IELTS help for free
Back to writing task 2 home page / Introductions / Body paragraphs / Conclusions / Coherence and cohesion / Sample essays
Common essay types
Advantages/ disadvantages
You are given a situation and you need to cover the advantages and disadvantages of it. There are some synonyms they may use:
Advantages - benefits/ pros/ positive aspects
Disadvantages - drawbacks/ cons/ negative aspects
You should give both sides equal attention.
In the conclusion, you should come to an opinion whether it is overall positive or negative.
Example question:
Many schools have stopped students from having their phones in the classroom. Students have to hand their phone in at the beginning of the day and get it back when they leave.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of this school policy?
Do the advantages outweigh the disadvantages?
This is very similar to the advantages and disadvantages question, but now you are being directly asked for your opinion. I recommend that you make it clear in the introduction whether you think there are more advantages or disadvantages.
There are some synonyms they may use:
Outweigh - more than/ greater than
Advantages - benefits/ pros/ positive aspects
Disadvantages - drawbacks/ cons/ negative aspects
You should give both sides equal attention. I strongly advise against writing a one-sided essay.
In the introduction and conclusion, your opinion should be clear.
Example question:
Remote work has become more common in recent years. The office culture could completely disappear in the future.
Do the benefits of this change outweigh the drawbacks?
Causes or problems/ effects or solutions
You could be given an issue and you need to look at its causes or the problems within it, and look at the effects or ways to solve it.
There are some synonyms they may use:
Causes - reasons why/ factors leading to/ contributing factors
Problems - factors/ issues/ aspects
Effects - results/ consequences/ what it leads to
Solutions - resolve/ reduce/ manage/ maintain/ deal with
You should give both sides equal attention
In the conclusion, you should come to an opinion.
Example questions:
Pollution is a common issue affecting residents in most major cities.
What kind of pollution do they suffer with and how can they be reduced? (problems/ solutions)
Pollution is a common issue affecting residents in most major cities.
Why does pollution occur and how can it be solved? (causes/ solutions)
Pollution is a common issue affecting residents in most major cities.
What kind of pollution do they suffer with and what are the effects? (problems/ effects)
Pollution is a common issue affecting residents in most major cities.
Why does pollution occur and what can be done to reduce it? (causes/ solutions)
To what extent do you agree or disagree?
You could be given an idea/ statement/ opinion/ suggestion/ viewpoint and say how much you agree or disagree with it.
There are some synonyms they may use:
extent - how much/ how strongly
agree - think/ believe
You should look at both sides, but more detail can be given to the side which is your opinion.
I strongly advise against writing a one-sided essay.
Do not sit on the fence (neither agree nor disagree)
Your opinion should be clear in your introduction and conclusion.
Example question:
Space travel costs a significant amount of money. These funds would be better used to tackle domestic issues of poverty and inequality.
To what extent do you agree or disagree?
Discuss both views and give your opinion
You will be given two contrasting viewpoints. You need to discuss both and give your own opinion
There are some synonyms they may use:
Discuss - pros and cons/ advantages and disadvantages
You must cover both views in your essay.
Your opinion should be clear in the introduction and conclusion.
Do not sit on the fence (neither agree nor disagree)
Do not write an opinion paragraph because it will just contain information which should be in the paragraphs for the views and the conclusion.
Example question:
Some experts argue that homework is essential for young learners to get the necessary knowledge in primary school. Others, however, believe that allowing children more free time helps them develop better.
Discuss both views and give your opinion.
Two part question
Sometimes there will be two parts to a question which are not connected. Often, they are a mix of other question types.
Make sure you cover both parts of the question equally.
Example questions:
Many workers are choosing to work remotely rather than in an office.
Why are they choosing to do this and what advantages will this have for family relationships?
Recently, more people have become interested in their family history.
Why are they interested in this and where can they find the information?
Listing question
This kind of question rarely comes up, but it does happen. You just need to look at one side of something.
You still need to have at least two body paragraphs, so you need to think about how you can separate your ideas.
Example questions:
Universities have long been considered a vital part of any developed or developing nation.
What are the responsibilities of a university?
Traffic congestion is a serious problem in most countries.
How can this problem be best resolved?