IELTS Cue Card/ Candidate Task Card # 37
Describe a positive change in your life.
You should say:
- what change it was
- when and how it occurred
- how long it took
and explain how it affected your life positively.
[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:
I wouldn’t say that I hated myself because of what I was doing to my health at some point in my life. Rather, I hated myself because I knew exactly what I needed to do in order to improve my life, and yet, I wasn’t really very interested in following that path. But, then, finally, I did it – I did stop smoking once and for all after probably trying at least a “thousand times” over a 3 years period of time.
The positive change, probably one of the best ever in my life, came to an effect about 2 years ago when I finally managed to convince myself that I was actually an “addict”, no matter how hard I was trying to pretend otherwise, who couldn’t survive without smoking at least 20 cigarettes a day.
Of course, before that auspicious moment of “saying goodbye to smoking forever” I revisited my life almost a couple of years ago, and there was hardly any morning in my life (as an adult young man) that went by without feeling dragged down due to a low level of energy. Neither did a day go by when I was not feeling a heavy chest, with my struggling swollen lungs inside it, because of excessive smoking. The remaining of my days were not very pleasant either as I felt anxious and irritated for no obvious reasons.
Now, to many, an act of quitting smoking may not be a big decision in the greater scheme of things, but it was indeed a life-changing decision for me since it offered me an opportunity to become more focused on my life and my work. In fact, after quitting smoking I felt like I could breathe more easily and freely, providing me with the much-needed extra energy to remain active and positive. I even noticed that my relationships with my family and friends had improved significantly after a “dead” relationship with cigarettes. Surprisingly, my appetite for food had gone up as well. Finally, needless to say, I can actually consider myself as a healthy person since I didn’t need to worry about the health of my lung anymore.
Model Answer 2:
Introduction:
Well, that one should be easy for me to talk about, and I really appreciate the time and opportunity to let me talk about a positive change in my life.
What change it was:
After I completed my college education, I was expecting to land a job to get some experience and earn some money at the same time. It was meant for me to prepare for my post-graduation course and future career. Like many other fresh graduates from college, I spent a considerable amount of time furnishing my resume and start applying for different jobs both online and offline. But to my horror, I scarcely got any interview calls, let alone get a job. After a few months, I started to panic. And then when I was called for an interview in a large firm in our town and finally manage to secure the job, things started to change for me and surely for good.
When and how it occurred:
When I got a call from the HR manager of this firm all of a sudden, I was pretty determined to prepare well to do excellent in my interview. And I indeed did very well. A week or so later, they called me again to give the good news that I had been selected as a management trainee, and it was just the exact positive piece of news that I was expecting to get!
How long it took:
We all know the relativity theory of Einstein, and it is indeed true that when we desperately wait for something, time starts to pass very slowly. So when I was desperate to land a job, even though it took just 6 or 7 months, it seemed a decade to me! Between applying for this very job and joining the company, I had to wait for about a month. But it was a long 30 days for sure!
And explain how it affected your life positively:
After I finished my graduation, I had to secure a job to earn some money so that I could save some amount to complete my post-graduation degree. At the same time, I needed to get some experience to apply for better jobs in the future. On top of that, my parents and relatives were also expecting me to start some kind of job and start taking my career seriously. All those pressure and expectations were having a dent in my psychological health. So after I got the job, it made a huge positive turn in my life in terms of having a better daily routine, economic freedom, meeting my family’s expectations and getting ready for my future.