Effective Strategies to Master the IELTS Cue Card
With over 3 million test-takers, IELTS is now one of the most trusted English language exams. More than 12.5K across 150 countries worldwide recognize its scores for job, admission and visa purposes. Aspirants prepare hard to get a minimum of 7 band on a scale of 0-9 on the exam. However, most of them struggle to handle the IELTS cue card. So, they connect to the best trainers in the market. They guide them to take an online IELTS speaking test to prepare for this task.
Now, possibly, you might be thinking, why do the guide to do so? Well, this article can clear your doubts as it explores everything about the cue card and effective strategies to prepare for it.
Understanding the IELTS Cue Card
Cue Cardas are the most important part of the IELTS exam pattern. It is the second task in the speaking section. In this, test takers get a prompt on a card (cue card) related to describing their personal experience, people, place, objects or things, events and so on. It is a one-on-one interview round conducted a week before or after the IELTS test date. Many test takers fail to find answers to this task because they lose confidence. The best trainers in the market advise the aspirants to work on some skills and follow some strategies to make this task smooth. Thus, let us know about it in the next part.
Strategies for The IELTS Cue Cards
The IELTS cue card accesses speaking skills over a variety of topics. Individuals face several challenges to prepare for this task. However, IELTS experts guide them to follow some of the best strategies to prepare for the exam and secure a good band score. Thus, let us know them below.
Master the Preparation Minute
Test takers have 3 minutes to complete the cue card task. This task is divided into 1 minute to understand the prompt and collect all the necessary information or details to prepare a well-structured speech to speak for 2 minutes. However, test takers should utilise the preparation minutes. It will help them to prepare a strong speech by collecting all the necessary information.
Understand the Speaking Band Descriptors
Unlike other sections, the speaking section of the IELTS exam uses face-to-face interviews with trained examiners to evaluate speaking proficiency. Examiners look for four crucial speaking skills.
Fluency and Coherence
Lexical Resource
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Pronunciation
Aspirants should consider this point and work on polishing the above skills. It will help them to get their dream scores and unlock doors to several opportunities worldwide.
Stay Calm and Confident
Many test takers get nervous and lose confidence in the IELTS cue card task. Due to this, they fail to structure a strong speech. However, they should breathe deeply in this situation and don’t aim for perfection. It will help them to focus on communication and boost their confidence.
These were the best strategies to prepare and answer in the cue card. Every year, many test takers take practice tests online to master this task. It has a lot of benefits. Thus, let us have a brief discussion on it.
How Practice Tests Help to Prepare for the IELTS Cue Card
Taking an online IELTS speaking test is the best preparation method. It helps the aspirants in several ways, from understanding the exam pattern to building confidence. Almost every aspirant tries to take a maximum number of practice tests because it benefits them in several ways. Thus, some of them are mentioned below.
Simulate Test Conditions
Experts use their experience and previously asked questions to prepare the practice test papers. Moreover, they take these papers at the same test timings. Thus, it helps the test takers to get familiar with the paper pattern and prepare to handle unfamiliar topics confidently.
Get Instant Feedback
Experts use AI tools to evaluate the performance in the speaking section. It helps the test takers track their mistakes in the IELTS cue card and get instant feedback. Due to this, they can work on their weaker areas and build confidence to answer every possible question.
Learn at Own Pace
Every test taker has their skills. Some might be weak in speaking the English language. However, a mock test is the best resource for their test preparation. It adapts to the learning pace of the aspirants. Due to this, they can overcome all the mistakes, learn at their own pace and build confidence to answer the cue card.
Conclusion
The cue card is a critical task for the IELTS exam. A good performance in this task can help the test takers ace the IELTS exam. However, they struggle to prepare for it. So, they take help from experts at Gradding. They assist in preparing for every section of the IELTS exam pattern through their regular sessions and personalised study materials such as the IELTS reading mock test, speech training and more. Thus, it helps the aspirants to get familiar with the paper pattern and build confidence to ace the exam pattern.
