Describe a time when you were really busy

IELTS Speaking Part 2

Describe a time when you were really busy

 You should say:
– when this was?
– why you were so busy?
– how you managed the situation?
– and explain how you felt at the time.

Sample band 7.5:

I would like to tell you about a time when I was snowed under with a project at school.

This happened a few years ago when I was a third-year student. My classmates and I had to make a short film based on the plot of one of the stories that we learnt in the American Literature class. Our group chose ‘A White Heron’ by Sarah Orne Jewett, and I was in charge of both writing the script and finding the appropriate setting for shooting. I was also elected as the narrator because all my teammates said I had a warm and soothing voice.

‘A White Heron” is set in the Maine woods, so my friends and I had to spend a whole day traveling to the suburbs to find the location for filming. We did not have much time for preparation, and I had to finish writing the script within only two days so that everyone had enough time for rehearsal and making any necessary changes. Unfortunately, the female protagonist in our team was sick right before the shooting day, so I had to take over the role and rehearsed late until midnight. It was doubly exhausting since I was also doing an internship at a business magazine and was up to my eyeballs in deadlines and was kind of burnt out.

In the end, everything went well. Although at first I thought I might bite off more than I could chew, I knew it was the right thing to do because friends are meant to support each other. Our group got the highest score for our film project and we even decided to upload it on Youtube so that we could share our first-ever film with everyone.

Speaking Part 3

1. What can children learn by spending time at the playground?

Well, I think playgrounds are not only a form of entertainment but also beneficial for children’s development. Engaging in a variety of physical activities helps kids improve their mental and physical health. Spending time playing with their peers outside also enables young minds to develop interpersonal skills because they have the opportunity to interact with people from a wider society rather than just wasting their time at home doing frivolous stuff like playing video games.

2. Does technology make life more stressful?

There are two sides to every coin and technology is no exception. We can’t deny that breakthroughs in technology have greatly enhanced quality of life. It would be unimaginable if we were living in a modern world where there were no electronic devices or machines to assist us in doing repetitive tasks both at home and work. Conversely, many of us are living in stress as a consequence of technological advances. We are expected to be in touch at all times, so it’s really hard to have work-life balance. Related to this is the fact that we are increasingly becoming dependent on the Internet which largely does more harm than good if not used in moderation.

3. How important is it to get work-life balance?

As most people spend a major part of their adult life working, work-life balance is vital for individual well-being. It is common to see that work-related stress is getting more and more serious when many young adults sacrifice having a family in order to pursue their career. A large number of people even suffer from mental health problems such as anxiety and depression. How well one can manage to balance their working and private life therefore has a profound impact on their happiness.