IELTS Intermediate By Trang Vu

IELTS SPEAKING
Lesson 4. Describing places
Exam Practice
During the IELTS Speaking exam you may want to talk about what people look like. This might involve describing their
physical appearance or the type of clothes they like to wear.
Questions:
Part 1: 6. Do you have any memories of nature from your
Home town or village: childhood?
 What is it like where you live? 7. What are the benefits of learning about nature?
 Do you like living in the city? 8. What can people get from going to natural places?
 Do you get many tourists visiting your area? Park:
 What kind of place is it? 1. Do you like parks? Why / why not?
 What’s the most interesting part of your town/village? 2. How often do you visit parks?
 What kind of jobs do the people in your town/village 3. Why are parks an important part of many towns and
do? cities?
 Would you say it’s a good place to live? (why?) 4. What do you think could be done to make parks
better?
Natural places
Citiies
1. Do you like visiting natural places?
1. Do you like cities? Why?
2. What are some well-known natural attractions in your
country? 2. Have you lived for a long time in your current city?
3. Have you ever gone camping? 3. Do you think this city will change in future?
4. Do you like a natural environment? 4. What are interesting things in this city?
5. How do city kids in your country have contact with 5. Which city would you like to visit? Why?
nature? 6. Do most people live in the big cities in your country?
why?
Part 2:
Describe an interesting town or city in your country that visitors might enjoy. You should say
 what the place is called
 where the place is
 what the facilities are like
and say why visitors might enjoy going there.
Part 3:
 What are the advantages of living in a city or big town?
 In your experience are city centres usually attractive places?
 What are some of the challenges facing towns and cities?
7 Common Question Types
1. Opinion– What do you think about ‘this’? Remember to say why you think that way and give examples.
2. Evaluate– What do you think about someone else’s opinion?
3. Future– What do you think will happen in the future?
4. Cause and Effect– What caused ‘this’ and/or what effects has ‘it’ had?
5. Hypothetical– Talk about imaginary or unreal situations.
6. Compare and Contrast– Talk about the difference and/or similarities between two things.
7. Past– How were things different in the past and how have they changed?
IELTS Intermediate
Opinion
You can use:
 As I see it,
 Personally,
 For me,
If you feel very strongly
about something you could
use:
 I’m convinced that….
 I’m certain that….
 I’m sure that….
If you are less sure about
your opinion you could give
a weaker opinion by using:
 I guess that…
 I suppose that….
 I’d say that…..
Example Question
What are some of the ways
people can help others in
the community?
As I see it, there are many
ways one can help the
needy, but the best way is
by making charitable
donations. People can
choose a charity and simply
donate a sum of money and
leave it to them to help
others in need. For
instance, I recently gave
money to an orphanage. I
don’t have time to help
them personally, so I’ll
leave it up to them to use
the money as they see fit.
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Evaluate
In these kinds of questions
you will be asked what you
think about someone else’s
opinion  use expressions
that allow us to agree or
disagree.
For agreement we can use:
 I couldn’t agree with you
more.
 That’s so true.
 That’s for sure.
 That’s exactly how I feel.
 No doubt about it.
 I suppose so./I guess so.
 You/they have a point
there.
For disagreement we can
use:
 I don’t think so.
 I’m afraid I disagree.
 I totally disagree.
 I’d say the exact
opposite.
 Not necessarily.
 That’s not always true.
 That’s not always the
case.
Example Question
Some people say that people
helped others more in the
past than they do now. Do
you agree or disagree?
 I don’t think so. When it
comes to my parent’s
generation I think they are
quite sceptical about helping
other people in the
community, but my
generation are regularly
doing things to improve it,
such as volunteering for
various environmental and
charitable organisations.
Young people are actively
encouraged to help out in
the community and I don’t
think this happened in the
past, so I’m afraid I’d
disagree.
By Trang Vu
Future Cause and Effect
You are often asked to You may also be asked to discuss
predict how a certain topic what has caused a certain
will change in the future. situation and what effects this
You can use: has.
 X plans to….. To talk about cause and effect
 It is predicted that…. you can use:
 X intends to….  …because…
 …as a result….
 I foresee…..
 …resulted in…
 It is foreseeable….
 Conditionals- If X +  …as a consequence…
 …due to….
verb…..
 …caused…
 It is likely that…
 …led to….
 It is probable that….
 …means that….
 It is unforeseeable
that…. Example Question
 I envisage…. How does advertising influence
what people choose to buy?
As always you will have to
explain why you think this  I think advertising has a big
will occur in the future. You influence on what people
may also want to use purchase and often leads to
future conditionals to them always sticking with the
extend your answer. same brand. For example, I
Example Question always drink Coca Cola and I
believe this is because I grew up
Some people say that
working from home will be watching all those ads on TV and
I instinctively buy it as a result. I
quite common in the
mean, why would companies
future. Do you agree?
spend so much money on
 It is foreseeable that
adverts, unless it led to more
more people will work
sales?
from home in the future. If
the internet becomes
faster and there are more
programs, such as Skype,
that allow people to work
from home more easily, I’d
predict that more people
will stay at home. If you
think about it, most people
don’t need to be physically
present to do their jobs
and I envisage that face to
face meetings will be a
thing of the past.
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IELTS Intermediate By Trang Vu

Hypothetical Compare and Contrast Past

The second conditional is used to To compare two things, use a We may use the present perfect continuous
talk about ‘unreal’, ‘unlikely’ or comparative adjective + than e.g. He’s to talk about something that started in the
‘impossible’ situations. You might taller than his sister. past and continues up until the present.
get asked a question about an Some comparative adjectives are Example: They have been developing the
‘unreal’ situation, for example ‘If irregular: city centre for the past five years.
you were mayor of your city, what  Good- better  For this tense we use the structure
would you do to improve it?’ has/have + been + present participle
 Bad- worse
The grammar we use for this is: (verb-ing).
 Far- further
 If + (subject 1) + past  Used to + infinitive to talk about past
For short adjectives, add –(e)r. If they
participle, then (subject 2) + habits or states that are now finished.
end in –y change to –ier. For example:
would + verb  Would + infinitive to describe past habits.
 Hard- harder
Example Question Past simple to talk about things you did in
If you could choose any country to  Cheap- cheaper
the past that you no longer do or are no
live in, where would you choose?  Easy- easier longer true.
 If I could live in any country, I  Lazy- lazier Past continuous to talk about the
would probably choose Australia. For longer adjectives, use more. For background of a story or how you felt at a
The weather is great; the people example: particular time.
are super friendly and just imagine More interesting Past perfect to say something happened
living beside all those beaches. If I More difficult before something else in the past.
could choose another country, it Example Question
Example Question
would have to be Italy, for the
Do you think primary school children How has teaching changed in your country
architecture, the culture and its
should learn a second language or over the past few decades?
fascinating history.
should they wait until secondary school?  In the past, teachers simply lectured
 It’s obvious that the earlier children students and the students just listened to
start a language the easier it becomes what they said. We were given lots of facts
in later life. However, some parents to learn and there was no room for
might think that subjects like maths are creativity or freedom of expression. I
more important than languages at remember learning lots of things without
primary level. They may also think that thinking about the theory behind it. Now,
a foreign language is less important there’s been a movement towards students
than their first language and this should thinking for themselves.
be prioritised.
Vocabulary:
 chain stores: well-known brands with shops in  out of town shopping centre/retail park: large
multiple cities shopping centres outside of the town or city
 to close down: to stop doing business  pavement cafe: cafes with tables outside on the
 fashionable boutiques: fashionable clothes shops pavement
 high-rise flats: multi-story apartments  shopping centre: an area consisting of multiple
shops
 inner-city: the central part of a city where people
live and where conditions are often poor  shopping malls: large indoor shopping centres
 in the suburbs: the outer area of large towns and  sprawling city: a city that has grown over time and
cities where people live which covers a wide area
 lively bars/restaurants: bars or restaurants with a  tourist attraction: a place of interest to tourists
good atmosphere  traffic congestion: heavy traffic making it difficult to
 office block: a large building that contains offices move around a town or city
 upmarket shops: expensive fashionable shops
Adjectives:
 It's exciting, busy, hectic, cosmopolitan, multicultural, unique.

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IELTS Intermediate By Trang Vu

 It's historic but modern at the same time, it's a thriving, prosperous city, it's fashionable, lively, fun...
Activities:
London is famous for its history, culture, art, museums. Tourists go there to see Big Ben, The Tower of London,
Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square etc. You can get a fantastic view of the city from the 'London Eye'. It's also
famous for its theatres and shows in the West End, its shops, restaurants and nightlife. There are endless things to
see and do.
Negatives: London is expensive, crowded, stressful, polluted. The underground system is dirty, travel is overpriced
and unpleasant. The cost of living is high (shopping, house prices etc.), the locals are always in a hurry and can be
unfriendly, there are social problems (like you can find in most big cities).
Living Example sentences
cost of living  The cost of living is fairly reasonable.
pace of life  There is a fairly slow pace of life where I come from.
the rat race  I moved out to avoid the rat race.
atmosphere  It’s got a really relaxed atmosphere.
pollution  The air quality is terrible because of the pollution.
overcrowding  Like most places it suffers from overcrowding.
poverty  You can see poverty everywhere.
amenities  One of the best points is that is has excellent amenities.
sense of community  What I enjoy most is the sense of community there
run down  It is in an old and of a poor standard
poor housing  housing that is not in good condition
Areas Example sentences
residential area  We live in a residential area on the outskirts of the city.
housing estate  There is a shortage of accommodation so they are building some new housing estates.
 Fortunately the industrial zone are outside the city limits so the pollution is not too bad.
industrial zone  Most people choose to live in the suburbs as it is much quieter there.
 Most of the superstores are some way from the city centre on the outskirts of the city.
suburbs  It is quite a safe place but some of the inner-city areas can be dangerous late at night.
outskirts  I suppose the heart of the city is the main square in the city centre.
 buildings that have a particular interest for visitors
inner city
heart of the city
places of interest
Transport Example sentences
congestion  Where I come from the congestion is terrible.
traffic jams  Like most places we get traffic jams in the rush hour.
rush hour  There is not really a rush hour – it is too quiet for that.
bus route  Fortunately I live near a convenient bus route.
underground  There are lots of means of transport – even a subway system.
system/subway  Some people choose to live in the country and commute in to work.
commute  public vehicles like buses and trains that operate at regular times on fixed routes
public transport system
Adjectives Example sentences
quiet/peaceful  It is a fairly quiet place.

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 IELTS Intermediate By Trang Vu

lively/bustling/vibrant  The centre of town is really lively at night.

industrial  Of course it is quite industrial like most modern cities.
provincial  It is one of the largest provincial cities in the country.
cosmopolitan  There is a really cosmopolitan atmosphere.
green  While some parts of it are industrial it is still a green city.
historic  It is a fascinating historic old town.
sleepy/relaxed/dull  Some people might call it sleepy while I find it rather dull.
Activity 1. Where are these cities? Where do you want to visit? Why?
Amsterdam New York Shanghai Seoul

Use these ideas to help you:

Work in small groups.

1. How friendly are people in your town or city to 3. Which part of the city according to you is most
visitors? Give examples. crowded?
2. Do you feel the cities are crowded nowadays? 4. Why are those places crowded?
Why? 5. How do you feel in crowded place?
Activity 2. Prepare ideas to talk about the following topic.

A popular place with tourists in your country A place which is not well-known but worth visiting

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IELTS Intermediate By Trang Vu
Activity 3.

Task Useful notes

Describe a public park you visit.
You should say:
where the park is
how often you go there
what people do there
and say how important public
parks are
Part 3:
 What different kinds of parks
are there?
 Why do you think parks are
important to society?
 Do you think it is important to
maintain parks?
 What do you think parks will
look like in the future?
Last month I visited a children’s park in our area with my 8 years old nephew. He
was getting bored at home and his mother requested me to take him outside and I
took him to the nearby children’s park. It was in the evening and there were lots of
other children who came there with their parents. I found that my nephew Smith
was very happy to be in this park and he enjoyed the activities offered there for
children. He rode on many rides and ran for a long until he got tired.
I went there after a very long time and enjoyed the children’s activity as they were
playing, shouting and joyfully running in the park. There were many trees and
flowers in this park and I was mostly watching my nephew or the other children.
At a time I found that John had already made two / three playmates and them all
came to me and asked me to take a picture. I took few photos of those angelic kids
and bought them some nuts and ice-creams. When the darkness started falling
around us, I asked my nephew to get back home and we started walking towards
home. Both of us enjoyed our sudden visit to that children’s park though one of us
one not a child at all!

Describe a place in another part of

the world that you would love to visit
in the future.
You should say:
what you know about the place
how you know about it
how you would go there
and explain why you would love to
visit that place.
Part 3:
Now let’s talk about visiting other
countries.
1. For what reasons do you think
international travel has increased
in recent years?
2. Some people say it’s important for
people to find out about another
country before they visit it. Do you
agree?
3. How useful is it for people to
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IELTS Intermediate By Trang Vu
understand the language of the
countries they visit? Why?
Now let’s consider the tourism
industry.
4. Does tourism play a big part in the
economy of your country? How?
5. What kinds of unpredictable
factors can have a negative effect
on the tourism industry?

Describe a building that you like.

You should say:
 What it is
 Where and when you saw it
 Why you like it
 Have you been inside this
building?.

Part 3:
1. Should money be spent on the
exterior design of a building?

2. Do you think interior and space

of office are more important?

3. What essentials are to be kept

in mind when constructing a
building?

4. What types of buildings are the

most popular in your country
today?

5. Do you think there is a

relationship between society’s
culture and building exterior??

Describe a recent development in

your city (park, gym or health
centre).
You should say:
 what it is
 when it happened
 where it is

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IELTS Intermediate By Trang Vu
 how it is useful for people.

1. What’s the most popular public

transportation in your country?

2. What are the problem with bad

transportation?

3. Is it important to have a good

transportation system?

4. Do you think the government

should build recreational places
for all ages? Why?

5. Do you think the government

should be consulted before
constructing any building?
Why?

6. Are these buildings need to be

modern?

7. Do you think that there should

be famous buildings in a
country?

8. Do you agree to allocate money

on public sports building? why?

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