Describe a time you missed an appointment – IELTS Cue Card Sample Answers

During the IELTS Speaking Part 2, test-takers are required to speak on a particular topic for one to two minutes such as to Describe a time you missed an appointment – IELTS Cue Card Sample Answers. This segment would evaluate how you organize your thoughts coherently and present them with fluency by using the appropriate vocabulary and grammar that can range from simple to complex. With the right strategies and preparation, you would find the courage to attempt this cue card section with ease and get a band 8+.

Strategies to Describe a time you missed an appointment – IELTS Cue Card Sample Answers for a Band 8+

In Part 2 of the IELTS Speaking Section, you are expected to describe a time you missed an appointment. Such cue cards would help develop your storytelling ability and make you speak fluently with coherence and choice of vocabulary. To achieve a band 8+, you will need a strategy for organization of ideas so that you can build confidence while attempting the cue card yourself. Let's see the following to understand how to approach this task to describe a time you missed an appointment.

• Use a structure for your answer where there must be an introduction to the situation, followed by elaboration of the ideas with specific details. Remember to keep a logical flow of ideas where there must not be any sudden abrupt information.
• Always use the one-minute preparation time for organizing your thoughts coherently to present it coherently. You can start with an introductory paragraph and continue in the body with all the details surrounding the experience. 
• To get a Band 8+, it is best that you use specific vocabulary words based on the topic for which you can use the Latest IELTS Speaking Vocabulary to Boost Your Score. Use idioms and expressions correctly so that you can showcase your level of English proficiency.
• Another factor which is important is to try recording yourself while speaking on the cue card topic so that you can avoid frequent hesitation and numerous unnatural pauses. This will impact your band scores for which you must remember to replay the recording and assess the areas for improvement to be aware of your current level.
• Use a variety of sentence structures from the IELTS Grammar so that you can get more scores in the parameter of Grammatical Range and Accuracy.

Before you start, learn useful IELTS Speaking test vocabulary with the guide below!

Question - Describe a time you missed an appointment – IELTS Cue Card Sample Answers

Sample Answer 1 - Describe a time you missed an appointment – IELTS Cue Card Sample Answers

• When was it?

With lives getting extremely hectic and schedules getting frantic, getting late or missing an appointment has become quite regular. Something similar has happened to me a lot of times. However, talking about one of the recent incidents, I missed the dentist’s appointment last Thursday.

• Why were you late?

Until Wednesday night, the appointment was clear in my mind, and I knew that I had to visit the dentist the following day. However, the moment my day started, I got caught up in a plethora of meetings and assignments. In addition to this, I had to complete some home-related tasks as well. Enraptured in everything important, the dentist’s appointment completely skipped my mind until my sister reminded me of it.

• How did you feel about it?
• and say what happened as a result of being late.

The moment I realised I was late, panic mode kicked in. I went into a frenzy zone. Hurriedly, I tried finishing the task that I was in the middle of and got ready for the appointment. However, when I reached the clinic, I was already an hour and a half late. As a result, the dentist had taken his lunch break. The receptionist asked me to shift the appointment to the evening. Unfortunately, I had other things scheduled for the day, so I had to push my appointment to the next week.

Sample Answer 2 - Describe a time you missed an appointment – IELTS Cue Card Sample Answers

However well organised I’m, it sometimes gets late to reach my destination due to several external and internal factors. One such time when I was late in an appointment with my investors was a frustrating experience for me.

• When was it?
• Why were you late?
• How did you feel about it?

Since I was knee-high to a grasshopper, I had a burning desire to set up my own business. Therefore, when I was a senior student, to be given financial support to run my start-up, I had a pivotal date with numerous investors. I highly appreciated that appointment; therefore, I had worked against the clock and buried myself in a mountain of workload. I had to burn the midnight oil to complete my project, which would be shown to investors. When the day came, I felt dead tired. You know, I had to make every effort to get up, but it was still late 20 minutes when I left my home. Unfortunately, the road suffered from intensive traffic congestion, which is a common scenario in my city. I failed to use different kinds of transport from bus to taxi to escape this crowd. Finally, I reached the location 1 hour later than my scheduled time. While the investors showed their sense of anger, I experienced the feeling of panic, and I just presented my project with half a heart.

• and say what happened as a result of being late.

I was rejected, and I felt extremely disappointed. That was a painful experience for me, and since then, I’ve tried my best not to be late for any appointments ever again.

Vocabulary - Describe a time you missed an appointment – IELTS Cue Card Sample Answers

• Well-organized (adj) having good organization; orderly and efficient
  Eg: The Australian cricket team was well-organized.
• Knee high to a grass hopper (idiom) very small or very young
  Eg: I have lived in Mumbai since I was a knee high to a grasshopper.
• Set up (phrasal verb) start a business
  Eg: His uncle set up a business for him.
• With a view to doing something (phrase) with the hope of doing something in the future
  Eg: The Chief Minister called all the parties with a view to achieve a consensus on the new bill
• Pivotal (adj) extremely important
  Eg: The budget introduced a pivotal change in privatization
• Against the clock (phrase) trying very hard to finish something before a particular time
  Eg: The software team was working against the clock to meet their deadlines.
• Burn the midnight oil (idiom) to work until very late at night
  Eg: Sita was given a huge assignment and she had to burn the midnight oil to complete it.
• Dead tired (phrase) very tired
  Eg: Jane was dead tired after the delivery.
• With half a heart (phrase) With only a little or moderate amount of enthusiasm or interest
  Eg: After his transfer to the new town, he worked with half a heart.

Preparation by looking at a solid structure and rigorous practice of the technique can lead you to become familiar with some of the common topics in the Speaking Section. This helps to brainstorm ideas into your response that are coherent and fluent so that you can confidently tackle any cue card. Remember that being calm will help you prepare a structure where you can elaborate with your personal insights to achieve a higher IELTS Band Score. Therefore, keep pushing yourself to improve your band scores in the speaking module.

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