Describe a Difficult Thing You Did Cue Card

Dec 6, 2022

Describe a Difficult Thing You Did Cue Card is the topic for IELTS Speaking. The three model answers on the topic have been given below. The four main points–what was it, how it was completed, how difficult it was, and how you felt about doing it. .
This IELTS test is 10-15 minutes long, and the candidate is evaluated on their speaking skills, vocabulary, and grammar. The test comprises a one-on-one interview of the candidate with an IELTS examiner. This IELTS speaking test asks the candidate to describe an article on health you read in a magazine or the internet. Candidates can further enhance their speaking skills by going through IELTS practice papers available on the website.

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Topic: Describe a difficult thing you did.

You should say;

What was it?
How did you complete it?
Why was it difficult?
And how did you feel about doing it?

Model Answer 1

What was it?

The hardest thing I've ever done was lead a team of newspaper of the week for a project in college. As the project's leader, it was my duty to promote efficient teamwork, assist the group in selecting a topic, and assign roles to each participant. My responsibility was to explain the positions and responsibilities. For the first time, I assumed the position of team leader, and I was given responsibilities that I had to carry out in order to complete the task. I was assigned to collect all the information regarding upcoming events in the college. And material for the entertainment section including poems and cartoons created by the students of our college.

How did you complete it?

I made sure to go over the project's strategy with everyone. Including the topic, the areas that needed to be addressed, the research that needed to be done, and the presentation that needed to be produced. I was able to finish the project because of good communication, teamwork, and an awareness of their strengths and shortcomings as well as mine.

Why was it difficult?

After my first attempt, where the project failed, I was quite anxious, making it impossible for me to manage the team. I was a poor leader and more forthright with my team. Some of them believed I was rather nasty to them, while many believed I lacked the ability to lead. My self-esteem was damaged, and I wanted to get well. Only by gaining real-world experience could I do this. Making active decisions and allocating roles and resources, however, was challenging. I made every effort to maintain open lines of communication with my team members. And to prevent them from experiencing any humiliation or unease while working with me.

How did you feel about it?

My team was pleased that I had improved after finishing the project effectively and receiving higher ratings from the college students. Everyone praised the information and effective writing of the newspaper. Also, the entertainment section was widely liked by everyone. My own performance had really inspired me. I felt the need to build on the constructive criticism going forward and to improve my team-leading abilities for better results, I felt quite happy.

Model Answer 2

What was it?

Leaving my hometown and moving to a new place to pursue my studies was one of the hardest things I had to do. For my graduation studies, I relocated to a different city. The inhabitants and the city were both unknown. Along with numerous other female college students I met who had travelled from far away, I stayed in the college's dormitory.

How did you complete it?

I completed my graduation in three years. With all the fear and difficulties of traveling to different places, buying books from streets I did not know and being afraid of the professors in the college who were quite strict I passed with flying colors. With the support of the teachers and my friends that I had in college I was able to complete my higher studies efficiently. I studied quite hard to focus on my studies, to achieve higher results as well as to gain experiences of my own.

Why was it difficult?

I have lived with my family for 18 years of my life and I have never lived alone on my own. I have always been quite dependent on my mother. However, I knew I had to live alone while I went out of my hometown to study, so it was very difficult for me to leave my mother. I felt extremely homesick in the first couple of months. I even wanted to go back home but my mother always kept me motivated through her phone calls. Initially, I also was not able to make good friends and felt alone most of the time.

And how did you feel about doing it?

With time it was possible for me to overcome my homesickness. I understood the importance of my studies and made new friends who I still have connections with. I feel quite happy that I overcame my fears of living alone. I was able to console myself in terms of being able to get over my introverted nature and make friends. I was also able to communicate well with my teachers who appreciated me for my efforts.

Model Answer 3

What was it?

I had had to take part in a challenging task, and having to do it left me feeling really unsettled and depressed. When he was just two months old, I adopted a dog from my aunt, and I have loved him ever since for the subsequent three years. It was a labrador breed, and it genuinely seemed like a member of our family. He shared our meals and slept with me every night. My mother and I would take him out for a stroll and some playtime every evening. However, it was challenging for us to bring my father with us when he received a transfer to a different location. He was adopted by another family, so we had to give him away.

How did you complete it?

I spent around three months trying to find the perfect family who would be able to take care of my dog with utmost love and care and treat him like their own family, just like we did. I was extremely skeptical of different people who wanted to adopt him just because one did not have to pay money to buy him. However, I made an advertisement on my Instagram page and got one of my known friends who wanted to adopt a dog. Providing him with all the details of my dog from medical to food, the adoption was complete.

Why was it difficult?

It was difficult for me to give my dog away to someone else. Although the person is my friend, the dog has been my friend for a number of years and I got to share with him every state of my mind. It would make me happy when I was sad, it used to play with me anytime and I could cuddle him whenever I wanted which made him quite happy. Leaving him and giving him away to someone else rather than keeping him with us was one of the most difficult things that I had to do. I was extremely attached to the dog and this made me really upset.

And how did you feel about doing it?

While it was difficult for me to give him away, it was inevitable to take him with me. I gave it to my friend and once a year whenever I come back to my hometown, I pay him a visit. I feel happy that he is extremely happy with the new family as they treat him like we did. I feel good that he is happy although it makes me sad and wish that I could take him with me.

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