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

Describe a city you have visited and liked.

You should say:

• what city it is, and where it is
• when you have visited this city
• why you liked/disliked it

and explain what influences the city has had on you.

Follow-up Questions:

• What are the advantages and disadvantages of living in a big city?
• What changes have you observed in your city in the past 5 years?
• Name some good tourist spots in your city?
• Why do you think living in your city is a good choice?

Model Answer 1:

I have visited several cities before, and they were all amazing in their own rights. However, there was one city which, I think, should be specifically mentioned here because I was not too sure about visiting it until the last moment. In fact, I heard a lot of negative comments about this particular city before visiting it about a year ago, but I was proved wrong when I actually visited it.

The name of this city is “Milan”. I think that we all know where the city of Milan is. But, still, just to refresh our memory a little about this city, it is one of Italy’s major metropolis cities in its northern Lombardy region.

Milan is also a major financial hub which is known for its high-end shops and restaurants. And, of course, it is known as the capital of the fashion world also. Anyway, I visited this city recently, about a few months ago.

Contrary to popular belief, Milan has a lot of wonderful and modern architectures for a city which was bombed rather heavily during the Second World War.  Besides, visiting Lake Como, which was only an hour (by train) from Milan, was one of my best experiences ever. In fact, Lake Como, in my opinion, is one of the most beautiful places on earth with its mountains and colourful villas.

Milan has also some of the most beautiful and green public parks in the world, in my opinion. One of my favourite green spaces in Milan was the Library of Trees, which contains more than 100 species of trees. However, there is one thing that I didn’t like about Milan was that it was rather expensive.

Anyway, all in all, I would say that visiting Milan was a great experience. Even though it is a bustling city with a lot of activities, I think that there is a lot of life in it and people in its different neighbourhoods tend to enjoy their life to the fullest. I think that I would go back to visit that city again in future.

Sample Answer 2:

"Sydney" is undoubtedly my favourite city among the cities I have visited so far. Sydney is the state capital of New South Wales of Australia. This city is situated on the bank of the Tasman Sea and has around 4.6 million people. I have visited this city in 2008 after I finished my graduation and loved my stay there. Sydney had many attractive natural areas, botanic gardens, parks, and high rising buildings. This city has many heritage-listed buildings that attract tourists and visitors. The Sydney Opera House is one of the most recognised landmarks in Australia and is a great place to visit.

This city is known for the dynamic cultural hub and it has many famous museums, galleries and art galleries as well. Because of the great architecture, warm weather and hundreds of tourists attraction more than 11 million international and domestic tourists visit this city each year. I had been there for about 15 days and I really enjoyed everything about this city. I stayed at a 20 storied hotel that offered a really amusing view. The transportation system of the city is better than many other cities and I could have been maintaining the track and time of my schedule because of that. I loved being at open & wide spaces in the gardens and parks. People are welcoming and friendly there. A tourist can get necessary help both from people and the authority and can roam easily without any interruption. I saw 2/3 art museum and some cultural festivals and those were awesome.

There are so many places to be, so many things to do in Sydney. Some of the attractive places are Royal Botanic Garden, Hyde Park, Queen Victoria Building, Sydney Townhall, Macquarie Lighthouse, Australia Square, Sydney Opera House and so on.

I had a tremendous vacation in Sydney and I liked most of the places there and I enjoyed so much that I did not even notice how quickly the 2 weeks scheduled time has passed.

Tips for Answering this Cue Card Topic:

Talk about any city that you have really been to and tell the details of this city as well as your experience of this visit. Do not just talk about any random city that you have never been to as this might arise question to the examiner’s mind. If you have not been to a foreign country ever, talk about any city in your country.

Mention the following points to make it a good answer:

1.    Name of the city & country it is in.
2.    If there is more than one city with the same name (which might be the case in many countries) clearly state which one you have visited.
3.    Give the reason for your visit (Travel, visiting someone, tour, business visit etc.)
4.    Who was with you?
5.    When you planned to visit this city and when you actually visited it.
6.    If you have visited this city more than once, try to describe your latest visit experience there as that would give more accurate information about this city.
7.    Things to watch, do and other activity of this city. Famous places of this city and tradition of this city.
8.    Mention your attachment and liking of this city. Give some reasons why you like this city.

If the topic is “Your favourite city”, you should slightly change the way of speaking about this topic. Start by saying that this is a city that offers many recreations, tourists’ activity and your memory regarding this city. Also, mention the historical and traditional culture of this city and why it is a good city to visit and stay.

Similar Cue Card Topics:

1.    Describe a city you have planned to visit.
2.    Describe your latest visit to a new city.
3.    Describe a famous city you have been to.   
4.    Describe a city you have never been to.
5.    Describe a trip you recently have.
6.    Describe a study excursion you have had. 

• IELTS Cue Card
• IELTS Speaking
• Candidate Task Card

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