Written May 21, 2018
IELTS Part 2 and Part 3 Topics and Questions
Page
1
802.
A Plant
(May. 2017)
803. A
Clever Solution
(May. 2017)
804. Smiling
People
(May. 2017)
805.
A Conversation
with a Stranger
(May. 2017)
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
Describe a leisure activity you would like to do on or near the sea.
You should say:
what it is
what preparations you would need to do
how easy it would be
and explain why you would like to do this activity.
Notes
This seems to be a new topic.
Some people have reported this Part 2 as, " ... on or near the sea or a river".
Some people have reported this topic as, "
At a Beach
Can you explain why many people like
going to a beach
What sorts of things (leisure
activities) do people do when they visit a beach
What sorts of things to children like to
do at a beach
What sorts of things do adults like to do at a beach?
Who do you think prefers to be at the beach, children or elderly (= old) people? FQ See Note 2
Do you think it's good (= there are benefits) for people to spend time at the beach?
Do you think sunbathing is a beneficial activity?
Can you explain why many people sit or lie under a beach umbrella when they go to a beach?
Can you suggest why people like to (or, want to) spend their time on the beach or near water?
Work on or Near the Sea
Can you give any examples of people who
make a living from the sea (or from being connected to the sea)
Comparing fishermen (= "fishers") and farmers, which group would you say has a tougher life? See Note 3
Are there any jobs related to the sea that you would like to do?
Living Near the Sea
Can you suggest why some people like
living near the sea (or in coastal cities)
Describe an important plant in your country (such as a vegetable, fruit or flower).
You should say:
what plant it is
what it looks like *
where it grows
and explain
See also the Part 3 questions of Topic 458
Crops
How did you learn about that plant?
Do you think it could be used for other purposes (in addition to what you said in Part 2)?
Do you know any other plants that are useful?
Growing Plants
Do you like growing plants?
(Possibly the question above is this) Would you like to grow some plants?
Do people in your country like growing plants?
Where do they usually grow things?
What are the benefits from letting a child grow something (in a garden)?
Can you explain why some people grow their own vegetables? FQ
What do you think are the differences between vegetables that someone buys and vegetables that they grow themselves?
In the future, do you think more people will grow their own vegetables, or fewer people?
Farming
Have you ever done any farm work?
Do you think farming is (or would be) a good job? See Note 4
Do you farming equipment today is the same as it was many years ago?
Describe someone you know who used a clever solution to solve a problem
Notes
This seems to be a new topic.
"Clever solutions" can sometimes involve making something, or finding a clever way to repair something that is broken. Other examples of clever solutions might involve finding a way to "get around" a regulation or law by finding a "loophole". Another type of clever solution might involve using something for a purpose that it was not originally intended for. Yet another example of being clever might involve tricking a person (or people) or an animal (or animals) to achieve a desired result.
See also the Part 3
questions of
Topic 534 and
Problem Solving
Do you think you are good at solving problems?
Exceptional Children
What do you think might be the characteristics of exceptionally intelligent (or, exceptionally clever) children?
Do you know how exceptionally intelligent children are identified?
Do you believe a child's intelligence is innate (= born that way), or is more the result of the environment that they experience in their first few years? FQ
If it was their early environment that mostly resulted in their superior intelligence, what sort of environment do you think it was?
Can you suggest ways for promoting the development of a child's intelligence as it grows up?
Who do you think is (or would be) more influential in promoting a child's intelligence, the parents or the child's school?
Do you think schools play much of a role in helping the intelligence of (young) children to develop, or do you think parents are much more important?
In what ways do think schools could help
students develop their intelligence (or, develop their intellect)
Can you suggest why some people are
better at (doing) something than others
(Similar to above) Can you suggest why
different people have different talents
Do you think men and women generally have the same (mental) talents?
Do you think exceptional children are
happier than average kids, or less happy
How do you think it feels to be the smartest kid in class?
Do you think a person needs to be intelligent in order to be happy?
Do you think exceptional children are generally not as nice (or good, or well-behaved) as average children?
Do you think you could become more intelligent? (If yes, how?)
Do you think it is possible for a person to become more intelligent "the day after tomorrow"? See Note 8
Do you think society needs more highly intelligent people?
Do you think exceptional children should
be taught at school in the same class as all the other kids or should they
be taught separately
If they should be taught separately, in
what ways should teaching them be different to teaching average kids
Intelligent Machines
See Note 7
Do you think we will have intelligent machines in the not-too-distant future?
How do you think these machines will be used?
What do you think will be the benefits of this "artificial intelligence"?
Notes
I don't know what that missing line on the card says. It might be, "when it happened" or, "what the occasion was" or, "why they were there" or, "who you were with".
See also any relevant
questions in the Part 3 of
Note! It is possible that both the words, "smile" and "laugh" are used for some of these questions, especially in the sub-topic, Expressing & Controlling Emotions.
Smiling
Who would you say smiles more, men or
women
(The question above might be this) Can you give some examples of when (on what occasions or in what situations) people smile?
Can you suggest why most people smile when they have their photo taken?
What would you say is the difference between a fake smile and a genuine smile?
How do people express their emotions?
Who would you say can control their emotions better, males or females? See Note 10
On what occasions do most people not show (or try not to show) much emotion?
Do you think there are times when people should control (or hide) their feelings?
Do you think people sometimes laugh to hide heir real feeling? See Note 11
Do you think parents sometimes control showing their emotions in front of their children?
Do you think employees should show their emotions to their supervisor or boss at work?
Is that the same between friends?
Describe an interesting conversation you had with a stranger. *
You should say:
who it was with
(when and) where it was
what you talked about
and explain why it was interesting.
Notes
The words, "someone you didn't know"
or,
Talking to Strangers
Do women generally like talking to strangers?
What sorts of things do people talk about with strangers?
Do you think people sometimes talk with
strangers about things that they prefer not to talk about with their family
Communication
In general, why do you think people like talking to others?
Do you prefer face-to-face communication with someone, or communicating by speaking on the phone?
Can you explain why "social media" are so popular now?
What are the advantages and the
disadvantages of talking face-to-face with someone, compared to talking with
them by using some software on the internet or an app on a smartphone
Who do you think are generally better at communication, men or women?
Would you say people like to talk to others about their problems?
Who do they talk to (concerning a problem or problems)?
Why do people like to watch "talk shows" on TV?
Why watch people discussing a problem on a talk show if the people on the talk show cannot solve the problem?
Chatting
Who do you think likes to chat more, men
or women
Are there any differences between what men talk about with other men, and what women talk about with other women?
Do you think chatting has benefits for the people who do it?
If your friend didn't want to chat with you one day, what would you do?
Building sand castles and digging in the sand.
It seems that the question uses the words, "old people", who are people over the age of about 60. But it's possible that the real wording is "children or adults" or, "children or older people" where "older people" means "people older than children".
In fact, some people have clearly reported that "children and adults" were the words used. Possibly variations of this question are used by different examiners.
If words like, "a tough life" are used, they can be interpreted in two different ways: a) "a tough life" meaning dangerous and/or hard work and, b) "a tough life" = a hard life because they don't make much money. Some fishermen make quite a lot of money.
"Fishers" is used by some people and is acceptable although it sounds strange to some native English speakers.
If you answer, "Yes" to the question, "Have
you ever done any farm work?" then the question will be, "
If you answer, "No" to the question, "Have
you ever done any farm work?" then the question will be, "
If the words, "would be" are used instead of "is" then the meaning is, "Would it be a good job for you?" or, "Do you think you would find it to be a good job if you did that job?" You will earn more grammar points if you answer using "would" for a question that is asked using, "would".
I have given this sub-topic the title of "Exceptional Children" although people who reported getting this topic seem to imply that the topic is "Clever Children". If the examiners really said something like, "Let's talk about clever children" then I think the creators of the IELTS test made a mistake and, moreover, are insulting the world's children. This is because ALL normal, healthy children are clever, although some might be much more clever than others! If you label the most clever as "Clever Children" then would the other children be labelled as, "Stupid Children"?
There are several different words that more or less mean the same as, "intelligent" (in Chinese, 聪明).
"Intelligent" is the more accurate and educated word. It has the idea of deep or broad intellectual development, a strong ability to solve complex problems, especially abstract problems and an ability to learn quite fast.
"Clever" is used in British English to mean "intelligent" but it is more colloquial (less educated-sounding) than the word, "intelligent". Among native English speakers who are not British, "clever" is used more to describe a more innovative, more skilful or a more intelligent than average way to do something, or the person who does it. For example, we say a magician is "clever" or the magician performs "clever" magic tricks. People who are good at deceiving others are often described as "clever" and their deceptions are also often described as "clever".
"Smart" is the American equivalent of the British, "clever". That is, it means "intelligent" but it is also more colloquial (less educated-sounding) than the word, "intelligent". In British English, "smart" means something completely different to the American meaning – it means "well-groomed and well-dressed" in British English and only describes a person's appearance.
"Bright" is mostly used to describe people, especially children, who are fast learners. Bright children often also have a bright, alert personality. Other words that are used more or less in the same way as "bright" are, "sharp" and "quick".
The word, "wise" is NOT used to mean intelligent. Wise people have learned a lot from experience, especially from their own mistakes or by learning from the mistakes of others. Consequently, "wise" people are usually older people who have had many years of life experience. Wise people might not be exceptionally fast learners or exceptionally good at solving complex problems of a mechanical, spatial or abstract nature. Most wisdom is related to human relations or everyday human activities, such as a farmer making wise decisions concerning his crops. (We could also say the farmer made "intelligent decisions" concerning his crops. So "intelligent" can sometimes be used to mean "wise", but "wise" cannot be used to mean "intelligent", as it is defined above.) It's quite normal to describe a child as "intelligent" but a child is never described as "wise" unless we mean that the child is showing wisdom equivalent to the wisdom of a much older person. The expression, "wise words" usually means the same as "good advice".
"Intelligent machines" basically means robots equipped with a computer program, especially a program that "learns".
"The day after tomorrow" means, "almost immediately".
"To smile" and "to laugh" are two different actions. (Chinese: 微笑 = to smile, 发笑 = to laugh.) Laughter has sound; smiling doesn't. It is possible the examiner will ask you questions about both smiling and laughing since this topic is about expressing emotions in general.
In Asia, it seems that some people actually do laugh in some situations when most other people, especially Westerners normally just smile. Once when I was living in South Korea I went for a hike on a mountain where many of the other hikers were old people. I clearly remember seeing one group of old people chuckling to themselves (a form of light laughter) as they walked along to express the pleasure they were experiencing when most people would simply smile to express their pleasure. (Or maybe they were chuckling at the sight of me!)
To "control one's emotions" means both to control how much you experience an emotion, and also to control how much you express or show that you have this emotion,
Laughter to cover one's embarrassment is quite common.