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Task 2 - Introductions

Introductions are the first thing that the examiner will read. It can set their expectations for your whole essay. It is important to make a good first impression.

Tip: Your IELTS essay is not long, so you do not need a long introduction. Too many test takers put everything in the introduction, but all it needs to do is introduce the essay.

Discursive vs Thesis-led essays

Discursive

You are presenting the topic and how you will look into that topic.
The body paragraphs will look into the topic in detail.
An opinion will be reached at the end.

Thesis-led

You are presenting a topic and your position/opinion on that topic
The body paragraphs will provide the reasons supporting your opinion/position.
The opinion is repeated at the end with reference to what was covered in the body paragraphs.

BOTH APPROACHES ARE ACCEPTABLE IN IELTS. IF THE QUESTION ASKS FOR YOUR OPINION, THEN IT IS MUCH BETTER TO DO IT AS A THESIS-LED ESSAY.

Introduction structure:

Paraphrase the topic
Give an opinion in thesis-led
Thesis statement

Paraphrasing the topic:

It is important to make the topic clear at the beginning of the essay, but you cannot just copy it from the question, you need to paraphrase it.

What does paraphrasing mean?

Paraphrasing is writing it is a different way but keeping the same meaning.

How can I paraphrase?

There are two main ways you can paraphrase; changing the words and changing the sentence structure.

Changing words

You can use synonyms, but you need to be careful because words can have different meanings in different contexts.

Examples:

Countries - nations

Population - citizens/ inhabitants/ residents/

Government - authority

Job - occupation/ work

free time - leisure time/ spare time

Changing sentence structure

This can be done in two ways; switching between active and passive voice, and changing parts of speech.

Active/ passive voice

Active voice: subject + verb....

Passive voice: subject + be + past participle

Examples:

The government made the decision to .......... (Active)

The decision to ....... was made by the government. (Passive)

People are eating fast food more these days..... (Active)

Fast food is eaten more these days ...... (Passive)

Many people argue that ...... (Active)

It is argued that ...... (Passive)

Changing parts of speech

You can change a word from its noun form to a verb or adjective, or even adverb, and then change the structure to fit the new word form.

Examples:

development (n) - develop (v)/ developing (adj)/ developed (adj)

technology (n) - technological (adj)

decision (n) - decide (v)/ decisive (adj)/ decisively (adv)

belief (n) - believe (v)/ believable (adj)/ believably (adv)

It is best to combine these 3 ways together, using synonyms, and changing the structures in both ways.

Look at the following example:

In many countries, people are eating more fast food than in the past.

This can be changed to:

The consumption of fast food has increased in a great number of nations.

Giving opinions

When the question asks for your opinion, it is important to make it clear in the introduction.

Common question types that are asking for an opinion:

To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Do you agree or disagree?

Discuss both views and give your opinion.

Do you think the advantages outweigh the disadvantages?

How do I give a clear opinion?

Agree/ disagree

You can give a direct personal opinion:

Personally, I partially/ partly/ tend to/ mostly/ strongly/ absolutely/ completely agree/ disagree with this idea/ opinion/ view/ viewpoint/ notion/ belief.

Personally I agree/ disagree with this idea/ opinion/ view/ viewpoint/ notion/ belief to a certain extent.

Alternatively you can use a concession structure to give your opinion:

Even though/ While/ Although + concession (subject + verb) , your main view.

Despite/ In spite of + concession (noun phrase) , your main view.

Examples:

Personal style:

Personally, I tend to agree with this idea.

Personally, I strongly agree with students doing community work while at school.

Personally, I mostly disagree with imposing a sugar tax.

Concession structure:

While there is some opposition to this idea, the support for it is stronger.

Even though some arguments against students doing community work while at school can be identified, there reasons in favour of it are more compelling.

Despite some benefits that a sugar tax may bring, the arguments against it hold more merit.

Discuss both views and give your opinion.

There are 3 clear opinions you could give in this type of essay:

You agree more with the first view.
You agree more with the second view.
You do agree with either view or see it as being dependent on something.

This can be done easily with concession structures. (See above)

Examples:

While there is strength to the first view, I tend to agree more with the second view.

Even though benefits of living at home while studying at university can be seen, there is more merit to living on campus.

Although both views hold merit, it really depends on the family's financial situation as to which is the better option.

Advantages/ Disadvantages

You should be clear whether you think there are more advantages than disadvantages.

Comparative structure:

There are clearly more benefits than drawbacks......

.... is more beneficial than detrimental.

Using the verb outweigh

The benefits of ........ clearly outweigh the drawbacks.

The drawbacks of ..... outweigh the benefits gained.

Using concession structures. (See above)

While some advantages to ..... are present, there are far more disadvantages.

Even though some drawbacks result from ......, the benefits are far greater.

Tip: Use good referencing words for the two views.

First view: the first view/ former view

Second view: the second view/ latter view

Thesis statement

This lets the reader easily understand what will be covered in the body paragraphs. It helps your coherence and cohesion as it guides the reader on.

What does a thesis statement need to do?

It should just let the reader clearly understand what will be covered in the body paragraphs.

How can I write a good thesis statement?

I recommend using the passive voice (see above in paraphrasing) to make it more formal.

I will cover the advantages and disadvantages of this development in the following paragraphs. (Active voice)

The advantages and disadvantages of ths development will be covered in the following paragraphs. (Passive voice)

Tip: Avoid using 'This essay will.........' as it is overused and has become cliche.

Examples of thesis statements in different types of essay types:

Agree/ dsagree

It is argued that students should be required to hand their phones in at the start of the school day and not get them back until they leave school at the end of the day. While there are strong arguments in favour of this sggestion, the opposing arguments hold more merit. Reasons why will be outlined in detailed.

Discuss both views and give your opinion

Some are of the view that homework is essential to help students progress in their studies. Others, however, opine that it is detrimental to the student's development. While both views hold merit, it depends a lot on the age of the student. The pros and cons of both views along with why different ages have different needs will be looked into in detail.

Advantages/ disadvantages

It has become increasingly common for health centres to provide obese patients with appetite suppressing medicine to help them reduce their weight. The various benefits and drawbacks arising from this development will be examined throughout the following paragraphs.

Causes/ effects

Global warming is a serious issue that has become a part of daily life and conversations. How this issue has become so promiment and the dangers it poses for the present and future wil be provided throughout this essay.

Causes/ solutions

Global warming is a serious issue that has become a part of daily life and conversations. How this issue has become so promiment and the best ways to resolve it will be provided in detail in the following paragraphs.