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

Describe a room where you stayed for a long period of time.

You should say:

• what room it was
• what you did there
• why you spent so much time in there

and describe the memory you have regarding this room.

Model Answer 1:

I was lucky to have my own room since the time I started going to high school. After that, of course, I have swapped rooms with my siblings a number of times, but luckily, I still can remember the room in which I stayed a considerably long period of time.

It was one of the main bedrooms of my home – a large but old home –which had already been used by my 2 brothers and one sister before I occupied it. Not sure, what exactly encouraged me to move to this room, but I am assuming that it must have something to do with its perfect size.

Besides, I also must have moved to this room, because I wanted to maintain a safe distance from my parents, since I used to play rather loud music, and my parents just hated loud music. Anyway, I used to do all kinds of things in this room, from sleeping to playing video games with my friends as well as from learning to play the guitar to teaching karate to my school friends. I have used this room to even study night after night I was about to finish high school. This is the room where I learned to use a computer for the first time, thanks to my elder brother.

By the way, I spent about 6 years of my life in that room until moved out of my house to attend a university. However, if one asks me, why I stayed for so long in that room, I don’t think that I would have a definitive answer for that except I liked the quietness in it.

Anyway, I have some great memory of this room because this is where my elder brothers and younger sister would admonish me out of their genuine love for not studying hard (yes…I was an indiscipline student). Besides, in this room, I have spent a lot of time in planning for my future. Finally, this is the room where I learned how to become a grown-up man by forgetting all the childish behaviours.

Sample Answer 2:

I have stayed in my university hostel for about 5 years and this is the room I would like to talk about. This room was on the 3rd floor of the university hostel and my room number was 230. I shared this room with another roommate and I had a total of 3 roommates during the time I stayed there. This was a medium-size room with the usual furniture for 2 students provided by the university. The best thing about the room was that it was in the corner of the 3rd floor and as a result, it was quieter than other rooms. There were 2 big windows and I got fresh air in summer seasons. The university had its own water supply and electricity supply and because of that, we enjoyed uninterrupted water and electricity supply.

I lived there for a long time and because I was a student at that time, I mostly studied, slept and enjoyed my friend's company there. In the morning I left the room for classes and mostly came back in the evening. I studied till 12.00 and then slept. Sometimes I played indoor games, watched movies, listened to music and cooked in my room. I spent the time there because I was arranged by the university and was inside the university premises. I needed only 5-10 minutes to attend my class from my room and that was very convenient. Another reason I stayed there is the cheap rent which was significantly lower than the cost of living outside the university.

I have lots of memories regarding this room. I have spent a golden time there where I studies, gathered with friends, learned many new things and felt like home. I learned how to cook during my stay there and there are several times the things I cooked were not easy to eat as I had been a horrible cook. Later I developed my skill on cooking and I guess I would have never learned it unless I stayed there.

I often had friends whom I talked to and played with the whole night if we did not have classes the next day. There were some ghost stories regarding this room and my roommate once got freighted because he heard that someone was moaning outside though he found none outside. Since I do not believe in ghost stories, I have never encountered any situation like that.  I cherish the memory I have regarding this room as I have spent a long time there and enjoyed my stay.

Tips for answering this cue card topic:

You are expected to talk about a room in which you stayed for a long time. Talk about the room focusing on the supporting questions that accompany this cue card topic. Like describing the decoration and position of the room is not at all expected for this cue card. Rather you should focus on mentioning where the room was, how you spent your time in this room, what memories do you have regarding this room and why you liked to spend time in this room.

For this cue card, you can talk about the room you stayed at your childhood, university dormitory room, hostel room or your personal room at your home. For the first question mention in which house (university hostel, your grandparent’s house or your house) this particular room belongs to where you stayed for a long period. Then say about the things you did in this room. Some common activities like study, sleep, research, napping, writing can be mentioned for this question.  For the question ‘why you spent so much time in there’ state that this was your living room and the most favourite place and you felt relaxed being there. If it is your university hostel room, you should mention that it was the room where you were allowed to stay during your study.

The final question of this cue card demands you to mention some of the memorable things that happened to you or you did in this room. Some ideas for such memorable events are given below:

You wrote your first poem in this room.
You enjoyed the rain from this room.
You were hurt and spent sleepless nights in this room.
One of your very close foreigner friends stayed in this room with you.
Your parents often came to this room to discuss with you.
You drew the first picture in this room.
You had a treasure box that you hid in this room.
You grew up in this room and this room has witnessed the changes.

Your ability to answer this cue card topic would also allow you to talk about the following cue card topics:

1. Describe a room in your house.
2. Describe a memorable event.
3. Describe a friends room where you stayed.
4. Describe something you often do at your home.
5. Describe your study room.

• IELTS Cue Card
• IELTS Speaking
• Candidate Task Card

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