Describe Your First Day at School or College- IELTS Cue Card

The IELTS Speaking tests your ability to communicate effectively in English through a structured conversation with an examiner. The IELTS Speaking Part 2 provides a topic and prompts for you to prepare a short speech, showcasing your fluency and coherence. In this blog, we delve into sample answers on the IELTS cue card topic, 'Describe Your First Day at School or College’ to help candidates excel in their speaking test.

Before you begin, enhance your IELTS Speaking test skills and fluency using the guide provided below!

In IELTS Speaking, you should focus on one idea only and then expand that idea into a long meaningful sentence using IELTS Grammar patterns and IELTS Vocabulary. So, try practising this topic for Part 2 of the cue card for your IELTS Speaking and achieve a good IELTS Band Score!

Sample Answer

The first day at school or college can be nerve-racking, especially when you are not acquainted with anyone who is already there. Such experiences often leave a lasting impression on a person. Although I don’t have a definitive memory of my first day at college, I can recollect my first day at school like it was yesterday. The name of my school was Birla Bharati and I joined this school as a Class 2 student.

I remember the journey from my house to the school gates distinctly. My father escorted me to the school premises on his motorbike. Once we reached the school, my father walked me up to the point where the parents of the students were allowed. I remember asking my father to come to pick me up after school, to which he agreed by nodding his head and then kissing me on the cheek. Since I was only 8 to 9 years old at the time, I had no clue where my classroom was. Eventually, a security guard was kind enough to ask me why I was standing in the hallway and, upon knowing my predicament, helped me find my way to my designated classroom.

My mind was engrossed by fear and nervousness as I was not familiar with a single person in this new place. I remember sitting on the first bench and breaking down into tears. However, a senior student who was on the way to the morning assembly noticed my state and tried to console me. He then held my hand on the way to the assembly hall, and I remember feeling a little bit lighter as my classes started after the morning assembly.

Vocabulary

• Nerve-racking

Meaning: causing stress or anxiety.
Eg.: The job of a theatre actor can be quite nerve-racking.

• Lasting

Meaning: enduring or able to endure over a long period of time.
Eg.: The film made a lasting impression on many young people.

• Predicament

Meaning: a difficult, unpleasant, or embarrassing situation.
Eg.: Thomas was the only person responsible for his current predicament.

• Engrossed

Meaning: absorb all the attention or interest.
Eg.: All the children in the classroom were engrossed in the new Disney movie that was being played.

• Console

Meaning: comfort (someone) at a time of grief or disappointment.
Eg.: Everyone tried to console David for his terrible loss.

Speaking Part 3

IELTS Speaking Part 3 involves a detailed discussion on abstract topics and complex ideas, allowing you to demonstrate your ability to articulate opinions and provide in-depth responses. This section tests your ability to discuss and analyze topics in a coherent and structured manner.

• Do you think students should be taken to school by their parents or go by themselves?

Whether students should be accompanied on their journey to school by their parents or not is a decision that should be made keeping in mind the student’s age. I believe that students should be taken to school by their parents up to a certain age. Such a practice helps calm students down, especially at a very young age. However, it is also important to let children go to school on their own when they are old enough.

• Should children rely on their parents or be independent?

Parents are known to take care of their children and all their needs and demands up to a certain age. For instance, in the western culture, children are required to have a job by the time they are 18 years old in many cases. On the other hand, children tend to live with their parents well after they have reached adulthood in the eastern culture, especially in Asian countries. I believe that both these approaches have their benefits. However, if children are habituated to taking care of their responsibilities from a young age, they tend to have an easier time living independently.

• How can children become more independent?

There are several ways children can learn to be more independent in life. One of the ways through which parents teach their children to be more responsible is by giving them household chores. Some parents also provide an allowance to their children, which helps them learn how to manage their finances at a young age. Children should also be encouraged to make significant decisions in their lives by their parents. Such a practice will help them be more decisive.

• What is the effect if parents interfere with children’s life too much?

It is a common dilemma whether parents should be involved in their children’s lives in a major or minor way. Many parents believe that it is pivotal to be a part of their children’s decisions. In many cases, such practices may prove to be beneficial, whereas, on the other hand, they can also lead to undesirable consequences. Such a dynamic can often lead to children being irresolute and hesitant when making decisions on their own.

Vocabulary

• Accompanied

Meaning: go somewhere with (someone) as a companion or escort.
Eg.: He accompanied his grandmother on her visit to the hospital.

• Habituated

Meaning: make or become accustomed or used to something.
Eg.: Everyone in the neighbourhood was habituated to the extremely noisy surroundings.

• Decisive

Meaning: having or showing the ability to make decisions quickly and effectively.
Eg.: In order to be a team leader, one needs to be decisive.

• Dilemma

Meaning: a situation in which a difficult choice has to be made between two or more alternatives
Eg.: They were in a dilemma regarding the choice of dessert at the ceremony.

• Irresolute

Meaning: showing or feeling hesitancy; uncertain.
Eg.: A poker play cannot afford to be irresolute during tough and expensive decisions.