Describe a time when you helped a friend

Describe a time when you helped a friend

Describe a time when you helped a friend

IELTS CUE CARD TOPIC

Describe a time when you helped a friend

When it was?

How you helped him/her?

Why you helped him/her?

How did you feel about it?

NOTE – The examiner gives you one minute to plan your answerand to help you prepare for the topic, the examiner provides you with a pencil and a notepad. You’ll have to answer the questions given on the topic for one-to-two minutes

Sample Answer 1

Introduction

  • True friendship fills your life with joy.
  • It thrives primarily on love and support provided by friends to each other.
  • Although I have provided support to my friends many times, one instance is worth sharing.

When it was?

  • Last month due to the corona pandemic, my city was in a state of lockdown.
  • During that time, my friend Andrew needed my help as he was unwell.
  • Although the administration banned stepping out of homes, I managed to help my friend.

How you helped him/her?

  •  Andrew is my bosom friend and my next-door neighbour too.
  • He had called me and told me that he is having severe pain in his throat coupled with a high fever.
  • Immediately I had gone to his home and picked him to take him to the nearby hospital.
  • Since his symptoms were of Corona disease, I wore a PPE Kit to protect myself.
  • When we had stepped out of our society in the car, the local police stopped us.
  • Despite repeated requests, the concerned policeman was not allowing us to go further.
  •  My friend’s health condition was deteriorating.
  •  I immediately send a message to the Commissioner of police on his Twitter handle.
  • I explained the whole scenario in the message.
  • After 10 minutes, I received a permission letter on my phone.
  • We reached the hospital. The doctor gave him treatment.
  • Upon reaching home, we both quarantined ourselves.
  • After 2-3 days, Andrew recovered.
  • Moreover, the report of the corona test for both of us turned out to be negative.
  • We both had a sigh of relief.

Why you helped him/her?

  • I helped him because I believe helping each other in tough times is our bounden duty.

How did you feel about it?

  • When Andrew had recovered, I felt like I did a great job by taking the risk of going out during lockdown to help my friend.

Sample Answer 2

Introduction:

  • Being an altruist person, I have this habit of helping others
  • Due to this habit, I regularly help others

When it was?

  • Recently I got an opportunity to help one of my friends
  • One of my friends named Stephen was finding it quite difficult to crack the maths examination of 12th standard
  • He made three attempts but failed every time
  • Since I was good at mathematics, I decided to provide him support

Why you helped him/her?

  • Being his bosom friend, for me helping him was my bounden duty.

How you helped him/her?

  • I started devoting two hours every day with him.
  • While teaching him, I realized that he was hardworking.
  • He used to put his 100 % in studies by learning with determination, dedication and discipline.
  • But his efforts were not converting to fruitful results.
  • After a week, I realized that his mathematics basics were unclear.
  • For one week, I taught his mathematics from scratch.
  • He had burnt midnight oil during this one week and gave his best.
  • The process of learning the basics of mathematic as a teenager is a bit boring, but I made it interesting for him.
  • After that, his performance started improving, and he started getting good score in the mock tests.
  • He did three months of rigorous practice under my guidance.
  • Although he was nervous while taking the exam, he passed it with flying colours.

And how you felt about it?

  • I had a sigh of relief
  • Since I was teaching someone for the first time, I was not that confident.
  • However, when the result was in our favour, we both were jubilant.

Sample Answer 3

Introduction

Being an altruist person, I have this habit of helping others. And when it is about helping my friends, I leave no stone unturned. Recently I got an opportunity to help my friend.

When it was?

At the beginning of 2021, my friend Tina called me. She told me that she was in a state of depression for few months. The reason was her burgeoning weight. She wanted me to help her in her weight loss journey.

How you helped him/her?

Like Tina, I was also an obese person a few years back. However, by working hard on my fitness, I managed to lose weight.

To put Tina on the right trajectory, I taught her the science of weight loss from scratch.

She believed that for effective weight loss rigorous exercise is a must. My primary task was to change her belief.

When I told her that she needs to focus more on her diet than exercise to reduce weight, her reaction was shocking.

However, on my persistence, she started following my diet plan.

She started taking all meals between 7 am and 7 pm, coupled with a daily walk for one hour.

Moreover, she refrained from consuming sugar and wheat flour.

After following the path shown by me, she lost 20 kgs weight in six months.

Why you helped him/her?

I helped Tina because, during my tough times, she always provides me with unabated support.

How did you feel about it?

I was in a state of euphoria because my knowledge and experience brought a paradigm shift in my bosom friend’s life.

Sample Answer 4

Introduction

Friends are an integral part of our life. Whether we are going through a purple patch or a lean patch in our lives, we like to discuss it with our friends. Being an altruist person, I regularly help others.

Recently I helped one of my friends to come out of depression.

When it was?

Last year my friend Andrew lost money in business. Due to failure, he had lost faith in his ability and started blaming himself.

When I came to know about this, I provided unabated support to Andrew.

How you helped him/her?

Andrew is my bosom friend since childhood. He used to be the topper of the class, and he has this uncanny knack for going beyond the conventional domain to gain success in life.

Due to this habit, he experimented a lot in his business and failed miserably.

I helped him by restarting his office. For one month, I worked with him in this business venture and made him know his mistake.

While working with me, he realized that he could have done his work with determination, dedication, and discipline rather than experimenting a lot.

That one month led to a paradigm shift in his thinking, and now his business is back on track, and he is in a state of euphoria.

Why you helped him/her?

I helped him because, during my tough times, he always helps me.

How did you feel about it?

I felt good because, with my efforts, I had led my friend’s career towards an impressive growth trajectory.

Sample Answer 5

Introduction:

Since my childhood, my parents have always taught me to go beyond the conventional domain to help others. Due to their teachings, I always try to help others whenever someone is in need.

When it was?

Last year my friend told me to take care of his home in his absence.

Why you helped him/her?

During that time, a lot of burglaries were happening in our area. My friend had to attend an urgent interview for a plum job with a multinational company. Since no one was there to take care of his home in his absence, I decided to help him.

How you helped him/her?

Due to the corona pandemic, I was working from home those days. For one week, I shifted to my friend’s house in his absence.

My primary duty was to save the house from burglary. To do so I used to lock all the doors and windows before going to the bad.

Apart from this, I took extreme care of his garden. He had numerous vegetables, fruits and flowers planted in his garden area. I would water the plants every day to keep them in a good shape.

While staying there, I found that his rear lawn was in a bad condition. Every evening I would clean it and plant something for its revival. With my efforts, I managed to bring it back to its original shape.

And how you felt about it?

I felt good after fulfilling my promise. Because I was able to hand over my friend’s house to him in mint condition.

Moreover, I gained extreme pleasure by helping him.

Follow up Questions

Here are some examples of follow up questions that the examiner might ask during your speaking part 3 related to the cue card “Describe a time when you helped a friend”.

1. How do people usually help each other?

People usually help each other by providing support to each other during happy as well as tough times. The support could be either monetary or non-monetary. Like providing money, goods or services to your near and dear ones in case of a requirement.

2. How is online help different from real-life help?

In this era of digitalisation, there is not much of a difference between online and real-life help. Because in case you want to offer your services personally by going to the person’s place then real-life help is the only option. Otherwise, the benefits served from both options are more or less the same.

3. Should school be responsible for teaching students how to cooperate?

I think the onus of teaching the students how to cooperate should be on the schools, parents and society. Because students spend around eight hours in the school, the rest of the time they spend with their family or in the company of their near and dear ones.

4. What are the differences between help from friends and help from family?

The help from family is more prompt and regular because our family is emotionally attached to us. Whereas, help from friends is also available in case of a need, but that is not as speedy as help from the family.

5. Do you like helping others?

Being an altruist, and philanthropic person, I find extreme satisfaction in helping others. Therefore whenever someone known to me is in need, I always try to help that person.

6. Should parents teach helping others to their children?

Yes, because the habit of helping others is important to lead a happy and fruitful life. Moreover, learning this habit in childhood from parents help the kids to inculcate this practice in their routine. Hence, when they grow up in life, they turn out to be responsible citizens.

7. Do you think nowadays people do more good work as compared to the past?

Most people of this era are doing more good work as compared to the past. Because they are getting unabated support from the technology. People sitting in one corner of the world can provide support to a person staying in a remote area through the internet. Such kind of facilities was not available two years back.

8. Will you help others in the future?

Being an altruistic person, I have this habit of helping others. In future also, I will be helping others.

9. How do you encourage children to help others?

Children follow the examples set by their parents and teachers. Therefore to motivate the children to help others, parents and teachers must join hands and help the underprivileged people. Upon seeing them helping others, Children too would develop this habit.

10. How do world social organizations such as Red Cross collect their funds worldwide?

A major portion of their collection comes from digital advertisements. Red-cross effectively utilizes the power of the internet to strengthen its exchequer.

11. Do small non-government organizations always need big organizations’ help or can they collect funds themselves?

In this modern era where technology has made inroads in our lives, small charitable organisations need not be dependent on big organisations to collect funds. They can do so at their end by utilizing the services of the right technology.

12. Do you think people in your country should help foreigners who are visiting your country and who need help? (Why? / Why not?)

Yes because as per our culture, for us a guest is akin to a god. People of my country are philanthropic and altruistic by nature. In our culture, a tourist is a guest for all the denizens. This practice is there for ages. As per our religious texts, it is the bounden duty of every resident to help the guests.

13. What is the most important way for a country to help foreigners who are visiting the country?

The central focus of a foreigner while visiting another county is on safety. Therefore, all the citizens should offer unabated support to foreigners. Moreover, we must help them to gain knowledge about our culture. This way we can make cordial relationships with foreign tourists.

14. Many people only look out for themselves and never think about helping others. What do you think of this attitude?

This attitude is detrimental to the welfare of society. Because human beings are social animals, we need each other’s support for our survival.

IELTS new cue cards 2021

S.NOCUE CARD
1Describe a time when you tried to do something but weren’t very successful IELTS cue card
2Describe a time you saw something interesting on social media
3Describe a live sports match that you have watched
4Describe a leisure activity near/on the sea that you want to try IELTS cue card
5Describe an occasion when many people were smiling
6Describe a quiet place you like to spend your time in
7Describe a street market in your city
8Describe an activity that you do after school/work IELTS cue card
9Describe a time when you helped a friend
10Describe a law on environmental protection
11Describe a puzzle you have played
12Describe a natural talent you want to improve like sports music
13Describe a piece of local news that people are interested in
14Describe a time when you encouraged someone to do something that he/she didn’t want to do
15Describe an argument between two of your friends
16Describe a tall building in your city you like or dislike IELTS cue card
17Describe a plan in your life that is not related to work or study IELTS cue card
18Describe someone older than you, whom you admire IELTS cue card
19Describe a time when you felt bored
20Describe the time when you had to sing a song or a poem in front of a public
21Describe a time when you changed your opinion
22Describe an occasion when you ate a kind of food for the first time
23Describe a place/person/home you like to visit but you don’t want to live there
24Describe a time when you had to wait in a long line
25Describe a skill that you can teach other people
26Describe a part of a city or a town you enjoy spending time in
27Describe a time when you were really close to a wild animal
28Describe a time when you shared something with others IELTS cue card
29Describe an occasion when you were not allowed to use your mobile phone IELTS cue card
30Describe a decision made by others or someone that you disagreed with
31Describe a time when your computer broke down
32Describe a company where you live that employs a lot of people IELTS cue card
33Describe a person who you think is very open
34Describe a person who wears unusual clothes
35Describe a short trip that you often take but you do not like
36Describe your first day at school
37Describe an art exhibition that you visited
38Describe a piece of international news you have just recently heard
39Describe an unforgettable bike(bicycle) trip
40Describe a piece of equipment that is important in your home IELTS cue card
41Describe a bag you want to own
42Describe a time when you needed to use your imagination
43Describe a time when you told your friend an important truth
44Describe a time you saw children behave badly in public
45Describe your favourite weather
46Describe your favourite singer IELTS cue card
47Describe a computer/phone game you enjoy playing since your childhood
48Describe an expensive activity that you enjoy doing occasionally
49Describe a thing you bought and you are happy about
50Describe an aquatic animal
51Talk about a health condition that you had and found a solution for it online IELTS Cue Card
52Describe an occasion when you wasted your time
53Describe a family which you like and are happy to know
54Describe a time when you received good news
55Describe a time when you first talked in a foreign language IELTS cue card
56Describe a special hotel you stayed in
57Talk about a time when you gave advice to someone
58Describe a perfect job you would like to have in the future
59Describe a book you read that you found useful or Describe an exciting book you read.
60Describe an old person you know and respect
61Describe an event you attended in which you didn’t like the music played
62Describe an old friend you got in contact with again
63Describe an interesting conversation that you had
64Describe a time you made a promise to someone
65Describe a person who helps others in his or her spare time
66Describe a good decision you made recently
67Describe a risk you have taken which had a positive result
68Describe an ambition that you have for a long time
69Describe something or someone that made a lot of noise
70Describe an interesting tradition in your country.
71Describe an event in which you were unsuccessful.
72Describe an old object which your family has kept for a long time
73Describe a town or city where you would like to live in the future
74Describe an intelligent person you know
75Describe an art or craft activity that you had at school IELTS cue card
76Describe a photo of yourself that you like (or you have taken).
77Describe a large company that you are interested in
78Describe a time when a family member asked for your help
79Describe a dinner you really enjoyed
80Describe a time you got lost in a place you did not know about
81Describe a foreign country you want to know more about?
82Describe a volunteering experience you have had
83Describe your favourite movie IELTS cue card
84Talk about a recent health-related article that you have read IELTS cue card
85Describe a time when you were surprised to meet a friend.
86Describe a prize that you received
87Describe a line that you remember from a poem or song
88Describe an article on health you read in a magazine or on the internet
89Describe a polite person whom you know
90Describe a place where you are able to relax
91Describe a conversation topic you were not interested in.
92Describe an energetic person that you know
93Talk about a famous person that you like the most IELTS cue card
94Describe a program or app in your computer or phone
95Describe a special day or a memory of your school or college days
96Describe a water sport you would like to try in the future
97Describe a gadget you own.
98Describe a time when you had some medicine
99Describe a friend/person who is a good leader
100Describe a famous celebrity from your nation who you admire.
101Describe a place you visited that has been affected by pollution
102Describe a famous person that you are interested in
103Describe an area of science that interests you
104Describe a mistake you have made.
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