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Written by IELTS Mentor

IELTS Speaking Part 2: IELTS Cue Card/ Candidate Task Card.

Describe a time when the weather condition forced you to change your plan.

You should say:

• when it was
• how the weather condition was
• what initial plan you had

and explain what you did once you changed your plan.

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

Model Answer 1:
When it comes to weather, it would be wise not to fully trust the weather forecast. Of course, the weathermen try their best to assure us with their data and statistics, but the weather doesn’t really have to respect any of it, just as it didn’t when I planned for a visit to watch the cultural performance of my little nephew about a few months ago.

This was the first cultural show for my little 5-year-old nephew, and there was no way that he would want me to miss it. He was so excited about that show of his that he even asked me about what I would do if I liked his performance. Of course, I told him that I would offer him the best gift ever. But, anyway, as I was getting ready to go to the school of my nephew in order to see his performance, I suddenly noticed that sky had become really dark with the dark cloud.

After seeing that condition, I decided to wait for a little, thinking that the dark cloud would go away. But, instead of getting the sky cleared, thunderstorm and heavy rain also started to follow suit to make things even worse. So, instead of going to see the cultural programme of my nephew, I and the other members of my family began to worry about the safety of my nephew at school. Then, people around me assured me that the school was safe.

By the way, the heavy rain and thunderstorm had continued for almost 50 minutes, all I could do is to wait inside my home and hope for the bad weather to go away. After all, it wasn’t safe to go out in that kind of bad weather.

Anyway, as the initial plan to attend the cultural programme got cancelled due to the bad weather, I decided to read a good storybook to spend the evening. Besides, I also watched a couple of old movies which I really liked to watch when I was attending university.

Sample Answer 2:
This is a nice topic to talk about and I have experienced this exact situation several times in my life. I thank you for the opportunity to let me talk about an event when the sudden change of the weather ruined a long-desired plan.

It was 2014 and on my younger sister's birthday, most of my cousins, uncles and aunts came to our house. Next day my father proposed that we should take a family trip and go to (...say the name of a sea beach...) to enjoy our time together as a family. It was a great proposal and we were all excited to spend our time there. Two of my cousins and their parents had never been to this beach. "Though we spent our childhood together in a joint family in our early childhood, we hardly get time to enjoy together" - told Tom, one of our cousins and he was completely right. We were very happy to have our relatives at our home, celebrate our sister's birthday and have the opportunity to make a family tour together after a long.

In the morning my father proposed us to take our cars and visit the sea beach and other tourist spots the next day and it was a sunny day with a clear blue sky at that time. The weather forecast, that I checked online, showed that there was no possibility of rain and the temperature would remain almost the same. But our luck must have been quite bad as the weather completely changed in the evening. While we did not even expect the rain, there was a thunderstorm with the torrent. The wind was ferocious and the storm lasted for a long time. The sea beach thus was not a good place to visit the next day. It was a 4 hours journey and we were supposed to go there early next morning. However, the weather condition forced us to abandon the tour and stay home. The weather was still ferocious and it was unsafe for us to leave the house.

When my parents declared that we have to cancel our tour, I, with four of my cousins, planned to watch movies, play computer games and meet some of my friends at their home. At around 11.30 am, when the weather was still bad, we watched an animated movie while my parents were busy cooking. We ate homemade popcorns, coffee and hamburger. In the evening the rain stopped and we went to meet my friends who happened to live nearby. At night we played different types of indoor games and that was fun.

Though our initial plan was ruined due to a sudden weather change, nevertheless, I enjoyed my time with my cousins. I am the only child of my parents and that's why my cousins are like my siblings and I enjoy their company a lot.

More Ideas to talk about this Cue Card/ Candidate Task Card topic:

Topic: Describe a time when the weather condition forced you to change your plan.

1. I changed my plan in the mid of July due to detrimental weather condition. It was a rainy day and it rained heavily the whole day. I had a plan to meet some of my colleagues to discuss an upcoming event. The meeting was set in a local café in Hamburg. After changing the plan, I made phone calls to them. Then we started a virtual meeting. In fact, mt other colleagues had the similar experience like me.

2. Going out in stormy weather is daunting indeed and I never claim myself an adventurous person. So, I had changed my plan. Last month, the weather turned worst and there was a strong storm. It began in the evening and I had the plan to meet some of my friends. The plan was set that we should meet at Jim’s garages, located on the ground floor of his residence in Rush Street in Chicago. Later, the plan was cancelled and I spent time by playing video games.

3. Last Monday, the day was too sunny. In fact, it was a bright day with a clear blue sky. But I had to alter my plans. I wanted to go for capturing some photographs near the Victoria in Australia, but I cancelled the plan eventually. Due to the excessive brightness of the sun, my photos will burn. I actually use my mobile phone for photography and it was not possible to get the right pictures on my device. So, I stayed at home and spent times with my friends on the social networking platform Facebook.

4. Moving for a weekend break in cloudy weather is not wise at all. The weather last weekend was too cloudy and I had to change my plan. I planned to move to a quiet place in Manchester with a couple of my friends. But later, I changed the plan for the weather. In fact, none of my friends wanted to get wet in the sudden rain. So, they came to my place and passed the day by watching movies and playing indoor games.

5. I am afraid of cold weather since my childhood. Last month, I had to change my plan to hang out with my college buddies due to excessive cold outside here in Indonesia. Suddenly the weather changed and ruined my plan to move out. Later, I informed the matter to my friends and they also had similar opinions. So, I spent the rest of the day at home and read books, played video games and enjoyed two movies.

• IELTS Cue Card
• Candidate Task Card

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