Describe an App You Use on Your Mobile Phone - IELTS Cue Card

Why are IELTS Cue Cards Important?

The IELTS Cue Card is an essential part of the IELTS Speaking test since the test-takers can use it to test their speaking ability flow, coherence, and using the correct language in a specific situation. By addressing the bullet points and speaking for 1-2 minutes, the test-takers can demonstrate their vocabulary range, grammatical accuracy, pronunciation and ability to organise the talk. A candidate’s performance in the Cue Card dramatically influences the overall IELTS Speaking score, which comprises part of the total IELTS score, which is 25%. Therefore, preparing for the IELTS Cue Card is essential to obtaining a high score and realising your academic and professional dreams.

Describe an App You Use on Your Mobile Phone: Sample Answer 1

What is it?

Google Maps is a mobile application accessible to everyone, and people can use it free of charge. This application is one of the most popular and most familiar for now. Google Maps provides detailed map support and assists in smartphone navigation. It also offers directions for driving, walking or riding turn by turn, with the complete map displayed in real-time, including traffic congestion and public transport data worldwide.

How do you use it?

The Google Maps app can be applied for different purposes. The most widespread purpose is setting a destination. It does not matter how a person plans to reach the place – by car, on foot, bike, or public transport. The application will indicate the most suitable route and the time for travelling. The user might look up a specific address, famous company or landmark is helpful. Additionally, the user can save a shortcut to just visited places in the “Favourites” bar to open it with a single tap. Another frequent research is exploring a new area on the map and reading the reviews or more data about the restaurants, stores or other places you see around you.

What benefits do you get?

The most obvious and straightforward benefit of the Google Maps application is convenience. You can easily access the fastest route to your destination by typing the address and using the turn-by-turn navigation. This feature is beneficial, especially when driving to new destinations; hence, you do not have to remember the routes or access a printed map. It is also helpful due to the real-time traffic updates that direct drivers to avoid congestion, thus arriving at their destinations much faster. Public transit directions are also convenient for bus and train users. The Google Maps application is user-friendly and efficient for travelling and exploring new destinations.

Why is this mobile app vital to you?

Google Maps is another travel app I cannot live without. I use it daily to travel back and forth from the office, visit clients in other parts of the city or explore new places on vacation. The ability to quickly find the optimal route and visualise the state of the traffic is beneficial. Google Maps helps me to maintain my way even in an unfamiliar place. I also use plenty of additional information it provides about a location. I read reviews or check some pics to decide whether this is an excellent place to have dinner or buy gifts. I love the “Offline Maps” feature when travelling in unknown places with uneven internet access.

Describe an App You Use on Your Mobile Phone: Sample Answer 2

What is it?

A popular free app that provides language-learning opportunities for everyone is Duolingo. There are various courses in more than 30 languages, such as Spanish, French, German, Mandarin, etc. The software has a game form of the training process, consisting of small interactive lessons, exercises to practice the material, and following the learning progress.

How do you use it?

The Duolingo app can be installed on your smartphone or tablet, allowing you to practice a new language at your own pace. The developers released the app with short lessons that only take a few minutes daily. This way, finding time to learn a language during your daily routine is convenient. Each lesson is focused on the most essential vocabulary, grammar, and conversational elements of the language you are studying. You will pass interactive exercises: word matching, sentence translations and multiple-choice tasks. As you progress, the app will use the results to adjust the complexity of the content and provide immediate feedback to reinforce the received information. Other exciting app features are the “Duolingo Leagues”, where you can compete with other users and add friends to share the learning process and compare results.

What benefits do you get?

The main advantage is that the Duolingo app makes language learning more available, fun and efficient. Due to bite-sized lessons and the game format, it will be easier to keep up with your practice every day without losing motivation, and you can dedicate just a few minutes daily. Regular use of Duolingo allows you to steadily increase your vocabulary, enhance grammar and acquire conversational skills in your target language. Thanks to the adaptive learning algorithm, it is possible to ensure that you are always slightly above your level and not getting bored or frustrated. The other benefit is free usage: you do not need to pay any amount to use Duolingo since it is free and has no hidden fees or subscriptions. Therefore, people of all social classes and financial means can use the app.

Why is this mobile app vital to you?

For me, the Duolingo app has been a great way to start with new languages joyfully. For a few years already, I have been using the app to learn Spanish, and I must admit, I have achieved outstanding results during a relatively short time span. The combination of exciting lessons, immediate responses, and progress monitoring has motivated me to reach my language acquisition goals. Moreover, I love the possibility of practising whenever I have a free moment. It might be another boring line, a bus, or the time before sleep. I can have a few-minute Duolingo break in any situation to make my day perfect. Learning a new language might be challenging, but Duolingo makes it funny and achievable. I believe the skills it helped me acquire have been valuable in practical use and opened up new cultural aspects for me.

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Describe an App You Use on Your Mobile Phone: Sample Answer 3

What is it?

The TED app is a free application for your mobile phone that gives you access to TED Talks and influential and knowledgeable speeches on a wide range of topics from professional speakers, innovative people and influential individuals. The TED app helps you watch and listen to thousands of inspirational TED Talks on the move, covering various topics, including science, technology, design, business, arts and culture, current trends, and more.

How do you use it?

There are several options for accessing the content on the TED app. First, you can browse existing or new TED Talks. The app organises talks on different themes and offers collections of video or audio playlists on various exciting topics. Thus, you can look for talks by your favourite speakers or explore new and popular ones.

Having seen the talks, the app enables you to save your favourites for offline viewing, send them to a friend, or play them faster. Additional elements such as related talks, speakers' biographies, transcripts and more make my learning experience more comprehensive. Another great option I received from the app is downloading talks to watch without an internet connection. This option is handy for one on a trip or in an area with limited internet access. At the same time, there is still valuable content to watch or listen to.

What benefits do you get?

The most valuable aspect of the TED app is the library of TED Talks. These talks usually are incredibly informative, inspirational or at least thought-provoking. With so many topics available, finding something relevant to one's interest in learning more about, seeing things from a different perspective, or just relaxing and being entertained is always possible. Convenient access through a well-designed application and the function of personalised recommendations, as well as the chance to watch the talks offline, makes it easy to integrate watching TED Talks into one's daily life. People can now consume this content while taking a bus, standing in a line, or even working out, constantly using every free minute to expand their understanding of the world. Finally, the best part of the TED app is that it is free. The dissemination of ideas is the core mission of the platform itself, and the application provides more convenient access to everyone in the world.

Why is this mobile app important to you?

The TED app is an indispensable tool in my daily life and a versatile resource for personal and professional development. A never-ending well of inspiration for me, I am always eager to learn new things and know exciting facts. The diversity of subjects in the TED Talks is vast, making the talks an eternal source of attraction to me. As such, whether I am getting to work, waiting for a dentist appointment, or simply resting after a long day at home, I often open the app on my phone to listen to fascinating stories and insights speakers share. The possibility of customising the speed of listening and downloading the talks I am interested in has proven helpful since I can adjust the TED Talk schedule to fit my daily traffic. Besides educating me and feeding my intellectual curiosity, the app has also been an enormous motivational source. In many talks, speakers explore the themes of innovation, creativity and overcoming obstacles, allowing me to remain resolute in reaching my goals and perspectives.

Describe an App You Use on Your Mobile Phone: Sample Answer 4

What is it?

Calm is one of the most popular meditation and mindfulness apps that can help you reduce stress, sleep better, and be mindful and focused. The app contains numerous guided meditations, sleep stories, relaxing music and other features to help you develop your mindful practice. 

How do you use it? 

The Calm app can be used in different ways to support your mental and emotional health. First, the application’s signature functionality includes a guided meditation library. They are suitable for anxiety, focus, sleep and other topics. You may choose one from simple 3-minute ones to 25-minute meditations, depending on your schedule and needs.

What benefits do you get?

Besides the guided meditations, the Calm app provides so-called “Sleep Stories”, simply bedtime stories read by famous voices to help you relax before falling asleep. There are also portions of calming music, sounds of nature and “Masterclasses” to learn more about mindfulness and other aspects of well-being. A “Daily Calm” meditation is also included – a new, short guided practice every day. The app has tracking and reminders to help you build a mindful habit.

Why is this mobile app vital to you?

Being someone who has been dealing with anxiety and all its prerequisites for the past years, this app has by far been the most essential tool in my way to a healthier mental and emotional life. In a world that constantly feels like it’s moving too fast and there is no time to stop, retreat behind the walls of your inner calm and look inside. Calm has given me a sanctuary. I started using it at possibly my lowest point in life when I felt burned out, restless and struggling with getting quality sleep. The soothing bedtime stories and guided meditations became an essential part of my daily routine, helping me achieve an inner peace, concentration and clarity that seemed to elude me. And now, I can see how much better I’ve become at managing stress, maintaining focus and getting a solid, uninterrupted eight-hour sleep. The personal recommendations and progress analytics tool also helped me make meditation a lasting habit I can trust no matter how busy or chaotic life gets. On top of all that, Calm granted me an excellent opportunity to work on my personal development and self-discovery. Daily meditation and reflection have enabled me to gain a deeper insight into my thoughts, experiences and behaviours, and they have allowed me to make positive changes and become a better person.

Sample/Follow-up Questions

1. Please describe a situation where Google Maps helped you get through a new place or avoid traffic.

Sure! Well, it happened about a month ago. I was driving to the city for a contract meeting, a business situation. And the problem was that it was an unknown area for me. So I put the address of the place in Google Maps, and the Maps showed me the quickest option. However, in a mere ten minutes, I received an update on my phone about a massive accident on the highway, which meant significant detours. I got an alternative; the app redirected me to another road. It was close but almost there; not many knew about it. Ultimately, I got to the city and the meeting on time. So it was beneficial and exciting.

1. How has regularly used the Duolingo app helped you get better at the Spanish language in practice? 

Consistently using the Duolingo app has contributed to my improved Spanish language skills over the past couple of years. Initially, my primary goal was to build my vocabulary using the app’s various lessons and modules. However, I increasingly noticed that I could construct sentences with proper grammar and deduce the logical order of a conversation when that was happening. The app’s emphasis on adaptive learning has been indispensable – I never get the chance to be bored or overwhelmed since it constantly gives me new material that is relevant to my proficiency level. Furthermore, the gamification qualities like earning points and moving up the league tables incentivise me to do my daily practice, no matter how short – 10-15 minutes – it might be. Consistency matters because that is the only way to practice actual fluency.

1. Could you share with us a TED Talk that has served as a source of inspiration or influence for you and why?

One of the TED talks that influenced how I felt and moved forward in my thoughts and perceptions was “How to Make Stress Your Friend” by Kelly McGonigal. The author talked about the benefits of stress rather than the harm people could create to their health. The physiological body’s stress response could benefit if people learned how to manage and control it. McGonigal shared many scientific studies proving that stress motivated people to rise to the challenge and strengthened their connection with other executives. I have experienced stress and anxiety attacks of different levels and attended a psychologist for several years to help me overcome them. Therefore, this lecture spoke to the depths of my soul. It convinced me how to respond to stress and see it as my chance and possibility to grow rather than the fear that prevents this growth—some fearful minutes with my therapist several years ago equalled minutes only of opportunity for me to demonstrate my new strategy of perceiving and handling stress. Different levels of professional growth and the availability of access to various types of videos revealed a new world in personal growth.

1. Could you provide a specific example or context in which the Calm app has made you feel calmer and more centred? 

Oh, absolutely. The one experience that comes to mind happened several months ago. I was working on a big project that had to be done by the end of the month, and the deadline was looming over me. I was under a lot of pressure, and I noticed that I became very anxious. I could not focus and be productive. I installed the Calm app and did one of the “Anxiety Relief” guided meditations. It was only 10 minutes, but the narrator’s voice and the calming music in the background made me take a step back and reflect. I managed to calm my rushing thoughts, take a few breaths and re-center. After the meditation, I noticed the change in my countenance, as silly as it sounds – I felt more grounded and level-headed. I was ready to tackle the project. That ability to re-centre quickly in highly stressful situations has been a game changer for me. I honestly believe it made me a better professional.

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Tips to Answer IELTS Cue Card

1. Understand the prompt carefully: Read and fully understand all the components in the cue card to be sure you are addressing all the points. Subsequently, identify the central topic, any specific details, and examples, if needed, as well as the overall objective of the question. 
2. Organise your thoughts: Plan a point to the plotline of the central ideas and how you will structure your speech. 
3. Use relevant vocabulary: Use appropriate and descriptive vocabulary about the topic to demonstrate language. Use diverse words and phrases in various formations to express your ideas clearly. 
4. Speak fluently and coherently: Make sure you speak clearly without too long pauses and connect your details or ideas logically to come up with coherent information that is easy to follow. 
5. Provide specific details and examples: Back your main topic sentences with supporting information such as examples, facts, statistics or personal experiences to make your response more personal and authentic. 
6. Maintain good pronunciation and intonation: Carefully concentrate on pronouncing words correctly and using appropriate stress and intonation, making your response sound natural and easier to understand. 
7. Manage time effectively: Ensure you finish all the parts within the expected 1-2 minutes. Ergo, take your time completing and go slowly. 
8. Demonstrate a range of Grammar and Structures: Utilise various grammatical structures and sentence types to represent varied linguistic abilities. 
9. Engage the examiner: Maintain eye contact and use good body language to make eye contact with the examiner to make the response more natural and conversational. 
10. Practice, practice, practice: Always practice with sample cue cards to ensure training, internalisation and confidence.

Conclusion

The IELTS Cue Card is an essential part of the IELTS Speaking test. It is an opportunity for you to exhibit your capacity to speak fluently, coherently and with appropriate language on a topic given to you. By using the broad range of tips delineated above and practising with aid, you will be well-ready to manage the Cue Card section. Your possibility of getting a high score on the IELTS, based on the speech segment, will be boosted. Remember that a high IELTS score can help you get into your chosen academic and professional role. Thus, taking the time to master this critical tool is always worthwhile. Yocket is an excellent destination to visit if you want to look for aspects that can aid in progressing on the IELTS. From there, you can receive tons of materials, tutorials, samples, personalised guidance and more on the IELTS.