IELTS writing task 2/INTRODUCTION to IELTS WRITING MODULE

IELTS writing task 2: IELTS Writing part is a one-hour module. It consists of two large tasks. In task 1, the examinee will have to explain a graph, table, or diagram in one hundred and fifty words in twenty minutes. IELTS writing task 2 will be a more difficult task than the previous one where you will have to write an essay in two hundred and fifty words, and the time will be forty minutes. Here, you will have to write an essay from a range of topics and types, but you will not get anything that you do not know. This test is designed on the level of undergraduate and post-graduate students who want to study abroad.

There are quite a few types of essays in IELTS writing task 2.

 

1. Advantages and Disadvantages
2. Causes and Solution
3. Discussion
4. Double/ Direct Questions
5. Opinion
6. Problem and Solution

 

WHAT is an ADVANTAGE and DISADVANTAGE ESSAY?

In an Advantage and Disadvantage essay the examinee is given a statement and a situation. Based on the topic, the examinee talks about the advantages and disadvantages of that particular topic. Normally, this essay starts with an introduction and ends with a conclusion. In between them, there are two body paragraphs. One of them is for the advantages where you write all the goods stuffs about the topic. On the other paragraph, you write the negative aspects of that essay. Example: The internet has made knowledge immediately available to people through computers and smartphones all around the world. Much of this knowledge is also free. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of this trend.

In essays like advantages and disadvantages, the examinee is asked to talk about the pros and cons of a particular topic. However, there is a catch. There are two kinds of advantage and disadvantage essays, and each require its own structure. Therefore, if you follow a single structure for both type of essays, you will definitely loose marks. In this lesson we will talk about the approaches so that you do not get a poor band score.

Structure is the most important aspect in writing an essay. It is the backbone of any essay. We will take a look at the structures of each type.

 

IELTS writing task 2: EXAMPLE 1

Some people believe that youngsters should be allowed to work or travel for a year between finishing their high school and starting university studies.

Discuss the advantages and disadvantages for young people who decide to do this.

This essay requires you to talk about the advantage and disadvantage of young people working or travelling in between finishing high school and entering into the university. This essay is not asking you to give any opinion or highlighting a certain aspect. Therefore, you will follow the basic structure. At first you write your introduction. Secondly, you talk about the advantages in one paragraph and describe the disadvantages in another. Make sure that you do not mix the two. At the end you give a conclusion to your essay.

 

IELTS writing task 2:EXAMPLE 2

Some specialists believe that it is better for children to begin learning a foreign language at primary schools rather than secondary school.

Do the advantages of this outweigh the disadvantages?

If you compare the two questions, you will see a slight change in the languages. In the first question, you are asked to talk about both the advantages and the disadvantages. You can not choose any side, just state the facts. However, in this type of essay, you will have to choose a side and undermine the other. Let’s talk about the given topic. In the question, you are asked if the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. Therefore, in your first body paragraph, you will talk about the advantages. In this paragraph you will talk about the two main ideas and back them up with explanations and examples. Try to present your idea in a way which clearly states why the advantages are far superior than the disadvantages. In the next body paragraph, talk about the disadvantages. This paragraph is a bit different from the previous one. Here, you present an idea of the disadvantages, but oppose the idea immediately. Your main goal is to glorify a particular part, in this case it is the advantages. How do we do that? We elevate a part by talking about the good parts, and defaming the other. Therefore, in the second body paragraph, you will have to slander the disadvantages so that it becomes clear to examiner why the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.

In the given topic, you will have to choose a side which you think is better than the other. Whatever you choose, make sure to elevate one and undermine the other, and make it visible from the beginning of the paragraph by taking a side in your introduction.

 

There are a few things you should be careful about.

 

• While writing the introduction make sure to paraphrase the question prompt carefully. Do not copy the whole question prompt as it is.
• Do not write any negative aspect of the essay topic in the paragraph for advantage and vice-versa. Each paragraph is reserved for its own topic.
• Be careful of your spelling and grammatical errors. Making too many mistakes will cost you a good band. Therefore, always keep some time to revise.
• Use a range of sentence types like compound, simple and complex. Writing only one type of sentence will also result in a lower band score. That is why always attempt to write complex sentences. It is better to write complex sentences and make mistakes rather than only writing simple sentences. You will get a higher band score if you attempt different sentence structures, on the other hand your band will be lower even if you write correct simple sentences. The examiner wants to see if you are capable of writing range of sentences or not. Therefore, always attempt different sentence structures if you want a good band score. Playing safe will only result in a lower band score.

Hopefully, the above discussion on IELTS writing task 2 will be helpful for a candidate to understand how the test is conducted. If you are looking for IELTS coaching, please contact PEC-Education at its Mirpur and Uttara center in Dhaka, Bangladesh on the following number.

01630 840663(Mirpur & Uttara Branches)

[email protected]

Prepared by Arshil Khalil