Cue Card Sample
IELTS Cue Card Sample 35 - Describe a library that you visited
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- Written by IELTS Mentor
IELTS Speaking Part 2: IELTS Cue Card/ Candidate Task Card.
Describe a library that you visited.
You should say:
- where it was
- what it looked like
- what facilities it had
and explain what influence it had on you and how you felt about it.
Follow-up Questions:
- Why are the libraries important for us?
- What facilities do you expect from a library?
- What type of book do you like to read? Why do you like them?
Model Answer 1:
I haven’t really visited many libraries in my life, perhaps, because I didn’t have very many libraries, closed to where I lived. However, when I was studying at a university, I needed to visit its library once in a while for study purpose. So, today, I will just go ahead and describe that particular library as best as I can.
As I just mentioned earlier, it was a university library, which stood tall in the heart our rather large university campus, with many other administrative and faculty buildings around it. It was a four-storey building with enough space for reading for nearly all of its students. One of the great features of this library was that it could be accessed from all directions. Even though the library was old, it had a nice architecture as it would receive enough natural light and air as long as they were available.
Each floor of the library had two parts, with one part providing the space and facilities for regular library activities, while the other part in the front remained empty like a long and spacious balcony. Anyway, the top three floors of the library contained all the books and research materials, many of which were as old as two hundred years, in order to help students gain knowledge, while the bottom floor contained only newspapers, magazines, journals and other kinds of periodicals. All the floors had a separate and large section for receptions in the middle of them which would provide different kinds of educational videos to students. Finally, each floor of the library had a separate section to sit and relax for the visitors while watching some TV programmes.
Anyway, this library had a great influence on me, primarily because I could learn about a lot of new and interesting things, every time I had visited it. Besides, after visiting this library, I met some really genuine and brilliant minds, who could provide me with important insights on different issues. Finally, I felt that the library could actually also provide me with a great escape from the stress of my daily life sometimes.
Sample Answer 2:
The library I’d like to talk about that I visited is ‘Illumination Library’ (Tell the name of a library from your home town) and it is situated in my home town. I have not visited this particular library for the last 2-3 years as I am not living in my hometown any longer and yet this is the library I will always remember. This library is situated at the centre of our hometown and occupies the whole 3 story building. There are plenty of books there and the library offers a variety of books, novels, research papers, magazines and so on for the people of different tastes.
The books are well catalogued and arranged in a convenient fashion. There are more than 3-4 librarians and several other assistants to help find any book. The library also offers membership facility and the active members are allowed to take books to home. Since the library is funded by the government the membership fee is very negligible and affordable for students, there are lots of people visiting and reading there.
People of our hometown consider this library as the best place to gather knowledge, read in peace and to find reference books for study or professional reasons. For me, this library has a great influence on me. I became a member of this library when I was only 7 years old. My reading habit has been grown up from there. I became a passionate reader of books and novels and this library had a great influence on that. This library also helped me finishing some academic projects as I could find books and reference reading materials. I have read plenty of books in my childhood and adolescence time only because the library was conveniently there for me.
Tips for answering this cue card topic:
You can talk about any library you have visited including your college/ university library. If the questions would have asked you to describe a famous library, then it would have been a bit tricky, but answering this cue card should be easy as we all know what the purposes of the library and what people do there. Start describing the library (location, interior and exterior), the types of facilities if offers and the types of books it has. Then say your activities in this library what you did there. Following are some hints to help you answering this cue card topic:
Location: In my hometown/ In my area/ In the city centre/ in my college or university/ in a different city where I visited, etc.
Description: It is a 2/3/4 storey building, has more than 20,000 books and journals, the environment is quiet and neat, the staffs are helpful, the books are arranged based on writer and topics, some modern facilities like digital index and searching facilities are available, only a few minutes away from the place I live now etc.
Facilities: Membership facility, digital index, staffs are educated and helpful, we can take books home, several types of books, novels, journal and other reading materials are available, it is funded by the local administration and Government and cost very little for the reader, people can stay as long as they want, open 7 days a week, great collection of academic and subject-related books etc.
Influences it has on you: You have got help from the academic and reference books it has, your reading habit has been enriched because of this library, it offers many facilities, you can take books home and thus your family members can also read the books you take home, a good place to spend time.
If you can answer this cue card topic, you should be able to answer the following cue cards as well:
1. Describe one of your favourite places.
2. Describe a library you know about.
3. Talk about a place where you often go to.
4. Describe an activity you have.
5. Talk about a public place in your hometown.
6. Describe a public library.
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