In your element means doing something you love and are good at, so you feel confident and happy. Your changes with the person: I'm in my element, she's in her element. The opposite, out of your element, means feeling uncomfortable in an unfamiliar situation. The idiom sounds natural in IELTS Speaking; in an essay, feel confident and comfortable is simpler.
When would you say in your element?
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be + in my/your/her element (+ when + clause); feel/be + out of your element
- Put my dad in a kitchen full of hungry guests and he's in his element.
- Our new colleague was in her element when she presented the design to the clients.
- I was completely out of my element at the formal conference dinner.
What changed
First versionI didn't know anyone at the party and felt not in my plate.
RevisionI didn't know anyone at the party and felt out of my element.
Not in my plate means nothing to an English speaker. To say that you feel uncomfortable in an unfamiliar setting, English uses out of my element. Only that phrase was replaced.
In your element is more than feeling comfortable: it is about an activity you are strong at and enjoy. If you only mean that you feel relaxed and at ease somewhere, use feel at home: I felt at home with my host family from the first day.
Your turn
Lisa loves children and has worked in a nursery for ten years, so at her nephew's birthday party with twenty kids she was ___.
Show the answer
in her element — Lisa loves children and has worked with them for years, so among twenty kids she is in her element. Out of her element would mean she felt uncomfortable and out of place, and the context says the opposite.
Write about an activity in which you feel in your element. Say what it is and why you are good at it.
I'm in my element when I'm cooking for friends, because I've been experimenting with recipes since I was twelve.
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