Updated Sep. 27, 2015
IELTS Part 2 and Part 3 Topics and Questions
Page 124
617.
A Happy Family Event from
Childhood (January, 2015)
618.
A Vehicle You Would Like to Own
(January, 2015)
619.
A Colourful Place (January,
2015)
620.
An Unusual Building
(January, 2015)
FQ = frequent question = a question that has frequently been reported = a question that is probably in the examiner's question book
* = my guess at a question
***********************************************************************
Notes
"Get lost" = "Lost you way".
As with any past tense situation, you also have to say when, even if this is not written on the card. (Even something as general as "a long time ago" is good enough for setting the time when you use past tense verbs. But for most Part 2 answers, you should be more specific than that.)
Becoming Lost (Losing One's Way)
What are some of the reasons why people get lost (lose
their way)?
What's the problem with becoming lost?
Why do you think some people are better than others at finding their way when they are travelling in a new environment (such as a new city)?
Who do you think generally has a better sense of
direction (in an unfamiliar place), males or females?
How do you (or people in general) maintain their sense of direction when they are moving through a new environment? See Note 2
What would you do if you got lost in an unfamiliar city, without a map?
Maps & Modern Navigation Aids
Do you think maps are important?
Do you think knowing how to read a map is an important skill?
How does one read a map? * (Possible question, not reported)
How does a person orient themselves (= find the right direction) when using a map?
How would you teach someone (e.g., a child) to read a map?
Which do you think are better, paper maps or digital
maps?
(Similar to above) Why do you think people are using
digital maps more and more today, instead of paper maps?
What modern technology is available to help people find their way in unfamiliar locations? See Note 1
Do you think some people who use modern electronic navigation aids (such as an app on a cell phone, or a digital map), without using a paper map, can become too dependant on that technology? FQx2
(Similar to above)
Travelling to a New Place
What are some of the reasons why people from your
country travel away
from home (= away from their hometowns or home countries)?
(Similar to above)
What are the benefits of travel?
What preparations do you think a person should make before they travel abroad (or far from home)?
How is travel today different to that in the past?
What kinds of problems can people have while travelling?
617. A Happy
Family Event from Childhood
(January, 2015)
See Note 3
Family Events
In your country, are there a lot of family events?
Families in Your Country
Can you tell me a little about the typical family (the family structure) in your country? FQ
Is that the same in both urban areas and in the countryside?
What
role do men play and what role do women play in the family?
Why do they do different things?
What is the role of fathers towards their children?
Are
boys and girls treated the same in the family?
Do you think boys and girls should be treated exactly the same?
What impact do these attitudes in the family have on society as a whole?
Would
you say that men and women are equal in families in your country?
Do you think it's good to have only one child in a family?
What do you think of the idea of "social engineering" the old, traditional roles and structures of families in society?
What factors should be considered when discussing such questions?
Quite often, young children are left in the care of their grandparents (or, are actually brought up by the grandparents). Why does that happen and do you think it's a good thing?
Adulthood / Maturity
In your
country, at what age is a person considered to have become an adult?
In your
country, is there large pressure on young people to achieve?
Are the expectations the same for girls and boys?
What are the effects of this pressure?
Within the community (or, society) is there any help given to young people to help them achieve their personal goals? (unclear question)
(Possibly the question above means this) How can we help young people to
become mature adults?
In your opinion, what actually constitutes "maturity"?
Do you think that people today are more materialistic than in the past?
Do you think it is a positive development?
(Similar to above)
Childhood
(Similar to above)
See more Notes
See some vocabulary
Transportation
What are the main modes of transport that people use in your hometown?
How is the transport that people use today different to the transport that people were using s few decades ago?
How do
you think it will change in the future?
Private Vehicles & Public Transport
In your country, how has private vehicle ownership and public transport use changed over the past few decades?
How do you think it will change in the future?
What types of cars do people like to buy in your country?
How do people get information (or advice) about what car to buy?
Traffic Congestion / Air Pollution
Do you have many traffic jams in your city (or the city you are in now)?
What do you think are the reasons for these traffic jams? FQ
When do traffic jams (or, when does traffic congestion) usually occur?
What is the government doing about this problem?
(Similar to above) Do you have any suggestions on
how to reduce traffic jams?
(Different to above) Do you think there are more traffic jams in this city than there were a few decades ago?
Do you think traffic jams will become worse in the future than they are now?
What do
you think is the impact of traffic jams?
Do you think traffic contributes a lot to air pollution?
How do you suggest we could reduce this air pollution problem?
How does government fund road works?
Are there any other ways that government could pay for road works?
Notes
The two points marked with * might be inaccurate but this is the best information I have found so far. After all, "What you did there" seems to be similar to "why you went there". And I would expect one of the points to ask you to describe what the place looked like. The last line is probably more like, "How you felt when you saw that place".
Places that have a lot of neon lights at night, such as shopping districts in cities, would be a good choice here. A flower shop is another obvious choice! Some restaurants & other shops are also quite colourful inside. And of course, there are colourful places in nature, especially in certain seasons.
Sometimes the phrase, "colourful" is used to mean something like, "unique and interesting in character" but I would not use this meaning for this Part 2.
See also
ALL_PART_1_QUESTIONS.htm
and
ALL_PART_1_QUESTIONS-PAGE_2.htm
Don't forget to try to explain "why" after many of these questions. Don't just answer the basic question and then stop.
(There are probably three topics below, but I can't clearly see what these three topics are.)
Colours in Our Daily Lives
Besides the place you just spoke about, what are some other places where we can see lots of colour? *
Do you think colour plays an important role in our daily lives?
What colours do people in your country most often
choose for the (inside) walls of their home?
Do people generally wear the same colour clothes at work and at home?
Why do businessmen often wear dark business suits
(instead of bright colours)?
Is colour important to you when you buy something
Do any colours have a particular meaning or usage in your culture? *
(Similar to above) In your culture, are there times when it is important what colour you choose for something?
Do you
think these
Was
that colour popular last year
What colour(s) do you think are most suitable for offices?
What
colour(s) are most of the buildings in your country
Why is it that people think a newly painted building (painted outside) is an "improvement"? *
Colours and Mood
What colours do you think have the greatest effect on
people's mood (or, feeling)?
How/why do these colours affect mood?
What colours do you have in your home, such as the
inside walls of the rooms?
Do you like those colours?
(Similar to above) Would you like to change the colour of any of the walls?
Do you think men and women (or, boys & girls) generally
choose the same colours for such things as their clothes or the walls of
their rooms?
What
effect do you think bright colours have on people?
Do you
think the colours of food (cooked food) is an important aspect of food
presentation
Do you
think colourful pictures in a book make the book more interesting for
children (or people)?
Buildings in Your Country
Have the buildings in your hometown changed much in the past few decades?
Do you think it's good to have all the buildings in a city looking the same (or similar)?
Do you prefer modern architecture or more traditional styles of buildings?
Do you prefer tall buildings or short buildings?
People's Homes
Do
young people and old people tend to live in the same kinds of places?
What
sorts of buildings do young people prefer to live in?
Do young and old people like to live together in the same building?
Why do
some people like to live in an old house (or, old building)?
What kinds of people tend to live in old buildings?
What sorts of people live in (or, like to live in) tall apartment buildings?
How does living in a tall apartment building, as opposed to living in a big house, have different affects on the lives of residents?
If the lift (the elevator) in a tall apartment building were broken, what would an old person who lives there do?
What types of homes do you think most people will be living in, in the future?
The (Exterior) Appearance of Buildings
Which do you think is more important, the outside or the inside of a building?
Do you think the outside appearance of a building is important?
Which is more important, buildings that are useful or buildings that are attractive?
(Similar to above) Which is better, an attractive building that is not very useful, or an unattractive building that is very useful?
What
makes a building a "beautiful building"?
Is it
important to have beautiful buildings?
What types of people tend to live in the more beautiful buildings?
City Life / City Planning
How can a building be designed so that it is best integrated into the surrounding environment?
How do you think a building can be constructed to minimize damage to the environment?
When the government plans a city (or a new part of a city), what factors should they consider?
Where do young people prefer to live in a city?
Why are old buildings (in city centres) often demolished?
Do you think these old buildings should be preserved?
(Similar to above) Do you think the government should spend money maintaining old buildings?
GPS (Global Positioning System), among other technologies such as electronic maps on cell phones & on the internet.
Of course, using a compass is helpful! Some people can determine direction from the position of the sun. At night, some people know which direction is north by reading the stars. You can also use a landmark such as a tall building or a mountain. And you can maintain your sense of direction if you always know where you are in relation to a road that you know runs in a north-south or east-west direction.
Personally, I don't like the feeling I get from these questions. There seems to be certain underlying, unspoken assumptions and attitudes (e.g., a "know-it-all" arrogance, a sense of cultural superiority) expressed by the original writer of these IELTS Speaking test questions, and possibly those of the examiners who might have made some of these questions themselves. In my personal opinion, if you want to see the most dysfunctional families in the world today, look at those in the English-speaking countries! This page is presenting the questions as they have been reported, not endorsing them.
It is
unclear whether this question means "In your family,
Do you
think these
Was
that colour popular last year
These three questions are probably referring to fashion, especially women's clothes.