Cue Card 2020 #31: Describe a place where you read and write, apart from your home

Sample Answer 1

You should say:

• What is it
• Where is it
• Why do you go there to read and write

Model Answer:

• There are many places apart from my home where I read and write.
• One such place is my school, and another is a library.
• Here, I would like to talk about the library.
• The name of the library is Guru Nanak Library.
• ItisrunbyanNGO.
• This NGO also runs a blood bank.
• The building is circular and has around 10,000 books.
• The annual membership is Rs 500/-
• I go there very often.
• This library is walking distance from my home.
• During exam days, I go there every day.
• I can concentrate much better there than at home.
• The atmosphere is very calm and peaceful.
• Cell phones are not allowed there.
• Many senior citizens of my hometown visit it regularly.
• They sit and read some papers or magazines over there.
• There are 5 computers with internet connection.
• I usually surf the net there when I have to prepare my assignments.
• The tables and chairs provided there are also very nice and comfortable.
• I love the ambience of the library.
• There is one librarian who is very helpful when I have to search for any book.
• Many of my friends also come there to study.
• So, this is the place apart from home where I read and write.

Part 3 – Follow up Questions

1. At what age children start reading and writing?
   Children start reading and writing when they go to pre school, that is at the age of 3-4. But some parents start teaching their children to read and write even before that.
2. Is it the sole responsibility of school to take care of reading and writing?
   Reading and writing are very important skills and should be the joint responsibility of school and parents. Children, who develop reading and writing skills at a very young age, do much better at academics than children who do not learn these skills well.
3. Is home better or other places for reading and writing?
   Home is of course a good place, but children develop the habit of reading and writing even more if they see other children around them do so. Therefore schools and libraries are also very good places. My cousin is in the US, and she tells me that she takes her children to the local library, where her children love to sit with other children and read books.
4. Share some other places where one can read or write.
   Well, children can read and write in schools, libraries, homes, parks and almost anywhere, once they develop the habit of reading and writing.
5. What is more important, reading or writing?
   I think both skills are interrelated. Reading is slightly more important because it forms the basis of writing. To be able to write well, one needs to first learn to read well.
6. Who needs to have good writing skills?
   Everyone needs some writing skills. Writing is a form of communication. Children with good writing skills can express themselves better.
7. From what can people get more information – words or pictures?
   Well, it depends. A picture can say what a 1000 words cannot, but a picture can be interpreted differently by different people. Words are clear and straightforward in conveying messages.

Sample Answer 2

Describe a place where you read and write apart from your home.

You should say:

• What is it?
• Where is it?
• Who else can be found there?

and explain why do you go there to read and write

A Modal answer with band 7+

Ok, I’m more kinda person who prefers to study at home only, but every now and then I visit the Town Library. It has 4 floors which are dedicatedly allocated for a specific reason. On the first floor, there are only periodicals, newspapers, scientific journals. The second floor has an eclectic collection of fiction books. The third floor is reserved for non-fiction books, and the Last floor has a digital library and technology-related books.

This wonderful library situated in downtown Sydney, and hardly 8 kilometres from where I live. Even though it is in the centre of city it is very calm and peaceful mainly because they have installed the sound barriers around the library.

Generally, I saw most of the people come here are students and rarely older people can be seen here if they are an avid reader. Once I crash with my former professor, he was doing some research on Computational methods in the healthcare domain.

Overall, I can say that this is a really awesome library for studying and searching, plus librarian out there is a very helpful person always eager to assist in finding books. This is the reason I go there if I have something to read and write.

An explanation based on SPEAKING: Band Descriptors (public version)

Fluency and coherence

Speaks at length without noticeable effort or loss of coherence.
Demonstrated language-related hesitation at times, or some repetition and/or self-correction.
Uses a range of connectives and discourse markers with some flexibility.

Lexical resource

Uses a wide vocabulary resource readily and flexible to convey precise meaning.
Uses less common and idiomatic vocabulary skilfully.
Paraphrase effectively as required.

Grammatical range and accuracy

Given the modal answer has a wide range of complex structures with flexibility.
Produces a majority of error-free sentences.

Pronunciation

It is easy to understand throughout; L1 accent has minimal effect on intelligibility.
Sustains flexible use of features, with only occasional lapses.
Uses a range of pronunciation features with mixed control.