IELTS Writing Task 2: Overview and ways to improve your score
1. Overview of Ielts Writing Task 2
1.1. General requirements of IELTS Writing Task 2
Your essay should be written in a formal style, at least 250 words in length and you should aim to complete it in under 40 minutes.
1.2. IELTS Writing Task 2 Grading Criteria
Your essay will be assessed using the four criteria below. Each criterion accounts for 25% of your total scores for Ielts Writing Task 2. You will be given a band score for each criterion and then a total mark for your essay.
Four criteria are:
+ Task Response
+ Coherence and Cohesion
+ Lexical resource (Vocabulary)
+ Grammatical Range & Accuracy
Task Response
Task Response is about your answer to the essay question, your main ideas and how you develop them.
You will get a high score in this marking criterion if you:
– write more than 250 words
– pay attention to ALL issues in the essay questions
– write about the issues instead of just the general topic
– give relevant main points to answer the essay question
– give relevant supporting ideas so that they do not go off the topic
Coherence and Cohesion
Coherence and Cohesion evaluates the organization of your essay, the paragraphs and the use of linking devices.
You will get a high score in this marking criterion if you:
– write the essay in four of five paragraph which means that you should have two or three body paragraphs only
– each body paragraph contains only one central topic
– organise your ideas logically
– use a range of linking devices
– use linking devices correctly
Lexical Resource
In this criterion, you will be checked in terms of the use of vocabulary, paraphrasing, spelling and the number of mistakes you make.
You will get a high score in this marking criterion if you:
– avoid using informal language
– use a wide range of vocabulary for precise meaning
– avoid errors in spelling
– pay attention to collocations
– paraphrase carefully
>>> Read more: IELTS Academic Writing Task 1
Grammatical Range & Accuracy
Your sentence structures, the tense you use, your control of grammar and the number of mistakes you make will be assessed in this criterion.
You will get a high score in this marking criterion if you:
– use various grammar tenses
– use a variety of sentence structures
– use punctuation correctly
– avoid errors in grammar
– pay attention to word order in sentences
1.3. IELTS Writing Task 2 Essay Structure
An IELTS Writing Task 2 Essay has four basic parts:
– Introduction
– Main body paragraph 1
– Main body paragraph 2
– Conclusion
1.4. Common topics in IELTS Writing Task 2
Here is the 10 most common IELTS Writing Task 2 Topics:
– Health
– Environment
– Education
– Development
– Globalisation
– Public Transport
– Criminal Justice
– Youth crime
– Technology
– Government spending
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2. Question types in Ielts Writing Task 2
There are five main question types in IELTS Writing Task 2 namely Argumentative- Opinion- Agree & Disagree, Advantages/ Disadvantages, Causes and Effects- Causes and Solutions- Problems and Solutions, Discussion and Two-Part.
2.1. Argumentative- Opinion- Agree & Disagree Questions
a/ Typical question words
What is your opinion?
Do you agree or disagree?
To what extent do you agree or disagree?
b/ Sample questions
Sample question 1: 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). Do you agree or disagree?
Sample question 2: It is now possible to order almost any item over the Internet and have it delivered to one’s home. As a result, people are no longer patient or careful in their shopping habits. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?
c/ Recommended structure
– Introduction:
- paraphrase the statement
- say whether you agree or disagree with it and extend your opinion
– Body paragraphs:
+ Body paragraph 1: the 1st reason you agree/ disagree
- state the 1st reason you agree/ disagree
- explain the reason
- give example
+ Body paragraph 2: the 2nd reason you agree/ disagree
- state the 2nd reason you agree/ disagree
- explain the reason
- give example
– Conclusion: Summarize main points and opinion
2.2. Advantages and Disadvantages Questions
a/ Typical question words:
Discuss the advantages and disadvantages
What are the advantages and disadvantages?
b/ Sample questions:
Sample question 1: With modern transportation, workers and students are increasingly mobile, and have more and more opportunities to study and work abroad. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of this development.
Sample question 2: Technology is being used more and more in education. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages.
c/ Recommended structure:
– Introduction:
+ paraphrase question
+ tell the examiner what you’re going to describe in your essay
– Body paragraphs:
+ Body paragraph 1: advantages
- state two advantages
- explain the first advantage + give example
- explain the second advantage + give example
+ Body paragraph 2: disadvantages
- state two disadvantages
- explain the first disadvantage + give example
- explain the second disadvantage + give example
– Conclusion:
+ Summarize advantages and disadvantages
+ Give your final opinion
2.3. Two-part Questions
a/ Typical question words:
In this question type, there will normally be a statement and you will be asked to answer two separate questions.
b/ Sample questions:
Sample question 1: As most people spend a major part of their adult life at work, job satisfaction is an important element of individual wellbeing.
What factor contributes to job satisfaction?
How realistic is the expectation of job satisfaction for all workers?
Sample question 2:
Money is important in most people’s lives. Although some people think it is more important than others.
What do you feel are the right uses of money?
What other factors are important for a good life?
c/ Recommended structure:
– Introduction:
+ introduce topic
+ briefly answer both questions
– Body paragraphs:
+ Body paragraph 1: answer the first question
- answer the first question
- explain why
- give example
+ Body paragraph 2: answer the second question
- answer the second question
- explain why
- give example
– Conclusion: Summarize answer to both questions
>>> Read more: IELTS Double Question Essay
2.4. Causes and Effects- Causes and Solutions- Problems and Solutions Questions
a/ Typical question words:
Problem and solution
Cause and solution
b/ Sample questions:
Sample question 1: Students are becoming more and more reliant on technology.
What are some of the problems associated with reliance on computers, and what are some of the possible solutions?
Sample question 2: Influence of human beings on the world’s ecosystem is leading to the extinction of species and loss of biodiversity.
What are the primary causes of loss of biodiversity?
What solutions can you suggest?
c/ Recommended structure:
– Introduction:
+ paraphrase the question
+ tell the examiner what you’re going to describe in your essay
– Body paragraphs:
+ Body paragraph 1: causes/ problems
- state 2 causes/ problems
- explain the first cause/ problem + give example
- explain the second cause/ problem + give example
+ Body paragraph 2: solutions
- state 2 solutions
- explain the first solution + give example
- explain the second solution + give example
– Conclusion: restate causes/ problems and solutions
>>> Practice now: IELTS Writing Practice Test
2.5. Discussion Questions
a/ Typical question words:
Discuss both points of view and give your opinion.
b/ Sample questions:
Sample question 1: Some people seek a lot of advice from family and friends when choosing their career. Others feel it is better to choose a career more independently. Discuss both views and give your opinion.
Sample question 2: Technology is 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.
c/ Recommended structure:
– Introduction:
+ paraphrase the question
+ give your own opinion
– Body paragraphs:
+ Body paragraph 1: discuss the first viewpoint
- state the first viewpoint
- explain why you agree/ disagree with the viewpoint
- give example
+ Body paragraph 2: discuss the second viewpoint
- state the second viewpoint
- explain why you agree/ disagree with the viewpoint
- give example
+ Body paragraph 3: give your opinion
- state your opinion
- explain your opinion
- give example
– Conclusion: summarize your points and restate your opinion
3. Steps to write an IELTS Writing Task 2 Essay
3.1. Analyse the question
The first thing you must do before writing an IELTS Writing Task 2 Essay is analysing the question. You must spend about 1-2 minutes identifying the question type, keywords and instruction words.
3.2. Plan your answer
You need to spend 5-10 minutes planning your answer. This will help you save time and generate a clear and coherent essay.
Write introduction
The introduction for an IELTS Writing Task 2 Essay comprises only two statements:
– A Background Statement: a paraphrase of the essay question
– A Thesis Statement: a direct answer to the essay question and task.
3.3. Write body paragraphs
In the body paragraphs, you need to state your main ideas and then support them with relevant explanations and examples.
3.4. Write conclusion
In conclusion, you need to summarize what you already wrote in your essay. Keep in mind that don’t introduce new ideas in the conclusion.
3.5. Read the essay
After writing an essay, it’s necessary for you to read your essay. By doing that, you can identify possible mistakes in your essay.
4. Ways to boost your score in IELTS Writing Task 2
4.1. Understand the exam
This is the first step to get a higher mark not only in IELTS Writing Task 2 but also in any English exam. You must be aware of what IELTS Writing Task 2 is, how it is assessed and what you need to do.
4.2. Learn from examples
It can be said that learning from writing examples is one of the effective ways to improve your score. By doing that, you can learn good vocabulary and sentence structures and then apply them to your essay.
4.3. Identify your weakness and fix the problem
To augment your score in Writing Task 2, you need to identify reasons why you can’t gain scores as you wish and then fix them. You can also seek help and guidance from experts in IELTS Writing.
4.4. Practice and get feedback
Practicing and seeking feedback from teachers or online tutorials would be of great help to your improvement in IELTS Writing. Accurate and helpful feedback would be a golden key to achieve the IELTS Writing Task 2 score you want.
Apart from the above mentioned ways, you can improve your IELTS Writing Task 2 score on IELTS TEST PRO. This app provides tips and good writing examples compiled by expert tutors.