IELTS Writing Part 2

Structure. Types of tasks. Reading strategies

by IELTS Pro team

 TEST STRUCTURE

You will be presented with an essay topic and you

will be scored based on your ability to respond to
the topic.

✓ You must write at least 250 words. 

✓ You need to develop your ideas with arguments, examples,
and supporting your position.
✓ You will have approximately 40 minutes to finish your
Essay Writing.
✓ Writing Task 2 weighs 66% of your total IELTS Writing
Score.
✓ Finish Writing Task 2 rst, before starting Writing Task 1.

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 ASSESSMENT CRITERIA

IELTS examiners assess your Writing Task 1 essay by looking at 4 things:

GRAMMATICAL
COHERENCE AND LEXICAL
TASK RESPONSE RANGE
COHESION RESOURCE
AND ACCURACY

 TASK RESPONSE

According to the of cial IELTS Writing band  descriptors, to achieve band 7 and
above  you must:

● Address all parts of the task

● Present a clear position throughout  the response
● Present, extend, and support main  ideas

In other words:
✓ Write about everything in the question 
✓ Make it clear what your opinion is (only if it is asked!)  
✓ Develop your ideas and arguments; explain your point, say why it matters, and give an example to help the
reader understand

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 COHERENCE&COHESION

According to the of cial IELTS Writing band  descriptors, to achieve band 7 and
above  you must:

• logically organise information and  ideas… clear progression throughout

• use a range of cohesive devices  appropriately
• present a clear central topic within each paragraph

In other words:

✓Your essay should be in logical order e.g. intro -> body 1 -> body 2 -> conclusion 
✓ Link sentences and paragraphs with words like however, therefore, furthermore etc. 
✓ One topic per paragraph; stay focused
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 LEXICAL RESOURSE

According to the of cial IELTS Writing band  descriptors, to achieve band 7 and
above  you must: 

● use a sufficient range of vocabulary to  allow some flexibility and precision 
● use less common lexical items with  some awareness of style and collocation
● may produce occasional errors in word choice, spelling, word formation

In other words:

✓ show a wide/ exible range of vocabulary  (synonyms/paraphrase) and be precise (no words like ‘nice’!) 
✓ use less common words and phrases, and  show that you know how these words fit  together (collocations) 
✓ you can make a few mistakes with  vocabulary, but try your best to be accurate!
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 GRAMMATICAL RANGE AND ACCURACY

According to the of cial IELTS Writing band  descriptors, to achieve band 7 and
above  you must:

• use a variety of complex structures

• produce frequent error-free sentences
• have good control of grammar and punctuation (but may make a few errors)

In other words:

✓ use a range of sentence types and word  orders (but use some simple sentences too!) 
✓ avoid making mistakes in the majority of  your sentences (more than 50% error-free)
✓ use commas and colons appropriately;  demonstrate that you are comfortable with grammar
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 THE 5 DIFFERENT QUESTION TYPES

- What are the problems? What solutions can

Problem and solution
Advantages and disadvantages
you suggest?
- What are the causes? What are possible
solutions?
- What are the reasons for this? What impact
does this issue haveDiscuss the advantages
and disadvantages. on society?
- Discuss the advantages and disadvantages.
- Do the advantages outweigh the
disadvantages?

Discussion - Discuss both views and give your own opinion

- Is this a positive or negative development?

Opinion
- To  what extent do you agree or disagree?
- Which factors contribute to this? Is it realistic
2 question essay
to expect these factors?

 TIME MANAGEMENT

• You have 40-45 minutes to complete Task 2:

• 5-10 minutes - planning 
• 5 minutes – introduction 
• 10 minutes – body 1 
• 10 minutes – body 2 
• 5 minutes – conclusion 
• 5 minutes – checking

Why is planning important?

• There are many bene ts to planning: 

• Reduce anxiety 
• Stay focused 
• Save time 
• Organize thoughts 
• Topic-related vocabulary

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 How to plan an essay?

• Identify the question 

What type of question is it? 

• 2.   Underline key words 

Address all parts of the task 

• 3.   Plan the essay 

Main points

 Plan example 3. Essay plan: 

Intro: Paraphrase the question.
Opinion: yes. State plan & key arguments 
Some experts believe it is better for children to   Body 1: Disadvantages 
start learning a foreign language at primary  school Topic sentence: Too much pressure 
rather than secondary school.  Support: Learning a lot already 
Do the advantages outweigh the disadvantages? Example: Own language, plus maths, science etc. 
S: Other subjects more important 
E: Maths essential for everyone 
1. Do the advantages outweigh the disadvantages? 
Body 2: Advantages 
Type of question => Adv/Disadv + Opinion
T: critical learning period 
2. Key words:  S: neural connections in child’s brain 
- Better for children S2: earlier start, more chance of success 
- Start learning a foreign language       E2: more vocab, grammar etc. 
- Primary School vs Secondary School R: 4 years more than secondary school pupils 
- Advantages > Disadvantages
 Conclusion: Summarize key points, restate opinion

 Word count

- Write at least 250 words:

-
-
Introduction - 40 words (2-3 sentences)
Body Paragraph 1 - 90 words (4-5 sentences)
QUALITY
-
-
Body Paragraph 2 - 90 words (4-5 sentences)
Conclusion - 30 words (1-2 sentences) OVER
- You can write more (250 -280), but remember:
Quality over Quantity.
QUANTITY
- Time left over? Check your work! 

 Handling anxiety

Many IELTS candidates are very anxious about the

time constraints and  word counts of the IELTS
Writing test.
Here are a few tips for overcoming  this anxiety:

- Practice both with and without time constraints

- Practice regularly

- Practice with and without a clock by your side

- Do not worry about perfection





 Academic guidelines

• DON’T use idiomatic vocabulary: kids, boss, stuff – children, manager, activities
• DON’T contract verb forms: don’t, can’t  -  do not, cannot.
• DON’T use personal pronouns (e.g. I, you, we). 
• DON’T use phrases such as about a hundred or hundreds of years ago. To estimate numbers use
’approximately’. 
• DON’T use absolute statements such as unemployment causes crime. 

 Instead, use cautious phrases: ‘unemployment may cause crime’ or ‘tends to cause crime’. 
• DON’T adverbs that show your personal attitude: luckily, remarkably, surprisingly, unfortunately.

• DON’T use the following: 

- ‘like’ for introducing examples. Use such as or for instance. 
- ‘thing’ and combinations nothing or something. Use factor, issue or topic. 
- ‘lots of’. Use a significant / considerable number. 
- ‘little / big’. Use small / large. 



 Academic guidelines

• DON’T use good / bad. Use positive / negative, e.g. the changes had several positive aspects. 
• DON’T use question forms such as Why did war break out in 1914? 

Instead, use statements: There were three reasons for the outbreak of war . . . 
• DON’T use ‘etc.’ or ’and so on’. Insert ’and’ before the last item: 

The main products were pharmaceuticals, electronic goods and confectionery. 

• DON’T use ‘get’ phrases such as get better / worse. Use improve and deteriorate. 
• Avoid using two-word verbs such as go on or bring up if there is a suitable synonym. Use continue or raise.
• Avoid repetitions; use synonyms to provide variety. 
• Use signposting expressions to introduce new sections (Turning to the question of detecting cancer , . . .). 
• Use only common acronyms and abbreviations (USA, UK, DNA, etc.). 
 
Write full names if they are speci c to your area and not common worldwide

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Formal vocabulary

DON’T DO

Many kids find it difficult to adjust to a new Many children find it difficult to adjust to a new
school. school.

The results were very good. The results were extremely positive.

There were lots of problems with the engine There were many problems with the engine
overheating. overheating.

These crops don’t require the use of as much These crops do not require the use of as much
pesticide pesticide.

The students made big improvements in their The students made signi cant improvements in
reading skills. their reading skills.

Private cars can offer more privacy and comfort

Private cars are more convenient than public
than public transport, and in most cases save
transport.
your time.
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Hedging language

• To avoid overgeneralizing, we must soften our statements with appropriate  language.

Think of these as generalizing softeners:
- Modal verbs (may, might, could, can)
- Frequency language (often, tend to, usually, occasionally)
- Non-specific quantifiers (many, some, a number of, a lot of) 

DON’T DO

Many international students tend to/are likely

All international students have problems
to/may/might/can/could have problems
adjusting to a different culture
adjusting to a different culture

Everyone knows that the first Europeans to visit There is general agreement that the first
America were Vikings Europeans to visit America were Vikings

The results prove that class size is the most The results suggest/claim that class size is a
significant factor affecting student performance. significant factor affecting student performance.