WRITING TASK 2

Task Overview
How to Improve
What Exactly To Do, Step-By-Step
OVERVIEW
250+ words
Argumentative or Discursive style
1 Hour to complete writing task 1 and 2
Task 1 is 33% of your score
Task 2 is 66% of your score
Essay will be marked by a Cambridge-trained professional
HOW WILL I BE GIVEN A SCORE?
There are 4 Marking Criteria:
Task Response - logical and reasonable ideas which
are relevant to the topic
Coherence and Cohesion - how your ideas relate to
one another, and how you help the reader to
understand your ideas using linking words
Lexical Resources - your word choices and how you
phrase things to give your intended meaning
Grammatical Range and Accuracy - the variety of
your grammar structures and how accurately you use
them
Task Response – logic and reasonable ideas which are relevant to the topic

Common mistakes:

• Poor general knowledge

• Weak ideas that don’t cover enough of the topic (niche ideas, limited scope)
• Grandiose and dramatic ideas (homesickness leading to suicide, etc)
• Logical fallacies
• Appeal to tradition/culture
• Appeal to authority
• Unclear relation (disobeying parents leads to crime, etc.)
• Irrelevant ideas
• The idea or the support doesn’t actually address the topic
• Repeating ideas without realizing it
• Disagreeing with yourself without knowing it
Coherence and Cohesion – how your ideas relate to one another, and how you
help the reader to understand your ideas using linking words

Common mistakes:

• Using the same connectors repeatedly

• Using connectors without understanding (saying “similarly” with no similarity)
• Not using connectors at all
Grammar – the variety of your grammar structures and how accurately you use
them

Common mistakes:

• Tenses
• Prepositions
• Articles
• Comparison forms
• Run-on sentences
• Incomplete sentences
Lexical Resources – your word choices and how you phrase things to give your
intended meaning

Common mistakes:

• Colloquial vocabulary
• Using words from IELTS YouTube videos (plethora, etc.) which you don’t really
know
• Poor collocations (basically it means phrasing)
 HOW CAN I IMPROVE MY WRITING?
That is a very common question! This answer is brief, but rather profound.
Language is not knowledge. It is a skill.
Short-term improvement is possible, but limited. Learning skills is like weight loss, requiring
continued effort over a long period.
Learning skills requires INPUT in order to modify and correct OUTPUT. For example, babies listen
to people for several years before they speak. And while they learn, they get their OUTPUT
corrected by others giving them INPUT.
The most common thing missing for IELTS students is good language input. Basically, they don’t
read in their target language, and they don’t listen to their target language.
INPUT means LISTENING and READING
OUTPUT means SPEAKING and WRITING
If you want to fix your output, focus on a huge amount of input for a long time, and be patient.
This is explained by biology and neuroscience, as well as education theory and psychology.
WHAT SHOULD THE ESSAY LOOK LIKE?
• 4 Paragraph structure -
• Intro
• general statement of the topic
• 2 aspects to be considered
• your own perspective
• MB1
• topic sentence
• idea 1, support 1
• idea 2, support 2
• idea 3, support 3
• MB2
• topic sentence
• idea 1, support 1
• idea 2, support 2
• idea 3, support 3
• Conclusion
• restate your own viewpoint
• summarize ideas from above
WHAT DO I NEED TO DO TO GET A GOOD SCORE?
• Step By Step
• Analyze the question to figure out what the
examiner wants– Topic, Aspects, Instruction
words
• Brainstorm some ideas about the topic,
thinking of 4 or 6 points and how to
support/explain them
• Write an Introduction which introduces the
topic, mentions the different views, and says
your own viewpoint
• Write Main Body paragraphs that introduce
one aspect of the topic, then present points
and support them one-by-one
• Write a Conclusion that summarizes your
points from above, and restates your own
viewpoint
• Check your work (for logic, and grammar)
 HOW DO I ANALYZE THE QUESTION?
What is the overall topic? This is often a single word, but it can be
several words.

What aspects will you need to write about? What ABOUT that topic
is relevant?

What type of essay do the instructions tell you to compose?

(Opinion, Advantage/Disadvantage, Problems and Solutions, etc.)

When you combine these 3 elements to form a simplified question

in your own words, you have successfully analyzed the question
and can begin composing your essay by brainstorming ideas.
 QUESTION ANALYSIS
Prompt
Some people think that young people should go to university to
further their education while others think they should be encouraged
to work as car mechanics or builders [Link] serve society. Discuss
both views and give your own opinion.

Analysis
Topic: Young people
Aspects: Should go to university/Should train in work useful to society
Instruction: Discuss both sides and give opinion
Sentence: Should young people focus on higher education, or start
working to serve society?
 QUESTION ANALYSIS
Prompt
Some people say schools should be responsible to teach young adults
to look after their health, while others think this is not the responsibility of
schools. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Analysis
Topic: Health education
Aspects: Is the responsibility of schools/Is not the responsibility of
schools
Instruction: Give opinion
Sentence: Do schools need to teach everything about personal
health, or should kids get that education from other sources?
 QUESTION ANALYSIS
Prompt
Money should be spent on creating new public buildings such as
museums or town halls rather than renovating the existing ones.
To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Analysis
Topic:
Aspects:
Instruction:
Sentence:
 QUESTION ANALYSIS
Prompt
Recently, many people know a few of their neighbors. What is the
cause of this problem? What can be done to solve this problem?
Give reasons for your answer and any example from your own
experience.

Analysis
Topic:
Aspects:
Instruction:
Sentence:
 QUESTION ANALYSIS
Prompt
Some people think subjects taught in school are a waste of time,
while others disagree and believe that this type of education is
useful for students. Discuss both views and give your own opinion.

Analysis
Topic:
Aspects:
Instruction:
Sentence:
 BRAINSTORMING TEMPLATE
• Aspect 1 • Aspect 2
• Idea • Idea
• Support/Explanation • Support/Explanation
• Idea • Idea
• Support/Explanation • Support/Explanation
• Idea • Idea
• Support/Explanation • Support/Explanation
 BRAINSTORMING EXAMPLE
• Aspect 1 • Aspect 2
• Young people should go to university • Young people should start working to serve society
• Idea 1 – Youth is a time when learning is efficient • Idea 1 – Endless education in the modern world gains a lot of debt
• This is partly due to biology, and physiological development • This debt will be a burden for the young people and their
families, so it is better to focus on immediate economic
• Idea 2 – Getting an education helps people understand life security.
• Greater understanding will help make better long-term
decisions for themselves and others, and therefore is a great • Idea 2 – Society needs active participants instead of passive
way to serve society theorists
• Joining the workforce focuses young people on realistic life
• Idea 3 – Young people do not know what they are interested in situations, and allows them to escape from profitless
• Exploring their own inner drives makes them more complete academic theories which help nobody.
as humans, and will lead to more fulfilled lives
• Idea 3 - Jobs teach responsibility
• Learning about responsibility will help build more stable
personalities which leads to stronger families in the future.
This naturally builds a strong society.
HOMEWORK

Analyze 12 IELTS essay prompts

Analysis
Topic:
Aspects:
Instruction:
Sentence:
• Nowadays many children are playing computer • Over consuming sugar is unhealthy. Some people think that the
games instead of doing sports activities. Why is it government should take responsibility to control it. Others think that
happening? Is it a negative or positive development? individuals should take responsibility of sugar intake. What is your
opinion on this? Discuss both views.
• These days, mobile phones and the internet are very
important to the ways in which people relate to one • All the people in a company should be treated equally and provided
another socially. Do the advantages of this with the same number of vacation leaves per year. To what extent do
development outweigh the disadvantages? you agree or disagree with this?

• Many people believe that it’s better to learn • Some people believe that children should be given lessons on how to
something in a group rather than individually. Do you manage money in the school. To what extent do you agree or
agree or disagree? disagree?

• Some people think that men are naturally more • Some people believe that the museums and historic sites should be
competitive than women. To what extent do you open for free for children under 18 years old. To what extent do you
agree or disagree? agree or disagree?

• Weddings are more expensive in many countries • While recruiting a new employee, the employer should pay more
comparison present and past. What is the reason attention to their personal qualities, rather than qualifications and
behind this? Is this a positive or a negative experience. To what extent do you agree or disagree? Give your
development? opinion and include relevant examples.

• Scientists believe that in order to protect the • Computer games and films containing violence are popular today.
environment, people must use less energy in their Some people think that these are harmful for our society and the
daily lives. However, most people have not changed government should ban them. Others argue that such games and
the way they live. Why do you think many people films are fine for entertainment. Discuss both views and give your
have not taken individual action? What could be opinion.
done to encourage them to take action?