IELTS WRITING TASK 2

WRITING INTRODUCTION

When you write an introduction, you should make sure you do two things:
1. Write a sentence introducing the topic and giving some background facts about it 
2. Tell the reader what you are going to be writing about
KEEP IT SHORT!

1. Common Problems
Talking too generally about the topic. Most of these essays start off with ‘Nowadays……’ or ‘In modern
life….’ followed by general information about the topic. Remember that you are supposed to answer the
question not write generally about the topic.
Not including a thesis statement. This is the most important sentence in the essay, as it lets the readers know
what the topic is and how the essay is organized.
Not outlining what you are going to do. If you don’t include a sentence outlining what your essay will say, the
examiner doesn’t really know what you are going to write about in the rest of your essay.
Trying to write a ‘hook’ or be entertaining. Remember this is an IELTS exam, not a university essay. There are
no extra points for being interesting, and you only have 40 minutes for the whole essay.
Using an informal style. Know your audience. You are expected to write in an academic style.

2. Good and Bad Examples

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.
To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?
Good Introduction
Rising global temperatures and human health and fitness issues are often viewed as being caused by the
expanding use of automobiles. This essay agrees that increasing use of motor vehicles is contributing to
rising global temperatures and certain health issues. Firstly, this essay will discuss the production of
greenhouse gases by vehicles and secondly, it will discuss other toxic chemicals released by internal
combustion engines.
Bad Introduction
Nowadays, cars are a very popular way of getting around. Day by day many more people drive cars around but
others feel that they cause global warming. Global warming is one of the most serious issues in modern life.
They also affect people’s health and well-being which is also a serious issue.
As you can see the bad example talks about the topic very generally, copies words and phrases from the
question and doesn’t include a thesis statement or outline statement.

3. Structure of a Good Introduction

An IELTS writing task 2 essay introduction normally includes:
1. Background statement (Paraphrase the test question)
2. A short, general answer to the question (Your answer to the question: thesis statement/ Introducing your
ideas)
3. Outline statement (optional)
3.1. Background Statement
Provide background information about the topic and micro-keywords by paraphrasing the question.
Paraphrasing means stating the question again, but with different words so that it has the same meaning. We do
this by using synonyms and flipping the order of the sentences around.
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.

Collated by Khanh Nguyen khanhnv135@gmail.com

Paraphrase: Rising global temperatures and human health and fitness issues are often viewed as being caused
by the expanding use of automobiles.
The synonyms: Increasing = expanding, Car use = use of automobiles, Global warming = rising global
temperatures, People’s health and well-being = human health and fitness

3.2. Give a brief, general answer to the question.

This is the most important sentence in your essay. This is your main idea. It tells the examiner that you have
understood the question and will lead to a clear and coherent essay. In an opinion essay, this sentence is called
“the thesis statement”.

Let’s look at the previous example:

Thesis statement: This essay agrees that increasing use of motor vehicles is contributing to rising global
temperatures and certain health issues.
It is always just one sentence long so you will have to practice summing up your opinion in one sentence. It
should also address the micro-keywords and not the topic in general.

You can start your sentence with:

This essay agrees that….. or this essay disagrees that…../ In my opnion, I agree that .. (Opinion essays)
The main cause(s) of this issue is(are)….. (Causes and solutions)
The principal advantage(s) is (xxxxx) and the main disadvantage is (xxxxxx). (Advantage and disadvantages).
For a discussion (of two points of view) essay you should state both points of view clearly.

Let’s look at another example:

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

To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?

To keep things simple, we have two options-

1. Agree that some aspects of celebrity culture have a bad influence on young people.
2. Disagree that some aspects of celebrity culture have a bad influence on young people.
E.g.: This essay agrees that the some famous people’s lifestyles have a detrimental effect on the youth of
today.
In this thesis statement, the opnion is stated and the writer used to make sure he/she doesn’t just repeat the
question.

3.3. Outline Statement

Now that you have paraphrased the question and told the examiner what you think in your thesis sentence, you
are now going to tell the examiner what you will discuss in the main body paragraphs. In other words, you will
outline what the examiner will read in the rest of the essay. This should be one sentence only.
Example:
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.
Outline statement: Firstly, this essay will discuss the production of greenhouse gases by vehicles and secondly,
it will discuss other toxic chemicals released by internal combustion engines.
By looking at this outline statement, we can see the organization of the essay:
Main body paragraph 1- production of greenhouse gases by cars.
Main body paragraph 2- toxic chemical produced by car engines.
Again, your main body paragraphs should have only one main idea so it should be easy to spot these and then
write a sentence about them.
For advantages and disadvantages essays and problem and solution essays you could write something like this:

Collated by Khanh Nguyen khanhnv135@gmail.com

Advantages and disadvantages: This essay will first discuss the (main advantage(s)) followed by an analysis
of the (main disadvantage(s)).
Problem and Solution: This essay will analyze the principal problem(s) and offer solutions to this issue.

Final Example

Question: Learning to manage money is one of the key aspects to adult life. How in your view can individuals
best learn to manage their money?

Good answer: One of the keys to adulthood is appreciating how to budget your finances. It is clear that the best
way someone can learn this, is by managing money during childhood. Firstly, the essay will discuss the
importance of parental involvement during childhood and secondly, the essay will look at the importance of
having a part time job during childhood.

PRACTICE:
Write the introduction for the following question:

1. Televised talent shows have become popular in many societies today.

Are these shows a good method of finding talented people, or are they just entertainment?

Televised talent shows = TV talent shows, talent competitions on TV, TV program on talent seeking
Become popular = become common, grow in popularity/ enjoy its popularity …

In many parts of the world, talent shows on TV have grown in popularity in recent years. While supporters of
these shows claim that these programs are an effective way to seek for talent/discover talent, I am of the
opinion that these/such shows are merely/solely entertaining. (This essay will discuss two reasons why talent
shows are just entertainment.)

2. The impact of growing demand for more flights has had on the environment is a major concern for many
countries. Some people believe that one way to limit the number of people travelling by air is to increase tax on
flights.
To what extent do you think this could solve the problem?
Vocab: impose tax
Way = method, solution, alternative, measure, approach

The detrimental effects of frequent air travel on the environment has been long a concern in many parts of the
world/for many governments. Imposing more tax on flights is considered to be an effective measure to reduce
the number of air traveller/ discourage people form air travelling. However, this essay argues that this could
not be a proper approach to the problems for many reasons.

3. In the modern world, it is no longer necessary to use animals for food, clothing or medicine. To what extend
do you agree or disagree?

Modern technology allows substitution for animals in food, clothes or medicine. This essay agrees that animal
as a source for food, clothing and medical products is no longer necessary/essential due to some reasons.

4. In some cities and towns all over the world, the high volume of traffic is a problem. What are the causes of
this and what actions can be taken to solve this problem?
Collated by Khanh Nguyen khanhnv135@gmail.com
The increasing amount of traffic has posed a big challenge for many urban areas in the world. The major
causes of this trend can be named as overpopulation in big cities and the availability of highly convenient
means of transport, and one of the answer to this problem is to improve the public transport system.

Collated by Khanh Nguyen khanhnv135@gmail.com