Sleep: IELTS Speaking Part 2 & 3 Sample Answers

This article contains sample answers for the cue card topic - Sleep and the follow-up questions related to it! 

In the IELTS Speaking cue card ‘Describe a time you were sleepy but had to stay awake’, you will get an opportunity to share about your sleep and the time you were too sleepy but had no choice but to stay awake. 

So now, let us learn the trick of framing answers to the 'Describe a time you were sleepy but had to stay awake - IELTS Speaking Cue Card' and IELTS Speaking Part 3 follow up questions to brush up your speaking skills!

Describe a Time You Were Sleepy But Had to Stay Awake - IELTS Speaking Cue Card Answer 

• When was it?

I consider myself a night owl; therefore, having a white night is not a rare experience. Today, I would like to talk about a night I had to stay awake for cooking the Chung Cake for Lunar New Year.

• Why did you have to stay awake?

You probably know that Tet or Lunar New Year is one of the biggest festivals in Vietnam. There are many activities taking place before the Lunar New Year, and making Chung Cake is one of them. It excites me the most. However, the process of making Chung cake is time-consuming and requires the contribution of several people. It takes up to 12 hours for the cake to be baked. Therefore, my cousins and I had to spend the whole night watching the cake.

• How did you keep yourself awake?

In order not to remain awake while waiting for the Chung Cake to be cooked, I drank a cup of Vietnamese black-iced coffee, which helped me remain conscious for the whole night. Moreover, my cousins also spent a white night with me, and we kept talking until dawn.

• Explain how you felt about it.

After the cake had been baked, I became worn out and wanted to hit the bed as quickly as possible. I slept like a rock after having a white night. However, it was a memorable experience for me to recall the traditional activities of Tet and an opportunity to bond with family members.

Sleep - IELTS Speaking Part 3 Questions

Given below are the IELTS Speaking recent actual test questions and sample answers based on the speaking topic 'Sleep.'

1. What are some advantages of getting enough sleep?

Getting enough sleep plays an important role in shaping people’s health. It helps us recharge our energy after an exhausting day, and avoids being overloaded. For example, an 8-hour sleep is believed to help people work efficiently and boost their productivity. If people don’t get enough sleep, they can find it difficult to concentrate on their tasks.

2. How do people in your country keep track of their sleep?

In this age, people in my country can take advantage of cutting-edge devices to be aware of their sleep. Such applications have been invented to analyze their sleep patterns and even give them some recommendations such as listening to the ocean waves or raindrops, which helps them sleep better. If it were not for those applications, they might not know what problems they are facing.

3. How do you avoid falling asleep when you are at a meeting?

The key factor that keeps people awake in a meeting is that they should go to bed earlier than usual, else the tiredness because of insufficient sleep will drain their energy the next day. Moreover, caffeine may also be another option to help people avoid nodding off at the meeting. For example, I usually drink a cup of coffee before going to work, which keeps me conscious all day.

4. Why do some people have trouble sleeping?

There might be many reasons why people struggle to sleep these days. Most common ones are stress and anxiety, since they can keep one's mind overactive at night. A poor sleep hygiene, such as inconsistent sleep or a noisy environment, also plays a significant role.

Vocabulary Used in Describe a Time You Were Sleepy But Had to Stay Awake

home-cooked food:

• Meaning: Food cooked at home from individual ingredients
• Example: The menu offers a range of home-cooked meals, from hearty soups to stacked sandwiches to sizzling steaks.

A night owl:

• Meaning: A person who prefers to be awake and active at night
• Example: My wife’s a night owl, but I like to be in bed by 10 o’clock.

A white night:

• Meaning: A sleepless night.
• Example: I had a white night because of a stomachache.

Time-consuming:

• Meaning: Takes a lot of time to do
• Example: Producing a dictionary is a very time-consuming job.

To fall asleep:

• Meaning: To begin sleeping
• Example: I’d better get out before I fall asleep.

Conscious:

• Meaning: Awake, thinking, and knowing what is happening around you
• Example: He’s still conscious but he’s very badly injured.

Worn out:

• Meaning: Extremely tired
• Example: They were worn out after their long walk.

Sleep like a rock:

• Meaning: To experience a very deep and restful sleep; to sleep soundly.
• Example: I have to set numerous alarms for the morning because I sleep like a rock every night!

Overload:

• Meaning: To give someone more work or problems than they can deal with
• Example: Try not to overload yourself with work.

Analyze:

• Meaning: To examine carefully and in detail so as to identify causes, key factors, possible results
• Example: In the article, several experienced diplomats analyzed the president’s foreign policy.

Drain (someone or something) of (something):

• Meaning: To cause someone or something to lose some ability or quality, often energy.
• Example: Eleanor has such a pessimistic attitude that being around her just drains me of energy.

Nod off:

• Meaning: To begin sleeping, especially not intentionally
• Example: After our busy day, we both sat and nodded off in front of the TV.

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• Idioms for IELTS Speaking
• IELTS Pronunciation Guide