IELTS Speaking Part 2: IELTS Cue Card/ Candidate Task Card

Describe a party that you have attended

: You Should Say

what party it was
where the party was held
who attended the party
and describe what you did in that party

: Sample Answer

Today I’m going to tell you about a particular party I went to earlier in the year, I’ll tell you where it was, and who went and what I got up to whilst I was there

In honesty, I can be a bit grumpy about going to parties! I never know what to wear as I don’t really like dressing up. I feel self-conscious in dresses and too much of a scruff if I don’t make an effort. I worry about whether I’ll know anyone, and I dread sit-down meals because I’m a vegetarian and I always seem to be a problem. This being so when a close friend of mine announced she would have a big celebration for her fiftieth birthday, my heart sank a bit. Of course, I put on a smile, and said ‘that’s great!’ but I wasn’t really looking forward to it. I knew that it was important to her, though, so I was determined to make a real effort, and of course, I agreed I would go

Well, I should have had more faith. The party was great. It was held in a beautifully converted barn in a rural location on the edges of Sheffield in England. The venue had a wooden polished floor and was very simply decorated with some tastefully positioned fairy lights and candles. The candles were, in fact, artificial for safety reasons, but they looked very realistic. There was low-level music playing and lots of places to sit and chat or mingle with other guests. If I remember correctly, there were white tablecloths over the tables and some simple but lovely floral decorations. The food was provided by a friend of the Birthday Girl, who specialises in fast street food. You could queue up for a delicious meal presented in a wrap from a very jolly woman serving from an open-sided vehicle parked in the cobbled courtyard outside. In a separate annexed room inside was a table almost collapsing under the weight of delicious home-made cakes and puddings on one side, and glorious British cheeses on the other. There was also a small bar serving drinks, for which my host picked up the bill at the end, it was really beautifully done – very tasteful, calm and joyful too

My friend, whose birthday it was, has a really wide network of friends. She decided to invite anyone and everyone from her social circle. So there were old school friends; people she knew from her voluntary activities with scouts; fellow runners – she is very active in a number of running clubs. Former work colleagues; people she’d come to know just from waiting with other parents at the school gates when her children were little; fellow entrepreneurs (she runs her own small business) as well as neighbours and acquaintances from every area of her life

Before I went I was worried about whether I’d know anyone else there. I hadn’t been living in the area for all that long before being invited, and so I was a bit hesitant about what to expect. I should have remembered what a good judge of character my fantastically friendly friend is! What did I do at the party? Apart from eating my body weight in delicious food… I met and talked to many interesting people that I might otherwise never have come across! This included the self-employed interior designer; marathon runners; a former Bluebell girl (that’s a famous Parisian dance troupe); artists; writers; an organ transplant coordinator; medical doctors; IT workers; academics and students. It was a remarkable cross-section of fascinating folk. I had a really wonderful time

What’s more, I discovered that actually, I did know quite a few people there after all. It was great fun trying to discover how we all came to be there and what connected each of us to the –‘hostess with the mostest’ to coin the old phrase! I am almost won over. Next time she offers to host a party, I might even find myself looking forward to it, you never know