A street market in your city/ a street market where you did shopping: IELTS Cue Card

Bhargavee Sisodia

03 Jul 2024

The International English Language Testing System, or IELTS test as it is popularly known, consists of four primary components: the Writing, Reading, Listening, and Speaking test. Every test has a different format, therefore it's critical to understand it before trying. You must adhere to a methodical IELTS exam preparation program in order to achieve this. It is not enough to just go through the often-asked IELTS speaking questions; you also need to get ready for the most popular IELTS exam sample topics, practice responding to them, and take an official IELTS practice test. 

In this blog, we'll discuss the IELTS speaking topics and various strategies for addressing them. This will help you use the guidance on the cue card, understand the underlying meanings of each IELTS speaking test question, and effectively communicate your thoughts.

Preparing for the speaking portion of the IELTS exam is essential to getting a decent score. For the first portion of the IELTS speaking test, you should be prepared with a brief introduction of yourself.

Go over the different answers for the IELTS speaking topics rapidly as you prepare for the speaking test of the IELTS exam. This helps you gain momentum, understand the process of developing unique solutions, and increase the amount of thoughts in your head. 

Present your monologue on the IELTS speaking topics to a mentor so they may offer you feedback on your weaknesses. While being timed, practice responding to IELTS speaking questions and giving speeches on related subjects. That would enable you to gauge how quickly you give your message. 

Participate in at least one daily IELTS practice test. You would have a better understanding of the format of IELTS speaking questions as well as your ability to manage your time and communicate effectively. Sometimes reading books and IELTS test materials can be too much to handle, thus to prepare for the IELTS speaking test, you might wish to watch videos.

In this blog post, we'll go over one of the IELTS exam sample questions from the speaking test to help you better understand the approaches to taking on the topic on a personal level. You will have two minutes to speak on the assigned IELTS speaking topics after having a minute to consider your response. After giving a two-minute speech in the IELTS speaking topics part, you will be asked a few follow-up questions by the examiner. This will conclude your IELTS speaking test. 

IELTS speaking topics: A street market in your city/ a street market where you did shopping

Let's first discuss how to approach the topic methodically so that you may come up with your own responses on well-known or obscure IELTS speaking topics before moving on to the IELTS exam sample questions and answers. 

You can talk about any personal experience, original concept, or arbitrary item or occasion for your IELTS speaking topics. As a result, you must be ready for whatever topic is given to you in the cue card part. Your approach to such IELTS speaking questions needs to be extremely basic, for instance, if your IELTS speaking subject is "A street market in your city/a street market where you did shopping." it should consist of the following pointer : 

• Where is the market?
• Describe the market
• Describe the experience
• Conclusion

Let’s have a look at some sample answers and follow-up questions on the above topic.

IELTS exam sample 1: A street market in your city/ a street market where you did shopping

Where is the market?

I have a shopping bug in me that cannot be controlled every time I visit a street market. The wide range of products available in the street market grabs my attention instantly as I indulge in my version of window shopping. The market I visited most recently is the famous “Sarojini Market” in the heart of India, Delhi.

Describe the market

Sarojini market is huge and always crowded, according to my colleagues in Delhi. After I visited the market, I agreed with them. It was impossible for me to cover the entire market within one day. I went there on a weekday, but the crowd was huge. As I gradually skimmed through the variety of shops and street vendors in the market, I spotted several products that I wanted to acquire but couldn’t because of their unavailability at the local market of my town. The prices were not as low as you would expect them to be from a street market, but on the other hand, the quality of products was also higher than expected from a street market.

Describe the experience

I went to several street vendors and bought a bunch of useful items like handmade coasters, decorated rock paperweight, some beautiful kurta for my sister, a couple of pants for myself, a nice embroidered bag for my mother, and a handloom kurta for my father. I also bought some sunglasses and key chains for my colleagues and friends back in my city. It was a little difficult to walk through the market because of the crowd, but the enthusiastic bargaining of the buyers was very entertaining to watch. The only issue I faced with the clothes I bought from Sarojini market was with the sizes. The sizes were not as per the labels, which is why I faced some fittings issues.   

Conclusion 

All in all, it was a wholesome experience for me at Sarojini Market. My shopping was a success and I got a few very useful products from there. I would love to visit the market again and skim through the other half of the market I failed to visit because of time constraints. 

IELTS exam sample 2: A street market in your city/ a street market where you did shopping

Where is the market?

A few years back, I visited the “city of joy”, Kolkata. A dear friend of mine lives there and she insisted that I visit their famous “Esplanade Market” with her. She wanted to show me the wide variety of products available in the most famous street market of Kolkata and experience the pleasure of shopping there. 

Describe the market

Esplanade was the biggest market I have ever visited in my life. It covered an entire street along with numerous shops by its side. The variety of products in the market was huge. You could get anything and everything you want from Kolkata, in the same place. The market was so huge, that I was on the verge of getting lost a few times. Just like other street markets, this market was also very crowded with enthusiastic buyers. 

Describe the experience

I initially intended to just look around the market with my friend but ended up buying a bunch of items from there because the products and prices were very flattering. I had a fascination with the dressing styles of Bengali people, so I ended up buying a lot of clothes from the market at very reasonable prices. Sure I had to check the quality of the clothes before buying them because shops in street markets tend to compromise the quality of products to lower its price. I also bought a lot of small souvenirs for my family and friends. My friend and I indulge in the mouth-watering street food of Kolkata like “papri chaat”, “phuchka” also called “golgappa”, dahi vada, and several types of sweets. 

Conclusion 

Overall my experience in Kolkata was extremely satisfying and the cherry on top was my visit to the Esplanade market. I can vividly picture the market every time I think about street markets. The people of Kolkata were very welcoming so were the shop owners of the market. They treat the customers with a lot of patience and the products are at par with their cost. If given the opportunity, I would love to visit the market again in the future. 

IELTS speaking questions  - Follow-up question

Do all street markets sell goods at lower costs?  

Answer: In my experience, street markets are meant to sell products at lower cost to attract people from all segments of society. That is why, the products procured from the street markets need to be scanned well to ensure their quality before buying because the sellers tend to compromise with quality of the products to match their price. Having said that, it is not true that all street markets sell products at cheaper costs. I have visited several street markets in India, that sell products at reasonably higher rates than usual, but the quality of those products is much higher than other street markets. I think prices and quality of products at a street market depend on the customer's demands. 

What is the main difference between street markets and shopping malls? 

Answer: The key difference between shopping at a mall and at a street market is the price and quality of products. If you aim to buy products from renowned brands, then a shopping mall is the best place for you to visit. Whereas if you are willing to purchase local specialties at cheaper costs, then street markets are your turf. Shopping malls are meant for people who like to shop for products in comfort, while street markets attract those customers who like shopping at crowded places with lower prices of products. 

Do you like shopping at street markets? 

Answer: Absolutely. I love shopping at street markets because of the wide range of products available within the same locality. The products are cheaper at street markets than other shops. I also love the jovial crowds of enthusiastic shoppers at street markets. I enjoy brushing up my bargaining skills whenever it is necessary at street markets. All in all, If enjoy my experience at street markets more than shopping at a mall. 

Conclusion

To help you get ready for the IELTS exam, you need a trustworthy mentor. They ought to provide you with resources for each section of the test, guidance on a range of IELTS speaking questions, and IELTS exam sample answers to those questions. Our team of experts at D-VIVID  can act as your guiding light. We have well-known teachers and mentors on hand to help you with every step of the IELTS exam preparation process. We have a vast library of IELTS speaking topics and a customized IELTS sample test that can help you score in the band you want for the speaking test. We'll be at your side every step of the way. Thus, take advantage of this chance and contact us for a hassle-free IELTS exam experience.