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IELTS IELTS causes and solutions essay - band 9 guide

vocabulary Free IELTS
lessons
In this lesson you will learn how to write a high- signup
Writing
scoring causes & solutions essay in IELTS
Speaking Writing. As an example, the model essay will be
Your name

about loss of bio-diversity. Basically, causes & Your Email

Maximize solutions essay is one of the most common

your Subscribe!
question types in IELTS writing task 2. This question
score!
asks you to describe causes and propose solutions for
a given problem.
IELTS
test In this lesson you will see:
samples
question sample + model answer
Listening band 9 answer structure for causes & solutions essay
Reading effective strategies to produce ideas for your answer

Writing

Speaking
IELTS problems & solutions question sample

Speaking For example, this is the question you’ve got for IELTS writing task 2:
simulator

Influence of human beings on the world's ecosystem is leading to

the extinction of species and loss of bio-diversity.

What are the primary causes of loss of bio-diversity?

What solutions can you suggest?

Of course, the topics for causes & solutions essay may vary, but the answering strategy is
pretty much the same for all essays of causes/solutions type.

Producing ideas

As you know, it’s recommended to spend about 40 minutes on IELTS

Writing task 2. But before starting to write your essay, it’s a good idea to
dedicate 2-4 minutes to producing some ideas for your essay. This way
you’ll know what to write about and your essay will be more structured.

To produce ideas for causes and solutions essay, you have to determine 3 things:
:
 Problem
Causes of this problem
Solutions to this problem

The problem is already given: loss of bio-diversity (in other words, some animals and plants
are dying out).

Now let’s think about its causes and solutions. Don’t be afraid of simple ideas! Remember:
getting a high score means writing simple things well. Here are some ideas that may come to
your mind:

Causes:

change of the natural habitats

When humans artificially transform the environment (build roads,

houses etc.), they destroy animals’ natural habitat.

pollution

Pollution negatively changes the flow of energy, the chemical

constitution of the environment and the climate in general, so a lot of species cannot live
under such conditions and die out.

overexploitation of resources

When the activities connected with capturing and harvesting a natural resource are too
intense in a particular area, the resource becomes exhausted. Example: too intense
farming exhausts the soil; too frequent fishing, which doesn’t leave enough time for fish to
reproduce, makes fish disappear.

After you’ve though of the possible causes, you can use them in your writing. You can invent
more reasons of this problem, but usually, it’s enough to give 1-2 causes in your writing.

Possible solutions:

protect areas

Protecting areas where human activity is limited and avoiding

overexploitation of resources are the best ways to save the
environment and prevent species from dying out.

promote awareness

Informing the general population about the disadvantages of loss of biodiversity will
encourage people to be more conscious of the environment.

1-2 solutions are enough for a good essay. Now, after we’ve collected some ideas, it’s time
to structure our thoughts into an essay.

Band 9 answer structure for causes & solutions essay

There may be many possible answering strategies, but we’ll use this good and time-tested
essay structure:
:
 1. Introduction
2. Body paragraph 1 – causes
3. Body paragraph 2 – solutions
4. Conclusion

Introduction

Write the introduction in 2 sentences:

Sentence 1 - paraphrase the question (restate the problem):

“Despite knowing about biodiversity’s importance for a long time, human activity
has been causing massive extinctions of different species.”

Sentence 2 - tell the examiner what you’re going to describe in your essay:

“This essay will examine the main causes of loss of biodiversity and possible solutions
of this problem.”

Body paragraph 1 - causes

Sentence 1 - state 2 main causes:

“The two main causes of species extinction are change of their habitats and
overexploitation of natural resources.”

Sentences 2-4 - explain the first cause + give an example:

“When humans artificially transform the environment, they destroy vegetation and
animals’ natural habitat. For instance, to build new roads people are cutting down
the trees and cementing the soil, altering the environment. Because of that, a lot of
species are dying out. ”
Sentences 5-7 - explain the second cause + give an example:

“Also, when the activities connected with capturing and harvesting a natural
resource are too intense in a particular area, the resource becomes exhausted. For
example, too frequent fishing doesn’t leave enough time for fish to reproduce and
makes them disappear. ”
The last sentence - give a short summary (if needed)

“In other words, human activities often deplete local flora and fauna and cause loss
of bio-diversity.”

Body paragraph 2 - solutions

Sentence 1 - give 1-2 possible solutions

:
 “Some possible solutions to this problem are protecting natural areas and promoting
awareness among people.”

Sentences 2-4 - explain how each of the solutions solves the problem (you may give an
example if you wish)

“By protecting areas where human activity is limited and avoiding overexploitation
of its resources, we can save the untouched environment and prevent species from
dying out. Moreover, the next step in fighting bio-diversity loss is informing the
general population about the dangers of this problem. This way, people will be more
conscious of the environment and won’t overuse or destroy its resources. ”

Conclusion

Sentence 1 - restate the causes of the problem

“To conclude, people’s activities that change the environment have negative impact
on the world's ecosystem.”

Sentence 2 - remind the reader of possible solutions

“However, we can significantly lessen the extinction of species by protecting natural

areas and enlightening people as to this problem.”

Model essay for IELTS Writing causes/solutions question

The model band-9 essay for this question will look as follows:

Despite knowing about biodiversity’s importance for a long time, human activity has been
causing massive extinctions of different species. This essay will examine the main causes of loss
of biodiversity and possible solutions of this problem.

The two main causes of species extinction are change of their habitats and overexploitation of
natural resources. When humans artificially transform the environment, they destroy vegetation
and animals’ natural habitat. For instance, to build new roads people are cutting down the trees
and cementing the soil, altering the environment. Because of that, a lot of species are dying
out. Also, when the activities connected with capturing and harvesting a natural resource are
too intense in a particular area, the resource becomes exhausted. For example, too frequent
fishing doesn’t leave enough time for fish to reproduce and makes them disappear. In other
words, human activities often deplete local flora and fauna and cause loss of bio-diversity.

Some possible solutions to this problem are protecting natural areas and promoting awareness
among people. By protecting areas where human activity is limited and avoiding
overexploitation of its resources, we can save the untouched environment and prevent species
from dying out. Moreover, the next step in fighting bio-diversity loss is informing the general
population about the dangers of this problem. This way, people will be more conscious of the
environment and won’t overuse or destroy its resources.

To conclude, people’s activities that change the environment have negative impact on the
world's ecosystem. However, we can significantly lessen the extinction of species by protecting
:
 natural areas and enlightening people as to this problem.

(263 words)

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