Describe A Time You Saw Something Interesting On Social Media - IELTS Cue Card

Introduction to IELTS Cue Cards 

The IELTS speaking section assesses your English language understanding and communication skills. It is divided into three parts, and IELTS Speaking Part 2 is the core part, which consists of the IELTS Cue Card or Candidate Task Card. You get a specific topic such as a place, a person, an event, an opinion or an experience. The IELTS cue cards have a prompt or a question in bullet points to guide your 1-2-minute monologue after 1 minute of preparation. Additionally, it tests your fluency, pronunciation, ability to organize ideas, vocabulary and grammar through a familiar subject. To get a quick overview, here is the information in a crisp way.

• What It Is

A card with a main topic and prompt (bullet points) for you to speak about.

Used in speaking part 2, known as “the long turn.”

• What You Do

Prepare: one minute to plan and make notes on paper

Speak: talk continuously for 1 to 2 minutes on the topic

• What It Tests

Fluency and Coherence: speaking logically and smoothly 

Vocabulary: using a range of words 

Grammar: using correct structures

Organization: structuring your thoughts clearly 

• After The Cue Card

The examiner will ask a few follow-up questions (IELTS speaking part 3) related to your talk.

This is how you have to solve Describe a Time You Saw Something Interesting On Social Media. But I want to know the right approach to structure and answer this topic, then check out the next section for this.

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How to Answer the Cue Card?

Sometimes learners face challenges in the IELTS speaking section, part 2, which is answering the cue card, mainly in structuring. For that, the easiest way is to organize the response according to the bullet points and answer each question by marking the key points. Here are the steps divided into two parts to answer the Describe a Time You Saw Something Interesting On Social Media - IELTS Cue Card.

Preparation (1 Minute)

• Analyze the card: quickly read the topic and all bullet points to understand the topic.
• Disguise the topic: find out if the topic is related to any person, place, event, experience, opinion, or talking about anything else. According to that, brainstorm the idea.
• Note keywords: write down the keywords or short phrases for each bullet point, don’t write long or full sentences, to guide you.
• Outline structure: plan a brief intro containing a general statement, main body addressing points with examples, and a conclusion giving a summary of what you feel.

Speaking (1-2 minutes)

• Begin Robustly: start with a compelling opening sentence or give a brief background. 
• Develop Points: Walk through your notes, expanding each keyword with details, supporting ideas, and personal opinions or examples to make the answer.
• Use Linking Words: use phrases, idioms, or linking words to connect ideas smoothly with words like “however”, “also”, “additionally”, etc.
• Tell a Story: Structure your talk like a story for a better flow.
• Be Expressive: speak naturally, not like a robot, take a pause and don’t use any fillers.
• Manage Time: aim to speak for the full two minutes; if you finish early, add another example or details. 

These steps can help to answer Describe a Time You Saw Something Interesting On Social Media - IELTS Cue Card. For a clue, this speaking part 2 task can consist of these questions.

• When was it?
• What did you see?
• Where did you see it?
• How you felt about it
• Explain why you think it was interesting.

Have a look at this image to get a better understanding of how this question will look in the cue card. 

Describe A Time You Saw Something Interesting On Social Media - Sample 1

This is the first sample of the Describe a Time You Saw Something Interesting On Social Media. It will give you an idea of structuring the response and answering each question effectively.

Introduction

Social media platforms keep revolving where individuals from a variety of walks of life and all corners of the world demonstrate their unique viewpoints, interests and opinions to the ever-evolving conversation. Sometimes a video can change the perspective towards living life simply.

When Was It?

Recently came across an enthralling video about a solo woman traveller cycling through Southeast Asia.

What Did You see?

In the video, I saw a woman travelling solo, covering different parts of Southeast Asia. Exploring new places, landscapes and evolving with local people to discover the places.

Where Did You See It?

I was scrolling through Instagram to get some ideas for my trip, and I found this one reel. On her page, she has shared her journey through reels by dividing it into various parts. The videos are authentic, as they were raw and real. Also, she has shared every pro and con of travelling in various places. Overall, she is a globetrotter.

How You Felt About It

It was incredibly rousing as it made me realize travel isn’t just about ticking off places on the bucket list but about experiencing cultures and simple human jiffies. Moreover, it made me feel more adventurous and less focused on luxury. I got so inspired that I began searching for local routes for a weekend trip. It was meaningful content that goes beyond your thinking and mere entertainment.

Explain Why You Think It Was Interesting.

Majorly, what caught my eye was the authenticity. The vlogger is a young woman; she not only shared picturesque landscapes but also her unpretentious interactions with local people. Also, she shared many things related to interactions with locals, their daily struggles, joys, ups and downs. The reels she has shared weren’t about big landmarks; they were about human connections and discovering beauty in everyday life.

Conclusion

She changed the perspective of travelling for me, exploring new places is not all about mountains, beaches, and clicking Instagram-worthy pictures, but knowing about the local cultures, families, their daily struggles, and the slant of enjoying life.

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Describe A Time You Saw Something Interesting On Social Media - Sample 2

Here is the second sample of Describe a Time You Saw Something Interesting On Social Media –IELTS cue card. In this, you will explore strategies to give descriptive answers by using good vocabulary and grammar.

Introduction

In today’s technology era, everyone is obsessed with using social media platforms; some use it for their brand promotion, some are influencers, and people like me simply scroll. But randomly, I saw a video that startled me.

When Was It?

A few months back, while I was watching videos, I found an interesting podcast clip of 

Raj Shamani. It was figuring out with Raj Shamani. It was with Bill Gates named “Next Billion-Dollar Opportunity In India”.

What Did You See?

Raj Shamani and Bill Gates' podcast was India’s #1 podcast, known for relatable and practical conversations on business growth and upcoming opportunities in India that should not be missed.

Where Did You See it?

I saw this podcast on YouTube while arbitrarily scrolling and looking to watch something while having dinner.

How You Felt About It

Since he has opened this YouTube channel, following him, and this is one of the best podcasts I have listened to and encountered. He is the first YouTuber to host Bill Gates on a podcast. 

Explain Why You Think It Was Interesting.

In this podcast, they have shared rare insights into the Gates’ life, discussing his rapt focus on 20s building Microsoft, AI’s future impact, India’s tech growth, philanthropy and sharing his core principles that help to shape his philosophy. This creates high interest in blending personal reflection, forward-looking tech insights, and business wisdom specifically for the learners and entrepreneurs. This motivated me to step into an AI-based course that can help me to escalate my career.

Conclusion

Overall, this one video on YouTube, which is a famous social media platform, made my day. This video has become one of the videos that I can watch on repeat without getting bored. Raj Shamani makes an interesting podcast with some celebrities.

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Describe A Time You Saw Something Interesting On Social Media - Sample 3

This is the third and last sample of the Describe a Time You Saw Something Interesting On Social Media-IELTS cue card. Use this sample to answer this cue card if you desire to score an 8+ band score.

Introduction

It is said truly that too much use of social media can lead to getting obsessed with the virtual world and forgetting about the real world. On the contrary, making correct use of technology can let us connect with many new and alluring individuals, while also learning useful and new things.

When was it?

One day, I was scrolling through social media and saw a video on acrylic painting. An artist is painting and letting the audience know how they can do as well in their free time. 

What did you see?

It is a channel named “Colour World” run by a famous artist in Mumbai named Ajay. He makes eye-catching and jaw-dropping acrylic paintings. Many paintings look like a real picture taken with a camera, and this skill intrigued me a lot.

Where did you see it?

I saw this on Facebook, and this was sent by one of my friends, as he knows I like painting.

How did you feel about it?

The paintings made by Ajay use vivid and bright colours to highlight things, but when he does shading, it gives a black-and-white or monochromatic image vibe. Moreover, some of his paintings are so tranquil, mysterious and complementary. 

Explain why you think it was interesting.

Since childhood, I have had a keen interest in painting, and often in my free time used to paint, but after joining the corporate world, I forwent making paintings. However, a few months back, I took a break from this and chose to refine my skills in crafts and paintings. This video was sent by my sister. As soon as I clicked the link, there were numerous acrylic painting techniques, tips and tricks for intermediate-level artists. The artist used simple-to-learn and forthright methods to teach this painting style. Therefore, after watching his paintings, I again return to the drawing board to begin painting from scratch.

Conclusion

In a nutshell, from infants to elderly people, all love to paint, and some build a career in this. For me, painting is a concord and gives me tranquillity, and learning techniques from this page assists me in polishing my skills.

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Lexical Resources

Using vocabulary for IELTS cue card can help you to score high, as it directly impacts the lexical resources scores (25% of your total score). It allows you to express complex ideas, avoid repetition and maintain fluency. In the above samples, we have used many vocabulary words. Here is a table of vocabulary words and their meanings. Make sure to make a word bank to use in any IELTS speaking section parts.

Follow-Up Questions

After answering the Describe a Time You Saw Something Interesting On Social Media - IELTS Cue Card, the examiner will ask follow-up questions based on your answers. This is the third part of the IELTS speaking section. Below are some of the questions an examiner can ask on this IELTS cue card topic.

1. Why is social media important?

Answer: According to me, social media has become very important in this technological realm. First of all, it helps to interact with people all over the world. Helpful to generate information and spread knowledge or data related to interest areas. Moreover, the recommendation, promotions, business strategies, consume information, and more things you can find on social media as it has the power to influence the audience. 

2. What kinds of things are popular on social media?

Answer: Nowadays, popular social media content revolves around short-form videos such as reels and YouTube shorts. Also, behind the scenes, interactive content such as polls and Q&As, tutorials/ how-tos, user-generated content, and trend-jacking. On social media, people share their photos, videos, and reviews, share recent news, and information. Also, nowadays companies are using social media to set up their brand identity and promote their goods.

3. What other creative content have you discovered on social media?

Answer: On social media, I have seen many creative content, such as DIY projects, cooking, makeup, and other tutorials, adventurous reels, and more. Social media is a huge platform where people share their day-to-day life routine that goes beyond typical posts. It is fascinating to see how people express their creativity in different ways, and it inspires me to try new things.

4. What do you think about making friends on social networking sites?

Answer: It has some pros and cons. The advantage is that you connect to new people, learn about them, and it's best to connect with friends and others whom we know. A disadvantage is that it sometimes becomes unsafe to create new connections, as they may be fraudulent. So, I believe we must communicate or get connected with known ones.

5. How do you feel about the portrayal of Gen Z in the media?

Answer: Social media often portrays Gen Z as entitled and lazy, but in the recent event in Nepal, I observed that Gen Z is active and can change the perspective. Some are very attentive and focused on achieving the goals. Some Gen Z are more into fashion and following trends.

Tips to Excel in IELTS Cue Card

Here are some tips you can use to become proficient in solving IELTS speaking part 2 and answer like a master. Have a look at this.

1. Master your 1-minute preparation.

2. Don’t give short answers; use your notes to build a cohesive speech. You can use examples, explanations, and opinions to show your language skills in depth.

3. Be descriptive and detailed by using vivid language and specific examples to support your points.

4. It’s better not to memorize the answer as it will give robotic speaking, so speak naturally without making any pronunciation mistakes.

5. Incorporate a mix of complex and simple sentences, synonyms, and linking words to connect ideas smoothly.

6. Describe your answer clearly and maintain a steady pace with natural intonation, instead of pausing or rushing excessively.

7. Maintain good eye contact with the examiner, have a positive posture, and use subtle gestures to appear confident.

Conclusion

In a nutshell, solving IELTS Cue Cards topics like Describe a Time You Saw Something Interesting On Social Media. Answering this speaking part two task can be challenging for some students, and making minor mistakes can lead to scoring low. Also, in the actual exam, be careful, as out of the blue, you can get any topic that you might not be familiar with. Additionally, you can use the IELTS band score calculator to check your speaking score to improve your fluency, grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation. If you need personalized guidance from experts, then you can enroll in offline or online IELTS Classes at Gradding.com. They will help you score an 8+ band score.