- Always read the “Background Statement” carefully.
This can be in a single sentence and up to a maximum of a four-sentence statement. You must address all parts of the question to attain full marks in – Task Response
- Then Focus on the last part of the statement as this lets you know what type of an essay it is.
Question response based on:
Essays which ask – (Agree or Disagree/ Argument) require you to give your view of the topic in the Introduction or also known as the 1st Body Paragraph.
Essays which ask – (Discuss both sides and give your opinion/ Solution) require you to answer all parts of the statements in individual paragraphs and then finally give your choice of opinion or solution in the last body paragraph which comes before the Conclusion.
- Remember, you should always write a minimum of 250 words, which means you could go up to 320 words max and your essay has to be in 4-5 paragraphs
1. Planning
The first step is to plan. This must be on the basis of answering the question. Do not get distracted by specific words in the question. As a result, many students see a Key topic word and then answer. But fail to answer the question fully.
- You must analyze the full question
- Identify the different parts to the question
- Clarify the specific topic
- Understand the complete requirements in the question.
You cannot afford not to plan your essay, as it saves you time and also crucially addresses all the IELTS assessment criteria. So, you will be more efficient and more effective.
- Identify all the keywords in the question by either circling or underlining them. This gives you a focus on what you need to write about.
- Then think of synonyms for these keywords.
For example – Alternative forms of transport should be encouraged and international laws introduced to control car ownership and use.
To what extent do you agree or disagree?
Synonyms –
Alternative = other/different/optional
Transport = transportation
Encouraged = promoted/pushed/supported
Laws = legislations/rules/regulations
Control = regulate/ manage/ restrict.
Car = vehicle/automobile
- You may use these synonyms throughout your essay to demonstrate the range of your vocabulary. Then brainstorm possible ideas for all aspects of the question.
- You must decide on your position in relation to the task.
For example – you may agree / you may disagree/sit on the fence (70-30)
Now let’s check these ideas for the essay question.
Alternative forms of transport should be encouraged. ( Agree )
- Alternative transport – means more cars = more pollution/traffic congestion. Therefore, unhealthy and inefficient cities
- Public transport – more efficient and environmentally friendly. For example, metro and public bus high usage will require specialist lanes.
- International laws introduced to control car ownership and use. (Disagree)
- Control – means restricting personal freedom and choice.
- International laws – car and oil industry will strongly object = versus powerful industries = so there is a little change of this.
Conclusion
In principle agree – alternative transport possible – control and international laws difficult.
This is your complete planning stage.
2. Organizing –
Here, you need to select and organize your ideas by breaking up your essay into separate paragraphs and then be ready to expand the ideas.
- Always aim for = Idea – Explain – Example
- The idea introduction will effectively be your Topic Sentence. Further, think about Linking Sentences and Paragraphs.
Doing these, you are addressing the Coherence and Cohesion of IELTS writing. Now, you are ready to write
3. Writing
Pay close attention to your plan and roughly how much you have written. Remember there is a 250-word limit requirement for IELTS task 2.
4. Evaluating
Make sure you have answered all parts of the IELTS question. This is critical to the Task Response criteria of IELTS Writing Task 2. If you realize that you have not done this, you may need to add more information to your essay.
5. Revising –
Finally, you are ready to revise and edit your essay.
- Look through your essay for possible Grammar and Spelling Mistakes. Doing this is critical to the Grammar criteria of IELTS writing.
This is the 5 stages of IELTS Writing Task 2
Doing all these steps guarantees you a higher band score of 7 and above in your IELTS Writing Task 2.
