IELTS PART 2

WRITING
 Essential Writing Task 2 Skills for IELTS
The IELTS Writing Task 2 has 66% of the total writing marks. It is important to do well in this task, to get band 7 and more. Writing
skills are an important part of communication. Good writing skills allow candidates to showcase their language proficiency and
achieve the desired goal of studying or working in English-speaking countries. Here are all the important writing skills for a good
band score.

● Develop a unique writing style - IELTS is taken by applicants worldwide, so the competition is huge. Every
applicant has their own style, tone, and skill to deliver the best essay in an interesting way.
● Time management - For the writing section, time plays an important part. Applicants must plan and manage
the time to complete the essay within 40 minutes.
● Good vocabulary - Having a broad vocabulary is an asset for a successful writer. To enhance writing skills,
aspirants must try to listen, speak, and read a lot of English every day. The more they read and listen, the
better vocabulary they will develop. It is also imperative to use interesting, positive, and crisp words in the
essay.
● Take care of grammar, spelling, and punctuation - These are some of the important skills that every IELTS
aspirant must have along with their creativity. Poor punctuation and spelling can bring negativity to writing.
● Set the correct tone - The tone is an important writing skill and should be kept formal.
● Use facts -When facts and numbers are used, the essay becomes more valuable and enriched. It is also
advisable to use evidence when the question requires.
● Make proper use of sentence construction - Use connectors to maintain the right flow of ideas and opinions
 What is a thesis statement?

● ”A thesis is an idea put forward for consideration, especially one to be discussed or analysed.”
● A thesis statement is the most important sentence in your IELTS writing task 2 answer. It is contained
in the introduction; each introduction should have one, along with a paraphrase of the question and
an outline statement.
● A thesis statement is your main idea. I often describe it to students as “the way you feel about the
whole issue in one sentence”. It tells the examiner that you have understood the question, and it will
lead to a clearer, more coherent essay.
Question

There is a good deal of evidence that increasing car use contributes to global warming and has other
undesirable effects on people’s health and well-being.

Do you agree or disagree?

Thesis

This essay agrees that increasing motor vehicle use contributes to rising global temperatures and certain
health issues.

(As you can see, this sentence clearly shows the examiner how you feel about the question. The rest of
your essay should support this statement.)
 How do I know what to write?

The first thing we need to do is to identify which type of question it is and look at the action words. For
example, in the question below, the action words are ‘do you agree or disagree?’
 Question

There is a good deal of evidence that increasing car use is contributing to global warming and having other
undesirable effects on people’s health and well-being.

Do you agree or disagree?

Thesis statement Answer

This essay agrees that increasing motor vehicle use contributes to rising global temperatures and certain
health issues.

(As you can see, this sentence clearly shows the examiner how you feel about the question. The rest of
your essay should support this statement.)
How do I know what to write?

The first thing we need to do is to identify which type of question it is and look at the action words. For
example, in the question below, the action words are ‘do you agree or disagree?’
Question

There is a good deal of evidence that increasing car use is contributing to global warming and having other
undesirable effects on people’s health and well-being.

Do you agree or disagree?

● Therefore, we need to tell the examiner clearly whether we agree or disagree, which will influence our
thesis statement.
● Let’s look at other examples:
Computers are being used more and more in education.
Discuss the advantages and disadvantages.
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.
Students are becoming more and more reliant on computers.
What are some of the problems associated with reliance on computers, and what are some of the possible
solutions?
The main keywords in each of the three questions above are more or less the same- education and
computers. However, if we look at the action words, we can see that we must answer the three questions in
very different ways, which will affect our thesis statement.
The action words are:

● Discuss the advantages and disadvantages.

● Discuss both sides of this argument and then give your own opinion.
● What are some of the problems, and what are some of the possible solutions?
How do I write a thesis statement for each question
type?
● Once we have established what the question wants us to do, we can now
think about our thesis statement. Below we will look at how to write a
thesis statement for four different kinds of questions:
1. Opinion Question (Do you agree or Disagree)
2. Discussion Question (Discuss both points of view)
3. Advantages and Disadvantage
4. Problem and Solution.
● You should remember that although IELTS writing part 2 questions
normally follow a standard format as above, they sometimes change, and
you should be prepared for that.
Opinion Question

Some aspects of celebrity culture have a bad influence on young people.

Do you agree or disagree with this statement?
 All of Your Statements

All of your thesis statements for this kind of question should start with:
This essay agrees that…..
or
This essay disagrees that…..

We should try to avoid using personal pronouns like ‘I’ and we, therefore, use ‘This essay….’ instead.
Also, remember that we should not copy the question as this is not allowed in the IELTS writing test, and
instead, we should paraphrase.
 Thesis

‘This essay agrees that some famous people’s lifestyles have a detrimental effect on today’s youth.’
 Question

Increasing the price of petrol is the best way to solve the growing traffic and pollution problems.
Do you agree or disagree?
Thesis Answer

Thesis Statement: This essay disagrees that the best way to resolve
increasing pollution and congestion problems is to raise the cost of
fuel.
Discussion Question

Computers are being used more and more in education. Some people say this is a positive trend, while
others argue that it leads to negative consequences.
Discuss both sides of this argument and then give your own opinion.
For this question, we need to clearly state both sides of the argument and our own opinion.
We do this by simply paraphrasing the question, thus stating both sides, and then giving our own opinion.
Our own opinion will be just one side of the argument.
Even if you favour both sides of the argument, state one. Again, this leads to a clearer answer.
Thesis Answer

● Thesis statement: Some argue that schools and universities increasing the use of computers is
beneficial, while others oppose this view. This essay agrees that the growing use of technology by
educators is a positive development.

As you can see, this student has clearly stated both sides of the argument and stated which side of the
argument she prefers.
Advantage and Disadvantage Question

Computers are being used more and more in education.

Discuss the advantages and disadvantages

(In this question, we need to clearly state what we think the main advantage is and the main disadvantage.)
Thesis Statement Answer

Thesis Statement: The principal advantages are the instant information available to students and the ability
to communicate with other students. The main disadvantages are the lack of discipline and motivation
provided by computers.
Problem and Solution Question

Students are becoming more and more reliant on computers.

What is a problem associated with reliance on computers, and what is a possible solution?

Our thesis statement will need to state one main problem and one main solution.
Thesis Statement Answer

Thesis statement: The principal problem is students allowing machines to do all the work for them without
thinking for themselves, and a possible solution is to have stricter supervision from teachers and
 Cause and Solution Question

In some countries, the average weight of people is increasing, and their levels of health and fitness are
decreasing.
What do you think is the cause of this problem, and what measures could be taken to solve this?
Thesis Statement Answer

Thesis statement: The principal cause of this problem is people’s sedentary lifestyles, and a possible
solution is to educate society about the dangers of not keeping fit.