January 19, 2025 - IELTS BAND7

cue card # describe a time when you were late

January 19, 2025 Pooja Ph.D. CELTA

Punctuality is one of the most important things in life. Someone who is not punctual is more likely to fail in life than others. You can be the most talented or the most hard working, but if you are not punctual, you are bound to fail. We can achieve almost anything by valuing time. This time we are looking at an IELTS cue card that talks about the importance of being punctual in life.

IELTS cue card

Describe a time when you were late for something important.
You should say:

when it was ?

why were you late?

how you managed the situation?

explain how you felt about it?

late Time

SAMPLE ANSWER

Usually, I am quite punctual. But, one day I was really late for an important appointment. Today I will talk about that incident.

A few months ago, I appeared in the IELTS test. My speaking exam was scheduled on the 13th June, Monday, 9:00 am. I was supposed to report at the test venue, hotel JSR continental, Dehradun, at 8:30 am.

It rained heavily on Sunday evening and the weather forecast predicted incessant rain for a few days. Considering the bad weather, I set the alarm for 6:00 am and went to bed early. I was feeling very nervous and I couldn’t sleep well. Despite that I woke up on time. After getting ready, I left the home to catch the bus. When I reached the bus station, to my surprise, there was no bus and many commuters were stranded.

It was quite chaotic as nobody knew the reason why buses were not plying as usual. It was 7:50 am and I was still at the bus station. My anxiety was increasing enormously because there was no other mean to reach Dehradun from my village. Fortunately, a bus arrived and I boarded the bus. It took a lot of time to reach Dehradun as there was a head-on collision of a truck and a car on the main road. Looking at the site, I understood the reason why buses were running late.

Finally, I reached the center at 8:55 am. I explained the situation to the center manager and requested him to allow me to appear in the interview. He was very understanding. Later, I was given the permission to give the speaking test. Even though I was very late, I didn’t lose hope. In the end everything worked out well. I did my best. I thanked god for everything and went home happily.