Skip to main content

Problem a friend had and you solved

IELTS Cue Card/ Candidate Task Card 354 with Model Answer:

Describe a problem that a friend of yours had and you solved it.

You should say:
  • what type of problem it was
  • who have had this problem
  • how you knew about it
and explain how you solved it.

[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 Answer 1: 
I wouldn’t exactly like to call “Shaun Lee”, my friend, a “computer illiterate” person, but that’s exactly how he acts sometimes. But, that doesn’t prevent him from using his newly-bought laptop computer 24/7, no matter how “clueless” he sounds at times when he faces any problems with his computer.

So, it happened again. Shaun Lee “very successfully” had managed to shut down his laptop again by attracting some “virus”. Of course, this kind of “abrupt shut down” had already taken place a number of times in the past as he made it almost a habit to visit “questionable” websites in order to download music, movies and numerous other kinds of videos. However, the problem was, while he was eventually able to turn his computer back on again on previous occasions by trying some “basic” computer tricks like “booting from the safe mood” or “scanning for viruses by using a live CD”, he didn’t succeed around this time.

By the way, I knew just about enough, if not a lot, about computer glitches and how to fix them without any outside help, as I had already taken a short course on "computer repairing" in the past. Shaun also knew about my ‘skills and expertise’ to trust me enough with his laptop. So, when none of his tricks was able to turn back his computer on again, he eventually decided to call me and ask for my help.

Anyway, I visited my friend and tried some of my own tricks to start his laptop, but I also failed. Then, I thought that his hard drive had crashed, and so I took his hard drive out of his laptop and put it on my laptop. But, the hard disc was working just fine on my laptop. Eventually, I realized that it might have been the operative system that had crashed. And, I was proved out to be right since as soon as I installed a new operating system, after buying a new CD, his laptop started to work just fine like there was no problem ever again.




Model Answer 2:
The problem that I solved to help a friend was related to the way she used his mobile phone and I would like to talk about this event. My friend, Maria, was experiencing some issues with her mobile phone and it was crashing frequently. At that time, she was using an iPhone 6S and she came to me for a solution.

Maria and I used to live in the same neighbourhood in Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. She told me that she had been facing problems with her phone for the past couple of days. She could not use the phone at all.

I knew about the problem because I am also a long-time iPhone user and I have been using the brand since 2005. Moreover, I have solved similar problems that a few of my other friends had. This time, it was not a big deal for me too. I solved the problem within a short time.

The phone set actually needed a software update. She had no idea that the phone needed software updates at a regular interval for better performance. For all these reasons, the phone set was malfunctioning. Using my WiFi network, I updated the phone's software. The phone restarted several times during the update process. Some other apps were updated too in the process. Finally, it was working fine and she was happy with the solution.

Popular posts from this blog

Describe a car journey you made that took longer than expected

IELTS Cue Card/ Candidate Task Card   593   with Model Answer: Describe a car journey you made that took longer than expected. You should say: where you were going who you were with how you felt during the journey and explain why this car journey took longer than expected. [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 Answer 1: Thank you so much for this opportunity to let me share an experience I had during a car journey that took far longer than I had expected. It was a trip from my home in Toronto to visit some friends in Montreal, which should have been a simple drive of about five hours. However, things didn’t go as planned. I was heading to Montreal, a beautiful city in Quebec, to visit a few friends I hadn’t seen in a while. I was really excited about the trip because I had been planning to catch up with them for some time, and I was loo...

Interesting conversation you had with an elderly person

IELTS Cue Card/ Candidate Task Card   597   with Model Answer: Describe an interesting conversation you once had with an elderly person. You should say: what the conversation was about whom you have had it with why you think it was interesting and explain how you felt about this interesting conversation with this elderly person. [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 Answer: Thank you so much for this fascinating topic. Here, I will share an interesting conversation I once had with an elderly person. It was with my grandfather, and it’s something that really stayed with me. So, I have decided to talk about this conversation with you. I guess it was at least 5 years ago when this conversation took place. One day, we were sitting together after dinner. We started talking casually, but somehow the discussion shifted to my grandfather's youn...

A time you needed to use your imagination

IELTS Cue Card/ Candidate Task Card 288 with Model Answer: Describe a time when you needed to use your imagination. You should say: what the situation was why you needed to use imagination what the difficulties were and explain how you felt about it. [You will have to talk about the topic for one to two minutes. You have one minute to think about what you're going to say. You can make some notes to help you if you wish.]

Describe your favourite movie/film

IELTS Cue Card Question 153 with Model Answer: Describe your favourite movie/film. You should say: what it is when you watched it what it is about and explain why this is your favourite movie.   [You will have to talk about the topic for one to two minutes. You have one minute to think about what you're going to say. You can make some notes to help you if you wish.] Model Answer 1: I love to watch movies in my leisure hours and have watched a wide number of movies. It is a kind of addiction to me and usually, I watch at least one movie a day.