Writing task 1 and 2

In Writing Task 2 is the second part of the writing test, where you are
presented with a point of view, argument or problem and asked to write
an essay in response. Your essay should be in a formal style, at least 250
words in length and you should aim to complete it in under 40 minutes.
5 Steps to Writing Task 2
1. Understand the question.

You must understand the question before you attempt to answer it. This
way, you’ll know exactly what the examiner is looking for. One of the
biggest mistakes students make is not answering the question fully.

To analyze the question, you must first identify the question type, then
identify the keywords the question and finally identify the instructions
words.

2. Plan your answer.

The students who get the highest marks in Writing Task 2 always plan
their answers for up to 10 minutes. Planning helps you organize your
ideas and structure your essay before you write it, saving your time and
helping you produce a clear and coherent essay.

3. Write an introduction(one paragraph).

The introduction should tell the examiner what the rest of the essay is
about and also answer the question directly. This tells the examiner that
you know what you are doing straight away and helps you write your
main body paragraphs.

4. Write the main body paragraphs (2/3 paragraphs).

This is where you give the examiner more detail. You do this by stating
your main points and supporting these with explanations and relevant
examples.

5. Write a conclusion (one paragraph).

In your conclusion, you should provide a summary of what you already

said in the rest of your essay.

The linking words list below is essential for task 2. These connecting
words are suitable for all types of essay writing.

Listing

This is often used to either put your paragraphs in order or used inside
the paragraphs to list your supporting points.

 Firstly

 Secondly

 Thirdly

 Fourthly
  Lastly/last but not least/ finally

Adding information

You will need to support your main points. These linkers inform the
readers that extra information is about to be presented.

 In addition

 Additionally

 Furthermore

 Moreover

 Also

 Not only………. but also

 As well as

 And

Giving examples

It is often useful to put examples to support ideas. Make sure you use
this range of linking words to do so.

 For example
  One clear example is

 For instance

 Such as

 Namely

 To illustrate

 In other words

Results and consequences

These linking devices can be used for solution essays or any essay you
need to explain the consequences of something.

 As a result

 Consequently

 Therefore

 Thus

 Hence

 So

 For this reason

Highlighting and stressing

It is important to be clear about what you mean in your writing. These

linking words help you stress particular points.

 Particularly

 In particular

 Specifically

 Especially

 Obviously

 Of course

 Clearly

Concession (a point conceded) and contrast

You often need to give opposite ideas, particularly for discussion essays
so the linking words below will help you show the reader when you
want to introduce an opposite point.

 Admittedly

 However

 Nevertheless
  Even though

 Although

 But

 Despite

 In spite of

 Still

 On the other hand

 By contrast

 In comparison

 Alternatively

 Another option could be

Reasons and causes

These connecting words will help you to explain reasons and causes,
especially for cause and solution essays.

 Because

 Owing to due to
  Since

 As

Giving opinion

 In my opinion

 I think

 I believe

 I admit

 In my view

 I concur/agree

 I disagree/ I cannot accept

Concluding linkers

 In conclusion

 To conclude

 To sum up

 As
Opinion Tips

1. don't put your opinion unless you are asked to give it

2. if the question asks what you think, you MUST give your opinion
to get a good score

3. don't leave your opinion until the conclusion

4. don't sit on the fence - take a clear position

5. keep the same position throughout your essay

Types of Essay Instructions

Here are examples of instructions that require you to give your

opinion:

■"....do you agree or disagree?” – it means you should give your

opinion "...do you think...?" it means you should give your opinion

-your opinion...? - it means you should give your opinion

"...what is your view?" - it means you should give your opinion

■ "Do the advantages outweigh the disadvantages?" - this is asking

for your opinion (your answer) not the opinions of other people

▪ Are there more benefits or more drawbacks? – this is a paraphrase

of the above instructions
 ■ "Is this positive or negative?" - this is asking for you to choose and
explain your opinion

■ "Do you think this is a good thing?" - this is asking you to evaluate
if something is good or bad

Sample task for writing test 2

You should spend about 40 minutes on this task. Write about the following topic.

The first car appeared on British roads in 1888. By the year 2000, there may be as many
as 29 million vehicles on British roads. Alternative forms of transport should be
encouraged and international laws introduced to control car ownership and use.

To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your knowledge or
experience. Write at least 250 words.

Write about the following topic:

The dangers and complexities of the modern world have made the mobile phone an
absolute necessity for children.

To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own experience
or knowledge.

Write at least 250 words.

Popular events like football World Cup and other international sporting
occasions are essential in easing international tensions and releasing
patriotic emotions in a safe way.
To what extent do you disagree or agree with this opinion?

Some people think it’s better to educate boys and girls in separate schools. However,
others believe that boys and girls benefit more from attending the same school.

Discuss both views and give your own opinion.

The overpopulation of urban areas has led to numerous problems. Identify one or
two serious ones and suggest ways that governments can tackle these problems.

1. Doing an enjoyable activity with a child can develop better skills and more
creativity than reading. To what extent do you agree? Use reasons and
specific examples to explain your answer.

IELTS sample essay answer (1)

Parents throughout the world spend time reading with their offspring to prepare them for
school where their literacy skills are further developed; however, recent research suggests
that focusing on reading at an early age can be detrimental, and participating in fun activities
would be far more beneficial. I am a strong advocate of this approach, and the benefits of it
will be covered in this essay.

A fundamental reason for this is that there is no biological age for reading, and pushing
infants to acquire this skill before they are ready could have repercussions. For example, in
the UK, many boys are reluctant(unwilling) readers, possibly because of being forced to read,
and this turned them off reading. By focusing on other activities and developing other skills
such as creativity and imagination, when they are ready to read, they usually acquire this skill
rapidly.

In addition, the importance of encouraging creativity and developing a child's imagination

must be acknowledged. Through play, youngsters develop social and cognitive skills, for
example, they are more likely to learn vocabulary through context rather than learning it from
a book.
Furthermore, play allows youngsters to mature emotionally, and gain self-confidence. There
is no scientific research which suggests reading at a young age is essential for a child's
development, moreover, evidence suggests the reverse is true. In Finland, early years'
education focuses on playing.

Reading is only encouraged if a child has interest in developing this skill. This self-directed
approach certainly does not result in Finnish school leavers falling behind their foreign
counterparts. In fact, Finland was ranked the sixth best in the world in terms of reading.

Despite being a supporter of this non-reading approach, I strongly recommend incorporating

bedtime stories into a child's daily routine. However, reading as a regular daytime activity
should be swapped for something which allows the child to develop other skills.

2. Some people say that Ebooks and modern technology will totally replace
traditional newspaper and magazines to what extent do you agree or
disagree.

Technology is flourishing by leaps and bounds and providing us with new avenues while
keeping ourselves updated with the latest news and current affairs. Therefore, a fair amount
of people believe, a conventional way of newspaper reading will be disappeared. I do not
completely accord with it because a conventional newspaper is the easiest and cheapest way
to get news.

To embark(proceed) on, there are multiple reasons why the traditional ways of getting news
are still popular. First of all, reading the newspaper has become the ardent habit of many
people. Everyone whether from the affluent or middle class is seen desperately waiting for
paper in the morning and enjoy it reading with a cup of tea. Moreover, these are the most
portable, cheapest an easiest way of knowing about global activities. It can be carried from
one place to another in the bag and is available at an economical price. It is so handy and
merely by continuing flip of pages can make you omniscient. Secondly, electricity and other
appliances are not required. Moreover, the other attachments are like icing on the cake. For
instance, the Hindustan times has multiple attachments like women’s fashion, career guide,
culinary(cooking) art and so on.

However, undoubtedly, technology has given the radical approach to reading news, for
example, videos provide a full and clear view to reading besides that we can download, share
and forward it to our relatives and friends. Needless to say that technophobic will be having
no place in this ever-advanced modern world.

To conclude, the lives of people are drastically affected by advanced versions of technology
yet, in my opinion, it will not be able to pose threat to the existence of traditional newspaper
and magazines.

3. The most school offers some type of physical education program to their
students. Why is it important? Should physical education classes be
required or optional?

Physical education programs are having paramount importance in a school curriculum, therefore,
there have been a number of given opinion, that physical education should be compulsory
because of its mental and physical health benefits for a student, however, some oppose it. I will
discuss both types of opinions before a conclusion.

To begin with, undoubtedly, it has been proved that physical activities are the part and parcel
of healthy life. Students who are exposed to these types of physical exercises can increase
their stamina and resistance power. According to medical science, the Strong immune system
helps to prevent certain diseases like diabetes, obesity, and indigestion. It not only improves
stamina of body but also make one mentally strong. Besides that, A recent study has revealed
that indulgence in these activities do not let the students sneak time for electronic gadgets.

Furthermore, physical programs are very helpful in inculcating the values of team spirit,
cooperation, and coexistence. Therefore, the array of benefits makes it an inevitable part of
the school’s curriculum…

On the other hand, there are the situation and certain circumstances when a physical program
needs to be sacrificed. Students with certain disability and illness somehow should not be
forced to be the part of this. Their impairments prevent them to be active and physically
enthusiastic. Indeed, there is the requirement to have it optional but it is also imperative to
understand that they should be equipped with any other educational aspects like computer
numeracy and soft skills.
In conclusion, physical education should not be optional since it provides physical and mental
growth to a student but the circumstances of impaired candidates should be kept in view.

4. Some people say that Government should break down all the historic
building and replace them with modern buildings. Do you agree or
disagree?

It is undeniable fact that every country’s monuments and historic sites are their heritage.
Surprisingly, there are some who feel it less valued and want the government to pull it down.
In my opinion, these are the greatest assets of every country and deserve respectful attitudes
by citizens.

To embark on, in the justification of my notion, every country has its own cultural history
that exhibits old civilization. These historic sites are priceless and irreplaceable. This is the
only way to appraise the next generation about our ancestors and their sacrifices. Moreover,
visiting these locations will help us to learn from our ancestor’s lapse and provide the better
course of action.

Furthermore, these locations are the best source of revenue income for the government.
Tourists visit different places and their spending help the government to improve
Infrastructure of the country. Moreover, tourists show their interest in purchasing handicraft
that results in the growth of a small-scale industry. It increases the flow of foreign money.
Above all questions, it is quite apparent that tourists’ visit leads to good bonding among the
people across the world.

In conclusion, I feel that preserving historical sites means saving the history of the country. It
has Paramount importance because of its array of benefits for existing and forth coming
generations.

Task 1 Sample
Tips
 Present, highlight and illustrate key features
 Sequence information and ideas logically 
  Manage all aspects of cohesion well
 Use paragraphing sufficiently and appropriately
  Use a wide range of vocabulary
 Use a wide range of structures
You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The pie chart shows the amount of money that a children's charity located in the USA spent
and received in one year, 2016.

Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features and make
comparisons where relevant.

Write at least 150 words.

Revenue Sources and Expenditures of a USA Charity in one year, 2016.

Task 1 Sample -
Revenue sources and expenditure of a charity
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Model Answer

The pie charts show the amount of revenue and expenditures in 2016 for a children’s charity in the USA.
Overall, it can be seen that donated food accounted for the majority of the income, while program services
accounted for the most expenditure. Total revenue sources just exceeded outgoings.

In detail, donated food provided most of the revenue for the charity, at 86%. Similarly, with regard to
expenditures, one category, program services, accounted for nearly all of the outgoings, at 95.8%.

The other categories were much smaller. Community contributions, which were the second largest revenue
source, brought in 10.4% of overall income, and this was followed by program revenue, at 2.2%. Investment
income, government grants, and other income were very small sources of revenue, accounting for only 0.8%
combined.

There were only two other expenditure items, fundraising and management and general, accounting for
2.6% and 1.6% respectively. The total amount of income was $53,561,580, which was just enough to cover
the expenditures of $53,224,896.

(161 Words)

Comments
The response achieves the task because the data from the pie chart is selected and summarized
appropriately.

Also, it can be seen that comparisons are made, which you are told to do in the rubric. The comparisons are
clear from language such as 'similarly', 'much smaller', and 'largest revenue source'. Those are all language
of comparison and contrast.

The summary is also well-organized. The writer decides first to compare the two largest items in each pie
chart in the first paragraph, then go on to summarize the smaller items of expenditure, each in a separate
paragraph.

Sample IELTS Bar Graph

This is a model of an IELTS bar graph. The topic is team scores.

In a bar graph data is organized into columns showing the data. In this case the information is over time so
you have to use the language of change to describe the data.

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The bar chart shows the scores of teams A, B and C over four different seasons.

Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features and make
comparisons where relevant.

Write at least 150 words.

IELTS Bar Graph

IELTS Bar Graph - Model Answer

The bar chart shows the scores of three teams, A, B and C, in four consecutive seasons. It is evident from
the chart that team B scored far higher than the other two teams over the seasons, though their score
decreased as a whole over the period.
In 2002, the score of team B far exceeded that of the other two teams, standing at 82 points compared
to only 10 for team C and a very low 5 for team A. Over the next two years, the points for team B
decreased quite considerably, dropping by around half to 43 by 2004, but they still remained above
the points for the other teams.

However, though team A and C's points were lower, they were rising. Team A’s points had increased by
600% from 2002 to reach 35 points by 2004, nearly equal to team B. Team C, meanwhile, had managed
only a small increase over this time.

In the final year, team B remained ahead of the others as their points increased again to 55, while team A
and C saw their point scores reverse and drop to 8 and 5 respectively.

(Words 164)

Comments
The largest or biggest data is not always the most important but in this case you should see that
what stands out above everything else is the size of Team B. It's much higher than the others
throughout the period.

So in this case this is likely to be a good piece of information to select for the overview (the main trend of
the IELTS bar graph):

It is evident from the chart that team B scored far higher than the other two teams over the seasons, though their score
decreased as a whole over the period.

It is then important in your description to pick out the main features and make comparisons as you
are told to do in the prompt.

What you should not miss as they are likely to be seen to be key features by the examiner are:

 The relative size of B over the other teams

 It's steep drop over the first three years
 The sudden rise in Team A in 2004 and its steep drop again

The importance of Team B in this IELTS bar graph is highlighted in the first body paragraph, with detail on
how it remained high and above the other two teams.
It is then pointed out how Team A and C's points increased, especially A, then fell again, while Team B rose
again at the end after falling.

Model 3
You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The following bar chart shows the different modes of transport used to
travel to and from work in one European city in 1960, 1980 and 2000.

Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features

and make comparisons where relevant.

Write at least 150 words.

IELTS Bar Chart - Modes of Transport

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ELTS Bar Chart - Model Answer

The bar chart shows the changing patterns of transport used in a European city during the
period from 1960 to 2000. In brief, the chart shows that the use of the car as a means of
transport dramatically increased over the period shown, while the others fell.
In detail, in 1960 the motor car was used least as a method of transport with only about 7% of
the population using this method but car use grew steadily and strongly to finally reach
about 37% of the population by 2000. This was a massive 5-fold increase in use.

Over this same period, however, the popularity of walking, which had been the most popular
means of transport with 35% of the population in 1960 having it as their preferred way of
getting around, fell to 10%. Bicycle use also fell from a high of about 27% in 1960 to just 7%
in 2000.

On the other hand, bus use was more erratic(unpredictable) being popular with almost 20% of
the population in 1960 and rising to a peak of about 27% in 1980 before falling back to about
18% in 2000.

(188 Words)

Comments
This IELTS bar chart would get a good score as it meets the requirements of the task.

You have to think carefully how you will organize your it as there are usually a few options.
For example, in this case organizing by years or by modes of transport are two possible
options. In the IELTS bar chart response, it has been organized by mode of transport, with
each discussed in turn.

Good organization is essential for a high score as without it the examiner may get confused as
they read it, thus affecting your score for coherence and cohesion.

You must also make sure you refer to the data now and again to support your analysis, and
make sure you vary the language used.

IELTS Line Graph and Pie Chart

Sometimes in the IELTS Academic Task 1 you have to describe two graphs together.

It is usually best to describe each graph separately rather than attempting to describe them
together.

Trying to link them can be difficult to do (remember you only have 20 minutes) and
can also get confusing to read.
Often the data is not directly linked anyway, and separate descriptions are
more suitable.

IELTS Line Graph and Pie Chart Question

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The line graph shows the number of books that were borrowed in four
different months in 2014 from four village libraries, and the pie chart
shows the percentage of books, by type, that were borrowed over this
time.

Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features

and make comparisons where relevant.

Write at least 150 words.

 IELTS Line Graph

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 IELTS Pie Chart

Model Answer

The line graph depicts the number of books that were loaned out from four libraries over a
four-month period and the pie chart illustrates the proportions of books borrowed in terms of
genre. It is immediately apparent that the borrowing patterns for each library were quite
varied, and that fiction was by far the most popular type of book.
The borrowing of books at Sutton Wood and Ryeslip began fairly high, at 250 and 300 per
month in June respectively. However, while book borrowing at Ryeslip fell steadily to
around 175 at the end of the period, borrowing at Sutton Wood followed a much more erratic
pattern. It plummeted to 100 in August, before then rising steeply to finish at 300, which
represented the highest level of borrowing of the four.

Borrowing at West Eaton and Church Mount, meanwhile, followed very similar patterns,
with both starting quite low at 50 per month, but then gradually increasing to finish at 150.
Moving on to the types of books borrowed, fiction was in demand the most, at 43%. The next
most popular books were biographies, accounting for around a fifth of the total. The
borrowing of science and history were identical, at 14% each, leaving self-help as the least
popular at 10%.  

(211 Words)

Comments
Task Achievement

The graph covers all the requirements of the task, which are to describe both of the
diagrams, highlight the main features and make comparisons.

There is not any irrelevant information and the data is referred to in order to support
the description.

Coherence and Cohesion

The ideas are arranged in a logical way so the graph description is easy to read and
follow. Paragraphing is used well as there is an introduction and then separate
paragraphs with the various patterns.

Lexical Resource

There is a sufficient range of vocabulary used with precision and flexibility.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy

There are wide range of sentence structures used, demonstrating that the writer can
use a mix of simple and complex sentence forms.

IELTS Map Writing

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The two maps below show an island, before and after the construction
of some tourist facilities.
Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main
features and make comparisons where relevant.

Write at least 150 words.

Model IELTS Map Writing Answer

The maps illustrate the changes that have occurred on an island due to the building
of facilities for tourists.

The island originally consisted of just palm trees and the beach, yet now, although
the palm trees remain, it hosts a wealth of attractions for holiday makers, from
restaurants and swimming to accommodation.

The island is approximately 200 meters long, with a small beach on the western tip.
It was deserted before, with only a scattering of palm trees. Now though, there is an
abundance of places to stay in the form of fifteen beach huts situated in circular
patterns in the center of the island and to the west.

Between these two sets of accommodation there is also a new large restaurant and a
reception building, both served by new vehicle tracks. Situated in the south is a t-
shaped pier(dock) for ships to dock, and sailing boats are now evident in this area of
the sea. Footpaths have also been constructed, which traverse the island, leading to
the new buildings and also the beach, where tourists can now swim.

(177 Words)

Comments
This IELTS map writing answer would score highly in IELTS.
It meets the requirements of the task as both maps are explained and all the features and
changes are highlighted.

The introduction clearly sets out what the map is about (paraphrasing and not
copying from the prompt) and then there is an overview of some of the key changes.

It is well-organised into clear paragraphs, with the first detail paragraph setting out
how the island used to look, and how it now has a lot of accommodation. The final
paragraph then describes all the rest of the changes.