how to brainstorm for an ielts essay

How to brainstorm and plan your essay for the IELTS writing test

Brainstorming and planning are essential steps in the writing process, and they are particularly important for success on the IELTS writing test. By taking the time to brainstorm and plan your essay, you'll be able to organize your thoughts and create a clear and effective essay that addresses the prompt and meets the requirements of the exam. In this blog post, we'll discuss how to brainstorm and plan your essay for the IELTS writing test.

1. Read the prompt carefully

Before you start brainstorming and planning your essay, it's essential to read the prompt carefully and make sure that you understand what is being asked. Take the time to read the prompt several times and underline or highlight key words and phrases. Make sure that you understand the task and the requirements of the exam, and think about how you can address the prompt in your essay.

2. Brainstorm ideas

Once you have a good understanding of the prompt, it's time to start brainstorming ideas. This can be done in a number of ways, such as freewriting, listing, or mind mapping. Freewriting involves writing down whatever comes to mind without worrying about grammar or organization. Listing involves making a list of ideas or key words related to the prompt. Mind mapping involves creating a visual representation of your ideas by drawing a central idea and connecting it to related ideas. Choose the brainstorming method that works best for you and give yourself plenty of time to generate ideas.

3. Choose a main idea

After you have brainstormed a list of ideas, it's time to choose a main idea for your essay. This should be the main argument or point that you want to make in your essay. Your main idea should be supported by the rest of your essay, so make sure to choose an idea that you can develop and support with examples and evidence. You may want to create a thesis statement at this point, which is a concise statement that expresses your main idea and outlines the main points of your essay.

4. Organize your ideas

Once you have chosen a main idea, it's time to organize your ideas. This can be done in a number of ways, such as creating an outline, a mind map, or a list of points. An outline is a hierarchical representation of your ideas, with the main idea at the top and supporting points below it. A mind map is a visual representation of your ideas, with a central idea and related ideas connected by lines. A list of points is a simple list of your ideas, organized in a logical order. Choose the organization method that works best for you and take the time to arrange your ideas in a logical and coherent way.

5. Write a draft

With your ideas organized, it's time to start writing your essay. Follow the structure that you have created and use transitional words and phrases to connect your ideas. Use proper grammar and punctuation, and make sure to use a wide range of vocabulary. Don't worry about making mistakes or getting everything perfect on the first try. The purpose of the draft is to get your ideas down on paper and start shaping your essay. You can always go back and make revisions later.

6. Revise and edit

After you have written your draft, it's time to revise and edit your essay. This is where you'll go back and make any necessary changes to improve the coherence, cohesion, and overall quality of your essay. Make sure to proofread for spelling and grammar errors, and consider asking a friend or tutor to read your essay and provide feedback. By revising and editing your essay, you'll be able to create a clear, well-written, and effective essay that meets the requirements of the IELTS writing test.

In conclusion, brainstorming and planning are essential steps in the writing process, and they are particularly important for success on the IELTS writing test. By following these steps and taking the time to organize your ideas and create a clear and effective essay, you'll be able to increase your chances of success on the exam and reach your academic or professional goals.

Brainstorming Essay Topics for IELTS Writing Task 2

One of the most common mistakes students make when approaching their IELTS Task 2 Writing test is to just start writing. If you start to write before you think about what you are going to say, your essay may be incoherent and irrelevant—and your band score will suffer. The best way to fix this? Brainstorm IELTS Writing Task 2 topics before you write! In this post, we’ll take a look at how you can come up with essay topics for a variety of IELTS Task 2 Question Types to create the most coherent and relevant opinion essays possible.

Getting Started with IELTS Task 2 Essay Topics

Remember: on IELTS Academic Task 2 and the IELTS General Training Task 2, you’ll be writing a formal essay about an important issue facing the modern world or affective people’s lives. You won’t have outside resources with which to research the topic, so you’ll be relying on your own opinion. Because of this, factual accuracy is less important than the overall main ideas, cohesion, vocabulary (complexity, synonyms), and grammatical range (complex sentences) you show in your essay.

The biggest problem when students don’t brainstorm in IELTS essay writing is that it can make their essay choppy and off-topic. Together, coherence and relevance make up 50% of your score on the essay ! (Vocabulary/lexical resource and grammar are the other 50%.) Therefore, it is 100% essential that you spend 3 to 5 minutes planning your IELTS Task 2 writing —before you begin writing.

As the bulk of your points will be picked up in your two body paragraphs, I recommend that you start your essay by first brainstorming what ideas you will write about and what relevant examples you will include to back up your own knowledge. Let’s look at how to do this in IELTS writing Task 2 . First, here’s the overall process that you’ll use.

Understand the type of question being asked.
Brainstorm ideas.
Choose an idea/ideas.
Take short notes about your ideas.
Start writing!

With that in mind, let’s look at each of these steps in greater detail.

Step-by-Step Guide to Brainstorming IELTS Writing Task 2

Step 1: understand the type of question being asked..

In another post, we examined the 5 main types of questions that you might see in the IELTS exam. Classifying IELTS questions into one of these categories according to common topics will help you make sure that you are answering the task response correctly. Look at the example Task 2 question below. How would you classify it?

Write at least 250 words.

This is a Problem + Solution question type, so keep that in mind as you start to brainstorm!

Step 2: Brainstorm ideas.

Let your mind wander for 30 to 60 seconds with all the possible ideas that instantly come to your mind. There is no need to make notes here, just mentally explore as many ideas as possible. These can be the negative effects or a negative impact of the problem, with a solution about how to avoid negative development of the situation—or they can be a positive suggestion, coming up with better ways to address the issue through a more positive development of the topic.

As you’ll see, these are the same types of ideas, just framed differently. The main point? Be sure you come up with examples in response to the direct questions the prompt is asking you.

Below, I have written out some of the thoughts and IELTS Writing Task 2 topics that initially came to my mind when I read the questions above.

Q2: Use unoccupied housing for other purposes; limit rent prices; government support for the poor; tax breaks for charging less rent; workers telecommute/live outside city

Step 3: Choose the idea.

Whilst brainstorming ideas, several ideas should come to your head. You need to choose one for each question you need to answer. However, before you decide to go with an idea, ask yourself these questions:

Does my idea relate exactly to the question?
Can I explain this idea with reasons and examples? (It is better to choose an idea that you can explain clearly over your best idea.)
Is it a simple idea? (You have limited time and words to explain your idea. If the idea is too complex you will not be able to develop it fully and this will cost you points! A simple idea can still impress the examiner as long as you develop it well and provide relevant reasons and examples.)

Step 4: Write down short notes around your chosen ideas.

In the ‘Problem + Solution’ type question in IELTS Task 2 writing, there are usually two questions that need to be answered. You must first come up with an idea that answers the first question, and then provide an example that backs up that idea. Then you must come up with an idea for the second question and provide and example that backs up the second idea. Below are the ideas I went with and the examples I created on the above IELTS writing Task 2 question.

Q2: Limit rent prices, government support for poor Reason: Rent limits = more affordable hosing, support for poor = poor have more money for living/rent Example: Food subsidy = less money spent on food = more money for housing

Step 5: Start writing!

Now that you have the main ideas confirmed, your essay is practically written. The Q1 and Q2 notes can form two body paragraphs! And you can have a similar two body paragraph outline for other question types. For Advantage/disadvantage, for instance, you might have one body paragraph for advantages and one for disadvantages.

Just follow this simple formula for constructing your essay and you will complete Task 2 within 40 minutes. And to see how this formula worked for a full essay based on the outline above, check out a full sample response based on the question and notes above . I would also encourage you to look at similarly structured responses for common IELTS Writing Task 2 question types .

Again, brainstorming and prewriting a brief outline serve as the foundation for all of those model essays. Brainstorming may seem like a lot of work to start, but trust me, by brainstorming and planning your ideas first, you will save time and energy in the long run. By building this strong foundation, your essays will actually become easier to write, and you’ll be able to write them more quickly!

IELTS Essay Topics with Answers: Let’s Practice!

Practice makes perfect! Work with a variety of essay topics for IELTS to brainstorm the types of ideas that would best answer the questions. Here are just a few IELTS writing topics with answers (IELTS Academic) to get you started!

Advantage/Disadvantage Essay
Two-Part Question Essay
Discussion Essay
Agree/Disagree Essay
You may wish to write your own response for each topic before you read the sample essay/model answers.

A Final Word on IELTS Task 2 Topics

The more you practice English writing topics for the IELTS, the easier it will be to brainstorm and find essay topics for IELTS! This will take a lot of the pressure and stress off of you as you focus on IELTS essay questions.

As you practice, keep in mind that you should stick to one idea and one example per paragraph! On the IELTS test, too many ideas and examples complicate your essay. By separating your IELTS Writing Task 2 topics into a clear, efficient organizational structure, you’ll show the IELTS examiners exactly how great your ideas actually are!

Eliot Friesen-Meyers is the Senior Curriculum Manager for Magoosh IELTS and TOEFL. He attended Goshen College (B.A.), New York University (M.A.), and Harvard University (M.T.S.), gaining experience and skills in curriculum development, ESOL instruction, online teaching and learning, and IELTS and TOEFL test prep education. Eliot’s teaching career started with Literacy Americorps in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and later, taught ESL programs at Northeastern University, University of California-Irvine, and Harold Washington College. Eliot was also a speaker at the 2019 TESOL International Conference . With over 10 years of experience, he understands the challenges students face and loves helping them overcome those challenges. Come join Eliot on Youtube , Facebook , and Instagram . Recent blog posts Complete Guide to IELTS Writing Task 1 Complete Guide to IELTS Writing Task 2

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20 responses to “Brainstorming Essay Topics for IELTS Writing Task 2”

How get eassly 6 band in ielts .when you have only one month time only.

That depends a lot on what your current IELTS performance is. Your exact one-month study plan should focus on your weaknesses while building on your strengths.

It definitely is possible to get a good score on the IELTS in a month though, and many students have gotten a 6 or higher with just one month of study. Here on the blog, we have a few posts about one month IELTS study plans. See Kuangyan’s weekly IELTS study template , and her general advice for one month of IELTS study .

Hi my IELTS score is L 5.5 R 3.5 W 5.5 S 5.5 overall 5.0 can I go for rechecking because I need 5 to get admission.

I’m afraid that we can’t provide any more advice than what we already wrote in this blog post. I recommend that you read it carefully and take a look at some of the earlier comments before you make any decisions 🙂

I got 5.5 score bt i wanna got each 6 score then how can i get 6each score plz tell me

There’s no simple answer to that question, Seerat. After all, the best way to improve depends on your own strengths and weaknesses in IELTS Writing Task 2. Fortunately, Magoosh now offers a complete guide to IELTS Writing Task 2 . That guide should have some tips that will work for you personally as you boost your IELTS score by a half-band. 🙂

Result of 23 Sept exam was L-6.5 R-6.5 W-6 S-5.5 After EOR in speaking band score increased by 5.5 to 6.5

Thank you for sharing your experience!

Declared result of 23 Sept exam L-6.5 R-6.5 W-6 S-5.5 After EOR L-6.5 R-6.5 W-6 S-6.5

I’m wondering, if “one idea and one example per paragraph” is enough, and you could lose points for that?

I often see in most blogs or essay examples, they suggest to provide a few ideas and examples per paragraph.

Also, could I generally stick to this template ( https://magoosh.com/ielts/the-best-ielts-task-2-writing-template/ ) EVERY TIME and for ALL type of task 2 questions for a 8+ score?

By the way, I enjoyed reading this blog, very nice work!

I generally do recommend sticking to one idea and one supporting detail per paragraph, because it keeps the essay simple. This doesn’t necessarily mean that the essay will have fewer ideas and details. It can simply mean that the essay has more paragraphs, since each paragraph can only have one idea and one detail.

If you want to write more complex paragraphs, that’s certainly alright… provided you can do a good job writing them. Use more complicate paragraphs carefully, as they are– of course– a bit more difficult to write.

Hi Gwendolyn, thank you for helping out all those who are aspiring to take IELTS exam. I would appreciate if you could please give feedback on below attempt for writing task 2. Thank you in advance 🙂

“Prevention is better than cure”. Researching and treating diseases is too costly so it would be better to invest in preventative measures. To what extent do you agree?

“It is better to be safe than sorry”, treatment of diseases is not affordable in today’s world, rather being precautious and opting for spending on measures to stay healthy is ideal option. In my opinion, it is important to maintain good health than spending on expensive treatments later on. Though, we cannot ignore the importance of science and research to cure deadly diseases. For instance, tuberculosis, heart attack, kidney transplant etcetera. People suffering from above mentioned diseases can only be saved by the access of medical science, surely the treatment is expensive, but when it comes to life, nothing is too pricey. However, cost involved in taking preventative measures is much cheaper than curing the disease. To illustrate, diseases like malaria, dengue, typhoid are very easy to catch, especially, in rainy season. Curing such diseases is not affordable, it is therefore, best to invest in precautionate devices such as mosquito killing machines, maintaining hygiene in and around house, wearing clothes to cover body areas that are prone to mosquito bites. Furthermore, the pain of treatment and the side effects of medications is far more adverse. For instance, treating an ankle that got fractured in the gym is more painful than wearing personal protective equipment during exercise, which could avoid such injuries, so it makes more sense to invest in ppe than to pay for treating injuries, which occur due to failure of taking prevention. To conclude, I agree that being cautious about our health and well-being is very important but the progress made by science and research in treating serious illness is invaluable too. People should enforce safety, to keep healthy, or else, they have no option but to go for dearer treatments which don’t come without side effects.

I enjoyed this article as it is very clear.

FYI i just wanted to point out a couple of typos in case you want to correct them:

with all the possible ideas that come to instantly come to your mind.(step 2)

your easy will relate to the task response(step 5)

Thanks again,

Thanks for your kind words on this article, Chris. And thanks for bringing these typos to my attention! I just fixed them. 🙂

mam my reading section is not improving please help me in that part how i can achieve good band score in reading

How you can improve in IELTS Reading depends a lot on your current Reading challenges. Fortunately, Magoosh has a Complete Guide to IELTS Reading that should help you with any challenge you’re facing. 🙂

Thanks for this helpful content. I have a question and I’ll appreciate if you can make it clear for me.

Can I explain more than one idea for each question? For example and for this sample question I have 2 ideas around the questions (lack of exercising and eating junk food).

Is it possible to explain both ideas for each question or I have to choose only one of these ideas?

You can certainly have more than one idea for the question. You can write 2 different body paragraphs explaining your examples. 🙂 Having more support for your viewpoint on the Task 2 essay can make your essay stronger. With that said, you should make sure that both of your ideas address the prompt and are very clear for the reader/grader to understand.

I secured S 7, L 6, W 6, R 5.5, I need 6 in Reading. Should I fill rechecking form ?

Hi Shefali,

There are usually no changes to the reading score even after a re-score. So, it’d probably be a better use of your time to retake the exam than request a re-score of the Reading section.

Brainstorming and Planning an IELTS Essay

" I can't think of any ideas for my IELTS essay! "

That is a common statement from students preparing for the test and this is where brainstorming and planning come in.

You can also watch a video of this lesson:

Once you have analysed the question in the IELTS test you need to brainstorm some ideas to include in your answer.

Lets look at the same question we looked at in the first two lessons:

The crime rate among teenagers has increased dramatically in many countries.

Discuss some possible reasons for this increase and suggest solutions .

Brainstorming is an important part of the planning process.

In order to get a good score it will not be enough just to put a list of ideas - you need to extend and explain those ideas.

If you look at the IELTS prompt, it says this:

"Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own experience or knowledge".

So you need to support your ideas using reasons and examples.

Developing Focus Questions

For this question, you need to write about reasons for the increase in teenage crime and solutions .

In order to make sure you fully answer the question it is a good ideas to develop some focus questions i.e. questions that will help you focus on what you need to write.

These are possible focus questions for this essay question:

Focus question 1: Why has teenage crime increased ?
Focus question 2: What can be done about it ?

You then need to brainstorm answers to these questions:

Why has teenage crime increased?

Breakdown in the nuclear family
Lack of things to do

What can be done about it?

Government - Provide better support for families & stricter punishments
Individuals – take responsibility

[ Nuclear family is a term used to define a family group consisting of a pair of adults and their children, as opposed to single-parent families].

Extending and Supporting your Ideas

However, you now need to think about how your are going to extend and support those ideas you have brainstormed. In other words, you need to ask yourself further questions about each of your ideas. For example:

Why has there been a breakdown in the nuclear family? What is the effect of this? What is a good example of it?

Answering questions like these will make sure you have fully supported and explained all your points.

For example:

Why has there been a breakdown in the nuclear family? - high divorce rates

What is the effect of this?

- no male role model; boys go astray & may commit crime

When you have extended your main ideas, this then provides the basis for your plan.

Here is an example of the brainstormed ideas with further support, which has now become the plan for the essay:

Why has teenage crime increased ?

1) Breakdown in the nuclear family - high divorce rates = no father as ‘role model’ – boys go astray, drugs & crime

2) Lack of things to do

- e.g. TV has shown nothing to do – children see crime as entertainment

What can be done about it ?

1) Govt - Provide better support for families - e.g. more youth centres – guidance and activities, sport

2) Parents – take responsibility

- provide loving environment, relative as role model

The essay can now be written. Here is an example essay written from the plan, with the main supporting ideas highlighted in bold:

Sample Essay

You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.

Write about the following topic:

Discuss some possible reasons for this increase and suggest solutions.

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own experience or knowledge.

Write at least 250 words.

Model Answer

Over the last decade there has been a massive rise in the level of crime committed by teenagers in a number of countries. It is important to establish why this has happened and to look at ways to solve the problem.

One reason is the breakdown in the nuclear family . The high divorce rates have meant many children have been brought up in one-parent families with no father to act as a role model, which is detrimental to their development. This is particularly important for boys, who without this guidance are easily led astray by bad influences such as drugs and crime. Another factor is the lack of things to do for the young. For example, in the UK, many television programs about this issue have shown that teenagers hang around in the evenings with little to do. When this happens, the boredom means they will find their own entertainment, which is often crime.

There are, however, ways to tackle these problems. Firstly, the government should provide more support for families . They could, for instance, invest more into building and staffing youth centres, which would provide guidance through the youth workers and also enable teenagers to focus their attention on sport and other activities. Parents should also be encouraged to take more responsibility for their children . Ultimately, the onus is on them to raise their children in a loving environment, thus ensuring they are less likely to turn to crime. They could, for example, find a male relative to act as a role model.

Therefore, it is clear that there are various reasons for this rise in crime, but solutions are available. If we begin to tackle the issue now, we may be able to prevent the situation from declining further.

(294 Words)

A common mistake is to have lots of ideas that are not explained properly.

However, you can see that as a result of brainstorming some key ideas and making sure you have explained each of them, you have a fully supported and well organized essay.

More Task 2 IELTS Lessons:

Requirements for IELTS Band 7 in Writing

Getting to an IELTS Band 7 is a struggle for many candidates. This lesson explains exactly what you have to do to reach this band score.

IELTS Problem Solution Essay Strategies and Tips

In IELTS problem solution essays you have to discuss a particular issue and present ideas to solve that problem.

Writing an IELTS Essay Introduction

Tips on how to write an introduction for an IELTS essay introduction in a quick and easy way.

IELTS Music Essay: Understanding a Complex Question

An IELTS essay about music is used to show you how to answer a more complex IELTS essay question that does not have a clear 'task' given to you.

How to Write an IELTS Essay: The key steps

Learn key steps on how to write an IELTS Essay. This guides you on how to write a great essay plus other lessons to improve your writing skills.

How to Identify the Task in an IELTS Essay

Learn how to identify the task in an IELTS task 2 essay question. This is one of the most important steps in responding to an essay question.

Can you use Personal Pronouns in Essays for IELTS?

Learn how to use personal pronouns in essays for IELTS correctly. Can you use "I", "we" and "you"?

The 3 Types of IELTS Opinion Essays in IELTS

IELTS opinion essays in IELTS can be placed into three types. This lesson explains the different types and how to analyse these essay questions.

Transitional Phrases for Essays

Learn transitional phrases for essays to get a band 7 or higher in your IELTS writing for coherence and cohesion.

Writing an IELTS Essay Conclusion

The IELTS essay conclusion is the final part of your IELTS essay. This lesson guides you on how to write a conclusion quickly but effectively.

Paragraph Writing for IELTS: Building strong arguments

This paragraph writing lesson provides tips on constructing the best paragraphs for your IELTS essay.

IELTS Task Response - 25% of your essay grade

The IELTS Task Response criteria in the scoring makes up 25% of your band score for your essay.

Using Pronouns to Improve IELTS Essay Coherency

Find out how to use pronouns to improve your coherency for IELTS task 2 essays.

Improving Writing Coherence for IELTS essays

25% of the writing grade is on how you organise your essay so this lesson shows you how to improve your writing coherence.

IELTS Advantage Disadvantage Essay Tips and Strategies

An advantage disadvantage essay is one type of essay that you may get in the test. This lesson shows how to write a pros cons essay.

Thesis Statement Tips for IELTS Essays

Your thesis statement in an IELTS essay should be written quickly and concisely. Use these tips to do that.

Tips on How to Score IELTS Band 8 in Writing and Speaking

To score IELTS Band 8 you need to understand exactly what is in the IELTS Band Descriptors for an 8 for writing and speaking first.

Generating ideas for IELTS essays for writing task 2

Generating ideas for IELTS essays for writing task 2 can be difficult but complex ideas are not expected.

How to Identify the Topic of an IELTS Essay Question

In IELTS you must identify the topic of your essay as this is a key to making sure your essay is on topic.

Using Substitution in IELTS to Improve Writing Coherency

You can use substitution in your IELTS essays in order to improve coherency and coherence.

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IELTS essay plan for writing task 2 (7 steps)

Home » IELTS academic task 2 » IELTS essay plan for writing task 2

Before starting your essay you need a solid essay plan.

Avoid jumping straight into the introduction, first organise your ideas.

Ametuer tutors will often over simplify this stage, however, it is incredibly important we plan effectively and extensively before starting to write.

A proper plan will prevent you having to rewrite the paragraph if you find yourself off topic later.

Here is a very brief overview of what we teach in our online ielts course.

1. First classify the question. 2. Brainstorm ideas around the idea and clarify your position for each paragraph. 3. Check the ideas correspond to the question (important for task response). 4. Develop the ideas further. Ask yourself WHY? 5. Develop examples that prove your point. 6. Organise your ideas and plan the paragraph. 7. Write your introduction, paragraphs and conclusion.

1. Classify the question

Here you can find the 5 types of IELTS task 2 questions you are likely to see in the exam.

Opinion (Agree or Disagree) Discuss (Both views + Opinion) Problem + Solution Two Part Question Advantages / Disadvantages

Classifying the question correctly will help you later determine what response you will write.

2. Brainstorm ideas and clarify your position for each paragraph.

At this stage we brainstorm possible ideas, from these ideas we can build out our paragraph.

It is important we get a clear plan established.

Our plan needs to reflect the positions we are taking in each of the paragraphs.

Do we agree or disagree? What are the problems? What are the solutions?

If you struggle for ideas this tutorial will help.

Below is a sample question with sample ideas and positions. In this tutorial we have hundreds of essay questions and sample ideas / answers .

Some people think that it is important to use leisure time for activities that improve the mind, such as reading and doing word puzzles. Other people feel that it is important to rest the mind during leisure time. Discuss both views and give your opinion.

Paragraph 1:

YES USE LEISURE TIME FOR IMPROVING THE MIND Improve the mind through stimulus, make use of idle time, possibly even learn or improve a language with new apps

Paragraph 2:

NO, REST THE MIND .... because work can be stressful, rest can result in better performance at work ....

3. Check your ideas correspond to the question

Double check that your ideas are answering the question.

It is easy to get an idea and develop it extensively, only to find we are not really answering the essay question.

This will negatively affect your Task Response score which is 25% of the band score criteria in the writing section.

It is easier to catch the problem now - before writing the paragraph.

4. Develop the ideas further. Ask yourself why?

This is a fundamental skill for IELTS essay writing and essential for the criteria: Cohesion and Coherence.

We have a detailed tutorial about cause and effect here .

From the earlier question we had this idea:

Now to develop it further we ask ourselves, why?

...possibly even learn or improve a language with new apps

Because this can bring lots of benefits

Because learning a language improves mental agility.

5. Develop examples that prove your point.

Developing examples is an extremely valuable skill to boost your score.

You can think of studies that prove your point or even give hypothetical examples (and pick up points for grammatical range and accuracy).

In this tutorial we explore at length how to give examples that score high for lexical resource.

6. Organise your ideas and plan the paragraph.

Now we have our: - ideas - position - examples

Now we can organise the paragraph, here is a possible structure to follow:

- introduction / topic sentence - our position - explanation (WHY) - example - paragraph close

At IELTSPodcast our online students have the C2 Template , which is a high scoring template of the structure above. It includes sophisticated sentences and naturally links all your ideas together.

Here is a useful video on this topic.

7. Write your introduction, paragraphs and conclusion.

We only start writing after we have completed the plan we just mentioned.

At first formulating plans will take time but the process gets easier the more times you do it.

Ideally it should become an automatic procedure.

Writing the essay is also a challenge and can take a long time to perfect.

A lot of students get stuck at 6.5 because although they can write excellent paragraphs following a basic structure like the one above, it still is not enough to get Band 7.

You can write essays in perfect normal English following the structure above and still get stuck at Band 6.5.

You see, you need a combination of excellent language skills and excellent exam skills.

We offer a trial essay correction for just $5, we can help you improve faster through feedback. This way you can identify the mistakes being made and avoid making them again.

To get the trial essay correction for $5 just sign up to our mailing list here .

Alternatively, if you need to pass fast then have a look at the Jump to Band 7 or it's Free online IELTS course .

For help improving your IELTS writing , take a look at our essay correction service to help you get a high band score!

Audio tutorial

Tutorials and Tips to Prepare for Task 2

How to Get Ideas for Task 2
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7 Steps to Structuring an IELTS Task 2 Essay

Posted by David S. Wills | Apr 6, 2020 | IELTS Tips , Writing | 0

In this week’s article, I want to show you how to structure an IELTS writing task 2 essay. I’ve written about this many times in the past, but today I want to show you a simple, 7-step approach that can guide you to the perfect essay.

First of all, I want to mention that there are lots of ways to write an amazing essay. There are also 5 different kinds of question, hundreds of topics, and lots of different combinations. This means that you cannot just memorise an answer or even memorise a structure. You can learn about that in my IELTS books :

However, this article will give you a guide to writing a great essay structure by logically sequencing your ideas. This can help you to score highly for Coherence and Cohesion, which is worth 25% of your writing score.

IELTS Essay Structure: The Basics

Before we begin with the 7 steps, I would like to give you a short overview. Writing an IELTS essay requires many skills and you have a lot of different criteria to meet in order to get a band 7 or above. Your essay will be judged in four ways, each accounting for 25% of the total score:

Task Achievement
Coherence and Cohesion
Lexical Resource
Grammatical Range and Accuracy

When thinking about structuring an essay, we are essentially talking about Coherence and Cohesion . Being able to produce a strong structure with logically sequenced ideas will give you a good chance of a high score in this section.

There are lots of different approaches, but most IELTS trainers agree that a four-paragraph structure is the best approach, with five paragraphs sometimes being appropriate. [ Read about 4 vs 5 paragraphs ] You should aim to divide your ideas sensibly and then build them in order to support your thesis or explain the issues as necessary.

Today, the steps that I will describe for you are as follows:

Analyse the Question
Brainstorm Ideas
Plan your Overall Structure
Plan your Internal Paragraph Structure
Write a Strong Introduction
Link your Sentences
Write a Good Conclusion

1. Analyse the Question

Every IELTS question is different and so it is really important that you read it carefully in order to understand it fully. If you just read it quickly, you might get the wrong idea. It is natural for our brains to see a word and jump to a conclusion. For example, a question that mentions climate change might really be asking about solutions to fossil fuel emissions rather than the consequences of global warming. If you don’t understand the question, you cannot write a good answer.

Before you begin brainstorming , read the question at least twice. Let’s look at an example:

Some people claim that not enough of the waste from homes is recycled. They say that the only way to make people recycle more is to make it a legal requirement. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

When you first look at this question, your eyes will be drawn to keywords like “waste” and “recycle.” That is good, but we need to understand the full sentence. What sort of waste are we talking about? Waste from homes . What does “legal requirement” mean? It means make it a law .

You will always see a statement of some sort above and then the question below. Once you understand the statement, you should read the question. In this case, the question is “To what extent do you agree…?”

Therefore, you need to choose a position ( agree/disagree ) and then write an essay that explains your position.

Note: Some IELTS candidates believe that you have to give a balanced viewpoint. This is not necessarily true. You can read about it in this article .

2. Brainstorm Ideas

Once you understand the question, you can begin to think of ideas to use in your essay. My biggest piece of advice here is: DON’T CHOOSE TOO MANY IDEAS!!

Seriously, it is not helpful to use lots of different ideas or examples in your essay. Yes, this might help you reach 250 words easily, but your essay will definitely get a low score for Coherence and Cohesion (and possibly Task Achievement) because it will not be well organized and probably will lack sufficient development of ideas.

I encourage my writing students to follow the idea of ONE PARAGRAPH, ONE IDEA. In some essay types, this is easy. For example, in an advantages/disadvantages essay , you can just devote one body paragraph to advantages and the other to disadvantages. Simple!

However, in other types of essay, you might find it harder. With agree/disagree essays, you might have two reasons why you agree. In this case, you just put one reason in each body paragraph.

Let’s brainstorm now.

Personally, I agree that laws should be passed that require people to recycle their household waste. Therefore, I would consider the following ideas:

brainstorm ideas for ielts writing task 2

Those are just some ideas. Sometimes you will struggle to think of even two ideas and sometimes you will easily think of five or six. The important thing, though, is to choose the most important ones. Think about what would make the most convincing argument.

3. Plan your Overall Structure

By “overall structure,” I mean your basic paragraph plan. Every IELTS writing task 2 essay should have an introduction and conclusion , and at least two body paragraphs. This is the standard essay format and I highly recommend that you practice with it. Essays that have lots of paragraphs are usually a mess and will receive low scores for Coherence and Cohesion.

I want to write an advanced essay that will score band 9, so I am going to use an interesting structure that will allow me to show off my essay-writing skills. My first body paragraph will look at opposing viewpoints and then refute them, before the second body paragraph concisely states why we do need laws that make people recycle.

For this essay, my overall structure would look like this:

Introduction	Introduce topic Explain purpose of essay
Body paragraph 1	Give 2 opposing arguments and then refute them
Body paragraph 2	Give strong argument to support my viewpoint
Conclusion	Re-state main idea and summarise arguments.

This is a pretty simple and flexible paragraph structure. I highly recommend that you use it because once you become comfortable with it, you can really adapt it a lot. Even though it is basic and you can use it for scoring band 6, you can also use this structure for band 9 essays.

The reason is that you can vary the content of your body paragraphs greatly. Here, I have tried to give balance to the argument, even though I agree with one side – the need for laws. However, rather than simply state two compelling reasons, I will first dismiss the counter-arguments and then give an argument in favour of my viewpoint.

4. Plan your Internal Paragraph Structure

This is the most difficult part of structuring an essay and it is the reason why most people struggle to get a high score for Coherence and Cohesion.

It is really, really important for IELTS writing that your ideas are sequenced logically. That means they go from one idea to the next in a logical way. Look at these two example passages. One contains a logical flow of ideas and the other does not. Can you tell which is which?

The case in favour of laws mandating recycling is simple and irrefutable. These laws would ensure that a far higher amount of household waste is recycled, thereby reducing the amount of pollution that goes into our environment. People cannot be trusted to do this for themselves, and the evidence exists in the places where environmental laws are strictly enforced, compared to those where they are non-existent, or weakly enforced.
These laws would ensure that a far higher amount of household waste is recycled, thereby reducing the amount of pollution that goes into our environment. People cannot be trusted to do this for themselves, and the evidence exists in the places where environmental laws are strictly enforced, compared to those where they are non-existent, or weakly enforced. The case in favour of laws mandating recycling is simple and irrefutable.

Which one is correct? Answer: #1.

In this answer, I began with a topic sentence . This is a sentence that introduces an idea. I then explained that idea in more detail. Finally, I added another sentence that built upon the previous two. Both the second and third sentences supported the first. When you put them in the wrong order, they make no sense.

Finally, notice that I used certain words to refer back to previous ideas: these laws , do this .

5. Write a Strong Introduction

It’s really important with any kind of writing to give a strong introduction. This grabs your reader’s attention but also tells them what to expect from your writing. If an examiner reads a really terrible introduction, they will think that your body paragraphs are likely to be very bad, too.

As such, it is important that you devote a little time to writing an excellent intro.

What does that involve?

I recommend that people generally write a three-sentence introduction. (However, remember that there is no one perfect way to write an essay and so there are other good possibilities.)

I suggest this:

General statement that addresses the topic.
Slightly more specific statement that relates wider topic to specific question.
A sentence that shows essay intention or overview. (This is often called an outline sentence .)

For the above question, I would write an introduction like this:

Pollution remains a significant problem all around the world and this is causing people to debate possible solutions. One such solution is for governments to impose laws requiring citizens to recycle certain kinds of waste from their homes. This essay will argue that environmental laws are essential to reducing waste and thereby saving the planet.

sample introduction for ielts writing task 2

Let’s look at how those sentences are structured:

A very general statement: pollution is a problem; people discuss solutions.
More specific statement: introduce potential solution with simple detail
Essay statement: state that laws are essential for solving problem

6. Link your Sentences

Next, you are going to need to write the body paragraphs. With your essay structure already written, it should not be too hard to do this. You need to follow a simple but effective internal paragraph structure that develops and supports each idea.

When you do this, it is important that you link your sentences. Now, if you have a good enough structure, your sentences will already be linked. That is because your ideas will flow naturally from one to the next.

As you will know, it is possible to use “ cohesive devices ” (also called transitional or linking words/phrases etc). These include words and phrases like: however, therefore, next, after that, meanwhile, on the other hand . They are very useful and help guide your reader, but you should not overuse them or it will make your writing weak.

Let’s look at my third paragraph as an example.

The case in favour of laws mandating recycling is simple and irrefutable. These laws would ensure that a far higher amount of household waste is recycled, thereby reducing the amount of pollution that goes into our environment. People cannot be trusted to do this for themselves, and the evidence exists in the places where environmental laws are strictly enforced, compared to those where they are non-existent, or weakly enforced. In the United Kingdom, people are required to recycle most of their household waste, and the environment is far cleaner than other countries, such as China, where people can throw any trash away without consequences.

How many cohesive devices did I use?

None. My sentences were already well-organized, so I did not need to use any.

You can read all about not using too many cohesive devices here .

7. Write a Good Conclusion

Finally, you must finish all your IELTS writing task 2 essays with a conclusion . This means a final paragraph that summarizes everything you have said so far and then references your key ideas. This can be either one or two sentences, but don’t write much more than that.

A conclusion will also differ according to the question type. Some might require you to make a suggestion or state an opinion, while others will really just require you to summarize you have said.

It is a pretty good idea to follow a structure like this:

Paraphrase your main idea.
Re-state your main arguments.

For example, here is my conclusion from the above question:

In conclusion, laws are absolutely essential to ensure that people recycle their household waste. Without such laws, very few people would actually go to the trouble of recycling; however, if governments enforce these laws, almost everyone would have to comply.

In this conclusion, the first sentence paraphrases my main idea (laws are necessary) and the second sentence re-states my main arguments (people would not recycle without laws; laws make people recycle).

Note that I have avoided repeating myself. In these two lines, I have simply referred to my previous arguments but I have not copied the things I already said. I have used new language for it.

Sample Band 9 Answer

Next, I will show you my answer for this question. Remember that this is just one possible answer. There are other ways to write a band 9 score. However, I do think that this is the best way because it is easy to learn and apply to your own essays. I recommend that you download the essay as a Microsoft Word (.docx) file because I have annotated it fully. You can see a clear explanation of what purpose each sentence has.

Sample Answer

Pollution remains a significant problem all around the world and this is causing people to debate possible solutions. One such solution is for governments to impose laws requiring citizens to recycle certain kinds of waste from their homes. This essay will argue that environmental laws are essential to reducing waste and thereby saving the planet. The case against laws imposing mandatory recycling revolve around the notion that people can learn to recycle by themselves, and this is true to an extent. With the improvement of education, people typically litter less and recycle more. However, our planet is presently in the grips of environmental catastrophe and it would take several generations for people to make changes to their lives. It is also sometimes argued that poor people cannot afford to make the sacrifice necessary to use less plastic and switch to sustainable products, and it is therefore unfair to punish them. However, mandatory recycling would not require people to immediately give up plastics; instead, they would simply be required to dispose of them in an ethical manner at a government-run recycling facility. The case in favour of laws mandating recycling is simple and irrefutable. These laws would ensure that a far higher amount of household waste is recycled, thereby reducing the amount of pollution that goes into our environment. People cannot be trusted to do this for themselves, and the evidence exists in the places where environmental laws are strictly enforced, compared to those where they are non-existent, or weakly enforced. In the United Kingdom, people are required to recycle most of their household waste, and the environment is far cleaner than other countries, such as China, where people can throw any trash away without consequences. In conclusion, laws are absolutely essential to ensure that people recycle their household waste. Without such laws, very few people would actually go to the trouble of recycling; however, if governments enforce these laws, almost everyone would have to comply.

You can download a copy of that sample essay here . This will allow you to see all of my annotations like this:

Improving your Writing Skills

If you really want to get better at IELTS writing, the best way is to have an expert check your work. People who use my writing correction service find that they can quickly identify their mistakes and improve their overall IELTS score.

E-mail me at david [at] ted-ielts [dot] com to find out more, or check the above link.

About The Author

David S. Wills

David S. Wills is the author of Scientologist! William S. Burroughs and the 'Weird Cult' and the founder/editor of Beatdom literary journal. He lives and works in rural Cambodia and loves to travel. He has worked as an IELTS tutor since 2010, has completed both TEFL and CELTA courses, and has a certificate from Cambridge for Teaching Writing. David has worked in many different countries, and for several years designed a writing course for the University of Worcester. In 2018, he wrote the popular IELTS handbook, Grammar for IELTS Writing and he has since written two other books about IELTS. His other IELTS website is called IELTS Teaching.

How to Write a Letter of Complaint [IELTS General Writing]

June 29, 2020

Summary Completion [IELTS Reading]

May 12, 2018

How to Get Band 7 in IELTS

August 3, 2018

How to Improve your IELTS Writing

December 24, 2017

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Are you having trouble thinking of ideas?

How to quickly think of ideas in ielts writing..

Updated: August 2022

A common problem many IELTS students is that they find it hard to think of ideas for their essays, especially when they are under pressure in the exam.

This is because of stress and creativity. If you have trouble thinking for yourself and have gone through an education system where memorisation is the main way of learning, then you will have real trouble getting ideas and you will need to find an approach to developing your imagination.

Stress is also a factor. You only have 10 minutes to plan your essay so many people go blank, with practice this can be resolved. Reading news stories and listening to podcasts based on the common IELTS topics is a good way to get ideas (at the end of this post there is a list of those topics).

Usually, the most obvious ideas are the best and they don’t have to be ‘high level’. In this post, I will go through some useful techniques that I teach my students.

Four key points to consider

1. Do not over-complicate it. The most obvious ideas are best in IELTS writing but they should be specific ideas. You do not need to be an expert on the topic. As long as you can write a relevant idea and explain and develop it with an example then that is enough. 2. Having specific ideas are important. If your ideas are too general you could lose marks in task response. Analyse the task question well. Make sure you understand what to write about and then pick out the keywords. Then think of ideas directly connected to the issues in the task question. 3. Do not write too many ideas . In IELTS essays you only need one main idea per paragraph, which can be developed by explaining and giving an example. The official IELTS marking criteria for Band 7 coherence and cohesions says: ‘presents a clear central topic within each paragraph’ 4. Do not panic. Many students while practising can think of ideas easily and can discuss them, however, in the IELTS exam their brain stops working. This is due to stress. You will need to manage your stress levels during the exam otherwise your brain will just melt.

Three Methods for getting ideas (one I don’t advise)

1. Listing advantages and disadvantages or problems and solutions: This idea works well, particularly for a problem solution essay or an advantage disadvantage essay. You just list problems on the left and solutions on the right, or advantages on the left and disadvantages on the right.

Remember that you should be selective. You should not write a list of ideas in your body paragraph . One central idea per paragraph is enough.

2 . Asking yourself questions: This technique is very useful for getting ideas quickly, imagine talking to a friend over a coffee and you are discussing the topic, ask lots of questions and keep asking ‘why?’ make notes as ideas come up.

3 . Mind mapping: This is when you map out various words and ideas connected to the central topic, the key topic is in a circle and there are various connected circles and ideas. Some students say this works for them but I found that I end up with too many ideas and it takes too long to plan. I don’t recommend this approach.

Here is the question again for the problem solution essay from the last lesson.

All over the world societies are facing a growing problem with obesity. This problem affects both children and adults. What are the reasons for this rise in obesity? How can it be solved?

I have decided to use method number 2 and list problems and possible solutions below.

Problem: Overconsumption of fast food or ready meals. Solution: government should raise the tax on fast food.

Problem : Too much sugar and trans fats in convenience food. Solution: government regulations are needed to stop this.

Problem: Lack of exercise due to a busy lifestyle. Solution : special incentives, paid leave once a week to join a sports or fitness club.

Problem : Gym membership and sports clubs fees are expensive. Solution: Sports centres need to regulate their prices.

Problem : Unhealthy food is cheaper. Solution : The food industry has to address the problem.

This took me about 2 minutes to list them, now I need to select just one problem and one solution (2 problems and solutions if you feel confident) and write about those.

Important: When writing the body paragraphs, do not list problems and solutions , you need to choose just one or two and give examples and explain them in more detail. This lesson is just to show how to get ideas quickly.

Ask yourself lots of questions to get ideas

Here I have chosen method number 3 and wrote notes based on questions I asked myself.

“. …What is the cause of obesity? lack of exercise… Why? people don’t have time to exercise… Explain? because they are busy… Why? because they have to work. … What’s the solution? do more exercise. …. How? employers could offer incentives, and find time to get to the gym….. What about junk food? … what can be done about overeating? …etc”

Below is a task question for a Problem-Solution essay, can you think of ideas using the methods I already outlined? This is just an exercise on getting ideas, we are not going to write the body paragraphs yet.

These days many people have access to computers and a large number of children play computer games. What are the negative impacts of playing computer games and what can be done to minimise the bad effects?

Click below for my ideas.

Here are some ideas I thought of by listing problems and solutions.

Problem: Children become addicted to gaming Solution: Parents should limit access to computer games to 20 minutes a day

Problem: Children do not study and play games instead. Solution: Parents need to set rules on studying before playing computer games.

Problem: Children stop communicating and are focused only on gaming Solution: Parents should recognise this issue and restrict access to gaming.

Problem: Many computer games are too violent for kids Solution: Gaming companies must address the issue and set up age restrictions

Another way is by asking myself questions and making quick notes. I can then use this when it comes to writing the body paragraphs… (these are just notes I made below, this is not the body paragraph)

Children becoming addicted to gaming.. why? parents not thinking of consequences.. so what can be done? parents need to limit access to 20 minutes a day….. why? … Youngsters studying and just playing games… so what can be done? parents should set rules, and prioritise studying first…. what about violent games? what can be done about them? … gaming companies have to tackle the issue… how? set up age restrictions.. etc.

Some teachers say that you need 2 problems and 2 solutions to get a high band score. You can go with one problem and one solution and still get a Band 7, as long as the essay is well developed.

The marking criteria for task response Band 7 says: ‘ presents, extends and supports main ideas…’

So, as long as your ideas are well explained, on topic, relevant, and extended then you will score well for task response.

The most obvious ideas are the best

if you get a task question like this:

Many manufactured food and drink products contain high levels of sugar, which causes many health problems. Sugary products should be made more expensive to encourage people to consume less sugar. Do you agree or disagree?

The first thing that comes to mind is that too much sugar causes obesity and other health issues such as high blood pressure and diabetes.

I could simply agree with the statement in the task, stating that sugar is very unhealthy and explain my opinion that sugar causes obesity and so on.

This seems very obvious, so you are probably thinking ‘well that’s what everyone else would say!’ so they are not good original ideas. The examiner doesn’t care, as long as your ideas are on-topic and address the task question directly it is fine.

You will have to develop your ideas and explain them with an example. The example doesn’t have to be true but it must be plausible. Click here for a lesson on how to write examples.

Common IELTS essay topics

Here are the most common IELTS topics that come up in writing task 2 and also the speaking sections. I advise searching for news stories and podcasts based on these topics to help you get ideas. Choose one topic a day and read or listen to a story about it while taking notes.

Any questions? leave a comment below.

How can you think of ideas for your IELTS essay?

So, you are sitting in the exam room feeling confident. You have prepared well. You know how to organise all the possible types of essay. You can use distancing, and referencing, and hedging. Your use of transition signals is superb. Everything is good in the world.

But then, the exam starts, you open the question booklet, read the task and……………….Nothing 😯…………… You don’t have a single idea 🙄………. Not one 💀……… Your head is totally empty 🤔 ………………….. There’s just you, the question, and a growing sense of panic.😱

What do you do? How can you brainstorm ideas for your IELTS essay when inspiration fails you? 😰

Well, I think that this is every student’s worst nightmare. And, even though I can’t give you specific ideas to use on your exam day (because I don’t know what question you will get!) , what I can do is show you three techniques that can help you come up with ideas for any IELTS essay.

So, to start, let’s quickly think about what makes a GOOD IDEA. I mean, you have to know what you are looking for before you start searching!

Good ideas for IELTS essays …

directly address the exam question. The more focussed your idea is on the topic of the exam, the better. Therefore, it’s essential that you check each of your ideas against the task to make sure the they are relevant and on point. The last thing you want to do is write an essay that is off-topic.
can be expanded. This is really important! We will only need between 2 – 4 ideas for our essay. But the ideas themselves are not really what get us the points – it’s how we expand them. You will need to be able to write between 2 and 5 sentences for each idea. If you look at your idea and can’t think if a way to describe it in more detail – you can’t use it. One sentence arguments are actually damaging for you TR score, so if an idea can’t be developed, it can’t be used.
are relatively simple. Here’s the thing, you are writing an essay in ENGLISH, not your native language. For most test-takers, this means that the arguments they give will NOT be as sophisticated as the ones they could offer in their own tongue. That’s OK, but you need to remember this and be realistic about what you can write. Complex arguments that require subtlety in meaning often end badly in the IELTS exam because most students simply don’t have the grammar or vocabulary to argue them clearly. I find that a simple idea that is argued using complex sentences is the best combination. IELTS examiners don’t expect you to solve a difficult social problem in 40 minutes in 250 words! All they want to see are clear arguments that are connected to the question and expanded well!
are persuasive. There is a persistent myth about the IELTS exam that says “your ideas don’t matter” – THIS IS NOT TRUE. Your opinion doesn’t matter (you are free to agree, disagree, or even partly agree and disagree – there is no “correct” answer”) , but the quality of your arguments DO . You want the examiner to be nodding as they read your essay. You want the examiner to be thinking “YES! These ideas support the test-taker’s position well” . One of my students told me recently in an essay that living in another country when you don’t speak the language is difficult because you can’t choose the flavour of donuts you want very easily!!!! Is this idea connected to the question? Yes! Is it persuasive? No!!! (Trust me, I have lived abroad for many years, and donuts are the least of my problems). If you want a 6.0 or 6.5, an argument like this might be OK, but if you want a 7.0 or 7.5, you will have to think of ideas that are more convincing than donuts! 🍩 Remember, the Band 8 Descriptors say: presents a well-deveoped response to the question with relevant, extended and supported ideas. Relevant!

So, now we know what good ideas are – how do we find them?! 🔎 Well, I want to show you three techniques that I find useful (Yes! Even I find it hard to come up with ideas sometimes!) : The Bottom-Up Approach, The Top-Down Approach, and The Simplify the Question Approach . Let’s go through each of them together.

Click here to watch the first three lessons in our IELTS Writing Course to see the difference that genuine expertise can make to your preparation.

The Bottom-Up Approach to Brainstorming Ideas for Essays☝

So, I have found that for difficult questions, students might not be able to form a full idea immediately, but they are able to give a simple example of a phenomenon. In the bottom-up approach, we are going to take this example, and work backwards to come up with a relevant argument. For example, I often use this question in class:

Men and women are capable of doing all jobs equally well. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

And when students see this question for the first time, they often immediately say that they disagree. But when I ask why, they can only come up with arguments like construction work or primary-school teachers . Now, these are actually good examples. But, that’s all they are – examples . You can’t start your essay with a sentence like this:

XX The first reason why men and women are suited to different jobs is construction work. XX

However, what we can do is use these examples to work back to the idea. Think about it – examples usually come after explanations, and explanations come after IDEAS!

So, all we need to do, is ask ourselves some simple questions to find out what our particular example is an example of! If we take the example “construction work”, we might ask ourselves these questions:

What does construction work show us? Men are generally stronger than women.

OK, so why does that mean men and women can’t so the same job? They have different physical attributes.

💥 BOOM – WE HAVE AN IDEA 💥

✅✅ The first reason men and women are suited to different jobs is that they have different physical attributes.✅✅

And, even though I totally disagree with this argument, the fact that it doesn’t match my opinion isn’t important! Remember, all the examiner cares about is that you can offer a relevant idea and defend it! Is this idea relevant? Yes! Can I expand it? Yes (I already have my example!) Is it relatively simple to explain? Yes! Then, it’s a good idea!

I love the the the bottom-up method. With practice it can take literally 10 or 15 seconds to move from an example back to a great idea. And, as I just said, you know that the ideas you come up with using it are expandable because you already have your example to support your argument!

So, the if the Bottom-Up approach is starting with an example and moving backwards, can you guess what the Top-Down approach is?

The Top-Down Approach to Brainstorming ideas for your IELTS Essay 👇

Yes, sometimes when we see an exam question, we come up with a vague idea that holds the seed of a good argument, but needs to be explored more fully to reveal it. Or, in other words, we need to dig down deeper to find the idea. Again, let’s look at an exam task:

What are the advantages and disadvantages of school uniforms?

OK, so let’s imagine that this time when you look at the question, your brain doesn’t immediately give you an example, but instead it gives you the words: the same. Now, these BIG, GENERAL WORDS contain the seed of a good idea, but right now the concept the same is TOO BIG . You can’t start your essay with a sentence like this:

XX One good thing about school uniforms is that everybody is the same. XX

What exactly does it mean that everybody is the same ? They have the same ideas? The same education? The same upbringing? It’s not clear from the two words because they are too general. So, in the top-down approach, we narrow down vague ideas more to make them more specific.

How do we do that? Well, again, we ask ourselves some quick, simple questions. For the top-down approach, you will find the question words How and Why very useful:

What is good about school uniforms? Everybody is the same.

Why is it an advantage that everybody is the same? It creates equality in the classroom.

How? People are judged on their performance, not their appearance.

💥 BOOM – WE HAVE A TOPIC SENTENCE! 💥

✅✅ One argument in favour of uniforms is that they create equality in classrooms by allowing students to be judged on their performance, not their appearance. ✅✅

The great thing about the the top-down approach is that all you need to do to move from a vague idea to a more specific one is ask yourself one question. But remember, this time you will need to check that you can extend your idea well. If you have nothing more to say about the idea once you’ve narrowed it down, throw it away and look for a new one!

Now, I love both the bottom-up and top-down approaches, but they do rely on you having at least the beginning of a idea – either one that is too specific, or one that this too vague. But, what happens if you have absolutely NO idea? Well, in that case, we have to turn to our third and final technique – The Simplify the Question Approach.

The Simplify The IELTS Question Approach

Very often, IELTS questions are about social issues or current trends, which can be complex for students to understand. Plus, tasks can be worded in an academic way, which just adds to the confusion. In the Simplify the Question Approach, we are going to take the question and reword it into everyday language to help trigger ideas.

🛑 🛑 WARNING: IT IS ESSENTIAL IN THIS APPROACH THAT YOU DO NOT CHANGE THE TOPIC OF THE QUESTION 🛑🛑

Seriously, if you use this approach, you must not change the topic of the question. Remember, we have to always directly address the question given to us. If you change the topic, you can kiss goodbye to a good TR score. But, that said, often it is possible to quickly rephrase a question in a way that makes it easier to comprehend. In particular, a complicated question can often be turned into a much simpler Yes/No question. For example, imagine you were given this task in the exam:

In many places, new homes are needed but the only space available for building them is in the countryside. Some people believe that it is more important to protect the countryside and not build new homes there. What is your opinion about this?

To make this long task more manageable in your mind, you might simply ask yourself:

Should we build new homes in the countryside? Yes

This yes/no question is a much easier for most students to comprehend. Then, once you have decided yes or no, all you have to do is follow this first question with WHY?!

Should we build new homes in the countryside? Yes Why? We have to provide affordable housing, and that requires new-build properties on the outskirts of cities.

Why is actually my favourite question for finding arguments. The human brain is wired to be curious, and turning a complex question into a why question can magically create ideas where there weren’t any before! (In fact, I have a theory that this is reason that student like problem/solution questions – they usually always contain the question why!)

Actually, you can use why to find ideas for all sorts of questions. Take this advantages and disadvantages question. At first it looks pretty tricky:

Today, more and more tourists are visiting places where conditions are difficult, such as the Sahara desert or the Antarctic. What are the benefits and disadvantages for tourists who visit such places?

But, if we ask ourselves a why question:

Why do people travel to extreme places like the Sahara or the Antarctic? 💥 BOOM – SUDDENLY MY BRAIN EXPLODES WITH IDEAS 💥 They are seeking adventure. It’s human nature to explore. They want to test their physical limits.

And, these are clearly the advantages. How do we discover the disadvantages, we simply ask Why not?

Why DON’T people travel to extreme places like the Sahara or the Antarctic? 💥 BOOM💥 It’s expensive. It requires physical endurance. It can be life-threatening.

Again, I am not changing the topic of the question, just the way that the question is being asked – sometimes making a simple yes/no question , or asking why can be enough to trigger previously hidden ideas!

Now, if you have finished this blog post and are still worried that you won’t have any ideas on exam day, the truth is that you simply have to become more accustomed to the topics that IELTS essays focus on.

The good news is that there are limited number of topics that the question writers can use. Think about it. They have to choose a topic that is non-emotional (no politics, religion, ethics or sex) . They have to choose a topic that will be recognised by EVERY CULTURE in the world (so no Brexit!) . And, they have to choose a topic that will be equally as appealing to different age groups (so no complex work questions!) It’s not an easy task! That’s why the same topics come around again and again and again.

Common IELTS Writing Topics

The environment, sport, languages, social trends, crime, gender, housing, advertising, travel, education work, communication, young v old generation, modern lifestyles, the arts and culture, money, urban life, the environment, consumerism, etc, etc, etc

So, if you are struggling for ideas, then start reading about these topics. Or buy a good IELTS vocabulary book that is based on them. Or read the 50+ model essays in my TASK 2 course that cover the most common ones.

But, however you do it, remember that IELTS tests your level of English and your Academic skills. Having ideas or arguments for these topics is one of those skills, so you should invest as much time into this as you do in for the other parts of the exam. As I said at the beginning, there’s no point having excellent language skills if you don’t have anything to write about!

Three Three Ways to Brainstorm Ideas for your IELTS essay

Think of an example first and then work back up to the general idea by asking what this example shows (the bottom-up approach)
Think of the most general answer you can and then ask yourself questions to make your idea more specific (the top-down approach)
Try to rephrase the IELTS question in a more simple way so your brain can process it more easily (The simplify the question approach)

OK, I hope that this lesson helped. The truth is that finding ideas for your IELTS essay is a skill that definitely improves with practice. If you complete my Task 2 Video Course , you will write more than 50 essays on the most common exam topics. By the time you have come up with ideas for all of those, you should be prepared for any question on exam day! 🚀

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How to Think of Ideas for Writing Task 2

This post will show you my strategies for thinking of better ideas for Writing Task 2 questions.

One of the biggest fears students have is opening up the writing paper, looking at the question and having no idea what to write. Students worry a lot about idea generation in IELTS Writing Task 2, 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 Task 2 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 Vietnamese students I 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 slightly 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 of 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 the university level; this is an IELTS exam, not a university essay. Give the IELTS examiners what they want and nothing else.

Below I will outline several solutions that have worked well for my students in the past. They are:

Common Topic Familiarisation
Brainstorming (least effective)
Mind Mapping
5 Questions Method
Personal Opinion Method (most effective)

No One Size Fits All

I have learned from teaching my students these methods 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 practising, 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 now; you will improve with practice. Pick a method below, set a time limit, and practice with old past exam papers.

This 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, trying to guess the meaning from the context and then looking up the meaning to confirm on your smartphone or dictionary. This will really help you, not only in writing part 2 but also in all the other parts of the IELTS exam.

Brainstorming

Brainstorming is basically thinking of as many ideas as possible relevant to your topic. It was developed by an advertising agency to develop 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 irrelevant. It then takes extra time, which you don’t have in the exam, to sort out the relevant from the irrelevant ideas.

Mind mapping is a way to visually organise your thoughts onto paper.

Some people love this method because it represents how their brains work and allows them to organise their thoughts. It is much more organised than simply brainstorming and can be done very quickly once you have practised 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.

This method uses who/what/why/where/how question words to generate ideas for Writing Task. This works best for people who think very logically and know a little about the topic already.

Let’s look at an example:

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, an internship in a 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.

Personal Opinion Method (or coffee shop method)

I think this is the most effective method for generating ideas for writing tasks because it is 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 their 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, 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 think about them for a minute.

This gives you a very clear idea about your opinion on the question and will help you stay relevant and write a coherent essay. Like any method, it takes practice, so try it out with a few past questions.

I hope this has been of help to you, and please let me know if you have any questions or feedback.

If you have any other ideas, I’d love to hear from you.

Further Help

Click here to download your FREE study plan to guide you through your IELTS preparation.

Below you will find a video lesson that will show you how to think of ideas for Writing Task 2:

You can find more video lessons like this on my YouTube Channel and Facebook page .

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Making a good plan actually saves you time when you write your essay. If you don’t plan you are more likely to get lost halfway through your essay and the result is normally a very confused piece of writing that is difficult to read. This guide will show you how to write a clear essay every time.

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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 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.

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Supporting paragraphs are the main body paragraphs and are the meat in the sandwich. This is where you provide the detail the examiner is looking for in the form of explanations and examples.

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Content Tags

"I need to write a 250-word essay. I only have 40 minutes. I can’t search ideas on the internet or ask anyone for help. Are you CRAZY!?” Does this sound like you when preparing for the IELTS writing test? You’re not alone. True, some things are not too hard to learn in writing. There are definitive guides for essay and paragraph structure. Vocabulary can be learned with a little bit of hard work. Grammar just takes practice and paying attention to rules. But then there's content. Content is the information or ideas you include in your writing. So, how can you prepare for ideas in the essay if you don’t know the test question? What if the essay question is about nuclear physics or the history of Rome? How can test-takers deal with this?

According to the IELTS public scoring guide , to score higher than a 6 in task response, you 'll need a well-developed answer to the question, with well-supported ideas. What does this mean? As you probably know, your writing score will be based on four criteria – Task Response, Coherence and Cohesion, Lexical Resource, and Grammatical Range and Accuracy. Each one of these requirements is worth 25% of your writing score.

The first criteria, Task Response, is what we're focusing on here. This means, to answer the question well. In other words, explain all parts of the essay question fully, thoroughly, and while staying on topic. Ok, you get my point. So, where do these ideas come from? How do you know what to write? Have a look below for some tips and tricks to help your 5 or 6, turn into a 7, 8, or 9 !

Relax! Essay topics are things we all know about

IELTS is one of the largest and most well-developed language tests in the world. They have a huge staff who research the best questions to ask on the tests. The questions are chosen because they're topics that 99.9% of people know about. IELTS doesn’t want to ask you a question you can’t answer. They want to ask you something that will allow you to show all the English you know. For example, they would ask you to write about how to eat healthily, but they wouldn’t ask you to write about why eating healthy is essential for people with cancer. They would ask about the benefits of public transportation, but they wouldn’t ask you about why public transportation in Europe is better than Canada.

Brainstorming techniques

If you've taken a writing class , you probably know the word brainstorm. A brainstorm, also known as a mind map, is a technique used to get ideas for a piece of writing. The key to success in brainstorming is to open your mind and write down everything you can think of in a short period. For example, if the essay question is: How can people stay warm in winter? On a blank piece of paper, you might write ideas like fireplaces; moving to Florida; wool sweaters; and electric heaters. The critical thing to remember about brainstorming is that any idea is OK. Just write everything you can think of.

Then, after you have all your ideas on paper, do some organizing. Cross out the crazy ideas, keep the good ideas, and then group them into paragraphs. Try it out!

IELTS is a language test, not a knowledge test

It’s not what you write; it’s how you write it. I've seen some crazy ideas in IELTS essays, and they still received very high marks. The point is, it isn’t your idea alone - it’s how you present the idea. Let’s look a little closer at this. Imagine the essay question is What are the best ways to lose weight? Then you decide to write three main solutions - eat only bananas; go skydiving every day, and massage your stomach. These sound like really strange ways to lose weight, but as long as you support them with clear and organized examples, you will still meet the requirements for a high score. Let’s look at an example paragraph for the above question.

Eating only bananas every day is a sure way to help overweight people slim down. Firstly, bananas don’t have any salt. This can help reduce inflammation in the stomach. In turn, this helps you digest faster and will lead to more fat loss throughout your body. Second, bananas have a magical power called potassium. This magic element cleans out the tiny fat cells in your muscle tissue by chemically latching on to them. The super-power potassium fat balls travel deeper and deeper into your tissues and…

Looks crazy, doesn’t it? The ideas are not science. However, the response language is very clear and is supported with full examples and full explanations. So, even though it is a crazy idea, it can still receive high marks because it met the criteria. So, in the end, remember this when you practice Task 2 Writing. The IELTS essay is not a mysterious monster. Start by taking some time to relax and read the question carefully. Do some brainstorming before you start to write. Organize your ideas well into groups. Then explain those ideas using good examples. With some diligent practice writing, and by reviewing some example essays, success will be just around the corner!

By Tony Rusinak

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IELTS Skills

Brainstorming, what is brainstorming, why brainstorm, practice brainstorming general ielts writing task 1, practice brainstorming ielts writing task 2, practice brainstorming ielts speaking part 2, no brainstorming, generating words, pros and cons table, asking questions, friendly discussion.

Brainstorming is a technique to generate ideas , to think about possible solutions to a problem or to find ideas to write about.

You need brainstorming in IELTS to generate ideas for General IELTS writing Task 1 and IELTS Writing Task 2 . You also need to generate some ideas when you do the long turn, IELTS Speaking Part 2 .

General IELTS Writing Task 1

You need to write an email to someone , the outline has been given to you but you will still need to fill the conten t, which means you will need to generate some ideas.

For example:

You travelled by a long distance bus recently and your suitcase was damaged.

Write a letter to the bus company. In your letter:

Inform the bus company of when and to where you travelled.
Describe your suitcase and what happened to it.
Explain why the company should pay for a new suitcase.

Write at least 150 words.

You do NOT need to write any address.

In this email you will need to generate some ideas about:

When and where you travelled.
What your suitcase looks like
How did your suitcase get damaged?
Reasons why the company should pay you a new suitcase.

IELTS Writing Task 2

Here you need to write an Academic essay on a provided topic , which means you will have to defend your Thesis Statement . For this, you will have to generate some claims to support your Thesis Statement , as well as some supporting evidence and or examples for your claims .

The mass media, including television, radio, and newspapers, have great influence in shaping people’s ideas. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Give reasons and relevant examples to support your answer.

You should write at least 250 words.

Here you will have to pick a side, this side will be your Thesis Statement .

I think that media have great influence in shaping people’s ideas
I think that the media don’t have great influence in shaping people’s ideas.

So here you will need to generate ideas, which will be your claims to support 1 of these thesis statements . You only need to generate ideas for one of them, still, if you have issues generating ideas for one sid e, and only can think about ideas for the other side then change sides . In the end, it is more important to write 250 words or more about the topic, rather than really defending your personal viewpoint , but not being able to write more than 200 words.

IELTS Speaking Part 2

Here you need to talk for 2 minutes about a given topic and you have 1 minute to prepare yourself .

Describe one of your childhood memories.

You should say:

when it happened
how it affected you in your life

and explain why you still remember it.

You won’t have to generate so many ideas , as you need to talk about something you have experienced, y ou just have to remember it . If you don’t remember anything, then you will have to make up a story and there you will have to brainstorm ideas for:

Which memory you want to talk about
When it happened?
How it affected you?
Why you still remember this memory ?

The most important part is not to waste too much time on generating ideas , but generating some good language you are going to use , in turn improving your lexical range.

How to brainstorm

There are different ways of brainstorming and in the end, it doesn’t really matter how you do it but :

You need to be able to generate ideas fast: 1 to 2 minutes of time
You need to generate multiple ideas : at least 2 supporting claims for your thesis statement ; multiple ideas to help you fill in your email ; possible ideas or language use for your speaking .
You need to generate good ideas : You need to be able to write 2 full paragraph of at least 100 words for your essay; have enough information to fill 3 paragraphs in your email ; some great ideas and language to help you speak for 2 minutes .

Since you are alone you won’t be able to ask other people from your group to help you generate some ideas where you can build upon. You will have to do it all yourself . So, here are some of the techniques you can use:

This is the best technique for this is not having to brainstorm that much , but already having some ideas what to write about . This is the easiest and can be done before you start your IELTS test . Now how can I do this? Very simple, have a look at all the examples online of people answering General Writing Task 1, Writing task 2, Speaking Part 2 . Look at the different Tasks and see how people answered those questions . When reading decide if they are some valid ideas or not , then maybe think about some other ideas . You can also write these ideas down in a notebook and review them from time to time . That way you will have plenty of ideas to use once the exam starts .

You won’t have to do much brainstorming as you already know what you will write about and save a lot of time during the actual test.

You can take as much time to look at all the ideas before the exam.

You might have a question which you didn’t look at before the exam and you still have to brainstorm.

You might not fully and carefully read the question and think of a similar, but different question you had seen before . This means you will use ideas which are not suitable for the task and you Task Achievement will drop.

You might not have a lot of time before the actual test and can’t read many of the questions and answers.

This takes some time , and y ou do not always have the time to use this . You write down all the words you can think of when brainstorming . These words will help you later when generating more ideas or selecting the good ideas. You don’t have to do it in any order , just write what comes to you . You don’t need to write full sentences , but you can write short phrases . Remember this is idea generation , the examiner will not see your ideas and will not correct it or judge it , so don’t worry about grammar, vocab and spelling.

Appeals to people who are a bit more disorganized.

You generate a lot of ideas as it is not structured and you can let all your ideas flow.

You might generate too many ideas which you do not need

You might spend too much time on generating ideas

You draw a small table with 2 columns, one with the advantedge or pros, and the other with the disadvantages or cons. In each column you write down some ideas that come to mind which you can later select.

Appeals to people who are methodical and like structure.

it’s a good way to generate ideas , as thinking about opposites might help you generate more ideas.

It will really show you quickly where you have more ideas, which means you might need to change your Thesis Statement according to your ideas and not start with a Thesis Statement from the beginning .

You do not always need the opposite side , you might just need to write about the advantages alone . This means you are generating ideas, which you won’t use in the end

You might waste valuable time generating ideas you won’t need .

Some people generate too many ideas and can’t decide . In the end you only need 2 great ideas to support your Thesis Statement .

This works well for visual people . You put the keywords/central idea(s) in the centre and branch out and write down some of your ideas on the branches .

It appeals to visual people .

It provides a nice structure to work with.

Once you practice it a few times it’s an easy and fast way to generate ideas

Not everyone is visual and likes to draw and use boxes to generate ideas

Some people spend too much time making the most amazing mind maps with multiple colors, small drawings, special designs and not have enough time left to actually write .

This is a good method for people who are logical and enjoy structure . You just start asking yourself questions . Who?What?Why?Where?When?How?How long? How much?….

Appeals to logically structured minds.

It generates multiple ideas.

You might lose time finding answers to some of the questions which won’t be useful in the end.

You might generate too many ideas which you do not need.

You might spend too much time on generating ideas.

This is a good method to get rid of some of the pressure during the exam . Imagine you are having an afternoon coffee/tea with one of your friends , or if you want it, even more, relaxed a pint at your local pub after a hard day’s work. You are sitting there and one of your friends ask you this question from the exam . How would you answer it and talk to your friend about it? This will make you feel more relaxed and generate some ideas you are comfortable with . You only need to make these ideas more academic once you start planning and writing .

It makes you feel more relaxed and will reduce some of the stress during the exam.

It will generate ideas you can really use for writing and speaking.

It will generate ideas where you really stand behind .

You might have difficulty transforming these ideas into more academic ideas for writing.

You might not have academic supporting evidence and rather some funny/personal anecdotes .

Now you should have an excellent idea of how to do your brainstorming. As I said before, just see what works best for you. Try some of the techniques out and see and maybe combine some of them together. Just remember, you do not need to generate too many ideas , they need to be useful and you should not waste too much time on it.

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IELTS Writing Task 2

Understanding Task 2 Writing

IELTS Task 2 Question Types: Opinion Essays (Agree or Disagree)

Ielts task 2 question types: discussion essay (discuss both sides/views), ielts task 2 question types: two questions (double questions), ielts task 2 question types: causes and solutions, ielts task 2 question types: problems and solutions, ielts task 2 question types: advantages and disadvantages, ielts task 2 question types: positive negative development, ielts band 5.5 essays (with corrections and comments – task 2), ielts band 6.5 essays (with corrections and comments – task 2), ielts band 6 essays (with corrections and comments – task 2), ielts band 7 essays (with corrections and comments – task 2), ielts writing task 2: how to understand task 2 questions.

Structuring your essay

IELTS Writing Task 2: Three things you should write on your Question Paper

Ielts writing task 2: how to structure a ‘discuss both sides’ essay, ielts writing task 2: how to structure an ‘agree or disagree’ essay, ielts writing task 2: how to structure a ‘problem and solution’ essay, ielts writing task 2: how to structure a ‘two question’ essay.

Writing your introduction

IELTS Task 2 Writing: How to Write a Clear and Simple Introduction

Ielts writing task 2: how to write a band 7+ introduction.

Ideas and Body Paragraphs

How to Brainstorm Ideas (10 Amazing Ways)

Ielts writing task 2: how to support your main ideas, ielts writing task 2: why you need to support your main ideas, ielts writing task 2: topic sentences – the fastest way to improve your score, ielts writing task 2: how to come up with good ideas (and plan smarter).

Writing your conclusion

IELTS Writing Task 2: How to Write an IELTS Conclusion

Ielts writing task 2: how to write a clear and simple conclusion.

Sample Answers

IELTS Essay: Having Children at an Older Age

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Advanced IELTS

How to write an IELTS Essay

Learn how to write a high band score IELTS essay step by step. You will find 15 key steps for a high score IELTS essay. These steps are for both GT and Academic Writing Task 2. After the steps listed below, you will find useful links that will help you learn more and develop the right skills necessary to be successful in IELTS.

Step by Step: How to tackle your IELTS essay

None of these steps below can be missed if you are aiming for a good score in your IELTS Writing Task 2 essay. Be strategic and focused in how you approach your IELTS essay. Failure to tackle the points below will result in a lower score. They are particularly important for candidates aiming for band 7 and above. For those candidates, you must fulfill the requirements of the higher band scores by following and mastering the steps below.

Step 1: Make sure you identify the type of essay you have been given. This essay is what I call a “Direct Questions” essay. There are two specific questions that you must answer. The first question is about cause. You must state the cause of this trend. The second question requires you to evaluate. This means you must present your opinion as to whether you think this is a good thing or a bad thing. Click here to learn about the Types of IELTS Essays .

Step 2: Before you plan your essay, think about the structure . You have two questions and they are of equal weight. This means you will have two body paragraphs. Both body paragraphs will have equal length. Click here to learn about how many paragraphs in your essay .

Step 3 : Identify the issues in the essay question. The essay question above is very simple. It is about computer games. However, some IELTS essay questions are more complex so you must take time to identify the issue or issues.

Step 4: Brainstorm main ideas . When you brainstorm main ideas. it does not mean you will use all your ideas in your essay. First, brainstorm ideas and after that select the best ideas. To prepare ideas, see this list of common essay topics .

Step 5: Develop supporting points . This is the step that most people miss. Most people plan their main ideas and then start writing. Your main ideas are certainly important, but the supporting points are equally as important. And this is the area where most people easily go off topic. So, using your planning time to prepare your supporting points. Don’t start writing until you are clear about the whole content of your body paragraphs.

Step 6 : Think about linking for body paragraphs and supporting points . Linking is another area that is often forgotten during the test. Linking and paragraphing is crucial. They are also both very very easy for you to score high points in. So, never overlook these two points. Plan your paragraphs and make sure you are using a good range of appropriate linking words. Here is a list of keywords .

Step 7 : Don’t waste time on your introduction . It is a functional paragraph which usually contains just two sentences. The bulk of the marks are in the body paragraphs.

Step 8: Read the essay question again before you start each body paragraph. This will help you make sure you are using the right language to present your ideas. People think having good ideas is enough. It is NOT enough. You must think about how you will present them. So, read the essay question again and get your bearings.

Step 9: Use a range of grammar features . This is not just about tense. There are a whole range of features that you can use to show your grammatical prowess.

noun phrases
gerund noun phrases
noun clauses
language of probability
relative clauses
conditional statements
Referencing
quantifiers and intensifiers
comparatives & superlatives
passive voice

To learn more about grammar in Writing Task 2 and to avoid errors, consider my Grammar E-book whcih will help you boost your grammar score and improve your English. Click here to see a Preview of my Grammar E-book . My Grammar E-book is available in my online store: Liz’s Online Store

Step 10: Avoid errors in grammar : articles, pronouns, uncountable nouns, word order, tenses, complex sentences. The more errors you have, the lower your score. Knowing the strength of your grammar will help you avoid errors. Aim for accuracy – do not aim to impress.

Step 11: Vocabulary only counts for 25% of your marks. Too many candidates focus too heavily on this area. Use vocabulary appropriate for the topic. Don’t over use idiomatic language. Idioms are mostly informal, not formal, so go with phrasal verbs instead which are also idiomatic. Don’t use less common vocabulary if you might use it incorrectly. Errors will lower your score. Aim for accuracy. Spelling counts. There are some useful vocabulary lists on this page: IELTS Vocabulary .

Step 12: Paraphrasing is a language skill that you need to demonstrate. This doesn’t mean changing all words all the time. It means being selective about which words you change and which words you will leave and repeat. It is fine to repeat some words. Over paraphrasing is one reason why many people get a low score in vocabulary.

Step 13 : Don’t aim for a long essay or a short essay . If it is too short, it means you haven’t developed your main ideas enough. If it is too long, it gives you room for more errors which will lower your score. Aim for between 270-290 words on the whole. Click here for a video lesson about essay length.

Step 14: Edit your essay. Leave 2 mins to edit your essay. Pay attention to not repeating linking words, checking spelling and spotting vocabulary errors. You might have other areas specific to your language skills that you want to check. Know your weaknesses.

Step 15 : Look at the clock. Timing is everything . You must be very strict with timing so that you have enough time to finish your essay. You can start with task 2 if you want, but if you do, make sure you leave 20 mins for task 1. Use no less than 5 mins preparing your essay. Use no less than 2 mins to check your essay at the end. This leaves around 33 mins for you to write your whole essay. Practise this at home under exam conditions until you are able to do this.

Step 16 : If you find my free lessons are not enough for you or if you want more in-depth training for essay writing, please get my Advanced Writing Task 2 lessons which are available in my online store. Click here: Liz’s Online Store

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How to brainstorm & organise your ideas for IELTS Writing Task 2

feel free to call us +61.4.50973975 [email protected]

Once you have identified the topic and question parts for your writing task, the next step is to brainstorm ideas that should become part of your essay. In order to get a good band score it is not enough to just create a list of ideas - you need to extend and explain each of those ideas in detail. Lets look at our example from before:

This tutorial will teach you how to brainstorm and extend your ideas for IELTS Writing Task 2 question.

The obesity rate among teenagers has increased dramatically in many developed countries. Discuss some possible reasons for this increase and suggest solutions. Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own experience or knowledge.

The last statement says that you need to explain your ideas using reasons and examples from your own experience and knowledge. From our last 2 steps we know the following:

Topic: Obesity rate increase among teenagers in developed countries
Question Parts: 2 parts.. possible reasons and suggested solutions

In order to make sure you fully answer the question turn each of the question parts into a question that will help you create a list of ideas against it. For example

Question 1: Why has teenage obesity increased in developed countries ?

Question 2: What can be done about it ?

Next .. brainstorm answers to these questions:

Why has teenage obesity increased ?

Increase in single parent families
Availability of cheap fast food
Lack of exercise among kids
Video games and television replacing outdoor games

What can be done about it ?

Once you have list of ideas the next step is to extend and support each idea with examples. You do this by converting each of your brainstormed ideas into mini questions starting with why, what & how. For example:

Why has there been an increase in single parent families?

high divorce rates
teenage pregnancies

What is the effect of this?

more pressure on individual parents
No time for home cooked meals

A common mistake amongst IELTS candidates is to have lots of ideas in their essay that are not explained properly.

By brainstorming and organizing your ideas you can ensure that each of your ideas is fully explained and well supported with examples.

Writing Task 2

This article goes through the brainstorming process, with an example, and does very well showing the importance of focus questions (5 min)
A brief overview of the 5 paragraph essay and how to brainstorm it with writing task 2 as a consideration (4 min)
Goes over the brainstorming process for task 2, with an example of them put in paragraphs for the actual essay (4 min)
Discusses a method for putting your brainstormed ideas into paragraphs for your essay (4 min)
What a brainstorm looks like? (1 min)

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How to Brainstorm the Right Content for IELTS Writing Task 1?

IELTS writing task 1 for the academic module is challenging. It involves brainstorming for at least 5 minutes in order to find the right content, the key features, from the question. In IELTS writing task 1, you may get a bar chart, line graph, table, map or process chart. There can also be complex questions including the combination of either of these two. Thinking for a while on the question is essential to write effectively for a good band score.

Let us see how to brainstorm for the right content for the IELTS writing task 1 question.

Read the Question Properly

Whether the IELTS writing task 1 question is in the form of bar graph or map, you should read it carefully. By reading, you actually select the important information, an overview, which you can use for writing introduction. Without gaining familiarity with the question, it is not advisable to start writing since it may lead to a lot of errors. So, it is important to carefully read the IELTS writing task 1 question to understand it well and be familiar with it. What to read?

Read question statement (for paraphrasing, to be used in writing the introduction) in all the questions For the following question:

Bar Chart/Line Graph : Read x-axis, y-axis and labels (given at the right/top)

Table : Read row heading/column heading/figures

Map : Read labels/check sites

Process : Read heading/sub-heading

Analyse the Question

Apart from reading the overview of IELTS writing task 1 question, analysing it thoroughly for drawing out its important highlights of the question is another important key task to do before you start writing. You should do this analysis as quickly as possible because if you go slow, you may run out of time. Making use of pencil to write down the important features that you have noticed in the diagram is also a good strategy. In this way, you will not forget to include any key feature while writing. What to Analyse? Bar Chart/Line Graph :

X-axis/Y-axis difference of points (e.g. 1990, 1995, 2000 with difference of 5 years)
Check heading or title of the graph
Check labels given at the top/bottom/right of the diagram

Table : Read the headings of rows and columns

Map : Check labels/directions/sites mentioned

Process chart : Check out picture of every step in the process chart to get overall understanding

Go into Details

For good analysis of IELTS writing task 1 diagram, you may figure out important features in two ways; going into details and making comparisons. By going into details means checking out each aspect of the diagram and if you do it in order, it would be easier. Secondly, after you know the full details, you can compare and contrast for finding something significant in the diagram.

Bar Chart/Line Graph :

Check for increasing/decreasing/stable/fluctuation trend of every line graph
Compare and find out differences of one graph with the other graph of every label in terms of quantitative analysis (e.g. one is twice/thrice/two-fold than the other, one is 20% more or 50% less than the other)
Check out similarities of one graph line with the other graph line of every label (e.g. both are showing increasing trend)
Find out if there are joining points where two or more than two graphs join

Table : Analyse every figure row-wise and column-wise to look for maximum value/minimum value/increasing/decreasing/stable/fluctuation trend

Map : According to the label, try to make out inferences of every site in the map and find out its location using compass.

Process Chart :

Understand each and every step of the diagram
Do not forget to check out the textual information along with every diagram

Check for Main Conclusion

At the end of IELTS writing task 1 analysis, try to look into the diagram again for finding the general overview of the question, which is nothing but conclusion and you may notice this at the time of you are doing analysis as mentioned above. Some suggest to notice and main conclusion at the start while others find it appropriate to search it out at the end, after gaining complete familiarity of the question.

Structure your Body Paragraphs

After brainstorming itself, when you are finished with everything and want to start writing, you can structure your body paragraphs. For writing body paragraphs, apart from introduction and conclusion, people adopt different approaches for IELTS writing task 1. You can divide the diagram into two parts and then write two respective body paragraphs, for the key features. Otherwise, you may list out main trends in one paragraph and points of comparison or contrast in the other paragraph.

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IELTS Essay Topic: With an increasing population communicating via the Internet and text messaging, face-to-face communication will become a thing of the past. To what extent do you agree?

Updated on
Aug 9, 2024

IELTS-Daily-Essay-Topic-With-an-increasing-population-communicating-via-the-Internet-and-text-messaging-face-to-face-communication-will-become-a-thing-of-the-past.-To-what-extent-do-you-agree.

Brainstorming ideas:

Reasons for disagreement that why face-to-face communication will never be replaced:

It offers the richness of non-verbal communication which gets lost in digital communication leading to miscommunication.
It fosters deeper connection and trust among people.
Certain social and cultural contexts still highly value in-person interactions to strengthen social bonds and cultural identity.

Q. With an increasing population communicating via the Internet and text messaging, face-to-face communication will become a thing of the past. To what extent do you agree?

Ans. While it is true that because of the advent of the internet, there has been a rise in text messaging it has transformed how people communicate. However, I disagree with this assertion that face-to-face communication will become a thing of the past.

One of the major reasons face-to-face communication will remain vital is the richness of non-verbal cues. In-person interaction allows individuals to observe body language, facial expressions, and tone of voice, all of which are crucial for conveying emotions and intentions. These elements are often lost or misinterpreted in digital communications. For example, a simple text message can be interpreted in several ways—such as indifferent, cold, warm, or empathetic—without the presence of facial expressions, which can lead to misunderstandings. Thus, face-to-face communication will continue to be indispensable for clear and meaningful connections.

Furthermore, face-to-face communication fosters deeper connection and trust among people which is essential to build personal and professional relationships. For instance, in business settings, negotiations or important conversations generally take place in person to ensure clear communication and build rapport. This in-person interaction enhances mutual understanding and collaboration, which are much harder to achieve through virtual means alone.

In addition to this, certain social and cultural contexts still highly value in-person interactions. For example, many cultures emphasise family gatherings, community events, and traditional ceremonies, where face-to-face communication is integral to the experience. These gatherings not only facilitate the exchange of information but also strengthen social bonds and cultural identity.

To conclude, while the convenience of digital communication cannot be denied, face-to-face communication will never become obsolete. The unique advantages of in-person interactions, such as the ability to convey non-verbal cues and build deeper connections, ensure that they will remain a vital part of human communication.

Paraphrased Statement: While it is true that because of the advent of the internet, there has been a rise in text messaging it has transformed how people communicate.

Thesis Statement: However, I disagree with this assertion that face-to-face communication will become a thing of the past.

Body Paragraph 1-Topic Sentences: One of the major reasons face-to-face communication will continue to be important is the richness of non-verbal cues.

Body Paragraph 1- Supporting Reasons and Explanations: In-person interaction allows individuals to observe body language, facial expressions, and tone of voice which is crucial for conveying emotions and intentions. These elements are often lost or misinterpreted during digital communications. For example, a simple text message can interpreted in several ways such as indifferent, cold, warm or empathetic ways without the presence of facial expressions which can lead to misunderstandings.

Body Paragraph 2- Topic sentence: One of the major reasons face-to-face communication will remain vital is the richness of non-verbal cues. In-person interaction allows individuals to observe body language, facial expressions, and tone of voice, all of which are crucial for conveying emotions and intentions.

Body paragraph 2- Supporting Reasons and Explanations: These elements are often lost or misinterpreted in digital communications. For example, a simple text message can be interpreted in several ways—such as indifferent, cold, warm, or empathetic—without the presence of facial expressions, which can lead to misunderstandings. Thus, face-to-face communication will continue to be indispensable for clear and meaningful connections.

Body Paragraph 3- Topic sentence: In addition to this, certain social and cultural contexts still highly value in-person interactions.

Body paragraph 3- Supporting Reasons and Explanations: For example, many cultures emphasise family gatherings, community events, and traditional ceremonies, where face-to-face communication is integral to the experience. This in-person interaction enhances mutual understanding and collaboration, which are much harder to achieve through virtual means alone.

Conclusion: To conclude, while the convenience of digital communication cannot be denied, face-to-face communication will never become obsolete. The unique advantages of in-person interactions, such as the ability to convey non-verbal cues and build deeper connections, ensure that they will remain a vital part of human communication.

Vocabulary in Use


Fosters	Encourages or promotes growth.
Rapport	A harmonious and trusting relationship.
Obsolete	No longer in use; outdated.

Linkers and Connectors Used:

Following are the linkers and connectors used:

Furthermore
For example
In addition to this
To conclusion

Are you preparing for IELTS? Check out this video to improve your writing skills for the IELTS exam given below👇.

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Purti Chawla

Purti is a CELTA, British Council, and IDP-certified language trainer. Having worked as a Study Abroad Test Prep Expert for the past 7 years, she has guided thousands of students towards their desirable scores in IELTS, TOEFL, GRE, GMAT and other language proficiency tests to study abroad. She is adept in molding learning strategies according to the needs of the learners and has built multiple courses at Leverage IELTS with result-oriented strategies. Proficient in test prep courses such as IELTS, TOEFL, PTE, and Duolingo, she loves to explore different classroom teaching methods, keeps continuously improving her own skills, and stays abreast with the latest teaching methodologies. She is a master trainer at Leverage Edu and aims to help thousands more through her expertise.

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The Director of ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ on Those Spoilery Surprises

Shawn Levy explains the thinking behind specific cameos, what was saved from discarded scripts and how they made that end-credits tribute to Fox.

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Shawn Levy, in a track suit jacket, leans across a grimy diner table toward Deadpool in a behind-the-scenes image.

By Kyle Buchanan

Though the director Shawn Levy has spent the last several months promoting his new blockbuster, “ Deadpool & Wolverine ,” there was so much he couldn’t say until now.

“This conversation will be tantamount to therapy for me,” Levy joked last week as he signed on to a video call to discuss cameos and plot elements that had to be kept hidden until after the film’s juggernaut opening weekend. (Major spoilers follow.)

Though trailers sold the movie as a team-up between Ryan Reynolds’s meta mercenary, Deadpool, and Hugh Jackman’s surly mutant, Wolverine, the starry supporting cast includes some big surprises , including Jennifer Garner as the assassin Elektra, Wesley Snipes as the vampire hunter Blade and Channing Tatum as the card-tossing mutant Gambit. The film’s multiverse-spanning shenanigans also allow the return of Chris Evans, who retired his Captain America character in “Avengers: Endgame” but here reprises Johnny Storm, the “Fantastic Four” character he played back when 20th Century Fox owned key pieces of the Marvel portfolio.

Levy said nearly all of those surprise cameos were hatched in Reynolds’s apartment, where much of the movie was conceived amid pie-in-the-sky brainstorming. “It was the two of us acting scenes out, passing a laptop back and forth and saying, ‘Hey, what if this ?’” Levy recalled. “It invariably led to one of us texting that actor and just asking.”

Here are edited excerpts from our conversation.

Ryan has said that you both had trouble cracking the story before Hugh agreed to come on board. Was there anything from those early, Wolverine-less versions that you kept?

A few disparate elements made it all the way through, and one of the bigger ones includes this notion of Wade going through a midlife malaise and selling used cars: This was a guy who had given up on his better self and was living a life of compromise. That survived through the Wolverine iteration of this movie, as did the imperative of having Wade’s chosen family factor in. And I remember [Paul] Wernick and [Rhett] Reese, who co-wrote the first “Deadpool” movies, pitching this idea of a Chris Evans misdirect very, very early: What if we could get Chris Evans and the audience thinks it’s Cap, but he’s actually coming back as Johnny Storm? It was such an A-plus idea that it survived every iteration of the story line.

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IMAGES

How to Brainstorm the Question in IELTS Writing
IELTS writing How to brainstorm, select main points, and support your answers
How to brainstorm ideas for IELTS writing part 2
Brainstorming in IELTS Writing, how to generate ideas in Task 2
How to Brainstorm Ideas (10 Amazing Ways)
IELTS Essay: Brainstorming & Introduction Paragraph

VIDEO

IELTS WRITING TASK 2
How to get ideas ielts essay| HOW to generate ideas ielts task2 #ieltspreparation #ieltswriting
IELTS Exam Preparation: Writing Tips for Task 2- Brainstorming and Mind mapping
Generate Unlimited Ideas with in 1 Minute For Task 2 #ielts #youtube
GET IDEAS FOR WRITING TASK 2
IELTS WRITING TASK 2: Opinion ESSAY Driverless Cars

COMMENTS

How to brainstorm and plan your essay for the IELTS writing test
3. Choose a main idea. After you have brainstormed a list of ideas, it's time to choose a main idea for your essay. This should be the main argument or point that you want to make in your essay. Your main idea should be supported by the rest of your essay, so make sure to choose an idea that you can develop and support with examples and evidence.
Brainstorming Essay Topics for IELTS Writing Task 2
Step 1: Understand the type of question being asked. In another post, we examined the 5 main types of questions that you might see in the IELTS exam. Classifying IELTS questions into one of these categories according to common topics will help you make sure that you are answering the task response correctly. Look at the example Task 2 question ...
Brainstorming and Planning an IELTS Essay
In order to get a good score it will not be enough just to put a list of ideas - you need to extend and explain those ideas. If you look at the IELTS prompt, it says this: "Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own experience or knowledge". So you need to support your ideas using reasons and examples.
5 effective ways to brainstorm ideas for IELTS academic essays
Start with brainstorming keywords, and then place the micro-keywords on the branches, for example. Another way to organize a mind map is to place the main idea in the middle, then write the views, examples, and details on the branches. This strategy will definitely help you empty your brain onto the page. Doodling.
How to Brainstorm Ideas (10 Amazing Ways)
Activity #5 Word Links/Associations. This is a classic brainstorming method. Write down the main word related to the topic. For example, 'pollution.'. Now write down all the words that you usually associate with this word - climate change, governments, corporations, taxes, fossil fuels, etc. Use these words as the basis of your main ideas ...
IELTS Essay: Brainstorming and Planning
Brainstorming and Planning is a key step in any IELTS essay. It's the way you can ensure that your essay has good ideas that are well-supported rather than a...
IELTS Energy: Writing Task 2- How to Brainstorm and Organize Ideas
How to brainstorm your ideas for IELTS Writing Task 2: Write down anything that comes to mind. Go beyond the 2nd, 3rd idea- write down 4, 5, 6 ideas. Don't stop brainstorming until you get an interesting angle, concept, point. Draw two columns, agree and disagree and write down everything you can think of. Don't over-complicate it by trying ...
Brainstorming in IELTS Writing, how to generate ideas in Task 2
In this video made by Ross IELTS Academy, we learn together how to come up with ideas to write an essay in the IELTS Writing Task 2.You can join our writing ...
7 Steps to write a high scoring Task 2 IELTS Essay
Here is a very brief overview of what we teach in our online ielts course. 1. First classify the question. 2. Brainstorm ideas around the idea and clarify your position for each paragraph. 3. Check the ideas correspond to the question (important for task response). 4. Develop the ideas further.
7 Steps to Structuring an IELTS Task 2 Essay
Today, the steps that I will describe for you are as follows: Analyse the Question. Brainstorm Ideas. Plan your Overall Structure. Plan your Internal Paragraph Structure. Write a Strong Introduction. Link your Sentences. Write a Good Conclusion. 7 Steps to a Perfect IELTS Essay Structure from David Wills.
How to quickly think of ideas for IELTS essays. IELTS writing task 2
1. Do not over-complicate it. The most obvious ideas are best in IELTS writing but they should be specific ideas. You do not need to be an expert on the topic. As long as you can write a relevant idea and explain and develop it with an example then that is enough. 2. Having specific ideas are important.
How can you think of ideas for your IELTS essay?
You will need to be able to write between 2 and 5 sentences for each idea. If you look at your idea and can't think if a way to describe it in more detail - you can't use it. One sentence arguments are actually damaging for you TR score, so if an idea can't be developed, it can't be used. are relatively simple.
How to Think of Ideas for Writing Task 2
This will really help you, not only in writing part 2 but also in all the other parts of the IELTS exam. Brainstorming. Brainstorming is basically thinking of as many ideas as possible relevant to your topic. It was developed by an advertising agency to develop new ideas for advertising campaigns.
How to Brainstorm for IELTS Task 2 Essays
Brainstorming for IELTS task 2 is easy if you know how. Watch and learn...visit: http://IELTSOnlinePreparation.com and sign up to our free newsletter.Transla...
How can I develop ideas on the Task 2 essay?
So, in the end, remember this when you practice Task 2 Writing. The IELTS essay is not a mysterious monster. Start by taking some time to relax and read the question carefully. Do some brainstorming before you start to write. Organize your ideas well into groups. Then explain those ideas using good examples.
IELTS Skill Brainstorming
IELTS Writing Task 2. Here you need to write an Academic essay on a provided topic, which means you will have to defend your Thesis Statement.For this, you will have to generate some claims to support your Thesis Statement, as well as some supporting evidence and or examples for your claims.. For example: The mass media, including television, radio, and newspapers, have great influence in ...
IELTS Writing Task 2
IELTS Writing Task 2: Three things you should write on your Question Paper. IELTS Writing Task 2: How to Structure a 'Discuss Both Sides' Essay. IELTS Writing Task 2: How to Structure an 'Agree or Disagree' Essay. IELTS Writing Task 2: How to Structure a 'Problem and Solution' Essay.
How to write an IELTS Essay
Step 3: Identify the issues in the essay question. The essay question above is very simple. It is about computer games. However, some IELTS essay questions are more complex so you must take time to identify the issue or issues. Step 4: Brainstorm main ideas.
How to brainstorm & organise your ideas for IELTS Writing Task 2
How to brainstorm & organise your ideas for IELTS Writing Task 2. feel free to call us +61.4.50973975 [email protected]. Once you have identified the topic and question parts for your writing task, the next step is to brainstorm ideas that should become part of your essay. In order to get a good band score it is not enough to just ...
IELTS Writing Task 2
Signup for IELTS Twenty20 Coursehttps://www.ieltsonlinepractice.com/membership-optionsStudy 20 minutes a day for 20 days and Ace the IELTS exam.RELATED:https...
How to Brainstorm the Right Content for IELTS Writing Task 1?
IELTS writing task 1 for the academic module is challenging. It involves brainstorming for at least 5 minutes in order to find the right content, the key features, from the question. In IELTS writing task 1, you may get a bar chart, line graph, table, map or process chart. There can also be complex questions including the combination of either ...
IELTS Essay Topic: With an increasing population communicating via the
IELTS Essay Topic: With an increasing population communicating via the Internet and text messaging, face-to-face communication will become a thing of the past. ... Purti Chawla; Updated on ; Aug 9, 2024; 4 minute read. 10 shares. 0 (0) Brainstorming ideas: Reasons for disagreement that why face-to-face communication will never be replaced:
How to Start Writing a Law School Application Essay
If it helps, leave a placeholder and start in the body of the essay, where the story truly takes off and you get to the things you most want to say. READ: 7 Deciding Factors in Law School Admissions
'Deadpool & Wolverine' Director Shawn Levy on Those Surprise Cameos
Shawn Levy on the set of "Deadpool & Wolverine." Finally getting to discuss the film's spoilers "will be tantamount to therapy for me," he joked.