Cue Card Sample

Describe a shop or store you often go to - Cue Card # 600

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

Describe a shop or a store you often go to.

You should say:

  • where it is
  • what type of people go there
  • what types of goods are sold there

and explain why you go there and like/dislike most 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.]


 

Model Answer 1:

‘Coffee Time’ is a coffee shop located near my university campus, and it offers the best coffee in the town. It is on the 4th floor of the Grand Royal Plaza building which is just 3 blocks away from my university. Thank you, sir/madam, for this lovely topic.

Students, teachers and office executives who love coffee, milkshake, tea, fast food, and like to play billiards mostly visit this coffee shop. Though this shop has a menu with over 20 items, coffee is their hot selling product. I sometimes drink tea or eat a sandwich, but most of the time I go there to have a refreshing cup of hot coffee. They sell both hot and cold coffee, and as far as I recall, they have more than 20 variations of the coffees they serve.

I would easily attest them as the best coffee maker in the town. I love their coffee and mainly visit this shop for that. The opportunity to play billiards for free seems like a discount to me! Apart from that, they have a great environment and polite and professional staff to serve the customers. I sometimes sit there to chat with my friends or pass an hour, and there is no rush to vacate the seats for a new customer.

I love their music choice, interior design, and friendly attitude. They even offer a complimentary menu to regular customers. The only thing I dislike about them is the time they take to serve an item. It’s like I have to wait around 20-25 minutes every time I order something! The delay, I guess, irritates office executives who are in a hurry! I have notified them about it and their explanation to my complaint was something like - ‘We take time to serve a customer because we value quality and the taste. And to ensure the taste, we give our best effort.’ The response might seem a little lame to others, but I don’t mind waiting for a few extra minutes especially when I have time to kill or have some friends with me to talk to.


 

Model Answer 2:

Shopping is one of my least favourite things to do, but unfortunately, life doesn’t exactly care whether I like it or not. So, I have to go to a shop regardless. But, to make my “shopping job” a little less troubling, I have picked up one particular shop – a super shop that is – which I would like to talk about.

As I have mentioned earlier, it is a “super shop” which is only about a few minutes drive from where I live. But, since it is not really located in some popular part of the city, this super shop has remained “obscure” to many city-dwellers for the most part. But, still, this super shop attracts a rather large number of shoppers from all walks of life who almost regularly visit this shop. In fact, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to suggest that most of the customers of this particular shop consider it as their “family super shop” because they have built up a special relationship with its staffs.  Here it is worth mentioning that it is not exactly a very big shop, probably not more than 1000 square feet, and so even a small gathering of customers in it at any given time would make this super shop look rather crowded.

Anyway, the visitors of this super shop can be anybody, from regular factory workers to top executives of some big companies, who visit it in order to meet their daily shopping needs, be it buying just a loaf of bread or some fruits and vegetables. The super shop also offers other products and merchandises like cosmetics, perfumes, dairy products, toiletries, small kitchen appliances, meat products, fish and different kinds of snacks among other things.  

Anyway, I like visiting this shop mainly because it is very close to my home. Great customer services and relatively cheaper prices on many of its products, and the availability of some fresh fruits and vegetables are some of the reasons for which I like to visit this super shop. Finally, I like this shop because it remains clean and tidy most of the times.


 

Sample Answer 3:

The store, named “The Daily Shop”, is located near the place where I live in the city of Samsun in Turkey. This is a large superstore and sells a wide variety of products. The shop has many positive aspects. First of all, it is accessible from any part of the city for its geographical location. Further, the interior decoration of the shop is admirable. This is an interesting cue card topic and I am glad to have it. I will answer the reaming questions and describe the shop in brief. And thank you for the opportunity to let me talk about it.

This store is open to all and they have numerous types of commodities. People often go there to purchase products for their household use. Besides, this a good place to pick a gift item for someone. I guess the number of adult-male customers is higher than females and children on an ordinary day. On a weekend, however, more female customers could be seen. I am not sure why this is the case but I guess female shoppers prefer shopping on weekends rather than weekdays!

The shop mostly sells the daily necessaries like the canned food, toiletries, cosmetics, fruits, groceries, vegetables, dairy products, fish, packaged food, various types of meats like beef, chicken, soft beverages like juice and the list goes on. 

I appreciate their efforts to ensure the quality of each product. I frequently visit the shop as it is adjacent to my residence. So, while returning from my office, I go there to buy something I need at home. And I sometimes visit this store to check their latest collection of toiletries and perfumes. I also like the way they serve the clients.


 

More Ideas:

Cue Card Topic: Describe a shop or store you often go to.

1. I often visit the phone-accessories selling shops at a local shopping mall here in Thailand. These shops sell different types of mobile accessories like mobile covers, tempered glass protectors, batteries, keypad etc. Whenever I need to buy an accessory for my mobile phone, I visit there.

2. My mom has diabetes and she often gets hyper. So I need to visit the drugstore located at the end of my street where I live in Paris. I need to buy medicines for her. The most irritating thing is that she often skips the medicines and that is quite unexpected.

3. I need groceries every day and that's why I often visit the grocer’s shop near my home. The shop is on the ground floor of the apartment block I live in Indonesia. It has become helpful for me and I often use my debit card to purchase groceries from there.

4. The urban planning subject that I am studying requires completing numerous projects and I often need to visit the DIY stores for that. I am a student at a local university in Malaysia and frequently visit the 'Help Yourself DIY' store located near my university.

5. Reading books is a pleasant hobby for me. I also like to add new books to my personal library. So, I frequently buy books from a local bookstore named – 'The Book Lovers'. It sells various types of books and reading materials.

6. Wearing new dresses is my passion and I like to follow trendy fashions. Every month I get some new clothes. So, I have to visit clothing stores frequently. But I prefer to have my clothes from street shops in Shanghai. The prices are affordable and they have a great variation and rich collection.

7. My baby boy is only one-and-a-half-year-old. I frequently buy different types of toys for the baby. Hence, I need to go to toy shops regularly. I visit the toy store on Broadway in New York City at least once a week.

8. Visiting the newspaper stand daily has become a habit for me. I collect my newspaper from the seller every morning as my home is located at the end of Hang Dong, a street in Hanoi in Vietnam. Delivery service is unavailable there and I visit the newspaper stand to get my copy.
 

Your preparation for the cue card topic - "Describe a shop or store you often go to" would help you talk about the following topics as well:

1. Describe a shop or store near your home.
2. Describe a small shop that you frequently go to.
3. Describe your favourite shop.
4. Describe a shop or market that has a large number of customers.
5. Describe a shop that sells expensive products.
6. Describe a shop or store that sells antique items.
7. Describe a shop from where you purchase gift items.
8. Describe a shop or market that has recently opened in your locality.

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Saba Hayat
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