Written Jun 11, 2018
IELTS Part 2 and Part 3 Topics and Questions
816.
A Car Trip
(Sep. 2017)
817.
Your Ideal Home
(Sep. 2017)
818.
An Exciting Book
(Sep. 2017)
819.
Furniture in Your Home
(Sep. 2017)
820.
A Good Parent
(Sep. 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
Notes
It seems that the first line did not specifically say, "Describe a long car trip .." but many people have reported that the word, "journey" was used, instead of "trip". The word, "journey" is usually used when talking about long trips.
If you cannot recall a car trip in your life that was longer
than one hour (or further than about 40 kilometres), then it
would be perfectly fine to begin your answer like this: "I
haven't taken any really long car trips in my life, but I can tell you about
one of the longest taxi trips I took in Beijing. Is that OK?"
Possibly the examiner will not indicate a yes or no answer here (they're not
allowed to talk to you during your Part 2 monologue). So, an alternative
to that could be to simply say, "
Not only would this give you flexibility in your choice of a trip, it would demonstrate that you have the communication skill of explaining your reply in some detail, that is, explaining how your answer is not 100% reflecting the question. This kind of language usage, showing an ability to communicate flexibly, impresses examiners.
Transport in General
Can you explain why so many people want to have their own car?
Do you think ir would be good if everyone had a car?
Do men and women have the same preferences in the type of car they buy?
What is the future of transportation, in your opinion?
Do you see driverless cars as the future
of cars
What impact do you think that would have on people who drive for a living?
Driving (a Car)
At what age can people in your country
get a driver's licence
Do you think that's a suitable age, or
should it be older, or younger
Do you think 16-year-old young people
Do you think 85-year-old people should be driving on the roads?
Do you think high schools should provide
driver education classes (leading to a driver's licence)
Do you think it would be a good idea for universities to have short courses in learning to drive? FQ
What are some jobs that require a person
to drive a car
(Similar to above) What jobs require
good driving skills
Public Transportation
What is the most popular form of transport in your country?
How good is the public transport system
in your country (or city), in your opinion
How could it be improved?
Do you those improvements would reduce air pollution?
If the transportation system were improved, would more people use it?
What should (or, what could) the government do to promote the use of public transport?
What would you say are the advantages and disadvantages of public transportation , compared to using a private car?
Notes
Possibly the first line says, "
The key point when answering this is to use the word, "would", not "will". For example, "It would have a swimming pool in the back yard".
Past Part 2 topics are:
See also:
772,
Homes in Your Country
In the past, (eg. 30 or 50 years ago)
did most people live in a house or a flat
What's the difference between the design
(or style) of modern and older residential buildings
Do people prefer today to live in old
buildings or modern ones
Do you think the old buildings will
disappear in the future
What changes do you see happening to
future residential buildings
Are there any differences (today) between between houses (or homes) in the north and in the south of your country?
The Location of People's Homes
What effects do you think this migration
has on cities (or on city life)
Do you think it's a good idea to build new, planned cities?
Buying a Home
Do you have any suggestions on how the price of housing in cities could be lowered?
Notes
Although the topic of "a book" is nearly always in the test, this seems to be the first one that asks about an "exciting" book.
It is not certain that the word, "recently" is included in the first line, although it probably is. If it is used, the meaning of "recently" can be understood to be, "within the past two years or so". Basically, if "recently" is used then the question wants you to speak about a book you read as a young adult, not a book you read when you were a child.
It is possible for a book to be "exciting" for someone but boring for other people. For example, a book about the stock market might excite someone who thinks he has learned how to make money on the stock market from reading the book, but it might not appeal to others who don't plan to, or want to invest in the stock market, or someone who doesn't fully understand what the book says. So, "exciting" here is highly personal – it applies to how you felt when (or after) you read it and you should emphasize that point.
The book does not necessarily have to be an adventure novel or a book of that genre, although such a book would obviously be a suitable choice.
There are too many past Part 2 topics about a book to list them here. But you can see an easily searchable page of past topics here.
Books and Reading in Your Country
Which group do you think reads more,
young people or
Do you think there's any difference between the reading habits of
males and those of females
Do people today like to read the same kinds of books that people in the past read?
Some people say that reading novels is a waste of time. Do you agree?
Which do you prefer to do, read books or
watch TV
Which group do you think likes to read
fiction (e.g., novels) more, young people or
What are the differences between the fiction (novels) that children read and the fiction that adults read?
What do you think are the pros and cons
of reading historical fiction
Do you think e-books will eventually replace paper books?
Films Adapted from Books
Do you prefer reading books to watching movies?
Which do you generally do first, read
the book or watch the film based on the book
(Similar to above) Do you think it makes
much difference which you do (or, which a person does) first
Do you think the film is usually as good
as (or better than) the book
(Similar to above) Which do you usually
prefer, the book or the movie
What are the advantages of watching the film rather than reading the book?
(Different to above)
What would you say are the differences
between films based on books and the books they are based on
Children and Books
What kinds of books do children like (to
read)
(Similar to above)
Do you still like to read that kind of book now?
Do you think it's important for children to read?
Do you think it's good for parents to read to their (young) children?
Should
How can they do that
(Similar to above) How can (or could) schools and parents encourage school children to read?
Do you think school children should read more novels and fewer textbooks?
Describe a useful piece of furniture in your home. *
You should say:
what it is
where it is
what it looks like (or, what it is made of)
and explain why it is useful. *
or
and explain how you use this piece of furniture. *
Buying Furniture for the Home See Note 8
Who in the family usually decides to
change the furniture
Why do some people prefer to but expensive furniture?
(Similar to above)
Home Decoration See Note 7
(Similar to above) How do people generally decorate their homes?
Office Furniture
Describe someone you know who you think is a good parent.
You should say:
who they are (= who he or she is)
how you know them (him or her)
what children they have *
and explain why you think they are (= he or she is) a good parent.
Notes
In this Part 2, you should talk about someone you personally know, such as a relative, neighbour, colleague, friend etc. It would not be wrong to talk about one of your own parents but most examiners in China know that high school students in China have to write an essay or give a speech about their own parents in English class, and using this example in the IELTS test might seem to be a memorized answer.
See also the Part 3 of
Parenting in Your Country
Parenting
Young Parents
I
Spending Time with Children
How are children taken care of when
their parents are busy with their work
Do you think people who are busy at work should become parents?
Nannies & Babysitters See Note 4
If you were a parent and too busy (at
work) to take care of your children, would you hire a babysitter
D
Grandparents
Do you think there are any downsides (disadvantages) to having old people (or, the grandparents) take care of children?
Do you think old people are capable of (or suitable for) taking care of children?
The Mother's & the Father's Responsibilities & Roles
(Similar to above, but a little
different) Would you say both parents equally important in the
raising of their children
Do you think it's fair for the mother to do most of the work of raising a child?
Television & Children
When
Do you think it's a good thing for children to spend a lot of time watching TV?
Do you think the contents of TV programs are helpful for the education of children?
S
Strictness
Would you say parents in your country are very strict with their children?
Do you think mothers and fathers are equally strict with their children?
Teenagers
What do you think is the most important aspect of the relationship between parents and their teenager children?
(Similar to above) How do you think parents should relate to (or treat) their teenage children? *
Do you think parents should give their teenage children more freedom (than they do at the moment)?
The Education of Children See Note 5
Do you think there are many
differences between how children are educated today and how they were
educated in the past
Is there any difference between the roles of fathers and mothers in relation to the education of their children? See Note 9
Do fathers and mothers teach their children different things?
Some people have reported that the examiner used the word, "traditional" instead of "old" or "older". It is possible that the examiner used that word. But a "traditional" style of home or residential building, like anything that is called "traditional", is the style that was in use for hundreds of years. Possibly there were two different questions, one about older homes (e.g., 50 or more years old) and one about homes (or buildings) of a traditional style or design.
It seems that several examiners use "Harry Potter" as an example of this.
This is a question about watching films and reading books in general, not specifically about the case of films based on books.
A "babysitter" is a person who looks after someone else's child or children for a short period of time, such as an evening, for example when both parents go out that evening. Often a babysitter is someone such a neighbourhood teenage girl who earns a little pocket money for doing this. Despite the name "babysitter", they usually don't look after very young babies but instead look after children such as those under the age of about 10 who should not be left alone for several hours.
A "nanny" is a woman who takes care of a child, even quite young babies, as a more or less full-time job. Often (or usually) they live with the family and the child. Usually it is the wealthier families who have a nanny. If the woman is the real grandmother of the child, she is best described simply as the child's grandmother, even if she performs the same tasks as a paid nanny. A nanny is not the same as a "maid", who is employed to do general housework, although some maids work as both a maid and as a nanny in the family.
This topic seems to be about the overall education of children, including education at school, and the teaching of life skills and social training in the home. It seems to include the attitudes and involvement of parents in the formal school education of their children, and it may include the parents helping their children with homework. However, the topic is not about parents acting as a replacement of school teachers. That is, no questions seem to really suggest the idea of parents being "teachers" in the sense of "home-schooling" of their children in academic subjects with the children not going to school at all, although you could introduce that idea if you want.
This question is not as silly as it might seem at first. A child choosing what furniture to have in his or her own room is not such a silly idea!
In a way, the furniture itself can be considered part of the overall decoration inside a home. But in addition to furniture, "decoration" refers to such things as: the colours used for painting the walls; the wallpaper, if any; the curtains for the windows; the lighting arrangements, including any coloured lights; chandeliers and decorative ceiling light shades; paintings, mirrors and other things on the walls; the colour and design of rugs or carpets on the floor, if any; shelves holding small ornaments; larger, ornamental objects such as those made of porcelain or pottery; indoor plants; fish aquariums; fresh flowers in vases etc.
Most of the questions here seem to be about people changing or replacing (some of) the furniture that they already have in their homes. That is, the questions are mainly not asking about the first time a newly married couple buys furniture for their new home, although you could include that in your answers if you want.
If you get this question (and there is no guarantee that the wording of this question is accurate), then it would be best to talk about the involvement of the parents in the child's school and school work (homework). Either that and / or talk about the everyday living skills & social skills that the parents teach their children.
Do you think there are any downsides (disadvantages) to having old people (or, the grandparents) take care of children?
These two questions are different because someone can take care of a child just occasionally or temporarily, but to raise a child means to be the person who brings the child up. which means being the person who takes care of the child most of, or all of the time.