IELTS WRITING

WRITING TASK 2: Two main types

Argument (Opinion) or Discussion?

To what extent do you agree or disagree?
Discuss both views and give your opinion?
What are the advantages and disadvantages?
Do the advantages outweigh the disadvantages?
What are the causes of this? What can people do to tackle the problem?

Argumentative essay (Opinion Essay)

Smoking is harmful and it should be banned.
To what extent do you agree or disagree with this?

Mixed Discussion + Opinion essay

Computers are 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. Tips for obtaining ideas

 Think about REALITY!

 Think about the MAJORITY!
 Think about the effects on these aspects:


 Money/ Economy  Safety/ Crime (Social problems)

 Health (Physical/ Mental)  Environment
 Lifestyle (Culture/  Education
Entertainment)

2. Plan your ideas and choose your side

Agree/ View 1 Disagree/ View 2
Money/ Economy
Health
Lifestyle
Safety/ Crime
Environment
Education
 3. Outline

Argumentative essay:
Smoking is harmful and it should be banned. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this?

 You should choose ONE side (100% agree or disagree)

 State your opinion clearly in the introduction and conclusion, using “I”.

Nội dung
Mở bài Sentence 1,2- Introduce topic/ Paraphrase Question (Giới thiệu chủ đề/ Viết lại
đề bài bằng từ đồng nghĩa)
Smoking causes detrimental effects and many people believe that it should be
forbidden.
Sentence 3- Your opinion (đưa ra ý kiến về vấn đề)
However, I disagree with this idea for several reasons

Thân bài 1 Sentence 1- Topic Sentence (Luận điểm 1)

First of all, prohibiting smoking will negatively affect the economy.
Sentence 2-5- Explain Topic Sentence and give example (Giải thích và đưa ra ví
dụ minh họa)
Tobacco companies contribute a high proportion of tax…
This means that…
Also, such a big industry employs millions of people…
As a consequence,…

Thân bài 2 Sentence 1- Topic Sentence (Luận điểm 2)

The second reason/ Another reason against banning smoking is that it may
give rise to many social problems.
Sentence 2-5- Explain Topic Sentence and give examples (Giải thích và đưa ra ví
dụ minh họa)
Smoking brings a number of psychological benefits to smokers…
If it is banned,…
For instance,…

Kết luận Sentence 1- Summarise the ideas (Tóm tắt lại ý chính)
In conclusion, banning smoking will lead to economic and social
disadvantages.
Sentence 2- Your opinion (đưa ra ý kiến về vấn đề)
Therefore, I strongly believe that this idea is unwise and should not be
adopted.
Mixed Discussion + Opinion essay
Computers are 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.

 You have to discuss both views, but you should agree with one of the views.
 Use “I” for the view you agree with, and “people” for the view you don’t.

Nội dung
Mở bài Sentence 1- Introduce topic/ Paraphrase Question (Giới thiệu chủ đề/ Viết lại đề
bài bằng từ đồng nghĩa)
People have different views about the use of computers in education.
Sentence 2,3- Introduce the views and give your opinion (đưa ra 2 quan điểm
đồng thời lồng ghép ý kiến bản thân)
Some claim that this will bring benefits, but my view is that there are more
drawbacks of such technological tools.

Thân bài 1 Sentence 1- Topic Sentence (Luận điểm 1) – dùng lời của người khác
It is generally believed that computers well support both students and
teachers at school.
Sentence 2-5- Explain Topic Sentence and give example (Giải thích và đưa ra ví
dụ minh họa)
First, students can learn faster and do more tasks…
Also, teachers can make the lessons more enjoyable by using…
As a result,…

Thân bài 2 Sentence 1- Topic Sentence (Luận điểm 2) – dùng “I” đưa quan điểm của mình
However, I personally believe that technology does more harm than good.
Sentence 2-5- Explain Topic Sentence and give examples (Giải thích và đưa ra ví
dụ minh họa)
Using computers too much may affect physical health…
For example,…
Moreover, there are also mental issues…
This may lead to…

Kết luận Sentence 1,2- Summarise the ideas and restate your opinion (Tóm tắt lại ý chính
và khẳng định lại ý kiến cá nhân)
In conclusion, although computers are beneficial for learning progress to
some extent, I think that the detrimental effects they bring to health are far
more influential.

IELTS WRITING TASK 2 - ACADEMIC STYLE

 Basic rules:

 Don’t use informal words or slang such as “wanna” and “a lot”.

 Avoid common and less defined words such as “get” and “things”.
 Avoid the use of some pronouns “we – us” and “you”.
 Don’t use spoken phrases such as “maybe” and “anyway”.
 Don’t use abbreviations and contractions such as “etc.” and “isn’t”.
 Avoid phrasal verbs such as “put up with”.
 Don’t use figures such as “$300” even in examples.

List of some common Informal/ Formal words and phrases:

Informal English Academic/Formal English

Things Items, possessions
Babies, Kids Infants, Children
Teenagers Adolescents
Man Male
Boss Manager, Supervisor
Fine Acceptable, Satisfatory
Good Preferable, Desireable
Bad/ Poor Unacceptable, Unsatisfactory
Happy Delighted, cheerful
Tired of Dissatisfied with
Ask Request, inquire
Help Support, assist
Need Demand, require
In the end Finally, eventually, lastly
A lot/ lots of Many, much, a great number/ amount of
Very/ so Extremely, definitely, completely
Tell Inform
Keep Maintain, retain

1. THE USE OF “GET”

Exercise 1: Replace “get” with more formal verbs

Informal English Academic/Formal English

“Get” as a simple verb
Business people often get rich. Become wealthy/ obtain wealth
When he got there, he got all the pieces.
Kids can get their parents to help.
Most people want to get money.
Many smokers get cancer.
Companies want to get the best people.
Scientists often get the wrong conclusion.
All living things need to get food.
“Get” as in phrasal verbs
People like to get away from cities.
He got over the illness.
Society needs to get rid of watse.
Students study hard to get into university.
Some people get up very early.

2. THE USE OF “THING”

Exercise 2: Replace “things” with more formal nouns

Informal English Academic/Formal English

People generally like sweet things. Food/ snacks
The most surprising thing was that…
Diligence is an essential thing for students.
Scientists need to know everything.
Pollution is a common thing in cities.
People need to protect their things.
Technology is a useful thing.
The first thing people need to do is…
Governments need to deal with this thing.
Shops sell many things.
 3. THE USE OF “WE”, “US” AND “YOU”

These pronouns should be avoided. You can use three techniques to avoid them.
For example: We should ban cars.
 Use a defined collective noun => Cities should ban cars.
 Use the passive voice => Cars should be banned.
 Use “Those who…” => Those who decide on traffic policy should ban cars.

Exercise 3: Rewrite some sentences below in as many ways as possible:

We are facing an environmental crisis.

 …………………………………………………………………………………………………

 …………………………………………………………………………………………………

We sometimes have to wait for hours to buy goods.

 …………………………………………………………………………………………………

 …………………………………………………………………………………………………

We need to acquire knowledge.

 …………………………………………………………………………………………………

 …………………………………………………………………………………………………

4. LISTING – THE USE OF “ETC” AND “SO ON”

You should not list too many things. Just follow this simple pattern when you want to provide a list of
examples:
Example A, Example B, and other [category of A and B]
For example: People like chocolate, sweets, and other fattening food/ sugar-based items.

Exercise 4: Replace “etc” in these sentences:

They can be used in CD players, TVs, etc.
This medicine helps the heart, lungs, etc.

This results in pollution, deforestation, etc.

 Poverty causes unemployment, drug use, etc.

Students use dictionaries, the Internet, etc.

Drinking can cause fights, arguments, etc.

This machine will enhance bridges, electricity supply, etc.

5. THE USE OF “NOT”

You should avoid using “bare negatives”, which is the word “not”.
 Not any… => no…
 Not much… => little… (for uncountable nouns)
 Not many… => few… (for countable nouns)
For example:
Criminals do not have many friends and do not have much hope in life.
 Criminals have few friends and little hope in life.

Exercise 5: Rewrite these sentences, replacing “not…”

Students do not have much money.

Computers do not have any feelings.

Politicians do not have so much honesty.

People often do not have enough time.

They did not have much difficulty in the test.

Some criminals will not show any compassion.

6. USE MORE NOUN PHRASES

Noun phrases will make the sentences sound more academic, stylish and concise and thus, increase
your Grammar and Vocabulary scores.
For example:
I think children attending school is necessary.
 In think school attendance is necessary for children.
This helps the economy develop.
 Economic development will inevitably follow.
Exercise 6: Replace these phrases/ sentences with more formal nouns

Regulating business Business regulation

Removing rubbish

Developing the economy

Revealing personal information

Destroying the environment

Abolishing capital punishment

The economy may stagnate.

If we ban cars, it will reduce pollution.

People need to get more knowledge.

If students can commit themselves to study, they

will succeed.

Countries need to treat their environment better.

Children can learn to be responsible, and this is

another reason.

Countries need to exploit their environment if

they want their economy to grow.

Exercise 7: Putting all together: Recognise the informal features in these sentences, and rewrite them
with what we have learned.

Once there was not much stuff on the roads, but now we’ve got heaps of cars.

These cause problems, like pollution. And it makes us as mad as hell.

It’s pretty much the same everywhere. I reckon it’s getting worse every year.

It’s really awful, that’s for sure.

There are a lot of cars, trucks, taxis and so on… and their number is sort of going up.

Sometimes you maybe have 3 cars.

We want them more and more, as well as other material things.

Would people accept pollution if they knew it would eventually kill them?

We really need to develop new things and adapt to other conditions.

There isn’t any other way since we will just need more cars.

Unless we all do this, there’ll be problems for our kids, too.