Cue Card Sample

IELTS Cue Card # 249 - Describe an article you have recently read

IELTS Speaking Part 2: IELTS Cue Card/ Candidate Task Card.

Describe an article you have recently read in a magazine or a newspaper.

You should say:

  • what type of article it was
  • when you read it
  • from where you read it

and explain how you felt after reading the article.


 

Model Answer 1:

I love to read newspapers on a regular basis, not only because it allows me to remain updated with the latest news, but also because it allows me to read some informative and interesting articles on various important issues. Talking about articles, of course, I would like to talk about one of them which I have recently read.

This article talked about how my country would be able to meet the housing demands of the ever-increasing population of my country without causing deforestation and waste of cultivable land. Of course, I had read such articles in the past, but none of those really went on to describe the crisis and its solution in as detail as this particular article which I read about a couple of weeks ago in one of the popular daily newspapers of my country.

The article described in detail how rapidly our population has increased over the last 50 years or so, and yet no concrete and timely policy has been adopted to deal with this problem. And, as a result, as the article put it, if this trend continues, our country won’t have enough land to produce necessary food for its population soon as more and more lands are being used to build houses and other infrastructures in a very unplanned manner. At the end of the article, the author tried to provide some pragmatic solutions to the housing crisis of our country by providing enough raw data and evidence. Needless to say, I read the article twice just to understand the danger and challenges that lie ahead of my country if we are not serious enough about this problem.

Anyway, after reading this article, the first thing that came to my mind was that our government needed some concerted efforts to come up with new and innovative ideas in building efficient houses without wasting too much land. Besides, I also felt that until some practical housing policies are in place, the newspapers and other media outlets should publish such articles more often to raise awareness among the people.


 

Sample Answer 2:

I usually read a daily newspaper regularly just to remain updated about national and international news and events. I also enjoy reading some science, technology and lifestyle related magazines from time to time. There are many thought-provoking and intriguing articles that I often enjoy, and today, I would like to talk about one such article that I recently read in a newspaper.

It was about "global warming and environment changes", and it goes on to describe how humankind has contributed to these damages. Finally, it suggests some pragmatic solutions to this problem. This is not a new topic, but the article I am talking about was well-written and backed by data.

It highlighted the changes that have happened in the last decade, and how these changes have already impacted our environment and life. I read this article 2-3 weeks ago, and this was written by a famous environmental scientist and researcher whose name I can't accurately remember now.

I am not sure whether I should say that it was a piece of bad news or good news since this is a research and statistical facts kind of article that showed the environmental changes in recent years, temperature rise all around the world, the impact of it in our lives and other species. It also showed our ignorance about the severity of this crisis and then finally some solutions to mitigate the problem. The final part of the article showed a ray of hope and explained that we still have time and means to save our planet from imminent disaster.

I have read numerous articles about the ozone layer, extinction of species in recent years, uncontrolled pollutions and many more similar topics but this one was written from a different viewpoint, and it tried to explain that small changes in our perception and daily habits can save a lot. This article alerted us and then showed us our lack of awareness of the issue. It also gave us home.

After reading this article, I felt like I have embraced a different perception of this triggering issue and felt the need to read more on the topic. The article helped me understand our immediate attention to a dire issue, and how each of us can contribute to reducing the severity of this eminent problem.


 

Similar Cue Card Topics

Your ability to talk about this Cue Card Topic would enable you to talk about the following Cue Card Topics as well:
  1. Describe an interesting news story you have recently read. 
  2. Describe an article you read on a website or in a newspaper. 
  3. Describe a piece of interesting news you have recently watched. 
  4. Describe a magazine you often read.
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