read?
With the popularity of Internet, do you think newspapers and magazines
will disappear?
CARD 9 Describe a childrens game (sports not

suggested)
1) How is it played?
2) What can you learn from the game?
3) What impact does it bring on your growth?
Follow-up:
What do you think of the benefits of childrens games?

Nowadays children have less and less time for game, what do you think
about it?
What do you think the difference between games nowadays and in the
past?
Whats the negative aspect of games?
CARD 10
Describe a happy event in your life?
1) When did it happen?

2) Where did it happen?
3) What was it?
Follow-up:
Tell me how you organize your study time?

What do you think is important in achieving happiness?
How do Chinese celebrate some happy events?
What do the camera and video play in celebrating?
72
CARD 11
you
Describe a thing which is important to
1) Who gave it to you?

2) What is the thing?
3) What does the thing mean to you?
Follow-up:
What are the changes of city between now and past?

Does money represent happiness and why?
How do you regard as the things people want to earn?
CARD 12
Describe one of your neighbours
1) When did you become neighbours?

2) Do you often meet?
3) State whether your neighbour is a good one
Follow-up:
What is the difference between neighbours and friends?

Why do people like to watch TV serials in their houses?
How do you think of the relationship in the city?
How to improve the neighbourhood?
CARD 13
Describe one of the shopping centers
you often go to
1) Where is the shopping center?
2) How often do you go to the center?
3) Why do you often go to it and its characteristics?
Follow-up:
Will smaller shops survive in the current business system?

What are the characteristics of shopping malls and smaller shops and
their difference?
What is the trend of future shopping centers?
Talk about Internet shopping
CARD 14
Describe your favourite animal
1) What kind of animal is it?

2) Describe it briefly
3) Why do you like the animal?
Follow-up:
What do you need to do to take care of it?

Whats the future trend of the animal?
How do you think of the poaching of some precious animals such as
pandas?
CARD 15
Describe a historical place
1) What is the place?

2) Where is it located?
3) What is the historical meaning of the place?
Follow-up:
What do you think of the future trend of historic places?

Will government strengthen its protection toward historic places?
What are the changes brought about by the historic place in local
economy, people, etc?
What is the effect of tourists on the place?
CARD 16
Advertisement
1) What are the forms of advertisement?

2) What are the functions of advertisement?
3) What is the effect of advertisement to people?
Follow-up:
Do you feel bored and disgusted about advertisement?

What do you think are the criteria of assessing a good piece of
advertisement?
What will happen if unauthoritative advertisements prevail in the market?
CARD 17
Describe an important letter
1) When did you receive the letter?

2) From whom did you receive the letter?
3) Explain the reasons why it is important
74
Follow-up:
What is the significance of handwriting?

Does your country have handwriting lesson now?
Compare the handwriting now and past
With the popularity of computers and Internet, will people lose their ability
to write letters?
CARD 18
received
Describe the best present you have
1) Who sent it to you?

2) When did you receive it?
3) Detailed information about the present
Follow-up:
Do you think that present giving will play an important role in Chinese
daily life? Why?
Do you think that the brand name is very important for sales?
In terms of the media, which do you think will play a main role in present
giving, television, newspaper or Internet?
CARD 19
Describe your holidays
1) Where do you go for the holidays and how long do them last?
2) Who do you go with?
3) Talk about any interesting thins happening during your holidays
Follow-up:
What do the Chinese people mostly do in their leisure time?

What's the difference between holidays today and 5 years ago and the
reasons for the change?
Do you think people will spend more time on leisure or working in the
future?

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48 Particular Topics (Cue Cards)

About Part 2 of Interview

Try to add footnotes to the pages

49 Particular Topics (Cue Cards)

Here is an example for you to look at:

IELTS Speaking Skill

TYPES OF CUE CARDS__________________________________

Type One: Talking about a topic

Describe a wild animal that can be found in your country.

Type Two: Asking questions

The card starting

candidate to ask questions about the academic issues. The examiner

51 Particular Topics (Cue Cards)

Type Three: Cue Cards with follow-ups

How old is he or she?

What does he look like?

How are you related?

How often do you visit the museum?

Which type of museum is popular in your country?

Why do you want to visit the museum?

What do you think of the importance of museums in history?

How do you think of the heritage of a country?

IELTS Speaking Skill

Compare the museums nowadays and in the past.

HOW TO PLAN A CUE CARD______________________________

Planning phases are as follows:

53 Particular Topics (Cue Cards)

Describe your hometown

Enjoying city life

Describe the happiest day of your life

IELTS Speaking Skill

Describe a day you spent with your friends in the country.

Feeling free and happy

Describe a wild animal that can be found in your country.

fast, wild, rare

55 Particular Topics (Cue Cards)

Extinction of rare animals

The Four seasons Classical music

The effect of music on human personality

Describe your favourite job.

institutes and schools

the more the better

IELTS Speaking Skill

Teaching is energizing and fun

Small but cozy

distance from work

quiet and green

Tight parking/ clean pool

SOMEONE INFLUENCED YOUR LIFE

Describe somebody who has influenced your life in a positive way.

lovely and honest

57 Particular Topics (Cue Cards)

A NICE PLACE TO VISIT

Describe a place you have enjoyed visiting.

how you got there

why others like it

The reminiscence of Irans power

Describe an enjoyable trip.

Trip to north of Iran

the quiet Gisoom seaside

IELTS Speaking Skill

Describe a health problem.

High blood pressure Eating too much