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

Describe a night when you could not sleep at all

: You should say

when it happened
where you were then
why you could not sleep that night
and explain how you felt about it

: Sample Answer

I often go to bed at late night and a sleepless night is not a rare experience for me. Remaining awake to prepare for an approaching exam is the most common reason I spent wakeful nights. However, for this cue card topic, I would like to talk about a night I spent at a hospital and could not sleep even for a second

It was 2015, probably the mid-July and all of a sudden my grandfather got severely all. The doctor who came to our house to check my grandfather advised us to take him to the city hospital. We called for an ambulance and took my grandpa to the hospital. My parents, tow cousins, my eldest uncle and my youngest aunt were in the hospital. They were all very worried and my aunt was sobbing ceaselessly. We were all worried about the well-being of my grandpa. The doctor told us that it was wise of us to bring the patient to the hospital without any delay as it could have been very disastrous. This doctor also informed us that the doctor’s panel who were observing my grandpa’s sickness history and previous medical records have decided to operate his that night. He also assured us that this was a minor operation and we had nothing to worry about as the best doctor in the town was happen to be there that night. In spite of the doctor’s assurance we were concerned

At around 11.00 pm the doctor operated my grandpa and he was unconscious. I stayed at the hospital till the next noon and could not sleep at all

Frankly speaking, I was not bothered about sleeping at all. A hospital is not a place where a patient’s relatives and family members can sleep. I prayed to the Almighty to help my grandpa get well soon. At around 4.30 in the morning came to us and gave us a good news. My grandpa was conscious at that time and he wanted to see us. That was a great news indeed and we thanked the sister who gave us this news. That was a big news for us as it confirmed that my grandfather was doing okay

It was a sleepless night but I did not feel dizzy or sleepy at all. My thought was worried about something else. My brain must have been busy thinking about the sickness and wellbeing of my grandfather and the expresso coffee also released some of my tiredness. I slept next day at around 3.30 pm and my grandfather was out of any danger at already. Interestingly I slept almost 14 hours as I can recall