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Updated Nov. 19, 2007

IELTS Part 2 and Part 3 Topics and Questions 

Page 12

56.    A Language Skill (Probably not a Part 2 topic)

57.    An Outdoor Activity   (September 23, 2006)  (Probably no longer used)

58.    See Topic # 32.  (Probably no longer used)

59.    Some Advice You Received   (September 23, 2006)  (Probably no longer used)

60.    A Leader   (September 23, 2006)  (Probably no longer used)

RETURN TO PART 2 TOPIC INDEX

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56.  A Language Skill    (September 23, 2006)

 Describe a (foreign) language skill that you learned.

               You should say:

                               what this skill is

                               how you learned it

                               how this skill is used *

              and explain how difficult it was to learn this skill. *

                                            or

              and explain how you benefit from this skill. *                                                 

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Part 3

Learning English

• How do people in China learn English?

• What was your method of learning English?

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57.  An Outdoor Activity    (September 23, 2006)  (Probably no longer used)

 Describe an outdoor activity that you like doing.

               You should say:

                               what this activity is

                               where you do it

                               when you do it (or, how often you do it)

              and explain why you like it.                                              

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Possible follow-up question:

• Are there any other outdoor activities that you know? (Keep your answer short to these follow-up questions.)

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Part 3

Outdoor Activities

• Would you say people spend more time outdoors today than they did, say, 20 years ago? FQx2

• What are the benefits of doing things outdoors? FQx2 (Not only health benefits)

• Are there any outdoor activities that many people used to do (but which most people don't do now)? [farming; sitting outside chatting on hot summer days; washing clothes outdoors; in some places, people used to fetch water from wells but this is less common now]

• What are the most popular outdoor activities in China? FQ

• What sorts of activities do children like to do outdoors?

• Do boys and girls like to do the same kinds of things outdoors?

• Do old people and young people like doing the same kinds of things outdoors? FQx2

• Do many people in China spend a lot of time playing sport outdoors?

• What outdoor sports are most popular in China?

• Do you think it's important (or necessary) for schools to have outdoor sports activities for students?

• Some young people are not interested in sport. Do you think that is good or bad?

• Compare outdoor sports and indoor sports. 

Outdoor Environment

• How do you think climate and the environment affect what activities people do outdoors? FQ

• Do people who spend a lot of time outdoors need any kind of protection? (i.e., protection against the sun in summer, against the cold in winter, masks during dust storms) FQ

• Do most Chinese people think the air quality in their hometowns has improved or worsened in recent years?

• What about you; do you think the air quality in your hometown has improved or worsened in recent years?

• What about noise pollution? What do Chinese people feel about this form of pollution? Is it a problem in your hometown?

• Do you think it is (will be) easy for the government to solve environmental problems? FQ

• How do you think the environment in your hometown need improving?

• How can education be used as a tool to improve the environment?

• How has the environment in cities changed in recent years?

• What do people in the countryside think about the environment?

Working Outdoors

• What are some examples of outdoor jobs? FQ

• What do you think are some of the differences between (advantages and disadvantages of) working outdoors, compared to say, working in an office? FQx2

• Do people in China prefer to work indoors or outdoors?

• Why do more and more people work in offices nowadays?

• Do you think it's healthier to work outdoors or indoors?

• If you had to choose an outdoors job, what would you choose to do? FQ

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58.  See topic # 32.  (Probably no longer used)

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59.  Some Advice You Received    (September 23, 2006)  (Probably no longer used)

Describe some useful advice you received (from a friend or family member).

               You should say:

                               what the advice was about

                               who gave you the advice

                               what the advice was

               and explain why this advice was useful.

NOTES:     

          Some differences between 'Advice' and 'Suggestion': 

• 'Advice' is a non-count noun. We say, "a piece of advice". On the other hand, a 'suggestion' is a count noun. Advice can  include more than one suggestion or it can be just one suggestion. And advice is deeper and more general than a suggestion. Advice usually involves the idea of 'the best thing to do' but a suggestion is often simply an idea. For example, "I suggest we have pizza for dinner tonight." but, "I advise you not to leave your study for the test until the last moment." Or: "My parents gave me some advice on what career to choose." 

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Possible follow-up questions:

• Did you follow this advice?

• Do you often give people advice?

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Part 3

Advice Giving

• Do you often give people advice? (Who? What advice?)

• Have your parents (if you said friend in Part 2) given you much advice?

• Have your friends (if you said parents in Part 2) given you much advice?

• Do you think that advice from friends is always good advice?

• What kind of advice do parents give their (adult) children? FQ

• Is this advice usually accepted? If not, why? FQ

• Do you think that some young people reject the advice of their parents simply as a result of a generation gap? ( = misunderstandings resulting from being in different generations) FQ

• What's your opinion? Do you think people should accept the advice of their parents? FQ

• What is your opinion of people who don't follow their parents' advice?

• Why do some children or some young people not listen to the advice of their parents?

• Do you think teachers are capable of giving students advice about life situations? FQ

• How do you feel when a teacher gives that kind of advice?

• In general, what do you think of the value of advice from old people? Is it useful? FQ

• What kind of advice do friends give each other?

• Do you think young people should (or do) follow their parents' advice?

• Which advice has more influence on young people, that from their parents or that from their friends? FQ

• How can people choose between parents' advice and friends' advice, if they are different?

• Do you ever give advice to others? (Have you ever given advice to others?)

• In China, do people ever give advice to others about their (adult) children?

• In China, do (adult) children ever strongly oppose the advice of their parents?

• In China, do (should) young people ever give advice to older people, for example, their parents?

• In China, do (adult) children often ask for advice from their parents or friends? (Advice about what?)

• Which do you think is more useful (=effective), giving advice to someone or actually showing them or teaching  them how to do something? FREQUENT & DIFFICULT QUESTION

• (As above) For young children, which is most effective, giving advice or giving training? FREQUENT & DIFFICULT QUESTION

• Where can people get advice about a product? (Hint: The internet; the seller/supplier/manufacturer of the product)

The Helping Professions

• Can you think of any occupations where the person gives advice as part of their job? FQ

(Hint: teachers & tutors; health professionals such as doctors, including psychiatrists and nurses; lawyers; accountants; business & investment consultants; travel agents; gym instructors; psychologists; marriage guidance counselors; social workers ...)

• Have you ever received advice from some expert or professional person (other than your parents)?

• Compare the advice that you could get from a professional who doesn't know you, and the advice from family or friends. *

• Besides your family, has anyone ever given you advice about your work or your studies?

• In China, is there anywhere where (or, is there anyone from whom) members of public can get advice?

• What is your opinion of the advice that these people give? FQ

• (Or) What is your opinion about getting advice from these professionals?

• Do you think these professionals should receive special training in giving advice? (Why? What specific training?) FQ

• How should people in the helping professions, such as doctors and teachers, be trained and regulated? FQ

• What's your opinion about on-line 'experts' giving advice? FQ

• How do you think these so-called experts can be controlled (regulated)? FQ

• What kind of people would make good professional advisors? = What personal attributes do professional advisors need to have?

• Do you think we need to have professional advisors?

Work Suggestions

• Has anybody given you advice about work? Who? What was this advice? (This might include choosing what career to follow in life.) FQ

• Has anyone given you advice at work? (Who? What advice?) FQ

• Was this person trained to give you advice? FQ

• Do you think special training (for giving advice) is useful? FQ

• What advice would you give to employees in your company?

• How do people give suggestions to their superiors at work? * Hint: Suggestions boxes.

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60.  A Leader    (September 23, 2006)  (Probably no longer used)

Describe a leader who you admire (for example, in sport, business or politics).  

               You should say:

                               who this person is 

                              (how he or she became a leader)

                               what this person did (has done) that you admire

                               how you know this person or know about this person

               and explain how ( = why) this leader's qualities impressed you. 

NOTES:

• It is possible that this task card asks you to talk about a leader you know. If that is the case, make sure you talk about someone who you know personally, not someone you know about from TV or the newspaper.

• Even though the task card says you can talk about someone from the sports world, you should be careful here. Most sportspeople are individual competitors who do not lead anyone in the sense of giving instructions to others or making decisions for a group. What about Yao Ming? Is he a leader? Consider these questions: Is he the captain of the Houston Rockets basketball team? No. Is he the coach? No. But you can say that Yao Ming is "a leading basketball player". This means that he is one of the top basketball players. He is not exactly a leader, in the normal sense of the word, but he does "lead by example" - millions of young men try to follow his example. ( Be careful. The examiner will be impressed the first time he/she hears a candidate say these words. But the examiner won't be so impressed the second time he/she hears this - it will indicate that your answer was prepared before the test and was not really your original words. Examiners dislike answers that aren't your original words because this is not true, natural communication. )

• It is acceptable to talk about your father if he is the manager or CEO of a company or government body but if you choose him to talk about, you should talk about the leadership qualities that he has that you admire, not his relationship to you as a father. And don't say that he is 'the leader of your family' - he and your mother have a partnership in making decisions about your family; he is not the sole leader. Of course, you have to say how you know him - he's your father - but leave it there. Talk about him as a person, as if he was not related to you.

• It is probably not suitable to talk about a past leader such as Zhou Enlai or Mao Zedong, unless the task card says, "who this person is or was ".  I suspect the card only says, "who this person is". On the other hand, those words could mean, "who your choice is". Ask the examiner if a past leader is ok before you use an example who is not a current leader.

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Possible follow-up question:

• Do other people also admire this person?

• Does everyone at your work respect him?

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Part 3

Being a leader

• Would you like to (do you want to) be a leader? FQ

• Why do some people not want to be a leader? FQ

• Why can't everyone be a leader?

• Why do we need leaders? FQ

• (As above) Why does society need leaders? FQ

• (As above) What is the function of leaders in society? FQ

Leadership Qualities

• Besides company managers (or whoever you chose to talk about), what other kinds of leaders are there?

• What are the qualities of a good leader? (or, What abilities are needed to be a leader, for example, a company manager?) FQx2

• What are the differences between a leader and other (ordinary) people?

• What are the responsibilities of leadership? FQ

• (As above) What does a leader do? FQ

• What are the responsibilities of a national leader?

• If you were a leader, what would you do? (Unclear question: Probably means, "If you were a national leader") FQ

• How (or why) do people respect leaders?

• What is a bad leader like?

• What are some ways that a bad boss can result in many people quitting their job?

• In the workplace, how should a good supervisor or boss relate to the people he or she is supervising? ('Relate to' = 'talk to'.)

• In what ways should leaders help other people?

• How should company leaders, such as managers, communicate with their staff?

• How can leaders influence others? (= What impact do leaders have on people?) (Hint: setting an example.) FQ

• (As above) Do you think leaders need to set an example for others? (= Do they need to be careful of their own behaviour?) FQ

• (Similar to above) How does a leader set an example for others? FQ

• How do some people develop leadership abilities?

• Is it possible to be a leader if one is not good at speaking in front of large groups of people?

• Is it possible to be a good speaker in front of others and to be a good leader but at the same time not be a good person (a nice person) at the personal level?

• (Similar to above) Do you think it's important for leaders to have good communication skills?

• Is it possible for someone who is not very intelligent to lead others who are more intelligent than him?

• Which do you think is more important for being a leader, experience or academic qualifications?

• What kind of experience does a person need before becoming a leader?

• Does the media have any influence on who becomes a leader? (= a political leader) 

• How can leaders be selected?

• What's the difference between a leader in the sports world and a leader in society?

• What are some differences between current leaders and leaders of the past?

• What do you think are the responsibilities of an assistant leader (a deputy leader)?

• What are the results of having a good national leader?

• What are some possible results of having a bad national leader?

Training Future Leaders

• How do some people become leaders? FQ

• How do some people develop leadership abilities?

• Do you think some people are 'born leaders' or is leadership ability developed in childhood?

• What can parents do to encourage the development of leadership abilities in their children? FQ

• How can society develop future leaders?

• How can a spirit of leadership be cultivated in universities or society?

• Do you think we should have special schools to train future leaders?

• How do you think leaders of the future will be different to current leaders? FQx2

• Do you think future leaders will be better than present ones? 

• What roles (in society) will leaders of the future have to play? (= What will be the major concerns and responsibilities of future leaders?) FQx2

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