Describe a Time You Were Sleepy But had to Stay Awake Cue Card

Oct 22, 2022

Describe a Time You Were Sleepy But had to Stay Awake Cue Card is an IELTS Speaking Part 2 topic. There are three model answers given below. The model answers are framed based on four key points -When it was, Why you had to stay awake, How you kept yourself awake, And explain how you felt about it.

What is a Cue Card: IELTS Speaking Part 2 includes cue cards containing topics on which candidates are to speak. Candidates get 2-3 minutes to speak and 1 minute for note-taking. In IELTS Speaking part 2, candidates' proficiency in grammar and vocabulary is assessed along with their confidence to speak in English.

Check: Get 10 Free IELTS Sample Papers
Check: Register for IELTS Coaching - Join for Free Trial Class Now

Topic: Describe a Time you were Sleepy but had to Stay Awake.

You should say:

When it was?
Why you had to stay awake?
How you kept yourself awake?
And explain how you felt about it?

Model Answer 1

When it was?

Cousins! That word is quite enough to describe the reason why I had to stay awake! As kids it was easy to say goodbyes as we did not know that we would stay away from each other for long, but as elders we knew very well that all the time that we made for each other is to be spent for and with each other completely. Sleep did not make into our schedule as usual. It was one of our national holidays and luckily it fell on Friday, just before the weekend. As a group of 12 cousins most of us had holidays on weekends. We all were so excited that we packed up our clothes and other necessities on Thursday evening after completing our work schedules and went for a long drive to meet each other at our native place. We drove all night and reached our native place by 3 on Friday morning.

Why you had to stay awake?

After reaching, it took time for all 12 of us to gather so just few of us were fortunate for a 2 hour nap, after which we started getting ready to leave for a nearby amusement park. Our day in the park started at 9 and ended at 6 in the evening. Completely exhausted, we returned to our home in native place. The chit chats, games, exchanging gifts, and cooking food for each other kept me completely busy. After finishing our dinner by 11 at night we all decided that we would watch a horror movie. The cowards in our group had to be convinced and that took another hour of fun.

How you kept yourself awake?

The movie began, some of us were making plans to increase the fright but I did not know who it was. That fear kept me awake. Due to exhaustion, I felt the urge to just drop my head on the cozy mattress as we were already watching the movie in bed. At 1:30 AM, we all were hungry, and making Noodles was the best solution. So I went into the kitchen to make Noodles for the rest of us, not knowing that some of my brothers had already set a ghostly trap inside. I screamed and that wavered my sleep. Another movie continued along with Noodles. I was continuously devising and executing a plan secretly for a revenge on them and that kept me awake till the end of the movie that is till 5 in the morning.

The revenge was successful when they saw a white ghostly figure in each of their bathrooms the next morning which I had made out of the extra bed sheets! Our Saturday went in taking rest and our Sunday went shopping and traveling back home.

Model Answer 2

When it was?

The deadline was already extended from Saturday to Sunday for my semester project. I hated math and I had no interest in completing it. My whole family was planning to go to the mall on Sunday and I didn’t want to miss it. It was a project with a minimum of 8 pages with proper pictures, theorems, sums with different complexities with a minimum of 2000 words. All of my friends were also feeling lazy to complete it as it was the last project just before our summer vacation. After having back to back project submissions of other subjects, I wanted an urgent break and my family’s plan was the need of it.

Why you had to stay awake?

To join my family, my both cousins also joined in. They thought they would spend the Saturday with us as they usually did before. I loved their company as they were also of my age. Though they didn’t want to interrupt my project, I wanted to spend time with them. I assured them that I will complete my project before the deadline. All of my time went into playing with them. By evening, my mom told me to complete my project as we had plans to go to the mall on Sunday.

And explain how you felt about it?

I took her suggestions lightly. I started my work after dinner and that’s when I felt as if a whole dam had broken suddenly. I hadn’t started my work. My submission was supposed to be done online and I had to still search for relatable pictures and proper theorem format.

How you kept yourself awake?

I asked my friends but most of them were asleep as they decided to complete the project the next day. I was left alone to do the project. I decided I had to stay awake all night to complete my project. I started my project by writing its skeleton – name, std, division, roll no, theorems, sums, etc. The day’s exhaustion had taken over me and I was not able to properly fill in the skeleton. I constantly kept washing my face to avoid sleep. My mom made coffee and she helped me with my project throughout the night. In return I received a whole bag of scolding which made me feel guilty. That made me search more about the topic and I was thus able to complete it quickly. It was already 3 AM but I learnt never to procrastinate especially in subjects that you don’t like till the last moment.

Model Answer 3

When it was?

It was my first time traveling to a city 6 hours far from my home through express trains at night. I was traveling to give my first defense interview. My mom was very proud that I was able to crack the defense exam, but my allocation for the interview center came very far from my hometown. My reporting time was 6 AM at the station. I did not have any relatives living nearby the station.

Why you had to stay awake?

My parents helped me board the train safely. It was a 5 day long interview thus I had to make a long list of things to be taken along in the journey. It almost required planning for a whole week which left me anxious. Even though I planned and executed things correctly there was always a nervousness in my mind that I might miss something and might forget something at the last moment. I was already messing up my prepared answers for common questions out of this anxiousness in my mind. The train started moving by 10 PM. I had my dinner at the station, and I had a fear that I might sleep in the train due to it.

How you kept yourself awake?

Even though I had a chance to rest at least for an hour, I did not take it as I was anxious and nervous about the journey, place, people, train being late, and about me reporting before time. Although many things were not in my control, I thought to stay calm and not think much. I had two big bags and I had to stay awake to take care of them as I did not trust the people around me, my anxiousness just added on the tension. The train cutting through the wind felt like a lullaby to my ears, but I was determined to stay awake, so I kept washing my face. I managed to have 2 cups of coffee from the vendor that visits every compartment.

And explain how you felt about it?

I almost had swollen eyes when I reached my destination. The train was half an hour late but I had planned to keep a buffer time of one hour, so it was easily manageable.

Check- IELTS Speaking Samples