IELTS WRITING

Recent IELTS Writing Task 2 Topics









IELTS Essay Thesis-led Approach

First, you need to be aware of the marking criteria for IELTS Writing

This is based on 4 factors:

  • Task Achievement
  • Coherence and Cohesion
  • Lexical Resource
  • Grammatical Range and Accuracy

A thesis-led approach essay is appropriate to answer IELTS writing questions such as:

  • To what extent do you agree/disagree?
  • Do you agree or disagree?

In the case of questions which ask you to: Discuss both sides and give your own opinion – an argument-led approach essay is more appropriate. (See example here)


Example of thesis-led approach to an IELTS essay

IELTS Writing Task 2 question: Giving an opinion:

Writing Task 2

You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.

Write about the following topic:

Some people think that wearing uniforms at school is unnecessary and should be banned.

To what extent do you agree or disagree? Give your opinion and include any relevant examples from your own experience.

Write at least 250 words.


IELTS Essay Paragraph Organization

  • Paragraph 1: Introduce the topic and clearly state your opinion/thesis (two or three sentences should be sufficient to do this)
  • Paragraph 2: Justify your opinion by discussing the necessity (or lack of necessity) for wearing uniforms
  • Paragraph 3: Justify your opinion by discussing if it would / would not be a good idea to ban wearing uniforms
  • Paragraph 4: Summarize your thesis with reference to the arguments made in the previous paragraphs

Make a Plan

Try to organize your basic ideas to support your opinion/thesis, for example:

  • Wearing uniforms makes everybody seem equal
  • Not necessary to express individuality at school
  • Helps form community spirit in association with school

NOTE: two or three main ideas is enough – it is better to develop your ideas fully rather than trying to talk about lots of different ideas without any details.


IMPORTANT!

Avoid the use of generic phrases in your IELTS essay such as in the following example:

“Clearly every system has supporters and opponents and there has been some widespread debate about the relative advantages and disadvantages of the mentioned issue. Whilst it is important to acknowledge the disadvantages in this approach there is little doubt that in the final analysis the benefits outweigh the negative effects. This essay will discuss some reasons outlining the benefits and drawbacks for ….”

Such phrases could be about anything – they are not specifically linked to the IELTS writing question – and so they mean nothing in reality.


Good Paragraph Structure

  • Introductory topic sentence (indicates the topic of the paragraph)
  • Present examples and evidence, reasons, contrasting examples, alternatives, comparisons to illustrate the point you want to make – further developing the idea presented in the topic sentence
  • Concluding sentence – summarizing the content of the paragraph

Conclusion

Do not introduce any new ideas in your concluding paragraph. Summarize and clearly restate your opinion based on the ideas you have already discussed in the previous paragraphs.


IELTS Essay Writing Tips

  • Before writing – make a plan of your essay
  • Organize your ideas into logical paragraphs
  • Use different structures to express your opinion
  • Include various logical linking (transition) words
  • Use synonyms and complex sentences

IELTS ESSAY SAMPLES

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