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

Describe a trip you have taken recently.

You should say:

• where you went
• who went with you
• why you went there

and describe things you saw and did on your trip.

Model Answer 1:
Recently, about several weeks ago, I was on an official vacation because my casual leaves from my work were getting accumulated year after year. In fact, I was working too much, so as soon as I asked for some vacation time for a holiday trip for my whole family, my company gladly agreed. Immediately, the next day, my whole family, including my parents, my young wife and a couple of my siblings were well on our way to one of the stunningly beautiful port cities of my country.

Of course, before deciding about our destination, we argued long among ourselves as to what were some of the best spots to choose for our trip. Some argued that we would travel to a tourist spot of a neighbouring country of ours because the weather there was perfect at that time of the year. Some others argued that we would travel to Europe. But, in the end, we agreed to the proposal of my loving mother who suggested that we would travel to a major port city in my country because it was so naturally beautiful.

In fact, my mother told us that she had long held a dream in her heart to witness how all those foreign and beautiful looking ships, full of many different kinds of people and cargos, from different parts of the world, were docking at our port. But, as for the remaining members of my family, we went there mainly to enjoy the beautiful mountain site, with plenty of trees underneath of it, and swimming in the warm water of our ocean. Then, of course, we also wanted to enjoy the barbeque of some freshly-caught sea fishes.

Anyway, it was a nice family trip because we all did some fun things, which included swimming in the ocean, enjoying a speed boat ride, taking a family picture of ours at the feet of the rather large mountain site along with many other beautiful pictures at different interesting parts of the city. We also didn’t forget to purchase some beautiful boutiques to carry with us to home as some souvenir.

Sample Answer 2:
A few days back, we went to (...tell the name of the place that you would like to talk about...) on an official trip. This trip was arranged by our office and all of our colleagues and some of their relatives went there.

As it was an official tour and I had been thinking about going to such a trip, I agreed to go. The place was a good picnic spot and historically important. I have had plans to visit the place and when I heard that an official tour has been arranged there, I simply agreed to go on the trip without giving any second thought.

On the trip day, all of the participants met at our office ground and took our seats on the bus. It was about 3-4 hours journey and at 11:30 am. we reached the spot. We visited the small museum there, took bath in a pond, ran through the narrow roads and bridged, climbed at small hills, played cricket, took photos, took our meals, arranged a singing competition, raffle draw program and many more interesting things there. We saw historical significances and a documentary on a wide-screen projector arranged by the governing authority of the place, we visited a small museum, and we saw beautiful fishes in the rivers, birds on the trees and many eye-catching sceneries there.

We stayed there the whole day and returned home after the evening. That was a good trip that I really enjoyed.

Tips for talking about this Cue Card Question:

For this cue card, you can talk about a trip you remember. Since this question requires you to talk about a trip you recently had, you must mention that you had this trip only a few days back. Even if you talk about a trip that you actually had a few years back, you should describe it as if you recently returned from this trip.

First, mention the place where you went for this trip. Then describe what type of trip it was and who was with you on this trip. While mentioning the place, it is advisable to mention the city/ place name and then name the country, location is such a way so that someone who does not know about this place can guess where it might be.
If it was a family trip, mention who went with you. Similarly, if this was a trip with friends or colleagues, you should very clearly mention this.

For the next question, mention what was the reason you wanted to have this trip. Mention whether it was a recreational trip, family trip, official/ business trip of something else. Give some background of the planning and preparation for the tip and finally, mention your experience during this trip.

Try to give an interesting description of your journey, staying, activities, sightseeing and other experiences to make it an attractive tour. Also, mention what you learned from this trip and why you enjoyed it.

Since the final question particularly asks you to talk about the things you did and saw on the trip, try to mention some of the following things and activities about your trip:

1. A visit to a museum.
2. A visit to an interesting historic place
3. A visit to a royal and famous place
4. Surfing
5. Scuba diving
6. Attending local festivals
7. Watching theatrical performances and other art shows.
8. A trip to a local place.
9. Hiking
10. Skating
11. Skiing
12. Swimming
13. Testing local cuisine etc.

You should add the things you watched or things you did in your trip apart from the ideas mentioned above.

Describing your trip to an interesting was is more important than mentioning so many activities or things worth seeing for this cue card. To get a really good score, describe the trip in such a way that it creates interest to the listener to have a trip there too.

Part 3 – Two-way discussion:

Q. What are some famous tourist spots in your country?

Q. What are the positive impacts of tourism in your country?

Q. What are the negative impacts of tourism in your country?

Q. What do you think are the reasons people visit new places?

Q. What can you tell about the future of the tourism industry in your country?

• IELTS Cue Card
• IELTS Speaking
• Candidate Task Card

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