Updated May 22, 2013
IELTS Part 2 and Part 3 Topics and Questions
Page 73
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
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Describe restaurant that you like to go to with your family or friends.
You should say:
what restaurant it is
when you go there (or, how often you go there)
what kind of food they serve there (or, what service they provide) *
who you usually go there with
and explain why you like to eat at this
place. *
See also the Part 3 questions for
Eating in Your Country
Restaurants
"Eat out" = eat in restaurants (i.e., out of the home)
What are some reasons why people
eat out?
Does it give people more status to eat in a restaurant rather than eat at home?
Do people now go to restaurants
more than before? (Why?/Why not?)
(Similar to
above) Do you prefer
to eat in a restaurant or at home?
What's the difference between eating at home and eating in a restaurant? FQx2
Is there any difference between
home-cooked food and food in restaurants?
(Similar to above) What are the
differences between eating at home and eating in restaurants?
Which food do you think is
healthier, restaurant food or home-cooked food?
Do you like to go to foreign (or, Western) restaurants?
In the future, do you think more people will be eating in restaurants than is the case now?
Your National Diet
How would you introduce a foreigner to the food and the food culture in (from) your country?
Do you think there will be any changes in the future concerning what food most people in your country eat?
A Healthy Diet
In your opinion, what is a "healthy diet"?
What are some examples of unhealthy food?
Would you say the people in your country usually eat healthy food?
How could you avoid eating "fast food"?
Do you think schools should give information to school children about healthy food?
How do you think schools could encourage their students to eat a healthy diet?
Cooking
Who does more of the cooking in homes in your country, the husband or the wife?
Who prefers to cook, men or women?
Do you think men should learn how to cook?
Who do you think is better at cooking, men or women?
Do you think women sometimes feel under pressure when they are cooking at home?
How (or when) do people learn to cook?
Do you think
children should learn to cook?
Do you think cooking should be taught at school?
Buying Food
If you do your own cooking, do you think it's important to know how to select the raw ingredients (the uncooked food) in the shops?
How do people choose what to buy when they are going to prepare (or, cook) a meal? (See Note)
Where do people in your country generally go to buy their food?
Why do you think supermarkets are becoming more popular than traditional food markets?
Do you think children should receive information in school about the sources of food?
Describe a trip you went on in your childhood. *
You should say:
how you traveled
why you went there (or, what you did there) *
who you went with
and explain why you remember this trip. *
or
Part 3
Many of the reported questions for the "Childhood Trip" topic seem to be the same as the questions for Topic 351, "A Trip that Took Longer Than Expected". Those questions have been copied to here. Extra questions have also been added here to those taken from Topic 351.
Children and Travel
Do you think it's suitable for children to go on trips (especially long trips)?
How can children benefit from going on a trip? *
Transportation in the City and in the Rural Areas
What kinds of transport do
people use to travel around your hometown?
(Similar to above) What kind(s) transport would you recommend for people who want to travel around in your hometown? FQx2
Does your hometown have any problems connected to transportation?
How do you suggest these problems could be addressed (or, solved)?
Do you think riding a motorcycle is a good way to move around in a city?
What are the differences between traveling by car and traveling by bicycle in a city?
What do you think are the advantages and disadvantages of cycling in the city? FQ
How do you think the government could encourage more people to use bicycles in the city?
What do you think are the benefits of having a good public transportation system in a city?
How do you think transportation in cities will change in the future? FQ
(Similar to above) Do you
think city transport will improve in the future?
In the future, do you think more and more people will drive cars in the cities?
Transportation in the City Compared to Transportation in the Countryside (or, in Rural Areas) Frequent Sub-topic
["Countryside" or "rural areas" includes the villages and small towns in the rural areas.]
Who do you think does more traveling, people in cities or people who live in the countryside (in villages)?
How does transportation in
the countryside compare with that in the city?
Do you think the cities
have better transportation facilities than the rural areas? (Why?)
What problems are there regarding transportation in rural areas?
Do you think this will improve in the future?
Who do you think needs transportation more, people in the cities or people in the countryside?
In the future, which do you think will increase more, transportation in the cities or transportation in the rural areas?
Long-Distance Travel
Do people in your country generally prefer to go on long trips or short trips? (Why?)
What effects does long-distance travel have on people?
Does long-distance traveling have any effect on the environment? (See note)
How is long-distance travel today different to in the past (e.g., 50 years ago)?
How would you feel if you had the chance to travel in space? FQ
(Similar to above) What do you think it would be like to travel in space? FQ
Tourism
Why is there a "tourism" industry?
In your country, are most tourists from the cities or from the rural areas?
What tourism attractions are there in your country?
Describe a workplace that you know (e.g., an office, a factory or a shop)
You should say:
what kind of workplace it is
where it is
how you know this place *
what people do there *
and explain why you think it is (or, would be) a good place to work. *
or
Notes
"*" = my guess.
If the last line says "would be a good place to work" that means, you think
it "would be a good place if you had
a job there". This line might say, "
Note: In English, the word "suburbs" refers to those parts of a city that are not part of the "city centre". Sometimes, we have "inner city suburbs", which are those suburbs nearest to the city centre, and we also have "outer suburbs", which are on the outer edges of the city metropolitan area. Unlike in China, English-speakers don't (usually) refer to the countryside area that is just outside a city as "the suburbs" of the city.
Working
What do you think are the good points about young people working? (Unclear)
Traveling to Work (= "commuting to work")
Which would you prefer, to work from home (your flat or house) or to work away from home?
(Similar to above) Why do so many people
choose to live in the suburbs of a city when they work in the city centre?
Companies
Opening a Company
Is it easy for recent university graduates to start their own businesses?
Why do some people prefer to open a company overseas rather than in their home country?
What problems do you think a company might face when they open a company overseas?
What do you think is the best location to put companies where people go to work?
(Similar to above) How do
(you think) companies decide where to have their office/factory etc?
What impact does the location of the company (or, the workplace) have on the company and on the employees? FQ
What are the advantages and the disadvantages (to a company) of locating a workplace in the city centre and in the suburbs? (I.e., from the viewpoint of the company.)
Government Support for Companies
Do you think it's good for governments to support companies?
To what extent do you think governments should support companies?
How can (or, how do) governments support companies?
Describe a gift you would like to give to one of your friends.
You should say:
who you would like to give this gift to
how long you have known this friend
how much time you spend with this friend
and explain why you would like to give this gift to this person.
.
Notes
If you use the words, "want to give" here, it means you have a real plan or strong desire to give this present - it is something that you have thought about before. But I think one of the points on the card might say, "what the gift would be", not "what the gift will be". If it says "would be", you should not say "want to give", "will give", "plan to give", "intend to give" etc. - you should keep all your grammar as hypothetical. Suitable hypothetical words are: "would like to give", "would be happy to give", "would enjoy giving" etc.