Task 2 Ielts Advantage Writing

Task 2 can be broken down and thought about more easily in 5 steps:
1. Question Analysis
You must first understand the question to know exactly what the
examiner is looking for. One of the biggest mistakes students make is
not answering the question properly. If you do not answer the question
fully, you can’t score higher than a Band 5.
In order to do this, you must first identify the question type, then identify
the keywords in the question and finally identify the instructions words in
order to find out what the examiner wants you to do with the question.
We will look at these skills in more detail below.
2. Planning
The students who get the highest marks plan before they write and they
often plan for up to 10 minutes. Planning helps you organise your ideas
and structure before you write, saving you time and helping you write a
clear essay.
3. Introduction
The introduction should tell the examiner what the rest of the essay is
about and also answer the question directly. This tells the examiner that
you know what you are doing straight away and helps you write your
main body paragraphs.
4. Main Body Paragraphs

This is where you give the examiner more detail. You do this by stating
your main points and supporting these with explanations and relevant
examples.
5. Conclusion
Here you provide a summary of what you have already said in the rest of
the essay.
That’s it you’re done!

Essential Writing Task 2 Skills
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No matter how good your English is you still need to learn some IELTS writing skills before you
do Writing Task 2. Below are helpful guides that will take you through each of these skills step-
by-step.
How to Plan an Essay
This post will show you how to make a great plan that will help you write a clear essay every time.
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The Benefits of Planning

There are normally around 15 students in my IELTS classes. Every new class gets at least a 30 minute
session with me on planning and how much it improves your essays. I normally give the students 20
minutes to plan a Task 2 essay which they finish for homework.
This is always interesting because normally only 2 or 3 students actually follow my instructions and use
the time to plan. The rest of them go straight into writing the essay. The result? The students who took the
time to plan always (and I mean EVERY time) produce better essays.
Writing an IELTS essay without a plan is like trying to put IKEA furniture together without any instructions.
You will get half way through it, get lost and frustrated and you will lose control of your entire essay and
end up with something like this:
A good plan should be like a map that guides you through the essay and makes sure you get to where the
examiner wants you to go. Every sentence should have purpose, if you are just writing for the sake of
writing then it won’t be a very good essay. Less is more in many cases and a good plan makes sure that
every single sentence has a purpose.
But Teacher, I Don’t Have Time!

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This is the number one excuse for not planning.
What if I told you that the longer you plan, the less time it will take you to write the essay?
Let’s look at two examples: student A who doesn’t like to plan and student B who spends 10 minutes
planning.
Student A does this: write-think-think-write-delete-think-write-write-delete-think-write.
Student B does this: think-write.
It is impossible for most people- including IELTS examiners and teachers- to sit down and write a good
essay without thinking it through first. If you don’t plan you have to think as you write and doing these two
things, plus writing in a foreign language, thinking about grammar and vocabulary and thinking about
writing skills all at the same time, results in a very confused piece of writing. I also find that students who
don’t plan have to re-start their essays and it is not uncommon to see students delete entire essays and
start again.
How Does a Plan Save You Time?

You have 40 minutes to write a Task 2 essay. Even if you took 10 minutes to plan and 5 minutes to check
your work at the end this still leaves you with 25 minutes to write your essay.
The average 250 word essay is about 12 sentences long, so you have over 2 minutes to write one
sentence. I think everyone is capable of doing that.
When you have a good plan, you know exactly what that sentence is going to be about already and how it
fits in with the rest of the essay. You don’t have to think of ideas or about structure, just writing sentences
that are grammatically correct and clearly say what you think about the question.
You don’t have to spend exactly 10 minutes planning and 5 minutes checking at the end. You could plan
for 7-8 minutes and checking for 2-3 minutes. Practice to find out what works best for you.
How To Plan
Planning has 4 stages:
1. Question Analysis
2. Idea Generation
3. Structure
4. Vocabulary
Question Analysis
This is probably the most important stage. The number one problem most IELTS students have is not
answering the question properly. Did you know you can’t get above a band score 5.0 if you don’t address
all parts of the question?
Let’s look at an example question:
One of the consequences of improved medical care is that the people are living longer and life
expectancy is increasing.
Do you think the advantages of this outweigh the disadvantages?
The keywords here are ‘improved medical care‘. This is our general topic. It is important to know this, not
for what we should write about but about what we shouldn’t write about. A common mistake is to
highlight the main keywords, or main topic, and write about this very generally. If you do this you have not
answered the question.
We therefore need to think about things more specifically and look for what I call micro-keywords. They
are ‘living longer‘ and ‘life expectancy is increasing‘. We therefore need to write about these and how
improved medical care has increased life expectancy. But we can’t just write a general essay about this,
we must look at the instruction words next.
The instruction words are ‘Do you think the advantages of this outweigh the disadvantages?‘
In this example we will have to decide which side (advantages or disadvantages) is stronger. If you
choose advantages then you will have to say why these are much stronger than the advantages and why
the disadvantages are not so strong. If you just discuss the advantages you will not answer the question
correctly. We will also need to make our opinion about his very clear.
So in summary we must:
 Find keywords (general topic)

 Find micro-keywords (specific topic)
 Find instruction words (how to answer question)
Idea Generation
Lots of teachers and books about IELTS advise students to brainstorm (thinking of as many ideas as
possible) at this stage. I don’t think that brainstorming is very effective because it leads to irrelevant ideas
and wastes valuable time.
Instead of brainstorming we need to answer the questions directly. If one of your friends asked you this
question in a coffee shop, you would have no problem thinking of an answer, so do the same in the exam.
It helps to frame it within ‘Why?’ questions.
So for the example above we could ask ourselves two questions:
Why are the advantages of increased life expectancy strong?
Why are disadvantages of increased life expectancy weak?
We can then simply think of one or two relevant ideas for each of these questions.
The advantages of increased life expectancy are strong because most people think it is good if their
friends and family don’t die too quickly and everyone is happier.
The disadvantages are that there is more demand for food and resources but this a weak argument
because technology can solve these problems.
We now have two very relevant ideas and we can now move on to our next stage.
Structure
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Next we need to put our ideas into a structure. This is very important because it helps us organise our
ideas in a coherent way, just like the examiner wants us to.
There are several different types of essay and each of them has a different structure.
For this essay our structure will look like this:
Paragraph 1- Introduction
Sentence 1- Paraphrase Sentence
Sentence 2- Thesis Statement
Sentence 3- Outline Statement
Paragraph 2- Why advantages are strong
Sentence 4- Topic Sentence
Sentence 5- Explanation
Sentence 6- Example
Paragraph 3- Why disadvantage are weak
Sentence 8- Explanation
Sentence 9- Example
Paragraph 4- Conclusion
Sentence 1- Summary of main points
We can these fill in our ideas:
Paragraph 1- Introduction
Sentence 2- These Statement – advantages outweigh disadvantages
Sentence 3- Outline Statement – Advantages- happiness Disadvantages- technology
Paragraph 2- Why advantages are strong
Sentence 4- Topic Sentence – happiness
Sentence 5- Explanation – death causes unhappiness and longer lives lead to happiness
Sentence 6- Example –Okinawa and Sardinia
Paragraph 3- Why disadvantage are weak
Sentence 7- Topic Sentence – technology
Sentence 8- Explanation – technology can solve any of the drawbacks
Sentence 9- Example – GM crops and renewable energy
Paragraph 4- Conclusion
Sentence 1- Summary of main points
Now we have all our ideas and we can think of some vocabulary.
Vocabulary
Another common problem students have is repeating the same words, especially words from the
question, over and over again. This lowers our mark for vocabulary because it shows that we can’t think
of synonyms. A solution to this problem is to identify words in the question that we might need to use
more than once in the question.
Let’s look at the question again:
One of the consequences of improved medical care is that the people are living longer and life
expectancy is increasing.
Do you think the advantages of this outweigh the disadvantages?
We can think of the following synonyms:
Improved medical care- enhanced medical treatment
Living longer- improved longevity
Life expectancy is increasing- the length of time people live is rising
Advantages- benefits
Disadvantages- drawbacks
What It Looks Like On Paper?

That might seem like a lot to do in 5- 10 mins so here is what is looks like on paper.
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Next Steps
The more you plan, the better and more quickly you will write and it will lead to every single sentence in
your essay having a purpose, which is exactly what the examiner wants.
How to Think of Relevant Ideas

This post will help you think of better ideas for task 2 questions.
One of the biggest fears students have is opening up the writing paper, looking at task 2 and having no
ideas. Idea generation in IELTS writing task 2 is something students worry a lot about, but it doesn’t have
to be that way.
The reason for this fear is natural, but there are easy solutions.
First World Problems
Most of the students I teach come from developing countries and they often complain that IELTS writing
part two questions are biased towards ‘Western’ countries and are mostly ‘First world problems’. For
example:
In some countries, young people are encouraged to work or travel for a year between finishing
high school and starting university studies. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages for young
people who decide to do this.
‘What the hell is a ‘gap year?” shouted most of the learners in my class. I did have some sympathy for
them on this question. Most of the Vietnamese students I currently teach have no first hand experience
with taking a year off before going to University. This seems like a very ‘Western’ idea to them and they
felt a little bit annoyed with the question, which is totally understandable.
Fortunately, questions like these are rare and most of them will be on familiar topics that most people
have an opinion on, such as health, education and the environment. Remember that this is
a language test not a general knowledge test.
Do my ideas have to be entertaining?

Many students also worry that their ideas are not interesting enough or they are too boring. The examiner
is not looking for you to entertain her. They are looking for you to demonstrate an ability to write an essay
in English supported by evidence and relevant examples. There are no extra points for interesting ideas.
What the ideas must be is relevant to the question being asked. Have a look at my post on question
analysis for help with that.
You can have the most boring ideas in the world and still get a band score 9, as long as your ideas are
relevant.
This may seem illogical to some people who have already been to university and know that your ideas
should be both relevant and interesting. Stop thinking about how you write at university level, this is an
IELTS exam, not a university essay. Give the IELTS examiners what they want and nothing else.
Solutions
Below I will outline several solutions that have worked well for my students in the past. They are:
1. Common Topic Familiarisation

2. Brainstorming (least effective)
3. Mind Mapping
4. 5 Questions Method
5. Personal Opinion Method (most effective)
No One Size Fits All
The main thing I have learned from teaching my students these methods is that no one method is suitable
for everyone. You have to try each of them out and see which one works for you. When you are practicing
remember, the examiner is looking for relevant ideas that you can support by explaining them and giving
examples. You should also use the one that gives you ideas quickly. You will only have 2 or 3 minutes for
idea generation in the exam. Don’t worry if this is taking you a lot of time at the moment, you will improve
with practice. Pick a method below, set yourself a time limit and practice with some old past exam papers.
1. Common Topic Familiarisation

This simply means knowing the 10 common topics that come up in the exam and learning
some vocabulary associated with these repeated topics. The wider your vocabulary the easier it will be for
you to think of ideas. If you have time, don’t just stick with the 10 most common topics, go even further.
When you have free time, have a look at some English newspapers and identify some topics that might
come up in the IELTS test. When you do this you should be doing two things. The first is simply noting
down any unknown vocabulary, try to guess the meaning from the context and then look up the meaning
to confirm on your smart phone or dictionary. This will really help you, not only for writing part 2 but also
for all the other parts of the IELTS exam.
2. Brainstorming
Brainstorming is basically thinking of as many ideas as possible relevant to your topic. It was developed
by an advertising agency, in order to come up with new ideas for advertising campaigns. The technique
involves putting keywords in the middle of a page and then writing down as many ideas associated with
that idea as possible.
Some students, and many teachers, love this method and if it works for you then continue to use it, but I
have a few problems with it. Firstly, some students spend too much time on this stage and try to think of
too many ideas. Secondly, because they are thinking very generally, their ideas are not relevant. It then
takes extra time, which you don’t have in the exam, to sort out the relevant from the irrelevant ideas.
3. Mind Mapping
Mind mapping is a way to visually organise your thoughts on to paper.
Some people love this method, because it represents how their brain is working and allows them to
organise their thoughts. It is much more organised than simply brainstorming and can be done very
quickly once you have practiced a few times with different questions.
A good technique is to place the keywords in the middle and then place the micro-keywords on the
branches.
The only disadvantage to this method is that some students spend too much time creating the perfect
mind map. There are no points for creating beautiful mind maps; they are only there to help you with
ideas so do it quickly.
4. 5 Questions Method
This method uses who/what/why/where/how question words in order to generate ideas. This works best
for people who think very logically and also know a little bit about the topic already.
Let’s look at an example:
In some countries, young people are encouraged to work or travel for a year between finishing
high school and starting university studies. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages for young
people who decide to do this.
Why- to gain work experience, to experience life in different countries, to understand different cultures, to
make money before going to university, lazy, not mature.
Where- tourist destinations, developing countries, local business, internship in big company.
How- save money, permission from parents and university, apply for internship/job, travel to inexpensive
countries.
So as you can see, in a couple of minutes we have generated many ideas by asking ourselves just three
of the five questions. These ideas are much more than we need to complete the task, so always
remember to choose the ones you feel comfortable writing about after you generate your ideas.
5. Personal Opinion Method (or coffee shop method)

Personally, I think this is the most effective method because it is both the fastest and helps students focus
on the question.
The method is simple. I ask students to imagine they are sitting with their friend or family member in a
coffee shop and they ask your opinion. In an exam there is a lot of pressure on you and you often find it
difficult to think, but if you were in a relaxed environment with a friend you would have no problem giving
your opinion.
To think of more ideas you just imagine that your friend has the opposite feelings to you about the topic
and write their ideas down.
Let’s look at the example below:
Your friend- ‘Do you think it’s a good idea that young people take a year off between school and university
to work or travel?’
You- ‘Yes. Many young people are not mature enough to go to university at 18 and travelling or working
will help them mature. Working for a year could also allow them to save money and gain valuable work
experience. If they go travelling, they will get to experience different cultures.
So you see you have just thought about all the ideas you will need for this question. You can write your
ideas down (recommended) or just think about it for a minute.
This idea gives you a very clear idea about your opinion on the question and will help you stay relevant
and write a clear, coherent essay. Like any method it takes practice, so try it out with a few past
questions..
How to Write a Complex Sentence
Complex sentences help you boost your score for grammar. Complex sentences are
actually very simple to write and are not complex at all- in this article we show you how.
How to Paraphrase
Paraphrasing is one of the most essential IELTS skills, not just in Writing Task 2, but in
all parts of the IELTS test. You should paraphrase the question in every essay and I
recommend doing this in the very first sentence to help boost your vocabulary score.
How to Write a Supporting Paragraph

Most IELTS task 2 essays follow the same basic four paragraph structure:
1. Introduction
2. Supporting Paragraph 1
3. Supporting Paragraph 2
4. Conclusion
These paragraphs take up most of your essay and are therefore where most marks are won and lost.
Write two good supporting paragraphs and you are most of the way to getting a good final mark.
This post will:
 look at what the examiners want

 look at good and bad examples
 show you how to write topic sentences
 show you how to develop your topic sentence with explanations and examples.
What do the examiners want?
If we look at the public band descriptors or my guide on the difference between band 5 and band
8 answers you can see that the examiner wants you to respond to the question with ‘relevant, extended
and supported ideas.’ This means that your ideas must actually relate, or be linked, specifically to the
question and then you have to explain what your ideas mean and then support them with examples.
Good and Band Examples
Look the following examples and think about what the examiner wants. Which one is a good essay and
which one is not?
Question- Some parents think that childcare centres provide the best services for children of pre-
school age. Other working parents think that family members such as grandparents will be better
carers for their kids.
Discuss both views and give your opinion.
Sample 1– Many parents in full-time employment prefer to leave their children with grandparents when
they are at work because they feel their child will be safer with someone from within the family circle. In
other words they do not trust a stranger to look after their child and feel confident that no harm will come
to the child whilst being look after by grandma or grandpa. For example, a 2013 study from Cambridge
University showed that 62% of working mothers prefer a member of the immediate family to provide care
when they are at work.
Sample 2– Grandparents are the best people to look after children for very obvious reasons.
Grandparents really love their grandchildren and would never harm them. Also, the children really love
their grandparents and feel comfortable with them. Finally, grandparents have lots of experience taking
care of children because they are old and looked after children for many years themselves.
Can you tell which one is better?
Sample 1 has one main argument- parents prefer grandparents because they trust them. They have
stated this very clearly in the first sentence and then explained why this is, in the second sentence. They
have also used a very specific example to support their idea. This is exactly what the examiner wants.
Sample 2 has many different arguments and most of them are very general. They have not been
extended with explanations and lack examples. This is exactly what the examiner does not want.
How to Write a Topic Sentence
The very first sentence in your supporting paragraph should be the topic sentence. Each paragraph
should have one main idea only and the topic sentence tells the reader what this idea is. This makes your
paragraph and the whole essay clearer and easier to read. You will gain marks for coherence in the
IELTS writing test if you do this. Think of them as signposts that direct the reader to where you want to
go.
We think of topic sentences in an argument (agree or disagree) essay by thinking of ideas why we
support one side or the other.
Let’s look at another question:
Most high-level positions in companies are filled by men even though the workforce in many
developed countries is more than 50 percent female. Companies should be required to allocate a
certain percentage of these positions to women. Do you agree?
So we have to think of reasons for and against allocating a certain percentage of positions in the
workforce to women.
For:
 Fairness
 Equality
 Prevent discrimination
 Women outperform men in many jobs
 Women outperform men in many schools and university subjects
Against:
 Should be based on merit not gender

 A few jobs, like construction, are better suited to males
I support the ‘for’ category so I am going to pick two of those reasons and write topic sentences for them.
You should always pick the ideas you know most about, or in other words, can explain and support with
examples.
Topic Sentence 1: Women should be allocated a certain percentage of roles because to not do so,
discriminates against them because of their gender.
Topic Sentence 2: Females should be given a bigger share of jobs because women currently outperform
males in most university subjects.
As you can see, all I have done is simply introduce my ideas in a very clear way. There is no need to use
very advanced to do this, stating your position in simple language is all you need to do.
Task: Try taking some of the other ideas above and writing a topic sentence.
Explaining Our Ideas
Explaining ideas is a problem for most students, not because they can’t do it, but because they don’t see
the point in doing it. They think that the examiner must be an educated person and explaining simple
ideas to them is wasting their time.
You should never assume this and instead I tell my students to assume that the reader has no knowledge
of this subject at all and you need to explain what you mean in order for them to understand.
There are certain phrases we can use to explain our ideas such as:
 That is to say…. (linking)
 In other words… (linking)
 This is because… (giving reasons)
 The reason is…. (giving reasons)
 As a result…. (describing result)
 As a consequence…. (describing result)
 Therefore…. (describing result)
Use one of these phrases to explain what your topic sentence means, the reason why, or the result of
your topic sentence. You don’t need to do all three, just one. Make sure that anyone with no knowledge of
the subject can understand what your main point is.
Example 1– Women should be allocated a certain percentage of roles, because to not do so
discriminates against them because of their gender. As a result, women will be denied jobs, not because
of their intellect or skill, but simply because of their sex.
Example 2– Females should be given a bigger share of jobs, because women currently outperform males
in most university subjects. That is to say those young women are just as qualified as men, if not more,
and should therefore be given at least an equal share in the job market.
The last point I will make about explanations is they should relate specifically to the question. They should
not generally explain what the idea is; they should explain how the idea answers the question.
Make sure you read the question again before you write a topic sentence or explanation.
Supporting Examples
The last part of a good supporting paragraph is a relevant example. Examples give your points more
authority and make your argument stronger.
The two main problems here are not being able to think of examples and examples not being specific
enough.
In the IELTS test, if you can’t think of a good example, make one up. In school or university you should
research and use real examples, but in the test it is fine to make them up. It is not a test of your
knowledge; it is a test of your written English. The examiners will never check the examples and they are
only worried about how the examples support your ideas.
Two good ways to make up examples are using newspaper articles or university research. I often do this
when I am writing sample answers and they also help you be more specific (see below).
The examiner wants your examples to be as specific as possible. To illustrate this we will look at three
examples.
Women should be allocated a certain percentage of roles, because to not do so discriminates
against them because of their gender. As a result, women will be denied jobs, not because of their
intellect or skill, but simply because of their sex.
Example 1- For example, lots of women fail to get jobs solely on the basis of their gender.
Example 2– For example, many business women in Asia find it difficult to get jobs as CEOs, despite
having the same qualifications as men.
Example 3– For example, in 2014 it was reported in The Straits Times that only 9 of Singapore’s top 100
companies have female CEOs, despite making up 50% of the total workforce.
The first example is very general and is not a satisfactory example.
Example 2 is much better but again ‘business women in Asia’ is very general and does not really support
our argument because of this.
Example 3 is a very good example because it used an actual newspaper to report specific statistics (9%),
from a specific place (Singapore) at a specific time (2014).
Putting It All Together
Below I will put everything we have learned to write two supporting paragraphs for this question:
Increasing the price of petrol is the best way to solve growing traffic and pollution problems.
To what extent do you agree or disagree?
Raising fuel prices is the best option because it would lower demand. This is because the laws of
economics dictate that the higher the price of a commodity, the lower the consumption of that product and
this will lead to less people using vehicles. For instance, when the price of fuel skyrocketed during the oil
crisis in the 1970s, there was a huge reduction in the amount of cars on the road.
Raising the price of fuel would also have a knock on effect on the price of goods because they cost more
to transport. This would result in people having less money to spend at the pump, thus reducing the
number of cars on the road even further. For example, the New York Times reported that the higher the
price of food in a city, the more likely people were to use public transport, principally because they
couldn’t afford a car.
How to Write a Thesis Statement
How to Write a Thesis Statement

This post will look at:
 what a thesis statement is;
 how to identify the different question types;
 how to write a thesis statement for each question.
What is a thesis statement?
Thesis- An idea put forward for consideration, especially one to be discussed or analysed.
A thesis statement is the most important sentence in your IELTS writing task 2 answer. It is contained in
the introduction and each introduction should have one; along with a paraphrase of the question and an
outline statement.
A thesis statement is your main idea and I often describe it to students as how you feel about the whole
issue in one sentence. It tells the examiner that you have understood the question and will lead to a
clearer; more coherent essay.
Let’s look at an example of a thesis statement:
Question: There is a good deal of evidence that increasing car use is contributing to global warming and
having other undesirable effects on people’s health and well-being.
Thesis statement: This essay agrees that increasing use of motor vehicles is contributing to rising global
temperatures and certain health issues.
As you can see, this sentence makes it absolutely clear to the examiner how you feel about the question.
The rest of your essay should support this statement.
How do I know what to write?
The first thing we need to do is to identify which type of question it is and look at the action words. For
example, in the question below the action words are ‘do you agree or disagree?’
Question: There is a good deal of evidence that increasing car use is contributing to global warming and
having other undesirable effects on people’s health and well-being.
We therefore need to tell the examiner clearly whether we agree or disagree and this will influence our
thesis statement.
Let’s look at other examples:
1. Computers are being used more and more in education.
Discuss the advantages and disadvantages and give your own opinion.
2. Computers are being used more and more in education. Some people say that this is a
positive trend, while others argue that it is leading to negative consequences.
Discuss both sides of this argument and then give your own opinion.
3. Students are becoming more and more reliant on computers.
What are some of the problems associated with reliance on computers, and what are some of the
possible solutions?
In each of the three questions above the main keywords are more or less the same- education and
computers. However, if we look at the action words we can see that we are required to answer the three
questions in very different ways and this will affect our thesis statement.
The action words are:
1. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages and give your own opinion.
2. Discuss both sides of this argument and then give your own opinion.
3. What are some of the problems and what are some of the possible solutions?
It is therefore important to take some time to analyse the question and establish what the question is
actually asking us to do.
How do I write a thesis statement for each question?
Once we have established what the question wants us to do, we can now think about our thesis
statement. Below we will look at how to write a thesis statement for four different kinds of question:
 Opinion Question (Do you agree or Disagree)
 Discussion Question (Discuss both points of view)
 Advantages and Disadvantage
 Problem and Solution.
You should remember that although IELTS writing part 2 questions normally follow a standard format as
above, they sometimes change and you should be prepared for that.
Opinion Question
Some aspects of celebrity culture have a bad influence on young people.
To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?
We have three choices with this kind of question:
1. I agree
2. I disagree
3. I both agree and disagree
I tell my students to only choose options one or two. Choosing option three will often lead to a confused
and/or very long essay. If you have just one opinion and you stick to this, it will lead to a clear and well
argued essay.
You therefore have two choices.
1. I agree that some aspects of celebrity culture have a bad influence on young people.
2. I disagree that some aspects of celebrity culture have a bad influence on young people.
All of your thesis statements for this kind of question should start with:
This essay agrees that…..
or
This essay disagrees that…..
We should try to avoid using personal pronouns like ‘I’ and we therefore use ‘This essay….’ instead.
Also remember that we should not copy the question as this is not allowed in the IELTS writing test and
instead we should paraphrase.
For example, ‘This essay agrees that the some famous people’s lifestyles have a detrimental effect on the
youth of today.’
Second Example Opinion Question
Increasing the price of petrol is the best way to solve growing traffic and pollution problems.
Thesis Statement: This essay disagrees that the best way to resolve increasing pollution and congestion
problems is to raise the cost of fuel.
Discussion Question
Computers are being used more and more in education. Some people say that this is a positive
trend, while others argue that it is leading to negative consequences.
For this kind of question we need to clearly state both sides of the argument and state our own opinion.
We do this by simply paraphrasing the question; thus stating both sides, and then giving our own opinion.
Our own opinion will be just one side of the argument.
Even if you favour both sides of the argument, just state one. Again, this leads to a clearer answer.
Thesis statement: Some argue that schools and universities increasing use of computers is a beneficial
trend, while others are opposed to this view. This essay agrees that growing use of technology by
educators is a positive development.
As you can see, this student has clearly stated both sides of the argument and stated which side of the
argument she prefers.
Second Example Discussion Question
Some people think that parents should teach children how to be good members of society.
Others, however, believe that school is the best place to learn this.
Discuss both these views and give your own opinion.
Thesis statement: Some argue that teachers should teach youngsters how to be upstanding members of
the community, whereas others feel this is the role of the mother and father. This essay agrees that this
duty should be filled primarily by parents.
Advantage and Disadvantages Question
Computers are being used more and more in education.
In this kind of question we need to clearly state what we think the main advantage is and what the main
disadvantage is.
Thesis Statement: The principal advantage is the amount of information instantly available to students
and the main disadvantage is the lack of discipline and motivation provided by computers.
Second Advantage and Disadvantages Question
Some experts believe that it is better for children to begin learning a foreign language at primary
school rather than secondary school.
Do the advantages of this outweigh the disadvantages?
Thesis statement: The principal advantage is that exposing children to languages as early as possible
leads to higher levels of proficiency later in life and this outweighs the main disadvantage of young
children being overwhelmed by too many subjects.
Problem and Solution Question
Students are becoming more and more reliant on computers.
What are some of the problems associated with reliance on computers, and what are some of the
possible solutions?
Our thesis statement will need to state one main problem and one main solution. Some teachers will
advise you to state more than problem and solution. There is nothing wrong with this, but I like my
students to choose two good ideas and develop these fully.
Thesis statement: The principal problem is students allowing machines to do all the work for them
without thinking for themselves and a possible solution is to have stricter supervision from teachers and
parents.
Cause and Solution Question
In some countries the average weight of people is increasing and their levels of health and fitness
are decreasing.
What do you think are the causes of these problems and what measures could be taken to solve
them?
Thesis statement: The principal cause of this problem is peoples’ sedentary lifestyles and a possible
solution is to educate society about the dangers of not keeping fit.
Next Steps
This is just a broad overview of thesis statements and it should be read in conjunction with my article
on how to write an effective introduction in order to be fully understood.
It should be reiterated that although these are the four common question that normally come up in the
IELTS writing test, they sometimes do vary and you should be ready to change your thesis statements
and introductions accordingly.
How many words should I write?
Around 250 words? Exactly 250 words or over 250 words? How many words over? How
do I know how many words I have? This article answers all those questions.
How to Understand and Analyse Any Question
This article will help you understand IELTS writing questions and answer these questions more
effectively.
One of the main reasons students fail to get the score they deserve in writing task 2 is not analysing the
question effectively. I had one student recently who had great grammar and vocabulary, but always failed
to read and analyse the question properly and therefore didn’t understand the question. He was so
confident in his ability that he went straight in to writing without really thinking about what the examiner
wanted him to write. He should have got at least a 7 or 8 but ended up with a 6 instead.
Some students think that analysing the question will take up too much time, but they are normally the
students who don’t do as well as they should. I know teachers say over and over again ‘read the question’
but what does this actually mean?
The examiner is actually looking to see if you have understood the question properly and a failure to take
the time to do so could result in you dropping down a few band scores.
So why do some students not do so well? There are four main reasons:
1. Failure to take the time to actually read the question;
2. Writing about the topic generally and not answering the specific question;
3. Failing to recognise the kind of question being asked and
4. Misunderstanding the question.
Luckily, there are simple steps you can take in the exam that will save you time and help you to
understand and analyse the question effectively, therefore boosting your band score.
These 3 easy steps are simply identifying three easy things:
1. The topic words;
2. The micro-topic words and
3. The instruction words.
I will explain how you can do this below.
What do questions normally look like?
It is a good idea to at least have a look at the different types of questions that normally come up in this
part of the exam. You will be much more confident in the exam and there will be no surprises.
The question will always start off with one or two statements. It will then give a set of instructions that will
differ from question to question. For a summary of question types, click here.
Now we know the format, we can get in to analysing the question.
1. Identify the Topic Words
Each essay will be about a general topic and we must identify this first.
The internet allows us to stay connected with each other no matter where we are. On the other
hand, it also isolates us and encourages people not to socialise.
Give reasons for your answers and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or
experience.
The topic word here is obviously ‘The internet’. If it is obvious why am I telling you about it? Because too
many students will simply write generally about the topic and this is how you lose marks. It is fine to write
about the topic, but it is must be linked to the rest of the question. This is where ‘micro-topic’ words come
in.
2. Identify Micro-Topic Words
These words define the question and tell you which particular part of the main topic the question would
like you to discuss and what the examiner is looking for. They often give an opinion or qualify the
statement in some way.
Let’s look at our example question again:
The internet allows us to stay connected with each other no matter where we are . On the other
hand, it also isolates us and encourages people not to socialise .
experience.
So as you can see, we should only include things in our essay that are relevant to the words highlighted
above. If we discuss anything else, such as how the internet helps us study, how it is dangerous for
children, the history of the internet or how the internet is used for entertainment, then you are not being
relevant.
Let’s look at another question:
Many children these days have an unhealthy lifestyle. Both schools and parents are
responsible for solving this problem.
To what extent do you agree with this statement.
The main topic is children’s unhealthy lifestyle. This is a very wide topic and we can’t write about it in
general. Instead, we have to look at the second sentence for the micro-topic words. Here we have to look
at both schools and parents and how they are responsible for solving this problem.
Remember; write about the micro-topic words, not the topic in general.
3. Identify Instruction Words
The next stage is looking to see what the examiner wants us to do. They could ask us to give an opinion,
or evaluate the advantages and disadvantages or present problems and solutions. For a guide on the
different question types click here.
Let’s look at our example question again:
The internet allows us to stay connected with each other no matter where we are. On the other
hand , it also isolates us and encourages people not to socialise.
experience.
We can clearly see that this is an agree or disagree question and we therefore must follow this format or
we will lose marks. We should also give reasons and include some relevant examples.
That’s it! You’re now ready to present relevant arguments backed up by supporting information.
This will also keep you focused throughout the essay and you should refer back to it from time to time to
make sure you are staying within what the question asks.
Let’s practice
Have a look at this example question below and identify:
1. The topic words;
2. The micro-topic words and
3. The instruction words.
Women and men are commonly seen as having different strengths and weaknesses. Is it right to
exclude males or females from certain professions because of their gender?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or
experience.
Do you think the examiner wants you to discuss men and women’s strengths and weaknesses or
something else? Comment below with your answers and we will reply.
If you have any questions then please feel free to leave a comment below. Any questions, no matter how
big or small, are always welcome. We are always happy to help.
How to Write a Great Introduction
IELTS Writing Task 2 Introduction

This post will help you write better introductions in your Task 2 IELTS essays and show the specific
sentences I advise all of my students to use when writing IELTS Writing Task 2 introductions.
The introduction is the first part of the essay the examiner will read and it will give them a good first
impression of what to expect in the rest of the essay.
Just like in person, first impressions last.
I often tell my students that a bad introduction in IELTS writing part 2 is the same as going in to the
speaking exam and being rude to the examiner- no matter how good you are in the rest of it, the examiner
won’t be happy and unhappy examiners are more likely to give you a lower mark.
Despite this warning, many good students go on to produce introductions with a few common problems in
them.
Common Problems
1. Talking too generally about the topic.
Most of these essays start off with ‘Nowadays……’ or ‘In modern life….’ followed by general information
about the topic. In my opinion, this is the worst start you can possibly make. Remember that you are
supposed to answer the question not write generally about the topic.
2. Not including a thesis statement
This is the most important sentence in the essay. Not including one will lose you marks in several different
ways. I will tell you more about this below.
3. Not outlining what you are going to do
If you don’t include a sentence outlining what your essay will say, the examiner doesn’t really know what
you are going to write about in the rest of your essay. This will also lose you marks. I’ll show you how to
write an outline sentence below.
4. Trying to write a ‘hook’ or be entertaining
Remember this is an IELTS exam, not a university essay. There are no extra points for being interesting,
in fact being boring will probably help you. This will help you avoid ‘flowery’ language.
5. Using an informal style
Know your audience. You are expected to write in an academic style.
Good and Bad Examples
Question: There is a good deal of evidence that increasing car use is contributing to global
warming and having other undesirable effects on people’s health and well-being.
Good Introduction
Rising global temperatures and human health and fitness issues are often viewed as being caused by the
expanding use of automobiles. This essay agrees that increasing use of motor vehicles is contributing to
rising global temperatures and certain health issues. Firstly, this essay will discuss the production of
greenhouse gases by vehicles and secondly, it will discuss other toxic chemicals released by internal
combustion engines.
Bad Introduction
Nowadays, cars are a very popular way of getting around. Day by day many more people drive cars
around but others feel that they cause global warming. Global warming is one of the most serious issues
in modern life. They also affect people’s health and well-being which is also a serious issue.
As you can see the bad example talks about the topic very generally, copies words and phrases from the
question and doesn’t include a thesis statement or outline statement.
If your introductions look something like this, don’t worry. Most of my students write introductions a lot like
this when they first start in my class and the structure below always helps them fix any problems and write
very effective introductions.
Structure of a Good Introduction
If you use this structure you will not only score higher marks but you will also save time in the exam. If you
practice enough, introductions will become easy and you will do them in just a few minutes. This will leave
you lots of time to focus on the main body paragraphs where you can pick up lots of mark.
An IELTS writing task 2 opinion essay should have three sentences and these three sentences should be:
1. Paraphrase question
2. Thesis statement
3. Outline statement
That’s it. Simple! Let’s look at each sentence in more detail.
1. Paraphrase Question
Paraphrasing means stating the question again, but with different words so that it has the same meaning.
We do this by using synonyms and flipping the order of the sentences around.
Paraphrase: Rising global temperatures and human health and fitness issues are often viewed as being
caused by the expanding use of automobiles.
The synonyms I’ve used are:
Increasing- expanding
Car use- use of automobiles
Global warming- rising global temperatures
People’s health and well-being- human health and fitness
As you can see, I then switched the order of the sentence around.
I have therefore demonstrated to the examiner that I can paraphrase and have a wide range of
vocabulary. These are two of the things that the examiner is specifically looking for and you will gain
marks for including them.
You should practice this with past paper questions.
2. Thesis Statement
This is the most important sentence in your essay. This is your main idea and I often describe it to
students as how you feel about the whole issue in one sentence. It tells the examiner that you have
understood the question and will lead to a clear and coherent essay.
Let’s look at the thesis sentence from the previous example:
Thesis statement: This essay agrees that increasing use of motor vehicles is contributing to rising global
temperatures and certain health issues.
It is always just one sentence long so you will have to practice summing up your opinion in one sentence.
It should also address the micro-keywords and not the topic in general.
You should start your thesis statement with:
This essay agrees that….. or this essay disagrees that….. (Opinion essays)
The main cause(s) of this issue is….. (Causes and solutions)
The principal advantage(s) is (xxxxx) and the main disadvantage is (xxxxxx). (Advantage and
disadvantages).
For a discussion (of two points of view) essay you should state both points of view clearly.
Let’s look at another example:
Some aspects of celebrity culture have a bad influence on young people.
To keep things simple, we have two options-
1. Agree that some aspects of celebrity culture have a bad influence on young people.
2. Disagree that some aspects of celebrity culture have a bad influence on young people.
My essay will argue that celebrity culture does have a bad influence and my thesis statement will there
be:
This essay agrees that the some famous people’s lifestyles have a detrimental effect on the youth of
today.
I have stated my opinion in one sentence and used synonyms to make sure I don’t just repeat the
question.
Thesis statements are very important but only in question that ask you for your opinion. Some IELTS
questions do not ask you for your opinion and in these cases you can leave it out.
3. Outline Statement
Now that you have paraphrased the question and told the examiner what you think in your thesis
sentence, you are now going to tell the examiner what you will discuss in the main body paragraphs. In
other words, you will outline what the examiner will read in the rest of the essay. This should be one
sentence only.
Example:
Outline statement: Firstly, this essay will discuss the production of greenhouse gases by vehicles and
secondly, it will discuss other toxic chemicals released by internal combustion engines.
So what I have done is just look at my main body paragraphs and wrote about what they contain. You
should have only one main idea per paragraph. In this essay, I have only two main body paragraphs, so I
only need to say two things in the outline statement.
Main body paragraph 1- production of greenhouse gases by cars.
Main body paragraph 2- toxic chemical produced by car engines.
Again, your main body paragraphs should have only one main idea so it should be easy to spot these and
then write a sentence about them.
For advantages and disadvantages essays and problem and solution essays you could write something
like this:
Advantages and disadvantages: this essay will first discuss the (main advantage(s)) followed by an
analysis of the (main disadvantage(s)).
Problem and Solution: This essay will analyse the principal problem(s) and offer solutions to this issue.
Final Example
Question: Learning to manage money is one of the key aspects to adult life. How in your view can
individuals best learn to manage their money?
Good answer: One of the keys to adulthood is appreciating how to budget your finances. It is clear that
the best way someone can learn this, is by managing money during childhood. Firstly, the essay will
discuss the importance of parental involvement during childhood and secondly, the essay will look at the
importance of having a part time job during childhood.
As you can see, the above introduction follows the structure I laid out above.
Task 2 Marking Criteria
One of the keys to success in the IELTS writing test is understanding how the test is marked
and using this knowledge to increase your band score. You can then give the examiners exactly
what they want and focus on doing the things that get high scores.
This post will look at what each of the four criteria mean and the practical differences between
typical band 5 answers and band 8 answers. I have also put each band score for each category
in a helpful table for you, so it’s easy to compare and understand.
The four criteria you will be marked on are:
 Task Achievement
 Coherence and Cohesion
 Lexical Resource
 Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Don’t worry if you don’t know what these mean, I will explain below. You can download the
full writing task 2 band descriptors here.
Save
The examiner will be looking for your ability to answer the question properly. What does this
actually mean?
If we look at the marking criteria above we notice that essays in bands 6, 7 and 8 fully address
all parts of the question. This means that if you do not fully address all parts of the question you
will get a band 5 or below.
This means that you should read the questions very carefully and make sure you cover
everything it asks. Let’s look at an example:
More and more people nowadays have to compete with younger people for the same job.
What problems does this cause?
What are some possible solutions?
There are two different things we need to talk about- ‘problems’ and ‘solutions’. If we don’t
include these in our answer we cannot score higher than band 5 for task achievement. Also, if
you talked about ‘causes’ instead of ‘problems’ you would also score 5 or below, because this is
not what the question asks you to talk about.
Some people say that the best way to improve public health is by increasing the number
of sports facilities. Others, however, say that this would have little effect on public health
and that other measures are required.
Discuss both of these views and give your own opinion.
This question requires us to do three things:
1. Discuss increasing number of sports facilities to improve public health
2. Discuss the view that sports facilities would have little effect of public health
3. Give our own opinion
If we don’t do all 3 of these we cannot score above a 5 for task achievement.
Now that we know how to score above a 5 we need to look at the difference between bands 6, 7
and 8 for task achievement.
The difference between these scores is about how we support our ideas with explanations and
examples.
Band 6– Gives relevant ideas but these may not be fully developed with explanations or
examples or the explanations and examples given are irrelevant.
Example– The main problem causing traffic jams is too many cars. There are lots more cars
these days.
The idea is relevant but they have failed to explain why cars cause traffic jams or give
examples.
Band 7- Gives relevant ideas and these are developed with explanations or examples but these
ideas may be too general or lack focus.
Example- The main problem causing traffic jams is too many cars. In lots of cities around the
world there are lots of cars and this causes traffic jams. For example, the number of cars
purchased in developing countries is increasing year after year.
This student has presented a clear position, but they have given a very general explanation and
their example lacks focus and is not specifically linked to the main point.
Band 8– Gives relevant ideas and these are developed with focused and specific ideas and
examples.
Example- The main problem causing traffic jams is too many cars. When we have more
vehicles than a city’s infrastructure was designed for it leads to congestion. For example, Ho Chi
Minh City was designed to cope with around 500,000 cars and the city now has over 2 million
cars, resulting in chronic traffic problems.
This student has explained their point very well, explaining exactly why they think too many cars
are the problem and given a very specific and relevant example to prove their point. If you can’t
think of a specific example, make one up. The examiners are not interested in how factual your
examples are, just your ability to make one.
Task Achievement Key Points
 Answer all parts of the question
 Present relevant ideas
 Fully explain these ideas
 Support ideas with relevant, specific examples
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Coherence refers to your ability to be clear and easily understood.
For answers in bands 6, 7 and 8 in this category all parts are easy to read and understand.
Parts of band 5 answers are not easy to understand.
This may be because you have lots of grammar mistakes, you have lost grammatical control of
your sentences, the words and sentences are in a very illogical order or you have used words
and phrases that are not appropriate or accurate.
The examiner will be able to understand all parts of band 6, 7 and 8 answers but the ease of
understanding will increase as we go up the bands.
Band 5 answers tend to have lots of different ideas in each paragraph. Band 7 and 8 answers
have only one idea in each paragraph and they then use the rest of that paragraph to explain
and support that point.
You can increase your band score by making it very clear to the examiner what each paragraph
is about and then logically organise each sentence within that paragraph.
At a sentence level, main body paragraphs should follow this structure:
 Topic Sentence
 Explanation
 Example
Example-The best way to improve the health and fitness of the public is through advertisement
campaigns. Many people are unaware of the health benefits regular exercise and a healthy diet
brings and an advertising campaign could be used to educate people. For example, the ‘5-a-
day’ campaign used in the UK was extremely effective in getting people to eat 5 portions of fruit
and vegetables a day.
The topic sentence makes it clear to the reader what the main point is and this is extended with
an explanation in the second sentence and a relevant example in the third. If we were to order
these sentences differently, they would be more difficult to understand.
At a paragraph level, task 2 essay should have:
 Introduction
 2-3 Main Body Paragraphs
 Conclusion
You can further increase your score for coherence by writing an effective introduction and then
linking your points to this introduction.
Cohesion refers to your ability to link ideas, sentences and paragraphs together and one of the
ways we do this is through the use of cohesive devices.
Cohesive devices are also sometimes called ‘linking devices’ or ‘linking words’. Below are some
examples:
Band 5 answers either fail to use any of these devices or use them inaccurately. Some band 5
answers use these devices but they overuse them. You don’t get any marks for using them in
every sentence and you will actually lose marks for using them too much.
Band 6 answers tend to use linking phrases but their use is not appropriate or there is too much
repetition of the same phrase. Try to vary your phrases by using synonyms.
Band 7 answers use a good range of these linking phrases effectively but there might be some
over or under use.
Band 8 candidates make no mistakes when using cohesive devices. They are used accurately
and there is no over use.
Coherence and Cohesion Key Points
 Structure your answers in logical paragraphs
 One main idea per paragraph
 Include an introduction and conclusion
 Support main points with an explanation and then an example
 Use cohesive devices accurately and appropriately
 Vary your linking phrases using synonyms
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Lexical resource is just a complicated name for the words and phrases you use, or in a word,
vocabulary.
Band 5 users have very limited vocabulary and rarely use ‘topic specific’ words. For example, if
we were asked this question:
Nowadays lots of young people don’t have a job.
What are the main causes of this?
A band 5 answer might say:
Lots of young people don’t have a job because there is no money. There is no money because
countries are not doing well with money now. For example, countries in Europe don’t have any
money and lots of young people don’t have jobs.
This candidate has repeated words from the question because they are not aware of synonyms
for words like ‘young people’ and ‘job’. They are also unable to express their opinion effectively
because they don’t know vocabulary that is specific to the question like ‘unemployment’,
‘recession’, ‘financial crisis’ and ‘economic’.
A good candidate would use topic specific vocabulary to improve the answer like so:
Many of today’s younger generation are unemployed because of the financial crisis. The
financial downturn caused huge economic problems all over the world. For example, European
nations find themselves with massive youth unemployment, with over half of 18-25 year olds out
of work in countries like Greece.
This answer has basically the same meaning but the author’s points are clearer and more
developed because of a wide ranging vocabulary.
Band 6, 7 and 8 answers generally have some question specific vocabulary but as we go up the
bands their word choices are more accurate and question specific vocabulary is used more
frequently.
Band 6 answers attempt to use lesson common words, but there is some inaccuracy and there
are some errors with word formation and spelling.
Band 7 answers have far fewer of these errors, however some errors are permitted. The words
chosen here are more likely to show use of correct style and collocations. There is still some
repetition of words permitted.
Band 8 answers have very few spelling or word formation errors and use very appropriate
words to convey meaning precisely. There is also very little repetition of words.
It should be noted that the cohesive devices mentioned above do not contribute to your score
for lexical resource.
Finally, getting a high score for lexical resource is NOT about including lots of long or
complicated words. If you do this and they are not appropriate and accurate, you will lose
marks. To get a high band score you do need to use less common words but these need to be
used precisely.
Lexical Resource Key Points
 Try to vary your vocabulary using accurate synonyms
 Use less common question specific words that accurately convey meaning
 Check your work for spelling and word formation mistakes
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In order to understand this section you should first appreciate what a ‘complex sentence’ is
and understand and analyse a complex sentence.
A complex sentence does not need to be very long, complicated or even difficult to write and my
guide on how to write a complex sentence should help you improve your score.
Band 5 answers use mostly ‘simple sentences’ and frequent errors occur when ‘complex
sentences’ are attempted. Most of the sentences have grammatical errors. The errors make it
difficult for the reader to understand the points being made.
Band 6 answers use a mix of ‘simple’ and ‘complex sentences’ and frequent errors still occur
when attempting ‘complex sentences’. The majority of sentences have errors but these errors
rarely stop the reader understanding the points being made.
Band 7 answers use a variety a ‘complex structures’ and around 50% of the sentences are
completely error free.
Band 8 answers have wide range of appropriate structures. Most of the sentences are
completely error free.
It should be noted that the more small errors you make the more likely you are to get a lower
band score, especially if these errors prevent the reader understanding what you have written.
You should therefore only use structures you are comfortable using and you know are 100%
error free.
Have your writing marked by a teacher and establish your common errors and fix them.
Grammatical Range Key Points
 Use a variety of complex and simple sentences
 Use a variety of appropriate structures
 Check your writing for errors

How to Write a Conclusion
The conclusion is the easiest paragraph to write because in many ways you are just using ideas you have
already mentioned in your introduction and main body paragraphs. However, this is the last thing the
examiner will read and it is therefore crucial that you finish strongly.
You will probably not have much time remaining when you are writing your conclusion so it is very
important that you practice them and learn how to write them quickly. I will show you how below.
IELTS Conclusion Quick Tips
1. Never write any new ideas in your conclusion. A conclusion should always simply restate the
ideas you have in the rest of the essay. New ideas should be in the main body and not in the
conclusion.
2. Make sure you answer the question in the conclusion. The conclusion should state what you
think about the question and make it clear how you feel about the issue.
3. Vary your language. Just because you are restating the ideas you have in the rest of your essay,
doesn’t mean you use the same language. Instead you show the examiner you have a wide
vocabulary by paraphrasing.
4. Don’t try to include everything. You are not required to go into detail, you have already done
that in your main body paragraphs. Instead you will just summarise your main points.
5. Always write one. It is very difficult to get a good score in task 2 if you haven’t finished your essay
with a conclusion. Even if you are running out of time, make sure you write one.
6. Two sentences are enough.
Linking Phrases
First you should start with a linking phrase, but some are better than others . Here are some examples:
 Finally
 In a nutshell
 In general
 In conclusion
 To conclude
Finally isn’t really suitable because it indicates that you are making a final point and therefore a new
idea. Finally belongs in the main body of your essay, not the conclusion.
In a nutshell is too informal and we should never use it in IELTS conclusions.
In general tells the reader you are going to talk generally about a topic. This is not what we are going to
do in our conclusion and we should therefore not use it.
In conclusion and to conclude are the only two linking phrases you should use to start your conclusion.
They tell the reader exactly what the paragraph is about and they are formal.
How to Write a Good Conclusion
There are two elements to a good conclusion:
1. Restating the main points of your essay
2. Varying your vocabulary by paraphrasing
Luckily we have already stated our main points in the introduction, so all we have to do is look back at the
conclusion and paraphrase this.
Let’s look at some examples:
Introduction
It is argued that students should be taught real life skills, like how to look after money. This essay
agrees that they should be part of the curriculum. The essay will first discuss how everyday
competencies benefit people later in life and then talk about the dangers of not being taught how
to manage money at an early age.
I have completed an effective introduction by doing three things:
1. Paraphrasing the question
2. Stating my opinion
3. Outlining what I will talk about in the rest of the essay or in other words, the main points I’m using
to support my opinion.
Conclusion
In conclusion, this essay supports the idea that teenagers ought to be taught functional
subjects like financial planning because it helps them in adulthood and a lack of education related
to these topics can have serious consequences.
So all I have done is restate my opinion and included my main supporting points. However, I have not
simply copied the words, I have used synonyms and paraphrasing to vary my language.
Here are the paraphrases I used:
This essay supports- This essay agrees
should- ought to
students- teenagers
functional subjects- real life skills
look after money- financial planning
later in life- adulthood
dangers- serious consequences
Introduction
Contemporary advances have a serious effect on the planet. While I appreciate that critics may
hope that people will shun the latest developments, I believe that technology itself can give us an
answer. This essay will first discuss how not using electronics is unfeasible, followed by a
discussion of how science is now coming up with ways to reverse global warming and pollution.
This introduction does three basic things:
1. Paraphrases the question
2. States opinion
3. Outlines what the essay will discuss
Conclusion
In conclusion, this essay acknowledges that technological progress does jeopardise the planet,
but cutting-edge discoveries can actually halt and even heal this destruction.
Again, all I have done is repeat what I said in the introduction using paraphrasing.
Adding a Prediction or Recommendation to Our Conclusion
We can also add a prediction (what we think will happen) or a recommendation (what we think should
happen) to our conclusion.
This is totally optional. I teach students how to write these because it allows them to write
something at the end of the essay if they are worried about not making it to 250 words.
Here are my two previous conclusions with one added sentence:
In conclusion, this essay supports the idea that teenagers ought to be taught functional
subjects like financial planning because it helps them in adulthood and a lack of education
related to these topics can have serious consequences. It is recommended that governments
make this a compulsory part of the education system.
In conclusion, this essay acknowledges that technological progress does jeopardise the planet,
but cutting-edge discoveries can actually halt and even heal this destruction. It is predicted that
climate change will be successfully tackled with such inventions.
Using Examples
If you look at the official Writing Task 2 Marking Criteria you will notice that to get a band 9 you must:
present a fully developed position in answer to the question with relevant, fully extended and well
supported ideas
This post will show you how to ‘fully extend and support’ your ideas using examples.
Examples, if used properly, not only help you get higher marks for ‘Task Response’ but also for
‘Coherence’. Examples make your writing easier to understand by illustrating points more effectively.
They are also easy to write because it is much simpler to use an example than to try and explain a
complex issue. However, this does not mean that you can insert any example and hope that it will get you
high marks, each example must be done properly if it is to be effective.
Paragraph Structure
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In order to be easy to understand a paragraph should have only one main idea. A common mistake by
IELTS students in Task 2 is thinking that if they include lots of ideas they will get higher marks. In fact, the
opposite is true. You get higher marks for developing your ideas with explanations and examples. You
don’t get any extra marks for just listing lots of ideas.
Today people are traveling more than before. Why is this the case?
Supporting Paragraph A
I think more people are traveling because people are earning more money these days and they can afford
to travel. Additionally, flights are much cheaper than they were in the past. Moreover, people have very
stressful lives these days and need to go on holiday. Furthermore, children expect to be taken on holiday
when they are off school during the summer. Finally, it is good for the family to spend time with one
another.
The person who wrote the above paragraph thinks that the way to get a high score is to list as many ideas
as possible and show the examiner how much they know about the topic. This is actually one of the worst
things you can do because Task 2 is not a test of your knowledge, it is a test of your academic writing
ability. The paragraph above is simply a list, not a coherent, cohesive paragraph that takes ideas and fully
develops them.
Supporting Paragraph B
In the past, air tickets were only for the rich and famous because most salaries could not cover the price
of a flight to a foreign country. This meant that the majority simply stayed at home or took their holidays
domestically; however, this has all changed with the creation of budget airlines. Low-cost carriers, such
as Ryanair in Europe or Tiger Air in Asia, have meant that anyone can save up and travel to a new
country, with prices starting as low as $1.
The paragraph has only one main idea- that air travel is cheap. The author of this paragraph has stated
their main point in the first sentence, then explained what this means and how it relates to the question
and then used a specific example to illustrate their point. This is exactly what the examiners are looking
for and you should try to use the following structure to help you write your supporting paragraphs:
1. Topic sentence (state your main point)
2. Explanation (What does your main point mean? Why have you included it? How does it
answer the question?)
3. Example (A specific example that illustrates your main point)
Vocabulary
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The following can be used to give examples:
 For example,
 For instance,
 This is illustrated by….
 …such as….
 ….namely….
You will notice that this is not a very long list. I have intentionally made it short for two reasons. You are
only going to have time to include 2 or 3 examples in Task 2 and you have enough new vocabulary to
learn already without trying to learn ten different ways to say ‘For example,’.
Below are some examples to show you how they are used in a sentence:
For example, thousands of Palestinians and Israelis have joined the same online groups that
show support for peace and solidarity, something that would have been impossible 25 years ago.
For instance, Cambridge University found in a recent study that 62% of men and women who paid
for an annual gym membership failed to go entirely after just one month.
This is illustrated by the fact that in the United States you must complete four years of higher
education before you can study law.
Many sports brands, such as Adidas and Nike, pay professional athletes million of dollars to
endorse their products.
There are now a few low cost airlines in the UK, namely Ryanair and Easyjet, that offer very
affordable flights.
How to Think of Examples
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One of the biggest complaints I get from students is ‘But teacher, I can never think of an example!’. There
is a very quick solution to this problem- make them up, or in other words, create them. The examiners will
never check your examples for authenticity. They do not care if your example is real or not, just that you
know how to write one.
You should obviously never do this in school or university, only the IELTS exam.
It is always better to write about a real example, but if you can’t think of one use one of the examples
below:
1. The University Study
Universities do research all the time and you can use this to invent a study that supports your main point.
Let’s say your main point is that using iPads and iPhones increases literacy among young children. You
could say:
For example, a recent study by Queen’s University found that regularly using smart phones or
tablets increased literacy rates by 28%.
2. A Government Opinion Poll
Governments often ask their citizens their opinion on various issues and you can use this to support your
main points. Let’s say you get a question on whether it is better to educate children in mixed or single-sex
schools. You could say:
For instance, a recent poll by the UK Government found that 68% of people who attended single
sex schools would have preferred to have gone to a mixed school.
3. A Newspaper Report
It is also very easy to use newspaper stories to support your view. Say your question asked you to
discuss whether you think violent video games are to blame for rising levels of youth crime.
The New York Times reported in March 2015 that violent crimes committed by under 15 year olds,
such as assault, murder and rape, were linked to playing violent video games.
4. Personal Experience
You can also use experience from your own life to illustrate a point. In general you shouldn’t use personal
pronouns in Task 2, but it is fine to do it here. Say you are given a question about solutions to traffic
jams. You could say:
In my local city they have installed bike lanes and places where you can safely park your bike and
this has encouraged thousands of people to stop using cars.
Avoiding Generalisations
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So now you know how to structure a paragraph and how to give examples, you now need to avoid one of
the most common mistakes students make when using examples- being too general. If you look at
academic journals or books you will notice that the examples they give are as specific as possible. This
gives your points more authority and strengthens your arguments.
Below we will look at a question asking why women should receive equal pay. Our main point is that
women achieve higher grades than men at university.
Let’s look at three examples:
1. For example, women achieve more than men at university.
This is a very general statement and does not really support our main point and because it is so general,
it sounds like we are just repeating the main point again.
2. For instance, most women on my university course did better than men.
This is a little better because the author has been a little more specific about which university and which
course, but there are no details so it is still a little vague.
3. For example, at Queen’s University in 2009 32% of female law graduates achieved First Class
Honours , while only 8% of males achieved the same.
This is a very specific example because it includes a time, place and specific numbers. Think about it this
way, if you were arguing with someone about this point and they gave you one of the three examples
above, which one would you accept? By being as specific as possible we can add weight to our argument
and give a more academic answer.
You can make your example more specific by adding:
 dates
 place/business/university names
 names of people
 statistics
You don’t have to add all of these things, only one or two are required to make it more specific. .
Cohesive Devices
Cohesive devices, sometimes called linking words, linkers, connectors, discourse markers or transitional
words, are one of the most misunderstood and misused parts of IELTS Writing.
Cohesive devices are words like ‘For example‘, ‘In conclusion‘, ‘however‘ and ‘moreover‘. Together
with coherence, cohesion provides 25% of your marks in both parts of the Writing test. However, most
students have not been taught how to use them effectively.
This post will look at how and, more importantly, when we should use them.
What are cohesive devices?

Cohesive devices tell the reader what we are doing in a sentence and help to guide them through our
writing. They signal to the reader what the relationships are between the different clauses, sentences and
paragraphs.
Let’s look at two examples below.
The public transport in this city is unreliable and it’s cheap.
The public transport in this city is unreliable but it’s cheap.
There are two cohesive devices in the sentences above: ‘and’ and ‘but’. Both give the reader different
signals and change the meaning of the sentence.
The first sentence tells the reader that ‘it’s cheap’ is simply being added to the previous information,
however, the second sentence tells the reader that they are giving a contrasting opinion to the first part of
the sentence by using the word ‘but’.
In other words, the second sentence is saying ‘it’s unreliable (which is bad) but the good thing about it is
it’s cheap, so I don’t mind using it.’ Simply using the word ‘but’ conveys that whole message without
needing to literally say it.
This makes our message more succinct and our writing easier to read. But, does that mean we should
use as many cohesive devices as possible?
Overusing Cohesive Devices

The biggest mistakes many students make is to use cohesive devices in nearly every sentence.
If you look at the IELTS Writing Marking Criteria it states that a Band 7 ‘uses a range of cohesive
devices appropriately although there may be some under-/over-use‘. This is typical of a student who
knows the meaning and how to use cohesive devices, but thinks that using them as much as possible will
get them a high mark.
However, using them too much often leads to students using them incorrectly. It is stated for Band 5 that
‘makes inadequate, inaccurate or over use of cohesive devices‘. In my experience, most students get
a Band 5 in this category for this reason. They think that using them as much as possible will get them a
high mark, but don’t consider the meaning and how each of them should be used in a sentence.
Band 8 and 9 students tend to only use cohesive devices when necessary and they use them
appropriately and effectively i.e. correct meaning and grammar. In fact, many students have criticised
Band 9 answers because ‘they don’t have enough discourse markers’. Take a look at the extract below
from an academic journal (The Power of Human Rights by Stephen C. Ropp).
This extract is about 200 words long. How many cohesive devices can you see?
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Most IELTS students will not be able to produce writing to this very high standard, but you should
remember that you don’t get extra marks for lots of cohesive devices, the most important thing is using
them accurately (grammar) and appropriately (meaning).
Meaning and Grammar

The next problem students have is learning long lists of cohesive devices and not learning the meaning of
each word or how it should be used in a sentence. If you use the wrong word it confuses the reader and
this lowers your mark for both coherence and grammar. It is better to use no word than use a word
incorrectly.
My advice is to not learn long lists of words. The list below is more than you will ever need and learning
more than this will probably just confuse you or take up time that could be used to learn something else.
In a 250 word essay you might give 2-3 examples at the most, so why would you learn 10 different ways
to give an example? You only have one conclusion, so it seems like a waste of time to learn 5 different
ways to do this.
Learn just the words you need and learn them 100%. By 100% I mean that you know exactly what that
word means, when it should be used in a sentence and how it should be used in a sentence. Until you
know all of this 100%, don’t use it.
Finally, don’t try to use very complicated words and expressions, if you are not already comfortable with
the simple terms. Being able to use ‘and‘ or ‘but‘ effectively is much better than trying to use more
complicated words incorrectly. Again, look at some academic texts or good IELTS sample answers;
simple words are used more often than not.
How to Improve
You can’t simply learn a long list of words and then hope you can use these correctly in an essay. That
would be like Ronaldo telling you how he scores so many goals and thinking you can do the same thing
by just listening to him.
Also, you can’t look at just one example sentence and hope to learn everything you need to know about
that word.
If you want to improve do the following:
1. Reading is the number one way to learn new words. Good writers read a lot, it’s that simple. Pick a
topic you are interested in and read a little every day. 20 minutes is enough. Note down any
cohesive devices and how they are used in each sentence.
2. Check the meaning and grammar of each word on sites like the British Council or BBC. You will
find lots of explanations there and example sentences.
3. Practice using these and then have your writing checked by an experienced IELTS teacher.
If you do the following, you will slowly learn how to use cohesive devices effectively. I wish there was a
faster way, but like most things in life, hard work and practice is the best and only solution.
Below is a list of more cohesive devices than you will every need to do well on the IELTS Writing test.
If you want to see how I use them in sample IELTS answers check out our model answers for Writing
Task 1 and Writing Task 2.
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I hope you found this article useful. If you have any questions or comments, join the conversation on
our Facebook page.
The Danger of Synonyms
Synonyms are very important, but they can also really reduce you mark if used
incorrectly.
Student Case Study
Learn how Tina went from a Band 6 to and Band 8 in IELTS Writing in just 6 weeks.
How to Think Like an IELTS Expert
I recorded a video of me answering a Task 2 question live and thought out loud as I
recorded my computer screen. This will give you an insight into how someone with lots
of IELTS experience thinks about these questions.
Paragraphing and Editing
This article will show you how to make your writing as clear and as easy to read as
possible. It will also give you advice on whether to use a pen or pencil.
IELTS Writing Tips
I have compiled these tips after years of teaching IELTS and all of them have been
approved by IELTS examiners.
Writing Task 2 Structures

These structures give you a sentence-by-sentence structure for all the main Task 2
question types, making your job much easier on exam day.
Task 2 Essay Structures
Writing Task 2 Common Topics

Knowing the common topics can help you prepare for the test more efficiently. Here are
the 10 most common topics over the last few years. Studying hard is great, but don’t
forget to study smart.
The article below will show you the top 10 most common IELTS topics.
Most Common Task 2 Topics
The article below will show you how you can use the most common Task 2 topics to
your advantage.
IELTS Essay Topics

Full Task 2 Lessons
Here are some lessons that I have used when teaching students about Task 2. I have
changed them so that you can easily learn at home. They are very long, but combined
with the skills above, they contain all the information you need.
Agree or Disagree (Opinion) Lesson
Discussion Essay Lesson
Problem and Solution Essay Lesson
Advantages and Disadvantages Lesson
Writing Task 2 Exercise with Video
Grammar and Vocabulary

Grammar is one of the four things you will be marked on in the Writing test. Finding out
what your common grammar mistakes are and then fixing them is a very powerful way
to boost your score in this area. Here are some common grammar mistakes I have
found after making hundreds of tests.
Top 10 Grammar Mistakes
Using Personal Pronouns
Sample Answers
It’s very important that you have some good examples so that you can compare your
writing and see if you are on the right track. Click the link below for lots of sample
answers and over 100 questions.
Task 2 Sample Answers
Latest
Save Real Task 2 Questions
We are constantly adding to our collection of IELTS Writing Task 2 resources, so if you
have a suggestion please let us know. In the
From Band 6 to 8 in 6 Weeks
BY CHRISTOPHER PELL16 COMMENTS
Tina is one of my 1 on 1 students and she jumped an amazing 2 bands

in her writing in just 6 weeks.
I decided to share her story because there are lots of things everyone
can learn from it including:
1. How to turn your weaknesses into strengths.

2. How to make a study plan.
3. The number one way to improve your vocabulary.
4. Reduce the amount of small grammar mistakes .
5. Organise your essay so that the IELTS examiner will easily
understand all your main points.
Click play to hear Tina’s story.
I hope you enjoyed the video. If you have any questions, please feel free
to leave a comment below or join the conversation over on our Facebook
page.
How to Write Like an IELTS Expert
We get lots of emails every week thanking us for our articles and
resources, but they normally end with things like:
I’ll never be able to write like a native speaker.
I wish I could write like you.
Tell me how to think like an examiner.
I need your brain.
I can’t give you my brain, but I can talk you through how I answer an
IELTS Writing question. I decided to record my computer screen and
think out loud while I wrote the answer to a Task 2 question I had never
seen before. This will, hopefully, give you an insight into how I think
about these questions and my various thought processes. The video is
below.
I actually made a big mistake with the timing and thought I had no time
left when I actually had 10 minutes to go, so the essay could be
improved further, but I think that it shows just how tricky timing can be
and has given me more sympathy for students.
You will also notice that I made quite a few mistakes and I went back
and deleted whole sections of the essay. I think that this shows that
everyone does make mistakes and how important it is to read each
sentence immediately after you have written it and then review your
whole essay at the end. If I had not done this, I think I would have got a
pretty low mark.
So here is the video. I hope that it helps you gain an insight into how I go
about answering these questions.
Please set the resolution to at least 480p to see the writing clearly. Sorry
if you have a slow connection.
IELTS Writing Tips
These are IELTS writing tips for people doing the academic paper, but
you will also find them useful for the general paper. Most of these tips
are for IELTS writing task 2. Please also check out our article on tips for
IELTS task 1.
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Answer the Question Not the Topic
One of the biggest complaints from IELTS teachers and examiners alike
is most students’ inability to answer the question. Instead lots of students
write very generally about the topic and do not actually answer the
question.
If we look at an example you will see why:
Question-Global warming is one of the biggest threats humans face

in the 21st century and sea levels are continuing to rise at alarming
rates.
What problems are associated with this and what are some
possible solutions.
Many students will see this question and write as much about global
warming as they can think of. This is a mistake because the IELTS
writing test is not a test of your knowledge; it is a test of your ability to
answer the question with a high level of written English.
A good student would read the question carefully and realise that the
question is not asking you to talk about global warming; in fact, it is
asking you to comment on sea level rises with reference to humans. So
the answer to the question will only talk about the problems humans face
from sea level rises and nothing else.
I often tell my students that you should answer the question with a sniper
rifle, rather than a shot gun. Talking about the topic is the shot gun
approach, you might hit a few things but you are unlikely to hit the target
in the way a sniper would.
Analyse the Question Properly

If you don’t answer the question fully you can’t get over a band 5. It is
that simple and it is probably the number one thing stopping people
getting a high score. It takes a long time to improve your grammar and
vocabulary but you can improve this very quickly.
Answering the question fully simply means reading the question carefully
and then doing what it asks you to do.
Spend time reading the question carefully and think about exactly what
the question is asking you to do.
A good way to think about this is to use keywords (general topic), micro-
keywords (specific sub-topic) and instructions words (what we must do)
when thinking about your answer. Let’s look at an example:
The continued rise in the world’s population is the greatest problem
faced by humanity at the present time.
What are the causes of this continued rise?
Do you agree that it is the greatest problem faced by humanity?
The keywords here are ‘rise in the world’s population’. This is useful
because we now know the general topic (population growth), however,
we can’t simply write about this topic generally, we must think about it in
more detail and figure out exactly what the question is asking us to do.
The micro-keywords are ‘greatest problem‘ and ‘continued rise‘.

Therefore, we have to think about this topic more specifically and think
about if it really is the greatest problem we face and we also have to
comment on why it is continuing to rise.
Now we must look for the instruction words. In this question there are
two different instruction words – ‘causes‘ and ‘Do you agree‘. We must
therefore talk about both of these things in our essay. If we don’t or we
just write a sentence or two about one and focus on the other, we have
not answered the question and we can’t get over a band 5.
Plan
The students who get the highest marks always spend time making a
plan before they start writing. I normally tell my students to spend at
least 5 minutes planning and another couple of minutes analysing the
question.
Lots of students don’t plan and this leads to them getting lost in the
middle of their test and either having to start over again and losing lots
of time or results of a very confused essay that is difficult to follow. Think
about this way; if you were going to travel to a new place would you take
some time to look at a map or would you just start driving?
A plan can be very simple and just used to guide you.

For example, a plan for the question above might look like this:
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This only took me a couple of minutes to write and will mean that I have
a very clear essay and save me lots of time when I start to write.
Use an Appropriate Structure

IELTS task 2 questions generally follow a standard format. They will
either ask your opinion about something, ask you to discuss to different
points of view, as you to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of
something or discuss the causes/problems and solutions of something.
The great thing about this is there are standard structures you can learn
for each of these essays. I am not talking about memorising essays, you
should never do this, but you should familiarise yourself with the
standard structures.
For example in a problem and solution essay your structure should look
something like this:
Paragraph 1
Sentence 2- Outline Sentence
Paragraph 2
Sentence 3- State Problem
Sentence 4- Explain Problem

Sentence 5- Result of Problem
Sentence 7- Example
Paragraph 3
Sentence 8- State Solution
Sentence 9- Explain Solution
Sentence 10- Example
Paragraph 4
Sentence 11- Conclusion
Sentence 12- Recommendation/Prediction
The reason why we use structures is they provide us with a proven

formula to practice with and then when you get into the exam you will be
able to apply it to any question.
Have a look at my other exam structures for task 2 and use them to
practice with. Some of my students have already achieved a band score
of 8 using them.
Don’t Show Off

To show off is to try to tell everyone how good you are at something.
IELTS candidates try to show off by using very complicated vocabulary
and advanced grammar and believe this will show the examiner how
good they are and that you deserve a high score. The only problem with
this is that many people use vocabulary and grammar they are unsure of
and this leads to lots of mistakes.
If you try to use advanced vocabulary and grammar structures, but use
them incorrectly, you will actually get a lower score. It is much better to
use a simpler structure you are 100% sure is correct. I always tell my
students to follow the 100% rule- if you are not 100% sure, don’t use it.
This is one of the biggest revelations my students have after their first
class with me and it leads to clearer writing and ultimately higher bands
scores.
Let’s look at an example:
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The first paragraph is very clear and comes from a band 9 essay. The
second paragraph tries to show off too much and this leads to lots of
grammar mistakes and inappropriate use of vocabulary. The second
paragraph comes from a band 5 essay.
Next time you practice, follow the 100% rule and your writing will really
improve.
Make Your Opinion Clear

Most of the Task 2 questions ask you to give your opinion. You should
make this very clear in the introduction, conclusion and the main body
paragraphs. Make sure you state your opinion in the introduction, if
asked to do so, by saying:
 I believe that….
 It is agreed that…
 It is disagreed that…
 This essays agrees that….
 This essay does not agree that…..
The rest of your essay should then be used to demonstrate why you
believe this to be true.
What Are Your Common Grammar Mistakes?

After marking thousands of IELTS papers, I can tell you that students
tend to make the same mistakes over and over again.
These small grammar mistakes might not seem very significant, but
unless at least half of your sentences are 100% error free, you cannot
get over a band 7 for grammatical range and accuracy.
You should therefore get a native speaker or a professional IELTS

teacher to mark some of your writing and tell you what your common
grammar mistakes are and then you can fix them. If you know the
mistakes you are making, you can practice hard and eliminate them from
your writing.
For more information about this have a look at my article on the top 10
IELTS grammar mistakes.
Write Slightly Over the Word Limit

Did you know that IELTS examiners count every word of your writing
test? It’s a very boring job but they still do it.
For task 1 you have to write at least 150 words and for task 2 at least
250 words. That means if you write 149 words for task 1 you will lose
marks. It is therefore essential that you write over the word limit.
You will not have time to count every word, so the best thing you can do
is practice using the official answer sheets and you will then know what
150 words and 250 words looks like on the page without having to count
every word.
Lots of students also ask if it is better to write over the word limit. The
answer is no because you don’t have time and writing more than is
required often leads to more grammar mistakes and your ideas
becoming irrelevant. Try to write about 10-15% over what is required.
This way you will always go over the word limit, but not lose time or
make mistakes.
Write Clear Topic Sentences

Topic sentences should be the first sentence you write in each main
body paragraph and should tell the reader what the rest of the paragraph
is about. These really pop out at the examiner and tell them exactly what
the whole essay is about. They make your essay very clear and easy to
read and this will not only make the examiner very happy, but also get
you higher marks.
Let’s look at an example paragraph:
The main cause of the rise in the world’s population is economic growth.
As countries get richer they can afford better health care for their people
and this leads to more babies and children surviving and then having
children of their own. For example, since Brazil and India became
‘developed’ nations, their populations have increased dramatically by at
least 6% a year.
The very first sentence of this paragraph tells the examiner exactly what
the whole paragraph is about and you should do this for your own Task 2
paragraphs.
Explain Your Points and Give Examples

The official task 2 band descriptors state that your ideas should be
‘relevant, fully extended and have well supported ideas’.
This means that your ideas should not only answer the question (see
IELTS writing tip #1), but also be explained and supported with
examples.
When you make a point you should assume that the writer has no
previous knowledge of the subject and you have to explain what you
mean. I often tell my students to pretend they are writing to a 10 year old
who has never heard of the topic you are writing about and this will help
you to fully explain your ideas.
You also need to include a very specific example of what you are talking
about. This could be a newspaper article, a personal anecdote or some
research that was recently done that relates to the question. The key is
to try and be specific. Including specific countries or cities and dates will
help you be more specific.
Lots of students complain that they cannot think of any specific

examples. If you are unable to think of a real example, simply make one
up. The examiner will not check your examples for authenticity; it is not
an honesty test, it is an English test. Just make sure your examples
sound plausible.
Learn How to Paraphrase and Use Synonyms
Paraphrasing and using synonyms are two of the key skills required in
the IELTS writing test. In fact, the examiner will be looking for your ability
to do this.
Paraphrasing is simply restating a phrase or sentence with different

words, so that it has the same meaning.
Let’s have a look at an example:
Synonyms are different words that have the same or very similar
meanings, such as man and male.
The first paragraph of all your IELTS task 2 essays should be a

paraphrase of the question.
This tells the examiner that you have understood the question and you
have the ability to paraphrase.
You will also have to use synonyms throughout your essay because the
examiner will be looking to see how you can vary your vocabulary, thus
demonstrating that you have a wide and varied vocabulary.
Don’t Memorise Answers

Every question is unique and will therefore require a unique answer. If
you memorise answers and try to write them in the exam, your grammar
and vocabulary will probably be very good, but it will be very obvious to
the examiner that you have memorised an answer. This is considered
copying and the examiner can give you a band score of 0 for this.
The examiner will always know, so it is really not worth the risk.
It is worthwhile looking at good sample answers and using some of the

functional language and structure from these, but please don’t copy it
word for word.
Start Task 2 Before Task 1
Task 2 is worth two thirds of the total marks of the IELTS writing exam
and task 1 is worth one third. You should take both as seriously as each
other, but because task 2 is worth more marks and takes longer, I advise
my students to do task 2 first.
When you mark lots of IELT exams, you notice that lots of students fail
to finish task 2. I think many people try to write the perfect task 1 answer,
or take too long trying to understand the data in task 1 and this leaves
them with very little time to finish task 2.
Timing is key in all parts of the IELTS exam so you should practice
under exam conditions before you do the test.
It’s Not an Intelligence Test

One of the biggest complaints I hear from students about the IELTS
writing test is that they don’t understand the questions and they can’t
think of any ‘good’ ideas.
The IELTS writing test is not a test of your ‘intelligence’, it is a test of

your ability to express relevant ideas in English. Your ideas do not have
to be the most amazing ideas in the world, just ones that are relevant to
the question. When you go to university, your ideas have to be
‘intelligent’, but in the IELTS test they just have to be relevant and
answer the question.
For each question there are probably 10-20 ideas that could get you a
band 9; there is no one perfect idea that will get you a high score.
When you are thinking of ideas for your answer, you should pick the
ones you can use. What I mean by ‘use’ is the answers you can explain
and extend with examples. As stated above, you can’t just list lots of
ideas, you have to pick 2 or three and then fully support them with
explanations and examples. It does not matter how good the idea is, if
you can’t fully support and extend it, don’t use it.
Only Use Cohesive Devices Appropriately

I post lots of band 9 IELTS task 2 sample answers on this site and I am
often surprised when students tell me that they are ‘not band 9′. The
main reason they think this is ‘You haven’t used enough cohesive
devices’.
Below are lots of examples of cohesive devices:
Save
The problem with these is they are overused by most students. Some
people think that the key to a good score is using as many of these as
possible, when in fact it will only harm your score if your use them
incorrectly.
Similar to my rule for grammar, only use them if you are 100% sure what
they mean and how they are used.
Keep It Simple
The examiners know that you have only 40 minutes to write an essay
and you are doing it in a foreign language. They do not expect you to
write to the same standard that you would if you were given lots of time
to think about the questions, research your answer, write a first draft,
have it checked and then correct all of your mistakes. The examiners are
not expecting an essay of that standard so don’t try to overthink it. Just
show them in a simple way that you have understood the question and
you can express yourself in English. That’s it.
I hope you have found these tips useful. If you have any questions, let
me know below.
IELTS Writing Task 2 Essay Structures
IELTS Essay Structures

Knowing how to structure your IELTS Writing Task 2 essay is an
essential skill that can make the difference between the getting and not
getting the band score you deserve. With that in mind, we have outlined
the most common IELTS Writing Task 2 structures below.
Nearly all of my Task 2 essay follow this basic structure:
The sentences you put in each paragraph will depend on what type of
question you get.
The five most common IELTS Writing Task 2 questions are:
1. Opinion (Agree or Disagree)

2. Advantages and Disadvantages
3. Problem and Solution
4. Discussion (Discuss both view)
5. Two-part Question
Below I will outline examples and a structure approved by

experienced IELTS teachers and examiners for each type of question.
This will help you write a clear, coherent answer and hopefully boost
your IELTS band score. I also include an example answer for each type
of question so you can see what the structure looks like in a real essay.
Please note that these are general structures and they may vary
slightly depending on the particular question.
Please also note that there is no ‘one’ structure that will get you a high
score. There are many types of structures that can get you a high score.
These are just the ones I think are most effective and easiest to learn.
For more detailed guidance on each type of question please visit

the lessons below. I have provided a link at the end of each section.
Opinion Questions (Agree or Disagree)

Typical Question Words–
What is your opinion?
Do you agree or disagree?
Direct question.
Example Question–
Some people believe that unpaid community service should be a

compulsory part of high school programmes (for example working for a
charity, improving the neighborhood or teaching sports to younger
children).
Structure
Introduction
Sentence 1- Paraphrase Question

Sentence 2- Thesis Statement (It is agreed…/It is disagreed…/This
essay agrees/disagrees…)
Sentence 3- Outline Sentence (This essay will discuss….)
Main Body Paragraph 1
Sentence 2- Explain Topic Sentence
Sentence 3- Example
Sentence 2- Explain Topic Sentence
Sentence 3- Example
Conclusion
Sentence 1- Summary and opinion
Sample Answer
t is argued that volunteering should be made part of the school

curriculum. This essay agrees with that suggestion completely because
of the benefits it brings to pupils. The essay will first look at how
voluntary work can help students develop soft skills and then discuss
how these extracurricular activities are valued by universities and
employers.
Education should not be limited to strictly academic pursuits and those in

education should also develop life skills, such as teamwork, empathy
and self-discipline, and one of the best ways to hone these aptitudes is
through community service. Serving those less fortunate than ourselves
teaches us many lessons including how to work with people from other
backgrounds and the value of hard work. For example, I personally
volunteered to spend 6 weeks in Africa teaching disadvantaged children
and this led to a much higher work ethic when I returned to my studies.
Many colleges and companies are also increasingly looking for this type
of experience. Most school leavers have the same grades and charitable
works can help set you apart from the herd. For example, Cambridge
and Oxford receive thousands of applications from straight-A students
every year and can only accept a small percentage of applicants. What
you have done outside the classroom is often the thing that differentiates
you from everyone else and gets you that coveted spot.
In conclusion, teenagers should be made to partake in unpaid work as

part of their schooling because it will help them learn things they
wouldn’t ordinarily learn from their teachers and it will also boost their
chances of getting into third level education.
For more detail on how to answer agree or disagree questions

please visit our opinion essay lesson.
Need help writing essays like this? Check out our ESSAY
CORRECTION SERVICE.
Advantages and Disadvantages Questions
Save
Typical Question Words
Discuss the advantages and disadvantages.
Example Question
Computers are being used more and more in education.
Structure
Introduction
Sentence 1- State One Advantage
Sentence 2- Expand/Explain Advantage
Sentence 3- Example
Sentence 4- Result
Sentence 1- State One Disadvantage
Sentence 2- Expand/Explain Disadvantage
Sentence 3- Example
Sentence 4- Result
Conclusion
Sentence 1- Summary
Sentence 2- Opinion
Sample Answer
It is argued that technology is playing an every increasing role in schools

and universities. This essay will firstly, discuss student freedom as one
of the main advantages of this and secondly, outline decreasing levels of
face to face contact as one of the main disadvantages.
One of the principle advantages of an increase in the use electronic
devices in education is the autonomy it provides students. Students have
the freedom to focus on whatever topic or subject they want and study it
in depth through the internet. A prime example of this is the amount of
online university courses available to students, covering a myriad of
subjects, that up until recently were unavailable to most learners. This
has resulted in more people studying third level degrees than ever
before, at a pace and schedule that suits them.
The main disadvantage associated with increasing use of technology in

education is the decrease in face to face interaction between students.
Students spend more time looking at computer screens by themselves
than interacting with each other. For instance, the recent explosion in
smart phone use has been at the expense of genuine human interaction.
This results in soft skills, such as verbal communication and empathy,
being effected.
In conclusion, the benefits technology brings to education, such as

student autonomy, must be weighed against the drawbacks, such as
negative effects on human interaction. Overall, the educational benefits
outweigh the disadvantages because human beings will always want
human contact and most people will not solely use IT for education.
For more detail on how to answer advantage and

disadvantage questions please visit our advantage and
disadvantage lesson.
Discuss Both Views Question (Discussion Essay)
Save
Discuss both points of view and give your opinion.

Example Question
Computers are being used more and more in education. Some people
say that this is a positive trend, while others argue that it is leading to
negative consequences.
Structure
Introduction
Sentence 1- Paraphrase Question and/or state both view points.
Sentence 2- Thesis Statement
Sentence 1- State first viewpoint
Sentence 2- Discuss first viewpoint
Sentence 3- Reason why you agree or disagree with viewpoint
Sentence 4- Example to support your view
Sentence 1- State second viewpoint
Sentence 2- Discuss second viewpoint
Sentence 3- Reason why you agree or disagree with viewpoint
Sentence 4- Example to support your view
Conclusion
Sentence 1- Summary
Sentence 2- State which one is better or more important
Sample Answer
There is an ever increasing use of technology, such as tablets and

laptops, in the classroom. It is often argued that this is a positive
development, whilst others disagree and think it will lead to adverse
ramifications. This essay agrees that an increase in technology is
beneficial to students and teachers. This essay will discuss both points
of view.
It is clear that the internet has provided students with access to more
information than ever before. Moreover, learners have the ability to
research and learn about any subject at the touch of a button. It is
therefore agreed that technology is a very worthwhile tool for education.
Wikipedia is a prime example, where students can simply type in any
keyword and gain access to in-depth knowledge quickly and easily.
However, many disagree and feel that technology deprives people of

real human interaction. Human interaction teaches people valuable skills
such as discourse, debate and empathy. Despite this, human interaction
is still possible through the internet and this essay disagrees technology
should be dismissed for this reason. For instance, Skype and Facebook
make it possible for people to interact in ways that were never before
possible.
While the benefits of technology, particularly the internet, allow students

to tap in to limitless sources of information, some still feel that people
should be wary of this new phenomena and not allow it to curb face to
face interaction. However, as long as we are careful to keep in mind the
importance of human interaction in education, the educational benefits
are clearly positive.
For more detail on how to answer discussion questions please

visit our discussion essay lesson.
Problem and Solution Questions

Save
Problem and solution.
Cause and solution.
Example Question
Students are becoming more and more reliant on computers.
What are some of the problems associated with reliance on computers,

and what are some of the possible solutions?
Structure
Introduction
Sentence 1- State Problem
Sentence 2- Explain problem
Sentence 3- Result
Sentence 4- Example

Sentence 1- State Solution
Sentence 2- Explain Solution
Sentence 3- Example
Conclusion
Sentence 1- Summary
Sentence 2- Recommendation or Prediction
Sample Answer
Learners are becoming ever more dependent on technology, such as the

internet and mobile devices. This essay will discuss one of the main
problems associated with dependence on computers and suggest a
viable solution.
The principal problem with over reliance on technology, such as tablets

and computers, is plagiarism. Students often use search engines to
answer a question and simply copy the text from a website, rather than
thinking about the question. This practice is not only prohibited in
schools and universities, but also stunts a student’s intellectual
development. For example, many teachers complain that students copy
web pages straight from Wikipedia word for word rather than giving a
reasoned answer to their questions.
A solution to this worrying problem is asking students to email their

answers to teachers and teachers using anti-plagiarism software to
detect copying. Moreover, students would be made aware of this
practice and this would inspire them to answer questions using their own
words, rather than someone else’s. For instance, many universities
already use this kind software to scan course work for plagiarism and it
could be extended to include all homework, by learners in both
secondary and tertiary education.
In summary, one of the main problems with over-use of technology in

education is plagiarism and this can be solved through the use of
plagiarism detection software. It is predicted that more and more
students’ will email their work to their teacher and this work will be
scrutinised for plagiarism.
For more detail on how to answer problem and solution questions
please visit our problem and solution lesson.
Two-Part Questions
Save
There will normally be a statement and they will then ask you to answer
to separate questions.
Example Question
As most people spend a major part of their adult life at work, job
satisfaction is an important element of individual wellbeing.
What factors contribute to job satisfaction?
How realistic is the expectation of job satisfaction for all workers?
Structure
Introduction
Sentence 2- Outline Sentence (mention both questions)
Sentence 1- Answer first question directly
Sentence 2- Explain why

Sentence 3- Further explain
Sentence 4- Example
Sentence 1- Answer second question directly
Sentence 2- Explain why
Sentence 3- Further explain
Sentence 4- Example
Conclusion
Sentence 1- Summary
Sample Answer
As the majority of adults spend most of their time at work, being content
with your career is a crucial part of a person’s health and happiness.
This essay will first discuss which elements lead to job satisfaction and it
will then address the question of how likely it is that everyone can be
happy with their job.
The two most important things that lead to someone being satisfied at
work are being treated with respect by managers and being
compensated fairly. If those more senior than you respect you as a
person and the job you are doing then you feel like you are valued. A fair
salary and benefits are also important considerations because if you feel
you are being underpaid you will either resent your bosses or look for
another job. There two factors came top of a recent job satisfaction
survey conducted by Monster.com, that found that 72% of people were
pleased with their current role if their superiors regularly told them they
were appreciated.
With regards to the question of happiness for all workers, I think this is
and always will be highly unlikely. The vast majority of people fail to
reach their goals and end up working in a post they don’t really care
about in return for a salary. This money is just enough to pay their
living expenses which often means they are trapped in a cycle of
disenchantment. For example, The Times recently reported that 89% of
office workers would leave their jobs if they did not need the money.
In conclusion, being satisfied with your trade or profession is an
important part of one’s wellbeing and respect from one’s colleagues and
fair pay can improve your level of happiness, however job satisfaction of
all workers is an unrealistic prospect.
Can I get a band 8 or 9 following these structures?
Nobody can give you a structure that guarantees you a high score. You
score is dependent on how good your grammar and vocabulary is and
how well you answer the question. A good structure will help you answer
the question to some extent and boost your score for coherence and
cohesion, but you must use relevant ideas and use these ideas well to
answer the question.
Next Steps
Looking for some sample questions? Here are over 100 sample
questions from past exam papers.
I hope you found this article useful. Now that you know the structures
you should check out our task 2 sample answers to see how they have
been used in practice.
10 Most Common IELTS Writing Task 2
Topics
The post will give you the 10 most common IELTS Writing Task 2 topics.
IELTS Writing Topics

A question my students keep asking, again and again, is ‘What are the
most common IELTS writing part 2 topics?’ They are worried that they
won’t be familiar with the topic and will not have any relevant ideas. This
is especially true for students from ‘developing’ countries, because most
of the questions are ‘first world’ problems and issues. Let’s turn that
disadvantage into an advantage.
To answer the question I have asked my students over the last few
years to send me the topics on their exams.
A big thank you, to those students, who were kind enough to send me
their questions. I have built up a huge amount of questions and I think it
is about time to analyse them.
Are the same Writing Task 2 topics repeated?
The answer is yes and no. There are a huge amount of topics that come
up in writing task 2. At last count there were around 50 different topics
(based on collecting data over the last few years) and if you would like
all 50, please let me know, but I’m more concerned about the topics that
come up again and again. If you have time to familiarise yourself with
over 50 topics then please do, but I think must people have to be smart
with their time and it therefore makes more sense to prioritise the most
common topics.
I try to encourage my students to be efficient when it comes to learning.

However, I don’t agree with the saying ‘Work smart, not hard’ as this
implies you can do very little work and still achieve your goals. My motto
is work hard and smart.
IELTS Essay Topics 2015

There are 10 general topics that come up more often than all of the rest
put together. They are:
 Health
 Environment
 Education
 Development
 Globalisation
 Public Transport
 Criminal Justice
 Youth Crime
 Technology
 Government Spending
So what can I do with this information?
Now you know the common topics there are 3 things you can do:
1. Develop a vocabulary list for each topic
Having relevant vocabulary for each topic will give you a big advantage.
Many students fail to provide relevant vocabulary and their band score
suffers.
When looking at new vocabulary try to guess the meaning from context
first and then look up the meaning to make sure your idea matches the
actual meaning. Also, be sure to look at the word within a sentence to be
aware of the way it relates to other words.
When recording vocabulary do it in a way that will help YOU remember

it. Everyone learns in a different way and everyone learns vocabulary in
a different way. Some people like to draw pictures beside the word,
some people like to write synonyms or antonyms, others prefer to write a
few sentences and some people like to use the phonemic chart to write
the word that way. Whatever works for you, do it.
It is also very important to review words regularly. This is the most

effective way to remember the words. So many people learn lots of
words and a week later they can’t remember them. I would recommend
reviewing them one day after learning them for the first time, then one
week later and then finally one month later. After that they should be
firmly stuck in your head for good.
I am developing a vocabulary list for each of the topics above which you
can access here.
2. Practice reading and listening within these topics
To do well on your IELTS test you should practice at home. Even just 60
minutes per day can make a big difference. This will not only improve all
four skills but familiarise you with the common topics at the same time.
Why waste time listening or reading something, if it is about something
that probably won’t come up on the test? Unless of course you are
listening or reading for pleasure, in that case, be my guest.
If you are reading an English newspaper, look for articles on the

common topics and highlight any good vocabulary.
If you like listening to the radio or podcasts, find ones on the common
topics.
Please check out my 25 online language learning tools for lots of ways
you can study at home for free.
3. Study within the common topics
This method is so effective that some of the best IELTS schools are
starting to adopt this approach. If you are going to study or practice
anything then do it within the context of one of the common topics. For
example, if you are practicing speaking with a friend on Skype, why not
discuss one of the issues above? If you are practicing writing essays,
find a question about one of the most popular or repeated IELTS topics.
This method allows you to practice both the skills and learn about these
crucial topics.
They also come up quite a lot in the speaking test.
Can I just focus on these topics and get a high band score?
Obviously, there is much more to achieving a high score than just

focusing on the repeated topics but this will allow you to study and
prepare in a smarter and more efficient way, giving you a huge
advantage.
However, I would like to add that it is also important to study things you
have a passion for. If you are genuinely interested in a topic then it is
much easier to study and you are less likely to quit. Please also make
time to read, listen, talk and write about your passion. If you love football,
read about your team everyday on www.goal.com. Love fashion?- find
some fashionista blogs. Have a passion for photography?- why not blog
about it? Have a passion for astrophysics? Listen to star talk radio.
Update- September 2015

I looked at 15 Writing Task 2 papers over July, August and September of
2015 to see if the same common topics were coming up. Here are the
topics:
1. Traditional Culture
2. Government Spending
3. Technology
4. Technology
5. Education
6. Health
7. Technology
8. Traditional Culture
9. Education
10. Health
11. International Aid
12. The Environment
13. Economics
14. Education
15. Health
As you can see, Technology, Health and Education are still prominent
Task 2 topics. It was interesting to see Traditional Culture popping up
twice in such a short period of time, but that doesn’t mean that it will
definitely feature again soon.
I still think that Technology, Health, Education and the Environment are
important topics and will feature regularly in the future. Reading within
these topics will help you and you will also pick up other vocabulary just
by reading about them.
The important thing is to read actively. When you see a word you don’t
know, note it down and find out the meaning, collocation and synonyms.
Soon you will have a notebook full of new words and you review them
regualelry until they become part of your vocabulary.

Task 2 Ielts Advantage Writing

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Task 2 can be broken down and thought about more easily in 5 steps:

4. Main Body Paragraphs

That’s it you’re done!

The Benefits of Planning

But Teacher, I Don’t Have Time!

How Does a Plan Save You Time?

 Find keywords (general topic)

We can these fill in our ideas:

What It Looks Like On Paper?

How to Think of Relevant Ideas

Do my ideas have to be entertaining?

1. Common Topic Familiarisation

1. Common Topic Familiarisation

5. Personal Opinion Method (or coffee shop method)

How to Write a Complex Sentence

How to Write a Supporting Paragraph

 look at what the examiners want

 Should be based on merit not gender

How to Write a Thesis Statement

How many words should I write?

How to Understand and Analyse Any Question

IELTS Writing Task 2 Introduction

Task 2 Marking Criteria

What are cohesive devices?

Overusing Cohesive Devices

Meaning and Grammar

Student Case Study

How to Think Like an IELTS Expert

Paragraphing and Editing

IELTS Writing Tips

Writing Task 2 Structures

Task 2 Essay Structures

Writing Task 2 Common Topics

Most Common Task 2 Topics

IELTS Essay Topics

Agree or Disagree (Opinion) Lesson

Discussion Essay Lesson

Problem and Solution Essay Lesson

Advantages and Disadvantages Lesson

Writing Task 2 Exercise with Video

Grammar and Vocabulary

Tina is one of my 1 on 1 students and she jumped an amazing 2 bands

1. How to turn your weaknesses into strengths.

Click play to hear Tina’s story.

I’ll never be able to write like a native speaker.

I wish I could write like you.

Tell me how to think like an examiner.

I need your brain.

If we look at an example you will see why:

Question-Global warming is one of the biggest threats humans face

Analyse the Question Properly

The continued rise in the world’s population is the greatest problem

faced by humanity at the present time.

What are the causes of this continued rise?

Do you agree that it is the greatest problem faced by humanity?

The micro-keywords are ‘greatest problem‘ and ‘continued rise‘.

A plan can be very simple and just used to guide you.

Use an Appropriate Structure

Sentence 1- Paraphrase Sentence

Sentence 2- Outline Sentence

Sentence 3- State Problem

Sentence 4- Explain Problem

Sentence 8- State Solution