ADVANTAGE AND DISADVANTAGE ESSAY

Structure
The structure of an IELTS advantages/disadvantages essay should be simple,
with four paragraphs:

1. Introduction
2. Advantages (OR disadvantages, whichever you have better ideas for)
3. Disadvantages (OR advantages, if you wrote about disadvantages first
4. Conclusion
The main thing to keep in mind is that you should separate advantages into
their own paragraph and disadvantages into their own paragraph. It doesn’t
matter which one comes first, but they should be distinct.

Ideas
It can be easy to get caught up in using the IELTS advantages and
disadvantages essay vocabulary you’ve learned and forgetting to focus on the
ideas. However, you should brainstorm ideas carefully at the beginning of your
time to make sure that you have something to write about! Aim to share two
advantages and two disadvantages in your essay.

IELTS Advantages and Disadvantages Essay Vocabulary

With that in mind, I’ll take a look at some words and phrase you can use for
this essay type.

Before we get into specifics, though, let’s look at some basic terms for this
section: synonyms for “advantages” and “disadvantages”:

advantages” and “disadvantages”:

 Pros/cons
 Benefits/drawbacks
 Positives/negatives
With those in mind, take a look at vocabulary words and phrases you can use
to present each side!

IELTS Advantages and Disadvantages Essay Vocabulary: Advantages

 One advantage of X is…
 A primary advantage of X is…
 The positive aspects of X include…
 A/Another benefit of X is…
 An/Another advantage of X is…
IELTS Advantages and Disadvantages Essay Vocabulary: Disadvantages
 A disadvantage of X is…
 One drawback of X is…
 A negative aspect of X is…
 A negative consequence of X is…
 A/another drawback of X is…
Vocabulary and Phrases for Opinions (ONLY if Required by the Prompt)!
 The benefits of X far outweigh/exceed the drawbacks.
 The disadvantages of X far outweighs/exceeds the advantages.

Example of an IELTS Advantages and Disadvantages Essay

So what does this look like in practice? Take a look at a sample IELTS
advantages/disadvantages prompt and a high-scoring essay written in
response. If you want, you can use an IELTS essay response sheet and try
your own response before checking the answer below!

The Prompt
With the rise of streaming services online, fewer people go to the movie
theater to see films. What are the advantages and disadvantages of this
trend?

The Response
These days, as streaming services like Netflix and Amazon prime have
allowed people to watch new movies in their homes immediately, cinema
attendance has dropped. The popularity of streaming services has a number
of clear benefits, but it also has some drawbacks.
One major advantage of streaming films in the home is that it removes
barriers between customers and the films. Couples with children do not need
to find babysitters to enjoy new cinema. Another benefit of streaming services
is that, in many cases, the price of new films is already included in the monthly
subscription cost. This means that more people are likely to watch the film at
home, even if they were not interested enough to pay money directly to see it
in the theatre.

Conversely, a negative consequence of streaming services’ popularity is that,

if they reach a certain tipping point of popularity, cinemas may go out of
business. Consumers have no incentive to go to the theatre to see the same
films they can see in the comfort of their homes. This means that those
employed by cinemas, from ushers to those working at concessions stands,
may lose their jobs, which could have a knock-on effect on the economy.
Another disadvantage of streaming services’ ubiquity is that some films may
not be as easy to appreciate artistically on a small screen. By watching these
films at home, consumers may be missing out on the director’s artistic vision.

On balance, there are both benefits and drawbacks to the recent rise in
streaming services. The effects this trend has are primarily economic (on both
individual and societal levels) and artistic.

Word count: 272