Describe a time when you got positive feedback

IELTS Cue Card/ Candidate Task Card 519 with Model Answer:

Describe a time when you got positive feedback for something you did.

You should say:

• when it was
• what you did
• who gave you the positive feedback

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 are going to say. You can make some notes to help you if you wish.]

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Model Answer 1:

Thank you for choosing such a great topic for me. In the next couple of minutes, I will try to share my experience about a time when I received positive feedback. The experience of getting this positive feedback is still fresh in my mind even though it happened quite a few years ago.

Back then, I was just a high school student who was more interested in taking care of his studies than looking after someone’s business or property. But when my eldest uncle requested me to help him at the cash register at his busy restaurant because his regular cashier had got ill with typhoid fever, I just couldn’t say “no” to him.

Anyway, initially, I had thought that I wouldn’t really have to get stuck with the cash register at my uncle’s restaurant for more than a few evenings, but I was proved wrong as I had to continue doing the job for almost two weeks, apparently because even though the regular cashier had recovered from his illness, he still was too weak to do his job, and that too at a very busy place like my uncle’s restaurant.

During this period, I didn’t only handle the transactions at the cash register from the beginning to closing, but also helped the customers with other things when the restaurant got really busy. Not to mention also the cumbersome task of counting all the money and balancing them against the number of customer orders, and I did all of these things without any mistakes. No wonder, my uncle had told me in the end that he couldn’t possibly do it all without my help.

In the end, it was two tough weeks for me. But I forgot about all the hardship of that two-week period when I received such positive and inspiring feedback from my uncle. Besides that positive feedback also made me feel that we should never back away from helping a person if we are really able to do so, and even more so, especially, if it can teach us to become more positive about our skills and abilities.

Model Answer 2:

Introduction:
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to talk about a time when I received positive feedback for something I did. I will share with you when it was, what I actually did, how I did it, who praised me for this and how I felt about it. So please bear with me.

When it was:
It was during my O-level examination, which I took in grade 11. It would be around four years by now.

What you did:
Before the O-level examination, I struggled with mathematics and was disappointed with my results in grades 9 and 10. I knew I needed to improve if I wanted to succeed in my future studies. So, I started to work harder and smarter, spending countless hours practising and solving problems every day. I also sought help from my math teacher and other resources to clarify my doubts.

Who gave you the positive feedback:
During the O-level exams, I felt more confident and well-prepared. When the results came out, I was thrilled to see that I had secured a straight A* grade in mathematics. My math teacher was impressed with my progress and praised me for my hard work and dedication. He mentioned my name in front of the entire group of students and their parents, highlighting my achievements in mathematics, and how I improved significantly.

How you felt about it:
I felt incredibly proud and delighted to receive such positive feedback. It was an amazing feeling to know that my efforts and hard work had paid off. Moreover, it motivated me to work harder in other subjects. This event showed me that hard work and dedication can lead to success and inspired me to keep striving for excellence.