IELTS cue card: Describe a time when you had to wait for something, model answer

Describe a time when you had to wait for something.

You should say:

what you waited for

how long you waited

why you had to wait

and explain how you felt while waiting.

I'd like to describe the time I had to wait for a visa decision. It was two years ago, when I was accepted onto a summer exchange programme at a university in Germany.

I submitted my application in early May, and I was told it would take about ten working days. In the end, it took almost four weeks. Summer is the busiest season for embassies, and on top of that, halfway through they asked for an extra document, a letter from my university, which added another week.

The waiting was honestly harder than the application itself. The programme started at the beginning of July, so as the weeks went by, I became more and more anxious that I'd miss it. I must have checked my email fifty times a day, and every time my phone buzzed, my heart jumped. My friends tried to distract me by taking me out, but I couldn't really relax.

Then one morning the email finally arrived saying my passport was ready to collect, with the visa inside. I remember just sitting down on the floor of my room and laughing with relief.

Looking back, it taught me two things: always apply much earlier than you think you need to, and worrying doesn't make anything happen faster.

Are people less patient than they used to be?

I think so, mainly because technology has made so many things instant. When you can order food or a taxi in seconds, waiting even a few days for something feels unusually long.

What can people do to make waiting easier?

Keeping busy helps more than anything. If you plan something to look forward to, or simply focus on work, the time passes much faster than if you keep checking for news.

Which services in your country involve a lot of waiting?

Is patience a skill that can be learned?