Updated Oct. 15, 2013
IELTS Part 2 and Part 3 Topics and Questions
Page 94
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 your idea of a perfect holiday/vacation away from home.
You should say:
where it would be
who you would go with
what you would do there
and explain why you think this would be a perfect holiday.
Notes
You should not say, "I will + verb"
Instead, you should say, "I would + verb". See
here.
Holidays in General
(Not necessarily involving travel)
What do people in your country usually do when they have a holiday?
Is that the same for both rural people and people living in cities?
What are the pros and cons of spending a holiday at home?
Holidays (Vacations) Away from Home
Have you planned a holiday
(= a trip)
D
How do (or, how can)
someone choose a holiday destination?
What do you think are the
advantages of going on organized trips?
(Similar to above) Do most
people from your country prefer to travel in a tour group or travel alone
(or with a friend/ family member)?
What is the best way to travel when you go on a holiday?
Do people in your country like to go on a ship for a holiday (= a cruise)?
What do you think are the pros and cons of parents taking their (young) children on a holiday trip?
Holidays From Work
In your opinion, how long should these breaks from work be?
Describe a time when you were in a crowded place.
You should say:
where it was
why you went there
what you did there
why it was crowded *
and explain how you felt in this crowded place.
Notes
Make sure you know how to say, "crowded".
When talking about how you felt, you should focus on the crowded aspect of the place. For example, if you talk about going to a football match, don't just say you felt excited because your favourite team was playing, although you can include that as part of your talk.
This is past tense so you should talk about a specific event in the past, not a crowded place that you encounter often, such as the train station or the corridor outside your classroom between classes. Those examples are possible but you should talk about a specific, single, particular time in the past when you were in a crowded train station or crowded corridor.
Crowded Places
What are some further
examples of crowded places?
(Similar to above) What
places attract crowds of people?
(Different to above) In general, what attracts a crowd of people to form?
What do people do in these places?
(Similar to above) Why do people go to these places?
Do you think a crowd of people at an event always means that the event is a success?
What factors determine whether an event is a success or not?
Do people (in your
country) like being in a crowd? (Why?/Why not?)
What (kinds of) people especially don't like crowded places?
What are the good points and bad points of of being where there are many people, compared to being in a place where there are few people?
What problems are associated with crowded places?
Do you think crowded places can lead to more traffic accidents?
Do you think there are any
safety risks from being in a crowded place?
Who do you think prefers noisy places, young people or old people?
Group Activities
What are some examples of activities that people do in groups?
Do you think it's good for old people to do group activities?
Why do some people prefer to do some things alone?
What are the positive and negative sides of working in a group?
When a group activity is being organized, what factors should the organizers consider?
Population
Why do you think the population of the world (or some parts of the world) is increasing so fast?
What are the effects/results of having a big population?
Do you have any suggestions on how some of these problems could be solved?
Describe some mathematics you learned in primary school. *
You should say:
what you learned
how you learned it
whether or not it was difficult
and explain how useful you think that mathematics is in your life.
Notes
The first line is not clear. Some people report the wording as "Describe a mathematics lesson (or class) in primary school". That's possible but how many people can remember a specific lesson in primary school? Besides, most of us learned a new mathematical concept over several lessons, not one.
The words "some mathematics" here refers to one particular mathematical concept or calculation. The word "some" is used because 'mathematics' is a plural noun, like 'physics' and 'clothes'. There is no singular version of those nouns.
The Importance of Mathematics
(Similar to above) How
important is mathematics in people's everyday lives?
Do you think everybody is good at maths?
Which do you think is more
important, knowing how to read and write, or having mathematical skills?
In what ways does being good at mathematics (or poor at mathematics) influence a person's future job prospects (or, future career choice)?
Children Learning Mathematics
At what age you you think
children should start learning mathematics?
Do you think parents could (or, should) start teaching mathematics to their children (before they start school)?
Some people say (studying)
mathematics is boring. Do you agree?
Do you have any
suggestions on how mathematics classes at school could be made more
interesting?
Calculators Frequent sub-topic
Do you think it's good for
young school children to use calculators?
At what age do you think children should start using calculators?
What are the benefits of calculators?
Do you think a calculator class might be more enjoyable than the usual mathematics classes at school?
Adult Mathematics Lessons
Would you say that the average adult knows much mathematics? *
Do you think the average adult could benefit by having more mathematical knowledge? *
Do you think it would be
useful for the government to provide (remedial) classes for adults who are
not strong at mathematics?
Do you think it would be a good idea for the government to promote further mathematics (applied mathematics) classes for adults?
Describe an important message you received.
You should say:
who sent you the message
what the message said
how you felt when you received it
and explain why it was important.
Notes
A 'message' is rather short and it focuses on one idea. For example, a boy passing a note to a girl in his class at school that says, "I love you", is sending a message. Most text messages that people send by mobile phone fit this description. You can also 'send' a message verbally. For example, A can ask B to tell C something. People also leave messages on phone message machines or the similar service that phone companies provide. A short email could also be called a message if it involves one main piece of information. Even a piece of body language that someone makes can be called 'sending a message' if it gives you information, whether or not that person intends to send this message.
'Important' here means important to you, even if other people might not consider it to be important.
See also the Part 3 questions for the following topics: 1, 105, 163, 256 and 376.
Communication Methods
This means, 'communication with someone who is not near you'.
What are the most popular
ways to communicate (with someone who is not in your presence) in your
country?
Do people in different ages groups all communicate to others in the same way?
How are the modern ways of
communication different to the ways people communicated a few decades ago?
How do (did) you communicate with your teachers at school?
What are the pros and cons of using letters for communication?
Do you prefer to communicate with your relatives by letter or by phone?
Do you often send text
messages?
When (= in what
situations) do you send text messages?
(Similar to above) When do
people communicate by text messages or short emails?
Which is better, text messages and short emails, or letters?
What do you think is the best way to communicate in formal situations?
Do you think there are any problems connected to using modern means of communication?
Can you suggest how these problems could be overcome?
Which do you think is better, face-to-face communication or communicating by phone?
The Internet
Can you suggest why many elderly people do not use the internet?
Online education is becoming more common. Do you think this is better than having a teacher in a traditional classroom?
Communication Skills
Do you think it's important to have good communication skills?
How can people communicate effectively with people of different ages?
Do you think it's
necessary to speak formally at work or school/university?
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
Although it is possible, I suggest you do not talk about one of your own parents because examiners know that many high school students prepare a speech or essay on the topic of their own parents and the examiner can often tell when you are speaking something that you have practiced before, like a speech.
Before you can speak on this topic, you need to think about what defines a 'good' parent, as opposed to a bad parent or even a parent who is just mediocre.
Parenting
Do you think both parents,
the father and the mother, are equally important for raising a child?
Do you think a mother and a father are both necessary for a child's development?
Which parent do you think
should more time with the the children?
What difference is there between a man and a woman taking care of children?
Do you think you
would be (or,
will be) a good parent?
(Similar to above) What kind of parent would you like to be?
Who would, (or will) take care of your children?
Overall, what do you think
is the responsibility of being a parent?
Do you think it's important for parents to play with their children?
What activities can parent and children do together?
Do you think it's OK for parents who have 1 or 2 children to both go out to work?
What is the impact on the child of having both parents going to work?
What are some of the
advantages and disadvantages of having grandparents help with the raising of
children?
How can parents balance
working and raising children?
Do you agree that busy parents should let their children watch TV when they, the parents, do not have time to spend with the children?
Is it alright if the children watch TV for a long time?
Do you think parents should give guidance to (or to control) young children when the children watch TV?
How can parents communicate well with their children?
How much freedom (or, independence) should parents give their children?
Do you think it's good to give children too much freedom?
How much freedom should teenagers be given?
If a teenager behaves badly, how can the parents teach them to behave correctly?
What do teenagers want
most (or, appreciate most) from their parents?
(Similar to above) What do teenagers need from their parents?
How should parents give guidance to their teenage children?
Parents and the Education of Their Children
What role should parents play in the education of their children?
What can (or what do) children learn from their parents?
Which parent do you think is more suitable for educating their children, the father or the mother?
(Different to above) Which parent do you think should pay more attention to the education of their children?
(Similar to above)
Do you think that some parents put too much pressure on their children to do well at school?
Besides parents, what other people can teach things to children?