Describe a piece of good news you heard about someone you know.
This test has appeared in 9 seasons · 4 reported by test takers
- Sep–Dec/2025
- May–Aug/2025
- Sep–Dec/2024
- May–Aug/2024
- Jan–Apr/2024
- Sep–Dec/2023
- May–Aug/2023
- Jan–Apr/2023
- Sep–Dec/2022
Reported by test takers Forecast only
Part 1
The examiner asks about you and two familiar topics. About 4–5 minutes.
Work or study
- Do you work, or are you a student? (Why?)
- Why did you choose that job or that subject? (Tell me more about that.)
- What do you enjoy most about it? (Why?)
- Is there anything you would like to change about it? (Why?)
Reading
- Do you like reading? (Why is that?)
- What kind of things do you usually read? (Tell me more about that.)
- Did you read more when you were a child than you do now? (Why is that?)
- Do you prefer reading paper books or reading on a screen? (Why is that?)
Names
- Does your name have a special meaning? (Why is that?)
- Who chose your name? (Tell me more about that.)
- Would you ever like to change your name? (Why is that?)
- Are there any names that are popular in your country at the moment? (Why is that?)
Part 2
One minute to prepare, then speak for one to two minutes.
Describe a piece of good news you heard about someone you know.
You should say:
- who the news was about
- what the news was
- how you heard it
and explain how you felt when you heard it.
Follow-up question after your talk: Did you congratulate this person? / How did you hear about it?
Part 3
A broader, more abstract discussion of the Part 2 topic. About 4–5 minutes.
sharing news with people we know
- Can you explain why people want to share good news straight away?
- In general, what kinds of personal news do people share most widely?
- How would you contrast hearing news in person with hearing it through a message?
news in society
- Can you explain why bad news gets more attention in the media than good news?
- What could be done about news services that report almost nothing positive?
- Can you speculate on how people will get their news in ten years' time?
Test titles follow test-taker reports and each season's forecasts — IELTS does not publish its papers. "Reported" means someone reported meeting this topic in a dated test. The questions are written by us in the format of the real test.