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Describe a time when you had to take care of a baby. v.1

Describe a time when you had to take care of a baby. v. 1
Describe a time when you had to take care of a baby. You should say: when it was who the baby was what you did and explain how you felt about taking care of this baby. [You will have to talk about the topic for one to two minutes. You have one minute to think about what you are going to say. You can make some notes to help you if you wish. ] Model Answer 1: I love babies; I like to hug them, play with them, carry them as well as spoil them. But, when it comes to taking care of a baby, I never thought that I could ever pull it off. But, that’s exactly what I did about a year ago when my aunt left her “bundle of joy” (my baby “cousin”) for me to take care of because she needed to go out for a few hours. Anyway, I knew that I needed to be “extra” careful in making sure that he wasn’t crying. And, to do so, I was holding and carrying him very gently. Of course, this is what my aunt instructed me in order to make him fall asleep. But the problem was I wasn’t succeeding. So, I took him in front of a TV and make him watch some cartoons even though I wasn’t too sure that he was “old” enough to enjoy cartoons! Anyway, this far, he was behaving like a “good” boy. But, then came the real challenge when he started to cry, but all I could do at that time was to try to “talk” to him with some “funny” faces in order to distract him. But, unfortunately, I wasn’t making much of an impression on my baby cousin so that he could actually stop crying. Then I suddenly remembered that he was probably hungry, and he needed his baby “feeder”, and as soon as I gave him his “feeder”, he got busy in “nourishing” himself from it until he fell asleep. Fortunately, he slept until my aunt returned. Anyway, initially, I was a bit nervous about taking care of my “baby cousin”, but as time progressed, I actually started to enjoy the “responsibility”. In fact, it was really interesting to see how that little “wonder baby” tried to “communicate” with me with some “funny sounds” from time to time except, of course, the problem was that this “poor” cousin could not understand what I told him! Besides, I also felt good that I could actually help my aunt when nobody was around to help her.   Model Answer 2: I am one of those persons who love babies and yet do not know how to take care of a baby. This cue card topic reminds me of a time when taking care of my nephew came on my shoulder. I would like to thank you for this opportunity to let me talk about my experience of looking after this baby.   It would be around six months ago when I had to stay home the whole day with my nephew, Ethan, who was merely 3 years old. Usually, my nephew is very adorable and gentle in nature but when he cries out loud, I find it hard to do anything to console him and bring him back to his normal jolly state. When Ethan's parents are around and he begins to cry, I keep my distance as my previous experience has taught me that anything I do makes thing worse!   Ethan's parents had to go out for the whole day and there was none except me to look after the baby. Ethan was a good boy most of the day and he caused me no trouble about which I was afraid of. I fed him twice the meal his mom prepared beforehand, changed his diaper and dresses, caressed him, tried to make him happy by acting and making different sounds and was very cautious to make sure he was comfortable. He slept for a couple of hours and during that time I sat beside him and read a book.   At first, I was intimidated because I did not want to take full responsibility for the baby while his parents were away. However, as time passed, I started feeling confident that he would be okay with me and at a time, I started feeling happy to be with him. That day I realised that looking after a baby is not as frightening as I thought it would be but it takes a great deal of effort to make sure the baby is okay.   I actually enjoyed being with Ethan and the way he played, laughed and hugged me was something totally new to me. Model Answer 3: Thank you for the opportunity to let me talk about my experience of looking after a baby. It reminds me of an event when my closest friend Bella had to visit her hometown to see a sick relative. It would be approximately two years ago and coincidently, her husband was out of the town at that time. So she requested me to look after her daughter - Irene.   When Bella requested me to look after Irene for a couple of days, I told her that I would be glad to babysit her little Irene. Irene was six years old then and a very nice girl. I asked Bella to bring some of Irene's favourite clothes and toys, just to make her feel at home at my place. You know, kids may feel nervous in a totally new environment, and I thought her belongings will soothe her and make her feel more at ease.   I prepared her breakfast and lunch and usually took her out for dinner. As she had classes, I had to drop her at her school in the morning and pick her up in the evening as well. I tried my best to cheer her up so that she would not miss her parents much. She stayed three days at my place and I even took her to a children's park nearby, which is open to the public and adored by many children.   How did I feel? Well- it was a new experience for me and honestly speaking, I was a bit nervous at the beginning as I had no prior experience of looking after babies. But Irene was a sweet child and we had a great time together. I even missed her after she left my house. She gave me a nice pot plant as a gesture of her gratitude after a few days and mentioned to her mom that she had a great time at my home.   More Ideas to talk about this Cue Card topic: Cue Card Topic: Describe a time when you had to take care of a baby. 1. Recently, I went to Munich to meet my maternal uncle and aunt who both are doctors. Suddenly, they had to go to their office and that's why they asked me to take care of the baby boy who was two years old at that time. I looked after the baby and it was a fabulous and new experience for me. I never knew I would love spending time with a baby so much! 2. I went to a party with my mom and had to look after a baby. In fact, she was a cute little girl and her mother was the host and went to greet other guests. So, she asked me to take care of the baby for a few minutes. It was an interesting experience. 3. Taking care of babies is hard and I realized it when my neighbour, Mr Robin, asked me to look after his baby for half an hour. We live in the same apartment block in Sydney. He went to do some grocery shopping and I had a difficult time to fulfil the continuous demands of the baby. I was tired by the time his father returned and rescued me! 4. My maternal uncle came to visit our house last summer with his family and my mom asked me to look after their baby of five years old. It was a nice event indeed. The baby was decent and loved reading books. He was quite smart and I liked spending time with him. 5. Meeting with Evan was an interesting experience. He is three years old and lives in the opposite house of mine. His parents came to visit us and I was told to take care of the baby. We both had a great time together and I did things for him that I would normally avoid with anyone else. That day I realised how we become children when we are surrounded by them! 6.  Aunt Sally was terribly busy on Christmas day last year. So, she asked me to take care of her baby girl while she prepared dinner for the whole family. I was a paying guest at her home in Spain. And taking care of the baby was great fun for me. The baby was cute and amiable and she listened to my instructions and I enjoyed being with her. 7. Last week, I went to meet my sister and she requested me to accompany her baby in her absence. She planned to go shopping with her friends. Since I had spare time, I looked after her baby boy. It was a great experience and we both had a pleasant time together. We watched an animated movie and prepared a meal all by ourselves. 8. In my office, one of my colleagues brought her baby one day. Though I am not much fond of babies, she asked me to look after the baby for a while so that she could finish her presentation with the boss. I did accordingly and I must confess it was not as bad an experience as I always thought it would be!   If you can talk about the cue card topic "Describe a time when you had to take care of a baby. ", you should be able to answer the following topics as well: 1. Talk about a time when a baby stayed with you. 2. Describe a guest who stayed at your house. 3. Describe a time when you had to offer a favour to a friend. 4. Describe a time when you looked after someone other than your friend or family. 5. Describe something unusual you did recently.
Describe
a
time
when you had to take
care
of a baby. You should say: when it was
who
the baby was what you did and
explain
how you felt about taking
care
of this baby. [You will
have to
talk
about the
topic
for one to two minutes. You have one minute to
think
about what you are going to say. You can
make
some
notes to
help
you if you wish.
]


Model
Answer
1: I
love
babies
; I like to hug them, play with them, carry them as
well
as spoil them.
But
, when it
comes
to taking
care
of a baby, I never
thought
that I could ever pull it off.
But
, that’s exactly what I did about a
year
ago when my
aunt
left
her “bundle of joy” (my baby
“cousin”)
for me to take
care
of
because
she needed to go out for a few hours.

Anyway
, I knew that I needed to be “extra” careful in making
sure
that he wasn’t crying. And, to do
so
, I was holding and carrying him
very
gently
.
Of course
, this is what my
aunt
instructed me in order to
make
him fall asleep.
But
the problem was I wasn’t succeeding.
So
, I took him in front of a TV and
make
him
watch
some
cartoons
even though
I wasn’t too
sure
that he was “
old
enough
to enjoy cartoons!
Anyway
, this far, he was behaving like a “
good
boy
.
But
, then
came
the real challenge when he
started
to cry,
but
all I could do at that
time
was to try to
“talk”
to him with
some
funny
” faces in order to distract him.
But
, unfortunately, I wasn’t making
much
of an impression on my baby
cousin
so
that he could
actually
stop
crying. Then I
suddenly
remembered that he was
probably
hungry, and he needed his baby “feeder”, and as
soon
as I gave him his “feeder”, he
got
busy in “nourishing” himself from it until he fell asleep.
Fortunately
, he slept until my
aunt
returned.

Anyway
,
initially
, I was a bit nervous about taking
care
of my “baby
cousin”
,
but
as
time
progressed, I
actually
started
to enjoy the “responsibility”. In fact, it was
really interesting
to
see
how that
little
“wonder baby” tried to “communicate” with me with
some
funny
sounds” from
time
to
time
except,
of course
, the problem was that this “poor”
cousin
could not understand what I
told
him!
Besides
, I
also
felt
good
that I could
actually
help
my
aunt
when nobody was around to
help
her.
 
Model
Answer
2: I am one of those persons
who
love
babies
and
yet
do not know how to take
care
of a baby. This
cue
card
topic
reminds me of a
time
when taking
care
of my nephew
came
on my shoulder. I would like to thank you for this opportunity to
let
me
talk
about my
experience
of
looking
after this baby.
 
It would be around six months ago when I had to stay home the whole day with my nephew, Ethan,
who
was
merely
3 years
old
.
Usually
, my nephew is
very
adorable and gentle in nature
but
when he cries out loud, I find it
hard
to do anything to console him and bring him back to his normal jolly state. When Ethan's
parents
are
around and
he
begins
to cry, I
keep
my distance as my previous
experience
has taught me that anything I do
makes
thing worse!
 
Ethan's
parents
had to go out for the whole day and there was none except me to
look
after the baby. Ethan was a
good
boy
most of the
day and
he caused me no trouble about which I was afraid of. I fed him twice the meal his
mom
prepared
beforehand,
changed
his diaper and dresses, caressed him, tried to
make
him happy by acting and making
different
sounds and was
very
cautious to
make
sure
he was comfortable. He slept for a couple of hours and during that
time
I sat beside him and read a book.
 
At
first
, I
was intimidated
because
I did not want to take full responsibility for the baby while his
parents
were away.
However
, as
time
passed, I
started
feeling confident that he would be okay with me and at a
time
, I
started
feeling happy to be with him. That day I
realised
that
looking
after a baby is not as frightening as I
thought
it would be
but
it takes a
great
deal of effort to
make
sure
the baby is okay.
 
I
actually
enjoyed being with Ethan and the way he played, laughed and hugged me was something
totally
new
to me.

Model
Answer
3: Thank you for the opportunity to
let
me
talk
about my
experience
of
looking
after a baby. It reminds me of an
event
when my closest
friend
Bella had to visit her hometown to
see
a sick relative. It would be approximately two years ago and
coincidently
, her husband was out of the town at that
time
.
So
she requested me to
look
after her daughter
-
Irene.
 
When Bella requested me to
look
after Irene for a couple of days, I
told
her that I would be glad to babysit her
little
Irene. Irene was six years
old
then and a
very
nice girl. I
asked
Bella to bring
some
of Irene's
favourite
clothes and toys,
just
to
make
her
feel
at home at my place.
You know
, kids may
feel
nervous in a
totally
new
environment, and I
thought
her belongings will soothe her and
make
her
feel
more at
ease
.
 
I
prepared
her breakfast and lunch and
usually
took her out for dinner. As she had classes, I had to drop her at her school in the morning and pick her up in the evening as
well
. I tried my best to cheer her up
so
that she would not miss her
parents
much
. She stayed three days at my place and I even took her to a children's park nearby, which is open to the public and adored by
many
children.
 
How did I
feel
?
Well-
it was a
new
experience
for me and
honestly
speaking, I was a bit nervous at the beginning as I had no prior
experience
of
looking
after
babies
.
But
Irene was a sweet
child and
we had a
great
time
together. I even missed her after she
left
my
house
. She gave me a nice pot plant as a gesture of her gratitude after a few days and mentioned to her
mom
that she had a
great
time
at my home.
 
More
Ideas
to
talk
about this
Cue
Card
topic
:
Cue
Card
Topic
:
Describe
a
time
when you had to take
care
of a baby. 1. Recently, I
went
to Munich to
meet
my maternal uncle and
aunt
who
both are doctors.
Suddenly
, they had to go to their office and that's why they
asked
me to take
care
of the baby
boy
who
was two years
old
at that
time
. I looked after the baby and it was a fabulous and
new
experience
for me. I never knew I would
love
spending
time
with a baby
so
much! 2
.
I
went
to a party with my
mom
and had to
look
after a baby. In fact, she was a cute
little
girl and her mother was the host and
went
to greet other guests.
So
, she
asked
me to take
care
of the baby for a few minutes. It was an interesting
experience. 3
. Taking
care
of
babies
is
hard
and I
realized
it when my
neighbour
, Mr Robin,
asked
me to
look
after his baby for half an hour. We
live
in the same apartment block in Sydney. He
went
to do
some
grocery shopping and I had a difficult
time
to fulfil the continuous demands of the baby. I
was tired
by the
time
his father returned and rescued me!

4. My maternal uncle
came
to visit our
house
last summer with his family and my
mom
asked
me to
look
after their baby of five years
old
. It was a nice
event
indeed
. The baby was decent and
loved
reading books. He was quite smart and I liked spending
time
with him.

5. Meeting with Evan was an interesting
experience
. He is three years
old
and
lives
in the opposite
house
of mine. His
parents
came
to visit
us and
I was
told
to take
care
of the baby. We both had a
great
time
together and I did things for him that I would
normally
avoid with anyone else. That day I
realised
how we become children when we
are surrounded
by them!

6.
 Aunt
Sally was
terribly
busy on Christmas day last
year
.
So
, she
asked
me to take
care
of her baby girl while she
prepared
dinner for the whole family. I was a paying guest at her home in Spain. And taking
care
of the baby was
great
fun for me. The baby was cute and
amiable and
she listened to my instructions and I enjoyed being with her.

7. Last week, I
went
to
meet
my
sister and
she requested me to accompany her baby in her absence. She planned to go shopping with her
friends
. Since I had spare
time
, I looked after her baby
boy
. It was a
great
experience and
we both had a pleasant
time
together. We
watched
an animated movie and
prepared
a meal all by ourselves.

8. In my office, one of my colleagues brought her baby one day. Though I am not
much
fond of
babies
, she
asked
me to
look
after the baby for a while
so
that she could finish her presentation with the boss. I did
accordingly
and I
must
confess it was not as
bad
an
experience
as I always
thought
it would be!
 
If you can
talk
about the
cue
card
topic
"
Describe
a
time
when you had to take
care
of a baby.
"
, you should be able to
answer
the following
topics
as
well: 1
.
Talk
about a
time
when a baby stayed with you.

2.
Describe
a guest
who
stayed at your
house. 3
.
Describe
a
time
when you had to offer a
favour
to a
friend. 4
.
Describe
a
time
when you looked after someone other than your
friend
or family.

5.
Describe
something unusual you did recently.
14Linking words, meeting the goal of 7 or more
206Repeated words, meeting the goal of 3 or fewer
33Mistakes

IELTS speaking Describe a time when you had to take care of a baby. v. 1

Speaking
  American English
17 paragraphs
1750 words
5.5
Overall Band Score
Coherence and Cohesion: 5.5
  • Structure your answers in logical paragraphs
  • ?
    One main idea per paragraph
  • ?
    Include an introduction and conclusion
  • ?
    Support main points with an explanation and then an example
  • Use cohesive linking words accurately and appropriately
  • ?
    Vary your linking phrases using synonyms
Lexical Resource: 5.0
  • Try to vary your vocabulary using accurate synonyms
  • Use less common question specific words that accurately convey meaning
  • Check your work for spelling and word formation mistakes
Grammatical Range: 5.5
  • Use a variety of complex and simple sentences
  • Check your writing for errors
Task Achievement: 5.0
  • Answer all parts of the question
  • ?
    Present relevant ideas
  • Fully explain these ideas
  • ?
    Support ideas with relevant, specific examples
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    Currently is not available
  • Meet the criteria
  • Doesn't meet the criteria