Describe a time you decided to wait for something
Describe a time you made a decision to wait for something
You should say:
- What it was
- When it was
- Why you decided to wait
And explain how you felt about it
“I’m certainly not the most patient person in the world, especially when it comes to buying something, but I do remember about a year ago making the decision to hold back on buying a new mobile phone.
I’d had my old phone for over 3 years, and it was starting to look a little worse for wear, as well as being a bit slow, so I decided it was time to splash out on a new model. I really had my mind set on the iphone 12, which was at the time a top of the range phone.
While checking out the best prices for the iphone 12, I came across an article talking about how the new iphone 13 was going to launch in just 3 weeks. The article warned anyone who was thinking about buying an iphone 12 to wait, as the price would drop significantly after the launch of the new model.
After thinking about this, and doing some more research online, I realised that by waiting for just 3 more weeks I could save myself quite a bit of money….so I made the decision to hang on for the price to come down.
Sure enough, as soon as the new iphone 13 was launched the price of my dream phone went down by almost 100 dollars, and I was proud as punch with my decision. I still have the phone today, and couldn’t be happier with it, and have to say it’s one of the best decisions i’ve ever made.
Thank you….”
Idioms
- To hold back
To wait for a period of time before doing something
“He decided to hold back on buying a new car as the news was talking about a bad outlook for the economy.”
- Worse for wear
When something is in poor condition because of a lot of use
“I had to buy some new shirts for work last week, as my old ones were starting to look worse for wear.”
- To splash out
To spend a lot of money on things, or to spend money freely.
“After getting his new year bonus, he decided to splash out and invite some friends to a very expensive restaurant for dinner.”
- To set one’s mind on something
To decide you are going to do something and to put a lot of effort into it
“While still in highschool he had his mind set on going to Harvard.”
- Top of the range
To be the best and usually the most expensive among a group of products.
“He is very wealthy, and drives a top of the range sports car.”
To check out something/someone
The meaning in this context is to examine something in more detail or to find out more information.
“Before agreeing to move into the new apartment she wanted to visit it and check it out.”
- As proud as punch
To be proud as punch just means to be extremely proud of something or someone.
“He felt as proud as punch after scoring an 8.5 in his IELTS exam!”
Describe a time you decided to wait for something – Part 3
Do you think it’s important to be patient?
“Yes, personally, I think that being patient is a very important virtue, which everybody should learn. Learning to be patient is important, especially when setting long term goals or ambitions for our future lives.
What’s more, in order to learn any new skills, patience is always required, and it’s important that anything worthwhile usually takes a lot of time and effort to learn.
On top of that, having patience is also an important element in building relationships, with both friends and family. To be a good friend, it’s important to be a good listener, which at times can require some patience.”
Do you think people today are less patient than in the past?
“That’s a very interesting question, and personally, I think that perhaps today people are actually less patient. I think a lot of this is because of technology, and we now live in a world where people expect everything to happen instantly.
With technology we can now control so many different things in our lives with our fingertips, and it seems that people who have been born into this age now expect everything to be instant. Just watch people’s reaction if a web page takes more than just a few seconds to load.
On top of that, so many people spend up to 10 or 12 hours a day with their nose and eyes buried in a screen, and become irritable or impatient for the slightest reason.”
Is being patient good for people?
“Yes, certainly. I believe that being patient or learning to be patient can be good for our health. Impatience can cause irritation or anger, which of course can raise our stress levels, which in turn can harm our health.
What’s more impatience can possibly cause people to procrastinate, as they don’t have the patience to finish or complete different tasks, and keep putting them off until a later date.
On top of that, as I already mentioned, having patience, especially for younger people is very important, as a lot of patience is needed with their studies or in trying to learn new things, such as problem solving or a new language.”
More links to example IELTS speaking part 2 and part 3 answers
Describe a time you saw a lot of plastic waste
Describe an object you find beautiful
Describe a person who likes to grow plants
Describe a bad shopping experience
Describe a photo that you are proud of
Describe a city you would recommend as a suitable place to live
Part 2 topics – All the updated part 2 topics
