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Updated Aug. 1, 2017

 

IELTS Part 2 and Part 3 Topics and Questions

Page 127

 

631.  No Topic

632.  Some Useful Advice that You Received  (May, 2014 (Moved from Topic 561)    (Probably no longer used)

633.  A Child Who Made you Laugh  (May, 2015)  (Probably no longer used)

634.  An Educational Trip  (May, 2015)   (Probably no longer used)

635.  A Piece of Electronic Equipment  (May, 2015)   (Probably no longer used)

 

RETURN TO PART 2 TOPIC INDEX

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

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631.  No Topic

 

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632.  Some Useful Advice that You Received  (May, 2014  (Moved from Topic 561)    (Probably no longer used)

Copy of Topic 302

Describe a situation (or time) when you received some useful advice.

                You should say:

what the situation was

who gave you the advice

what the advice was

              and explain how this advice was useful to you.

 

    

Notes

  • This might be a repetition (in both Part 2 & 3) of one of the following - Topic 59, Topic 130, Topic 182 & Topic 302

  • It seems this topic has been in continuous use from May 2014 until now, July 2015. For convenience, the whole of Topic 561 was copied to here. Any additions will be made here, not at Topic 561.

  • It is possible that some of the Part 3 questions were changed, for example, in January 2015. Or even the Part 2 wording was slightly changed. But, so far, I can't see any clear indication of that.

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Possible follow-up questions:

  • Do people ever ask you for advice? *

  • Do your friends often ask you for advice?

  • (Possibly) Do you ever give advice to others? *

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Part 3

See also Part 3 of Topic 59, Topic 130, Topic 182 & Topic 302

Advice for Young People

  • Do you like receiving advice?

  • Do you think young people need advice? FQ

  • On what topics do they need advice? *

  • Who do you think is best for giving advice to young people?

  • (Similar to above) Who do you think should give advice to young people?

  • Which do you think is better, advice from one's family members or advice from one's friends? FQx2

  • (Similar to above) Would you rather take advice from your parents, or from your friends? FQ

  • Do you usually follow the advice of your parents? FQ

  • (Similar to above) What do you do when you have an opinion about what is best to do that is different to that of your parents? FQ

  • (Similar to above but more general) When you are given advice, do you usually follow that advice or do you make your own decisions? FQ

  • In what way should parents (or others) give advice to young people to maximize the chances that this advice will be taken? FQ

  • Do your friends often ask you for advice? FQ

  • (Similar to above) Do you ever give advice to others? FQ

  • On what topics do you think young people might ask their friends for advice?

  • Do people, such as your family or friends, generally offer advice to you or do you usually need to ask for advice?

  • Do you think it’s a good idea to look for advice?

  • Do you think people should get advice from others before they decide on what career to follow?

  • Do you think that the advice that people gave 50 years ago is still relevant today?

  • Do you think the advice of old people is useful (today)?

  • Why do you think that, in some cultures, it is elderly people who usually give advice?

  • What kind of people are suitable for giving advice to others?

  • Are there any skills that differentiate a good advice-giver from other people? FQ

  • What type of personality do you think someone needs to have in order to be a good advice-giver? FQ

  • How can an advice-giver get someone to accept their advice?

  • Do you think a teacher should give any kind of advice to students or should he or she only give advice about academic questions? FQ

  • Do you think teachers should give (or, are suitable for giving) advice to their students about career choices?

  • What should (or, what does) a teacher do when a student needs advice of a more personal nature?

Advice on the Internet

  • Would you take a stranger’s advice?

  • Do you think it's a good idea to seek advice, or look for advice, on the internet?

  • Do you think it is good to blindly accept the advice of others?  See Note 5

  • (Similar to above) Are there any dangers in blindly accepting the advice of others?

  • Where can people get information about prices for products on sale on the internet?

  • Do you think it's useful to read customer reviews at (or about) online buying and selling websites?

  • Where should consumers look for prices?

  • Do you read customer reviews?

  • Do you find them useful?

  • Do you think harmful cosmetic products should be banned? Why?

Government Advice / Information

  • What kinds of advice does the government give people?

  • Where (or how) can a person get advice from the government?

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633.  A Child Who Made you Laugh  (May, 2015)   (Probably no longer used)

Describe situation when a child made you laugh.

               You should say:

who the child was

(when and) where it happened 

 what he or she did to make you laugh

and explain why you laughed.

 

 

Notes

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Possible follow-up questions:

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Part 3

On the topic of 'Humour', see also any relevant Part 3 questions at Topic 404 and Topic 494

On the topic of "Children',  see also any relevant Part 3 questions at 421, Topic 311, 103 and Topic 40

Childhood

Parenting

See also the Part 3 of Topic 470 for more questions on the topic of parenting.

Humour

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634.  An Educational Trip  (May, 2015)   (Probably no longer used)

Describe an educational trip you went on.

               You should say:

where the place was

 what you did at this place

 who you went there with

and explain what you learned on that trip.

 

 

Notes

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Possible follow-up questions:

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Part 3

See also the Part 3 of Topic 169

See Note 1

Educational Trips

Education

Tertiary Education and Professional Training

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635.  A Piece of Electronic Equipment  (May, 2015)   (Probably no longer used)

Describe an item of electronic equipment that you would like to have. *

               You should say:

what it is

 where you would get (buy) it from

 what features it would have (or, special features you would like it to have) *

and explain why you would like to have it. *

 

 

Notes

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Possible follow-up questions:

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Part 3

See also the Part 3 of Topics 575, 504, 420, Topic 300, 268, 199, 149 & 51

Technology in Modern Life

Shopping  

Advertising 

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Note 1

Educational school trips are often called, "excursions" or "school excursions".

Note 2

The term, "remote education" usually refers to the education of school children from a distance. For example, some children on isolated sheep or cattle farms (called "sheep stations" or "cattle stations" in Australia) used to be (or still are) educated by mail and the use of short wave radio to connect them with teachers or tutors in some urban location. Today, internet connections via satellite would be more common. The alternative is for the children to live away from their homes in boarding schools during the school terms.

Note 3

I probably don't need to tell you that the most common school excursion destination is to museums. But excursions to musical performances are also quite common.

Note 4

"Home schooling", as it is called in English, is not common in countries such as China but it's a growing phenomenon in the West, especially in the U.S.A. Parents have varying reasons for not wanting to send their kids to normal schools - religious, political and other reasons such as the fear of crime in the schools. Of course, many parents simply believe that their children would receive better quality education at home, regardless of religious, political or other reasons. The reason is rarely because no school is available, although it might sometimes be that reason in the U.S. - I am not sure if they differentiate between the terms, "remote education" and "home schooling" in the U.S.. I suggest you read a little about it on the internet, such as at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homeschooling.

Note 5

"Blindly" = you don't know this person, or their qualifications for giving advice

Note 6

Don't forget, kids like to make each other laugh by making funny faces :)

Human being, including kids, often laugh at things that are weird, strange or unexpected. Why? It seems to have something to do with not being able to understand something. [See the animal picture here. Did you laugh the first time you saw it? And the picture at Topic 134. Also see this short video. If you have never seen such a thing before, you probably laughed at that video. Right? You probably also laughed at the reaction of the young man in that video.]

"Unexpected" is similar to "surprising". Adults often laugh at things that worry them, or give them a sense of embarrassment. That's why jokes about sex are so common because sex, being so personal, is a rather embarrassing topic. Similarly, (in Western culture at least), jokes for married men about mothers-in-law are also common because married men often feel uncomfortable in their relationship with their mother-in-law.

Note 7

Do you think technology is changing the world, or is it the case that the world is changing technology?

This seems to be an unusually abstract question. I think the words, "the world is changing technology" means "people are changing technology". Of course, both cases are true - technology is changing the world and people are continuously developing new or better technology.

It's not difficult to talk about how technology, in the form of modern industry, is changing the environment by pollution and the over-exploitation of natural recourses. Personally, I do not agree with the theory of "man-made climate change" (see HERE) but I suspect that the question is hinting at that topic. In the IELTS Speaking & Writing tests, there is, in theory, no "right" or "wrong" answer on this topic as long as you can express your viewpoint clearly. But you need to understand that some examiners might treat "man-made climate change" almost like their personal religion so you need to be careful how you address this topic. One reason why I suspect that this is what the question is about is the fact that "climate change" would fit the situation of "the world changing technology". For example, climate change (whether man-made or not) and / or man-made pollution can be considered to be the driving force behind such technological changes as the development of solar power technology. That is to say, the only way that I can imagine "the world changing technology" is to interpret those words as meaning, "the situation in the world is driving changes in technology".

Another way that technology is changing the world (human society) is the way in which modern communications such as the internet are bringing the peoples of the world closer together. Medical technology is also allowing us to live longer.

Note 8

"Older school students" would be those in the senior years of high school.

Note 9

The word "support" was reported by one candidate. If this is accurate, "support" can include financial support, academic support and encouragement. Financial support means that one of the parents probably does not work in order to supervise home study. Academic support means that the parents have enough education themselves to be teachers of their children.

Note 10

This is probably asking you to name and talk about office equipment.