Writing Task 2: What you have to do

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A detailed look at Writing Task 2 of the IELTS test, what

you have to do in it and the different skills it tests.

Last week we looked at the type of writing required for Task 1 -

describing, summarising or explaining information presented in
a visual format. It is, by its very nature, impersonal. There is no
room for interpretation, analysis or opinion. Task 2, on the other
hand, is very different.

In Task 2, you are given a topic and asked to write a 250-word

essay expressing your own ideas, opinions, or suggestions,
supported by evidence and examples, including from your own
experience. It’s a longer task, and it’s worth twice as much as
Task 1 towards your final Writing band score, but it’s not
necessarily more difficult. In fact, many test-takers find it easier
to answer Task 2 questions, simply because they’re being
asked for their own ideas, often on topics that are familiar to
them.

That’s not to say it’s easy to get a high band score, however.
You’re assessed on your ability to produce a clear, relevant,
well organised response, supported by solid arguments,
evidence and examples. And of course you’re also assessed on
the vocabulary you use and how accurate your writing is
grammatically.

You should take forty minutes for Task 2, so it’s very important
that you don’t spend too long on Task 1 and lose any of that
time. In those forty minutes, you have to analyse the question,
come up with ideas on what you’re going to say, plan how you
will organise your points, write a minimum of 250 words, and
also leave some time for checking for any mistakes or missing
information at the end. So while writing an essay may seem
easier than Task 1, writing a really strong IELTS essay requires
a lot of practice.

There are several things you need think about, including:

 sticking to the topic, answering the question and not

introducing any irrelevant information
 organising your ideas logically and clearly presenting them
in a structured way
 using appropriate language and style throughout
 using your own words and not using the same wording as
in the question
 not making too many grammatical errors and showing you
can use more complex forms correctly
 making sure you don’t write too much. There’s no word
limit, but if you write too much you may not have time to
read through your essay at the end and check it’s okay.

Question types
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Sally introduces some of the question types you might

meet in the IELTS writing test.

In IELTS Task 2 you may be asked to write any one of a

number of different types of essay. These include:
Discussion – you are asked to examine and discuss both sides
of an argument. You may also be asked to give your opinion,
but this is not always the case.

Advantages / disadvantages – this is similar to a discussion

question, but you are specifically asked to outline the
advantages and disadvantages of a position. Sometimes you
are asked ‘do the advantages outweigh the disadvantages?’
This means you must express an opinion.

Opinion – these come in slightly different forms. Sometimes

they simply ask if you agree or disagree with a statement,
sometimes they ask you to what extent – or how much – you
agree or disagree, and sometimes they simply ask you directly
to state what your opinion is about the topic.

Problem / solution – here you have to explain the possible

reasons for a problem situation and suggest some possible
solutions.

Direct question – these questions normally have two distinct

parts. They ask why something happens or some situation
exists, then they ask what can be done about it.

Analysing the question

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This step looks at the importance of carefully analysing the

question, identifying exactly what you are being asked to
do, what you are not being asked to do, and what that
means for how you approach the task.
Remember, every IELTS question has at least three separate
parts:

 the initial statement outlining the topic

 a specific task instruction or question, such as discuss both
these views, give your opinion, describe the reasons for a
problem and offer solutions etc.
 an instruction to give reasons for your answer and include
any relevant examples from your own knowledge or
experience.

In order to get a good score for Task Response, it is essential

that your essay includes each of these things. If you fail to
include everything you are asked for then this will affect your
band score. Analysing the question before you begin can save
you problems later when it comes to planning and writing your
essay and can ensure you achieve a better result.

So what do you need to do? Look at this example:

Learning English at school is often seen as more important than

learning local languages. If these are not taught, many are at
risk of dying out.
In your opinion, is it important for everyone to learn English?
Should we try to ensure the survival of local languages and, if
so, how?

Let’s first look at the key words in the initial statement. It’s a
good idea to circle or underline the key words as you read:

Learning English at school is often seen as more

important than learning local languages. If these are not
taught, many are at risk of dying out.
The first thing to notice here is that the question is asking about
two things – learning English and learning and preserving local
languages. This is clearly spelt out in the instructions that
follow, but it’s important to keep in mind from the start. When
you are writing your introduction and when you are planning
what to say in the body of your essay, you need to make sure
that you include discussion of both English and local languages,
and don’t focus all your attention on one or the other.

The second key point here is that some people think learning

English is more important. You are not only being asked if you
think learning English is a good idea or not. The question is
asking about the relative importance given to each.

The third key phrase is about many local languages dying out.
What does this mean? Is it true? It is unlikely that it is referring
to major languages like Mandarin Chinese, Spanish, Hindi etc.
with hundreds of millions or even billions of speakers. So, in
your essay you should consider what types of local language
may be at risk and why.

Next, let’s look at the questions:

In your opinion, is it important for everyone to learn

English? Should we try to ensure the survival of local
languages and, if so, how?

As you can see, there are a number of parts to the question and
to score well for Task Response, you must answer all of them.
That means you have to:

 State your opinion about whether or not you feel everyone

should learn English
  State your opinion about preserving local languages (and
as mentioned above, make it clear what you mean by local
languages)
 If your opinion is that local languages should be protected,
how can this be achieved? You need to propose at least
one or two solutions.

Finally, let’s look at the part of the question that is the same in
every IELTS Task 2 question, the sentence telling you to ‘give
reasons for your answer, and include examples from your own
knowledge or experience’. We will look at giving reasons in
more detail in the next steps, but it’s a good idea to think about
examples from your own knowledge or experience right at the
start. It may only be one sentence in the final essay, but it can
make a difference.

Now look at this Task 2 question:

Rising university fees and limited employment prospects for

graduates have led some people to say that universities should
not teach arts subjects, like philosophy and history, and only
offer practical degree courses that maximise chances of
employment. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Assessment criteria: Task response

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In this step we take a more detailed look at what is required

to score well for Task Response in Task 2.

The assessment criteria of Task Response specifically looks at:

  whether your answer addresses all the parts of the task
and how fully it addresses them
 whether you develop ideas rather than simply stating them,
and how fully you develop and support them

A common reason for test takers not getting the result they
need is simply not answering the question fully and completely.
Look at the difference between Band 5 and Band 7:

Band 5 - ‘addresses the task only partially’

Band 7 - ‘addresses all parts of the task’

If you don’t address all parts of the task, no matter whether you
do some parts very well or not, then your band score will be
lower for Task Response. It’s as simple as that. That is why
analysing the question, as you did in the previous step, is so
important. It’s also why planning your essay before you start
writing is essential. Your plan not only helps you to organise
your thoughts and ideas, it also acts as a kind of checklist to
make sure that you don’t needlessly drop points by forgetting to
include any of the key parts of the task.

The other important aspect of Task Response is developing

your ideas fully. A good plan will help you to clearly see which
ideas need to be developed further, and to check whether you
have thought of enough to say about each one. Again, look at
the difference between Band 5 and Band 7:

Band 5 - ‘presents some main ideas but these are limited and
not sufficiently developed; there may be irrelevant detail’
Band 7 - ‘presents, extends and supports main ideas, but there
may be a tendency to over-generalise and/or supporting ideas
may lack focus’

If you include a list of ideas and points but don’t go deeper and
develop these ideas, or don’t provide enough supporting
evidence or examples, you will get a lower band score. And too
many ideas can be just as bad as too few. If you include
irrelevant points this will also affect your score. So it’s important
to be selective, focus on the ideas you have the most to say
about and then develop them fully.

Over the next few steps, we will look at how effective planning
can help improve your score for task response and help you get
the result you want.

Ask yourself the question

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Listen to Sally talk about how you can start thinking of

ideas and deciding on what to include in your answer.

With some questions, such as questions asking for advantages

and disadvantages, or a solution to a problem, it’s possible to
move straight on to brainstorming ideas for your plan. But for
others, where you are asked to give your opinion, it’s a good
idea to take a little time first to decide exactly what your opinion
is and why. Remember, the band descriptor for Band 7 says,
‘presents a clear position throughout the response’, so it’s
important to decide what your position is before you even start
planning.

Remember that opinion questions can take different forms, and

you may also be asked for an opinion in discussion questions.
The way the question is asked can affect how you phrase your
answer. Think about the following examples:

 What is your opinion / view?

 Do you agree or disagree?
 To what extent do you agree or disagree?
 In your opinion is it important or not?
 Is this a positive development or not?
 Do the advantages outweigh the disadvantages?

All opinion questions involve agreeing, disagreeing or partially

agreeing with the topic, but you should let the question guide
you on how you phrase that opinion. Let’s look at some
examples.

In Step 2.4, you analysed this question:

In your opinion, is it important for everyone to learn English?

Should we try to ensure the survival of local languages and, if
so, how?

The first part of that question is something that most people will
have an opinion on, so it should be quite easy for you to decide
how you feel about it. Possible answers could include:

 Yes everyone should learn English. (Why?)

 Yes everyone should learn at least some English. (Why?)
 Yes it’s important for some people but not for everyone.
(Why only some people?)
  No it’s not important for everyone to learn English. (Why
not?)

The second part of the question asks if you feel we should

protect local languages. Possible answers could include:

 Yes we should always protect all local languages. (Why?)

 We should protect some local languages. (Why?)
 We should not protect local languages. (Why not?)

By answering these questions right at the start, the next steps

of generating ideas, evidence and examples will be much
easier.

Having enough to say

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We’ve looked at how to analyse the question, and how to

decide on your position before you start planning exactly
what to say. In this step we’ll look at the next stage -
generating enough ideas to write a strong essay.

Look again at the band descriptors for Bands 5, 6 and 7.

Band 5 - ‘presents some main ideas but these are limited and
not sufficiently developed’
Band 6 - ‘presents relevant main ideas but some may be
inadequately developed’
Band 7 - ‘presents, extends and supports main ideas’

In plain English, that means that you have to include enough

ideas to respond to the topic and you can’t simply list them, you
need to give supporting evidence or arguments for each one. If
you don’t, the best you will get for Task Response is Band 5. To
get Band 7, you need to provide solid points that fully address
the question, go into these ideas in some detail (‘extend main
ideas’), and give supporting reasons, examples and/or evidence
for any statement that you make. So how can you be sure you
have enough to say? Let’s continue with the question about
learning English and protecting local languages.

In Step 2.6 we asked you to decide on your answer to that

question and give reasons. Let’s assume that you answered
yes in answer to the first part of the question, ‘In your opinion, is
it important for everyone to learn English?’ In order to provide
reasons, you must have asked yourself the question, ‘why?’
That’s the first step to building a paragraph – but it’s only the
first step. In order to construct a strong argument you need to
support that initial ‘yes’ with reasons, evidence and, if possible,
examples. That means asking more questions - interrogating
your initial idea. In this way you develop your argument and
make it easier to move to the next stage - planning and writing
the essay itself.

For example:

Is it important for everyone to learn English?

Yes. They should be able to if they want to.

Why?
Because English is a world language – the most widely spoken
language in the world.

What does that mean?

English is the language used around the world for
communication, education, knowledge transfer, business etc.
Why does that matter?
Because English provides opportunities, allows people to
access knowledge (Where? How?), makes them more
employable in their own country and opens up better-paying
opportunities internationally. Not knowing English can exclude
people from opportunities (example?)

You can see that simply by asking yourself these questions you
have given yourself a solid framework for a paragraph. You
have gone from a one word answer, ‘yes’, to a number of solid
reasons. You can add examples to that from your own
knowledge or experience, and you can link from this to the next
part of the question about local languages in another
paragraph. If you had stopped at ‘because English is a world
language’ and then moved onto another reason, you would not
have had enough to say. That is a common reason for test-
takers not getting the result they want.

We have gone through this step by step to make it clear, but in

reality the whole process would take very little time in your
head, and not much longer to note down for your plan. In the
next step, we’ll look at how to shape these ideas into a final
plan.

Having enough to say

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We’ve looked at how to analyse the question, and how to

decide on your position before you start planning exactly
what to say. In this step we’ll look at the next stage -
generating enough ideas to write a strong essay.

Look again at the band descriptors for Bands 5, 6 and 7.

Band 5 - ‘presents some main ideas but these are limited and
not sufficiently developed’
Band 6 - ‘presents relevant main ideas but some may be
inadequately developed’
Band 7 - ‘presents, extends and supports main ideas’

In plain English, that means that you have to include enough

ideas to respond to the topic and you can’t simply list them, you
need to give supporting evidence or arguments for each one. If
you don’t, the best you will get for Task Response is Band 5. To
get Band 7, you need to provide solid points that fully address
the question, go into these ideas in some detail (‘extend main
ideas’), and give supporting reasons, examples and/or evidence
for any statement that you make. So how can you be sure you
have enough to say? Let’s continue with the question about
learning English and protecting local languages.

In Step 2.6 we asked you to decide on your answer to that

question and give reasons. Let’s assume that you answered
yes in answer to the first part of the question, ‘In your opinion, is
it important for everyone to learn English?’ In order to provide
reasons, you must have asked yourself the question, ‘why?’
That’s the first step to building a paragraph – but it’s only the
first step. In order to construct a strong argument you need to
support that initial ‘yes’ with reasons, evidence and, if possible,
examples. That means asking more questions - interrogating
your initial idea. In this way you develop your argument and
make it easier to move to the next stage - planning and writing
the essay itself.

For example:

Is it important for everyone to learn English?

Yes. They should be able to if they want to.
Why?
Because English is a world language – the most widely spoken
language in the world.

What does that mean?

English is the language used around the world for
communication, education, knowledge transfer, business etc.

Why does that matter?

Because English provides opportunities, allows people to
access knowledge (Where? How?), makes them more
employable in their own country and opens up better-paying
opportunities internationally. Not knowing English can exclude
people from opportunities (example?)

You can see that simply by asking yourself these questions you
have given yourself a solid framework for a paragraph. You
have gone from a one word answer, ‘yes’, to a number of solid
reasons. You can add examples to that from your own
knowledge or experience, and you can link from this to the next
part of the question about local languages in another
paragraph. If you had stopped at ‘because English is a world
language’ and then moved onto another reason, you would not
have had enough to say. That is a common reason for test-
takers not getting the result they want.

We have gone through this step by step to make it clear, but in

reality the whole process would take very little time in your
head, and not much longer to note down for your plan. In the
next step, we’ll look at how to shape these ideas into a final
plan.

Practice: making a plan

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Practise making a plan with your own ideas, opinions,

evidence and examples.

In Step 2.6, we looked at the following opinion question, and

asked you to think of and share your own ideas to answer each
part of it.

Learning English at school is often seen as more important than

learning local languages. If these are not taught, many are at
risk of dying out.
In your opinion, is it important for everyone to learn English?
Should we try to ensure the survival of local languages and, if
so, how?

Between your own ideas and all the ones shared by other
learners, you should have plenty to say on this topic by now! In
this step you are going to use those ideas to create a complete
plan, from introduction to conclusion, including supporting
arguments and any examples from your own knowledge or
experience. Remember, you don’t need lots of points to
discuss, just a few that you can explore and expand on fully.
You are not going to write the essay now - we will look at
building good paragraphs and writing strong introductions and
conclusions later in the course - but you are going to decide
exactly how you would answer.

To make your plan:

1. Analyse the question.

2. Decide on your personal response. If it’s an opinion
question, do you agree, disagree or a little of both? If it’s a
 problem / solution essay, what solution would you
propose?
3. Think of ideas that you might include in your essay.
4. Choose the ideas you think are best or that you think
you would have most to say about. Remember, the
examiner is not interested in a long list of ideas. They are
interested in how well you express and explore a few. And
if you include irrelvant points that do not answer the
question it will negatively affect your score.
5. Explore these ideas further by
asking why, how, who, what and where questions and
thinking of evidence and examples to support them.
6. Organise your points into paragraphs with a logical
structure. Look for connections and examples so you can
group related ideas together in the same paragraph.

That’s it! If you follow these steps you should have a clear plan
with all your key ideas arranged in paragraphs, each with
supporting arguments, evidence and / or examples. Use the
following structure:

1. Introduction
2. Body paragraph 1
3. Body paragraph 2
4. Conclusion

Assessment criteria: Coherence and

cohesion
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Sally speaks about how to organise your essay into
paragraphs and link your ideas together to form a clear,
logical and easy-to-follow essay.

The next assessment criteria to consider is Coherence and

cohesion. What do these terms mean and how do they relate
to the planning and writing of your essays?

Coherence refers to how clearly organised and presented your

arguments are. It relates to the way that you organise and
sequence information and use paragraphs to help the reader
follow your points from your introduction through to your
conclusion. We’ll look at this in the next step.

Cohesion refers to how you link ideas together, whether in the

same sentence, between sentences or across paragraphs. This
involves the use of what are called ‘cohesive devices’. These
include linking words, reference words such as ‘this’, ‘that’, ‘the
former’ etc. and substitutions, where you use synonyms to link
back to earlier information. We’ll look at cohesive devices
in Step 2.12.

Are you clear about what is meant by coherence and cohesion?

What are the important things you have to remember and check
in your own writing? Can you think of any challenges you might
face in getting a good score for this?

What makes a good paragraph?

A paragraph is simply a group of sentences that explore one
main idea. All paragraphs start from that main idea. The
sentences that follow do not exist in isolation. Each part has to
link together logically, build on the information that came before
and move the reader along in the direction you want to take
them. We’ll look at how you do that in this and the following
steps.

Topic sentences

Every paragraph needs a topic sentence. This is usually a short

sentence at the beginning of the paragraph that states the main
idea of the paragraph. This is followed by sentences that
develop that idea. Look at the following IELTS question:

Levels of depression and antisocial behaviour in children

have increased dramatically in modern societies. This
situation has led many people to believe that childhood
itself is in crisis. To what extent do you agree or disagree
with this view?

Here is an extract from an essay on this topic:

… I believe there are three main areas of concern.

The first is the pressure to conform. (1) In other words,

children are under pressure to be like each other and to be like
the role models that they see in the media. (2) The result is that
children feel like outcasts among their peers from a very young
age unless they can follow the latest trends. (3) Not being able
to conform with the group can lead to conflict with parents and
even depression.

As you can see, the topic sentence is a simple statement

- children are under pressure to conform.

Supporting sentences
Now look at what the other sentences in the paragraph do.

1. This sentence explains the topic sentence and gives

examples of where the pressure comes from. Expression
like In other words …, What I mean by this is …, What this
means is …, This means … are good ways to start this
kind of sentence.
2. This sentence gives an example of a possible
consequence. The result is … or As a result … can be
used for this. We’ll look at more examples in the next step.
3. Finally, this sentence adds some more serious possible
consequences. It finishes the paragraph off neatly by
repeating the word conform from the topic sentence.

Here is another example from the same essay. Read it and try
to write a topic sentence that sums up the main idea, and
follows on from the topic sentence in the previous paragraph:

____________ (1) What I mean by this is that children are

being tested on their learning more frequently and at a younger
age. (2) Constant testing makes children anxious about school
and children who are not suited to academic study feel
inadequate when they take exams and then fail. (3) Instead of
helping children’s minds grow, the education system has
become the cause of many mental health problems in the
young today.

Finally, notice how similar the structure is to the first paragraph.

In general, it is a good idea to practise structuring paragraphs
that start with a topic sentence, then have three or four
sentences that give examples, provide evidence, give
explanations and reasons or describe consequences or results.
As with any skill, the more you consciously practise this in your
own writing, the easier it will become. 

Cohesive devices
A look at what is meant by cohesive devices in the IELTS
assessment criteria, why they’re important, how to use
them and what to avoid.

A good essay takes the reader on a journey and leads them

from your introduction, through each of your arguments, to your
conclusion. Like any journey though, it can be easy to get lost
along the way. And that’s where cohesive devices come in.
They are like signposts that link sentences and paragraphs
together or signal to the reader what is coming next. These
include:

Linking words

FUNCTION Linking words and phrases

Adding similar ideas in addition, furthermore, moreover

in contrast, on the other hand, on the

Contrasting ideas
contrary, although, however
FUNCTION Linking words and phrases

Giving examples or evidence for example, for instance

Explaining results as a result, for this reason, consequently

firstly, secondly, next, to begin with,

Sequencing
finally

Providing explanations owing to, because of, due to

Drawing conclusions in conclusion, to sum up

in my opinion, from my point of view, to

Introducing your opinion
my mind, it seems to me that …

There are many more linking words and you can find a
complete guide and more practice activities on Step 2.17. You
can also test yourself in the next step.
One important point to remember though, is not to overuse
linking words. Sometimes people get carried away and add
them to almost every sentence. It’s not just that this is
unnecessary, it actually makes your writing worse. It is
unnatural and repetitive and shows a lack of flexibility and
control in your use of other devices and complex structures. In
fact, overuse of linking words will result in a lower band score.
Look at the descriptors for Band 5 and Band 7:

Band 5 - makes inadequate, inaccurate or over-use of cohesive

devices
Band 7 - uses a range of cohesive devices appropriately
although there may be some under-/over-use

So as you can see, overuse of linking words can be just as bad

as not using them enough, and can result in a lower band
score.

Referencing and substitution

Cohesion does not only come from linking devices. Look at this
band descriptor for Band 5:

Band 5 - may be repetitive because of lack of referencing and

substitution

Referencing means using words

like this, that, these, those, they, them, the former, the latter and
so on, to refer back to things you have mentioned earlier. Look
at these examples:

It is now much easier to move to other countries to find work,

and this leads to better employment prospects for individuals.
This refers back to the fact that it is easier to move to other
countries. Without it the sentence would read:

It is now much easier to move to other countries to find work,

and the fact that it is much easier to move to other
countries leads to better employment prospects for individuals.

As you can see, the second sentence is clumsy and repetitive.

Substitution just means saying the same thing in a different

way. It helps cohesion because you are again referring back to
something you said earlier, but without repeating yourself. You
can often substitute one expression for a group of several
similar things you have just mentioned. Look at this example:

I suggest that every student should have instruction

in philosophy, history or other arts subjects because
learning critical thinking skills, and developing a wide
background knowledge, will benefit them enormously in later
life. In addition to this general training, we need specialist
graduates.

How do you feel about linking words, referencing and

substitution? Is it something you think about in your
writing?

Plan to paragraph
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Before you try writing your first complete essay, this step
will give you a chance to review and apply the lessons
we’ve looked at so far on paragraphing and linking devices.
Read the model essay below. One paragraph has been
removed and replaced with notes from the plan. Can you write a
paragraph based on these notes that fits with the rest of the
essay, includes all the key points and supporting evidence or
examples and uses appropriate linking words?

Write about the following topic:

Most people accept that we now live in a globalised world

but not everyone agrees that this is beneficial. To what
extent is globalisation a positive or negative development?

Globalisation is here to stay, driven by advances in information

technology and resulting in scientific, technological and
economic progress and increased international trade and
investment. It has had wide-ranging positive and negative
effects on employment and economic development, scientific
research, language and culture, and the environment.

One positive result of globalisation is the global distribution of

labour. It is now much easier to move to other countries to find
work, and this leads to better employment prospects for
individuals and to more diverse workplaces. In addition, capital
and industrial resources have migrated to developing countries,
thus providing local jobs and boosting local economies. It has
also resulted in greater contact between different cultures, as
travel has become relatively safer and less expensive than it
used to be. Ease of communication has encouraged an
unprecedented level of global scientific research and
cooperation, and a subsequent explosion of knowledge and
information.
———————————————————————————–

Negatives:
Global economy – problems affect everyone – global financial
crisis started in USA – like virus.

Culture and language – becoming all the same English vs.

other languages

Growth in developing countries – pollution – global warming.

———————————————————————————–

In conclusion, globalisation is a double-edged sword that has

created jobs and promoted international cooperation but has
led to cultural losses, more environmental damage, increased
health risks and exposure to economic crises. However, our
world will continue to shrink as technology expands, and we
need to accept globalisation as a fact of life in the 21st century.

Remember to follow the model we looked at in Step 2.11. Start

with a simple topic sentence, then add three or four supporting
sentences based on the notes above.

Over to you
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In this step you will try writing your first complete essay,
from brainstorming to plan to final draft.

So far we have looked at the assessment criteria of task

response and coherence and cohesion. In this task those are
the key areas to focus on - making sure that you answer the
question fully, clearly and effectively, and that you plan and
organise your answer appropriately.
Next week, we will look at how to improve your score for lexical
resource and grammar. We will also look at how to write strong
introductions and conclusions in your essays. But first, see how
you get on answering the following essay question.

You should spend about 40 minutes on this task

It is important that children with a wide range of abilities and

from a variety of social backgrounds mix with each other at
school.
To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant

examples from your own knowledge or experience.

Write at least 250 words.

Print out the question paper and answer sheet. Give yourself 40

minutes from start to finish, and either write by hand or on
computer, depending on whether you plan to take the paper-
based or computer-based test.

Once you have finished, read through your essay and ask
yourself the following seven questions:

1. Did you analyse the question carefully and underline key

words to make sure you knew exactly what you had to do?
2. Did you start by deciding what your opinion was on the
question?
3. Did you brainstorm points to support your opinion?
4. Did you ask yourself questions to develop each point?
5. Did you include a personal example from your own
knowldege or experience?
6. Did you make a plan of what to include in each paragraph?
7. Did you follow your plan in the finished essay and include all
the required information?

Assessment criteria: lexical resource

21 comments

Sally introduces the assessment criteria of lexical resource

and talks about what you can do to develop this area.

Lexical resource basically refers to the vocabulary you use and

how well you use it. It is about using words, phrases and
collocations correctly and appropriately, and using some less
common or topic-specific vocabulary. Look at the band
descriptors for Bands 5, 6 and 7:

Band 5 ‘uses a limited range of vocabulary, minimally adequate

for the task; may make noticeable errors in spelling and/or word
formation that may cause some difficulty for the reader’

Band 6 ‘uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task;

attempts to use less common vocabulary but with some
inaccuracy; makes some errors in spelling and/or word
formation, but they do not impede communication

Band 7 ‘uses a sufficient range of vocabulary to allow some

flexibility and precision; uses less common lexical items with
some awareness of style and collocation; may produce
occasional errors in word choice, spelling and/or word formation
As you can see, it’s not about being perfect – even at Band 7
you can make occasional errors – but it is about showing that
you have a wide enough range of vocabulary to successfully
carry out the task, and can use some less common or everyday
vocabulary.

There is no simple list of topics for IELTS Writing. Almost

anything can come up. However, if you look through sample
test papers you will notice that some topics occur more often
than others. Some of the more popular topics and questions
include:

Health and healthcare issues – questions on government

spending, private medicine, diet, exercise, obesity, smoking

Education – the role of education at different life stages, private

versus public education, overseas study, the relevance of
different subjects, discipline, gender differences, lifelong
learning

Tourism – benefits and disadvantages, environmental impact,

cultural impact, impact on popular destinations

Transport – congestion, pollution, public transport, role of

government

Technology – effects on society, families and individuals,

children and the internet/smartphones, availability to all/cost

Environment – global warming, alternative energy, personal

vs. government responsibility, activism, habitat destruction

Social issues – crime, inequality, poverty, homelessness,

gender relations, population growth
Remember, you are not expected to be an expert in any of
these areas, just to have a general knowledge and awareness
of them.

Which of these topics would you feel confident

discussing? Which ones do you think would be more
challenging for you?

How to learn and remember useful

vocabulary
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In this step we’re going to look at how you can widen your
vocabulary range and find useful, less common or
specialised vocabulary which may help in your essay
writing.

Remember, this is not about becoming an expert in any of the

subjects discussed in the previous step. It’s about being able to
learn and correctly use the right words and expressions to
communicate your ideas clearly, and being able to use some
topic-specific vocabulary where appropriate.

Where to find new vocabulary

The single best way to improve your vocabulary is by reading.

Yes, you can find long lists of ‘IELTS vocabulary’ or ‘Academic
word lists’ online, but that is much less effective than
reading online newspapers or magazines and seeing the language
used in context. Remember, Band 7 says, ‘uses less common
lexical items with some awareness of style and
collocation.’ That is not something you can learn from a word
list, but it is something you can learn by reading a good English-
language newspaper online.

If you’re not keen on reading articles, you can also use online
videos to learn. Websites like TED-Ed have lots of short,
academic videos on topics like health, education, technology
and the environment, all with subtitles and practice activities.

Perhaps the most important thing is to find the sources that are
right for you. You’re much more likely to keep reading or
watching if you’re genuinely interested in or enjoy something.
You can find more links to useful websites on Step 3.19.

How to learn and remember new vocabulary

 Be selective. Don’t try to learn too much at one time.

When you find expressions that you think are useful,
record them in a notebook or on your phone.
 Always record new words in context, not on their
own. This will help you to remember and will also help you
use them correctly in future.
 Use new vocabulary as soon as possible. If you read an
interesting article on tourism, for example, find an IELTS
writing task on the same subject and try using the new
vocabulary straight away.
 Use spaced repetition. It’s not enough to use new
vocabulary once then move on, and it’s not good to repeat
it over and over again in one day. Use it as soon as you
can, then again the next day, then a few days later and so
on until you remember it easily.
Step 3.19 also has links to more tips and tools to help you with
this.

Where do you find new vocabulary? How do you record,

revise and practise it? Do you find it easy or difficult to
learn new vocabulary? 

What does formal writing mean?

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What is formal English?

Compare these sentences:

 Not so many people went to watch football in January.

Teams made less money. That was because of bad
weather.

 There was a significant drop in attendance at football

matches in January as a consequence of poor weather
conditions, leading to a decrease in revenue.

You probably noticed that both examples mean exactly the

same thing. There is no difference at all in the information they
provide. But they are quite different in the way they provide that
information. What differences do you notice?

Using a more formal style

26 comments

A review of what formal writing involves and why it is

important in the IELTS Writing test.
In the previous step we asked you to compare these examples:

 A lot fewer people went to watch football in January.

Teams made less money. That was because of bad
weather.

 There was a significant drop in attendance at football

matches in January as a consequence of poor weather
conditions, leading to a decrease in revenue.

You probably spotted that:

 The first example is made up of short, simple sentences,

not linked in any way. The second example is one long,
complex sentence.
 The vocabulary used is different. The first example uses
simple words and expressions - a lot, people went to
watch, less money, because of bad weather. The second
uses longer, more professional-sounding vocabulary
- attendance, significant, as a consequence of and so on.
 The first example uses more personal subjects with verbs
- people went, teams made. The second example uses
impersonal noun phrases, made up of a noun or adjective
+ noun followed by a preposition, as in a decrease in
revenue or a significant drop in attendance.

These are just a few examples of the differences between

formal and less formal English. There are others - formal
English is more likely to use the passive voice, for example - but
these are some of the most common differences. So why is this
important in the IELTS Academic Writing test?
IELTS tests your ability to produce the type of writing that would
be expected of you at university or in a professional
environment. That means that for a higher band score, both
Task 1 and Task 2 should be written in a more formal style.
Don’t worry though - your writing does not need to be as formal
as it would be at university. If you are asked for your opinion in
Task 2, you should still say I think, I believe, in my opinion or in
my experience. But it does mean that in general your answers
should look more like the second example than the first one.
That takes time and lots of practice.

So, let’s start practising now! Try to rewrite the following

sentences to make them more formal. Think about the
vocabulary, joining sentences together to make longer ones,
changing personal subjects for impersonal noun phrases and
any other changes you feel are necessary. Use the words in
brackets to help you.

1. A lot more people own computers now than ten years

ago. (ownership, decade)

2. The best thing about solar power is that after you install it
you don’t have to pay any bills. (advantage, installation)

3. People from different cultures can contact each other more

now because of globalisation. That’s because travel has
got cheaper and safer. (result in, greater, become)

The art of the introduction

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A step-by-step guide on how to write a great introduction.

It may seem strange to speak about the introduction after
looking at so many other steps in writing an essay, but there is
a good reason for that. The introduction may be the shortest
paragraph in your essay, but it is a crucial one to get right. For
any reader, including the examiner, it’s the first impression they
will get of your essay. It will set the context of what you are
writing about, indicate how you are going to respond to the task
and give them an idea of what to expect.

A good introduction should be quite short. It has to achieve

three things, and in general three to four sentences is all you
need to do that. These are the things you want your introduction
to do:

1. Outline the topic and give context for your answer. This

involves stating in your own words what the situation or problem
is, then adding any necessary details or examples to illustrate
or clarify it. One or two sentences is all you need for this.
2. Restate the question in your own words. For example, if
the question asks you ‘What are the advantages and
disadvantages?’ you might write something like, ‘This has
brought many benefits to society, but it has also created a
number of problems’.
3. Depending on the question type, the final sentence of your
introduction might state what your opinion is, explain what
you plan to do in the rest of the essay, or ask a new
question which you will go on and answer, such as ‘what does
this mean for the future of education?’

It should be clear now why we waited until after we had looked

at how you decide on the content and organisation of your
essay before talking about the introduction. A good introduction
should reflect these things – basically, you need to know where
you are going yourself before you can tell people. Once you do,
and you practise writing introductions which strictly follow the
pattern above, it will become easier and easier to get it right.

Let’s look at a couple of examples.

It is important to ensure that children with a wide range of

abilities and from a variety of social backgrounds mix with
each other at school. To what extent do you agree or
disagree.

I most definitely agree with this statement, and I am convinced

that if more people would share this agreement, many of
today’s problems could be avoided and, under the risk of
sounding candid, the world would be a better place.

This introduction shows some good lexical resource, and the

grammar and sentence construction are good. But it is not a
good introduction. Why not? It misses out the first step we
outlined above. It gives no context at all. It starts straight in by
saying ‘I agree’. But agree with what? Your essay needs to
stand alone - anyone should be able to pick it up without seeing
the question, read your introduction and immediately know what
the topic is.

Now look at this example.

Solar energy is becoming more and more popular as a

source of household energy in many countries around the
world. Why is this? What are the advantages and
disadvantages of solar energy?

Solar power as a source of domestic household energy is

becoming more desirable because many individuals and
governments are concerned that burning fossil fuels adds
carbon to the atmosphere and thus accelerates global warming
and climate change. Others feel that nuclear power is
potentially unsafe, and do not like its associated pollution from
radioactive waste. Therefore, many researchers and
consumers have looked at alternative sources of energy and
have found that solar power has many benefits and few
drawbacks.

This is a strong introduction. It clearly outlines the topic in the

first sentence and responds to the question ‘why’. It then
paraphrases the question by saying ‘solar power has many
benefits and few drawbacks’. It would be clear to anyone
reading this what the essay is about and what to expect - a
discussion of these benefits and drawbacks.

How to finish: writing a strong

conclusion
12 comments

A guide on how to write a simple, clear and effective

conclusion for any essay.

A good conclusion is just as important for an effective essay as

a strong introduction. Like the introduction, it does not need to
be very long – two to three sentences is generally enough. In
the same way that the introduction is partly about first
impressions, the conclusion is the last thing the reader will see
and can affect their view of the whole essay. An essay without a
conclusion is effectively unfinished and will feel unsatisfactory to
any reader.
So what makes an effective conclusion? A good conclusion
should:

 not be more than two to three sentences long

 briefly summarise your main points
 bring the essay to a clear, satisfying end
 not introduce any new ideas or arguments

The work you did in Step 2.6, where you asked yourself the
question and decided on your position before starting your plan,
will often help you write a strong conclusion. It means that
before writing one word of the essay, you will already know
more or less what your conclusion will say, and all you have to
do is restate that, and summarise in one or two sentences the
reasons you have included in the body paragraphs.

Look at this conclusion from the essay we studied in Step 2.14

in answer to the question To what extent is globalisation a
positive or negative development?

In conclusion, globalisation is a double-edged sword that has

created jobs and promoted international cooperation but has
led to cultural losses, more environmental damage, increased
health risks and exposure to economic crises. However, our
world will continue to shrink as technology expands, and we
need to accept globalisation as a fact of life in the 21st century.

As you can see, the first sentence summarises the main points,
then the last sentence clearly states the writer’s position.
Without reading the rest of the essay it’s clear that the writer
believes that globalisation has both positive and negative
aspects, but that it is inevitable.
Compare it to the introduction from the same essay:

Globalisation is here to stay, driven by advances in information

technology and resulting in scientific, technological and
economic progress and increased international trade and
investment. It has had wide-ranging positive and negative
effects on employment and economic development, scientific
research, language and culture, and the environment.

As you can see, the conclusion revisits the same points, just
using different words and summarising the examples and
arguments included in the body of the essay. For example:

 The introduction says globalisation is ‘here to stay’. The

conclusion says it is ‘a fact of life’.
 The introduction talks about ‘economic progress’. It does
not mention any negative effects – those come in the body
of the essay. The conclusion summarises this and adds to
it by saying it ‘has created jobs … but has led to … more
environmental damage, and exposure to economic crises’.

This is an effective approach which provides a clear ending and

leaves no doubt in the reader’s mind what the writer wants to
say.

How do you feel about writing conclusions to your essays?

Do you always include one? Do you find it easy or difficult?
Do you think the approach described here will help?

Practice: writing a strong conclusion

22 comments
Now it’s time to try writing a conclusion for yourself.

Look at the essay question we studied in Week 2 about learning

English:

Learning English at school is often seen as more important

than learning local languages. If these are not taught, many
are at risk of dying out.
In your opinion, is it important for everyone to learn
English? Should we try to ensure the survival of local
languages and, if so, how?

Now read this example answer. The conclusion has been

removed.

English is a gateway to the world and no one should be

deprived of the opportunities that arise for those with a strong
command of the English language. This does not mean that
local languages are dispensable, however. They have an
important role to play in supporting education, including English
language education.

People who are the strongest supporters of protecting local

languages are often those who can speak fluent English
themselves. Advocates of minority languages need to be fluent
in English in order to research their field and argue their case at
international conferences. However, in doing so they are also
demonstrating why English is so important. Learning English
allows people to gain knowledge, communicate with society,
further themselves as individuals and have a global impact. It is
unfair to willingly deprive people of this ability in order to
preserve tradition.
But this does not mean local languages can be forgotten.
People are more likely to succeed – not just at learning English,
but in employment and education generally – if they are part of
a community rich in history and tradition. Local dialects are a
part of this tradition and should be taught in school. Efforts to
regenerate and celebrate indigenous cultures in recent decades
have demonstrated that the preservation of local languages and
the teaching of English often go hand in hand.

Write a short conclusion – two to three sentences at most.

Your conclusion should:

 summarise the writer’s final position in the first sentence,

together with the main reasons or examples in your own
words
 finish with a sentence saying what should happen in future.

Begin your conclusion with any of these expressions:

In conclusion …
To sum up / summarise …
Overall, I think/feel/believe that …

Assessment criteria: Grammatical range

and accuracy
8 comments

Sally introduces the final assessment criteria, Grammatical

Range and Accuracy and talks about how it is assessed.

Sally talked about some of the band descriptors for Band 6 and
7. Let’s look at them in a little more detail, and also consider
Band 5 to see what the differences are.
Band 5 uses only a limited range of structures, attempts
complex sentences but these tend to be less accurate than
simple sentences, may make frequent grammatical errors and
punctuation may be faulty; errors can cause some difficulty for
the reader.

Band 6 uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms and

makes some errors in grammar and punctuation but these
rarely reduce communication.

Band 7 uses a variety of complex structures, produces frequent

error-free sentences and has good control of grammar and
punctuation but may make a few errors.

As you can see, there are clear differences between each level,
and to get Band 7, most of your sentences have to have no
mistakes, although a few here and there will not be a problem.
But it’s not only about avoiding mistakes. The range part of the
assessment criteria means that you need to demonstrate that
you can use different structures correctly and that you can use
a mix of simple and complex sentences. In other words, an
essay with no grammar mistakes at all, but written only in
simple sentences could not achieve a high band score.

In the next steps we’re going to look at what that means in

practice and how you can work on improving this area. First
though, tell us in the comments how you feel about grammar.

Do you feel confident you could meet the criteria for a

higher band score? What do you understand by complex
structures? Are there any areas of grammar or punctuation
that you worry about or have problems with? How do you
practise and try to improve?
The grammar you need
7 comments

A review of some of the main areas of grammar that are

important in IELTS Writing.

As Sally mentioned in Step 3.10, one of the most important

things to think about in your writing is using complex sentences.
But what exactly does that mean?

The grammar definition of a complex sentence is any sentence

that contains an independent clause and one or more
dependent clauses. In simpler terms, what that means is that
complex sentences contain multiple pieces of information,
whereas simple sentences generally have only a single piece of
information. Look at this example:

 These days everyone has a mobile phone.

This is a simple sentence with a single piece of information. In

order to make a complex sentence, all you have to do is add
more information. This can mean adding extra, relevant details,
or it can mean joining together two sentences to make one,
complex sentence. For example:

 These days people of all ages have mobile

phones, especially smartphones, because you can do
so many things with them.

Simply by thinking what more you could say about ‘mobile

phones’, and then adding a reason, you have created a
complex sentence. Relative clauses are another way of doing
this.
In your own writing, look for ways to join together sentences
and add extra information as you practise and prepare for
IELTS. In order to get a higher band score, you need to use a
mix of simple and complex sentences.

Tense

Unlike in Task 1, where you will often only need to use a single
tense depending on whether you are describing general
information or information related to a specific time in the past,
in Task 2 you will use a range of tenses, depending on the
question. If you have doubts about tense usage, then you will
find links to grammar resources in Step 3.19 to practise more.

Other areas of grammar which you should consider for IELTS

Writing include:

Comparative Structures

As we discussed in Week 1, comparatives are an essential part

of Task 1, but they are also important for Task 2 questions.

 Considerably fewer people smoke in the UK now as a

result of anti-smoking legislation.
 In my opinion banks are as much to blame as
governments for the problems that occurred.

Conditionals

As well as basic conditional sentences such as this first

conditional example:
  If no action is taken to respond to global warming, then it
will inevitably lead to catastrophe.

you can use alternatives to if, such as provided, unless, so long

as and others.

For example the sentence above could also be written as:

 Unless some action is taken to respond to global warming,

it will inevitably lead to catastrophe.

Third conditional and mixed conditional sentences can be

written in a more formal style by omitting if and inverting the
subject and auxiliary:

 If the government had taken action sooner, the banking

crisis could have been averted.
 Had the government taken action sooner, the banking
crisis could have been averted.

Modal verbs

These have multiple uses in English – possibility, probability,

obligation, deduction, speculation and more, and are a common
feature of academic writing. It is important to be aware of the
different uses they have and the grammatical rules that apply.
Examples include:

 This may result in serious economic difficulties.

 A solution must be found.
 It is widely agreed that we should be doing more for the
environment.
Perfect tenses

 Capital and industrial resources have migrated to

developing countries.
 By 2010, this figure had trebled.

Different ways of talking about the future

In addition to the simple forms of will and going to, you may
need to use the future continuous and future perfect:

 In perhaps as little as twenty years, humans will be

living/might be living on Mars.
 A crisis will have been averted.

There are also several expressions for talking about the future
such as set to, poised to, on the verge of/on the brink of to
describe events that are expected to happen in the immediate
future.

Passive voice

As we discussed in Week 1, passives are important in Task 1

when describing processes. There are many situations where
you can use them in Task 2 as well.

 It is often said that …

 Policies are often made without consulting the people
affected.
How do you feel about the grammar discussed here? Are
you confident in all these areas? Are there any you feel you
need to work on more? Tell us in the comments.

Points to remember
7 comments

Sally shares some final tips before you do a full practice

test.

In the next step, you are going to complete a full IELTS Writing
test. Before you do, here are some points to remember:

1. Allow yourself 20 minutes for Task 1 and 40 minutes for Task

2.

2. Make time at the start of each task for planning.

3. Set time limits for planning and stick to them.

 For Task 1 that means looking at the chart or diagram,

identifying the key information and deciding on the
overview before you write.
 In Task 2 it means analysing the question, coming up with
ideas and opinions, selecting the main points you want to
make, noting down what evidence or examples you will
use to support them, and arranging them into paragraphs.

4. You can do the tasks in any order - it’s up to you. But make
sure you stick to your time limit for whichever task you do first.
5. Try to leave a little time at the end to read through your
writing and check for any obvious problems. If you are writing
by hand, use a pencil so that it is easy to make changes.

How much time do you feel you need for planning at the start of
Task 1 and Task 2? When you’re practising and developing
your skills, like now, you can spend longer. But remember,
when it comes to the test itself you only have one hour so you
need to be strict with your timing. Never skip the planning stage
though - it will save you time later and will help make sure you
have enough to say and don’t miss anything.

Good luck!

Computer-delivered IELTS
7 comments

In many countries you can now choose to take your IELTS

test either on paper or on computer.

Just like in the paper-based test, in the computer-delivered test

the Listening, Reading and Writing sections are all completed
on the same day. The Speaking test, however, can be
completed up to a week before or after the other tests. All other
aspects of the test are exactly the same, whether it is taken on
paper or on computer, including the test content, the timings of
the different sections, the question types and scoring.

So, the content of the computer-delivered test is exactly the

same as paper-based IELTS, and the skills you need to
complete the tasks are identical. However, typing your answers
on computer rather than writing them on paper means that
things like making corrections, taking notes, highlighting text
and key words etc. are a little different. In this video you will see
how the computer-delivered test works from start to finish, how
the questions look on screen and what tools that are available
to help you navigate the test. You can find full tutorial videos for
each part of the test here, practice test questions here and sign
up for a complete free familiarisation test here. In the next step
you will have the opportunity to try practice Reading questions
in both paper-based and computer-delivered formats.