Time when you were forced to do something against your will

IELTS Cue Card/ Candidate Task Card 297 with Model Answer:

Describe a time when you were forced to do something against your will.

You should say:

• what it was
• what/who forced you to do it
• when it was

and explain why you were forced to do it. 

[You will have to talk about the topic for one to two minutes. You have one minute to think about what you're going to say. You can make some notes to help you if you wish.]

Model Answer 1:

I usually do not do anything against my will except for the occasions when I need to keep the honour of others. This topic reminds me of an occasion when I did something against my will that I was not very comfortable doing.

It happened about a few months ago as I could not say ‘No’  on that occasion. It took place during the annual university festival last January. I was asked to host the last day of the event as the student who was selected to host the programme became sick all of a sudden. So, they picked me as the host, and it was so sudden that I could neither deny to host it nor manage enough time to prepare for the event.

The cultural association of the university organises the show every year. As part of the annual activity, it has also organised the cultural show this year. Everything was in order. They offered me to host the event in the beginning, but I humbly denied the request as my semester final exams were approaching fast. But when the main host became sick, finding no other way, a professor came to me to request me to host the programme. I did not want to host the programme, but I knew it was very sensitive and my teacher's honour depends on it. So, despite my total unwillingness, I agreed to do it.

I would not say that I was forced to do it, but it was kind of a situation when you can't say 'No'. So for the sake of my teacher, who came to request me, and for the reputation of my university, I agreed to host the event for the day. Overall, I did well in hosting the event even though I was not very enthusiastic about it. 

Model Answer 2:

A few months ago, I went on a vacation in Kauai, the oldest island in the Hawaiian region, and it was an annual family trip. But, during that vacation, I was forced to do something that I did not want to. For this topic, I will share with you this unpleasant experience.

I am not a professional photographer. I do not even consider myself to be a photographer. But I was forced to click all the photos of my family members who were also visiting the island. We were six people in the group and they were all convinced that I possess great photography sense, which is contrary to the truth. In fact, photography is not my cup of tea, and I wanted to enjoy the trip rather than hanging around others and taking their pictures all the time! Being requested over and over again and then being kind of forced by them, I had to click the photos. It was not a delightful experience! 

One of my paternal uncles had got a new and expensive camera at that time that came with some special functions and features. So, everybody wanted to test how the camera capture their photos! They all wanted to be in the picture and needed a cameraman who could use the features of the camera to capture great photos, and they selected me for that task! Finding no other way, I had to take photos of them.

Generally, my family takes a week-long vacation at the end of the year. This year, we decided to visit this island and pass a few days in tranquillity. As part of the plan, we moved here and had spent a splendid week. Almost all the family members were present on the trip. And the event took place exactly during this time. 

I am the youngest member of our family, and I am familiar with different technology and electronic devices which our senior members often find difficult to understand. So, they believe that I have a sharp sense of technology. Moreover, on different occasions, I had taken some photos and they were nice. So, my family members thought of me as a quality photographer. Hence they all requested and kind of forced me to take their pictures on this new camera!