Cue Card Sample

Cue Card # 162: Situation in which you did not know what to do

IELTS Cue Card/ Candidate Task Card # 162

Describe a situation in which you did not know what to do.

You should say:

  • when and where it was
  • what the situation was
  • why you did not know what to do

and explain what you finally did in this situation.

[You will have to talk about the topic for one to two minutes. You have one minute to think about what you are going to say. You can make some notes to help you if you wish.]


Model Answer:

It was almost two years ago when I got into a situation which was unexpected, perplexing and a bit embarrassing! And this topic brings back those memories as if they are still fresh, though I do not look at this event to be as embarrassing as it seemed back then. I’d like to thank you for letting me talk about this.

On that eventful day, which was probably Sunday, I met one of my friends at a cafe just after the evening. We discussed how we should better plan and prepare our group assignment to get A+. It took almost two hours and I decided to take my friend to a restaurant to have dinner. And that was the beginning of the whole embarrassment!

Anyway, we headed to a nice restaurant, ordered some traditional dishes for dinner and was discussing the assignment. We were waiting for our food to arrive (I was hungry for sure), but unfortunately, my friend’s boyfriend (I did never meet him before) arrived before our food did! Directly in my line of view, I saw a young man, he seemed somewhat bitter and hasty, of our age approaching our table. He bought a chair and sat at our table and I did not yet know him. He looked at my friend while completely ignoring me and started some heated debate with her.

All of a sudden and to my utter surprise, he asked me if I was having an affair with his girlfriend! I did not know what to say or what to do. It was absurd and I was so embarrassed about the whole event that I was not sure if I should leave or stay or take part in their conversation to defend myself. Our food came in the meanwhile but I was not hungry anymore. I could not help but notice some inquisitive eyes around us.

These days, if I think of it, it seems silly and dull. But I was clueless and startled when I was in the situation on that day. My friend’s boyfriend, whose name I learned later to be “Michel”, was angry and ferocious and wasn’t interested to hear anything that I wanted to say. So, I had no clue what I should be doing.

Well, considering the gravity of the situation, my friend and her boyfriend’s emotional distress and rage, I remained silent for the next 20 minutes or so and ignored the prying eyes around us. I talked to both of them when the situation got better and they calmed down a bit. Finally, I should probably mention that I had to pay a hefty amount of money for the food that I did not even touch!

This post was last modified on 8th October 2021 7:37 pm