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

Describe something special that you saved money to buy.

You should say:

• what it was
• why you bought it
• how long you saved money to buy it

and explain why it was important for you to buy it.

Model Answer 1:
I am one of those people who just can’t seem to understand the virtue of saving money, probably because we get more fun in spending them rather than saving them. Besides, I guess that it is my natural instinct to spend as much as I can.  However, it may sound a bit odd, but even I saved up some money against my natural instinct because I wanted to buy something special.

The money, I saved, was to buy a pure leather jacket. Of course, one may ask as to why I was really so broke financially that I actually needed to save up some money to buy some kind of jacket? I mean, was I really not earning enough to even pay about a couple of hundred dollars to buy a leather jacket?! Well, the answer is, yes, I was earning enough, probably more than enough, to pay for a jacket without using any saved up money, but I still needed to save up the money because I had spent a lot of money on buying an expensive motorbike only a few weeks earlier.

So, I was essentially “broke” when I wanted to buy a leather jacket that was made of pure and expensive leather. By the way, I wanted to buy a leather jacket because I was essentially getting tired of wearing a winter coat, made of fabrics, which needed regular cleaning. Besides, a winter coat, which is made of fabrics, gets easily worn out, and as such, I needed something more versatile and all-purpose coat. Anyway, it didn’t take me long to save enough money to buy my favourite jacket because I managed to buy it only after a month or so after buying my motorbike.   

Well, it was important for me to buy that jacket because it was really becoming cold during the winter where I lived in my country. Besides, I also needed to buy it because I would be able to use it for any occasion or in any place during the wintertime without worrying that my winter court would become worn out and old quickly.

Sample Answer 2:
To purchase a digital camera for my younger sister I had to save money for about 6 months. It was a Canon SLR camera that I knew she had a great desire to purchase. Since she is still in her college, it was really difficult for her to buy such a camera.

After I managed a part-time job, I planned to buy it for her. I wanted her to be happy with the camera and that’s the primary reasons I wanted to purchase it. I knew she has a talent for photography and that’s why I wanted her to have a good camera so that she gets inspired. After I went to some branded camera shops, I found that the camera would cost me a bit more than I would be able to effort. As I had just a part-time job at that time, it was not easy for me to instantly purchase the camera for my sister. Then I planned to save money for a few months and then purchase it. I had to save money for 6-7 months and then I had been able to actually buy it.

Giving a present to someone we care about is more exciting and satisfying than purchasing things for ourselves. I knew how happy my little sister would be if I could manage to buy her a good camera.  I also wanted her to continue the hobby of photography which was quite tough without a quality camera. For these reasons, it was very important for me to purchase a camera for my sister.

Similar Cue Card Topics

Your ability to talk about this Cue Card Topic would also enable you to talk about the following Cue Card Topics:

1. Describe something valuable you bought recently.
2. Describe an important possession you have.
3. Describe a luxury item you have.
4. Describe a gift you gave to someone.

• IELTS Cue Card
• IELTS Speaking
• Candidate Task Card

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