IELTS Part 2 and Part 3 Topics and Questions -Family Living Situations

Family Living Situations
Family Size and Household Living Arrangements
• In China today, what what is the structure of the typical family (= the typical
household)? FQ
• Have there been any changes in families in China in the past 20 or 30 years?
• Do you think these changes are changes for the better or changes for the worse? *
• In what ways do you think the number of people in a family (a household) affects
the family?

• Do you think China's "One Child Policy" pleases everybody?
• What do you think are some of the advantages and disadvantages of big families
(i.e., many children) as opposed to small families? FQ
• In China, are there any differences between family living arrangements
(households) in the cities and in the countryside?
Old Family Members (grandparents)
• Do people in China like to have three generations of their family all living together?
See Note
• How many generations live in your family home?
• What are some of the pros and cons of three generations living together (i.e., a
household including grandparents)? FQx2
• (Similar to above) What do you think are some of the advantages and possible
disadvantages of having children, parents and grandparents all living together?
FQx2
• What do you think are some differences between children being brought up by their
grandparents and being brought up by their parents?
• Do you think old people should go out to work in order to support themselves
financially?
• Do you think that people are (or, should be) responsible for looking after their
parents when the parents are old?
• (Similar to above) Whose responsibility do you think it should be (or, is) to
(financially) look after old people - the government's responsibility or the family's?

FQ
• Do you think the government have a system for for (financially) looking after old
people?
• How much do you think people should be responsible for (the welfare of) their own
parents? FQ
• Do you think it's a good idea to put old family members in a nursing home when
they become very old?
Family Relationships
• Do you think family relationships are important? FQ
• (Similar to above) Do you think people should maintain a close relationship with
members of their family? (Why?) FQ
• In general, what do families in China do together at home?
• Which do you think is the more important, family or friends? FQx2
• Do you agree that all members of a family (except for babies & very young
children) have certain responsibilities towards the other members of the family? (If
so, what are these responsibilities?)
• Do you prefer to (try to) "bring up your parents" (养养养 ) or do you prefer that they
bring you up?
• How do you think support from friends and support from parents are different? FQ
• In what ways do family members (in China) support each other? *
• Do you think people today spend more time with their family than they used to
(about 30 years ago), or less time? FQ
• What are the advantages and possible disadvantages of living in a (very) close-knit
family? FQ
• What are some of the advantages and possible disadvantages of young people living
at home with their parents right up until the time they get married?
• Do you think your parents should make decisions for you?
• Do you think young people (or, children) should respect their parents? (Why?)
• (Similar to above) How important is it for young people (or, children) to respect
their parents?

• Would you agree that each person in a family has certain responsibilities towards
the other members of the family?
• What responsibilities do young people (and/or children) have towards their parents?
FQ
• What are some examples of stress (or pressure) that can threaten family
relationships? (E.g., husband and wife working in different cities because of
economic necessity)
• How can the "generation gap" be reduced?
• Do you feel that you will be friends with the other members of your family for a
long time?
• Do you think modern technology such as computers and the cell-phones play a
positive role in family relationships?
Male and Female Family Roles
• In a marriage, who do you think should carry most of the responsibility for the
family, the husband or the wife?
• In typical Chinese families, who is the dominant person, the mother or the father?
FQ
• (Similar to above) In typical Chinese families, who is the the head of the family?
FQ
• (Similar to above) In typical Chinese families, who is the most important person,
the mother or the father? FQ
• Do you think this has changed at all in recent years?
• In a family, do you think it's important that the men and women have set (= clearly
defined) roles to play?
• (Similar to above) Do you think (married) men and women should have set roles in
the family?
• In the typical family (in China) who takes on (= is responsible for) most of the
family-related responsibilities?
• In the typical family (in China), what is the role of the man and what is the role of
the woman? (State the roles; and compare/contrast) FQ

• Ideally, what roles do you think men and women should play in a family? FQ
• (Similar to above) What responsibilities do you think men and women should (or,
do) have in a family?
• How should a married couple decide who does what work in the home? *
• Do different groups in society have different ideas about the division of labour
between (married) men and women?
Taking Care of Children at Home Frequent Topic
• Do you think women who have young children should stay at home and take care
of the children or should they have the freedom to take a job outside the home, the
same as men?
• Do you think this situation will change at all in the future?
• Who is more likely to think that "a woman's place is in the home", men or women?
(Why?) FQ
• (Similar to above) Do men and women have the same opinions about who should
stay at home and look after the children? FQ
• In recent years, has the role of fathers changed much in Chinese families, compared
to many years ago?
• To what extent do you think (married) men should do such activities as child-
rearing, doing the housework, cooking and shopping for groceries?
• Do you think that when a couple has a young child, the responsibility for looking
after the child should be shared equally?
• Do men and women generally take care of children in the same way?
• Do you think women are better suited to looking after children than men?
Helping Others
• Would you say it's easy for people to get along with others?
• (Similar to above but different) Would you say it's easy for people to form
relationships with others?
• (In general), do you think neighbours are important (to people)? (Why?/Why not?)
• Do you think it's important for neighbours to help each other?
• Do you think there's much difference between giving and receiving help in the

family and between friends?
• Do people feel the same about helping family members and helping friends?
• What's the difference between help from family members (or, from parents) and
help from friends? FQ
• Which do you think is better?
• Do young people in China today usually ask (or, prefer to ask) their parents for help
or their friends?
• (Similar to above) Do children in China today usually ask (or, prefer to ask) their
parents for help or their friends?
• In the future, do you think people will be co-operating more with each other than
they do today or will people be doing things more independently than today?
• How do you personally feel about working with other people?
• How do you think you could contribute to your community?
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192. A Course You Would Like to Study (Jan. 10, 2009) Not Confirmed as a
Part 2 Topic
Describe a course you would like to study, if you had time. *
You should say:
what (kind of) course it is (or, would be) *
where you would do this course *
how you would study it *.
how easy or difficult you think it would be *
and explain how you would benefit from studying this course.


Notes
• See Note about this topic possibly being Topic 154
• This is a 假养养养养
• Also see Notes

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Possible follow-up questions:
• Do you think you really will study this course? *
• Are there many schools in China that have that course? *
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Part 3
Teachers
• Do you think teachers are useful (or, necessary; or, important)? (Why?/Why not?)
• Do you need teachers to help you learn?
• What (personal) qualities do you think teachers should have? FQx2
• (Similar to above) What are the qualities of a good teacher? FQx2
• (Similar to above) What kind of person would make a good teacher? FQx2
• Do you think there's much difference between (the skills of), say, language teachers
and sports teachers? (How are they similar and how are they different?) FQx2
The Value of Different Kinds of Courses
Elective Courses (= non-major classes [courses])
• What are the most popular courses (= subjects; majors) for people to study today (at
university or other tertiary educational institutes) in China? FQx2
• Do you think it would be good if schools (universities) only had that course?
• Do you think elective courses (elective subjects) in high school or university are
very useful?
• What are some examples of good (= useful) elective courses?
• Do you think humanities subjects (arts subjects) such as history and music are
important?
Practical Experience (or Practical Courses) versus Theoretical Courses
• How do you think universities could help students to find work after they graduate?
• In general do you feel that university courses should focus on giving people
knowledge, just for the value of knowledge, or should they focus on training people

for work? FQ
• Which do you think is more useful (or, important), studying a course in a classroom
or getting practical work experience? (Why?) FQx2
• (Similar to above) When companies hire people, do you think they should pay more
attention to the job applicant's study record or the job applicant's work experience?
FQ
• Do you think schools (and universities) should include more opportunities for
gaining practical experience? (Why? How? / Why not?)
Refresher Courses
• How useful (or, how important) do you think refresher courses are, (for example,
going to a class to learn how to use the most recent computer software even though
you took a similar course 10 years previously)? (Hint: The speed of technological
development means that refresher courses will be increasingly important in the
future.)
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193. A Piece of Good News (Jan. 10, 2009)
Describe a piece of good news that you received by phone. *
You should say:
what the news was
where you were when you received this news
who gave you this news *
and explain why you felt this was good news. *
or
and explain what you did after you received this good news. *

See Notes
• The card might say, "mobile phone" but it probably just says "phone", giving the
opportunity for those without a mobile phone to answer. But of course, the main
idea here is the mobile phone.

• If the card says something like, "who gave you this news" then it seems that both a
text message and a spoken message would be suitable.
• I don't think the card says this but, if it says something like, "who phoned you"
then it can only be a spoken message.
• If it says, "who sent you" then only a text message would be suitable.
• Don't forget to use the past tense and to say when, even if the card does not tell you
to say when.
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Possible follow-up questions:
•
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Part 3
Telephones
• Do you think telephones are important for communication?
• Do people in China use telephones (including cell-phones) very much? (Give
examples of the uses of telephones) FQx2
• Does everyone in China use a telephone?
• Which do people in China use more, cells phone or fixed line phones? FQx2
• Which do you think is better, cell-phones or fixed line phones? (Why?) FQx2
• (Similar to above) Why are cell-phones (= mobile phones) so popular?
• What changes has the introduction of cell-phones brought to people's lives (or, to
society)? FQ
• (Similar to above) How have cell-phones changed people's lives? FQ
• Do you think people like listening to other people's cell-phone conversations in
public places?
• Some people don't like telephones (both cell-phones and fixed line phones). Can
you suggest some reasons why they feel that way?
• Who do you think prefer to use telephones, old people or young people?

• Why do you think girls like using telephones (or, cell-phones) more than boys?
Communication Methods/Tools
• How have communication methods in China changed in the past 20 or 30 years?
FQx2
• Compare the benefits and shortcomings of using different communication methods
(or, tools) such as face-to-face communication, letters, emails and phones. *
• Compare (the advantages & disadvantages of using) emails as opposed to cell-
phones (= mobile phones) as a means of communication.
• Compare (the advantages & disadvantages of using) emails as opposed to (hand-
written) letters as a means of communication. FQ
• What impact have new communication technologies such as mobile phones and the
internet had on people's work lives and on their personal lives? FQ See Note
• With the increasing use of computers for communication, what do you think the
eventual result will be? FQ
• (Similar to above) With the increasing use of computers for communication, do you
think people's handwriting skills will suffer as a result?
• Do you think the skill of handwriting might one day disappear?
• How do you think people will be communicating with each other in the future (e.g.,
30 years from now)?
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194. A Future Change (Jan. 10, 2009)
Describe a change you would like to make to your life in the future.
You should say:
what change you would like to make
when you would like to make this change *
how easy or difficult you think this change might be
(or, how you would make this change happen)
and explain why you would like to make this change.

Notes
• Concentrate on talking about one particular change, not several different changes
because, almost certainly, the card says "a change" not, "some changes". Of course,
one change will lead to other changes and you could mention them, but try to focus
on a single change.
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Possible follow-up questions:
•
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Part 3
See also all the past Part 3 questions for "Change" topics in Part 2: Topic #47, Topic #92,
Topic #148
People's feelings about Change
• Do you think changes that occur in a person's life are important to that person?
• How do you feel about change?
• Some people like change while others don't. Can you suggest why these two groups
of people feel this way? FQ
• (Similar to above) In general, what kind of people (or, which groups of people) like
change? FQ
• Why do they like change? FQ
• And what kind of people (or, which groups of people) don't like change? (Why?)
FQ
• How does change bring difficulties to some people?
• (Similar to above) What are some negative effects of change?
• Who do you think likes change more, young people or old(er) people? Why?
• Who do you think likes change more, children or adults? Why?
• Do you think change affects children and old people the same way?

• How can people have more control over the changes that occur in their lives?
Personal Change
Changing Oneself
• What are some examples of changes that people choose to make to their lives (or to
themselves)?
• What are some personal changes that occur only over quite a long time?
• Why do adults find it harder to change (to make changes to themselves) than
children? FQ
• (Similar to above) Why do you think it is difficult for people in general to change
(to make changes to themselves)? FQ
Changes that Happen to People
• And can you give any examples of changes that just happen to people, not really
changes that people choose to make?
• What changes take place when a child becomes an adult?
• What are some things about a person that never change?
Changes In Society
• What are some of the major changes that have taken place in Chinese society in the
past 20 or 30 years?
• If you were the government, what changes would you bring about in society?
• What's the difference between "change" and "progress"?
• In the past 20 or 30 years, have there been any changes in family life (or, the family
structure) in China? FQ
• Do you think these are all changes for the better or are some of them changes for
the worse?
• How do you think changes in technology (electronic technology) have affected
people's everyday lives?
• What changes do you think the internet has brought to society?
• Have there been any changes in the natural environment (e.g., the weather)?
• Can you think of anything that hasn't changed since ancient times?
Educational Changes Frequent Topic

• Has education in China changed much in the past 20 or 30 years? FQ
• What do you think are the results of those changes?
• Do you think the educational system in China needs any changes? (What changes?
Why?/Why not?) FQ
• (Similar to above) What changes would you like to see in the educational system
(in your country)? FQ
• (If those changes came about [= happened],) what do you think the results of those
changes would be? See Note
• How do you think education in China will, in fact, change over the next 20 or 30
years?
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195. Your Favourite Part of Your Hometown (Jan. 10, 2009)
Describe your favourite part of your hometown.
You should say:
where it is
how often you go there
what you do there
and explain why that is your favourite part of town.

Note
• The wording might not use the word, "favourite". It might just say: "Describe a part
of your hometown that you like to go to."
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Possible follow-up questions:
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Part 3

City versus Rural Living
• Compare (the differences between) living in a city and living in a rural
environment.
• What are the advantages and disadvantages of living in a city and in a rural
environment?
• Compare the differences between people's homes in cities and in the countryside.
• Which do you think is the better place to live, in a city or in the countryside?
(Why?) FQ
• Nowadays, many people move to live either in the city or the countryside. What do
you think are (some of) the reasons why people make these moves?
• What is the trend in China - are people moving into the cities from the countryside
or are they moving into the countryside from the cities? (Why?)
• In the future, do you think (more) people will move out of the cities into rural
areas?
• Why do (many) people today move from rural to urban areas? FQ
• What do you think the government could do to improve the living situation in the
countryside?
• What city would you prefer to live in? (Why?)
Essential Facilities in a Town or City
• What would you say are the essential facilities (or, the important facilities) and
services that people need in their town or city? FQ
• (Similar to above) What important (or essential) facilities and services does your
hometown have? FQ
• What kind of entertainment facilities are there in your hometown?
• (Similar to above) What kind of entertainment facilities do you think are essential
for a town or city?
• What facilities are there for the welfare of old people in the community?
• (Similar to above) What do you think are essential facilities in a community for old
people?
• What do you think are the essential educational facilities that a community (a town

or city) should have?
• Do you think libraries are an important facility in the community?
• Compare the services and facilities that are available in the cities of China and in
the countryside (small towns and villages).
• How do you think the facilities in your hometown could be improved?
• Who should be responsible for providing these services and facilities (the
government, private businesses, individual citizens)? FQ
• (Perhaps the question above is:) Who is responsible for providing these services
and facilities (the government, private businesses, individual citizens)? FQ
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IELTS Part 2 and Part 3 Topics and Questions
Page 40

196. A Childhood Activity (February 7, 2009)
197. A Person who Visited your Home (Mar. 7, 2009) ( Not in China )
198. A Conversation You Had (May 9, 2009)
199. An Electrical/Electronic Product (May 9, 2009)
200. A Film (4) (May 9, 2009)

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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196. A Childhood Activity (February 7, 2009)

Describe an activity that you did with your friends when you were a child.
You should say:
how old you were when you did this activity *

how and where you did this activity *
who you did it with *
and explain why you enjoyed that activity.

Notes
• This seems to be a different topic to Topic #179, A Childhood Game. An "activity"
can be a game but it doesn't have to be a game. For example, it could be playing a
sport, riding your bicycle etc. The words are not yet clear but someone wrote on the
internet that the word "game" is not written on the topic card. The Part 3 questions
seem different to Topic #179, too.
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Possible follow-up questions:
• Do children today still do that?
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Part 3
Childhood Activities
• Do many people today still do the same things as they did when they were
children?
• (Similar to above) Do many people today still play the same games as they did
when they were children?
• Do you think children today prefer playing with other children or do they prefer
doing things by themselves?
The Role of Children in the Family
• In the family, what is the role of children?
• As they grow up, how do you think this role changes?
• What do you think parents can do to help their children grow up to become good
people?
• What pressures do modern children have in their lives?

Community
Neighbours
A dog poses for a photo while visiting his
neighbours
• Do you communicate very much with your neighbours?
• Are you willing to make friends with old people?
• Do you think a person's relations with their neighbours is important?
• (Similar to above) Do you think it's important to have good relations with one's
neighbours? FQ
• What are some ways that neighbours (can) help each other?
• Would you say that the average person today has the same kind of relationship with
their neighbours as previous generations did? FQ
• Why do you think many people today are isolated from their neighbours? FQ
• (Similar to above) Why do you think many people are alienated from (= isolated
from) their neighbours and what can be done about it? FQ
• (Similar to above) Many people today are so busy that they don't spend much time
at home or in their local communities. Do you think this is a good thing? FQ
• In what ways can students (or, children, or young people) show a sense of
responsibility towards their communities?
• At what age do you think children should start to show a sense of responsibility
towards their communities?
Groups
• What groups (e.g., clubs) in society are you willing to join?
• (Similar to above) What groups (e.g., clubs) in society would you like to join?
• In general do teenagers like to do things in groups?
• What do you think are the benefits for young people from joining groups?
• As people get older, do you think they still enjoy doing things in groups?
• For children, how do you think taking part in group activities will benefit them
when they are adults?
• For children, how do you think communicating with others (in group activities) will

benefit them when they are adults?
• If a child were too shy to join other kids in play, what would you do to help this
child?
The Global Community
• Would you agree that the people in the world are today living in a "global village"?
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197. A Person who Visited your Home (Mar. 7, 2009) ( Not in China )

Describe a person who visited your home.
You should say:
who the person was
why they visited your home
how you spent the time with this visitor (or how you entertained this visitor)
and explain how you felt about the visit.




Note
• It seems this topic is not being used in China at the moment. But it might be among
the 'new' topics after May 9, 2009.
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Possible follow-up questions:
•
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Part 3
See also the Part 3 questions for Topic # 138. So far, the topic reported in Australia on

Mar. 7 seems to be exactly the same as Topic #138.
• In China, what do people do when they visit each other?
• Do you think visiting others is more informal today than it was before (for example,
when your parents or grandparents were young)?
• What do people in China do to prepare for visitors to their home?
• When people take their guests out to a restaurant, who do you think should pay the
bill, the host or the guests?
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198. A Conversation You Had (May 9, 2009)

Describe an important conversation you had in the past.
You should say:
where you had the conversation (or, in what situation you had the conversation)
who you talked to (or, who you talked with)
what you talked about
and explain why this was an important conversation to you.

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Possible follow-up questions:
•
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Part 3
Conversation in Society
• How often do you have conversations with your friends?
• Do you speak about the same topics when you have conversations with your
parents? *
• What are the most frequent topics of conversation that people (in your country) talk

about? FQx2
• Can you think of any situations when two strangers might engage in a
conversation?
Gender Differences Frequent Topic