Describe an Old Friend You Got in Contact with Again - IELTS Speaking Cue Card & Part 3 Questions

The IELTS Speaking Cue Card, ‘Describe an Old Friend You Got in Contact with Again’, evaluates your fluency, emotional expression, and vocabulary range. The topic will help you discuss relationships in relation to memories and personal growth development. Practicing with this topic gives you an opportunity to showcase your storytelling abilities and use reflective language. 

To improve your band scores in the IELTS Speaking section, the discussion questions will also make you become familiar with digital age relationship maintenance, social media effects, and development of friendship. Regular practice will help in building confidence to answer questions with both clarity and comprehensive understanding.

IELTS Speaking Cue Card on ‘Describe an Old Friend You Got in Contact with Again’

Sample Answer 1 on ‘Describe an Old Friend You Got in Contact with Again’

Friends are the people who one can totally count on. The bonding of friendship is beyond the ambit of selfishness, astuteness, shrewdness and duplicity. Hence, finding or bumping into an old friend is nothing but bliss. Last week, I encountered one of my old school friends in a mall when shopping for clothes. His name is Michael and he used to be my best friend till primary school. However, we moved apart after I changed schools after being promoted to middle school.

Micahel used to be a gem of a person and was one of the sharpest minds of our entire class who used to be looked up to by all of our classmates. Consequently, he was an apple of the eyes of all of our teachers. Regardless, I befriended him because of his genteel and sincerity and his behaviour with all others. To my surprise, Michael was still the same even after so many years with the same smile, composure and that identical calmness, as if nothing had changed.

I was selecting some of the outfits and was discussing the price of the same with the shop attendant when Michael called my name. Upon looking at the caller, at first, I ignored him as I couldn’t gauge that he was an old pal of mine. When he called my name twice, I realised that he indeed was Michael. Thereafter, we laughed and guffawed galore, all the while till the time we looked at our watches. Finally, we shared contacts and planned to catch up again soon.

It was a pleasant surprise and an incredible experience. I rejoiced in our past and enacted every silly antic that we used to perform back in the day. To meet someone again from our childhood and that too when you least anticipated it is nothing less than a boon and I am glad we came in contact with each other again.

Sample Answer 2 on ‘Describe an Old Friend You Got in Contact with Again’

Riya is my school friend who I first met eight years ago. But, I recently discovered it after a long period of time. We studied together from primary school until Grade 10, but eventually drifted apart when we chose different academic streams and moved to different cities. Riya has an outgoing personality and the ability to establish friendships with anyone she meets. Even back in school, she had a strong inclination towards art and design. I believe that creativity seems to run in her family because her mother is also a painter.

We got back in contact quite unexpectedly through social media. I came across her profile while scrolling through Instagram but at that point, I hesitated wondering if she would even remember me. I decided to contact her through a message and she replied within seconds. From there, we exchanged numbers and ended up talking for nearly two hours that night.

Reconnecting with her brought me both nostalgic feelings and comforting emotions. Our memories transported us to a time when we could enjoy our free time without restrictions. I felt genuine happiness because our relationship remained strong despite meeting after a long period of time.

Vocabulary for IELTS Speaking Cue Card on ‘Describe an Old Friend You Got in Contact with Again’

• Ambit

Meaning: scope
Eg.: This case was beyond my ambit, so I shared it with my seniors.

• Astuteness

Meaning: sharpness/cleverness
Eg.: His astuteness and discernment made him the head of the staff.

• Shrewdness

Meaning: cunningness
Eg.: Shrewdness is considered one of the essential qualities of a businessman, which is not correct.

• Duplicity

Meaning: bluff; insincerity
Eg.: Duplicity in his words raised the finger of suspicion at him.

• Gauge

Meaning: evaluate
Eg.: I couldn’t gauge the loss before finally facing it.

• Drifted Apart

Meaning: People who were once close to each other lost their connection over the years.
Eg.: Individuals tend to drift apart from most of their schoolmates after finishing school.

• Outgoing

Meaning: Friendly and confident
Eg.: She can initiate conversations with anyone she meets due to her outgoing nature.

• Inclination 

Meaning: Interest or tendency which is natural
Eg.: Rachel has an inclination towards music from a very young age.

• Run in the family

Meaning: A genetic link in terms of specific traits and characteristics which is passed down to the next generation
Eg.: He is a great painter which many believe that creativity runs in the family as his father was an artist as well.

• Nostalgic

Meaning: Becoming emotional while remembering past experiences.
Eg.: I had gone to my school last week and felt nostalgic.

Part 3 Follow-Up Questions on ‘Describe an Old Friend You Got in Contact with Again’

The IELTS Speaking Part 3 requires abstract thinking where your answers need to show developed viewpoints and relevant reasoning. Supporting your perspective is crucial in this section for which you must work on your critical thinking skills. The Part 3 follow-up questions on ‘Describe an Old Friend You Got in Contact with Again’ are provided below.

• What is the influence of social media on friendships?

Social media has attenuated the spaces and gaps that are created when people move apart from their friends and kins and has played a significant role in glueing the old pals together. However, it has also curbed the intensity of the friendship to a great extent as it can never dislodge the essence of real meetups and hangouts.

• Why do people lose contact with each other after graduation?

One has to go to pursue one’s endeavour and in order to follow higher education or seek a job that suits one’s education and intent, one has to move out of one’s comfort zone. Due to this, people have to distance themselves from the place where they met their friends or used to gad around during college years.

• Do you think old friends are more important to the old and young generations?

Well, honestly, it is not about the timeline or the number of years that decide the essence of real or true friendship. I believe that it’s the quality of friendship and congeniality that one shares with people irrespective of the time.

• Does friendship influence people in their personal life?

Yes, it does to a great extent. Friendship, by itself, is a significant part of one’s personal life. At most times, individuals discuss and chat around for hours with their friends so that they could know the opinions on the matters that are going on in their lives.

• What is the best way, in your opinion, to keep the connection among friends intact?

Well, for any relationship, regardless of its nature, the one thing that keeps the equation riveting and intact is honesty. Especially when anyone talks about an exclusive relationship such as friendship, there is no room for pretence, connivance and masquerade. Hence, I believe that staying true to each other is a vital attribute.

Vocabulary for IELTS Speaking Part 3 on ‘Describe an Old Friend You Got in Contact with Again’

• Attenuating

Meaning: mitigating
Eg.: This device is made for attenuating all of our problems.

• Gad around

Meaning: to travel across
Eg.: I used to gad around with my friends when I was in school.

• Pals

Meaning: friends
Eg.: I was talking to old pals of mine when I should have studied for the next day’s exam.

• Connivance

Meaning: conspiracy
Eg.: This whole plan of connivance was cooked by your brother.

• Attribute

Meaning: quality
Eg.: The attributes of a good student are not at all congruent with the qualities you have.

Such cue card topics will help you strengthen your storytelling abilities about past experiences while improving your ability to discuss more complex topics. This will help you to organize your ideas coherently while using descriptive words in a natural way and expressing your opinions with confidence. Through regular targeted practice sessions, you will develop your speaking skills for the IELTS Exam which will help you showcase advanced language skills on the exam day.

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