Describe a technological problem you had
Describe a technological problem you had
You should say:
- what the problem was and what device was involved
- when and where it happened
- how you solved it
and explain how challenging it was for you
Practise this card
One minute to plan, two minutes to speak, exactly like the exam. Nothing you record leaves your device.
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- what the problem was and what device was involved
- when and where it happened
- how you solved it
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How to approach this cue card
This card checks whether you can describe a problem, a reaction and a solution in the correct order. The topic is technology, but the language examiners hear is a story: past simple for the main events, past continuous for what was happening when the problem started, and a reflective comment at the end about how hard it was.
The easiest real angle is a small, everyday emergency, such as a laptop that would not turn on before a deadline, a phone that was lost on a trip or a video call that kept freezing during an important meeting. You remember the stress, which is exactly what the “how challenging” line asks you to describe. Avoid a long technical explanation, since it can slow your speech and make you hunt for words.
Use the first part of the minute to say what happened and when, then describe two or three steps you took to fix it. Close with what you learned or do differently now, for example keeping copies of important files, because that gives a natural ending.
Vocabulary that lifts this answer
These phrases describe technology problems more precisely than “it did not work”.
| Word or phrase | What it means | In a sentence |
|---|---|---|
| to freeze | to stop responding | My laptop froze while I was typing. |
| to crash | to stop working suddenly | The program crashed without warning. |
| to restart | to turn off and on again | I restarted it three times, but nothing changed. |
| to back up | to make a spare copy of files | I hadn’t backed up my work for weeks. |
| a glitch | a small fault that causes a problem | It was just a software glitch, as it turned out. |
| to troubleshoot | to look for the cause of a problem and fix it | My cousin helped me troubleshoot the problem. |
| to recover files | to get lost data back | We managed to recover almost all the files. |
| a deadline | the last time by which something must be done | The deadline was at nine the next morning. |
| to panic | to feel sudden fear and be unable to think calmly | I started to panic when the screen went black. |
| a lifesaver | someone or something that rescues you from trouble | My cousin was a real lifesaver that night. |
A one-minute plan
- problem: laptop would not start, night before an assignment deadline
- when, where: last semester, my room, around ten at night
- what I did: restarted, tried again, called cousin Kamol, he recovered files
- how hard: very stressful, panic; now I save copies every day
The same answer at Band 6, 7 and 8
The three sample answers below tell exactly the same story, and only the language changes between them. Hover or tap a highlighted phrase to see what an examiner would notice about it, and treat these as illustrations of what each band typically sounds like, not scripts to memorise.
Band 6
I would like to describe a problem I haveTense slip: should be “had” with my laptop last semester. It was the night before I had to send an important assignment to my teacher, and I was working in my room at about ten o’clock. Suddenly the screen becomeTense slip: should be “became” black and nothing happened when I pressed the buttons. I restarted it three times, but it still did not start, and I was very scaredBasic vocabulary; limits Lexical Resource because the whole assignment was inside it. I did not have a copy, which was a big mistake. After half an hour I called my cousin Kamol, who studySubject-verb agreement error: should be “studies” computer science. He came to my house and opened the laptop, and after about an hour he findTense slip: should be “found” the problem and saved my files on his own memory stick. While he worked, my mother brought us tea and kept telling me to stay calm. I finished the assignment at four in the morning and sent it just on time. It was one of the most stressful nights of my life, but I learned a lesson, and now I always savesSubject-verb agreement error: should be “save” a copy of my important files every day.
Band 7
I’d like to describe a problem I had with my laptop last semester. It was the night before I had to hand in an important assignment, and I was working in my room at around ten o’clock when, without warning, the screen went black and nothing happened when I pressed any key. I restarted it three times, but it wouldn’t come back on, and I started to panicPrecise, natural phrase for a strong reaction because the whole assignment was on it and I had no copy, which was a big mistake. After half an hour I called my cousin Kamol, who studies computer science. He came over, opened the laptop and, after about an hour, managed to recover all the files and save them onto a memory stickComplex verb pattern with two connected actions. While he worked, my mother brought us tea and kept telling me to stay calm. I finished the assignment at four in the morning and submitted it just in time. It was honestly one of the most stressful nights I’ve ever hadDiscourse marker adds a personal comment, but it taught me to savingForm error: should be “save” a copy of my important work every single day.
Band 8
I’d like to describe a problem I had with my laptop last semester. It was the night before I had to hand in an important assignment, and I was working in my room at around ten o’clock when, without warning, the screen went black and nothing happened when I pressed any key. I restarted it three times, but it wouldn’t come back on, and I started to panic because the whole assignment was on it and I had no copy, which was a big mistake. After half an hour I called my cousin Kamol, who studies computer science. He came over, opened the laptop and, after about an hour, managed to recover all the files and save them onto a memory stick. While he worked, my mother brought us tea and kept telling me to stay calm. I finished the assignment at four in the morning and submitted it just in time. Honestly, it was one of the most nerve-racking nights I’ve ever hadPrecise adjective with a superlative frame, but it taught me a lasting lesson: had I made a copy earlier, none of it would have happenedInverted third conditional used accurately, and now saving my files every day is simply part of my routine.
What moved the band
- Band 6’s tense and agreement slips (“a problem I have”, “the screen become”, “who study”) are accurate in Band 7 and stay clean in Band 8.
- Band 6 uses “very scared” and “most stressful nights”; Band 7 uses “started to panic” and “recover all the files”; Band 8 adds “nerve-racking” and a precise conditional.
- Band 6 ends with a general lesson; Band 7 adds a personal comment (“honestly”); Band 8 combines the lesson and the change in habit into one structure with the third conditional.
Common mistakes on this card
- Spending the whole talk on technical details instead of telling the story of the problem.
- Forgetting to say what you actually did to solve it, which is the third bullet.
- Using the present tense for something that happened in the past, such as “the screen becomes black”.
- Skipping the final line about how challenging it was, which is where you can show feeling words.
Part 3 questions that often follow
After your turn of one to two minutes, the examiner usually moves into a related Part 3 discussion — these are the kinds of follow-up questions that commonly come up around this topic.
- Why do some people find it hard to learn how to use new technology?
- Is it a good idea to depend on technology for important tasks?
- Do you think older people should be taught to use modern devices?
- How has technology changed the way people work and study?
- What responsibilities do companies have when their devices stop working?
Frequently asked questions
What counts as a technological problem?
Almost anything: a laptop that would not start, a phone that lost its signal, a lost file, a failed video call, a printer that stopped working or a website that crashed before a deadline. Choose one with a clear start, a middle and an ending, since the card asks how you solved it.
Do I need to use technical words?
No. Plain, accurate language is better than technical terms you cannot explain. Words such as "froze", "restart", "backup" and "files" are enough. The examiner is marking fluency, vocabulary and grammar, not your knowledge of computers, so keep it clear and tell the story simply.
What if I did not solve the problem myself?
That is fine. Many people ask a friend, a relative or a technician for help. Say who helped, what they did and what you learned. Explaining how you coped, and what you would do differently next time, gives you plenty of reflective language for the final line.
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