701.  Someone Who Apologised to You  (Jan. 2016)  (Probably no longer used)

702.  A Story or Novel You Read  (Jan. 2016)  (Probably no longer used)

703.  Some Local News  (Jan. 2016)   (Probably no longer used)

704.  The First Time You Used a Foreign Language  (Jan. 2016)  (Probably no longer used)

705.  An Occasion When You Helped Someone  (Jan. 2016)  (Probably no longer used)

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

• Someone seemed to report their topic was, "A time when you apologized to someone".  I think that is a mistake but it is a good idea to imagine what you would say for that wording.

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Possible follow-up questions:

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Part 3

See also the Part 3 of  Topic 590, 492, 355, 215, 158, 88, 72,  52 & 14

For these questions, the word "fiction" can usually be used to replace "novel" or "novels".

Reading (especially reading fiction) in Your Country

• Would you say it's important to read books?

• How often do people in your country read a novel?

• In what ways does reading (or, reading novels) affect society?  FQ

• In your country, what types of books are the most famous?

• What kinds of novels (or fiction) do people in your country like to read?  FQx2

• Do you think men and women like to read the same kinds of fiction?

• Can you suggest why some people like reading novels (as opposed to other types of books)?  FQ

• For you, what qualities define a novel as "a good novel"?

• Do people in your country often read foreign novels?

• Are mystery novels very popular in your country?

• Can you suggest why some people like to read mystery (or, detective) novels?  FQx2

• Which do you think is better, a mystery novel, or a mystery film (or TV program)?  See Note 1

• What kinds of novels do old people like to read?

• What kinds of novels do young people in your country like to read?  FQ

• (Possibly the question above is this) What are the reading habits of young people in your country?

• What kinds of novels (or, fiction) do you think are the most relaxing to read? 

• In your country, do parents often express an opinion about what novels their children should or should not read?

• What influence do (or can) novels have on society?

• Would you say there are differences between novels written in your country and those written in the West?

• Do you think books written by authors in one country are appreciated by readers in other countries?

• Do you think books written by authors from a particular country (always) give readers some information about that country?

Notes

• So far, it seems to be present tense (e.g., is) i.e., it is current news right now, or news that people are usually interested in. (This latter case is the use of the present tense to refer to a general truth.) But this is mainly based on only one person's reporting. Possible it is really past tense ("people were interested in").

• This might be a return of Topic 151 or Topic 316, or a variation of those.

• The meaning of "local"

I would define, "local" as being a part of your country, but not the whole country. The whole country would be better described using the word, "national" or possibly, "domestic". Examples of this part of your country could be: a state, a province, a county, a city, a town or even a neighbourhood within a town or city.

One candidate in India has reported this topic as, "Describe some local news that people in your locality are interested in", which fits my definition of "local". If the test makers meant, "your locality = your country" then they simply would have written the wording as, "people in your country are interested in".

• The real wording might say, "recent local news", which could be within the last year or two.

• Usually "interesting" means something like, "makes you think" (or, use your mind) rather than "makes you feel", which is using your heart. For example, the word, "exciting" is describing a feeling, not the use of the rational mind. On the other hand, having curiosity about something involves rational thinking and is a key part of finding something to be "interesting". Noticing how something is unique, special or different to others of a similar type is another aspect of finding something "interesting". Something that is the same as others of the same type, or not special, is sometimes described as, "boring" (= not interesting). That's what English speakers understand "interesting" to mean.

However, in the case of, "news that people are interested in", it is possible to interpret those words to mean, "news that people are interested in reading about or interested in talking about".  This is probably a more suitable interpretation of this topic. In this case, they might be interested in it because it excites them or because it stimulates some other emotional reaction. For example, people are often interested in reading about something that shocks them or makes them angry, even though these are negative emotions. Therefore, even some local gossip might be suitable as "local news that people are interested in".

But the most common reason why people are interested in a certain piece of local news is because they think it affects them personally, such as an increase in the cost of electricity in their city. Another example is that people are interested in the lives of well-known local people, which includes both factual information. and unproven gossip.

• "News" is an uncountable noun, so you cannot say, "a news" or "many news". Instead, we use "some news", "a piece of news", "a news item" or a "news story" (not "story" as meaning "fiction").

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Possible follow-up questions:

• Have you shared this news with your friends?

• Are you very interested in local news?

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Notes

• Except for the first line, no details are available for this topic at the moment. The wording above is my guess.

• One can communicate using a language either in a spoken form or a written form but written communication requires feedback from the other person for you to know if you communicated successfully. Therefore, an example of spoken communication is better for this topic, if possible.

• A key point to understand is this – the meaning of, "to communicate" is, "to exchange information so that the other person understands your meaning". Expressing personal feelings or opinions is also an example of exchanging information. Simply saying the greeting, "Hello" is an expression of a personal feeling so it is also an example of communicating.

However, many people who have studied a foreign language have never used it to communicate with another person, which is the purpose of a language. Foreign language classes in many schools and universities only involve doing grammar drills and exercises in text books but never exchanges of information in a natural way. On the other hand, good language teachers involve the students in activities in which they can gain experience and practice communicating to others in that language, for example, pair work activities.

• For some IELTS candidates, sitting for the speaking test is their first experience of communicating in English. If you have sat for the IELTS test before, it would be perfectly suitable to talk about a previous speaking test as your answer for this Part 2.

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Possible follow-up questions:

• Do you often speak to foreigners? Or, Do you often speak a foreign language?

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705.  An Occasion When You Helped Someone  (Jan. 2016)  (Probably no longer used)

Describe an occasion when you helped someone.

               You should say:

who you helped

how you helped them

where it happened *

why you helped them *

and explain how this person reacted to your help *

                    or

and explain how you felt after helping this person. *

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Helping in General

• Do you like helping others?

• Has anyone ever given help to you?

• Can you explain why people like to help others? FQ

• Would you say that people in your country are generally willing to help others?

• Do you think children should be taught to help others?

• How do people in your country help each other?

• Are people in your country generally willing to lend money?

• How would you describe people who like to, or frequently help others?

• Who do you think are more likely to help others, men or women?

• Are there any people in your country who do volunteer work? (What work? Why?)

Helping Within the Family

•  In general. how do family members help each other?  FQ

• (Similar to above) What can family members do to help other members of the family (or, the family as a whole)?  FQ

• In your country, in what ways do parents help their children?  FQx2

• How would you compare that to the way friends help each other? FQ

• Do you think parents should help their children?

• How do you think parents are affected by the need to help their children?

• (Similar to above) How do you imagine parents feel about helping their children?

• Do you think parents helping their children can sometimes not be a good thing? FQ

• Do you think some parents do too much to help their children?

• What effect might it have on the children if the parents give them too much help?

• Do you give much help to other members of your family?

• (Probable, unreported question) Which do you think is more important, helping members of one's family or helping others, such as one's friends? *