Describe a time when you tried to do something but weren’t very successful.
You should say
When it was? What you tried? Why it was not very successful? And how you felt about it?
Note: You will have to talk about the topic for one to two minutes. You have one minute to think about what you are going to say. You can make some notes to help you if you wish.
Model Answers and follow up questions to describe a time when you tried to do something but weren’t very successful IELTS cue card:
Introduction: and When it was?
It was my sister’s birthday on 26th May.
I am not very good at choosing presents, so I play it safe.
She loves chocolate cake and so I order it for her every year.
It is kind of a tradition in our house, that I will get a cake.
No one even thinks about it or even asks me.
However, this year due to the lockdown, all the bakery shops were closed.
There is a famous home baker in my city, who bakes on order.
So, next, I tried that, but unfortunately, she was swamped with orders.
She told me she could not deliver the cake by the birthday.
Now, I was in a real pickle.
The only option was to bake a cake myself.
What you tried? and Why it was not very successful?
And honestly, I am a horrible cook and I had never even done any sort of baking.
But desperate times call for desperate measures.
So, I opened YouTube and opened the beginner basics video for making a chocolate cake.
I checked the ingredients and we had all of them at home except cream.
I thought I could use milk instead.
And needless to say, that was my first mistake.
Nothing went right from that point on.
My cake dough was runny instead of semi-solid like the video suggested.
My icing tasted awful, probably because of the milk.
I didn’t even dare put it on.
I spent nearly five hours in the kitchen, made a huge mess with flour, cocoa powder on all the shelves and the floor.
The end result was a hard dense awfully tasting something.
My mom told me that I should have asked her for help.
And how you felt about it?
I felt bad that I couldn’t deliver but my family members just couldn’t stop laughing.
I think my embarrassment and the kitchen’s condition made it even more amusing to them
It is now a running joke in our house.
In the middle of any conversation, my parents or my sister randomly bring up the incident and start laughing.
I think they are going to tease me for the rest of my life.
IELTS Speaking Part 3 : Follow up Questions
Here some examples of follow up questions that you may asked during your speaking part 3 by examiner related to cue card “describe a time when you tried to do something but weren’t very successful”.
1. What’s your definition of success? My definition is success is that, the outcome should make me and my family happy. I don’t care what others feel or how others rate my performance, if I am happy with the results, I feel I have succeeded.
2. What things do children try to succeed in? The main thing that children try to succeed in are sports competition and studies. Besides that, childhood is the time of learning skills, so children try to be successful in learning skills like riding a bicycle, learning to dance, and so on.
3. Which do you think is more important for people to become successful, handwork or opportunities? I think both are equally important in some regards. There is no doubt in my head that rich people get better education and work opportunities, but the difficult and challenging circumstances during childhood make people from poor families more mentally strong. Ultimately, in the long run, it is about hard work, opportunities can open doors for people, but hard work converts these open doors into success stories.
4. Do you think people would be happier if they didn’t have any goals to achieve? I don’t think a life without goals could ever bring happiness. In fact, it would lead to depression. People need goals in life not just for happiness but also to survive. Goals bring purpose to our lives and bring us something to look forward to.
Describe a time when you tried to do something but weren’t very successful IELTS cue card
Introduction: and When it was? It was my sister’s birthday on 26th May. I am not very good at choosing presents, so I play it safe. She loves chocolate cake and so I order it for her every year. It is kind of a tradition in our house, that I will get a cake. No one even thinks about it or even asks me. However, this year due to the lockdown, all the bakery shops were closed. There is a famous home baker in my city, who bakes on order. So, next, I tried that, but unfortunately, she was swamped with orders. She told me she could not deliver the cake by the birthday. Now, I was in a real pickle. The only option was to bake a cake myself. What you tried? and Why it was not very successful? And honestly, I am a horrible cook and I had never even done any sort of baking. But desperate times call for desperate measures. So, I opened YouTube and opened the beginner basics video for making a chocolate cake. I checked the ingredients and we had all of them at home except cream. I thought I could use milk instead. And needless to say, that was my first mistake. Nothing went right from that point on. My cake dough was runny instead of semi-solid like the video suggested. My icing tasted awful, probably because of the milk. I didn’t even dare put it on. I spent nearly five hours in the kitchen, made a huge mess with flour, cocoa powder on all the shelves and the floor. The end result was a hard dense awfully tasting something. My mom told me that I should have asked her for help.
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