A goal or target you have recently set

IELTS Cue Card/ Candidate Task Card 482 with Model Answer:

Describe a goal or target you have recently set for yourself.

You should say:

• what it is
• why you have set it for yourself
• whether you have achieved it or not

and explain why setting this goal or  target was important to you.

[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:
Interestingly, during my high school years, I had set some goals for my life, but, despite my best efforts, I am yet to achieve some of those tough goals. So, I recently thought that it was time to set a few new goals and try to achieve them instead. Today, I would like to talk about one of those goals.

I want to get involved in gardening. In fact, I want to grow a simple but nice-looking lychee garden from scratch and all by myself. Of course, on the face of it, growing a lychee garden, or for that matter, any kind of garden, just might not sound that exciting or glamorous as a “goal”, but it can certainly be exciting if you are into enjoying raw nature.

Now, if you are wondering why I have chosen “growing a lychee garden” as my goal, my answer would probably be that it would allow me to be a bit more “productive” outside of my regular professional life, which I was lacking during all those previous years. Besides, achieving this goal would also be a bit financially rewarding.

Having all that said, however, I am very much aware of the fact achieving this goal is not going to be easy by any means, but I am more confident than ever, with all the “free” time I have in my hand, that I would be able to ace it sooner rather than later. Oh, by the way, by saying “free” time, I mean to say that I don’t really have to spend as much time at my regular job now as before, which certainly has made my life much easier than before.

Anyway, setting this goal was important to me, primarily because it would allow me to try some channels of income, as I find my current profession of “accounting” a bit more boring than before. Besides, it would also allow me to get closer to mother nature and thus become more healthy, both physically and mentally.

Model Answer 2:

Introduction:
I wholeheartedly believe that setting goals is an important aspect of personal and professional growth. It helps us to focus our energy and efforts in the right direction. Recently, I set a goal for myself that I have been working on consistently. Here, I would like to talk about it.

What it is:
The goal I set for myself is to improve my fitness level by running a 10-kilometre race. I have been a regular runner for the past few years, but I never ran more than 5 kilometres at a stretch. Running a 10-kilometre race is a significant challenge for me, and I wanted to push myself to achieve this goal.

Why you have set it for yourself:
I have set this goal for two reasons. Firstly, I wanted to challenge myself physically and mentally. Running a 10-kilometre race requires discipline, perseverance, and a lot of training. I wanted to see if I could push myself to reach this level of fitness. Secondly, I wanted to improve my overall health and well-being. Running has always been a stress reliever for me, and I wanted to use this goal as a way to improve my fitness level and stay healthy.

Whether you have achieved it or not:
I am happy to say that I have achieved my goal. It took me several months of consistent training, but I was able to complete the 10-kilometre race successfully. It was a great feeling of accomplishment and a validation of the hard work I put in to achieve this target.

And explain why setting this goal was important to you: 

Setting this goal was important to me because it helped me to push beyond my limits and achieve something that I thought was impossible. It was a reminder that with discipline, perseverance, and hard work, I can accomplish anything I set my mind to. It was also a great way to improve my overall health and well-being, and it gave me a sense of purpose and direction in my daily life.