Below is a sample IELTS speaking cue card about shopping which is a popular topic in IELTS.
Sample Speaking Cue Card
Describe a product you bought and felt happy about. You should say:
- what it was
- why you bought it
- how long you used it
- and explain why you were happy to buy this product.
Sample Answer
(match past tense) A few years ago I bought an Eastpak bag. I bought it in the sale for just 6 pounds, in Manchester (details).
It’s turned out to be a ridiculously good investment. It’s practically indestructible.
It comes with a lifetime guarantee, and I think it will last a lifetime (personal details).
I love products like this because they are not only good for the environment, but it’s much easier than buying bag after bag after bag. One purchase and done. (more reasons!)
Family members had recommended this brand, and now I know why.
Also, this Eastpak bag seems to improve with age, it gets more worn but looks better.
Part 3 Follow-up Questions and Answers
What are the disadvantages of online shopping?
Well, you can get ripped off, you buy the goods on the internet but they never send them or answer emails, I think this is why it is important to buy from big trustable companies like Amazon or use Paypal. It can be an expensive hobby if you buy things that don’t get sent to you and I think everyone can describe a time when that happened.
Another disadvantage is that you have to wait a while for the product, this can be frustrating, especially if you want to use it urgently. (GIVE EXAMPLES) For example, you might want to paint a picture in oil or acrylic, using special brushes.
If you buy them from your local shop you can start almost immediately, and probably get advice from the shop assistant. Whereas if you buy them online you are taking a risk, the product might not be suitable, there might not be enough, I think it takes experience to buy properly online and avoid a wrong decision (personal opinion).
Why is consumerism changing?
Well, I guess there are so many changes nowadays, thanks to the internet we have online commerce growing, and new cultures entering the global marketplace for the first time in a while.
One example of such a foreign culture could be China, which was closed off from around the 1950s and over the last 40 years it has finally opened up. In these foreign cultures, people are buying these every day. They don’t have to purchase from their local area.
I think another big trend has been towards using the item just once, this is especially true in the packaging industry.
This trend will have historical significance as our earth grapples with waste. Each foreign country will have to deal with this issue going forward in the near future.
(anecdote) Planned obsolescence is another interesting development. It looks like the products were so good that consumers bought it for life, and never bought it again, which was terrible for business, so they started to design the product to last just a few thousand times, so as to force another purchase.
This is not a positive change for consumers but could be in an important decision to help the bottom line for companies, especially when these products are endorsed by every TV or radio presenter and all over the internet.
(summary) I guess then there’s an interesting conversation around this topic: there are lots of changes coming in the near future in how and why we pursue daily new purchases on the internet, new world cultures which are joining the global marketplace, new products, and new design requirements.
Why do people replace things rather than repair them?
I think there are a lot of reasons for this, firstly products have become increasingly more complex, cars, for example, have an increasing amount of electronics (anecdote).
Actually, a family member asked this recently. He regularly goes off-roading around the countryside and prefers the older vehicles because he can repair them in the moment, rather than taking the jeep to a specialist mechanic who gets the laptop out.
His model answer would be that he gets satisfaction by doing the work himself. But with the complexity of new products, making repairs is a practical skill that may be losing its value and could be lost in the future.
Another factor is time, we are increasingly becoming time-poor, and more than ever it’s just easier to buy a new iron or radio, rather than try to fix it; it doesn’t feel like an important decision. This is especially true for electronic products.
We feel that we have to be able to contact friends, prepare a presentation, access the internet or send an important text message instantly! An answer to this dilemma seems elusive currently.
Also, one last thing, it might just be easier to pick up a new product from the shop, and probably safer than dismantling an older product. We’re in a historical place globally where buying new stuff is a leisure activity.
It will be interesting to see where we go from here and how global opinion changes in the future. Replacing rather than repairing has been a foreign culture in many countries across the world, but that is changing. As a famous person once sang “Times They are A’Changing.”
Three reasons given, I am working/talking, this way the examiner doesn’t have to!
This will help you improve your IELTS speaking task score.
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