Prepare For Ielts Document

Video Lesson
Writing Task 2
I E LT S W R I T I N G T A S K 2
Model answer
Chosen by you!
Topic: Dangerous sports
Question type: Opinion
LOOK AT THE TASK 2 QUESTION
People doing dangerous sporting activities like scuba-diving

and bungee-jumping should be responsible for their own
safety. Rescue workers should not risk their lives to save
people doing those sports. Do you agree or disagree?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your
own knowledge or experience. Write at least 250 words
GET A HIGH IELTS GRADE

BAND 9 MODEL ANSWER (315 WORDS)
There has been a massive growth in participation in potentially life-threatening recreational activities
such as base-jumping and rock-climbing. Each year, members of the emergency services have to put
themselves in danger to save the lives of extreme sports enthusiasts who have had accidents. Whilst
some find this state of affairs unacceptable, I feel societies have a duty to look after even those who
willfully endanger their own lives.
The first point worth making is that risk-taking and experiencing danger ought to be encouraged. In
order to become mature and well-balanced, we need to face a range of challenging situations and threats.
Cavers and divers probably would not dare to attempt these activities if there were no chance of them
being rescued. My cousin- a hang-glider- would undoubtedly stay at home if he thought that nobody
would look for him after a crash.
It should also be mentioned that those who help injured or stranded sportsmen and sportswomen
benefit too. Volunteers, members of the armed forces and professional rescuers find saving lives both
stimulating and deeply rewarding. These individuals feel good about themselves, knowing that they are
making a valuable contribution.
Finally, I would argue that a humane society should not abandon those in need. Going to the aid of
individuals who are seriously hurt- even when they are responsible for their plight- is morally right.
Enlightened cultures do this already: smokers who develop lung cancer are treated; careless drivers
injured in motor vehicle accidents are given medical support; and those living in poverty receive financial
aid from the state.
In conclusion, I strongly believe that we have an obligation to help anyone in peril, regardless of the
circumstances. I appreciate that adopting this strategy could lead to others being put at risk but, on
balance, it is definitely the right thing to do. I wish all governments would subscribe to this enlightened
and forward-thinking approach.
PREPARING TO ANSWER: NOTES
QUESTION:
People doing dangerous sporting activities like scuba-diving and bungee-jumping
should be responsible for their own safety. Rescue workers should not risk their lives
to save people doing those sports. Do you agree or disagree?
Notes:
Question type: OPINION
POSITION: 1. We should always rescue people doing extreme sports when
they are in need. 2. We should never rescue people doing extreme sports
when they are in need. 3. We should rescue people who have accidents
while doing extreme sports but we should also take steps to make this
situation less likely.
Ways of making this situation less likely: 1. Educate people who do extreme
sports so that they can reduce the risk. 2. Make it clear to people who do
extreme sports that they will have to pay for the cost of their rescue. 3.
Provide environments where people can do more dangerous activities more
safely.
Although it is possible to partly agree/partly disagree with the statement in
the question, it is probably not a good idea to write from either of these
positions because you would need to use contradictory arguments.
PREPARING TO ANSWER: NOTES
QUESTION:
People doing dangerous sporting activities like scuba-diving and bungee-jumping
should be responsible for their own safety. Rescue workers should not risk their lives
to save people doing those sports. Do you agree or disagree?
Notes:
Question type: OPINION
Advantages of rescuing sportsmen/sportswomen in need: 1. It allows people
to take risks (This helps individuals become more mature and makes society
stronger). 2. It benefits the rescuers (It allows them to feel valuable and
allows them to develop vital skills). 3.It is morally right to help people in
need. 4. We already help people in need, even when these people are
responsible for their own suffering or difficulty. 5. People feel happier when
they live in a state which looks after its citizens properly.
Advantages of making people responsible for their own safety: 1. Rescue
workers would not lose their lives. 2. It would be cheaper (and the money
saved could be used to support the needy). 3. People who do extreme sports
would be far more careful and would learn to take responsibility.
ANALYSIS
TASK RESPONSE
COHERENCE AND COHESION
LEXICAL RESOURCE
GRAMMATICAL RANGE AND ACCURACY
OTHER LANGUAGE
OTHER LANGUAGE
OTHER LANGUAGE
OTHER LANGUAGE
INTRODUCTION
There has been a massive growth in participation in potentially life-
threatening recreational activities such as base-jumping and rock-
climbing. Each year, members of the emergency services have to put
themselves in danger to save the lives of extreme sports enthusiasts
who have had accidents. Whilst some find this state of affairs
unacceptable, I feel societies have a duty to look after even those who
willfully endanger their own lives. The question refers to People
doing dangerous sporting
activities like scuba-diving and
bungee-jumping. Paraphrasing
the question statement will
impress the examiner
INTRODUCTION
The question refers to rescue
workers. Paraphrasing part of the
question statement will impress
the examiner
INTRODUCTION
It is difficult to know when to use
hyphens. We usually hyphenate
adjectives with two parts when
they appear in front of the noun
they refer to
INTRODUCTION
Many compound nouns can be hyphenated. Although hyphenating nouns
is a bit old-fashioned, it is a good idea to use hyphens with compound
nouns when you are not sure if they should be written as one word or
two words. This is because it is often correct to hyphenate a compound
noun made with two words and a compound noun made with one word:
rock climbing / rock-climbing; weekend / week-end
INTRODUCTION
You can make your sentence
more complex by adding an
infinitive clause.This clause
explains the purpose/reason for
doing something
INTRODUCTION
You can also make your sentences
complex by adding a defining relative
clause.This clause gives information
which identifies/defines a noun or
noun phrase
INTRODUCTION
willfully endanger their own lives. Whilst = although. We can often end the
INTRODUCTION with a sentence which
refers to both sides of the argument/debate.
If you completely agree with one side of the
debate, you should refer to this after
referring to the side you do not agree with
INTRODUCTION
In an OPINION essay, it is
important that you clearly state
your position in the THESIS
STATEMENT and support it
throughout the rest of the essay
PARAGRAPH 2
The first point worth making is that risk-taking and experiencing
danger ought to be encouraged. In order to become mature and well-
balanced, we need to face a range of challenging situations and threats.
Cavers and divers probably would not dare to attempt these activities if
there were no chance of them being rescued. My cousin- a hang-glider-
would undoubtedly stay at home if he thought that nobody would look
for him after a crash.
This is a strong TOPIC
SENTENCE. It contains a linking
phrase to connect it to the thesis
and a phrase to show the main
idea of the paragraph
PARAGRAPH 2
We use to be worth to indicate that
something is important or useful. We can
follow it with a verb in the –ing form: it is
worth considering…; it is worth visiting…
PARAGRAPH 2
Combining a passive form with a modal verb makes
your writing seem formal. We can use ought to when
we want to suggest that something is the right thing to
do. We use the passive form because the original
subject (people) is not so relevant or important
PARAGRAPH 2
We can include a clause beginning with in
order + infinitive when we want to describe
the purpose/reason for doing something. If this
clause goes at the beginning of the sentence,
we usually follow it with a comma
PARAGRAPH 2
This is a second conditional
sentence.This structure describes
something which is not real. It has
a result clause with would +
infinitive…
PARAGRAPH 2
…and an if-clause with a verb in the
subjunctive. It doesn’t usually matter
which clause is written first. However,
if the if-clause is written first, we
usually follow it with a comma
PARAGRAPH 2
Here is another example of a second
conditional sentence used to write
about an unreal/untrue situation in
the present
PARAGRAPH 2
Here is another example of a second
conditional sentence used to write
about an unreal/untrue situation in
the present
PARAGRAPH 2
for him after a crash. This is a passive structure. We could write …if
there were no chance of somebody rescuing
them but we use the passive form because the
original subject (people) does not seem relevant.
We use the –ing form (being rescued) because
this phrase follows a preposition (of)
PARAGRAPH 2
for him after a crash. We can use dashes to add extra
information which is not necessary but
which we want the reader to notice.
Example: Many free-climbers- who tend to
be quite young- over-estimate their own
ability and under-estimate the risks
PARAGRAPH 2
Examples from your own life-
either real or imaginary- can
support a point. They need to
be short and relevant
PARAGRAPH 3
It should also be mentioned that those who help injured or stranded
sportsmen and sportswomen benefit too.Volunteers, members of the
armed forces and professional rescuers find saving lives both
stimulating and deeply rewarding.These individuals feel good about
themselves, knowing that they are making a valuable contribution.
This is another strong TOPIC

SENTENCE. It contains a linking phrase
to connect it to the previous paragraph
and to the thesis. It also contains a phrase
to show the main idea of the paragraph
PARAGRAPH 3
When you link paragraphs, you make your

writing more coherent. We can often put too
at the end of a sentence to show that the
information in this sentence is similar to
previous information. Here it is connected to
the main point in PARAGRAPH 2
PARAGRAPH 3
You can often impress the examiner by

writing about specific people or groups of
people. Here we have three groups of
people who might save the lives of injured
sportsmen/women
PARAGRAPH 3
Both…and… is a correlative conjunction. When you use this kind of

conjunction to connect two pieces of language, your writing becomes
better connected. Other correlative conjunctions: Neither rain nor snow
will stop us; I am sure that either rain or snow will fall; Not only did it rain,
but it also started snowing; Whether it rains or not, the party will go ahead
PARAGRAPH 3
When you know two

words/phrases which are complex
and relevant, you can use both to
impress the examiner
PARAGRAPH 3
Knowing = because they know. We can sometimes make

a sentence more complex by using the –ing form to
replace a phrase beginning with because. Examples:
Many move to the cities, believing life will be better
there; Some motorists get into their vehicles drunk,
thinking that alcohol will not affect their ability to drive
PARAGRAPH 4
Finally, I would argue that a humane society should not abandon those
in need. Going to the aid of individuals who are seriously hurt- even
when they are responsible for their plight- is morally right. Enlightened
cultures do this already: smokers who develop lung cancer are treated;
careless drivers injured in motor vehicle accidents are given medical
support; and those living in poverty receive financial aid from the state.
This is another strong TOPIC SENTENCE. It

contains a linking phrase to connect it to the
previous paragraph and to the thesis. It also contains
a phrase to show the main idea of the paragraph
PARAGRAPH 4
This essay includes 3 MAIN BODY

paragraphs and 3 arguments to support the
thesis. It is possible to get a very high grade
using 2 paragraphs in the MAIN BODY
PARAGRAPH 4
Again, we can use dashes to add

extra information which is not
necessary but which we want the
reader to notice
PARAGRAPH 4
Plight = serious, sad or difficult
condition which a person has to face.
Examples: the plight of refugees; the
plight of the homeless is rarely
discussed in the media
PARAGRAPH 4
We can use this combination of a

colon ( : ) and semi-colons ( ; ) to give
information and provide a list of
longer examples to support it
PARAGRAPH 4
Examiners give a lot of credit for

points which are well-supported.
Here, 3 examples are given to
support this point
PARAGRAPH 4
This is another defining relative clause.

The information in the clause is necessary
to identify/define the noun. In this type of
clause we do not use commas
PARAGRAPH 4
Here we could write …drivers who are

injured but it is possible to turn a
relative clause into a participle clause
PARAGRAPH 4
Look for the opportunity to use more

formal verbs. We can often replace to
need with to require and to receive
can be used instead of to get
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, I strongly believe that we have an obligation to help
anyone in peril, regardless of the circumstances. I appreciate that
adopting this strategy could lead to others being put at risk but, on
balance, it is definitely the right thing to do. I wish all governments
would subscribe to this enlightened and forward-thinking approach.
You need to write from a consistent position. It is usually

good to start the CONCLUSION with a statement which
supports the thesis from the INTRODUCTION
CONCLUSION
You can use to appreciate to introduce a point that you understand but
do not agree with. Here it refers to the point made in the question that
Rescue workers should not risk their lives to save people doing those
sports. By indicating that you have thought about the opposing
argument- especially when this argument is mentioned in the question-
you show that you are answering the specific question fully
CONCLUSION
On balance can be used to introduce a clear

opinion when you want to indicate that you have
thought carefully about the arguments on both
sides. Here it is a useful phrase because we have
just referred to the opposing argument
CONCLUSION
Regardless of the circumstances =

in all conditions or situations.
Examiners give credit for set
phrases like this
CONCLUSION
This is a passive structure which is similar to the one in

PARAGRAPH 2. We could write …could lead to sportsmen and
sportswomen putting others at risk but we use the passive
form because the original subject (sportsmen and
sportswomen) does not need to be included. We use the –ing
form (being put) because this phrase follows a preposition (to)
CONCLUSION
You should include a range of sentence

types in your writing. It is often possible to
combine two shorter sentences into a
compound sentence using a co-ordinating
conjunction like and, but, yet, so, for, nor, or
CONCLUSION
These phrases have a similar meaning and

the examiner will give a lot of credit
because: 1. the candidate has avoided
repetition 2. the candidate has used
language which collocates well
CONCLUSION
We can use wish + subject + would

+ infinitive to express regret about
the present situation and a wish
that it would change
CONCLUSION
Ending your essay with a wish or

hope which is connected to your
thesis is often a strength
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Video Lesson

People doing dangerous sporting activities like scuba-diving

GET A HIGH IELTS GRADE

This is another strong TOPIC

When you link paragraphs, you make your

You can often impress the examiner by

Both…and… is a correlative conjunction. When you use this kind of

When you know two

Knowing = because they know. We can sometimes make

This is another strong TOPIC SENTENCE. It

This essay includes 3 MAIN BODY

Again, we can use dashes to add

We can use this combination of a

Examiners give a lot of credit for

This is another defining relative clause.

Here we could write …drivers who are

Look for the opportunity to use more

You need to write from a consistent position. It is usually

On balance can be used to introduce a clear

Regardless of the circumstances =

This is a passive structure which is similar to the one in

You should include a range of sentence

These phrases have a similar meaning and

We can use wish + subject + would

Ending your essay with a wish or

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