Updated Aug 6, 2017

IELTS Part 2 and Part 3 Topics and Questions

Notes

• "Recently" means within the past few months.

• An unusual or interesting action or activity for one person might not be unusual or interesting for other people. In other words, you must speak very personally here and explain how it was unusual or interesting for you. For example, if you took a taxi home from the city centre instead of taking the subway as you usually do, then that would be suitable as your little story here. If it was the first time you had ever taken a taxi then you could also explain how it was interesting for you to see how the taxi driver used his meter to measure the distance and determine the taxi fare, etc.

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Possible follow-up questions:

• Did you enjoy doing that?

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Children's & Young People's Free Time

• What do you think children like to do in their free time?  FQ

• What do children usually do on weekends?  See Note 6

• Do children in your country actually have much free time?

• What do parents want their children to do in their leisure time?

• Do you think children (and/or young people) should spend more time with their parents than most of them do?

• Should children spend their all of their leisure time with their parents?

• Do you think it's important for parents to spend time playing with their young children?

• What do you suggest can be done when parents cannot spend time with their children?

• Do young people generally get along with their parents?

• How important would you say it is that children have some leisure time?

• How can children learn to use their time effectively?  See Note 5

• Do you think that twenty four hours in a day is enough nowadays?

Part 3

Preparing in Daily Life

(Similar to planning in daily life, which is the thinking part, followed by preparing, which is the actualization of the planning.)

• What are some common life events or experiences that people need to prepare for?

• How do mothers (or parents) prepare their children before school every day?

• How do people prepare for their day at work?

• In addition to exams and holidays, what do we prepare for in daily life?

• How do people prepare for dinner?

• How do people prepare for ceremonies?

• How do people prepare for festivals?

• Do you think people are born with different abilities to be prepared, or can it be taught?  FQ

• What are some general ways to prepare in advance for events?

• (Similar to above) How can people make good preparations for events?

• (If you are not from the West) Are there differences between how people prepare in your country and in the West?

• Do you think people are happier if they prepare, or don’t prepare, for an event?  FQ

• (Similar to above) Do you think people are happier if they prepare, or don’t prepare for life?  FQ

• What do adults need to prepare for regarding their work?

Being Well-organized

• Can you give me any examples of being well-organized?  See Note 3

• Do you think people are born with different abilities to be organized, or can it be taught?  FQ

• For example, do you think punctuality is inborn, or is it learned?

• How can parents teach their children to be well-organized?  FQ

• Would you say you are a well-organized student?

• Do you think young people such as university students are good at managing their time?

• What can be the results when university students and not well-organized and don't prepare for future events?

• How can people become well-organized?

Risk

• Can you give any examples of when people take risks in daily life? *

• How can one minimize risk?

One-day Events

• Can you give any examples of one-day events? *  See Note 4

• Do you like one-day events?

Children Being Prepared

• Would you say it's difficult for children to prepare for things?

• How can parents help their children to make good preparations?

• What do children need to prepare every morning?

• Who teaches children to prepare for things?

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755.  An Expensive Activity  (Sep. 2016)  (Probably no longer used)

This question probably means, "Do you think schools should include a visit to a zoo as part of the school curriculum?"

Note 2

What is "an event"?

It's an occurrence that is special, important or unique, that usually happens at a set time. It might happen only once, such as the birth of a child or your graduation from university, or at set times each year such as major festivals and holidays like New Year. The Olympic Games is an event that happens every four years.

The death of someone close to you, or a funeral (a ceremonial event) are events but these are not happy events. Serious accidents are also examples of unhappy events.

Some examples of events are: celebrations such as parties; ceremonial events (ceremonies) such as a graduation, a wedding or the giving of an award or prize ; competitions (contests) such as The World Cup, or even a typical football game that is held between two teams in your national football league, or a debating contest at university; performances such as a concert where a famous pop singer performed, or a play that is put on by students at your high school; and social events such as a ball (a dance, 舞会). A tennis match between you and a friend is not special enough to be called an event, except in the case of it being the first time you played a tennis match.

Some activities are not normally considered to be "events" because they are not special enough while certain special examples of these activities can be considered to be events. For example, sitting for a typical exam is not considered to be an event but sitting for your College Entrance Exam at the end of high school could be called an event. Going to the cinema to see a film is not usually a special event, especially since the cinema might show the same film every day for weeks (i.e., it is not held once, at one set time) but if you attend the opening night of a film, when the actors in the film and other special guests attend, then that could be considered to be an event. Also, your first experience of going to a cinema can be described as an event.

Strangely, for some reason, some people would not consider attending a job interview to be "an event" even though it is special to you. However, that experience could be used if you emphasize something special about it.

Many activities that people engage in are not normally considered to be "events" but if the activity is "a first" for you then that can sometimes be called an event. For example, walking up to the top of a popular mountain is not really an event but the first time you did it, especially if it involved considerable effort to achieve it or if the experience left a strong impression on you, then you can call it an event in your life, something you had never done before. The same applies to visiting another country or a special place – if it is a first for you and you feel it was somehow special, then you can call it an event. Going to hospital for a minor operation is not normally called an event but having a major operation can be called an event (although usually not a happy event).

Some events are natural phenomena such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, major floods, typhoons (cyclones, hurricanes) but these are not happy events. On the other hand, a spectacular volcanic eruption that you witnessed from a safe distance could be called a "happy event" if it filled you with wonder and excitement. Similarly, an eclipse of the sun or the moon or similar astronomical events would also be suitable examples if you emphasize that it was a positive experience for you (i.e., made you "happy"). Seeing snow is not special enough to be called an event but seeing snow, especially falling snow, for the first time could be called an event in your life. But seeing a rainbow after a rain shower is not rare enough to be called an event.

Personal achievements that require some effort can be called events in your life i.e., when they are special to you, such as passing your driving test and getting your driver's licence, or even getting the IELTS score that you aimed for!

Note 3

 "Well-organized" is a rather general term. It usually applies to being organized with, a) one's time usage or, b) being organized with one's possessions, such as having a tidy desk top and knowing where to find your things when you want them. One can also have a well-organized way of thinking or solving problems ("a well-organized mind"), that is, logical thinking.

Note 4

A "one day event" lasts for a whole day. Obviously, one example is holidays (festivals) such as New Year's day.

Note 5

"Effectively" means, "it has the results that are intended". That means that someone is doing something with an aim or goal.

On the other hand, if the word used is "efficiently" (which is most likely to be the real word used here) then the question really means, "How can children learn to use their time so that time is not wasted? "Efficiently" means, "without much waste". For example, if you spend your money efficiently then you don't waste any (or much) of your money.

Note 6

The word reported was, "children", i.e., people between the ages of about 4 and 12. If the words used were really, "young people" then it is more suitable to talk about people aged from about 13 to 25 or 30.

Note 7

Most likely the real words used are "indoors" and "outdoors". But if the words used are, "at home" and  "out of the home" then the meaning is not always the same as "indoors or outdoors".  For example, if you go to a cinema then that is spending time indoors even though it is out of your home.

Note 8

The word used is most likely to be "entertainment" but if it is, "recreation" then the meaning is different. All entertainment is a form of recreation but not all recreational activities can be described as "entertainment".