How to Prepare Cue Card for IELTS

Nov 10, 2022

IELTS Cue cards are an important part of the speaking test module. IELTS Cue Card is the second part of the speaking section. IELTS Cue cards test the overall smartness of the candidates as it requires a number of skills including listening, IELTS speaking, thinking, making up a story, etc.

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IELTS Cue Card Overview

At the time of the test, each candidate will be provided with a cue card having a statement or an incident, real or hypothetical, written on it, on the basis of which 3 to 4 questions are asked. Moreover, after choosing the cue card the candidate will not be allowed to switch to the other card. Hence, candidates should prepare enough to answer questions on any incident or worldly affairs. The candidates will be given some time to prepare their thoughts on the topic and then speak for about 2 minutes or until the examiner asks them to stop.

In this way, the confidence, as well as the thinking and speaking abilities of the individuals, are checked. There are various IELTS cue card topics, regular practice can help to ace this section.

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Additional Points to Say in Cue Card

Things to do in order to stand out from other individuals:

Underline the keywords and major points
Come up with an innovative story
Try to add some suspense to the story
Make the story interesting and add some humor
Draw inspiration from real-life incidents or movies
Maintain a good posture while speaking
Each word must be clearly audible
Think before you speak
Be confident
Add a personal touch
Be precise/up to the point
Do not get carried away.

Prepare before the exam

The above points are needed to be followed while appearing for the test. However, candidates should be prepared beforehand in order to safeguard good numbers.
Keep the following points in mind while preparing for IELTS cue cards:-

Practice mock cue card questions
Speak in front of a mirror on a topic for about 2 to 3 minutes and repeat
Record yourself while talking
Listen to the recording and assess yourself
Try different speaking techniques and voice modulation
Improve your vocabulary
Also, add some idioms, proverbs, and phrasal verbs
Do not hesitate while speaking
Pronounce words correctly

If one adheres to the above-mentioned points, he/she will have a good presentation and can score nice marks.

What not to do?

There are certain things a candidate needs to take care of while speaking.

Do not sound or appear underconfident
Do not speak in a feeble voice
Do not forget to add facts
Do not waste time in writing complete sentences. Write phrases or keywords only.
If in a confusion, feel free to ask the examiner to repeat again
Do not give an improper answer
Do not get distracted
Never provide incorrect information
Never take a pause. Once you have started, try to stop only after you finish.
Avoid giving single word answers
Make use of words such as in my opinion, in accordance with, I am not sure, but…., etc.
Do not interrupt the examiner
Never run from a question

Try to avoid these things in the IELTS cue card examination. There are several other things that you can do while preparing such as -

Watch tutorials or mock cue card questions on YouTube
Do proper research on the internet
Be well aware of current affairs
Increase general knowledge by watching the news

At the end of the day, despite all these IELTS preparations, it is the confidence, body language, and presence of mind of the candidates that help them perform well in the examination and leave a mark.

*The article might have information for the previous academic years, please refer the official website of the exam.