Skip to content

Describe a website or app you use often: cue card and sample answer

Cue card

Describe a website or app that you find very useful.

You should say:

  • what it is
  • how you found out about it
  • what you use it for

and explain why you find it so useful.

You have one minute to prepare and should speak for one to two minutes.

Try it before you read the sample. Answer this card out loud with our AI examiner and get an estimated band.

Practise with the AI examiner

Sample answer

About 239 words, or roughly two minutes of speaking.

An app I find extremely useful is Google Maps. It's so much a part of my daily life now that I sometimes forget how I managed without it.

I first started using it seriously when I moved to a new city for university. I didn't know my way around at all, and a friend showed me how to use it to plan journeys on public transport, not just for driving directions.

These days I use it for all sorts of things. Obviously, I use it to find my way somewhere new, but I also check it before I leave home to see how busy the traffic is, and it tells me exactly when the next bus is due. It's also great for finding places nearby, like restaurants or pharmacies, and I often read the reviews to decide whether somewhere is worth visiting. When I travel abroad, I download maps in advance so I can use them without an internet connection.

The main reason it's so useful is that it saves me a huge amount of time and stress. I'm quite bad with directions, so without it, I'd get lost constantly. It's also very reliable, which matters when you have to be somewhere on time. If I'm being critical, I do think I rely on it a little too much, and I've probably lost the ability to read a paper map, but on balance, it's made my life much easier.

Why this works: it covers every point on the card in order, gives specific details and a short story rather than general statements, and ends by explaining the feeling or reason, which the last line of the card asks for.

Useful vocabulary

know your way around
to be familiar with a place
be due
to be expected to arrive
worth visiting
good enough to go to
be bad with directions
to often get lost
rely on something
to depend on something
on balance
after considering good and bad points

Rounding-off question

After you finish, the examiner may ask one short question, such as:

Do your friends use this website or app too?

Part 3 questions: Technology in daily life

In Part 3, the examiner asks more abstract questions linked to the cue card topic. Give an opinion, explain why, and add an example.

What are the disadvantages of relying too much on technology?

The obvious one is that we lose basic skills, like mental arithmetic or navigation, because devices do it for us. There's also the risk of being helpless when technology fails, for example during a power cut or if your phone battery dies at the wrong moment.

Should children be allowed to have smartphones?

I think it depends on their age. For young children, the risks, like addiction and exposure to harmful content, probably outweigh the benefits. For teenagers, a phone can be useful for safety and schoolwork, but parents should set clear limits on how and when it's used.

More questions to practise

  • Has technology made people's lives less stressful or more stressful?
  • Do older people find it harder to use new technology? Why?
  • How might technology change the way we work in the next twenty years?
  • Should companies be allowed to collect information about how people use their apps?

Now say it out loud

Reading a good answer helps, but speaking is what improves your band. This set includes this cue card, Part 1 questions on mobile phones and cooking, and a Part 3 discussion.

Start this Speaking test

This sample answer was written by TestWise Prep to show language that scores well. It is not official IELTS material. Use it for ideas, not to memorise, because examiners mark rehearsed answers down.