Details

Written by IELTS Mentor

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

Describe a thing that has become a fashion or a matter of status nowadays.

You should say:

• what it is
• why people want or use it
• whether you have it

and explain what influences it has on people nowadays.

Model Answer 1:
An American philosopher and psychologist named William James once wrote in his book called “The Principles of Psychology” that “A man's Self is the sum total of all that he can call his, not only his body and his psychic powers, but his clothes and his house”, and I just couldn’t agree with him anymore. And, probably that’s why we see that people around us today are desperately trying to possess things, whether they need them or not, only because those possessions would supposedly enhance their “status”.  Today, I would like to talk about one such thing that people like to have in their homes.

The name of this thing is called a “big screen TV”.  Some people like to call it a super big TV.  But, please don’t think that I also own one such big-screen TV.  In fact, I am very much against such materialistic nonsense.  Of course, many other people don’t exactly like to think like me, probably because they are more worried about their status than I am. It could be also because they probably earn more money than me!  

Anyway, earning more money or not, many people, at least in my society, like to have a super big TV, also, because it offers them an opportunity to enjoy many entertaining shows, like movies, sports, TV reality shows, travel shows and many other programmes, in a more relaxing and better manner because these super big TV’s have better picture quality and sound system.  After all, if you have a big screen TV, all the family members of a home would be able to see the TV from all corners of a room.  Besides, some people like to have big screen TV’s just to decorate their living rooms or sitting areas also.

Anyway, whatever are the reasons, for which, people want to have these big TV, they influence them to create some kind of artificial class separation among themselves, which creates some unwarranted jealousy or hatred in society.  Besides, this costly fashion of spending a fortune in buying big screen TV put unnecessary strain on the budgets and resources of families, which could be used to take care of other important things.
 

Sample Answer 2:
Nowadays mobile phones have become a matter of status and a fashion item that most of the people in my country use. Besides, this device has great importance in the way we communicate with others.

People use it for the convenience it offers, and they also consider it as a matter of pride and prestige. With technological advancement, the utility of this device has expanded. A cell phone is no longer a device to talk to others and send or receive SMS, rather it comes with high-resolution cameras, music and video playing capability, FM radio, internet modem, Wi-Fi, games, social networking applications, video calling features and so on. People have become very fond of this device and teenagers consider it a must-have gadget.

For official and business communications, cell phones are widely used and it is replacing the land phones rapidly. Day by day, the price of cell phones, talk time rates, internet browsing rates are falling down, and as a consequence, people with lower earning capabilities are also extensively using cell phones.

I stay far away from my hometown where my family members live. To communicate with them, I find my cell phone very handy. I also use it to contact my friends, classmates and teachers. Besides, I listen to music and use the internet using my cell phone. I update my blog; maintain social networking via my cell phone. I have become heavily dependent on the cell phone I own and to some extent, it is a fashion item to me as I could have easily purchased a low-budget phone instead of the expensive smartphone I have. For my communication, entertainment and educational reasons, I keep it with me almost 24 hours a day and thus, this cell phone has become an essential device that I like to use which I also consider a status symbol.

Similar Cue Card Topics

Your ability to talk about this Cue Card would enable you to talk about the following Cue Cards as well:

1. Describe a fashion item you like.
2. Describe an item that has become a part of fashion nowadays.
3. Describe a fashionable dress you have.
4. Describe something you value as your status.
5. Describe a valuable possession you have.
6. Describe a recent trend or change you have noticed.

• IELTS Cue Card
• IELTS Speaking
• Candidate Task Card

• Prev
• Next