essay writing format for ielts general

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IELTS Writing Task 2 Essay Structures

The four most common IELTS writing Task 2 questions are: Opinion, Advantages and Disadvantages, Problem and Solution Discussion

IELTS Task 2 Essay Structures

Knowing how to structure your IELTS Writing Task 2 essay is an essential skill that can make the difference between getting and not getting the band score you deserve. With that in mind, we have outlined the most common IELTS Writing Task 2 structures below.

Nearly all of my Task 2 essays follow this basic structure: The sentences you put in each paragraph will depend on what type of question you get.

The five most common IELTS Writing Task 2 questions are:

• Opinion (Agree or Disagree)
• Advantages and Disadvantages
• Problem and Solution
• Discussion (Discuss both views)
• Two-part Question

Below I will outline examples and a structure approved by experienced IELTS teachers and examiners for each type of question. This will help you write a clear, coherent answer and hopefully boost your IELTS band score. I also include an example answer for each type of question so you can see the structure in a real essay.

Please note that these are general structures and may vary slightly depending on the question.

Please also note that no ‘one’ Task 2 essay structure will get you a high score. There are many types of structures that can get you a high score. These are just some I think are effective and easy to learn. 

Please visit the lessons below for more detailed guidance on each type of question. I have provided a link at the end of each section.

Opinion Questions (Agree or Disagree) 

Typical Question Words –

What is your opinion?

Do you agree or disagree?

To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Direct question.

Example Question –

Some people believe that unpaid community service should be compulsory in high school programmes (for example, working for a charity, improving the neighbourhood or teaching sports to younger children).

Essay Structure 

Introduction 

1- Paraphrase Question

2- Give your opinion and outline the main ideas.

Main Body Paragraph 1 

1- Topic Sentence

2- Explain Topic Sentence

Main Body Paragraph 2

Conclusion 

1- Summary of main points and opinion

Student Sample Answer

It is argued that volunteering should be made part of the school curriculum. This essay agrees with that suggestion completely because it help pupils develop soft skills and helps them gain much-needed work experience.

Education should not be limited to strictly academic pursuits, and those in education should also develop life skills, such as teamwork, empathy and self-discipline, and one of the best ways to hone these aptitudes is through community service. Serving those less fortunate than ourselves teaches us many lessons, including how to work with people from other backgrounds and the value of hard work, thus enabling us to hone these skills before becoming an adult. For example, many young people from wealthier countries take a gap year and help those less fortunate than themselves to increase their gratitude for what they have and improve their work ethic.

Many colleges and companies are also increasingly looking for this type of experience. Most school leavers have the same grades, and charitable work can help set you apart from other students when making college applications. For example, Cambridge and Oxford receive thousands of applications from straight-A students yearly and can only accept a small percentage of applicants. What you have done outside the classroom often differentiates you from everyone else and gets you that coveted spot.

In conclusion, teenagers should be made to partake in unpaid work as part of their schooling because it will help them learn things they wouldn’t ordinarily learn from their teachers, and it will also boost their chances of getting into third-level education.

For more detail on how to answer agree or disagree questions, please visit our opinion essay lesson . 

Need help writing essays like this? Check out our ESSAY CORRECTION SERVICE .

Advantages and Disadvantages Questions

Typical Question Words 

Discuss the advantages and disadvantages.

What are the advantages and disadvantages?

Example Question

Technology is being used more and more in education.

Essay Structure

2- Outline Main Points

Main Body Paragraph 1

1- State Two Advantages

2- Expand/Explain First Advantage

3- Expand/Explain Second Advantage

1- State Two Disadvantages

2- Expand/Explain First Disadvantage

3- Expand/Explain Second Disadvantage

1- Summary of Main Points

Student Sample Answer 

It is argued that technology plays an ever-increasing role in schools and universities. Increased access to information and student freedom are the main advantages, whereas dependency on technology and decreasing levels of face-to-face contact are the main disadvantages.

Access to more information and student autonomy are the principal advantages of increasing the use of electronic devices in education. With the internet, students can access all the information available about any topic, regardless of what books and other resources are available in the school. Furthermore, students can focus on whatever topic or subject they want and study it in depth. A prime example of this is the number of online university courses available to students, covering a myriad of subjects that, up until recently, were unavailable to most learners. This has resulted in more people studying third-level degrees than ever before at a pace and schedule that suits them.

The main disadvantages associated with the increasing use of technology in education are the dependency on this technology and the decrease in face-to-face interaction between students. With many students now using the internet as their primary source of information, they often struggle to use other academic resources to find what they’re looking for. As well as this, students spend more time looking at computer screens by themselves than interacting with each other, which is thought to lead to lower levels of emotional intelligence. For instance, the recent explosion in smartphone use has been at the expense of genuine human interaction. This results in soft skills, such as verbal communication and empathy, being affected.

In conclusion, the benefits technology brings to education, such as unrestricted access to information and student autonomy, must be weighed against the drawbacks, such as dependency on this technology and the negative effects on human interaction.

For more detail on how to answer advantage and disadvantage questions, please visit our  advantage and disadvantage lesson . 

Discuss Both Views Question (Discussion Essay)  

Discuss both points of view and give your opinion.

Example Question 

Technology is being used more and more in education. Some people say that this is a positive trend, while others argue that it is leading to negative consequences.

Discuss both sides of this argument and then give your own opinion.

1- Paraphrase Question and/or state both viewpoints.

2- Thesis Statement

3- Outline Sentence

1- State first viewpoint

2- Discuss first viewpoint

3- Reason why you agree or disagree with viewpoint

4- Example to support your view

1- State second viewpoint

2- Discuss second viewpoint

Sentence 1- Summary

Sentence 2- State which one is better or more important

There is an ever-increasing use of technology, such as tablets and laptops, in the classroom. It is often argued that this is a positive development, whilst others disagree and think it will lead to adverse ramifications. This essay agrees that an increase in technology is beneficial to students and teachers.

The Internet has provided students with access to more information than ever before. This has allowed learners to research and learn about any subject at the touch of a button. It is therefore agreed that technology is a very worthwhile tool for education. Wikipedia is a prime example, where students can type in any keyword and gain access to in-depth knowledge quickly and easily.

However, many disagree and feel that technology deprives people of real human interaction. Human interaction teaches people valuable skills such as discourse, debate and empathy. Without these soft skills, many people find it difficult to become successful in work and their personal lives. Despite this, human interaction is still possible through the internet, and this essay disagrees that technology should be dismissed for this reason. For instance, Skype and Facebook allow people to interact in ways that were never before possible.

While the benefits of technology, particularly the internet, allow students to tap into limitless sources of information, some still feel that people should be wary of this new phenomenon and not allow it to curb face-to-face interaction. However, as long as we carefully consider the importance of human interaction in education, the educational benefits are clearly positive.

For more detail on how to answer discussion questions please visit our  discussion essay lesson . 

Problem and Solution Questions

Problem and solution.

Cause and solution.

Students are becoming more and more reliant on technology.

What are some of the problems associated with reliance on computers, and what are some of the possible solutions?

2- Outline Sentence

1- State Problems

2- Explain First Problem

3- Explain Second Problem

4- Example of Second Problem

1- State Solutions

2- Explain First Solution

3- Explain Second Solution

4- Example of Second Solution

Learners are becoming increasingly dependent on technology, such as the Internet and mobile devices. This essay believes the main problems associated with dependence on computers are the lack of original thought and copying original work from others and suggests critical thinking classes and writing analysis software as the most viable solutions.

The principal problems with over-reliance on technology are people being unable to think for themselves and plagiarism. With access to so much information, students often rely on other people’s opinions instead of forming their own. As well as this, they often use search engines to answer a question and copy the text from a website rather than thinking about the question. This practice is prohibited in schools and universities and stunts students’ intellectual development because they will never truly think for themselves, which is what university is supposed to be for. For example, many teachers complain that students copy web pages straight from Wikipedia word for word rather than giving a reasoned answer to their questions.

Solutions to these worrying problems are special classes to focus on critical thinking and teachers using anti-plagiarism software to detect copying. If teachers create situations where students have to infer meaning and express opinions based on a small amount of information, this will ensure that students have an opportunity to develop these skills. Also, if students know that their assignments are being checked for plagiarism, this will be enough to deter them from doing so. For instance, many universities already use this kind of software to scan coursework for plagiarism, and it could be extended to include all homework by learners in both secondary and tertiary education.

In conclusion, the main problems with the overuse of technology in education are the lack of original thought and plagiarism. These can be solved through special classes that teach students analytical skills and plagiarism detection software.

For more detail on how to answer problem and solution questions please visit our  problem and solution lesson . 

Two-Part Questions

There will normally be a statement, and they will then ask you to answer separate questions.

As most people spend a major part of their adult life at work, job satisfaction is an important element of individual wellbeing.

What factor contributes to job satisfaction?

How realistic is the expectation of job satisfaction for all workers?

2- Outline Sentence (mention both questions)

1- Answer first question directly

2- Explain why

3- Further explain

1- Answer second question directly

As most adults spend most of their time at work, being content with your career is a crucial part of a person’s health and happiness. This essay will first suggest fair pay as a key element leading to job satisfaction, and it will then state that it is not very likely that everyone can be happy with their job.

The most important thing that satisfies someone at work is being compensated fairly. If those more senior than you respect you as a person and the job you are doing, then you feel like you are valued. A fair salary and benefits are important marks of respect, and if you feel you are being underpaid, you will either resent your bosses or look for another job. These two factors came top of a recent job satisfaction survey conducted by Monster.com, which found that 72% of people were pleased with their current role if their superiors regularly told them they were appreciated.

With regard to the question of happiness for all workers, I think this is and always will be highly unlikely. The vast majority of people fail to reach their goals and end up working in a post they don’t really care about in return for a salary. This money is just enough to pay their living expenses which often means they are trapped in a cycle of disenchantment. For example, The Times recently reported that 89% of office workers would leave their jobs if they did not need the money.

In conclusion, being satisfied with your trade or profession is an important part of one’s well-being, and respect from one’s colleagues and fair pay can improve your level of happiness; however, job satisfaction for all workers is an unrealistic prospect.

Can I get a band 8 or 9 following these structures? 

Nobody can give you a Task 2 IELTS structure that guarantees high scores. Your score is dependent on how good your grammar and vocabulary are and how well you answer the question. A good structure will help you answer the question to some extent and boost your score for coherence and cohesion, but you must use relevant ideas and use these ideas well to answer the question.

You can see how my student scored a Band 8.5 in IELTS Writing here:

Next Steps 

We hope you found those IELTS Writing Task 2 structures useful. Looking for some more sample questions? Here are over 100 sample questions from past exam papers.

If you would personalised feedback and guidance until you get the score you need, you can join the Waiting List for my VIP Course here.

About Christopher Pell

My name is Christopher Pell and I'm the Managing Director of IELTS Advantage.

I started IELTS Advantage as a simple blog to help 16 students in my class. Several years later, I am very humbled that my VIP Course has been able to help thousands of people around the world to score a Band 7+ in their IELTS tests.

If you need my help with your IELTS preparation, you can send me an email using the contact us page.

IELTS Essay Format: Solving Writing Task 2 Easily

Essay writing question in Task 2 of the IELTS Writing test is considered to be one of the most difficult questions. This is due to a very strict evaluation of the test by examiners. Each and every aspect of grammar, punctuation, spelling, word choice, sentence structure, paragraph structure, presentation of arguments, and logical development of ideas are scrutinized.

In this lesson, we will focus on IELTS essay format based on various types of questions.

We get 40 minutes to write an essay which is at least 250 words long. Within this time constraint, it is extremely difficult to fulfil all the criteria for scoring high in the Writing test .

Look at the sample question below.

WRITING TASK 2

You should spend around 40 minutes on this task.

Write about the following topic:

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

Write at least 250 words.

IELTS Writing Task 2 Structure

The question appears inside a box in IELTS Writing Task 2.

It always begins with a statement to set the context of the question. Often a debatable topic is introduced in one or two sentences.

In the above example, an opinion is mentioned: Owning a home is better than renting one. Our answer should not deviate from this topic of home ownership.

Then, the next part of the prompt is the actual question. In the example we are discussing, your agreement or disagreement with the statement is the question. As this is your personal perspective on the issue, you can freely pick a side and present your opinion on it.

Below the box, you will see instructions on how to go about writing a response. As the requirement maintains, you have substantiate your opinion with justification and illustration . This means you have to write several paragraphs explaining your point of view and defending your assertions regarding the topic .

IELTS Essay Types

Basically, all essay questions in IELTS are argumentative essays. In other words, you have to analyze the topic given in the question, choose a position for or against the claim, and present evidences as well as examples to support or refute the claims.

Agree or disagree

One of the most common type of essay question in IELTS Writing Task 2 is an agree/disagree question .

Like the name suggests, you are asked to either support or oppose an arguable issue.

You can either completely agree, completely disagree, partially agree, or partially disagree with the assertion.

Such questions require candidates to write about only one aspect: agreement or disagreement.

Advantages and disadvantages

Some questions simply ask you to report on the merits and demerits of an action or a situation.

There are two parts to the question because both the pros and cons need to be explored in the essay.

Advantages vs disadvantages

Slightly different from the earlier type of question, here you should not only write about both benefits and drawbacks but also pick a side .

Although you have to write from both sides, you have to make one side stronger than the other.

You can write about more advantages and fewer disadvantages. Conversely, you can include more disadvantages and fewer advantages. Ultimately, one side has to outweigh (or present more ideas) than the other.

Discussion and opinion

This is a three-part question.

According to the question, two sets of people think in two different ways about a controversial issue. You have to present arguments to support both views. Then, you should also weigh in on the matter and express your personal views.

Problem and solution

There are certain questions in IELTS Writing Task 2 which ask you to elaborate on the cause of a situation, effect of the situation, the prevention of a problem, or solution to the problems caused by the situation .

Be careful about the wording of the question. Cause, effect, prevention, and solution are four different things. Only write about the parts which the essay question explicitly asks you.

Hybrid questions

At times, apart from the four main types of questions discussed above, you might get a question that combines the different question types .

For an example, the same question may ask you agree or disagree with a statement as well as provide reasons and solutions.

IELTS Writing Task 2 How many paragraphs to write?

Depending on the question, the IELTS essay format we will learn here has four or five paragraphs .

The first paragraph obviously is the Introduction paragraph, whereas the last is the Conclusion paragraph. The two or three paragraphs in the middle are where we present ideas and expand on them with reasons and examples.

• Introduction
• Argument 3 (for some questions only)

IELTS Essay Format for Agree or Disagree Question

Ielts essay format for advantages and disadvantages question, ielts essay format for advantages vs disadvantages question, ielts essay format for discussion and opinion question, ielts essay format for problem and solution question, ielts essay format for hybrid questions, ielts essay writing: how to get a high score.

Let us break down the scoring into separate parts.

Task response

Under this criteria, examiners evaluate whether you addressed all aspects of the question by logically developing ideas . You have to present a clear and relevant position and support them.

Over generalization and/or repetition of ideas may affect scores.

Moreover, writing about things not asked by the question or going off topic should be avoided .

Coherence and cohesion

Words, sentences, paragraphs, and ideas need to be linked together in an essay to form a wholesome response.

There should be a logical sequencing of information. This can be achieved by using cohesive devices and discourse markers .

Here is a list of some common cohesive devices you could use in your next test.

Adding information

Comparing and contrasting, lexical resource.

You need to learn a wide range of technical words which convey precise meaning for securing high marks in the IELTS Writing test.

Repetition of a limited number of words, using words in wrong contexts, and making frequent spelling errors will result in a lower score.

As a general rule of thumb, you should read newspapers, especially op-ed articles on everyday topics like society, technology, and environment, in order to equip yourself with academic and formal words to present arguments.

You may like:

• What are the 500 most important English words?
• Technical vocabulary quiz

Complex sentences

In grammar, complex sentences refer to a specific sentence structure and not just sentences which are difficult to understand.

Consider this sentence:

Agricultural methods have modernized vastly from the past.

This sentence has one subject ( Agricultural methods ) and one verb ( modernized ). Such sentences with just one verb are usually called  simple sentences .

Consider these two simple sentences:

Agricultural methods have modernized vastly from the past. There still are food shortages in some parts of the world.

There are multiple ways of combining two related simple sentences. One method is by using a conjunction (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so).

Look at the following sentence which combines the two sentences from earlier into one long sentence.

Agricultural methods have modernized vastly from the past , but there still are food shortages in some parts of the world.

When two simple sentences are joined using a conjunction, a  compound sentence  is formed.

But there is another way to combine simple sentences. Consider the next example:

Even though agricultural methods have modernized vastly from the past , there still are food shortages in some parts of the world.

This is a  complex sentence . In this example, the words “ Even though ” are used in the beginning in order to avoid having to use a conjunction. A comma separates the two parts of the sentences. The part before the comma states a fact and the part after the comma describes a situation in spite of the fact. Also notice that if we divide the sentence into two parts by putting a full-stop (or period) instead of the comma, we get this:

Even though agricultural methods have modernized vastly from the past. There still are food shortages in some parts of the world.

The first sentence is incomplete. It is dependent upon the second part so as to complete the meaning. Such clauses (phrases) are called  dependent clauses .

However, the second sentence is a complete sentence. It does not rely upon the first to give meaning. It can stand alone as a grammatically correct sentence. Such clauses are called  independent clauses .

Therefore, a  complex sentence  is a sentence with one  dependent clause  and one  independent clause . If both the clauses in the sentence are independent, then such a sentence would be a compound sentence. One part should be dependent and the other independent for a complex sentence.

Examples of complex sentences

Although buying a house is very expensive, we can save money due to not having to pay rent on a regular basis.

Since animals can provide us with many resources, they can be extremely useful.

Together with being fast and convenient, internet is an affordable source of knowledge and entertainment.

Besides facing difficulties in adjusting to the food and climate, migrants might also face discrimination from the native people.

If the government mandates labelling of nutritional facts in all food packaging, then people might be able to make better food choices.

To be able to pay for tuition fees, many college students do a part-time job.

On account of genetically-modified plants, crop yields have risen substantially.

As universities provide an environment for sharing ideas, they could be vital for personality growth.

Unless we do our own fact checking, we cannot rely on all the information found in media.

In all the examples above, the first part of the sentences before the comma are dependent clauses. They need the second part to realize their meaning.

Please note:  It is not necessary to always have dependent clause in the beginning of sentences and independent clause at the end. But in the examples above, this has been done to make the concept clearer by using the comma as a separator. A reversal of the order of the two clauses and removal of the comma still creates complex sentences. For an instance, We cannot rely on all the information found in media unless we do our own fact checking .

You have to practice creating such complex sentences because it might be very difficult to write in such sentences naturally. You can follow the sentence structures of the examples above. To get a good score in the Writing test, it is compulsory that you use complex sentences.

IELTS Writing Task 2 Structure: Sample essay

Next lesson:

A 3-step process for Powerful IELTS Essay Introduction Paragraph

Related posts, the government should control the amount of violence on television in order to decrease the violent crimes in society. to what extent do you agree or disagree, nowadays technology is increasingly being used to monitor what people are saying and doing (for example through cellphone tracing and security cameras). in many cases the people being monitored are unaware that this is happening. do you think the advantages of this development outweigh the disadvantages, writing the perfect body paragraphs for ielts essay: an ielts task 2 tutorial.

What is the format for the question , what is your opinion (it is not discussion essay )

The exact format for such essays depends on the topic, but it is usually similar to an “Agree or Disagree” essay type.

western-overseas.com/expertise-in/ielts-writing-task-2

Above website has described advantage as well as disadvantage for an agree or disagree type question… even in those answers which says completely agree… And pteielts says either agree and some more point to support answer or disagree and some more point to support that… so confusing

You can write essays in multiple ways and still get good score in the IELTS test. There is no one right way of writing an essay. However, the format that I have used here at pteielts.com aims to be the most straight-forward and easy to use.

Coming to the website that you have cited, for agree or disagree type essays, you could incorporate counterpoints in the essay. It is called a concession. Even if you completely agree with something, you could mention points from the opposite side to refute them. I have avoided that in my essay because I thought doing that would make it harder for test takers.

So, don’t be confused. Follow one method and stick to it. Nonetheless, sometimes you have to adapt your format according to the ideas you can generate while writing the essay.

I think there is mistake in IELTS Essay Format for Advantages vs Disadvantages Question or maybe I’m wrong i don’t know

In such essay types, we have to compare the advantages and the disadvantages in order to find which side of the argument has more merit. For more clarification, please refer to this link: https://www.pteielts.com/do-the-advantages-outweigh-the-disadvantages/

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How to Write an IELTS Essay

In this introductory lesson you will find some guidance on how you should write an  IELTS essay .

There are then more lessons on the following pages for different types of essay and different questions, with lots of tips and strategies for achieving a high score. 

You can also watch a video of this lesson:

Essay Types

It is important to learn about IELTS essays because there are different essay types, and these will require different ways to answer them.

However, as you will see from the guidance on this page, they can all follow the same basic structure.

These are some of the types of IELTS essays you can get in the test: 

• Agree / disagree
• Discuss two opinions
• Advantages & disadvantages
• Causes (reasons) & solutions
• Causes (reasons) & effects
• Problems & solutions

Not every essay will fit one of these patterns, but many do.

You may get some of these tasks mixed up. For example, you could be asked to give your opinion on an issue, and then discuss the advantages or disadvantages of it.

The golden rule is to  ALWAYS read the question very carefully  to see exactly what you are being asked to do.

The second lesson explains more about analysing essay questions. 

How do I Write an IELTS Essay?

In order to answer this, lets first look at a sample question:

You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.

Write about the following topic:

In the last 20 years there have been significant developments in the field of information technology (IT), for example the World Wide Web and communication by email. However, these developments in IT are likely to have more negative effects than positive in the future.

To what extent do you agree or disagree?

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

Write at least 250 words.

An IELTS essay is structured like any other essay; you just need to make it shorter. There are three key elements:

• Introduction
• Body Paragraphs

We will look at each of these in turn, using the essay question above as an example.

1) Introduction

You should keep your introduction for the IELTS essay short. Remember you only have 40 minutes to write the essay, and some of this time needs to be spent planning. Therefore, you need to be able to write your introduction fairly quickly so you can start writing your body paragraphs.

You should do just two things:

• State the topic of the essay, using some basic facts (that you may be able to take from the question)
• Say what you are going to write about

Here is an example introduction for the above essay question about IT:

The last two decades have seen enormous changes in the way people's lives are affected by IT, with many advances in this field. However, while these technological advances have brought many benefits to the world, I strongly believe that these developments in IT will result in more negative impacts than positive.

As you can see, the first sentence makes sure it refers to the topic (IT) and uses facts about IT taken from the question. Note that these are paraphrased - you must not copy from the rubric!

The second part then clearly sets out the what the essay will be about and confirms the writers opinion (some questions may not ask for your opinion, but this one does). The writer clearly agrees as he/she thinks there will be more negative impacts.

View this lesson for more advice on writing IELTS essay introductions.

2) Body Paragraphs

For an IELTS essay, you should have 2 or 3 body paragraphs - no more, and no less.

For your body paragraph, each paragraph should contain one controlling idea, and have sentences to support this.

Lets look at the first paragraph for the essay about IT. The essay is about the benefits and drawbacks of IT, so these will need to be discussed in separate paragraphs.

Here is the first body paragraph:

On the positive side, email has made communication, especially abroad, much simpler and faster. This has resulted in numerous benefits for commerce and business as there is no need to wait weeks for letters or take time sending faxes, which was the case in the past. Furthermore, the World Wide Web means that information on every conceivable subject is now available to us. For example, people can access news, medical advice, online education courses and much more via the internet.  These developments have made life far easier and more convenient for many.

The controlling idea in this first paragraph is the 'benefits of IT', and there are two supporting ideas, which are underlined. No drawbacks are discussed as the paragraph would then lose coherence.

Most of the essay will focus on the negative aspects of IT, as the writer says there are more negative effects in the introduction. So the next two paragraphs are about these.

The topic sentence in the next paragraph therefore tells us we are changing the focus to the negative points:

Nevertheless, the effects of this new technology have not all been beneficial. For example, many people feel that the widespread use of email is destroying traditional forms of communication such as letter writing, telephone and face-to-face conversation. This could result in a decline in people's basic ability to socialize and interact with each other on a day-to-day basis.

The final body paragraph gives the last negative effect:

In addition, the large size of the Web has meant that it is nearly impossible to regulate and control. This has led to many concerns regarding children accessing unsuitable websites and the spread of computer viruses. Unfortunately, this kind of problem might even get worse in the future at least until more regulated systems are set up.

3) Conclusion

The conclusion only needs to be one or two sentences, and you can do the following:

• Re-state what the essay is about (re-write the last sentence of your introduction in different words)
• Give some thoughts about the future

Here is an example:

In conclusion, developments in IT have brought many benefits, yet I believe that these are outweighed by the drawbacks. In the future these will need to be addressed if we are to avoid damaging impacts on individuals and society.

The Full IELTS Essay

The last two decades have seen enormous changes in the way people's lives are affected by IT, with many advances in this field. However, while these technological advances have brought many benefits to the world, I strongly believe that these developments in IT will result in more negative impacts than positive.

Nevertheless, the effects of this new technology have not all been beneficial. For example, many people feel that the widespread use of email is destroying traditional forms of communication such as letter writing, telephone and face-to-face conversation. This could result in a decline in people's basic ability to socialize and interact with each other on a day-to-day basis.

(290 Words)

The IELTS essay introduction talks in general about the increasing use of IT, thus introducing the topic well. The thesis then clearly sets out the writers opinion.

The following paragraph mentions the present benefits of these developments, but the opening sentence in the third paragraph is a qualifying statement (Nevertheless, not all the effects... ), so the writer can now focus on the negative elements.

The fourth paragraph provides two other negative examples (lack of regulation, viruses). Both paragraphs suggest that these problems will continue in the future.

The essay concludes with a clear opinion that agrees with the statement.

Overall, it is a well-balanced text that mentions the present situation ( ...this has made life.. .) but importantly, also refers to the future of IT (. ..likely to increase..., might get worse. ..).

Now you know the basics of writing an IELTS Essay, you can go on and look at further sample essays or if you prefer, check out the next lessons for Writing Task 2.

More Task 2 IELTS Lessons:

Using Pronouns to Improve IELTS Essay Coherency

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Using Substitution in IELTS to Improve Writing Coherency

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

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.

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.

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"?

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 use brainstorming and planning to generate essay ideas.

Brainstorming and planning is a key step in developing your IELTS essay. This lesson has tips on how to coming up with ideas and organising them.

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.

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.

Paragraph Writing for IELTS: Building strong arguments

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

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.

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.

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