Page 44

ielts-yasi.englishlab.net

Updated Sept. 26, 2010

IELTS Part 2 and Part 3 Topics and Questions

Page 44

216. A Shop (Sept 5, 2009) (Probably no longer used)

217. Your Plans For the Future (Sept 5, 2009) (Probably no longer used)

218. A Competition Winner (Sept 5, 2009) (Probably no longer used)

219. A Family Photo (Sept 5, 2009) (Probably no longer used)

220. Living in a Place in Another Country (Sept 5, 2009) (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

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216. A Shop (Sept 5, 2009) (Probably no longer used)

Describe a shop you like to go to.

You should say:

what shop it is

what it sells (or, what you usually buy there)

when you first started going to this shop (or, how you came to know about this shop)

and explain why you like (to go to) this shop.

Notes

See note about the number of points on the card.
People were originally reporting this as a "small shop" but now people just report it as a "shop".
It seems that the word "small" might not actually be written on the task card. But the meaning is a small shop – to describe a large shop, we would use different words such as "a supermarket" or "a department store". Strictly speaking, a supermarket or a department store should be ok but some examiners might not agree.
Someone has reported that the words, "what shop it is" are really the words, "the name of the shop". I find that a bit strange because we don't usually give names to small shops.

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Possible follow-up questions:

Would you recommend that shop to your friends?

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Part 3

Shopping in General

What things are people buying nowadays in China?
Have there been any changes to shopping in China in recent years?

Big and Small Shops

What are the different places that people can go to to buy things?
Which do you think are better, big shops such as department stores or small shops? FQ
Does everyone you know feel the same way as you?
In what ways are big and small shops different? FQ
What do small shops usually sell? FQ
Is the service the same in big and small shops? FQ
Are supermarkets very popular in your country?
What are the good and the bad aspects of big supermarkets?
Do you think supermarkets create a problem for some small shops?
Do you think it's still necessary to have small shops?
(Similar to above) Do you think small shops might disappear in the future? (Why?/Why not?) FQ

People's Feelings about Shopping or their Shopping Habits

Do you like shopping?
Why do (you think) some people like shopping and others don't?
What is it about shopping that makes some people happy?
Do you think people in different age groups all have the same feelings about shopping? FQ
(Similar to above) Do you think people in different age groups all have the same shopping habits? FQ
(Similar to above) How are young people and older people different when it comes to shopping? FQx2
Why do you think these age differences exist?
Do men and women feel the same about shopping (or have the same shopping habits)? FQx2
(Similar to above) Do you think men and women have the same shopping habits? FQx2
(Similar to above) What is the difference between men and women when it comes to shopping? FQx2
Why do you think so many women like to go shopping?
Do you think people ever go shopping when (or, because) they feel upset about something?
Do you think going shopping is a good way to spend your free time?

Online Shopping

Have you ever bought anything online? *
What are the advantages and possible disadvantages of shopping online? FQ
What do you think about online shopping?
Do people in China like to buy things on the internet?
Do you think online shopping will become more popular in the future? FQx2
Do you think online shopping will replace the current ways we buy things?

The Future of Shopping

How do you think the way people do their shopping will (or might) change in the future? FQ
(Similar to above) How do you think technology will change shopping in the future?

Saving Money

See Note

Do you think saving money is important? FQx2
(Similar to above) Do you think saving money is a good habit to have? FQx2
How do you think children could be encouraged to develop this habit?
Do you think schools should have some form of saving scheme for children?
Do you think it's easy to save money?
Why do Chinese people save money? FQ
How important is it for the whole of society for people to save money?
How do people save money? FQ
What is the best place for people to put the money that they save? FQ
Are there any differences in saving behaviour between older adults and young people? FQx2
(Similar to above) Are there any differences in saving behaviour between adults and children? FQx2
Do you think adults save more than young people (or, children) do? FQ
(Similar to above) Do you think older adults save more than teenagers and young adults? FQ
Do you think students should save money? See Note
Would you consider working a part-time job to earn some money?
What would you buy after you had saved some money?
Can you suggest some ways that people could be encouraged to save more?
Do you think the government should require people to save (i.e., make it compulsory)?
Do you think children know the value of money?
How do you think young people (or, children) could be encouraged to (manage their money and to) save money? FQx2
Who do you think should be responsible for teaching children about money, the parents or the government?

Credit Cards

How do you think people will pay for things in the future when they go shopping?
Do many young people in your country/hometown have credit cards?
What do you think about credit cards? FQ
(Similar to above) Do you think credit cards are good?
Do you think it's good for young people to have credit cards? FQx2
Some young people use credit cards to buy things but they never pay back the money to the bank. What do you think about that?
Is there any way to solve (or, avoid) this problem?
What impact on shopping do credit cards have? FQx2
(Similar to above) What is the role of credit cards when people go shopping?
(Similar to above) Do you think credit cards can (or do) influence the way people buy things? FQ
Do you think people tend to spend more money when they use a credit card?
What impact does the use of credit cards have on individual people and on society as a whole?
In the future, do you think credit cards will change shopping?

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217. Your Plans For the Future (Sept 5, 2009) (Probably no longer used)

Describe your plans for the future (such as you career or study plans). *

You should say:

what you plan to do

who you plan to do it with

how you will do it

and explain why you want to do this.

Notes

* = I am not too clear on this wording.
In English we often say "plans" when we really mean one plan. The wording of this topic might use "plan", not "plans". You should talk about your one main plan for the future, not several different, unrelated plans.

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Possible follow-up questions:

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Part 3

Personal Plans

How did you form this plan (the one you just spoke about)?
What different sorts of personal plans do people usually make in their everyday lives?
Why do people have these plans? FQ
(Similar to above) Why do people make plans for the future? FQ
How do people form these plans?
How important do you think it is for (= what are the benefits for) people to have some sort of personal plans for the future?
Do you think it's also important for children to have plans for the future?
In general, which do you think is better, to make a plan before you act or to make decisions during the process of what you do?
What do you think would be the result if a person had no personal plan for the future?
Some (young) people feel it's difficult to make plans for the future. Why do you think they feel that way?
What would you suggest they do?
Do you think the future careers of students should be decided by teachers or should students make this decision themselves?

Planning When a Student

Do you know any of the differences between the education system in China and the education system in Western countries?
In your country, do teachers give students a plan or a program for personal study, at home?
Can you give any examples of when students need to plan what to do in their study life?
When a student is doing a big assignment or a rather large-scale project, why do you think it's a good idea to make some plans before they start? FQ
(Similar to above) Do you think it's important for students to make plans concerning the way they do their study? FQ
(Similar to above) Why do you think it's important to have a plan when doing these things? FQ
(Similar to above) What are the benefits of students making study plans? FQ

Government Plans

In general, what sorts of plans do governments all over the world usually have?
And what are some of the specific plans that your government has?

International Plans (for World Problems)

What are some of the major problems facing the whole world today? FQ
Who do you think should be responsible for solving these problems? FQ
Do you think average individuals (like you and me) can help solve these problems?
How difficult do you think it will be to solve these problems?
What are some of the plans for tackling these problems?
What would you suggest be done to tackle some of these problems?

The Environment

What do you think is the major environmental problem facing the world today? FQ
(Similar to above) What do you think are the major environmental problems facing the world today? FQ
(Similar to above) What do you think will be the major environmental problem facing mankind in the future? FQ
Why do you think we have these these problems?
How would you suggest these problems might be (or, could be) solved?
Do you think these are personal issues or are they just problems for governments?
Why do you think average people are reluctant to change their behaviour even when they feel that they have some personal responsibility for these problems?

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218. A Competition Winner (Sept 5, 2009) (Probably no longer used)

Describe a person who won a competition. *

You should say:

who this person was

what competition it was

when and it where it happened

and explain how or why you think he or she won this competition.*

and explain how you felt when you heard about this win.*

and explain what you liked about this person. *

Notes

It looks like this topic is asking you to describe a person more than describe a competition but, of course, you do need to include at least a brief description of the competition this person won.

I am guessing that the last line is past tense. However, it might just say, "and explain how you feel about this competition" or it might even say, "and explain how you feel/felt about this win".

Try to say "He was the winner" (and listen here), not "He was the wiener". Click on the links for pronunciation. (Also go here and here).

See other notes here.

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Possible follow-up questions:

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Part 3

The Competition in Life that is Experienced by Most People

Do you like competition?
What are some examples of competition that most people experience in their lives?
Which group of people do you think is the more competitive, old people or young people (or, children)?

Competition and Co-operation in the Workplace

Do you think there is any difference between men and women regarding competition at work? FQ
Do you think that competition can affect the workplace?
How important is teamwork in the workplace?

Competition and Co-operation at School (Children) Frequent Topic

What are some examples of competitive situations for children at school? FQ
How do you feel about these competitive situations?
Do you think competition at school is good for children? FQx2
(Similar to above) Do you think it's beneficial for children to experience competition at school? FQx2
(Similar to above) Do you think children should be encouraged to be competitive? FQx2
Do you think team sports are important for children?
Compare competition in school with competition in the workplace.

The Psychological Aspects of Competition and Co-Operation

Do you think competition is good for a person? (Compare the advantages and disadvantages.)
What are some examples of competition (or, competitive games) that adults (or, older people) enjoy?
Do you think only children and young people enjoy competitions?
Who do you think benefits more from competitive games, adults or children?
Do you think that people are naturally competitive or is it something that is learned? FQ
(Similar to above) Do you think it's human nature for people to be competitive? FQ
Do you think people should be encouraged to compete with each other from childhood?
Some people don't really want to compete against others. Can you suggest why they feel this way?
(Similar to above) Some people don't really want to win competitions. Can you suggest why they feel this way?
Some people think that there is no need for a lot of the competition that we have. What do you think?
(Similar to above) What are the good and bad points of competition, compared to (the good and bad points of ) co-operation?
What are some examples of competition (or, types of competition) that have helped you?
How does experiencing competition affect people?
(Similar to above) How do you think a person is changed or affected when they experience a lot of competitive situations?
What are the characteristics of a good (competitive) game player?

Co-Operation and Teamwork (Not necessarily competitive teams)

If young children experience doing things as a member of a team, how do you think this will affect them?
What are the characteristics of a good team player? FQ

Other Uses of Competition

Sometimes we see competitions that companies hold in order to advertise their products or to increase sales. Can you give any examples of that?

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219. A Family Photo (Sept 5, 2009) (Probably no longer used)

Describe a family photo that you like. *

You should say:

who is in the photo

who took the photo

why this photo was taken

and explain why you like that photograph.

Notes

The wording has not been very well-reported yet. It might be a little different to that shown above.
It seems the wording does not specify your family. But it might.

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Possible follow-up questions:

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Part 3

Skills for Taking Photographs

Now that many people are using digital cameras, what changes or differences has this caused in the way people take photos?
Would you say it's easier to take photos using a digital camera than it is using the old style of cameras?
Do you think a person needs any special training before they use a digital camera?
Do you think it's easy for everybody to get used to these changes? (Hint: old people)
What would you say are the most important things to consider when taking a photograph?

The Qualities of Good Photographs

What makes a photograph a "good photograph"?
What are some of the differences between a good photograph and a bad one?

Other Uses of Photography

Photographs as Art

Do you think photographs can ever be called, "art"?
What are the qualities of artistic photographs?

Photographs as Museum Items

Compare having photographs in museums with having actual things in museums. (Unclear question)
What is the value of having photographs in museums?

Photographs in the Media

Do you think photographs play a very important part in the media?
Do you think photographs of people that we see in media such as newspapers and magazines can affect our perception of those people?
Do photographs help some people to become famous?

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220. Living in a Place in Another Country (Sept 5, 2009) (Probably no longer used)

Describe a place in another country that you would like to live in. *

You should say:

where this place is

how you know about this place

what work you would do in this place (if you moved there)

and explain why you would choose to live there.

Notes

It seems that you have to speak more specifically than simply describe another country. That is, you need to describe a particular town or city or a particular part of another country.

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Possible follow-up questions:

Have you really thought about living in this country? *
Do you think this will really happen in the near future?
Do you think you would/will live there for a long time?
Do you think (other) young people would like to live there?

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Part 3

Moving to Another Country - the Reasons and the Problems

Besides that country, have you thought about living in any other country? (If yes, compare them.)
Who would you like to accompany you to this new country?
Do you think they will agree to come with you?
What preparations do you think a person needs to do before moving to another country to live there for a long time (not just for a visit)? FQ

Reasons for Going Overseas

Nowadays, many people go abroad. What are the various reasons why they go abroad?
Why do so many people want to migrate to another country? (Or, to emigrate from China?) FQ
Why do so many people (in China) want to study overseas?

Problems

Do you think you will be able to adapt to life in this country (if you go there)? (Discuss the possible problems of getting used to and living in this new place.) FQx2
(Similar to above but expressed in general term, not personal terms) What problems do people have when they go to another country to live for a long time, (not just go for a visit)? FQx2
How do you think people should solve these problems?

Learning A Foreign Language

Do you think it's difficult to learn a foreign language?
What do you think is the best way to learn another language?
(Similar to above) What advice would you give someone who was considering learning another language?
Do you think children can learn a new language faster than adults? (Why?) FQ
Do you think children can learn a foreign language better (or, faster) overseas or in China? (Why/How?) FQ

The Global Community

Do you think people nowadays have more knowledge about other countries and other cultures than they used to have? (Why/How?/Why not?) *
Has the internet had any effect on bringing people from different countries closer together?
So, the internet is a good place for people from all over the world to come together. What do you think are the advantages and possible disadvantages of this?
Do you think the internet might threaten the cultural values of some countries?

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