Essay Structures for IELTS Writing Task 2

In this post, you’ll see the various Essay Structures for IELTS Writing Task 2. In task 2, you have to write an essay in response to a point of view, argument, or a problem.

IELTS Writing Task 2 Criteria

In this task, it’s very essential that you consider the following criteria:

1. Task Respone
2. Coherence and Cohesion
3. Lexical Resource
4. Grammatical Range and Accuracy

For the task response, you must address all the questions. In addition, you must bear in mind that your essay must have a minimum 250 words. For coherence and cohesion, the knowledge of essay structure is really vital. You must also use cohesive devices to make your essay organized and easy to follow. The lexical resource is your choice of words. This means that you need to make sure that your choice of words are appropriate to the topic. Lastly, allot few minutes to check your grammar. To be specific, this includes capitalization, punctuation, spelling, and even subject-verb agreement.

Standard Essay Structure:

Essay Structures for IELTS Writing Task 2

1. Agree or Disagree

Sample Question:

In some countries an increasing number of people are suffering from health problems as a result of eating too much fast food. It is therefore necessary for governments to impose a higher tax on this kind of food.

Do you agree or disagree?

To what extent do you agree?

Sample Question:

Many people believe that social networking sites (such as Facebook) have a huge negative impact on both individuals and society.
To what extent do you agree?

2. Advantages outweigh Disadvantages

Sample question:

In some countries, governments are encouraging industries and businesses to move to regional areas outside the big cities.
Do the advantages of this trend outweigh the disadvantages?

3. Discuss two views only

Sample Question:

In some countries young people are encouraged to work or travel for a year between finishing high school and starting university studies.
Discuss the advantages and disadvantages for young people who decide to do this.

4. Discuss two views plus your opinion

Sample Question:

These days internet-based courses have become a popular alternative to university-based courses. Some students prefer this type of learning because they do not need to attend lectures. Others argue that it is important to study at university.
Discuss both these views and give your opinion.

5. Causes, Problem, and Solution

Sample Question:

Although many countries are becoming richer, these societies still have members who are poor and struggle each day to survive.
Why do you think this happens and what can wealthy societies do to help their poorer citizens?

6. Two Questions

Sample Question:

Many old buildings protected by law are part of a nation’s history. Some people think they should be knocked down and replaced by new ones.
How important is it to maintain old buildings?
Should history stand in the way of progress?

7. Opinion

Sample Question:

Research indicates that the characteristics we are born with have much more influence on our personality and development than other experiences we may have in life.
Which do you consider to be the major influence?

Read more:

• Tips for IELTS Writing, Tips for IELTS Speaking
• Tips for IELTS Listening, Tips for IELTS Reading
• IELTS Experience
• IELTS Paper vs. Computer

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