On an advice card, quote the advice and then tell how you used it. Reported speech ("He told me to...", "She said that...") helps your grammar score.
The cue card
Describe a piece of good advice you received.
You should say:
what the advice was
who gave it to you
when you received it
and explain why it was useful.
One-minute notes
- advice: 'don't compare your chapter 1 to someone's chapter 20'
- who: my first boss, café owner
- when: 17, part-time job, felt behind friends
- useful: stopped comparing, focused on progress, still use it
Model answer (about 2 minutes)
The best piece of advice I've ever received was: "Don't compare your chapter one to someone else's chapter twenty."
It came from the owner of a small café where I worked part-time when I was seventeen. He was in his fifties and had started the business with almost nothing, so he was the kind of person whose advice you took seriously.
At the time I was going through a difficult period. A lot of my classmates seemed to be doing better than me: some had already won olympiads, others were getting into famous universities, and I was making coffee after school. One quiet evening he noticed I was in a bad mood and asked what was wrong. When I explained, he told me that everyone I was comparing myself to had a different starting point, and that I was only seeing their results, not their years of work.
It was useful because it changed what I measured. Instead of looking at other people, I started comparing myself with where I'd been six months earlier, and suddenly I could see real progress. I still use it now, especially when I see people my age doing impressive things online.
I actually wrote that sentence on a sticky note, and it's still on my desk.
Useful words and phrases
| Phrase | Meaning |
|---|---|
| take advice seriously | take advice seriously |
| go through a difficult period | go through a difficult period |
| a starting point | a starting point |
| measure progress | measure progress |
| impressive | impressive |
| a sticky note | a sticky note |
| reliable | reliable |
| trustworthy | trustworthy |
How to answer
- Quote the advice in your first sentence: it is a strong opening.
- Use reported speech: "he told me that...", "he asked what was wrong".
- Describe the situation: why you needed the advice.
- Before and after: what the advice changed for you.
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Part 3: follow-up discussion questions
Who do young people usually go to for advice?
It depends on the problem. For practical things like studies or money, many still ask their parents, but for personal problems they tend to go to friends or even search online, which isn't always reliable.
Is advice from the internet trustworthy?
Some of it is, but you have to be careful. A lot of advice online comes from people trying to sell something, so it's worth checking who is giving it and whether they have real experience.
Should people always follow their parents' advice?
Why do some people not listen to advice?
Part 2 strategy: the cue card guide. Next step: the Part 3 guide.
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The AI examiner asks you these questions, listens to your answers and shows your mistakes.
