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IELTS Band 9 Essays

Do you know the difference between an IELTS Band 6 essay and an IELTS Band 9 essay for Writing Task 2?

Most IELTS students don’t, and this is what prevents them from getting the scores they need.

What does an IELTS Band 9 Essay look like?

An IELTS Band 9 Essay is one that shows the examiner that you are an expert user of English.  The official IELTS scale describes an expert user in the following way:

“The test taker has fully operational command of the language. Their use of English is appropriate, accurate and fluent, and shows complete understanding.”

In writing, this means you need to achieve a band 9 in each of the four IELTS marking criteria:

Task response

• Coherence and cohesion

Lexical resource

Grammatical range and accuracy.

Here is a description of the marking criteria for an IELTS Band 9 Essay for Writing Task 2:

That’s quite complex, so I’ve simplified it for you:

• Answer all parts of the question
• Present relevant ideas
• Fully explain these ideas
• Support ideas with relevant, specific examples

Coherence and Cohesion

• Organise your ideas in logical paragraphs
• Include an introduction and conclusion
• Use cohesive devices (also known as ‘linking words’) accurately
• Don’t use too many or too few cohesive devices
• Vary your cohesive devices by using synonyms
• Try to vary your vocabulary, using accurate synonyms
• Use less common topic-specific words that accurately convey meaning
• Check your work for spelling and word formation mistakes
• Use a variety of complex and simple sentences
• Use a variety of appropriate structures
• Check your writing for errors

If you want to know more about the marking criteria for other bands, you can download the full Writing Task 2 band descriptors here.

Watch my video below for the biggest differences between an IELTS Band 6 Essay and an IELTS Band 9 Essay.

Opinion essay  

Band 9 essay sample  .

To see a lesson on the question above, click here .

Discussion essay  

Band 9 essay sample .

Problems and solutions essay  

Advantages and disadvantages essay  

There are two types of advantages and disadvantages questions:

• Type 1 – Discuss the advantages and disadvantages.
• Type 2 – Do the advantages outweigh the disadvantages?

For more information about these two types of questions, have a look at our page here .

Band 9 Essay Sample (Type 1) 

Band 9 Essay Sample 1 (Type 2) 

To see a lesson on both of the questions above, click here .

Double Question essay  

Band 9 essay sample.

What about Task 1?  What does a Band 9 Task 1 answer look like for IELTS Academic and IELTS General Training?

Just like for Task 2, a Band 9 Task 1 answer needs to show the examiner that the test taker is an expert user of English who can respond fully to all of the marking criteria.  

For more information about how to write a Band 9 Task 1 answer, have a look at our page for Writing Task 1 . 

If you’d like to see the marking criteria for IELTS Task 1, you can download a full description here .

For more about the difference between IELTS Academic and IELTS General, check out our page about IELTS preparation here or this page on the official IELTS website .

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IELTS Writing Task 2 Sample Answer Band 9

The IELTS writing task 2 sample answer below has examiner comments and is band score 9. The topic of social media is common and this IELTS essay question was reported in the IELTS test. Check the model essay and then read the comments.

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

Social networking sites, for instance Facebook, are thought by some to have had a detrimental effect on individual people as well as society and local communities. However, while I believe that such sites are mainly beneficial to the individual, I agree that they have had a damaging effect on local communities.

With regards to individuals, the impact that online social media has had on each individual person has clear advantages. Firstly, people from different countries are brought together through such sites as Facebook whereas before the development of technology and social networking sites, people rarely had the chance to meet or communicate with anyone outside of their immediate circle or community. Secondly, Facebook also has social groups which offer individuals a chance to meet and participate in discussions with people who share common interests.

On the other hand, the effect that Facebook and other social networking sites have had on societies and local communities can only be seen as negative. Rather than individual people taking part in their local community, they are instead choosing to take more interest in people online. Consequently, the people within local communities are no longer forming close or supportive relationships. Furthermore, society as a whole is becoming increasingly disjointed and fragmented as people spend more time online with people they have never met face to face and who they are unlikely to ever meet in the future.

To conclude, although social networking sites have brought individuals closer together, they have not had the same effect on society or local communities. Local communities should do more to try and involve local people in local activities  in order to promote the future of community life.

Comments : This essay shows you the organisation of ideas into paragraphs and also how a clear answer is given in the thesis statement in the introduction and then supported and explained in full throughout the essay. You will also see paraphrasing for advantage / disadvantage language which can be useful for you in other essays. Furthermore, the word length of this essay is typical for anyone aiming for band score 6, 7 or above. Words 280

Useful IELTS Pages for Writing and Other Sections

• IELTS Writing Task 2 : Model Essays, Tips, Free Videos and Practice Lessons
• Another Model Opinion Essay
• Model Discussion Essay
• IELTS Listening
• IELTS Reading
• IELTS Writing Task 1
• IELTS Speaking
• Vocabulary for IELTS
• Recent Exam Questions & Topics

Ideas for Essay Topics E-book

This e-book contains ideas and vocabulary exercises for over 150 common IELTS essay topics. It is now available with my Advanced Writing Task 2 Lessons and my Grammar E-book in my store. Click here: Liz’s Online Store

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Greatings Liz, I would like to know what band score I can get on the essay topic provided below. It would be a great help if you suggest some areas I can develop and mistakes to avoid

Question: Many people believe that social network sites (such as facebook) have had a huge negative impact on both individual and society.

Essay: Many people argue over that social sites like facebook have negative impact on individual and society. I agree with statement because social media take a lot of our time and medias often provide false messages.

A lot of our time is wasted on social media. The amount of duration spent on social medias are because of the media pages and short videos. People are addictive to scrolling reels or sweeping meme pages this behavior is greatly influenced by exposure to screen time on a daily basis, which are commonly found in youngsters. The contents portrayed on the sites are too distractive that keeps the people attention on it. For an instance, the reports from 2023, it is shown that medias are being used for a least six hours per day for an average individual in India.

Moreover, false messages are being forwarded on social networking sites. This happens mainly due to people trusting blindly on networking sites. Due to this, people often misuse and take advantage by sending fake posts. Without analyzing the content properly, the user would increase post impressions and engagement which results in forwarding the incorrect insights over a topic. Some investigations report that false insight on a topic has a significant role in impacting the minds of an individual as well larger population. In conclusion, Individuals and society are mainly affected due to social sites because of inefficient time management and fake posts that are delivered on the sites.

I don’t offer marking or feedback on this website. However, I will say that nowhere in your essay did you address how social media affects society. You’ve only written about individuals (users). To say it affects “population as a whole” is still referring to individuals, not society. This would lower your score significantly. Go back to my model essay on the page above and pay attention to how I approach addressing all parts of the task, which is both individuals and society.

I have a question regarding an opinion essay. This is the task:

“Prevention is better than cure”. Researching and treating diseases is too costly so it would be better to invest in preventative measures. To what extend do you agree?

My question is – when I give the ideas, should I give them from an individual’s perspective (e.g. taking supplements is a way of prevention and it’s cheaper than treatment), or should I give it from a macro perspective (e.g. researching vaccinations is more costly than educating people to prevent diseases).

Thanks in advance for your guidance 🙂

As the question relates to “research and treating diseases”, we can take this question as relating to the perspective of government health funding. Some IELTS do relate to individuals and when that is the case, the wording is usually very clear.

Thank you, Liz. This is very helpful.

Many people are of the belief that individuals and members of the society have had a huge negative impact due to social media sites like Facebook. While I partially agree with this statement however, Facebook has provided somewhat benefits to the society as well.

We live in a digital age where we are constantly surrounded by social media and the content it produces, Facebook being one of it. Today, anybody can sign up on the platform and start using it immediately without any security checks making it not entirely safe for the user. Like mentioned earlier, anybody can open up an account and start posting, allowing political parties to push through their agenda through these sites and on to the screens of the juvenile population.

As one might expect adults to be mindful about what they post on the social networking sites, it is not always the case for every adult. Social media sites like Facebook are not particularly safe for the younger population as it can be extremely manipulative and vulgar at times. It can be especially harmful in kids between 13-19 years of age where they could easily lose their confidence to the glamorous facade put up by these networking sites.

Facebook though exploitative at times, does have a few advantages. One of them is bringing people closer throughout the globe. Families can get in touch with friends and relatives living abroad with a simple click. Numerous small businesses who do not have the means to pay for advertising can easily promote their brand on Facebook.

To conclude, arguably Facebook has had some amounts of negative impact on the society, although it has paved a way for people to connect and get closer.

I know Liz doesn’t do review. But I would appreciate if other students like me could review my essay.

Some parents buy their children a large number of toys to play with. What are the advantages and disadvantages for the child of having a large number of toys?

Many a parent make a large purchase of toys for their kids to harness or play with, in my unequivocal stance, this notion provides advantages such as more leisure activities for kids, however poor academic performance, and reduced inter personal relationship are undeniable disadvantages. This essay will further examine the pragmatic advantages and disadvantages of this view.

To begin, owning a myriad of toys provide a lot of benefits to kids. However the leading advantage of this notion is the creation of a fun leisure activity for kids. Kids with a lot of toys tend to have more fun in comparison to their counterparts who own only a handful of playing materials or games. In addition to having a fun filled leisure time they possess a variety of toys, games, and playing materials, which makes the kids more entertained. A notable example would be the research paper by a renowned psychologist Mr. John Ata which reported that 92% of kids with a large number of toys have more fun during leisure hours compared to kids with less toys.

It is equally important to mention that some drawbacks are associated with this phenomenon. A substantial drawback is that it affects the academic results of children. It is a prominent fact that kids that own a variety of toys spend a lot more hours playing, and this exceeds the recommended daily leisure time of 2 hours. Furthermore, this has a negative impact on their academics, and learning ability. In 2022 an academic paper released by China recorded that 100% of kids with a lot of toys have difficulties learning. Also, poor interpersonal relationship is a notable downside to this notion, because of the extra hours spent playing with games kids have little to no time interacting with individuals of the same age range. In most cases children in this situation prefer to spend more time at home playing, than interacting, socializing, and building social relationships with their pairs.

In conclusion, a fun packed leisure time is a phenomenal advantage of this view. However poor academic results, and lack of communication skills are undeniable disadvantages. Therefore, parents or guardians should maximize the benefits, and manage the drawbacks effectively to create a balance.

Social networking sites, for instance, Facebook, have had a big detrimental effect on individual people and communities. While social media is beneficial in some ways, I believe that the negative impacts go beyond the advantages. With regards to individuals, the presence of Facebook can lead to scamming. So many people become victims in recent times. Scammers take other user’s photos on Facebook easily and then use these photos for crime. Additionally, Facebook is often deemed to be dangerous due to adolescent kidnappings being burgeoning. The criminals pretend to be someone else to attract teenagers to meet and kidnap them. Furthermore, establishing relationships through social media inclines to be full of pretentious. Users often polish their image, social status, and even profile pictures which may lead to fake relationships as well. Undesirable outcomes are happening badly in society owing to social network usage. People tend to gather with their communities online, instead of attending physical gatherings. It is not a good attitude because people tend to be indifferent to their intermediate community. Moreover, the intermediate cycle is essential to make people grow into well-rounded human beings. People live in real life, and for this reason, involving in such real communities is considerable as a means to help themselves fulfill their natural traits as social beings. Likewise, people are more likely to have stronger bonds in real communities instead of online. To conclude, social media sites have had a huge unfavorable result both for individuals and communities starting from crimes and faking identities to forming apathetic individuals.

The question of whether social media or networking platforms (Facebook) created a myriad of societal and individual problems is a subject of ongoing debate, while many a person argue against this view; in my unequivocal stance, I strongly support this notion. This essay will provide further examination on my nuance opinion.

To begin, since the inception of social media they have been a paradigm shift from the traditional social networking to a technological form of communication, and this phenomenon has developed a plethora of drawbacks. Firstly, the harnessing of social networks has promoted crimes in the society; individuals use these platforms as a tool to facilitate crime. A popular crime as a result of social networking is internet scamming, also known as catfishing. In continuation, individuals can claim the identity of others, and use this to swindle, deceive, and steal from innocent victims. Furthermore, a notable example is the prominent scam that occurred in 2012 in Nigeria; a set of fraudulent individuals claimed the identity of an airport owner (Mr David Orma) and sold an airport to a company, thereby defrauding the company of $5,000,000.

It is equally important to mention that the detriments of social networking on a smaller scale affects individuals. The use of Facebook by individuals for communication has significantly reduced interpersonal relationships. People no longer have physical social gatherings, discussions, meetings and relationships. In some cases, parent to child relationship has been ruined, because of the use of Facebook. A report from a renowned journalist illustrates that since the introduction of Facebook 88% of parents no longer have a good relationship with their kids, this is because people tend to communicate more over the internet.

In conclusion, high crime rate, and lack of interpersonal communication are undeniable drawbacks of social networking. However, people who desire to use Facebook should manage its drawbacks efficiently, while maximizing its potential benefits.

Hi Liz, i hope you doing well. if i want to write the introduction as a balanced opinion, can i write it like the following?

“social networking sites, for instance Facebook, are thought by some people to have had a harmful effect on individual people as well as local community. However, while I believe that such cites are beneficial for individuals and Society, I agree that they have a rather damaging effect on them”

and then BP1 discuss the benefits of social media and BP2 discuss the negative effect of them.

My main question is why you are writing about “cities” in your thesis statement. This essay isn’t about cities, it’s about social media. Also, the word “society” does not have a capital letter. Both of these mistakes will negatively impact your score. About the approach, your essay is only 290 words long (that is the usual max), you don’t have time to write pros and cons of both social media on individuals and social media on society. Lastly, you have turned an Opinion Essay into an Adv/Disad essay or a Discussion Essay. Present a clear position on social media for individuals and social media on society than is clear position for each. For example, you think it is positive for both, you think it is negative for both or you think one if positive and one is negative – all three options are clear opinions for an IELTS Opinion Essay.

Hi Liz, please go through my writing and make corrections 🙏

It is believed by majority of people that social networking sites such as Facebook has a detrimental effect on individual as well as the society.However, while social media have a positive impact on individual, I personally agree that it is of more damaging especially to the society.

Firstly, regarding the positive impact it has on individuals, social networking provide a means of communication between people that are far away from each other especially does from different countries; it also provide a means for people to advertise their products and businesses to help them make income and become popular sometimes.

On the other hand, it brings a lot of damages to the community and society at large because of the way people are now occupied with social networking the tend to give a nonchalant attitude to something important especially when it comes to adolescence there is no more respect or positive contribution to the development of their community as all they are interested in is going online most of their times. People now give value to what they do online more than their real-life. furthermore, most individual become engaged in competition with their peer group and this result to them doing some unspeakable things, hurting people in order to make money and show off and increasing rate of fake life. As a result of this, community and society is fast becoming disjointed, people now prefer to make friends online with people they have never met before than the ones they see face to face.

To conclude, although social networking have bring a lot of people together it has done otherwise to the community and society at large. The society should find should find a solution to that by bringing people locally together and engaging them on activities that will bring them together. That way people meet and interact physically other than always going online.

I don’t offer a feedback service. However, I will say you need to go back to my model essays and learn the proper balance and length of paragraphs. Having a long conclusion is a waste of time and won’t help your score. Having body paragraphs that are not equal in length will lower your score. This is the main writing task 2 page on my website: https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-writing-task-2/

length also matters?…some expertise say that if examiner easily understand your thoughts then he or she will give you good band score even your essay length will be short or long

Ideas are only marked as to whether they are relevant and well explained. One idea is not a higher band score than other as long as it is relevant and well explained. So, any teacher telling you that one idea is a higher band score than another has not understood the marking criteria probably because they weren’t trained as an examiner.

Social media websites have revolutionised the communication. However, part of the population believes that these online platforms have hugely impacted people in a negative way. Even though I believe that these websites can be somehow beneficial I agree they can be detrimental to individuals and communities. Although social online networks have undoubtedly advanced humans’ communication, there are many damaging factors that impact users. This is due to the fact that, nowadays, individuals are becoming more addicted to social media such as Instagram, TikTok and Facebook due to dopamine release effects in their brains. This means that they can easily spend hours scrolling videos and posts on their phones instead of completing vital tasks like household chores or having conversations in person with their families. Furthermore, recent research published by APA ( American Psychologist Association) showed that social media addiction can lead to serious anxiety and depression. Thus, social online websites can negatively impact people’s lives. Secondly, social network websites usually provide much information from diverse sources. Online messages can rapidly spread data to a broad audience. However not all data posted online is accurate, so a new culture of fake news has been growing during the last recent years. In Brazil, for instance, after a big political incident where a lot of lies were spread about authorities, a special official department was created to investigate false material shared online through these kinds of online websites and apps. It is clear, in my opinion, that social media can be damaging to both society and individuals. In conclusion, while I believe social networking platforms can advanced the way human’s communicate it can negatively affect people in individual and societal contexts. I strongly agree as it can be addictive affecting people’s mental health and also because it is easy to share false messages on these platforms.

Recent research has shown that the usage percentage of social networking sites has been considerably increasing for a decade. Given that, the majority of the population believes such networking sites as Facebook have a catastrophic effect on not only individuals but also society. I, personally, find positive impacts on individuals; however, for the community, it is a total disaster. To begin with the impact on individuals, there are significant benefits that can not be avoided. The most useful point which is special just to the internet is the fact that there are no issues about the location for being able to communicate. You can talk to anybody, whenever and wherever you want no matter how many kilometers you have between your locations. This leads you to have the possibility for talking about numerous topics without any restrictions from your common interests to scientific researchs. As a result, for making new friends and thus for socializing, social networking sites are the best opportunities that should not be missed. Yet, the presence of some advantages individually does not eliminate side effects on society. If people start to socialize by only making use of social media like Facebook and Instagram, whole the society begins to crack due to people not seeing each other in real life. Society’s existence is thanks to the people taking part in group activities, working under collaborative circumstances, and spending a considerable amount of time together. But the more prevalent social networking usage becomes, the fewer people can stand seeing each other. In conclusion, social networking sites are advantageous places for mostly socializing individually, yet, there are more serious side effects exceeding the positive points. So, people should pay more attention to having relationships with the community so that, the term ‘society’ won’t disappear.

Anyone (especially, Dear Liz), who is an expert might evaluate my essay with proper feedback.

You should spend about 40 minutes on this task. Write about the following topic. It is now possible for scientists and tourists to travel to remote natural environments, such as the South Pole. What are the advantages and disadvantages of this development? Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience. You should write at least 250 words.

In recent years, Travelling to remote areas becoming more popular with scientists and tourists for convenient scientific developments. There are noticeable positive outcomes with drawbacks both in the natural environment and the living species.

First of all, In the last decades, scientific innovation and progress in different sectors resulted in more easily accessible transportation to rural areas which are far from the downtowns. For scientific analysis, a large number of researchers making crowd those areas for new scientific analysis for different parameters. For instance, exploring the fossils in those areas to get ideas about the ancestors of these specific regions. Secondly, While adventurous people always visit new ancient remote areas to satisfy their minds by knowing the unknown places more practically rather than watching TV programs. Finally, places always developing with tourists friendly facilities and increasing the revenue in national funds for these eco-friendly activities, particularly, excessive new-comer spending their money for various purposes including hotel room facilities, meals, and souvenirs. Which positively impacts the world economy and the living standards of local people providing them with more working opportunities.

Whereas, there are many negative aspects to these easily accessible traveling opportunities. Both scientific purpose and tourism activities directly impacting on the local environment and the existing species as well as the local community’s lifestyle. The regional species, particularly, those migrating to a quieter and more natural environment lead a normal life without the disturbance of human economy-boosting activities. Furthermore, many old species have been extinct and right now existing species are almost endangered to extinction from those remote areas. Another concern is almost rising at an alarming rate, certainly environmental pollution. People visiting those places, dumping their wastes here and there, and destroying the eco-system, including plastic materials, those regional environments resulted in different challenging problems for the natives.

In conclusion, the advancement of scientific research facile transportation to even remote areas, like the South Pole, for scientists and tourists with positive and negative impacts on the environment. Corresponding authorities should regulate these activities with proper concern without affecting nature and the species in a specific region.

Please read this page: https://ieltsliz.com/how-many-words-ielts-writing/ and then read all tips on this page: https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-writing-task-2/ . If you need detailed tutorials about writing an essay specifically for IELTS for a high score, go to my online store: https://elizabethferguson.podia.com/ . You should be aiming for accuracy with grammar and vocabulary – don’t aim to impress and never take risks. Aim for error free sentences.

Hi please let know how my writing has come along?

In today’s day and age, it has become far more accessible to reach remote areas for scientists and tourists. There are noticeably positive outcomes with drawbacks both in natural environment and the living species.

In ancient times, scientists or tourists would have difficulty in reaching such destinations such as the south pole. But today with scientific developments and studying the natural environment it has become a joy to travel. There are many advantages for scientists and tourists who want to travel for research purposes or adventure. Firstly, for instance, scientists can research fossils in those areas to get in-depth knowledge about the ancestorial landscape. Secondly, tourists, adventure enthusiasts especially travel to explore the wild life, natural beauty of the region, get a breath of fresh air, newness etc.

Whereas, there are many negative aspects as well. Both incoming of scientists and tourists to remote areas has an effect on the local livelihood. The reason for this is that due to the inhabitation of ancestorial species, they are used to a certain lifestyle, the peace and quiet. And when unknown people start coming in, it disrupts their day to day lifestyle. They lead a normal life without the disturbance of human economy-boosting activities. Hence, people visiting these places, dumping their wastes here and there, and destroying the eco-system results in different challenging problems for the natives.

In conclusion, with the advancements of scientific research and development for researches and tourists to travel to such remote areas will always have its positive and negative impact on the environment. Corresponding authorities should regulate these movements with proper concern and not affect the nature and species of this specific region.

It is assumed by many people that social media is creating a detrimental effect on both individuals and society. However, a healthy percentage of people are getting benefitted by its proper usage and implementations in social life although a specific group of people might be using social sites, for instance Facebook in an adverse way which is creating a negative impact in our social community and locality.

To begin with, social media like Facebook has created a drastic change in people’s communication through internet all over the world. Website like this has brought people from all countries around the world in a single tent for communication. Though the communication is initially virtual but soon people are getting to know each other which is serving the purpose of meeting in real life with their loved ones or with their families. Aside of it, some of the other advantages that social media is impacting in our daily life such as; creating business opportunities, helping us to know about the current world information and news updated, creating awareness among people about social norms and duties. The main fruitful thing that can be described as is social media in letting us to know about other people’s culture, norms and activities etc.

On the other side, as we have discussed so many positive sides of social media it has some detrimental sides too that is enhancing some real-life problems in our society and local community. As the main purpose of social media was to connect people but now a days it is seen that this tool is being misused by some of the people for creating fake profiles and pretending to be someone else as a result people on the other side of the screen might be outplayed with a fake emotion. Also, among young generations the dependency and the usage of social media is way too time consuming which is creating a mental distortion gradually. Adding with that, the utmost negative impact that is creating real life problems is vague news and its spread. As a result, people gets more confused in their decision making whom to support and whom to deny. Beside of that, Scammers trading with money, Negative content are threat to our future generation and also for us.

In conclusion I want to agree with the fact that although social media is helping us in many ways in our social life but it has an immense effect in our cultural diversity to get provoked as long if we don’t use it properly. As long as some specific policies and regulations are maintained for its usage, I think that the damage is limited to rare and special cases.

Please correct me if I’m wrong.

It’s believed by many people that social networking sites have led to serious detrimental effects on both individual people as well as society and local communities. However, there are numerous beneficial effects of using such sites for the individual and some of the adverse outcomes for the society and local communities.

With regard to the individual persons, the usage of social media sites has given the opportunity to identify the people with the common interests, who are miles away, which was not available before the development of such websites. Besides, It has been easier to establish a face to face connection within seconds with our loved ones, even when they are far away from us.

On the other hand, the continuous usage of social meadia might end up with a dependent behavior, which results in the separation of societal and family bonds. Other than that, believing the facts on online as it is might lead to serious family issues too.

In my conclusion, although the social networking sites keep the individuals closer together, it has a number of considerable negative impacts on society and local communities. Therefore, it is our responsibility to use those sites for he betterment of overselves.

You write : use those sites for he betterment of Overselves

Mistakes: ourselves and you write he in place of the

Hi Liz, Thank you so much for all your time, guidance and help. Really appreciate the content you keep on posting. Have been following your posts since 2019, got 9 in listening, 7.5 overall then. I am planning to write again for GT

here is my response: 274 words

A few individuals believe that cellphones are a bane for kids, whereas others don’t believe in the same. In my opinion, though cellphones are now an indispensable part of any urban human and has multiple benefits, their demerits do exist and those make it more harmful than helpful to children.

Though one can still be in quandary about the ill-effects of cellphones on adults, their impact has been far more detrimental for kids. These devices operate entirely on wireless radiations, and there has been an exponential rise in such radiation. As children’s brain is in development stage, and their skull is still fragile; damages from such radiations can be fatal. Additionally, prolonged exposure to phone’s display is quite detrimental for eyesight and sleep cycle. Moreover, new cellphones (smartphones) can host a lot of social-media applications. As children are growing, so do their hormonal changes, they are more inquisitive about such digital platforms. Though there are age-restriction on these sites, those are easily bypassed by them. Things get sinister when some spoilt peers introduce others to pornographic content which has been known to biologically alter hormonal and psychological patterns in kids.

Though, despite above, phones do offer some benefits such as means of instant communication, exchange of notes, access to free and global online resources, most of these benefits are also available on personal laptops or institute’s kiosks. In case of dire needs, students can access these resources on such kiosks, where students can be prohibited from accessing social or adult content. Hence, though cellphones are now an indispensable part of human life, owing to their detrimental impacts, children should refrain using those.

While many believe that social networking sites impacting both the society and the individual in negative manner, I argue that its certainly impacting social life negatively however, it has positive impact on individuals. With innovation of technology and reach to smart phones by common people has increased the number of people using social networking sites significantly in recent years. Social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and many more became basic needs of people. This revolution in technology has brought many benefits to people. Now people to people interaction have increased and it has no boundaries. They can easily talk to other people who are located at different part of the globe. Distance, time zone, boarders doesn’t matter anymore. This interaction helps them to enhance their knowledge, grow their business and much more. People can create any type social cause over these social media platforms and get other people’s support from world-wide. While this improvement in technology has benefitted the individuals, it has some drawbacks on society. For example, now people spend more time on these types of platforms rather than spending time in society or social activities. Face to face interaction is minimized, which certainly brings gap in local social group. Many old, aged people are not able to cope with technology and find it very difficult to interact with other people. In conclusion, As with any other invention, technology also has some drawbacks, however if people make smart choices they can surely get rid of these drawbacks and get maximum benefit of this technology revolution in the form of social networking sites.

Today, advancements in technology have brought forth tons of electronic devices that serve to increase the quality of one’s life. Accompanying this would be the surge in social networking sites for people to communicate using these devices. However, many believe social networking platforms have affected society and its people in a negative way. In my opinion, though the presence of social networks has invited several benefits into our lives, I agree that the adverse effects of social media are noticeable. Hence, one has to regulate his or her usage of social media in order to enjoy the advantages without the disadvantages. To begin, social networking sites has allowed many to communicate with their loved ones despite being separated by long distances. With the help of social media, we are able to converse with the ones we miss via text messages, audio messages or even video calls without the trouble of traveling hours to meet them. Besides that, the widening of our social circle has been made easier as a result of sites such as Facebook and Twitter, allowing us to acquaint ourselves with strangers which can be achieved with just a few taps on the screens of our smartphones. By utilizing the above advantages brought to us by social networking sites, a myriad of time can be conserved. However, social media is not without flaws. By allowing people to communicate without meeting up or seeing each other in real life, social media has transformed society into an introverted one, one that resists any sort of physical communication if it can be done online. When people are accustomed to chatting with one another online, it is without a doubt that their social skills will degrade significantly as they no longer have ’emojis’ to express their feelings. Ultimately, we are left with a society that is fragmented in real life and only operable in the virtual world. In conclusion, social networking sites has allowed us to connect with the people we love who are far away from us and thus save us plenty of time in the process. Despite the merits, our society is no longer filled with outgoing people, but those who are lacking in social skills and refuse physical communication, hence resulting in a broken society. Therefore, it is our own responsibility to not be overly reliant on social networking sites to obtain the results that were intended for us in the first place.

It is undeniable fact that learning a foreign language is more popular now a days. Although some people might consider that it is batter for children to begin learning a foreign language at primary school. On the other hand some people might believe that learning a foreign language at secondary school is beneficial , but I believe that learning a foreign language at primary school is extremely beneficial not only because child’s brain is analogous to be empty hard disk that can be uploaded more quickly at this age . Small kids memories the talent, and it is considered that learning a new accent required a strong memory.

This essay will explore who these factors make this development a positive one.

Their are multiple benefits of this development . Firstly one of the major advantage of this development is that they have more space in their mind because their minds are empty they have more ability too gain knowledge and learning a new accent is not too be much difficult for childrens. For example, my younger brother learning a foreign language in his primary school and he almost have done this. Thus,this benefit can almost handedly make this development positive.

Secondly, another major benefit linked with this development is that children have strong memory and it is considered that accent can be learn be a strong memory. All the talent is begin from childhood. For instance, my older sister have a talent of swing clothes and she learned from her childhood. Hence, this benefit can clearly over shadow any disadvantage.

To conclude, I believe that this development is an overall positive development interm of these advantages

Social media ever since its inception has taken the world by storm. It is not uncommon to find a person with a social media account even in the remotest of the areas. Such has been its profound impact that most of the top brands these days use social media for its promotion. Some of us opine that these social networking sites are impacting the individual as well as the society at large. I agree that these networking sites are useful in crisis times but mostly feel that these sites are doing more harm than good for the following two reasons. First of all, decision making in this generation is severely impaired due to influence of social media sites. People these days are compelled to base their opinion on sources which can be hardly termed as fool proof due to its abundance. This information is butter fed into an individual mind in a implicit way, before the person recognising it. Take for instance, the way political campaigns are being run these days only with an aim to drive their own agenda, projecting their view which will be beneficial to them. True, a mature person can still see through these filters, but the same cannot be guaranteed for teen minds, who form the majority of the users for these applications. Their nascent minds will be damaged beyond repair, ultimately affecting the society’s future of which they are a part of. Second of all, fake ad campaigns claiming money for self-motives have increased manifold with advent of social media sites. The major issue concerning these campaigns is that even genuine contributions are going into wrong hands; what does it mean is that when the real person is in need of help, he hardly gets it. The above issue is becoming a huge predicament for those people in need. Generous people who come forward to help are forced to think twice. Non-availability of help for those who require it even with the abundance of donors is a bane for the society for which social media sites are one of the prime reasons. There are some good things arising out of these sites, like blood donors availability, communication for help during natural calamities etc. In the times of disaster, they play a very handy role in helping the deserved. But that said, they require internet connection to work, which might not always be the case, especially in the time of crisis. To conclude, these social media sites help us in some ways subjected to some limitations like network connectivity. Considering this and the negative impacts it brings to the table, like influencing young immature minds, providing platform for fake ad-campaigns I mostly opine that these are mostly harming the individual as well as a society.

Social networking site (such as Facebook) is believed by many people to have negative effect for both individual and society. However, while I believe there is negative impacts, these effects are small compared to benefit the site offers. Firstly, some people that think about negative effect are just looking at small cases in their surroundings. For example, they see that the youth is addicted to social media such Facebook. They cannot stop checking and looking at site’s newsfeed. However, this is just because the people they observed are them who does not have ability to manage priority and time. Meanwhile, compared to those small amount of sample, it’s observed that in adult and working environment people are not addicted to the media. Hence, if an individual could manage their priority and time, the negative impacts should be nothing. Secondly, in this modern era, information is gold. That means whoever has the information will have more advantage in life than who does not. Social media is the major factor for information transfer. In a blink of eye, wherever and whenever we are, we could send and get information to other people. Not only that, the most critical value of social media is it can influence many people, society, and even a country, because everyone could present his opinion and argument and then persuade others.

In the end, although social media can ruin life of an individual, the positive impacts its offer are greater than negative effects. People who have a problem in time and priority management, should be taught how to manage it.

It is thought by many people that some social media websites affect the individuals, and the society, in a negative impact. I agree that social networking websites such as Facebook and Youtube can distract some people while others can benefit from them.

People who use social media intensively will be distracted from doing their daily tasks. A lot of people spend most of their time on Facebook, Youtube and other applications watching videos, putting likes and posting comments, at the end of the day they discover that they lost most of their day doing nothing. For instance, I am addicted to the online pages on Facebook and I was always buying a lot of things from those pages. While I was preparing for the IELTS exam, I realized that I am wasting my time and I have to do something to stop this. I deleted the applications that distracted me and I became more focused on my studies. When each individual is affected like the way that I got, the society will face a distracted generation in the future. This is why such social networks have sometimes a negative impact on individuals and society.

On the other hand, social networking websites can help people in achieving their tasks. A lot of websites and applications provide an easy way to communicate and giving assistance. Since Facebook is a universal application, a lot of people use it, thus, it is easy to make connection with others and looking for a teacher or an information using it. For example, a student can find a lot of resources on the websites to look for an information. It is easier to the students to use social media websites rather than leaving their home and wasting time on looking for someone to help, nowadays, this can be done by just searching on the websites. This will save more time and each individual can achieve more in their day which leads to a productive society. That’s why social networks are important to individuals and in turn to the society.

To conclude, although networks distracted some individuals from achieving their tasks that happens due to the addiction that they got, other individuals can take the advantage of these websites and use them correctly. This will be reflected on the whole society.

Hello Mrs Liz, please evaluate my essay. It has been considered by some individuals that harmfulness of social media such as Facebook have hit not only people but communities as well. In my standpoint, social media has negative and positive impacts, both. However, its positive impacts outweigh its negative effects on people and societies. first of all, at this age, technology has been evolving rapidly that even mankind have been able to invent internet and by using internet they have been capable of making social media platforms to connect people all over the world. social network such as Facebook is an application that made it possible for us to get connected with friends and families no matter where we live. Besides, this application has made us able to share our knowledge and our photos and many more to the characters all around the globe. Nevertheless, despite having countless advantages, social networks do have negative impacts as well. Frequently usages of social media can cause addiction. In addition, it will cause us fail in real life while we are busy watching others life styles. Instead of learning and gaining knowledge, most of our young generation tend to scroll on social media a lot and waste their crucial time. At the end they will be facing difficulties in real life. in conclusion, spending and allocating a limited time for using social media is not only good but beneficial. However, wasting most of our time on it will cause negative impacts.

Many individuals think that social networking sites, for instance Facebook, have had damaging effect on individuals as well as local communities and societies. For this essay, I will discuss why disagree that social networking sites have damaging effect on individuals and agree that these sites have damaging effect on the societies. Social networking sites have less adverse effect on individuals. Firstly, it has been seen that a major way people meet new people and make new friends are from these platforms. An individual can be in Nigeria and meet a new person from Australia via Facebook. Having a close relationship by keeping close communication daily on this platform, these two can eventually become life partners. Secondly, it has been reported from a research done by Frank Idowu in 2019, that most people become aware and participate in seminars, workshops and meetings on social networking sites. This has helped reduce the stress of physical meetings. Social networking sites have detrimental effect on the local communities. In a world of technology, most people advertise their business majorly through social media platforms. Firstly, a survey carried out by Seyi Makinde, a student of University of Ibadan reported that most people in Ibadan buy most of the things they need from online stores. This in turn has affected the sales of physical stores in Ibadan. Secondly, I strongly agree that social networking sites are of detrimental effects to the societies because most people spend more time meeting new friends online than building relationships with those in their local communities. In conclusion, social networking sites are of great benefit for an individual to meet new friends and build a career network. However, they have detrimental effect on communal relationships.

It is thought by many people that social networking sites and applications have a detrimental effect on people as well as society. While I agree that there could be some harmful effects of using these sites, I believe that the negative impact can occur only when there is an addiction to the usage of these apps. Otherwise, they are mainly beneficial to the individual. People tend to consider social networking sites as a negative development for many different reasons. Firstly, when people spend excessive time on these types of sites, meeting with new people, Without real interaction in the real world, they might find it hard to differentiate between reality and illusion. In other words, people usually try to show their perfect aspects on these sites; thus, it will be difficult to know a person’s real and moral behaviour through online chatting. Secondly, spending too much time could lead to a low academic performance for young students or low productivity for adults. Consequently, this will have a damaging effect on society. On the other hand, such networking sites have brought numerous advantages to humans, and these adverse effects can only be present when there is an addiction to these types of sites. One possible benefit of these sites is that they help people to communicate easily no matter what is the distance or barrier and without any restrictions. Owing to this, the world is considered a small village, and people can keep up with their friends and relatives all around the earth. Another positive aspect of these apps is that they help introverted people to socialize better, particularly when a person is shy to meet face to face. In conclusion, while social networking sites have negatively affected both individuals and the community, I believe that overall, these sites brought many advantages to humans and society, and the damage is only limited to rare and special cases.

The introduction of social media has made life so much less complicated for mankind. However, a group of people believe that social networking sites does more harm then good to an individual and the community. I completely disagree with this notion and in this essay i will discuss why i disgree

To begin with, prior to the introduction of modern technology people used to communicate with there family, friends or loved one through letters and landline phone calls. This method of communication was not only expensive but also very time consuming, however with the luxury of social media such as facebook, twitter, instagram people can easily interact with there loved ones by making video calls, whereby they can see them even being miles away and simply sending them a message which they will receive instantly. It also has the feature whereby people can post pictures and update there closed one about there daily lifesFurthermore, social networking sites can also be very informative in many ways such as keeping us updated with the daily news around the world, the latest trend in clothes, life hacks and also about our health and wellbeings. This helps us to stay on par with the rest of the world.

On the contrary, the negative impacts of social media can be that many people have started to spend more time on these social media app rather than going out and meeting people in there community. Instead They choose to interact woth people online whom they have neber met befire or may probably never meet in the future. It has also reduced the amount of time people spend outdoors to indulge in physical activities as they are constantly stuck to there phone or computer browsing through social media. This as a result has taken a toll at people health with introduction of non communicable disease like heartattck and diabetes

To conclude, the benefits of social media outweighs the the drawbacks as it not only helps us to keep in touch with people who live far but also keeps us updated with whats trending around the globe

Social media websites have suffered great criticism, as many people believe that such platforms shown to be have great negative effects, i totally agree with this notion since they’re perceived to be addictive and linked to high rates of depression among teenagers.

Despite the popularity of social media sites, famous platforms such as Facebook and Instagram been proved to cause addiction, designed in a way to keep users hooked, more and more people of all ages are spending long hours liking each other’s pictures, texting, and doing whatever, causing dopamine spikes in their minds, making it harder to find motivation to accomplish something through the day and as a result end up neglecting other aspects of life.

Another huge negative impact is the role such sites play in highlighting differences in lifestyle, causing envy among young people and creating the favorable conditions in which hate speech can be normalized, promoting bullying and as a result, rising depression rates among teenager. A clear example of the effect social media has on the youth is a case that made controversy in the USA, a story of a young teenager that took his friend to court, bullied by him on Facebook, the teenager’s friend tried to push him to suicide recommending it a solution for his mental problems causing him greater deal of pain and worsening his depression.

To conclude, the purpose of social media sites was to improve people’s lives bringing them closer, out of charge, offering a better alternative to paid cellular communication, However, ironically, the effect these platforms had was worser than we thought causing individuals and society more bad than good.

Impressive 👍 essay keep it bro❤️

In order to minimize the pressure health care sector is ought to deal with due to rising numbers of health problems related to obesity, some people think that adding physical exercise sessions to school curriculums is the most efficient approach. In my view, making students physically active isn’t the key to solving this overweight pandemic, as I think, having good eating habits is more important.

On one hand, adding sport lessons to children can be of great help because it will improve their overall heath making them more fit as they grow by spreading a culture of body care that will insure a healthier future for the coming generations. Furthermore, pushing kids to practice different sports will optimize their mind to muscle connection making it easier for them to engage and excel in any type of physical activities in comparison with their none active peers, therefore, rising their chances of maintaining an active lifestyle.

On the other hand, doing sports and being active without a proper diet can have a reverse effect on one person’s health, making him vulnerable to injuries, increasing the risk of heart attacks and causing him sleeping disorders. In addition to that, the myth that physical exercise is the best way to lose weight has been debunked by recent studies proving that diet is the most scientifically effective way to lose extra fat by minimizing the caloric intake.

In conclusion, it is obvious that physical exercise is crucial to have and maintain a healthy body, however, when it comes to losing fat, it been proven to be less effective in contrast with a proper calories restricted diet.

According to people, Using social media as facebook causing negative impact not only on individuals but community also. I agree that it has some drawback for society but i can see some of the advantage for individuals as well. In one hand, If i talk about a person using network site,So it’s not only giving opportunity to find friends globally but also giving idea of variety of culture uses by each state or nation . People are getting each other’s rituals and languages without even meeting them in person or visiting their hometown. That’s how social networking is an advantage for everyone to know everyone and their traditions online. In other hand, Community have one disadvantage that they may miss their son’s or daughter’s presence during meal time or while walking outside alone when they are busy in facebook in knowing someone or finding something interesting. These days youth specially try to search any mate outside home mostly in social media so that they can share their feeling or experience to them instead of sharing to any family member, so may be it’s our mistake that we are not that much friendly with our children that they are making friends outside to share it. We are loosing their faith hence it’s our responsibility to gain it again then only this problem can be solved. In each society and family, there should be freedom for their children as a result they will feel comfortable in home because of friendly atmosphere and will start spending time with parents as well. They will let their parents know about the friends and culture which they have known through facebook so that community get to know plus points of using it.

Social media has tremendously impacted our daily life in several ways. Some argue that social media disadvantages outweigh its advantages and builds a lazy unproductive generation. In my opinion, social networking facilitate communication between people; however, cyber bullying is the most dangerous negative impact of social media.

Nowadays, almost everyone is on a social media platform such as Facebook, Instagram and twitter. Many use these platforms to communicate with their pairs, friends and family members on regular basis since it is cheap, convenient and has different options such as voice or video calls. Moreover, people can post and share content and news on the social media apps. Furthermore, many businesses use the platforms to reach out customers and advertise about their products and services.

On the other hand, social media can be a dangerous tool in the hands of bullies and aggressive persons. Sadly, some use social media platforms to blackmail others or bully them which has a negative impact on one’s mental health specially teenagers. Also, many models and social media influencers use beauty filters that shows a completely unrealistic skin and body image burdening young females with distorted body image and body shaming which I believe is a dangerous impact on their personality development and mental health.

In conclusion, social media can be used to bring people closer and share news and daily life events. However, it can be a dangerous environment where someone might get cyber bullied or body shammed. I believe that social media has both negative and positive impacts depending on the way we use it and the content we get exposed to.

Thank you Liz for the excellent material you have on your website. I scored an overall 8.5 (L 9, R 9, W 7 and S 8) and I would like to attribute a part my score to your helpful tips, YouTube videos and sample tests on this site which allowed me to better understand how to answer. Even though one might feel very confident being a regular English speaker, there is a proper method to cracking IELTS.

Really appreciate the stuff you have generously shared, and for free. God bless!

It’s great to see your scores – very well done you!! You clearly nailed IELTS 🙂

Majority believe that there are alarming disadvantages to the use of social networking sites. I am in complete agreeance to this statement as there have been numerous negative effects on individuals and society. The use of social media has led to the rise in depression. As people post their eventful memories in social media, a lot of people have been feeling discontentment in their own lives. Constant comparison is made and consequently, they start to question whether they’re living their best life. Another effect of using social media to individuals is the quality of face to face interactions. Most people choose to talk through social applications on their phones rather than meet with each other in person. Humans are social beings, thus the fall in the quality of personal interactions affect one’s well-being. In addition, society is also affected as many use social media to spread false news. Caution must now be practiced whenever a news article is presented as there is a probability that it is untrue. People are now wary and unbelieving. There is a growing distrust in the community due to countless attempts to fool society with lies. An example could be the false news spreading on social media during election time – this is critical as society might elect an official based on untrue words. Also, through social sites, online bullying has become more rampant. It takes little to no effort to target someone with disrespectful words and comments anonymously. This can be seen everyday as people post baseless hate comments. In conclusion, it cannot be denied that social networking sites has a lot of disadvantages in both society and individuals. People should practice using such platforms with caution and make sure that their mental health can handle it.

Nowadays, with the rise of streaming services and high prevalence of gadgets people spends significant amount of time on social media. However, this eventually possesses some negative effects on individual as well as on society. Therefore, I strongly agree with this statement that these sites have strong damaging effects. Firstly, it becomes fashion everywhere of using mobile phones and spending much time on social networking sites. People prefer to chat with other person who lives far away or to whom they do not know. These acts drain some devastating effects on their social life. For example, people prefer to talk to people who lives at distances but ignores the immediate relationships that deserves to have their time most like parents and grandparents. This acts would eventually affects the society also. Secondly, their health may also compromise as they refrain themselves from physical activities and sitting on gadgets for long hours. For instance individual may suffer from diabetes due to less physical activity and may be through heart issues. On the other hand, social networking may be useful for societies like individuals may get connected with the love ones whom they cannot meet physically and it becomes the blessings to get connected with them through these sites. Furthermore, by getting connected with different people one can increase his knowledge about different cultures and their way of living. In this advanced technological era it is important to get in touch with worldly activities to enhance the standards of living. To conclude, although there are many pros of using social networking sites but their cons outweighed it. To my point of view if someone is being neglecting by his family members in spite of living under one shelter then its benefits of social interactions does not matters.

Nowadays, technology becomes one of the most significant ways people can connect and interact with each other. However, the majority of people think that social networking, for instance, Facebook, has an enormous bad effect on both individuals and society. I strongly agree that social networking has a negative side at the same time, also it has a positive impact, whereas it influences personal and community on both sides.

First and foremost, 100,000,000 people use the internet on different sites. For example, Facebook has a huge number of followers like to utilize, and connect through it such as chatting, sending pictures, meeting new friends from different areas around the world, learning, and interacting with people who speak various languages and have different cultures. Furthermore, stealing private information via Facebook becomes nervous for a lot of people clearly, mention in BBC news that more than 500,000 people around the world had stolen their Bank account, with an intelligent method, even though Facebook is still at the top of apps that people prefer to share and connect.

On the other hand, the new generation especially spends more time on the internet and social networking. Indeed, it affects a family relationship, lack of connection and discussion between them, and no gain of information, less about knowledge, and skills and hobbies will disappear from our society. Because with this ability, and activity the community will grow and develop. Hence, the consequence will have a negative impact. Of course, Facebook has plenty of information, document, picture, and charts, that show how other countries improve. For that reason, Facebook can share information that lets people read and see images about the countries, culture, and society, so it will help to attract tourists to come, and the economy will rapidly increase.

To summarize, social networking has benefits and drawbacks on both sides, such as individual and community.

Wonderful Really, I like it

Most people feel that Social Media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter have had a very negative effect on both the people and society. I’m of the opinion this isn’t accurate, and the below essay will explain why.

Social media has rapidly become the most preferred option of communication. It has worked as an effective method to connect with people no matter how far they are from each other. Twitter has given this generation a power that was never available, the ability to spread a message to millions of people at the click of a button.

Social media has enhanced people-to-people connections between enemy nations as well. If you see the activities of someone else from a different geography, you realise that the people there are not so different. For instance, through social media, I realised that many people in Pakistan love the actor, Shah Rukh Khan as much as my family does. Furthermore, there are countless other stories of how these platforms have helped people find lost ones, get blood donors, and financial donors under challenging times.

Though admittedly, like most tools, social media can have a harmful use if in the wrong hands. Also, the echo chamber created by the algorithm of social media has led to the growth of fascist ideologies worldwide. Though I don’t believe the websites are to blame, the user is the culprit.

In conclusion, I believe social media, if regulated to an extent, is a boon to society. Its growth should not be discouraged.

Social Media has grown immensely in the last 10 years and had become an integral part of our life. Owing to its popularity, a lot of people had made their midset that Social Media such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and many more had a detrimental effect on individuals as well as society. I concur, that it is affecting the lives of teenagers, kids, and even older people, along with also harmed our diverse society.

Primarily, Social media is affecting Society in broader aspects, people are spending long hours just strolling on these Social Networking Sites without taking any valuable aspect to improve themself. As a consequence, people are not able to gain the essential social behavior and proving nothing among their community. Instead, they are wasting their time, on these sites, blindly following an influencer which they would rarely meet in their whole life. For instance, there are many kids which are highly influenced in gaming, following the influencer on these sites. These kids have changed their way of living by spending most of their time playing computer or mobile games rather than involving in some physical sports, which is highly affecting their education, health as well as they lack most of the social skills, which indeed affecting the society, especially the one with local communities.

Moreover, the dramatic increase in the demand for Social media had created a way for fraudsters, to spread their curated news easily on the daily basis, following certain sophisticated tactics they tend to gain people’s beliefs and make it so much appealing that they tend to believe or form opinion related to whatever they have seen on this sites. As a result, false or misleading information presented as news is spreading more and more, which may affect individuals and also society. To illustrate, there was a celebrity Ranbir Kapoor, on which the fake allegation of dealing with drugs was put on, by the trend on Twitter, people had started creating their opinion, which had a huge impact on his professional and personal life. Later on, After investigation, it was cleared that the news which was spread was entirely false. As stated, these sites had highly affected our society and our beliefs.

In conclusion, Social media is growing at a high pace, and with technological advancement, it will continue to thrive in the future as well, but had a huge deteriorating impact on our society and our own life. To mitigate such an impact, it’s highly difficult and challenging. Fraud news on these sites is spreading almost daily, people are wasting a lot of time perpetually strolling on this platform, affecting their own life, causing them not involved in social activities in their society.

Thank you Liz for your free tips

You’re welcome 🙂

Thanks for this powerful site, Liz!

I read through the whole page, and your responses are of great assistance. I feel confident to seat for the test.

Thank you so much, Liz. I wish you a speedy recovery.

Good luck with your test 🙂

Hi Liz , it’s Guri I have been following you for last 2 to 3 years,,,I always watch your videos on youtube even on your own website, ,,I want to ask why did you stop to post videos on youtube regarding IELTS,, since last 5 years ,,,, do you provide online IELTS course ,,,kindly let me know please ,, Sincerely Gurpreet Singh From India 🇮🇳

Hi Gurpreet, I stopped making videos because my health crashed in 2015 and I’ve been struggling since then. Each time I start recovering, I get sick again. It’s a long slow battle. But I hope next year will bring me better luck. This website contains all my free lessons and tips for each part of the test. But I also have some Advanced Writing Task 2 Lessons and two e-books relating to Writing Task 2: an ideas for topics e-book and a grammar e-book. You can find them in my store: https://elizabethferguson.podia.com/ . Once I’m better, I’ll start making more videos for my store and my Youtube channel 🙂

Hi Liz, I started watching your videos a month ago for IELTS, and I learnt a lot from your clear and informative presentations. Then I purchased the writing task 2 pack about 10 days ago – my best decision forever! I will have the IELTS test (academic) tomorrow which I aim at 7 in each category for accreditation as a medical professional in Australia. Whether I got the score or not, I will keep doing the practice to improve my English. Get well soon! Kind regards, Charlie

Best of luck with your test !! 🙂

I pray to god that u recover as soon as possible because every ielts beginner needs your help and assistance .

Get well soon

Kindly take care of your health.

Get well soon ! We are keen to see you again on your Youtube channel

Hello Liz, Get well soon dear…

I learnt a lot from your YouTube channel and I am confident enough to attend the exam.

Thanks 😊 Srini Reddy India

get well soon Liz . a lot of wishes and love from India.

I wish you quick recovery

oo, pls get well soonest Liz you have been an inspiration honestly, you make Ielts look so easy

Hey Liz, How are you now? Still no new videos or uploads. Are you alright?

Thanks for asking. My illness is long-term. It’ll take time before I can make videos – I’m still not well enough.

It is considered by many that social media sites have had a bad impact on individual people as well as the society and community. Though such sites provide considerable benefits, I too believe that the negative impact outweighs them in various angles.

On one hand, Social media websites like Facebook,Youtube and Instagram bring people together and help them communicate by a few clicks on a website. Before the development of such sites, people rarely meet with anyone outside of their community or country. Additionally Facebook also has social groups where users can act promptly during any emergencies such as natural disasters or social awareness campaigns and contribute to such programs in various ways.

On the other hand , It is clear that based on online activities there are many individuals easily being targeted by online scammers for serious traps such as sensitive data fraud and love scams. Additionally youngsters spend most of their time being active on Facebook and they are unlikely to spend time with their family or community cycle they live in. This leads to a broken society around the individual and soon the individual can be distanced from community and easily be fallen into depression or may feel helpless incase of being victimised by a scammer. Furthermore individuals face serious health issues such as back pain,migraine and spinal injuries due to long hours on social sites which ultimately form an unhealthy community.

Finally, in my view, Spending time on social media should be limited and undercontrolled by individuals in order to maintain a good mental as well as physical health. Over use of such sites will definitely lead to unrecoverable impact not only on individuals but also on the community cycle around them. Individuals should be extra cautious on usage of such sites to continue forming a healthy environment.

Wow fantastic writing thankyou so much for help me to write the good answer

Have you started essay marking services which was suppose to start in oct. 2020?

No. Sorry. I’m still sick. I won’t be starting a marking service until I’m better. Hopefully late next year.

Get well soon, mam.

hi Liz, Please is this a good answer to give for this advertisement question?

Some people say that advertising encourages us to buy things that we really do not need. Others say that advertisements tell us about new products that may improve our lives. Which viewpoint do you agree with?

Generally, people believe that publicity gives us the courage to purchase things we are not in need of, while others think that publicity gives a broader view about new products that may be of high signigicant to our lives. I strongly agree with both views as publicity gives us the courage to purchase items we dont need and also a information on items that are beneficial to us. This essay will give an in-sight to the points.

Advertisement gives us the courage to purchase things that are not essencial. For example, I saw a smart watch on aliexpress earlier this week which has almost all the features and applications an android phone has. This really got my attention and without further exitation, i purchased the smart watch online. Thinking about it few hours later, i honestly do not see the need for the smart watch. Furthermore, publicity of products are everywhere we can imagine like in the newspaper, social media, different websites, television and on the radio. A friend once said, we humans are mostly driven by what we hear which leads us to make that immediate decision occasionally. Although, some promotions of product and services totally discourages some people from purchasing it due to errors or wrong information released.

Publicity give an in-sight of new products that are beneficial to our lives. For instance, some products like the advanced portable blood pressure machine newly produced is not easily accesible in our physical stores. This is because it is still on high demand and its to be pre ordered for if needed urgently. This gives people the doubt of purchasing such product blindly as there is no complete assurance to the specifications with just words of mouth. But with the new advertisement released on the benefits of this product, there is a broader knowledge of the importance of the product.

In my opinion, i strongly agree that people are driven to purchase some irrelivant items and also an in-depth knowledge is given on the benefits of some products that are beneficial to our lives. This can mostly be achieved through publicity.

In conclusion, publicity does not only encourages us to purchase irrelevant items, it also gives a broader view of how important some products are to our lives.

Based on social facts, many are into social networking which has been believed by most people, has enormous significant negative effect for both personal and in the society. I completely agree that social media has a big impact to individuals and in the community.

Many people are fond of using the internet especially the social networking like Facebook, Twitter and etc. They have spent most of their time handling their mobiles and computer just to have connection to other people and this one made sense to them. Primarily, the negative effect of over usage of the streaming and social networking is not being productive in a usual day. Apart from that, many individual has a feeling of envious towards other people which is not good in personal development.

Another point to consider is that many false-beliefs and intrigues are affecting the individual. Nowadays, many untruthful related issues are being brought up in the internet and it does not contribute to our interpersonal skills instead, hence it gives negative values. These controversial would not help us to become a better person. In other hand, our society is also affected by these social networking by increasing the rate of people who are no longer engaged in interpersonal relationship. They prefer to use Facebook or other media to communicate thus, personal interaction is no longer observed.

On the contrary, Social networking has benefit to us as an individual. It provides us a good communication line to other people by sharing common thoughts and interests and to keep each other close immediately.

To conclude, social networking has an imperative impact in totality to individual and society but negative impact is more evident with regards to individual personality and behavior as whereas what it brings to the community.

Can you please evaluate Ms. Liz Thank you

Based on social facts, many are into social networking which has been believed by most people, has enormous significant negative effect for both personal and in the society. I completely agree that social media has a big impact to individuals and in the community. Many people are fond of using the internet especially the social networking like Facebook, Twitter and etc. They have spent most of their time handling their mobiles and computer just to have connection to other people and this one made sense to them. Primarily, the negative effect of over usage of the streaming and social networking is not being productive in a usual day. Apart from that, many individual has a feeling of envious towards other people which is not good in personal development. Another point to consider is that many false-beliefs and intrigues are affecting the individual. Nowadays, many untruthful related issues are being brought up in the internet and it does not contribute to our interpersonal skills instead, hence it gives negative values. These controversial would not help us to become a better person. In other hand, our society is also affected by these social networking by increasing the rate of people who are no longer engaged in interpersonal relationship. They prefer to use Facebook or other media to communicate thus, personal interaction is no longer observed. On the contrary, Social networking has benefit to us as an individual. It provides us a good communication line to other people by sharing common thoughts and interests and to keep each other close immediately. To conclude, social networking has an imperative impact in totality to individual and society but negative impact is more evident with regards to individual personality and behavior as whereas what it brings to the community.

Can you please evaluate my writing skills and content. Thank you Ms. Liz

Please check my introduction: Social networking websites like Facebook, Instagram, etc. are thought to have affected individuals and society and local communities alike. While I agree that social media has had some clear advantages for an individual person, there’s also a downside in that they’ve made a dent on solidarity among people of the society.

Social networks is crucial in this modern age and everyone is getting adapted to this trend irrespective of the ages. More number of people have a understanding that using social network platform will definitely lead to some disadvantages on people and environment. However, I entirely believe that they contribute aspects that are helpful to the individuals and improves the society.

Majority of people have a flawed understanding over social networking sites, for instance, instagram, whatsapp, facebook are some applications where one can communicate to another only through internet which is not safe. People believe that it might lead to addiction which later cause health issues in terms of stress. According to a research from the Harvard university, there is a increasing number of people aged between 8-25 are facing serious health problems due tot he reason of using many networking sites constantly.

Conversely, there are some beneficials in using the networking applications in order to improve education. For example, owing tot he COVID situation, most of the teaching method are changed virtually, where one can learn easily by staying at home. Society on the other hand receive benefits. Recent in Tamil Nadu a protest named “Jallikattu” gone viral and reason behind was because of Facebook, Instagram, Whatsapp and many such social networking applications which payed a way to throw light on the States’s culture and tradition in order to conduct the jallikattu event.

To recapituate, social networkings can have both negative and positive effect. Meanwhile, it is in the hands of the individual to make it better and useful. In my opinion, I strongly agree that these network sites enable us to explore more and bring in true colours of Nations’s development.

Hi Jeevitha. Your essay seems nice at a glance. But, beware of spelling errors. Found few. Ahead.

if somebody can evaluate my essay that would be great help A few masses of people reckon that social sites are detrimental for society and human, while other masses believes they are beneficial in their own good ways. I personally agree that these sites are leaving various negative impact on surrounding. Talking about the benefits of social networks including Facebook, Instagram, Linkdin, first and foremost benefit is ; connection to people worldwide.in earlier times, people used to use postcards, letters and telegrams to send their messages to different countries but today with the help of these sites messages can be sent worldwide with the flick of a finger. Secondly, these sites are major platform for marketing and business as well. For example, we can display our ideas and products on such sites ; which will be helpful in raising money on individual levels. Finally, it helps the students to follow different pages on social media, where a pupil can find guidance to their career and can find solution to their daily base study problems. on the other hand, the major disadvantage of these sites is the cutting off of people from the society. People, nowadays, like to spent their time more on entertainment sites; as a result , people are getting detached from their near ones. They don’t have time for their partner and parents’ feelings. Because of this, society is facing major crisis in maintaining healthy relationships. other major drawback of these sites is its worst effect on health i.e. people are becoming more prone to diseases day by day. For example, obesity, high blood pressure and other chronic diseases. Overall, it can be said that people should use sites only when needed and they should spent major time involved in physical activities . In this way their life will lead to happy and fruitful life i.e. free of diseases.

Jasdeep, please use punctuation marks cautiously. You must start every sentence with capital letter. Your points are all good, need to be arranged in a better manner though.

Many people believe that the social networking platforms has drastically affected the individuals and as well as the whole society. However, others believe that these platforms have benefited us as well in many ways. This essay will enlighten both these aspects of social network platforms and I personally favours the former view i.e. it has overall put a negative impact on our personal and social life.

There is no doubt that such platforms has completely broken the distance barriers. it gives us the leverage to connect and communicate with people globally and share the cultural and social values with each other. We are just one click away from any person across the globe and can seamlessly communicate with anyone and anywhere either using text or voice call or video call facility. Also, such platforms especially Facebook are also being used for advertisements thus people are growing their businesses. Also, these platforms keeps us in regular touch of our friends by seeing their events and posts online and appreciate them.

Now, the reason why these platforms have a negative effect is the over indulgence by people into them. People of all walks of life are using them in so excess that they have dramatically affected and changed their life style completely. Today, most people prefers communicating online rather than in person because of the ease provided by technology. It may have removed the distance barriers but created a big social gap between people. Due to this, many people and even the children are suffering from mental health problems.

In conclusion, Social networking platforms are very good and have many benefits if used wisely. However, these platforms have created a void in our social life and created a emotional and social barrier barrier between people.

This is much better than that which is mentioned above 😂

Thank you. Glad you liked it. Hope it helped. 👍

Sorry, but Liz’s essay is a Band 9 while Vineet’s essay is full of spelling errors and grammatical mistakes so he can only qualify for a band 7 as a maximum score.

More importantly, Liz’s essays are stylish, impeccable and are worth your respect.

Kind regards Wei

Well done bro👍

The world is now a global village..This has been made achievable by the introduction of social sites such as Facebook. Some people have seen this development as rather detrimental to individuals and the society as a whole. Most are of the opinion that, this is addictive and destroys community bonding. However, on the other hand, some people and me inclusive believe it has brought a lot more benefits such as bringing people from far closer and has provided opportunities for most communities.

Sites such as Facebook , when used over and over again, it builds up our cognitive function to always be logged in to it. Research has proven that individuals spend most of their day glued to their mobile phones while on these sites. With regards to this productive time is being lost which would have been used to do other meaningful activities. Furthermore, as more people indilge on online sites, interpersonal communication gradually becomes diminished.when looked upon from a community level, less and less persons get to be involved with one another further making division and weakening community bonding. Despite all these, others have embraced this positively. A strong reason for this is it has broken the distance between people living in different countries and continents.with Facebook you can place and video call and see an oversees relative or friend within seconds.This has overcome the traditional letter writing which took months to be delivered and tarried information. At a community level, projects such as clean water provision, electricity and schools have been successfully carried out by non governmental organisations when this were put up on Facebook as challenges within some communities. This has added to infrastructural development and reduction in diseases. To conclude, despite some drawbacks the Internet age has brought, I believe its advantages are enormous and surpasses it cons.

It is been believed by a large section of society that social media sites have been negatively impacting both individuals and society. In my opinion, I agree that social networking sites have negative repercussions on the people and its society as it impacts individual and hence society overall development One of the reasons to consider the opinion of many people that social networking sites have a downside impact on individuals is that with the emerge of these sites, people have disconnected themselves from the real world, while have reduced focus on physical health, social bonds and emotional quotients. Physical and mental health is very important for one’s growth. The downfall of these important parameters not only affect the self-development of individuals but also influence society’s health and unity, which in turn reshapes the individual in a vicious circle.

Another point to consider is that spending more time on sites like FB, Google, etc leads to spending less time on constructive work such as research etc, which in turn, holds the overall productivity of society. In other words, the development of a nation depends on people’s effectiveness and efficiency. Spending time on such sites reduces the possibility to utilize more time on greater innovations and discoveries, thereafter, causing the defeat of society’s future advancement and evolution.

In conclusion, people spending time on social networking sites increases the risk of depleting their actual capability, aptitude and skills, and hence rusting their progressive thinking, impacting not only their self-evolution but also impacting the nation’s social and economic progression.

To some people, social media networking sites such as Facebook are perceived to have negative impacts on both individuals and society. I agree that networking sites can be utilized for positive causes like information sharing and to reach people instantly. However, there are also some drawbacks derived from social media such as catfishing and fraud. Besides, social media addiction is becoming more prominent in recent years.

Networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram were made to help society to be more connected in a short time manner. It does help us to reach our relatives who live abroad faster. It can also be the platform to share our thought and our lifestyle. With social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, we can share what we are doing currently and post it on our profile. Furthermore, networking sites can be a source of Informations, from seeking a place to stay on vacation to more academic-related information like the value of Pythagoras, from the information-sharing platform given in the networking sites. For the bigger picture, we see that networking sites have eased us to sell information that benefits businesses and corporations to execute strategy effectively, which further boosts the economy. We can see from the above discussion that Networking sites have multiple benefits.

However, with the rising of networking sites as our way of life when it comes to searching for information or simply just sharing, there are some disadvantages of networking sites. With the ability to chat virtually, there are lots of people who stole others’ identities for numerous reasons. This is called catfishing. This is maybe harmless but people who are fooled by them maybe feel betrayed and hurt. Furthermore, the ability to freely access information can be a backlash, with the acts of fraud such as phishing becoming more striking recently. Social media addiction is also a notable problem nowadays. Children prefer to stay on their roof browsing the internet instead of going outside with their friends, Forming the new generation to become mature faster than previous generations. We see evidence that children in the current generation, generation Z to develop emotions such as stress and depression before they even reach puberty.

In conclusion, networking sites benefit ourselves and society for the efficiency to be connected with others and to be exposed to abundant sources of information. Nevertheless, networking sites can cause several disadvantages and therefore there should be strict regulations to regulate the networking sites.

Please reply with your suggestions. Thanks

Social networking sites, such as Facebook, are believed to have a really bad impact on individuals by some people and they also think it has a worse effect on society. In my opinion, I agree with the problems that are associated with the use of social platforms to an individual and society.

As the growth of social platforms has increased among the individuals, they started to become less responsive in terms of interacting directly with others which causes a bad impact on their overall lifestyle. With this, everyone likes to check statuses of others on social media rather having a one-on-one conversation with the other person which results in lack of social and interpersonal skills in individuals.

Individuals deeply indulged in social-media platforms while using public transport are becoming a victim in various road accidents which is not only an unpleasant situation for them but for their family too. This describes, that these networking sites have a severe effect on families who are associated with a user of social media.

On the other hand, people who opt to use social platforms for more time than intended are unaware of the societal problems that are arising in their surrounding. They undoubtedly believe in every news which they see on social media and forgets about the implications it can have on their society. With this, no one cares much about society and what message it brings to all of us.

In conclusion, networking sites had a really ill effect on individuals who interact with these sites on a regular basis and this contributes to other problems that are related to society.

Thanks for sharing, but I don’t offer feedback on writing. Hopefully someone else will drop you a review.

Social networking sites have changed the way our society communicates. While there have been many positive outcomes of it such as increased connectivity, sharing new ideas and understandings of different cultures, there have been some major drawbacks as well which have led many people to question their contribution to the society.

One of the main disadvantages of social media is that it affects the mental health of individuals. Youth in particular, are quite vulnerable to fall into the trap of believing the false reality on social media. They may also be susceptible to live their lives for the approval of others, which may result in them to have less overall life satisfaction. Many people often find themselves depressed by the constant competition on the social media and superficial connections that exist virtually, leaving them no time or energy to establish deep connections, which may prove very detrimental to their mental health.

In recent times, we have seen Social media sites having the power to change public opinion, which is very dangerous in some ways. Since the revenue model of these sites are advertisement driven, big powerful corporations can spend a lot of money on these sites to shift public opinion favourably towards them. It also limits competition in certain segments as small businesses are unable to capture user’s attention.

Like everything that exist, social media has advantages and disadvantages, In my opinion, to provide a fair balance, there needs to be education around its usage and some regulations which does not allow individual or corporations to abuse the platforms for their benefits.

In this Link – https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-agree-disagree-essay-sample-answer/ , you have mentioned that for opinion essays, we should be writing one opinion only through out the essay. But in this page , I could see that both sides of the arguments were discussed. I’m confused. Could you please clarify.

I think you are getting confused about one opinion and a one-sided opinion. These are not the same thing. When you have an Opinion Essay, you can choose your opinion. It will either be a one-sided opinion when you agree 100% with one side or it will be a specific opinion (balabced view), when you don’t agree fully with either side and you present your own specific view. Once you decide your opinion, you present it in the introduction. From that point on, you can’t change your opinion. Your essay must follow the opinion you have given in the introduction. So, you choose your opinion and stick to it. Please get my Advanced Lessons to get proper training: https://elizabethferguson.podia.com/

May God bless you to get well soon Liz.

Get well soon Liz…..

Thanks. I appreciate that.

Get well soon Liz.

a good many people believing that social media is affecting adversely on males and females in many communities. However, In my opinion, it also causes some serious health problems if we use it too much per day. Nowadays, social media took an essential role in our life and I admit that it takes most of the time for a good majority of people, despite that it can help u communicate with others worldwide it also made a huge gap between society relations, for example, if you are missing someone and want to see him, probably you would call him via video instead of seeing him in some place or in his or her house because we used to visit each other in the past, check if we need anything, he may be in the hospital and need someone to cheer him, support him to recover and tell him that we are here for them.

In addition, even family nights have now vanished, we just sit with each other without talking, just surfing the internet instead of playing some game or share any problem that we are struggling with, even the emotions now are electronics not honest one from deep of our hearts, so this would adversely affect our life and make it meaningless.

to sum up, social media is a need to handle our life, but too much of using it will back in a negative way that affect our health and habits.

I just read the comments section and found out that you have been suffering from some disease for a long time. It is a shocking news for me. I have learnt a lot from you and consider you one of the most respected teachers of mine. What happened Liz??? How are you now?? I hope that you are getting better day by day and get fully recovered very soon 🙁

Thanks for your concern. I’m still sick and there are times when I struggle a lot. But I do have hope that I will get better. Hopefully next year will see some improvement. Meanwhile, I try to keep this website going and keep posting lessons and tips. Hope you are staying safe at this time.

BEST Wishes!! Get well Soon!!

Thanks. I appreciate it.

Hi, I am waiting to write my IELTS in two hours. While revising concepts from your website, I just realised about your health. I pray to almighty for your speedy recovery. 🙂 Please take care. You are the best!!!

Thanks. I’m so sorry I didn’t see this message before so I could have wished you luck. However, I do hope your test went well !!

Thank you so much Liz for all your sessions and inputs. I scored 8887 LRSW in General test, had my speaking today and will be appearing tomorrow for the rest, this time academic. Take care get well soon. You have been a great support to me.

Hey Liz, I have not known you personally but you are one of the teachers I have the highest regard for. I am appearing for my IELTS soon and I have checked out many IELTS videos on youtube but by far your 4-5 years old youtube videos are still the best. Everything is explained so well that I can’t thank you enough. I saw that your youtube channel videos were posted in 2014 and was confused why being such a nice teacher, you haven’t uploaded any video recently. So to see that and to learn more I landed up to your website and then on the comments. I am really sorry to hear that you are suffering from a health issue for a long time. I am sure you will get well pretty soon considering the 1.4 million + student community which you have built must be wishing you well.

Thanks for your message. Yes, I’m still sick. My recovery has been hit many times by bad luck. But I am still hopeful. Your positive message is encouraging 🙂

get well soon..lots of blessings and best wishes from me ..

Take Care Liz!

I hope to get well soon.

I’m sorry to know that, I hope you recover soon and get back to normal.

your blog contains better content ,wish to see you active again.GET WELL SOON LIZ.

I am from India, and I have received so much help from your free videos and lessons.

Praying for your speedy recovery. I am sure you will be fit and fine soon.

If prayers do miracle, then Ms.Liz, you got many around the world, yours students, we are earnestly appealing to God, a speedy recovery for you.We can’t lose our dear teacher.

Common Liz.. Me and my wife not yet done our Ielts yet.

Thank you for your best wishes. My health is improving slowly but I still need to rest a lot. Hopefully I will have better news at the end of the year. Meanwhile, I work part time on this website and will keep it open and post free lessons regularly.

I don’t know what is your exact illness. Any way I pray to Almighty God for early recovery from your illness.

Wish you a quick recovery and may you be fit than ever. Please stay safe our dear Liz.

May you recover soon Liz. You will be as just you are before sick. Keep strong, everything will be okay 🙂

In Bangladesh, its spread that you has been suffering dangerous illness. Is it true or Fals?

I have been very sick for a long time and I am still not well. But I am able to run this website. Hopefully next year I’ll be able to make videos again.

Liz, please get well soon. You’re important to us here more than you’ll ever know. From Nigeria.

Get well soon, praying for you Liz!

get well soon liz 🙂

Oh no, sorry to hear about that Liz. Hopefully is not something very serious. Get well soon, hugs!

Your are precious to many of us. Please get well soon and contribute more of your excellent english knowledge to the world. May god bless you. Take care of yourself dear..

It’s so sad to hear that u r not well. Get better soon Liz.

get well soon dear Liz

I’ll pray for your speedy recovery. You are truly a gem 🙂

OH DEAR, GET WELL SOON DEAR. WE HOPE TO SEE YOU BACK IN FULL ENERGY SOONEST.

Hi Liz, I am confused, question asked, to what extent do you agree but you mentioned both positive and negative sides. Are we supposed to take only one side in such essays or both?

You can take a one sided approach or a balanced approach (partial agreement).

Hi Liz, I do like your web: It s organized, concise, and helpful. Keep on producing valuable posts as you have done. Appreciate you from Indonesia

Social networking sites such as Facebook considered having had a detrimental effect on both individuals as well as society. In my opinion, I disagree with the above-mentioned statement because the pros outweigh the cons by far. Social networking sites are not only used to communicate but also used as an effective mode of establishing or run businesses. Researchers said that the social networking sites in the 21st century are considered as “MONEY MAKING MACHINE”. Social networking sites are used as a tool for sole traders, entrepreneurs, businesses to sell and advertise their products and to target the specific segment of the society. They have had used these sites as a platform to launch their products and get instant feedback from end-users. For example facebook banner ad. Social networking sites connected people and friends despite the fact where they lived. In my opinion, it has had a positively impact on people’s lives because they are linked and known every activity for their beloved ones. Social networking makes the world a global village; you just click on one button and share your thoughts, emotions, and pictures with your friends and family. In the past, people had no connection except writing letters and waited almost 2 to 3 weeks for a response but now you just instantly made a video and audio call for free is it not amazing? To conclude, social networking sites have had a positive impact on individuals because they are connected and share their experience which is helpful for the young lads. Furthermore, it has had also used for creating job opportunities, advertise products, and know what are the needs of consumers.

Hi Liz, Can we give our opinion in the introduction and then in the conclusion too?

You introduce your opinion in the introduction and then conclude it in the conclusion.

Hi Liz, What do you think about this?

Social media sites have become extensively popular around the world and majority of the population argue that such kind of sites to have ill effect on everyone. In my opinion, I disagree with this statement because I believe the pros outweigh the cons by far. It has had enormous amount of benefits such as creating job and wealth opportunity as well as has allowed many to connect with friends across the globe.

Research shows that social media is seen as the 21st century ‘money making machine’ whereby many sole traders, entrepreneurs and big business can use this kind of platforms to advertise and promote their products or services. Business are able to use it as a trading platform to sell. Because many people use such sites, it’s easier to reach target consumers for example through Facebook banner ad. In addition, it has also enabled startups to get instant feedback on their products.

On the other hand, it is used as a main platform for communication among many. Not only do social sites allow you to share pictures and videos but also enable you to make ordinary and video calls. Furthermore, you can share you day to day experience with friends and family in a form of short clips. For example, if there was no Snapchat, how would I have been able to share videos instantaneously?

To conclude, social sites have plenty of benefits and has positively contributed to the society and businesses over the years. I believe that it has empowered us to use it for a range of purposes and also has allowed businesses to trade.

Thanks Liz for always helping. Kindly help with corrections.

It is argued that social networking sites like Facebook have had a harmful effect on individuals and local communities. This essay agrees that Facebook has advantages while it also has a dangerous impact on the public.

Thanks in advance

The instructions ask for your own opinion. I need to use “I” or “my” to express a personal opinion.

Liz, it is not wrong if I use I MUST SAY and IN MY OPINION in body paragraphs. Iam really confused what to do, while in opinion essay such as dou you agree or disagree case

It is actually vital to use those words if you are asked for your own opinion. I don’t put up model essays onto my site that are not safe to learn from.

Hi Liz , could you please help me with the. structure of agree and disagree statement as well as opinion essay .I’m confused about it .as my tutor told that I have make 3 body paragraph 2 with whom I agree and one for another side ?

An “agree disagree essay” and an “opinion essay” are 100% the same thing. The instructions are a paraphrase and the essay type the same.

Hi Liz, I have come across below discussion essay question; “Today’s teenagers have more stressful life than previous generations”. Discuss this view and give your opinion

Can I have an opinion such as ” Even though current generation is facing stressful life, it is lesser than the struggles faced by earlier generation”?

If I can have such an opinion, my essay body should explain about the stress life of current generation or earlier generation? Kindly advice. Thanks in advance.

Your thesis statement is fine, but make sure you use “I believe” or “in my opinion” to make your own personal view clear. Your essay would then explain your view: a) why you think the current generation is facing a stressful life b) why you think it is less than the struggles faced by earlier generations.

Thanks to you Liz. Please hear me out.

Please with opinion essays, can you write a point from outside the given QUESTION?

For example; the question asks ” To what extent do you think laws will ensure people recycle more at their homes”

My opinion – (After paraphrasing my introduction)” Although education plays a key role in increasing recycling, I agree laws will enforce the need for recycling more in our homes”

the point i introduced here is EDUCATION. Is it okay to write that?

This is an opinion essay about solutions. This means you give your opinion about the solution offered and whether it will actually solve the problem. Your answer would be that you agree it is a useful solution, but there is a better solution for this problem. That is fine. However, your thesis statement is written incorrectly. The clauses are the wrong way around and therefore don’t match the question. You should have written: Although laws to enforce recycling would have an impact, a better measure would be to raise more awareness of the benefits of recycling through education”. It is essential that you grasp the order of the clauses.

Thanks again Liz, this means so much.

Hi Liz, i have prepared writing task 2. Can you please evaluate my essay. Thank you in advance Many people think that every individual is responsible for their happiness, but some people believe there are other external factors that influence us. Discuss both views and give your opinion.

Undoubtedly, pleasure is a state of mind for which every person itself is accountable whereas, some schools of thought hold the notion that other materialistic things are responsible to give happiness to the individual. My crumb of writing will shed the light on both views in the subsequent paragraphs. To commence with, firstly the individual itself is responsible to make himself satisfied in his day to day life in various ways. To substantiate, every person has control on his postive and negative emotions. Thus, to being postive bring a feeling of joy. However the way of getting satisfaction is vary from person to person . For instance some folks feel happy by spending some quality of time with their kiths and kins while other feel better by giving time to themselves as by doing yoga, meditation gives inner peace to them. On the flip side, others believe that the feeling of happiness comes due to the presence of external factors. Owing to this, having luxurious house, car and highly paid job give them good feeling. To elaborate, this is true that the materialistic things make life far more comfortable and easy. For illustration, the people who have good job earned more so they can afford better living facilities which leads happiness in them. Due to the wealth and other factors they are like pleased as punch.

To encapsulate, it can be concluded that both elements play an indispensable role to give pleasure in life. But I think inner peace is essential to keep our mind healthy and happy rather than focusing on external factors.

Wow, this is a very good academic essay, though there are few grammatical errors.

According to some people, social networking sites have had a detrimental impact on individuals and society as a role. I agree with this to a greater extent.

The first negative effect that overrides the rest is its addictiveness. This is very destructive both academically and mentally. A vast number of millennials cannot go on for long periods of time without checking their social media. This results in poor grades and when grades are poor, little to none can be done to achieve academic success. The other frustrating this about social media is how people zone out in the middle of conversations at functions because a notification just popped up on their smartphone. They have become so addicted that they cannot put away their phones for a few hours just so they can connect with others.

Another undesirable effect is how it puts pressure on individuals and society to live up to certain standards. Social media accommodates both genuine and fake people. The latter tends to post content of their supposed achievements. This can result in a follower feeling like they have failed at life. The result spans from mild to severe depression which can ultimately lead to suicide. Misdemeanours and hard core crime can also result as members of society try to gain possessions in order to live up to high standards.

In conclusion, social media really poses a great harm to people and the society as it is a causative agent of academic stagnation, various forms of crime and an early demise.

Thank you for this essay. I’m a little bit confused!!! In this essay you agree that social networking sites have had a damaging effect on local community. In the first paragraph you talked about the benefit and in the second paragraph you talked about negative effect. My question is, why didn’t you write 2 supportative ideas instead of writing in the first paragraph about benefit and in the second paragraph about negative effect like you did in the essay of “the growing number of overweight people”. THANK YOU

Look more carefully at the thesis statement which explains the position taken in this essay: However, while I believe that such sites are mainly beneficial to the individual, I agree that they have had a damaging effect on local communities.

Which one you agreed isn’t clearly understood

I believe that such sites are mainly beneficial to the individual I agree that they have had a damaging effect on local communities In the question, there are two issues – one is individual and one is society. I have given my opinion of each.

Dear Liz, I have prepared Writing Task-2 answer. Please go through given below details give feedback. Thanks in advance.

Writing Task-2 Topic: In some countries a few people earn extremely high salaries. Some people think that is good for a country, while others believe that the government should control salaries and limit the amount people can earn. Discuss both views and give your opinion.

Few countries , one sector of people are earning huge wages. These type of scale of earnings is better for specific country development. On the other side argument government should reconsider to reduce wages and optimize earning in the form of money and income. As per my opinion, government should redefine policy about higher wages and develop who are earning low earning wages.

Firstly, While getting higher income people are adopt to luxury life, unnecessary expenses such as cars, building excessively. For those type of comfortable life , will some pros and cons for their health and lifestyle. If you forgot about diet and physical fitness automatically health problems will raise. Sometime those utilities will save time, speed, accuracy and security for their works. Modern life style competition, comparison, comfort factors are much influence to earning huge income.

On the other side of the people are completely deny and compliance about higher wages which are most practical issues rich going to be rich again, neglecting economical poor and below poverty line peoples, low earning money wagers, mostly staying in downtowns. As many Economist and financial analysts also suggesting government rethink about all sector people and redefine policy and adjust according to manage all sectors of the people.

Many countries are economically depends on agricultural, food and beverage sectors and daily wage people are best examples of low income getting sector. Need to provide low interest bank loans and subsidies for them will help to their respective field development. Very few sectors will get huge income such as Information Technology, Service sectors, Business, Tourism sectors are getting higher revenues.

To summarize, government provide some benefits and redefine policies who are getting low income sectors also focus on development and lowering taxes and develop agricultural , food production, consumer goods and equally mange higher revenue sectors focus on country economy should maintain sustainable.

Hi Liz, I have prepared Writing Task-2 answer. Please go through given below and give feedback. Thanks in advance.

Writing Task- 2 Task : Art is considered an essential part of all cultures throughout the world. However, these days fewer and fewer people appreciate art and turn their focus to science, technology and business. Why do you think that is? What could be done to encourage more people to take interest in the arts?

Art is an important factor which is more impact on specific traditionally and culturally connected any part of the world. On the other hand some people argues technology and scientific innovations , new businesses mostly prefer choosing as profession for their future. According to ancestors art is legacy and enormous relationship has been developing between countries and all over the world. In every tradition and communities expression about their cultural and life style express in the form of pictorial representation using different colours. Those are easy to understand anyone rather than any language. Everybody thinking one picture will explain thousand words. According to historical cultural and start their house constructions and their life style which can be represents and express their views in the form of arts and paintings. Each country need to maintain and protected their historical ways of lives, foods, jewellery and usage of things stored, which archaeology department found and stored in the form of arts and galleries along with in museums. Many people perception choose profession of artist is less scope of earning money, delay, less interest about arts. However, if seriously focus on best ways choose arts will give better opportunities not only in domestic possible in internationally. On the other side, human tendency need to growth faster along with technology evaluations, new innovative scientific research effectively utilize technology. Similarly , searching more opportunities finding in the business sectors to develop start-up economical growth and development their career prospective. If seriously thinking that all science and technology developed from legacy from ancestors. For example, many discoveries such as telephone, Telegram, and based on bird flying aeroplane , various new advanced scientific evidences discovered earlier. To summarize, government and electronic media should encourage arts as mandatory subject in academics encourage artists, provide awareness programs such as exhibitions and develop museums , historical events, handicrafts , communicate to the people.

Liz don’t do proofreading for free.

I don’t offer any proof reading service – not even for money. My health prevents me offering more services.

Hi This is my first time am practicing IELTS writing task 2. Please evaluate my essay. Some people prefer to raise children in the cities while others believe that children should be raised in the countryside. Ans: Children’s upbringing is an important issue for every parent as lifestyle changing this becomes a debatable issue in society. Some would like to take care of their children in a pollution-free and healthy environment in the village far from cities. While others are in favor of raising them in an environment with modern amenities and infrastructure. In this essay, both views will be discussed, although in my view it is optimal to raise a kid in the city. As a matter of fact, the city environment has plenty of advantages and opportunities for future generations. They have easy access to all the technology for their study with extra co-curricular activities. In other words, children can do much apart from their studies, they can participate in cultural events organized in various parts of cities to get in touch with their tradition. They can go to museums, libraries that are highly technology-driven which can help children in their studies. In addition, there is more choice for parents to find the best-suited institution for their children according to children’s passion and interests. Another key point, cities have numerous job opportunities for children once they complete their higher studies. They do not have to move further for job searches. In the same fashion, the village lifestyle for raising children has its own supremacy. In this case, it provides children a clearer and pollution-free environment in comparison to cities. By the same token, a clean environment is best for children’s health and keeps a better immunity system prone to other health issues associated with aging. The most compelling evidence for the village life is less traffic that leads parents to worry less for their children about being hit by vehicles. Apart from these advantages, village life has its own limitations such as the education system. In the village, there are a limited number of schools and higher studies opportunities for children. Ultimately, once they have completed their secondary education, the only option left to move to cities for better institutions. Their access to modern technology like the internet is limited. They have hardly any exposure to the outside world. In the end, certainly, the countryside lifestyle has benefits related to health for bringing children, but we are living in the 21st century for that we have to live accordingly and need to adapt to the city’s lifestyles.

Hi, Liz I did a practice on writing part 2 and I want to know your thought about it.

Question: The qualities and skills that a person requires to become successful in today’s world cannot be learned at a university or other academic institutions. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

In the modern world, success is determined through wealth and social status of an individual. However, the qualities and skills can be achieved in various aspects of life, not just in university or other academic institutions. Although schools may provide the fundamental academic teachings, the best avenues for learning the most important qualities and skills in life to be successful are not limited to them.

Primarily, success is defined as attaining prosperity and fame in today’s world. In order to succeed, one must have certain abilities such as critical thinking, logical reasoning, leadership, and problem solving. In the schools today, they mainly focus on the systems that can enhance the capabilities of a student through various teaching materials according to their strength under those abilities. However, the presented idea is only limited to a portion that a person must possess so as to reach a successful life. In this regard, the knowledge that we acquire in an educational establishment does benefit an individual, though the setting must not be restricted to schools alone.

On the other hand, there are certain traits that we must own, apart from the academics. Towards the victory of success, knowing how to build up socialization, to negotiate, to manage money, and to have the proper behavioral skills which are trained outside the schools, occupy an essential part. This is well-demonstrated in South Korea where an actress named Mi-hee Oh, made one’s mark as a successful celebrity, even if she was not able to graduate a university. Therefore, certain qualities in achieving success come from different facets which are not found in a university and academic institutions.

In conclusion, the abilities that an individual requires to become successful in the present world cannot be completely accomplished at a university or other academic institutions. As a matter of fact, there are significant qualities reached from without the schools that we must possess, with the aim of gaining success. Hence, balancing of both the qualities may lead to the successful life in the world today.

Waste management is a big concern today, especially when more than 7.5 billion people produce a massive amount of garbage each day. The cause behind rising pollution is lack of recycling efforts and our throwaway habits are responsible for an unmanageable amount of rubbish production. Government need to take strict actions to control this issue.

To begin with, the world population has crossed 7.5 billion and it’s only natural that an increasing population produces more rubbish than ever before. Moreover, these days every product is packaged before it is sold. It is so widespread a trend that common products like bananas and apples are packed individually just to make them look attractive to the consumers. Use of plastic, polythene and many other nondisposable materials make the situation worse as they are not biodegradable. Increasing use of plastic and polythene and its adverse effects on the environment is a global concern. As a consequence, we are producing more waste and threatening our environment. Sadly, our consumerism and throwaway habits are making the situation graver as we like to have all the latest products and discard old ones easily.

Government can reduce the growing amount of waste in several ways. First of all, government needs to introduce strict laws regarding the use of plastic and polythene. Large companies like coca cola and Pepsi needs to find alternative ways to sell their products. This single measure can reduce waste production to a certain extend. Moreover, government should run awareness campaigns to educate people about the negative consequences of plastic and its usages

To conclude, an ever increasing population and their consumerism habit primarily produce a huge amount of debris every day and it has already become a global concern. It is hope that government would take effective measures to control it to reduce environmental damage.

Hi Liz, Greetings and I have watched all your videos and those are really helpful. Please I need your feedback on this. I have IELTS after 3 weeks and want to be sure whether I am not making same mistakes.

Social networking sites such as Facebook are said to have detrimental effect at the individual level as well as to our society. However, I believe that these social networking platforms have positive effect on the individuals but negative effect on the society. This essay will discuss both the opinions below.

To begin with, I believe that the social networking websites imparts good and positive impact on the individuals. Firstly, these websites can help to communicate easily through chat or direct messages with other people in any part of the world. Whereas, in earlier days it used to take days and weeks to send letters to other and hence, it was difficult to communicate. Secondly, these websites offer educational stuff like videos which students can benefit from. Moreover, housewives can also benefit by following their favorite chefs and can see and learn various recipes.

Nevertheless, these social networking sites have much long term and negative impact on the society. As people spend more and more time on these sites, they do less social interaction with other people like their families and friends. Consequently, if they spent less time with other people, then they feel isolated from the society and get mental stress. In addition to that, sometimes inappropriate contents are posted on these sites. Young people especially children get easily encouraged and indulged in doing crimes.

In conclusion, I agree that the social networking sites have good and positive impact on the individuals but negative impact on our society. Regulations should be put in place so that these websites are appropriately utilized for the benefit of both individuals and society as whole.

Hello dear Liz Your wonderful smile on your beautiful face is the first attractive point in this blog! Anyway, thank you for your thorough explanations and tuturials, they are so useful for me so far. Now, is this combination is correct: ” rarely do the people have chance to…”

The use of “the” with the word “people” depends on various factors. Otherwise, the phrase is correct. However, try to avoid learning phrases for use in your IELTS essay. When you do that, they are often used unnaturally and do not impress the examiner.

Hi Liz, I have watched your advanced tutorial for the opinion essay. And I am just kind of unsure about the disagree introduction. Should I mention all the reasons in my thesis statement why I disagree with this statement? Below is my introduction, could you please have a look and give me some advice? I would appreciate it.

Fees for analyzing and treating diseases are considered very expensive, so it is argued by some that prevention should be implemented rather than cure. From my perspective, not all diseases can be prevented, and therefore, I completely disagree with this statement, treatment is necessary in order to cure patients.

Is this the essay question: “Prevention is better than cure.” Out of a country’s health budget, a large proportion should be diverted from treatment to spending on health education and preventative measures. To what extent do you agree?

Hi Liz, Please evaluate my essay and suggest where need improvement so that accordingly i can subscribe to your course.

Some people believe that that the government is wasting money on arts and that this money could be better spent somewhere else. To what extent do you agree? The notion of spending government’s budget on arts is not much appreciated because some people opine that this money can be well utilized on other public services. However, this essay disagrees with this statement because arts promotes cultural heritage and produce creative thinkers. To begin with, India is a land of diverse cultures and traditions. India is well known recognized for its varied forms of arts and as a result of which, it has been attracting many visitors since prehistoric times and thus, helps in introducing Indian culture all across the globe. For example, a famous dance in Punjab called bhangra, festival of vibrant colors called holi, ancient sculptures and paintings in caves and temples all across the nation and many more are a spot of attraction for many tourists. Thus, funding in arts is quite important to maintain the existence of cultural heritage. Moving further, arts is considered as an incredible thing in developing creativity power of an individual. Imaginative qualities are being inculcated in human beings at a primary and secondary level of school and as a result of which, students becomes more creative in their teenage times and produce excellent ideas later in their professional life. For instance, now a days, fortune five hundred companies look for leaders who have extra ordinary creative and innovative skills along with main required skills, who can think out of the box and produce creative ideas to boost financial status of a company and these qualities are being developed at school level only via arts as subject in school’s curriculum. So, funding in arts is indispensable. To conclude, investing money on arts is equally important as investing money on other services because arts plays significant role in identifying nation’s ancient times and also helps produce creative minds.

Hi Liz, I have been following your website, book and advanced lessons which are really useful for IELTS taker. The advanced writing lessons are stated clearly and explained in details, but I got little bit confusion in opinion essay. I feel one-sided opinion essay is easier than balance approach, but I found using balance approach and two main body paragraphs rather than applying one-side opinion and two body paragraphs in many essays of your website. Can you please tell me about the situations using both approaches and paragraphs ?

I explained in the video that the number of paragraphs is based on the number of ideas you have. Two ideas = two body paragraphs. Three ideas = three body paragraphs. No more than three and no less than two. The approach you choose is up to you. They are all worth the same. But some essay questions are easier with a one sided approach and some with a balanced view. It depends on the question and it depends on your opinion.

In many places, new homes are needed,but only space available for them is in the countryside. Some people believe it is more important to protect the countryside and not to build new homes there. What is your opinion about this. I found this question in one of the Cambridge test. My doubt is in deciding ideas. For example can I disagree in my opinion with two reasons constructing new houses will affect the environment( para 1) and distrubs their people life ( para 2) Or should say why people do not want new building at countryside ( para 1) Para 2 – why I feel it should be allowed or not allowed. Am confused now. Could you please clear my doubt. Thanks you so much

You can’t ignore one issue. A one sided approach is you believe A and you do not believe B. Your whole essay would explain why A and not B. A partial agreement is written when it depends on specific factors: ie in developing countries or developed countries.

Hey liz, I winder how I can get access to your grammar e-book, since I live in Iran, and according to the sanctions I cannot do online shopping from overseas sites. May you guide me in that. Thanks in advance 🙏🏻

The e-book will be ready in early May. Either May 5th or just after. My online store allows major cards from most countries. Check it out: https://elizabethferguson.podia.com/

Hii mam, i have one doubt that is ,does using personal pronouns affect writing band score?

This is an aspect of grammar that I cover in my new Grammar E-book which is coming out on May 5th. Get that when it’s ready.

Hi Liz, i am maya, i really have a hard time every time i am doing the opinion essay. I learnt form my tutor that we have to answer the question in the introduction. I think it will be easy to answer agree or disagree, disadvantage or advantage, in the introduction. However, i am so confused to put the answer of the opinion essay in the introduction paragraph. Do i really need to put the answer in the paragraph or i can answer it later in the next paragraphs? Thank you.

You would have to write an example essay question with an example introduction for me to understand more fully what you mean.

Hiii Liz…..

I have one doubt as my trainer has advised me not to use ‘WH’ family like what, why, when etcetera in IELTS writing and according to her these words are not allowed to write in formal IELTS writing but still I am not convinced, so i need an expert feedback over this if you could help me.

This is 100% not true. It is completely fine to use “what / when / why / where” etc in an IELTS essay. It is generally recommended not to write questions in your essay because your aim is to present statements which answer questions, not raise questions. So, we wouldn’t use those words to write questions. However, we would use the “WH” words to write noun clauses or any other type of clauses: The reason why people should recycle is because … People should go on holiday when it is ….. These sentences are 100% acceptable for IELTS and in fact are considered complex grammar features because they are clauses or noun clauses. This means they would actually boost your score. My new Grammar E-book which will be released in early May will not only explain this, but also help you create noun clauses and other types of clauses. It’s a great e-book which will really help you develop your English level and IELTS score 🙂

Thank you Liz..eagerly waiting for your E-book…

Dear Liz, My name is Elisa and I have been following and reading all your IELTS tips. Thanks so much, it is extremely useful! However, studying and writing a bit more, I have found myself a bit in doubt about an opinion verb essay question. “Nowadays some buildings such as offices and schools are open-space design instead of separate rooms. Why is it so? Do you think this is a positive or negative development?. Looking at all the opinion essay Online, I cannot find a similar one; this requires you not only to give your opinion (positive or negative), but also to state the reasons behind this new approach. Therefore, I don’t know how to write the intro. Is it better to start with “In my opinion, despite this/it might be seen as a smart way to reduce costs within a company or a school, an open-space environment represents a detrimental and under-productive solution”. OR “This essay will outline some possible reasons why open-plan offices are getting more and more popular in today’s world and it will explain why this approach has a detrimental and counter-productive effect on both workers and students”.

I hope it was clear enough. Thanks so much for your help, Elisa

This is usually called a “Direct Questions Essay”. Each teacher gives essays slightly different names and categorises essay differently. This requires you to give the causes and also say if it is positive or negative. As with all essays in IELTS, you start with a background statement. The thesis statement, which follows, will provide the direct answers to the questions without details. Details go in the body paragraphs.

Hi Liz, I noticed that “I believe that/I agree that” is written only in the introduction, is it okay? I thought it wasn’t enough for an opinion essay in which I am explicitly asked to give my personal opinion. Thank you in advance!

“I believe” makes it very clear it is your belief. In my opinion / I think / it is my opinion that = all fine.

Hi liz, My tutor taught you should not write “have had” . it might be caught by the examiner …. what is ur opinion?

Unfortunately, I don’t really understand your comment. Are you saying that your tutor told you there is a rule in IELTS that says you can’t use the “present perfect” tense = “have had”?? This is 100% not true at all.

If the question asks – “To what extent do you agree”, Can i Completely disagree with the statement?

You can take any stand you want as long as the position is clear.

Hey Liz; I wrote a test yesterday where I had to state the entent to which I agreed that the positives of an opinion is more than its negatives. I remember using words like “overshadow” and “override”to show my support for the positive opinion. Should I be worried I didn’t state if I completely or strongly believe?

Not at all. You do not need to state if it is a strong opinion or not. All you need to do is present an opinion (a position) and explain it.

I have a doubt about the length of writing Task 2. Can anyone write 350 or more words? Minimum should be 250 but for maximum what ould be the word limit?

See this page for tips about the length of an essay: https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-writing-task-2/

Hi Liz! thanks for the helpful page! here is my question.

one of my students concluded each of the body paragraphs by restating his topic sentence. although this seemed to have wrapped up each paragraph, i thought that the repetition of the idea is not good for the essay.

what is your opinion on this?

This is very common. Some teachers train students to do this. It isn’t necessary at all and too much repetition is not a good thing. IELTS essays are not long and it is a waste of a sentence to repeat the main point in that way when the student could instead use that sentence to strength their point and develop the idea further which is what the examiner is actually looking for.

many thanks for your time, Liz!

Hi Liz mam, To what extent you agree?like this type of essays, is it mandatory to always write agreee side of the statement

The instructions are just asking for your opinion. This means the whole essay presents and explains your opinion on the issue or issues given. If you don’t agree with the statement, then you don’t agree and you explain why.

My task 2 today Disussing both view that Should young ones listen to advice from older ones or to criticize when they do wrong (Paraphrased)

is it okay to start with “children of today are the heritage of tomorrow’? thanks

You want to ask me if you should learn a phrase / memorise a phrase in order to impress the examiner? My answer – never do that. It doesn’t impress the examiner and doesn’t help your score.

Hi Liz! Thanks a lot for the work you are doing for all IELTS takers! I’ve taken your advanced lesson and am grateful for such incredible content!!! There’s one question I’d like to ask, do we need an outline sentence after our thesis statement? Because in your tutorials you never mention about an outline statement. Also, concerning examples, do ew have to put an example in every body paragraph? Looking forward to hearing from you!!! Thanks in advance!!!

No. This isn’t an academic essay for university. It is a simple straight forward essay for IELTS. You do not need to paraphrase instructions – the examiner knows what the task is. I’m glad my Advanced Lessons were useful 🙂

Dear Liz, You particularly mentioned “facebook” as an example as said in the question. Can we mention other sites such as YouTube & Instagram as an example and explain them as well or just stick to the example stated in the question??

I definitely would not ignore the example given in the question. However, it is fine to add more examples such as those you have stated.

I always assumed IELTS as a test that evaluates ability and expertise of any individual to communicate in english effectively rather than fancy vocabulary. However, after going through lots of videos and free advices online I ended up believing that I will need to upgrade my vocab if I want to score decent. All the tips and advices shared by you are very helpful, it presents the real picture of what is expected from any IELTS taker if they want a good score. I am more confident than earlier i was, thanks to you.

My IELTS test is scheduled for 17th August. Will definitely share my test taking experience and results over here as well.

Good luck 🙂

Same here for the 17th.Presently not doing so well with the essays.

Is it ok if I underline some words in my essay to highlight them to examiner?

You should not do that. The examiner does not need you to highlight words. IELTS examiners are trained professionals and are trained to assess language.

Undoubtedly,the vogue of studying abroad has reached on the top slot thesedays owing to acquire new knowledge and experiences.while the are some drawbacks of this trend,i personally reckon that its benefits are far higher.

Hello mam, could u check this introduction of task 2 (nowadays,mostly students like to study abroad. discuss advantages and disadvantages of this.)

The word “vogue” is not suitable for the topic of education. “Reach the top slot” is informal and not suitable for formal IELTS essays. Your aim should NEVER be to impress. Your aim is to be accurate and appropriate at all times to avoid errors. More errors = lower band score.

And I think that the word “reckon” is informal. Just use THINK

Can we use ‘the author of this essay’ instead of I?

No, you can’t. You need to use “I” or “my” for a personal opinion. When you are asked “Do you think men and women should be in the armed forces” in a formal interview, would you say “the speaker of these words believes…” = no, you wouldn’t. There are many false rules and ridiculous things being said about IELTS online. There are no tricks in IELTS. If you need to give your opinion, be clear and direct: I believe or In my opinion. It is not only fine to do that it is vital to do that.

Hi Liz, please I need a little clarification on d difference between these two types of essay questions ‘do you agree or disagree’ and ‘to what extent do you agree or disagree’. I’d really appreciate your response.

There is no difference. No difference at all. They are 100% the same.

Oh thank you very much

Hi Liz, could you tell me the difference between “to what extend you agree” and “to what extend you agree or disagree”

There’s no difference. They are the same.

Will we get more score if using advanced vocab while writing instead of simple words like ranacid instead of rotten .

It is not about using “advanced vocabulary”, it is about using appropriate vocabulary. If you use “advanced vocabulary” when it is unnecessary, the only thing you are showing the examiner is that you cannot choose words appropriately and that will lower your score. Aim for accuracy in English, do not aim to impress.

You are writing to much elaborate. Come straight to the point.

Hi Liz, In a question asking: buying household appliances ( TV , Cooker) have increased in many countries. Is this a positive or negative development? Does this outline sound good? Intr.: state general idea, rephrase the question, and say although it has negatives but I believe it is positive Body 1: talk about negatives: pollution of environment by manufacturing these appliances + decrease in cultural values (ie: not cooking big meals + not playing together) Body 2: talk about positives: cost effective entertainment + time saving (ie: personally prefer this so I get have more time with my family) Conclusion: summarize above and emphasize on the phenomenon being positive

What do you think? Thanks

If you believe it has positives, it also means you do not think there are negative points. This isn’t a discussion essay. If you want to mention both sides, put that as your opinion: “In my opinion, while these appliances may cause environmental problems, they are extremely beneficial for time saving or as entertainment.” – now you have quantified your view. Also don’t give examples about you or your family. Keep it all formal. Your experience is about your experience of the world – People like to spend time with their families. Hope those points help.

hi liz, I referred to ur advanced lessons they r very useful Please guide me for a silly thing repetively asked , but i em still unclear.

Doing an enjoyable activity with a child can develop better skills and more creativity than reading.To what extend do u agree or disagree.

My query is if i write i agree with the view should by paragraphs be like this: 1)BP1: Y i agree child learns better through enjoyable activity 2)BP2: Y reading is not good way of teaching

Em much confused in this X rather than Y type question approach regards, Bhavya

Exactly right 🙂 When you have two issues in the question, you must address both. If you agree with X, it also means you don’t agree with Y. Then your body paragraphs explains those two aspects of your opinion. A balanced opinion would be X is good for younger children who need to learn motor skills, social skills and develop creativity, whereas Y is essential for older children.

Liz, Love u a lot U made the day Thanks liz God bless u, get well soon

Thanks so much for helping us with the precise structure of the essay. However,I am little bit confused about the score band of this example as it doesn’t provide examples to your pints in paragraphs.Could you please elaborate on this?I have seen few videos on you tube and general structure of single opinion paragraph contains: point,explanation and example.

Many thansk

You will find that many teachers like to teach formulas. This means they choose a fixed content for paragraphs and teach it to their students. It is easy to teach and easy to learn. But it isn’t flexible. Those formula are not rules for IELTS – they are teaching methods created by teachers. I prefer to teach flexibility because the people who benefit from my lessons are high level candidates who need that flexibility.

Hi Liz, thank you for the great essay.

For this question, is it OK to have a balanced opinion, such as:

“Although I accept that social networks negatively affect individuals and society, I would argued that they bring more benefits to users and communities as a whole.”

Then body paragraph 1 I’ll write about the negative impacts on BOTH individuals and society. Body paragraph 2 will be about the benefits, again, on BOTH individuals and society?

Could you please adivse?

It is confusing and will also be very lengthy to write – so not really a good strategy. Remember success in IELTS is often down to the choices you make. Aim for simplicity in your approach at all times.

Will there be no marks deduction for not using any conditional or question sentences in your essay?

IELTS examiner does not deduct marks. The score for grammar is based on range and accuracy. You can’t force a type of grammar into your essay unnaturally. As long as you use a good range and you aim for accuracy, you will be fine.

Can you be more clear on general sections writing Task 2 how many paragraphs are expected?

Regards, Sancia

Please see this page: https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-writing-task-2/ . You use the same lessons and tips for GT and Academic writing task 2.

thank you once again for your marvellous website!

Would you please comment if I got it right: As far as I see, the model essay above was written in response to “To what extent do you agree” question, but the structure rather is similar to “do adv-s outweigh disadv-s”. (First you speak about one side and then give more support for the ideas you agree to.)

An essay of this type asks for your opinion. You decide your own opinion. The opinion given above is a quantified, specific view point. “while I believe that such sites are mainly beneficial to the individual, I agree that they have had a damaging effect on local communities.” The body paragraphs explain the view point.

Mam, would you mind to let us know when will we get E-BOOK. for writing task-2. waiting for that

Update: MY Ideas for Topics E-book is now available. Click here: Liz’s Online Store

Thank you is literally a small word for all the things you are doing fo pr helping students in IELTS. Can you please share a link or any other source where we can find some band 9 writing samples.

Thank you, Sandeep

My main writing task 2 page contains model essays: https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-writing-task-2/ . With other websites, it is your choice if you wish to rely on model essays that may not actually be safe to use.

Is it possible to get the book before 27 April? I have my exam on 27th April. You used a balanced approach in this please reply to me if I am right?

Update: My Ideas for Topics E-book is now available. Click here: Liz’s Online Store

Hello, Liz My name is Alice. I got band 7.5~8.5 for all the other subtests which are not bad but with my writing, I got 5.5 and I was really wondering why that would have happened. I avoided contractions and informal language and kept the word limit. Few grammar errors might happen in my essays but I don’t believe that is what’s causing me to have such a low score compared to the other scores I got. Could you suggest me what possibly would have caused the situation and tell me the dos and don’ts, please? I’m just..lost. I had no idea my writing score would betray me like that.

The IELTS writing score is not based only on English language. There are specific requirement that IELTS have set and you need to know what they are and how to do it all properly. Go to the RED BAR at the top of this website and visit the main pages for writing task 1 and writing task 2. On those pages, you will find a link to band score tips and requirements. You can also purchase Advanced Writing Task 2 lessons through the RED BAR.

I tried to pay for your writing tips and I was asked for my location. Does it mean I will be sent a hardcopy of your material? If yes, please how long will it take, because my exam is in less than 2weeks. Also, can I please get it sent to my mail rather than where I stay. Thank you.

The country will decide the currency. The videos are streamed online and the documents downloaded. An automatic email is sent once payment is complete with the access link to the video lesson. Make sure you enter the correct email address and spell it correctly.

Thank you Liz, Doing that now.

Hi liz, In the last sentence on the conclusion of your essay, you wrote “local communities should do more to try and involve local people in local activity…..”. Is it ok to give a solution at the end of the conclusion which is not discussed in body paragraphs ? Thanks a lot for your efforts to help us…

Having a final comment in the conclusion is optional. It is not a requirement. You certainly should not offer a new solution in any essay about solutions. Likewise, you would not add a final opinion in the conclusion of an opinion essay. You need to be careful about using final comments in a conclusion.

liz you look so cute while teaching in lecture.I fall in love with you while listen your lectures.

Hi ma,am, Thankyou for your informative preparation tips. I had a query ma’am. Is it okay to use it’s instead of it is?

There are no contractions in any formal IELTS writing.

Hi Liz, Thank you for this essay my opinion for this essay was that facebook is detrimental, so i have so many reasons for this, such as living in a virtual world, ostentatious life style, spread of wrong information, addiction to facebook. Can i put all this into my essay? would it be too much? what if i use two body paragraphs to explain these points and use a 3rd body paragraph to talk about the beneficial aspects? thank you.

If you think facebook is detrimental that counts as one main idea which you explain in one body paragraph. IELTS writing is not about having lots and lots of ideas that you enjoy writing about. It is about selecting only the key ideas, discarding other ideas and organising them logically. Keep control of your essay at all times. More ideas does not mean a higher score.

I wanted to know whether we can use ”contractions” in writing tests? I read in one of the resources that they must not be used. Need clarification on this!

Thanks in advance.

PS. The content is really effective. I would highly recommend this in my network.

Hello liz, I got my ielts result and my writing score is less.. I just have a doubt in the introduction part. Some parents buy their children a large number of toys to play with. What are the advantages and disadvantages for the child of having a large number of toys ? This is the introduction I wrote Nowadays most of the parents spend their money to get more number of toys to their children. Toys develop children brain activity and their skills. However it would lead to addiction of technology devices and don’t enjoy time spending with other energetic and enthusiastic outdoor games. Is my introduction correct for the question?? Or what I should change for getting band 7 ? Thanks in advance

Your technique is 100% fine. Your English language is the problem. There are so many errors in this that getting a band 7 would be very difficult. In fact, it would be almost impossible with this level of English and this many mistakes.

Hi Liz. Is it wise to write an interrogative sentence as an example to an idea or a supporting idea? For example, something like, “How often do we meet people who are such good communicators online but fail badly to express and communicate in person? “. Or does this violate the technique of being formal in essay writing?

Your aim is to present supporting points and main ideas, not to open up questions for discussion.

Hi, Liz I am taking your advanced lesson of Opinion Essay. For balanced approach, you mentioned that it does not mean sitting on the fence and discussion both sides. For a topic like “Some think xxx is more important than yyy. To want extend do you agree?” Can I write that I disagree, because I consider xxx is equally important as yyy. Then I have two balanced body paragraph discussing both sides. Is this an acceptable approach? Thank you in advance and looking forward your reply.

That is sitting on the fence. In which case is XXX important and in which case is YYY important. Be specific. Quantify you view.

Thanks for the quick response and useful information 🙂

Exceed to word limit . more than 350 words I think

Hello Thank you for all materials they are so useful and I love your webpage !!! Liz I can see that there are some essay questions which are asked as “what is your opinion” & some of them ” Do you agree”; I wonder if their written structure is the same or should it be a bit different ? Thank you for your answer in advance!

It’s exactly the same. IELTS like to paraphrase instructions. The meaning and aims are 100% the same.

After considering all the above points we can conclude that,…… is it a good way to conclude the essay ?

You are marked on your own personal use of English, not your memory. EAch sentence must be uniquely written by yourself in the exam room. That is a learned phrase and not your own English. Don’t try to cheat the test. Don’t memorise phrases or sentences. You can learn ideas, you can learn grammar and you can learn words, but not phrases or sentences.

that is quite confused . Sorry for asking but if i try to remember the linking words , structure things like (not only … but also…) or ( furthermore , if clause 1,2,3 , despite of , in spite ,.. ) , is that ok? what is the different between learning phrases and grammar ‘s structure ?

Memorised language in IELTS refers to people learning whole sentences word for word or even whole paragraphs. These are people who want to use other people’s English in their English language test. This is not accepted by IELTS. You need to learn expressions and grammar which you then use to create your own sentences in the test. However, be careful of learning too many phrases and only use them when they are appropriate to use. They should only form one part of the sentence you create. As for grammar, you learn linking words and clauses to help you create your own sentences in the test. This is not memorised word for word, it is a way to create unique sentences. I hope that helps you understand.

Hi liz is really awaresom with your videos. I PRAY FOR SOUND HEALTH AND QUICK RECOVERY

Hi Liz, I wish you the quickest recovery.

Thank you for your perfect site.

There is NO difference at all. They are paraphrased instructions for the same essay.

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IELTS Band 9 Essays: How to Write 9 Band Essays in IELTS

IELTS writing task involves two parts, task 1 and task 2. In task 1, the candidate has to write a summary of a given set of data or diagrams. In task 2, the candidate has to write an essay on a given scenario or problem in above 250 words. This is a crucial part of the writing test and carries 66 per cent marks out of the total writing score. This blog will give you tips on how to write 9 band essays in IELTS.

Getting a band 9 score is a daunting task, but it is not impossible. There are four core areas to be strengthened; task response, coherence and cohesion, vocabulary, and grammar. These are the four aspects on which the writing test is marked, and each one carries equal importance.

What is the IELTS Writing Task 2 Format?

The total duration of the IELTS Writing task is 60 minutes, and it is advisable that task 2 should not take more than 40 minutes. The essay for task 2 should be above 250 words. There is a range of question types which are put for task 2 writing; like opinions, discussions, or pros and cons.  The writing has to be formal, and the question types may differ according to the examiner’s preference.

In the case of General Training, the process is similar. However, the topics for General Training might be a bit more easy and simple than the Academic ones. There is equal weightage and marking for task responses, coherence and cohesion, lexical resources, and grammatical range and accuracy.

Also Read: IELTS Writing Task Evaluation With Sample Answer: A Guide to Better Band Score

IELTS Sample Essays: How to Write 9 Band Intro Essay in IELTS?

Following ahead will be IELTS sample essays for writing task 2. These will also guide you on how to write 9 band intro essays in IELTS. The various types of questions that are asked are:

• Opinion based essays
• Discussion-based essays
• Solution essay questions
• Advantages/ disadvantages based essays
• Direct questions

The following can be general topics for IELTS sample essays:

• Health and wellness
• Art, language, culture
• Communication and media
• Business and economy
• Family and society
• Travel and tourism
• Transport and work
• Science and technology

IELTS Band 9 Essay Sample 1

What do you think has been the negative impact of the various social media networking sites and apps? Describe both for an individual as well as the society. Social networking sites, such as Facebook, are thought by some to have had a pernicious effect on individual people as well as society and local communities. However, while I believe that such sites are mainly beneficial to the individual, I agree that they have had a damaging effect on the local communities.

Discussing the aspects

With regards to individuals, the impact that online social media has had on each individual person has clear advantages. Firstly, people from different countries are brought together through such sites as Facebook whereas, before the development of technology and social networking sites, people rarely had the chance to meet or communicate with anyone out of their immediate circle or community. Secondly, Facebook also has social groups, which offer individuals a chance to meet and participate in discussions with people who share common interests. On the other hand, the effect that Facebook and other social networking sites have had on societies and local communities can only be seen as negative. Rather than individual people taking part in their local community, they are instead choosing to take more interest in people online. Consequently, people within local communities are no longer forming close or supportive relationships. Furthermore, society as a whole is becoming increasingly disjointed and fragmented as people spend more time online with people they have never met face to face and who they are unlikely to meet in the future.

Ending The Essay

To conclude, although social networking sites have brought individuals closer together, they have not had the same effect on society or local communities. Local communities should do more to try and involve local people in local activities in order to promote the future of community life.

Also Read: 7 Golden Rules of English Grammar: Must-Know Things About Grammar for IELTS

IELTS Band 9 Essay Sample 2

There can be two important aspects of getting a job. One can be completing a degree through college, and the other can be developing soft skills through training and experience. Discuss both aspects and give your take on both. It is considered by some that being a university graduate is the key to securing a good job, while there are others who think that it is better to have experience and soft skills. In my opinion, I believe that having a university education is essential for academic jobs, while soft skills and experience are more useful in business.

Discussing The Aspects

On one hand, many think it is easier for most people to find a good job if they are university graduates with a good degree. In other words, having tertiary education puts people one step ahead of others who do not and this can be the deciding factor in getting a good job. The competition to get into universities and the increasing number of graduates shows just how significant this level of education is for people’s future work opportunities. On the other hand, having work experience and soft skills, such as leadership skills and other interpersonal skills, can also throw the balance in favour of the applicant, according to some. For many positions, there is an overwhelming number of applicants and, therefore, it is often thought that relevant experience in that line of work or having acquired useful soft skills that can be valuable to a company, can put one ahead of the game when applying for a position.

Ending the Essay

Finally, in my opinion, whether needing high level education or skills and experience, depends on the position being applied for. Take for example law, medicine, or teaching, it is impossible to be considered for a position without the required educational background. In contrast, in business, it would be more important for a candidate to have soft skills and experience in that line of business so they can step into a position without further training and be of immediate benefit to the company. In conclusion, getting a good job requires a relevant background either in experience or education depending on the type of work and field. People should make sure they attain the necessary skills or degrees before applying for a job in order to be sure of success.

With all topics discussed, it is clearer how to write 9 band essays in IELTS. The IELTS sample essays for writing task 2 give an insight into the intro lines and how to conclude. One should always remember that the key to getting a perfect band score is consistent practice and effort, and it will surely pay off.

Also Read: Scared of IELTS Writing Task 1 Process Chart Type Questions? Here’s How to do It

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How to write an IELTS Essay at band 9 level

This comprehensive article guides you through the processes and techniques of writing an essay that would get you a band score of 9. This is an extensive article, so read it carefully and grasp the concept. Use the examples to understand the concepts explained in it.

In IELTS writing task 2, a candidate needs to write an essay of at least 250 words that examine, support, or oppose a statement through the use of discussions, reasons, logic, arguments, explanations and examples . The essay should aim to state an opinion on a given statement, investigate an issue, discuss a given topic or persuade the readers (the examiner in this case) about something.

Now, an effective way to score well in IELTS writing task 2 is to know where one can gain or lose marks. The essay will be evaluated based on the four marking criteria, and each criterion offers 25% of the total score. Hence, let’s have a look at the assessment criteria first.

IELTS Essay has 4 assessment criteria. They are: 1) Task Achievement 2) Coherence and Cohesion 3) Grammatical Range and Accuracy 4) Lexical Resource

1) Task Achievement:

This criterion assesses the extent to which a candidate can meet the requirements of the task. So, the candidate should sufficiently address all the parts of the question. In other words, he or she ought to form a well-organized response to the task with relevant, supported and extended notions. This can be achieved by having a clear understanding of the task. Otherwise, it will lead to an inaccurate answer. The best approach to do this is to interpret the question correctly.

Task Achievement Dos:

• Answer the specific question being asked, not the general topic. [The essay question often includes a general topic or statement at the beginning of the essay which is not a part of the real essay question. You should find out what the essay topic is asking you to write about.]
• Make sure the ideas are directly relevant to the question. [The ideas and arguments you present in your essay should always be relevant and never off-topic.]
• Properly address each part of the question. [If the essay asks you two questions, for example, address them both with proper examples and explanations.]
• State the opinion in the introduction and employ supporting paragraphs to support this opinion. [If the question asks you to give your opinion, simply state your position at the end of the “Introduction” paragraph.]
• Develop key ideas with explanations and examples. [Yes, your essay must have examples and explanations to achieve a higher band score.]
• Reiterate the opinion in conclusion, or write a solution or generally accepted point or statement.

Task Achievement Don’ts:

• Devote lots of time to just one part of the question.
• Provide very general examples.
• State opinion until the last sentence of the “Conclusion” paragraph.
• Repeat the same points again and again.
• Write under 250 words.

Now, let’s look at a bad example first:

Bad example:

Some experts believe that it is better for children to begin learning a foreign language at primary school rather than secondary school.

Do you agree or disagree?

“Learning a foreign language is crucial for people. Firstly, it boosts brainpower. Secondly, it improves performance in other academic areas. Finally, a second language improves memory.”

Now let’s illustrate why it is a bad example:

The writer introduces three main ideas in this paragraph. But, none of them is well-developed. None of them has explanations and examples as well. For instance, the candidate does not explain how a foreign language may boost young learners’ brains. What is more, you also probably have noticed that it talks about “people”. Although the question is about young students, the author writes about general people. He or she does not write an answer to the specific question. So, the writer has not fully developed his/her ideas. Also, the ideas are irrelevant. So, he/she may get only a 5-5.5 band score for this paragraph.

Let’s look at a good example now:

“Learning a foreign language helps young students with their intellectual development. It has been shown that it supports a child’s brain development, and in fact, helps with subjects like physics and mathematics to a great extent. For instance, a recent study, conducted by the University of Cambridge, has revealed that children who learn a foreign language are more likely to be good at physics.

Let’s explain why it is a good example:

This is a good example mainly because the idea is relevant and specific. The idea is also well-developed. So, it has one main idea that is “learning a foreign language helps young learners with intellectual development.” Intellectual development means that young learners become smarter. In addition, it explains that studying a foreign language helps the brain to understand physics and mathematics in a better way making them good at science. It hasn’t stopped here. It develops the main idea even more by giving a specific example that children who study a foreign language are very likely to do well in physics.

Another good example of the same topic is given below:

Furthermore, it is evident that pupils who start learning a foreign language during their childhood, gain mastery of the language in their adulthood. It helps them communicate effectively and showcase their learning and speaking skills on the one hand and enhances their career prospects in the future on the other hand. To illustrate, a recent study by the University of California reveals that learners who start a foreign language like English, French, German or Spanish at a young age do better academically in their colleges and also show better mastery of these languages in their adulthood. And this mastery of these languages helps them get many competitive advantages in their future career.

This is a good example because it includes a relevant and specific idea at the beginning of the paragraph. The idea is then well-developed by the writer with an explanation. It also gives an example.

Interpreting the IELTS writing task 2 (Essay) question:

Interpreting the meaning of an essay question is crucial to writing a good essay in response. When analysing the question, the candidate should first shed light on these three properties: “Topic words” , “Qualifying words” , “Instruction words” .

To demonstrate these three attributes, take the following essay question:

Some people think that it is better to educate boys and girls in separate schools. Others, however, believe that boys and girls benefit more from attending mixed schools.

Discuss both these views and give your own opinion.

The candidate can use the topic words to identify the “subject” of the question. In this essay question, ‘boys’ , ‘girls’ , and ‘the school’ are the three controlling topic words. Topics outside the boundary of boys, girls and school thus have no place in this essay.

Qualifying words tell the candidate how the various notions relate to each other. These words often describe the capacity of the opinion and shape some important thoughts as well. In the above sample question, the phrases “better to educate” and “benefit more” are used. Notice how these phrases clarify what is being said about boys and girls. Likewise, these words separate and mix the qualifying-topic word “school” . Notice how these words mould the question and give it enhanced precision. It’s crucially important for the candidates to understand the degree of this precision to ensure the response is properly aligned with the question.

Instruction words are the words that elicit a response from the candidate. Put simply, these words tell the candidate exactly what to write about and eventually channel the candidate’s essay towards a discussion or argument essay structure. In the above example essay question, the instruction words are – “Discuss both these views and give your own opinion” – a phrase that instructs the candidate to expound both the viewpoints and then venture his/her opinion.

2) Coherence and Cohesion:

“Coherence” in a written piece of work means that the reader can readily understand it. Put simply, coherence is a quality that ensures all the parts of an essay are logically arranged, well-connected and all head to the central focus of the essay. Without coherence, an argument may not make sense or may be difficult for the readers to get the message of the text. It’s a critically important quality of IELTS writing task 2/ IELTS Essay.

Similarly, “cohesion” is how a written piece of work relates its ideas to develop a clear relationship and logical progressions among them. In simple words, it relates to the linking of notions within a sentence, the linking of sentences (links between sentences) within a paragraph, and ultimately the linking between paragraphs.

The coherence and cohesion part of the candidate’s marks is a measure of how logically an essay’s ideas are arranged and connected by the candidate, and how smoothly these ideas flow together. The candidate can achieve coherence by using grammatically correct and short sentences that are concise, and to the point. Cohesion can be maintained by employing phrases or linking words, often called “cohesive devices”, to establish relationships between sentences and paragraphs in the essay.

Below is a list of various cohesive devices and an example of their use. Also, notice the corresponding punctuation:

To maintain sequence:

• Firstly , separate schools are more relaxing for both girls and boys as they do not have social pressures to worry about, such as impressing the opposite gender.
• Secondly , separate schools provide the teachers with an opportunity to tailor the curriculum in a way that students can easily connect with.
• Moreover , separate schools have lesser cliques.
• Finally , separate schools have a more conducive environment for concentrating on studies.

To provide evidence:

• For instance , many studies reveal that students in separate schools feel more relaxed than their counterparts.
• For example , teachers can maintain harmony in the classroom easily.
• A case in point is the top-ranked schools in our country that are mostly single-gender educational institutes.
• Take the example of separate schools in India, which have fewer cliques.
• Many high school students in separate schools, such as those from Asian countries, are good at concentrating on their studies.

To show similarity:

• Similarly , many high school students in Italy experience grade improvements when educated in separate schools.
• Likewise , many girls in Indonesia can concentrate more on their studies when educated in separate schools.
• In tandem with this are the experiences of many boys in Pakistan, whose grades improved when educated in separate schools.
• Many girls in Malaysia also experienced grade improvements when educated in separate schools.
• Coupled with this is the experience of many boys in Latin America, whose grades improved when educated in separate schools.

To demonstrate contrast:

• However , studying in a mixed school impacts positively on the personality of both boys and girls.
• On the other hand , a mixed-gender classroom provides an environment where girls and boys change their behaviour positively.
• Many girls and boys in India change their behaviour positively when studying in mixed-gender schools; however , this is not the case in Australia.
• Many girls and boys in Nepal improved their grades when studying in a mixed-gender classroom, but this is not the case in Germany.
• Conversely , many girls and boys in India promote sexual equality when studying in mixed-school.
• It is argued by many people that boys and girls are taught effectively when studying in single-gender schools, yet others believe that boys and girls gain considerable advantage from studying in a co-education system.
• In contrast , many boys and girls respect each other when studying in the co-education system.

To amplify or extend:

• Moreover , students in mixed schools improve their grades significantly.
• Furthermore , several independent studies show that students who are taught in mixed schools prevent gender discrimination.
• To add to this , a recent body of high-quality research has revealed that students studying in mixed schools perform far better in academics than students studying in single-gender schools.
• In addition to this , students studying in mixed schools can be more candid than their counterparts.

To present a result:

• Consequently , the link between the education system and students’ performance is obvious.
• In mixed schools, girls need to spend most of the day with boys and vice versa. As a result , they learn how to live harmoniously.
• Thus , students studying in mixed schools change their behaviour positively.
• Therefore , boys and girls respect each other.
• Because of this , it can lead to distraction to study.
• It is clear that there is a close link between the education system and students’ performance.

To draw the conclusion:

• To reiterate , the co-education system acts as a clear precursor of gender equality.
• To conclude , the co-education system helps promote gender equality.
• In conclusion , the co-education system advances gender equality.
• All things considered , the co-education system is committed to achieving gender equality.

Let’s look at an example and go through some of the features that make an essay coherent. Although it is an entirely subjective judgement, most readers would agree that this is a reasonably coherent paragraph:

The co-education system confers both advantages and disadvantages. It goes without saying that in the presence of the opposite gender, one’s behaviour changes. A case in point is Indian boys, they change their behaviour in presence of girls. Thus , the co-education system reaps such benefits where boys or girls change their behaviour positively. However , this advantage comes at a high price: distraction. Students in mixed-gender schools may think of having a partner. Such thoughts can cause distraction as girls or boys may get attracted to the opposite gender, and if anything goes wrong, it can result in hampering learning, thereby distracting academic studies.

• Topic sentence: the paragraph begins with a clear, declarative topic sentence that expresses the controlling idea and the rest of the paragraph follows the idea. That is to say that everything in the paragraph deals with the advantages and disadvantages of the co-education system.
• Key terms (marked in blue colour) : the term “co-education system” is repeatedly introduced in this short paragraph. This shows the reader that the paragraph is about the “co-education system”.
• Clear transitions (marked in orange colour) : each sentence flows into the next very easily, and the reader can easily see how logically the ideas are organized and connected.

Coherence and Cohesion Dos:

• Have at least four-paragraph structures. [It means your essay should have at least 4 paragraphs including the “introduction” and “conclusion”.]
• State main ideas and your opinion in the introduction.
• Introduce a clear topic sentence in the supporting paragraphs.
• Use cohesive devices accurately and appropriately.

Coherence and Cohesion Don’ts:

• Introduce background statement in the introduction.
• Produce lots of ideas in one paragraph.
• Use cohesive devices at the beginning of every sentence.

Let’s look at the bad example:

Learning a foreign language is crucial for people. Moreover , it boosts brainpower. Furthermore , it improves performance in other academic areas. Additionally , a second language improves memory. Last but not least , a recent study has revealed that children who learn a foreign language are more likely to be good at physics.

Let’s explain why it is a bad example:

If the candidate uses these words in red called cohesive devices again and again and uses them at the start of every sentence, it demonstrates to the examiner that the candidate doesn’t have good skills in English and he/she is not able to link sentences together without cohesive devices. Besides, “last but not least” is not accurate. Because it is used to give an example. The phrase ‘last but not least’ indicates the last point.

So, let’s look at a good example:

Foreign language helps young learners with their intellectual development. It has been shown that this can help a child’s brain development, and in fact, help with subjects like physics and mathematics. For instance , a recent study has revealed that children who learn a foreign language are more likely to be good at physics.

Let’s clarify why it is a good example:

In this paragraph, the writer employs just two simple cohesive devices. The writer actually gets more marks for using them accurately. This is because a good writer uses simple cohesive devices rather than merely using “moreover”, “furthermore” and so on without context. This paragraph also uses the appropriate cohesive device when giving examples.

3) Grammatical Range and Accuracy:

In the IELTS writing task 2 test, one of the most important areas for a candidate to master is “grammatical range and accuracy”. According to IELTS band descriptors, the test taker has to use a wide range of sentence structures as well as advanced verb forms including modal verbs, conditionals, and passive voice to get a higher band score. Besides, in IELTS writing task 2, punctuation has a profound significance. Put simply, in order to get a high score for grammar, the writing has to be complex, but it also has to be correct. So, devote full attention to those commas, semicolons and other grammar rules.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy Dos:

• Write error-free sentences.
• Use a variety of sentence structures.
• Use complex sentences but use them correctly.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy Don’ts:

• Try to force too many different structures.
• Try to dazzle the examiner with complex grammar but make mistakes.
• Write sentences that hinder the meaning being conveyed i.e. stop the examiner from comprehending and guessing the meaning.

Let’s look at an example:

“In the developed world, carbon emission is one of the most debated issues causing global warming and environmental challenges arising from its catastrophic consequences.”

This is a typical sentence from an essay that is trying to be highly complex. The writer has tried to put four simple notions into one sentence and the result is an incoherent and difficult sentence. The writer fails to maintain control of grammar, thus affecting its meaning. If the meaning is affected, the text becomes difficult to understand and that has a negative impact on the band score.

Let’s look at the example again. There are four simple notions that we can write in simple sentences:

• Carbon emission is a much-debated issue in the developed world.
• Carbon emission causes global warming.
• There are environmental challenges associated with global warming.
• Global warming has catastrophic consequences.

But, if we write all the sentences like this we fail to score higher marks in the IELTS exam. Actually, we need to put them together to form complex sentences. For example:

“One of the most debated issues is carbon emission which causes global warming. There are environmental challenges associated with this problem and its effects have catastrophic consequences.”

Here, four ideas have been put together in two complex sentences. It has been done to make them easy to understand. This way maintaining grammatical range and accuracy become easier.

4) Lexical Resource:

The “lexical resource” is another important area that an IELTS candidate has to pay attention to. That is to say that he or she should use a good variety of vocabulary in order to achieve a high band score in the writing test.

Let’s break this down into small points:

• Range of vocabulary – The candidate should use a wide range of vocabulary to convey precise meanings. Synonyms can help here. But keep in mind that every word should be used in proper contexts.
• Correct spelling – Spelling serves a crucial role. So, be sure to use them correctly.
• Appropriate use of collocations – These are the natural combination of words in a sentence. In order to ace the IELTS writing test, the candidates should learn not only the individual words but also focus on what other words they are used in combination in a sentence.

Lexical Resource Dos:

• Be careful with grammar and spelling.
• Use words that are directly relevant to the topic.
• Be aware of collocations. Use appropriate collocations.

Lexical Resource Don’ts:

• Repeat the same words over and over.
• Force complex words into the essay without knowing them accurately.
• Use wrong synonyms.
• Learn lists of academic words out of context.
• Use rare phrases and jargon.

“Research has evidenced that children who have excess screen time are more likely to be myopic .”

This is a common sentence from an essay that has used the medical jargon: myopic. The writer has tried to impress the examiner by inserting the word “ myopic “. This is tricky because jargon includes the words or phrases used in a particular profession, which are difficult for other people to understand. Consequently, the candidate doesn’t get a higher score in the IELTS Writing exam.

It would be far better if the writer uses a simple phrase/word than a very rare phrase or jargon like ‘myopic’. For example:

“Many research has outlined that children who have excess screen time are more likely to have bad eyesight.”

A common phrase ‘bad eyesight’ has been used instead of a less common medical term ‘myopic’. This conveys meaning accurately while making the sentence easy to understand. So, keep it simple and avoid the use of jargon.

Now that you know what criteria are important to reaching a band 9 level IELTS essay, let’s explore some steps to enhance your band score from 5/6 to 8 or 9.

We would now explore a step-by-step guide to understand the process of writing an excellent essay to get a higher band score.

A step-by-step guide to writing a top-notch essay:

Step 1 – analyse the question:.

A candidate has to analyse the question first so as to understand it. In many cases, candidates do not answer the question fully due to their lack of understanding of the question. Consequently, it stops them from achieving a score higher than band 6.

To analyse the question, you have to identify the question type first, then identify topic words, qualifying words and instruction words, one by one. This will help you understand exactly what the question asks you to do. However, the discussion on how to analyse the question has already been explained above.

Step 2 – Plan The Structure:

Candidates who get a higher mark in IELTS writing task 2 always plan their arguments and ideas. A good plan helps them organise their ideas, and then structure their essay before they write it, saving their time and helping them to write a well-structured, coherent essay. The following tasks should be in the planning phase:

A) Creating the structure plan: → Introduction → 1st body paragraph → 2nd body paragraph → Conclusion

B) Generating ideas: Sometimes it proves to be difficult to write a good IELTS essay due to the lack of good ideas. However, there are several ways to overcome this problem. They are: ✓ The common topic familiarization ✓ Mind mapping ✓ Brainstorming ✓ 6 question method ✓ Thinking informal

Anyway, “practice” is the silver bullet for this problem. The more one practices with different topics the more she or he will be able to produce simple and better main ideas in just seconds. In fact, the candidate can be an idea-generating device through practice. So, practice, practice and practice.

Let’s take a look at the example question and create the skeleton plan:

Structure plan: → Introduction: paraphrase the topic and express opinion [i.e. boys and girls reap more benefits from attending mixed schools.] → 1st body paragraph: it is better to educate boys and girls in separate schools. → 2n body paragraph: boys and girls benefit more from attending mixed schools. → Conclusion: re-paraphrase the introduction and opinion. Alternatively, you can suggest something that would be a good solution to the debate or something that would be accepted by most people. [Example: It is expected that schools teach boys and girls together so that they become responsible and sympathetic individuals in the future who do not allow any gender discriminations.]

Step 3 – Write the introduction paragraph:

The introduction paragraph performs as a roadmap for an essay. It brings up the topic, the writer’s position, and the main points that will be used to strengthen and prove this position. Thus, when a reader reads the introduction of an essay, he/she should know exactly what the rest of the essay will look like.

However, many candidates often produce an introduction with a few common mistakes in them. The common mistakes are:

i) Introducing hooks or long general background statements about the topic. In most cases, essays begin with ‘In modern life……’ or ‘Nowadays….’ followed by general information about the topic. It’s a poor start you can probably make. So, it’s worth bearing in mind that you are asked to answer the question not talking generally about the topic.

ii) Not outlining opinion or main ideas. This is a grave mistake. You should combine opinion with main ideas. In fact, it’s the most important part of the essay that will tell the examiner what you’re going to write in the rest of your essay. If you don’t state your opinion clearly, you will lose marks substantially.

iii) Copying the question. If you just copy the question fully, the examiner will delete or discard it, and you will not get marks for this part of the exam. You can copy some words of the question, but don’t copy the whole question.

Bad and good examples:

Some people say that dangerous sports should be banned since they are deadly and life-threatening.

Do you agree or disagree with this viewpoint?

An example of a bad “Introduction”:

Nowadays dangerous sports are undeniably is a very controversial issue and some people say that they should be banned. This essay will discuss it and then come up with an opinion.

As you notice a bad example starts with a very common style of introduction, copies phrases and words from the question and doesn’t state an opinion or outline statement. So, the three essential elements are not included in the introduction.

An example of a good “Introduction”:

It is argued by many that extreme sports should be prohibited because they prove fatal and life-threatening. I agree up to a point, but I also think it is the democratic right of an individual to choose whatever sporting activity he or she wants to take part in.

In this “example introduction”, the writer paraphrases the question statement by using synonyms and outlines the opinion and main points. The is a great “introduction” because it meets the three obligatory criteria.

Skeleton of a Good Introduction:

It is very crucial that your introduction is well-structured. In order to do that, you have to include three essential things: A. Paraphrase B. Opinion (answer to the question) C. Outline of the main ideas

You ought to combine these three elements into just two sentences and your introduction should be around 40-60 words. Your introduction shouldn’t be longer than that. Don’t spend too much time writing the “introduction” of your essay.

A) Paraphrase Question: Paraphrasing means repeating the question statement in order to convey the same meaning, but with different words and styles. We can do this by using synonyms, different forms of the same words, and rearranging the clauses.

A higher salary is much more important than job satisfaction.

Paraphrase:

It is argued by many that it is beneficial to land a high-paying job, even if it does not content you at all.

As you see in the paraphrased sentence, some words and phrases have been changed while retaining the same meaning. Instead of ‘higher salary’ , for example, ‘high-paying job’ has been used. Thus, it demonstrates to the examiner that the writer can use a wide range of vocabulary and rephrase the question statement correctly.

B) Opinion (answer to the question) : This sentence is considered to be the most important part of your essay. It demonstrates to the examiner that you’ve understood the question perfectly and will drive to a clear and coherent essay.

Let’s look at the opinion sentence from the previous example:

Here, we’ve two choices- Choice 1: This essay totally agrees with this statement. Choice 2: This essay completely disagrees with this statement.

Opinion (answer to the question): This essay profoundly disagrees with the notion that higher remuneration is more crucial than career satisfaction.

The above sentence clearly states the position of the writer.

C) Outline of the main ideas: Outlining main ideas is another crucial thing in your IELTS essays. Through this, you tell the examiner what you are going to discuss in the main body paragraphs.

Plan: Why I disagree: Job satisfaction brings a sense of fulfilment. Doing what people like keeps them motivated, thus leading to a successful career. Combining opinion and main points: This essay profoundly disagrees with this statement because job satisfaction brings a sense of fulfilment and leads to a successful career as well.

In the above sentence, we simply use the word ‘because’ to combine them.

Putting it all together: Question:

“It is argued by many that it is far more beneficial to land a high-paying job, even if it does not content us at all. This essay profoundly disagrees with this statement because job satisfaction brings a sense of fulfilment and leads to a successful career as well.”

As you can notice, the above “introduction” follows the skeleton that has been outlined above. The rephrased question statement is given in green . The opinion has been given in purple , and the outline of the main ideas is in blue . Thus, this is a great “introduction” with two very simple sentences.

Now, we will through the introduction writing techniques for each easy type:

1. Opinion (Agree or Disagree) Essay Type 2. Advantages and Disadvantages Essay Type 3. Discussion (Discuss both views) Essay Type 4. Problem/Causes and Solution Essay Type 5. Double Question/ Mixed Essay Type

For each type of essay, the “introduction” would be slightly different. Let’s look at the examples for each of the five types of essay questions:

1. Writing Introduction for Opinion (Agree or Disagree) Essays: Question: Some people believe that children should be taught how to manage money at school.

Paraphrase: It is argued by many that schools ought to teach students financial literacy.

Answer to the Question: a) Plan- agree . b) Why I agree: ✓ Lack of financial literacy leads to disastrous consequences. ✓ Helps reach smart financial decisions. c) Opinion and Outline of main points: This essay entirely agrees with that statement because children can make financial decisions carefully, understand basic money management, and lack of financial literacy leads to disastrous consequences.

The whole introduction:

It is argued by many that schools ought to teach students financial literacy. This essay entirely agrees with that statement because children can make financial decisions carefully, understand basic money management, and the lack of financial literacy leads to disastrous consequences. (41 words)

2. Writing Introduction for Advantage and Disadvantage Essays: Question: It is suggested by many that young children should learn how to grow vegetables and keep animals.

Do you think that the advantages of this outweigh the disadvantages?

Paraphrase: Many people argue that young children ought to acquire basic knowledge of farming such as cultivating vegetables and keeping cattle.

Answer to the Question: a) Plan – Agree that advantages outweigh disadvantages. b) Advantages and Disadvantages Advantages – children can develop good work ethics and soft skills through gaining such farming knowledge. Disadvantages – children get exposed to hazardous pesticides and herbicides and can be distracted from academic studies.

c) Opinion and outline of main points: This essay will argue that despite children getting exposed to hazardous pesticides and herbicides, and being distracted from academic studies, the work ethics and soft skills they develop mean that the benefits outweigh the adverse effects involved in the process.

Many people argue that young children ought to acquire basic knowledge of farming such as cultivating vegetables and keeping cattle. This essay will argue that despite children getting exposed to hazardous pesticides and herbicides, and being distracted from academic studies, the work ethics and soft skills they develop mean that the benefits outweigh the adverse effects involved in the process. (60 words)

The writer here has used ‘despite’ to tell the examiner that many people think so, but he/she believes otherwise.

3. Writing Introduction for Discussion (Discuss both views) Essays: Question: Some people think that zoos are cruel and should be closed down. Others, however, believe that zoos can be useful in protecting wild animals.

Discuss both views and give your opinion.

Discussion essays introduce two sides of an argument. So, the introduction should be written differently than an opinion essay.

Paraphrase: It is considered by some that zoological gardens help preserve endangered species, yet there are others who regard them as inhumane and opine that zoos ought to be abolished.

You can see two phrases: “it is considered by some” and “yet there are others who regard”. So, there are always two opinions.

Answer to the Question: a) Plan: ✓ Zoos are beneficial because of the breeding programmes for vulnerable species. ✓ Zoos should be abolished because of unnatural environments and cramped cases. b) Opinion and Outline of main points: This will argue that although the breeding programmes contribute significantly to protecting vulnerable species, the writer is of the opinion that zoos should be banned due to inhumane animal conditions.

It is considered by some that zoological gardens help preserve endangered species, yet there are others who regard them as inhumane and opine that zoos ought to be abolished. This will argue that although the breeding program contributes significantly to protecting vulnerable species, I am of the opinion that zoos should be banned due to inhumane animal conditions. (58 words) .

As you can notice that by stating ‘although’, the writer recognizes that some people think that zoos are inhumane and should be abolished, but he/she doesn’t think the same way. However, we’ve introduced both views, answered the question and outlined our key points. So, it meets three essential criteria for a good introduction.

You must bear in mind is that you shouldn’t just write “This essay will discuss both views and then come to a reasoned conclusion” . The reason is that you haven’t expressed your opinion and also haven’t outlined your main ideas. Consequently, you will lose marks.

4. Writing Introduction for Problem/Causes and Solution type essay: Question: In some parts of the world, the rate of divorce has increased dramatically over the past few decades.

Explain some possible reasons for this problem and suggest some solutions.

Paraphrase: Divorce, in many countries, has reached epic proportions over the few decades.

Answer to the Question: a) Plan: b) Problem & Solution: Problem – Domestic violence and gender inequality. Solution – mutual understanding and conjugal appreciation.

c) Opinion and Outline of main points: This essay will expound on how domestic violence and gender inequality are the main reason for increasing separation rates in many parts of the world, followed by a discussion on how mutual understanding and conjugal appreciation are the most effective remedy for this issue.

Divorce, in many countries, has reached epic proportions over the few decades. This essay will expound on how domestic violence and gender inequality are the main reason for increasing separation rates in many parts of the world, followed by a discussion on how mutual understanding and conjugal appreciation are the most effective remedy for this issue. (56 words)

5. Writing Introduction for Double Question/Mixed Essay type: Question: Fossil fuels are essential for producing electricity, powering industry and fueling transportation. However, one day we will reach a point when all the world’s fossil fuels have been depleted.

How can we conserve these resources? What are some alternatives to fossil fuels?

Paraphrase: Energy production is heavily dependent on oil, coal and natural gas but there will come a time in human history when these resources will be exhausted.

Answer to the Question: a) Plan: b) Conservation and Alternatives: Conservation – choosing zero-carbon transportation, and reusing and recycling products. Alternative source – renewable energies: solar, wind and tide power.

c) Opinion and Outline of main points: This essay will argue that we can preserve non-renewable energy sources by choosing zero-carbon transportation, and solar, wind and tide energy are viable alternatives to natural resources.

Energy production is heavily dependent on oil, coal and natural gas but there will come a time in human history when these resources will be exhausted. This essay will argue that we can preserve non-renewable energy sources by choosing zero-carbon transportation, and solar, wind and tide energy are viable alternatives to natural resources. (53 words)

Step 4 – Write The Main Body Paragraphs:

Main body paragraphs/ supporting paragraphs contain the main discussion of your essay. In other words, these paragraphs exist to help prove your position by employing real and factual – or seemingly real and factual- information. Therefore, this is where you can gain or lose most of your marks.

Many candidates, however, make some common mistakes in the exam. Knowing these you can avoid making them further. The common mistakes are:

• Having lots of ideas.
• Having undeveloped ideas.
• Having no/poor explanations or examples.

You need to write around 250-300 words. If you conceive too many ideas, you won’t have enough time to develop the ideas fully. Consequently, you will lose marks. So, don’t make the same mistakes as others do.

Structure of a Good Main Body Paragraph

The structure of a good main body paragraph contains three key elements. They are:

• Topic sentence
• Explanation sentences

Please note that although this is a standard model, the structure can change according to the question types.

Topic sentence: It plays a pivotal role in main body paragraphs. In simple words, the topic sentence introduces the key idea, acting as a signpost pointing to what the examiner is going to read.

Explanation sentence: The idea topic sentence states should be explained clearly. Put simply, you have to clearly explain what your topic sentence means. In fact, you answer the question through explanation sentences. The explanation should be 2-4 sentences.

Useful language for explanation: In other words…… That is to say…….. This is because…… The reason is…….. As a result…………. Therefore……………

Example: examples are also crucial for an essay. You need to support your explanation with good and relevant examples. Examples prove highly useful when they are tangible facts because it causes persuasion and makes the argument tough to refute. Good examples contain references to personal experience, well-known people, cultural traditions, and historical events. Bad examples are overly general references, personal opinions, and assumptions.

Some people believe that criminals should be allowed to get an education and enhance their skills while they serve their sentences in prison.

To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Read the following “introduction” paragraph, paying close attention to the outline of the main points:

It is argued by many that convicted criminals should have access to education programmes so that they can develop their skills while serving their sentences in prison. This essay totally agrees with that statement because it reduces crime rates and can positively change incarcerated individuals .

The outline of the main points (in blue ) declares the topics we will use in our supporting paragraphs:

1- prison education can reduce the crime rate 2- it also positively changes incarcerated people

Let’s write the first main body paragraph now. The first sentence states the topic sentence for this paragraph, which needs to be the reflection of what was stated in the introduction paragraph’s outline of the first key point:

“Prison education programs considerably decrease recidivism.”

As you can see that this topic sentence clearly declares the point initially introduced in the introduction paragraph’s outline of the first key point, this builds a clear link between the essay’s introduction and supporting paragraph.

The second, third and fourth sentences are the discussion sentences:

Most prisoners are released from prisons with educational levels and job skills that are extremely low, and that is why they can earn only meagre incomes once freed. Face with the desperate need to make money but the grim reality of odd jobs, many turn back to crime to survive. However, prison education can equip convicted persons with transferable skills that pave the way for the positive transition when they are released. Therefore, it would reduce prison recidivism.

As can be seen, these sentences clarify the topic sentence explaining that prison education helps prison with transferable skills that open up a wide range of career possibilities, this, in turn, refrain them from committing crime again.

The fifth sentence is an example sentence. The example makes the supporting point hard to counter, and this reinforces the argument of the essay and its ability to convince the examiner of the thesis. The example sentence is:

For instance, a study by Monash University found that ex-offenders who receive some vocational training courses cut recidivism to approximately 40 percent.

As you can see that the example directly supports the topic sentence by bringing up factual information. The study is by a renowned university which makes it seems real. It also shows that the prisoners who enrol in prison education programmes are less likely to return to jail.

When grouped, the sentences of the main body paragraph logically unite in a highly persuasive manner:

Prison education programmes considerably decrease recidivism. Most prisoners are released from prisons with educational levels and job skills that are extremely low, and that is why they can earn only meagre incomes once freed. Face with the desperate need to make money but the grim reality of odd jobs, many turn back to crime to survive. However, prison education can equip convicted persons with transferable skills that pave the way for the positive transition when they are released. Therefore, it would reduce prison recidivism. For instance, a study by Monash University found that ex-offenders who receive some vocational training courses cut recidivism to approximately 40 percent. (106 words)

As you can notice that the topic sentence extends upon what was stated in the introduction paragraph’s outline statement, an obvious instance of cohesion at the essay level. Likewise, the argument advances through the discussion and use of a tangible example, and this makes it difficult for the examiner to rebut.

Now look at the second body paragraph and notice how it is written:

Another reason why incarcerated individuals should get an education is that it transforms incarcerated people. In simple words, education in prison changes offenders because it revives humanity, boosts confidence and self-esteem, develops literacy levels, equips them with essential skills and transforms criminals into law-abiding and productive citizens on release. A case in point is Carlos Rosato, who was arrested for armed robbery and sent to prison in New York state for 16 years. He enrolled in an education program of the Bard Prison Initiative, and he earned an Associate degree and a Bachelor degree. Today Carlos Rosato is an engineer and makes $90,000 a year. He is a solid member of his community and is, in fact, a taxpayer. (119 words)

Both the main body paragraphs of the essay are now complete. When joined to the introduction, the composition reads:

It is argued by many that convicted criminals should have access to education programmes so that they can develop their skills while serving their sentences in prison. This essay totally agrees with that statement because it reduces crime rates and can change incarcerated individuals.

Prison education programmes considerably decrease recidivism . Most prisoners are released from prisons with educational levels and job skills that are extremely low, and that is why they can earn only meagre incomes once freed. Face with the desperate need to make money but the grim reality of odd jobs, many turn back to crime to survive. However , prison education can equip convicted persons with transferable skills that pave the way for the positive transition when they are released. Therefore , it would reduce prison recidivism. For instance , a study by Monash University found that ex-offenders who receive some vocational training courses cut recidivism to approximately 40 percent.

Another reason why incarcerated individuals should get an education is that it transforms incarcerated people . In simple words , education in prison changes offenders because it revives humanity, boosts confidence and self-esteem, develops literacy levels, equips them with essential skills and transforms criminals into law-abiding and productive citizens on release. A case in point is Carlos Rosato, who was arrested for armed robbery and sent to prison in New York state for 16 years. He enrolled in an education program of the Bard Prison Initiative, and he earned an Associate degree and a Bachelor degree. Today Carlos Rosato is an engineer and makes $90,000 a year. He is a solid member of his community and is, in fact, a taxpayer.

Please notice the way the sentences and paragraphs use linking devices to connect themselves together and how to build the overarching argument of the essay. Cohesion at the sentence level is underlined . Cohesion at the essay level is highlighted in blue .

Step 5 – Write The Conclusion:

The conclusion paragraph reiterates the writer’s main ideas and closes the essay. It’s far easier than the introduction and main body paragraphs because it contains the information that has already been imparted earlier in the response. Alternatively, you can propose a solution to a problem or issue or offer something that would be widely accepted regarding the topic discussed in your essay.

Let’s start with the common mistakes. Many candidates often make some mistakes. So, you should not:

• Introduce new ideas.
• Try to be entertaining.
• Be too general.
• Repeat exactly the same thing as in the rest of your essay.
• Use the wrong cohesive devices.

Many candidates make the mistake of introducing new ideas in their “conclusion”. Bear in mind that this is a big mistake. New ideas shouldn’t be produced in your “conclusion” at all. All you need do is to state the ideas you have already discussed in the previous paragraphs or offer a solution to a problem that would be widely accepted. If you outline any new idea in your conclusion, you’ll get a lower mark because the conclusion is just paraphrasing or summarizing of what you’ve already said, or offering a universally accepted solution – nothing else.

Many candidates also try to finish their essays by being entertaining or interesting. There are no marks for being entertaining or interesting in your conclusion! There are only marks for writing an accurate conclusion! So, don’t try to write an entertaining conclusion.

Being too vague is another error while writing a conclusion. You need to be as specific as possible like the rest of your essay. The more specific you are, the higher the chance you get a higher band score. So, don’t be too general.

Some candidates repeat the same thing as in the rest of the essay. You need to paraphrase; you need to write the same thing but in a different way.

Finally, many people use wrong cohesive devices which ultimately negatively affect their scores. Therefore, don’t use the wrong cohesive devices.

Let’s look at some inappropriate cohesive devices:

All in all – it is a very inappropriate way to begin your conclusion. This is because it’s very informal. You need to be academic as the IELTS essay is academic in nature. You need to be as formal as possible. So, don’t use “all in all”. In sum – it means just summarizing things. In the conclusion paragraph, you are not just summarizing your main ideas but also giving your opinion. So, the phrase ‘in sum/in summation’ is not quite appropriate for that reason.

To sum up – it is the same as ‘in sum’. So, you shouldn’t use it either.

Finally – it’s saying that you’ve got a final point and it would imply that you’ve got a new point. As we said before, you shouldn’t have a new idea in your conclusion. So, don’t use the word ‘finally’.

In a nutshell – like the phrase “all in all”, this is also informal. So, don’t use it.

Now let’s look at the cohesive devices you should use in your conclusion. They are: ✓ To conclusion ✓ In conclusion

These are two simple phrases you can use at the beginning of your “conclusion” paragraph.

Structure of a Good Conclusion Paragraph: The structure of a good conclusion consists of two essential things. They are: a) Summary of main points b) Opinion

Please reread the introduction and main body paragraphs written above prior to preparing for the conclusion paragraph. Once you read it, let’s continue to the techniques and examples of writing the “conclusion” part.

As a recommended structure, the first sentence of the conclusion paragraph should summarize the topics discussed in the main body paragraphs. The topics are:

→ Prison education programs considerably decrease recidivism. → it transforms incarcerated people.

Grouped into a single sentence, these two ideas would read:

In conclusion, education in prison causes considerable recidivism reduction and also changes convicted persons in a positive way.

The second sentence has to rephrase the opinion of the introduction paragraph in a different manner. Here is the original outline sentence:

This essay totally agrees with that statement…

Thus, it is clear that incarcerated men and women should get an education while in prison.

Now the conclusion paragraph is finished. Notice how its sentences connect with one another and with earlier parts of the essay:

In conclusion, education in prison causes considerable recidivism reduction and also changes convicted persons in a positive way. Thus, it is clear that incarcerated men and women should get an education while in prison.

Please note that, if you wish to add one or two lines of suggestion or proposition that is related to the topic and offers something widely accepted, do that at the end of the conclusion.

Example of such a suggestion or proposition –

“It is expected that prison authority would take measures to educate inmates and train them so that they can become responsible members once they complete their prison sentence and get back to normal life.”

Essay Topic:

Essay Answer: I t is argued by many that criminals should have access to education programmes so that they can develop their skills while serving their sentences in prison. This essay totally agrees with that statement because it reduces crime rates and can change incarcerated individuals.

Prison education programmes considerably decrease recidivism. Most prisoners are released from prisons with educational levels and job skills that are extremely low, and that is why they can earn only meagre incomes once freed. Face with the desperate need to make money but the grim reality of odd jobs, many turn back to crime to survive. However, prison education can equip convicted persons with transferable skills that pave the way for the positive transition when they are released. Therefore, it would reduce prison recidivism. For instance, a study by Monash University found that ex-offenders who receive some vocational training courses cut recidivism to approximately 40 percent.

Another reason why incarcerated individuals should get an education is that it transforms incarcerated people. In simple words, education in prison changes offenders because it revives humanity, boosts confidence and self-esteem, develops literacy levels, equips them with essential skills and transforms criminals into law-abiding and productive citizens on release. A case in point is Carlos Rosato, who was arrested for armed robbery and sent to prison in New York state for 16 years. He enrolled in an education program of the Bard Prison Initiative, and he earned an Associate degree and a Bachelor degree. Today Carlos Rosato is an engineer and makes $90,000 a year. He is a solid member of his community and is, in fact, a taxpayer.

(Approximately 300 words)

Learning to write an essay at a band 9 level takes a lot of practice. Use this article to acquire the technique, then do practice as much as possible on all the five types of questions. Best of luck!

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7 IELTS Essay Samples of Band 9 Students

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Is it even possible to write a Band 9 essay in IELTS?

Well, it is certainly possible. In fact, not only have I scored a band 9 in writing myself, I have also helped several of my students score band 9 in writing too. If you want to learn the art and science behind scoring an IELTS writing Band 9 (or if you just want to improve your score by a few bands), read on.

Every day we receive 100's of IELTS essays for correction from our students. Our experienced IELTS tutors go over every single word of the essay and mark them based on the criteria specified in the IELTS Band Score Descriptors.

Since a lot of IELTS students struggle in the writing section, we thought we would list out the IELTS Band 9 essay samples that we have seen from our IELTS Twenty20 Course students so far. An important thing to note is that the students who wrote these essays went through several feedback rounds with other essay topics where they perfected the art of writing a good IELTS Task 2 essay. So don't get intimidated if you think you cannot write such essays. Everyone struggles with it and it takes time to improve.

But, before we look at the IELTS Band 9 essay samples, let's first understand how to write the perfect IELTS essay.

How to write an IELTS Band 9 essay?

In IELTS Writing Task 2, you are given brief details of an opinion, an argument or a problem, and have to produce an extended piece of discursive writing (an essay) in response.

You need to write at least 250 words and should spend about 40 minutes on this task.

Let's look at a step by step process on how to write a great writing task 2 essay every time ... no matter what the topic.

What are the different types of IELTS essays?

Understand the IELTS writing task 2 marking criteria

When IELTS examiners mark your essays they refer to the IELTS writing band descriptors . Here's what the band descriptors mean in plain English.

Identify the main topic of the essay

• If you incorrectly identify the main idea then you  CANNOT  score above Band 4.
• If you present a main idea that is not sufficiently developed and supported by examples then you  CANNOT  score above Band 6.

Identify all parts of the task

• If you address only some parts of the task and not others then you  CANNOT  score above Band 5.
• Even if you identify all parts of the task correctly but fail to cover each of them fully you  WILL NOT   be able to score above Band 6.

Present a position/opinion

• If you do not express a clear position then you  CANNOT  score above Band 5.
• If you do not write a conclusion at the end you  CANNOT  score above Band 5.
• If your conclusion is unclear or repetitive then you  CANNOT  score above Band 6.

In other words, if you want to score Band 7+, you need to consistently, accurately and appropriately demonstrate the use of all 4 points highlighted above.

Did you think that was all ... nope there's more ...

Even if you do all of the above there is still a chance that you may not be able to score above Band 7. In order to really ensure Band 7+ you need to master  the 4 C’s of Essay Writing .

The 4 C's of Essay Writing

Cohesion  - refers to words and phrases that help link ideas together.For example:

• Because of this ....
• It is clear that ...
• It can be seen ... etc.

Conciseness  - Long sentences do not mean more marks. Run-on sentences will often cause you to lose marks in this area. There are three sentence structures you should be using:

• Simple sentence  - Contains a subject and a verb and expresses a complete thought. For Example - The teacher returned the homework.
• Complex sentences  -  Has an independent clause (simple sentence) joined by one or more dependent clauses (cannot stand alone as a sentence) For Example - The teacher returned the homework after she noticed the error.
• Compound sentences  - Two simple sentences joined by a coordinator (ex. for, and, or, yet, so). For Example - The teacher returned the homework so everyone got to go home early.

Coherence  - How easy is your essay to understand? In order to improve your coherence, proper grammar is a must. You are not there while the essay is being marked, so your ideas need to be clear and easy to understand. Using the cohesive phrases mentioned earlier, can improve the coherence of your essay.

Composition  - The structure of your essay (introduction paragraph, 2-3 body paragraphs, and a conclusion paragraph). A good introduction includes a little background on the topic, a thesis statement, and a preview of the 2-3 main points of your essay. Each body paragraph should include a topic sentence illustrating your point, an example of your point and how it ties into your topic sentence, as well as a concluding sentence that ties this point into your thesis.

Conclusions should reiterate your two or three main ideas from your body paragraphs an restate your thesis again using different words than before. To end your conclusion, you should give a prediction or recommendation on the essay topic.

Note: Remember a proper paragraph has at least 3-4 sentences. Each paragraph should revolve around a main idea, and when you start a new idea, you should start a new paragraph.

How to identify the main topic and all parts of the IELTS essay?

This tutorial will teach you the key steps to identify the main topic and all parts of the IELTS Writing Task 2 question.

Follow the 3 steps mentioned in the video and you will never go wrong.

How to brainstorm and organise your ideas for IELTS writing task 2?

Once you have identified the topic and question parts for your writing task, the next step is to brainstorm ideas that should become part of your essay. In order to get a good band score it is not enough to just create a list of ideas - you need to extend and explain each of those ideas in detail. Lets look at our example from before:

This tutorial will teach you how to brainstorm and extend your ideas for IELTS Writing Task 2 question.

Tips for writing an IELTS band 9 essay

Here's a check list for Writing Task 2. Follow this check list and you are guaranteed to score Band 7+ in IELTS Writing.

• First off, read & understand the topic of the essay for Writing Task 2.
• Identify all the key parts of the question.
• Brainstorm and organise your ideas to ensure that each of your ideas is fully explained and well supported with examples.
• If the question asks for your opinion, make sure you state it clearly and you don’t contradict that view throughout the rest of the essay.
• Learn the structure of an essay: Introduction , body paragraphs, conclusion
• Do not copy the question word for word for your introduction or else those words will be deducted from your total word count. Instead always paraphrase the question in your own words.
• You MUST write a conclusion/overview at the end. Don’t add new information in your conclusion. Instead, rephrase your key points, and give a strong ending sentence that ties everything together.
• Always write in a formal tone and use it consistently throughout the essay.
• Do not use bullet points or short notes.
• Use a wide range of grammatical structures and vocabulary.
• Remember to follow the 4 C's of essay writing.
• Practice and learn synonyms so your writing has a range of vocabulary and does not become repetitive.
• Write at least 250 words. Anything less, you will lose marks.Ideally the essay should be about 250-280 words.
• Write neatly, as the person who is marking your essay should be able to easily read and understand what you have written.
• Do Task 2 first, as it is worth twice as much as Task 1, so priority should be placed here.

Practice makes perfect. Write as many practice essays as you can, and have them marked by an English teacher for mistakes.

• Practice timing yourself at home, and stick to the allotted time for each section. During the real test, bring a watch and manage your time carefully.
• Check your writing. If you finish with extra time, look over your essay for any spelling, grammar, or other mistakes you might find.

Popular Topics for Writing Task 2

Topics for IELTS writing task 2 are usually related to some issue or problem that is currently affecting society and you need to discuss it. In recent IELTS exams, topics have mostly dealt with:

• Environment
• Animal rights
• The Internet

Frequently asked questions about IELTS Writing Task 2

Q: Will I lose marks if I write too many words (400-500) in my essay? 

A: There is no penalty for writing more than 250 words for writing task 2. However, there are also no extra marks for writing more. In fact, the more you write, the more you may end up making spelling or grammar mistakes. It is much better to write around 280 words within 35 minutes and spend the last 5 minutes reviewing your work for mistakes.

Q: Will I lose marks if my handwriting is very poor? 

A: In IELTS, handwriting does not affect your scores directly. The scoring rubric does not have any points for handwriting. However, it affects your score indirectly. i.e if your handwriting is illegible, the examiner will think that you have misspelled a word and will mark you lower on lexical resources. The examiner will not give you the benefit of doubt if she is not sure about the words you have written.

Moreover, handwriting also affects the overall impression on the examiner. Remember that IELTS examiners are humans and like all humans they form their first impressions looking at your handwriting. The clearer your work, the better first impression you will make on the examiner.

Click here for recent IELTS exam topics and questions from all over the world

Finally, here are the 7 examples of band 9 essays.

IELTS Writing Sample Essay 1 -Fresh water demand causes and measures

IELTS Writing Sample Essay 2 - Forests are the lungs of the earth

IELTS Writing Sample Essay 3 - Job and money

IELTS Writing Sample Essay 4 - Aim of University Education

IELTS Writing Sample Essay 5 - International Tourism

IELTS Writing Sample Essay 6 - Image is a more powerful way of Communicating

IELTS Writing Sample Essay 7 - Work or travel between finishing high school and starting university

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IELTS Band 9 Essays Sample: Writing Task Answers To Score Band 9

Do you want to get a perfect score on your IELTS essay writing task This article includes two IELTS Band 9 Essays as well as additional information on how to increase your score

8/25/2023 3 min read

Are you gearing up for the IELTS exam and aiming for that elusive Band 9 score? Look no further! In this comprehensive guide, we'll delve into IELTS essay samples and provide you with top-notch writing task answers that will help you achieve that coveted Band 9 score. Whether you're a seasoned test-taker or a newbie, these insights and examples will boost your confidence and enhance your IELTS writing skills.

Introduction to IELTS Writing Task

The IELTS Writing Task is a critical component of the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) exam. It assesses your ability to articulate your thoughts clearly and coherently in written English. The writing section comprises two tasks: Task 1 requires candidates to interpret and describe visual information, while Task 2 involves crafting an essay on a given topic. It's Task 2 that holds the key to achieving a Band 9 score, and we're here to unlock that door for you.

Understanding the Band Descriptors

Before we dive into the nitty-gritty of IELTS essay writing, it's essential to comprehend the Band Descriptors. These descriptors outline the criteria for each band score (ranging from 0 to 9) and offer valuable insights into what the examiners are looking for. Let's take a closer look:

Task Achievement (H2) : To score in the Band 9 category, you must fully address all parts of the prompt, present a clear position, and offer comprehensive and well-supported ideas.

Coherence and Cohesion (H2) : Your essay should exhibit exceptional organizational skills. Ideas must flow logically, with a seamless connection between sentences and paragraphs.

Lexical Resource (H2) : Band 9 essays flaunt an extensive vocabulary used precisely and appropriately. This demonstrates your ability to convey nuanced meanings effectively.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy (H2) : Expectations are high in this category. Your grammar and sentence structures should be intricate, error-free, and versatile.

Structuring Your IELTS Essay

A well-structured essay lays the foundation for success. Here's how to structure your IELTS essay:

Crafting a Strong Introduction (H2)

Your introduction should be concise yet engaging. Clearly state your position on the topic and provide a roadmap of the points you'll address.

Developing Cohesive Body Paragraphs (H2)

Each body paragraph should focus on a single idea that supports your thesis. Start with a topic sentence, provide evidence and examples, and analyze their significance.

Concluding with Impact (H2)

Your conclusion should summarize your main points and restate your thesis in a fresh way. Avoid introducing new ideas; instead, leave the reader with something to ponder.

IELTS Essay Samples and Analysis

Sample essay 1: education and technology (h3).

In today's digital age, technology has revolutionized education. This essay explores how technology enhances learning experiences, fosters engagement, and prepares students for a tech-driven world.

Sample Essay 2: Environmental Conservation (H3)

Environmental conservation is a global concern. This essay examines the role of individuals, governments, and international cooperation in preserving our planet for future generations.

Sample Essay 3: Globalization and Culture (H3)

Globalization has connected the world like never before. This essay discusses how cultures can coexist harmoniously while retaining their unique identities in the face of globalization.

Tips for Achieving Band 9

Enhancing vocabulary and lexical resource (h2).

Expand your vocabulary by reading extensively. Make a conscious effort to incorporate new words into your writing, but use them appropriately.

Mastering Grammar and Sentence Structure (H2)

Grammar is the backbone of your essay. Brush up on complex sentence structures, tenses, and punctuation to elevate your writing.

Coherence and Cohesion: The Key to Seamless Writing (H2)

Use linking words and transition phrases to connect ideas. A well-organized essay enhances readability and coherence.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Ambiguous thesis statements (h3).

Your thesis should be crystal clear. Ambiguity leaves room for misinterpretation, affecting your overall message.

Overgeneralization in Body Paragraphs (H3)

Support your arguments with specific examples and evidence. Overgeneralization weakens the persuasiveness of your essay.

Repetition and Redundancy (H3)

Repetition can bore your readers. Vary your vocabulary and sentence structures to keep the essay engaging.

Practice Makes Perfect

Selecting your own essay topics (h2).

Practice writing essays on various topics to broaden your perspective and enhance your adaptability.

Setting a Realistic Writing Schedule (H2)

Consistent practice is key. Create a writing schedule that suits your routine and stick to it.

The Art of Time Management

Planning and outlining (h3).

Allocate a few minutes to outline your essay. A well-structured plan prevents aimless writing.

Writing Under Timed Conditions (H3)

Simulate exam conditions by writing within the time limit. Time management is crucial for IELTS success.

Conclusion: Your Path to Band 9 Success

With determination, practice, and the right strategies, achieving a Band 9 score in the IELTS Writing Task is within your reach. Remember, it's not just about impeccable grammar; it's about expressing ideas coherently, substantiating arguments effectively, and engaging the reader. Follow the guidelines, learn from the samples, and embark on your journey to IELTS excellence.

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Analysing a Band 9 Sample Answer for IELTS Writing Task 2

Posted by David S. Wills | Jul 16, 2021 | IELTS Tips , Writing | 0

Today, I want to analyse a sample band 9 answer to an IELTS writing task 2 question in order to show you what exactly makes an essay successful. Now, there are many things that could make a great essay, but today I just want to show you a few things you might not have thought about before in order to to show you what contributes to an essay getting the highest possible score.

I will start by talking about whether or not sample IELTS essays are actually worthwhile or not, then I’ll group the things I want to talk about into the 4 criteria by which all IELTS essays are judged – that’s Task Achievement, Coherence and Cohesion , Lexical Resource , and Grammatical Range and Accuracy. If you have a special interest in one of these areas, you can skip ahead to that, but I think it’s better to read the whole article.

If you prefer to watch this video, which contains many annotated examples, you can watch it instead of reading this whole article.

Are Band 9 Sample Answers Worthwhile?

Before we begin this lesson properly, I feel I should give a sort of disclaimer. Band 9 sample answers are probably not as useful or important as you might think and there are a few things that you must consider before you use them. Firstly, not all essays that are labelled as “band 9 sample answers” are really good enough to get band 9 in a real IELTS test. As I’ve said many times before here and elsewhere, most IELTS materials are made by people who can’t actually speak English very well and do not understand the exam. These people tend to write essays that are crammed full of words they found in the dictionary but which are incorrectly used. These are absolutely not helpful.

But let’s put them aside for the moment. Let’s say you find a sample answer that really is good enough to get band 9. What can you learn from these? Well, if you use them properly, you can learn quite a lot, but many English learners seem to think of these essays as something they need to reproduce. They tend to view them as the correct way of writing an essay, when in fact it is just one possible example of how an essay could be written.

As such, please note that whether you are using my sample answers or anyone else’s, you should not view them as something you need to copy in any way. Use them instead for inspiration. Maybe you can find some words or phrases there that are helpful, or perhaps the structure is different than in your own essay. You might also find that the writer puts forth their ideas in a very clear way, or there may be some interesting ideas you had not thought of before.

All this is to say, of course, that sample band 9 answers CAN be useful, but that you should not be overly reliant upon them. Considering that, let’s look at our question and answer for today.

A Sample Band 9 Answer

Let’s start by look at the question because all great IELTS essays must start from there. Here is the question we will be analysing:

In many countries today, many highly qualified graduates struggle to find employment. What factors may have caused this situation? What can be done about it?

First of all, let’s think what this question means and what our answer should include. It seems pretty straightforward to me. The fundamental issue is that graduates with good qualifications are finding it difficult to get jobs. We need to talk about why that has happened and what could be done to fix the situation. As you can see, it is a cause and solution question.

To this question, I would give a four-paragraph answer. First of all, my introduction would briefly explain the situation, then I would give an essay outline that said what would come next. My first body paragraph would look at the factors that caused it and the second would pose some suggestions for fixing the problem. Finally, there would be a short conclusion.

Sample Band 9 Answer

Here’s my answer to the above question:

As an increasing number of people go to university, it is now common that graduates cannot find employment. This is a worrying situation, but there are some solutions to it. The current problem of graduate unemployment is largely caused by there being too many graduates. In the past fifty years, going to university has evolved from being an extremely rare occurrence for the smartest students who wished to learn specialist knowledge into something that millions of young people do. The result is a surplus of over-qualified candidates chasing the same jobs. In many countries, the economy is contracting and these graduates have to fight over very few available positions. The ones who do not get a job are left unemployed because they feel too qualified to take a lower-level position and work their way up, especially after having spent four years gaining advanced qualifications. Thankfully, there are some possible solutions. The first thing to do is to recognise that higher education has become too common, and so perhaps it is time that alternative routes are sought. Rather than going from high school to university, students can instead be encouraged to find a vocational training program and enter the workforce soon after leaving school. This would allow them to learn some practical skills rather than the theoretical knowledge they would get from university, and then build up real work experience over a long period of time. In addition, universities could set up better facilities for students to get such practical experience, so that when they look for employment after graduation, they will not be at such a disadvantage. In conclusion, many graduates are unable to find employment nowadays, and there are various reasons for this. The solutions are not easy to apply, but there are some possibilities to reduce the severity of this situation.

Task Achievement

What makes this essay successful in terms of Task Achievement? This part of the test may seem subjective and frustrating because we all have different ideas about issues – particularly ones such as employment and education, which are naturally going to vary from culture to culture. Please note that there are no right and wrong answers in an IELTS exam and even a strange answer could be successful if it was presented intelligently.

The important thing to note from the band descriptors is that your essay must “fully address all parts of” the question and that it is “fully developed” with “relevant, fully extended, and well developed ideas.” One of the biggest problems people face here is cramming too many ideas into their essay. It is impossible to develop your essay sufficiently if you make it into a vast list of supporting arguments. Instead, pick one or two ideas and then develop them.

Let’s look at the second paragraph of my essay. I have picked an idea, which is that there are simply too many graduates nowadays. You might agree with me or disagree with me, but that is not important. Maybe there is a better idea… but again it does not matter because the important thing is that my topic sentence is very clear and each of the sentences that follow it directly support it. The first sentence states my idea in simple terms. The second explains the issue from an education standpoint, with the third making the result very clear – there are too many graduates. The final two sentences tie this to employment and show precisely why having so many graduates causes high unemployment rates.

An examiner might read this and think, “Well, I had a better idea…” but they could not fault me for how mine was explained, and that is key to understanding Task Achievement. It is not about the right idea or the wrong idea; it is about explaining and developing your ideas logically.

Coherence and Cohesion

When it comes to Coherence and Cohesion , there is a lot to consider, but fundamentally it is all about presenting your ideas in a way that guides the reader logically from one point to the next. This means you need a good structure that groups your ideas sensibly and also that you need your ideas to be connected from one clause or sentence to the next.

I showed you my structure earlier and that is where all good essays should begin. My essay has four paragraphs, which is really all you need for a cause and solution essay – or pretty much any other IELTS essay, for that matter. I devoted one paragraph to the causes and one to the solutions, so that fulfils the requirements for organisation. But structure is easy. You could learn it in a few hours. What is harder is having progression and linking your sentences.

In terms of progression, I explained in the previous section about how each of the supporting sentences in body paragraph developed the topic sentence. This is a good start, but it does not guarantee good progression. I like to think of paragraph structure in terms of making a big statement, then making it more and more specific until you get into the fine details, using examples or hypothetical statements to link the minute details back to the bigger picture.

Doing this isn’t easy. First, you need to think logically and plan your essay, and then you need to use clear language to guide the reader. In my third paragraph, I started with a transitional statement that joined the ideas from the end of paragraph two to the main idea of paragraph three. The main idea started with “The first thing to do…” which is incredibly clear and easy to understand. The reader could not possibly be confused by what I’m saying. Again, my topic sentence presents a broad idea and is followed by another sentence that defines it more clearly. This is followed by a sentence that uses referencing effectively to convey a hypothetical scenario to make my suggestion clear to the reader. I say “This would allow them…” Many people forget that the use of words like “this” and “them” is essential for a good Coherence and Cohesion score.  

Finally, I would ask you to look at my essay and tell me how many cohesive devices I’ve used. How many sentences begin with those classic IELTS phrases “On the one hand… on the other hand… for example…” and so on? I would argue that “Thankfully,” “In addition,” and “In conclusion” are the only ones I’ve used. That’s because an essay that intuitively guides its reader by using subtle and intelligent cues will not need many cohesive devices . In fact, it clearly says in the band descriptors that over-using them would cause your score for this section to be around 6 or at most 7.

If you want to understand Coherence and Cohesion fully, then check out the video I made a few weeks ago. It goes into a lot of detail and will help you to understand what is probably the most difficult part of the band descriptors.

Lexical Resource

Whilst Coherence and Cohesion is probably the most difficult part of the band descriptors, Lexical Resource is surely the most misunderstood. That’s because IELTS teachers all around the world are busy telling their students to “use advanced vocabulary.” It is, quite frankly, an idiotic approach and these people are responsible for countless disappointing exam results.

What you need to think of when it comes to IELTS writing is using language in an accurate way and using vocabulary that is topic-specific. Sticking a so-called “advanced” word into your essay should not even cross your mind.

I think most of the people reading this article could look at my essay and understand all of the words I have used. That is because there are no words here that I’ve plucked at random from the middle of a dictionary. However, all of my words are used correctly and that is by far the most important thing. There are also some words that are specific to the topics of education and employment, which is also helpful.

If we look at paragraph three again, we can see some examples of this. The phrase “higher education” is used rather than repeating “university” over and over. “Alternative routes” is used to suggest a different way of going into employment. Importantly, this is a natural phrase that a native speaker would know rather than an awkward expression that has been cobbled together from words we would not intuitively use. The phrase “vocational training program” is excellent because this is a really topic-specific phrase. It falls into the category of “uncommon vocabulary” but you will note that it is not some insanely obscure phrase. This is the sort of language that you should aim for: accurate and relevant. Beyond that we have “workforce” and “theoretical knowledge.”

Importantly, my words are collocated correctly. That means they go together in natural ways. When I say “look for employment after graduation,” it might seem easy to you… You might be surprised this is in a band 9 essay… but a lot of IELTS candidates would write “seek for employment” or misuse the noun “job-seeker” by forcing it into a verb form.

I cannot stress enough the importance of accuracy here. If you want to learn more about Lexical Resource (and I think everyone should), then check out my video on it. This is a deep dive into a profoundly misunderstood subject.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy

Whilst the first three marking criteria have mildly confusing names, Grammatical Range and Accuracy is really very obvious. It is about both range and accuracy.

This means that your essay should use grammar in a correct way (that’s accuracy) but also use different structures (that’s range). You don’t have to go completely over the top and use every single verb tense, clause, and sentence type that your English teacher ever taught you, but it’s best not to sound repetitive.

Going back to paragraph two, we saw a breakdown of the sentences that I used to explain the causes of graduate unemployment. What do you notice about these 5 sentences? It is not obvious when they are written properly in an essay, but when formatted like this, we can see that they vary in length. This is something that good writers do without even thinking about it. Whilst it is not the most important part of an essay, it does affect the reader’s appreciation of it and can impact meaning. Note that the shortest sentence here functions to present a simple point after a very long sentence filled with detail. This is almost like a mid-paragraph conclusion that forces the reader to pay attention.

If we look at the first three sentences, we can see a compound sentence (with the dependent clause first), then a complex sentence, and then a simple sentence. There is a compound-complex sentence at the end of paragraph two, meaning that all 4 sentence types have been included. This is not strictly necessary but it does help in terms of range. I have used relative clauses and switched between active and passive voice where necessary. I have used modals intelligently and all my subjects and verbs are in the correct form. Even my punctuation is right.

This might seem like a very difficult thing to achieve and indeed grammar is the hardest part of the writing test in my opinion. However, it is worth noting that the band descriptors explicitly state that you can make “rare minor errors” and still get band 9, so you can take some encouragement from that.

I really hope that this article has been useful for you. As I stated earlier, sample answers are not always particularly helpful and can sometimes even cause further problems for the people who try to use them. On my website, I have many sample answers that I have written and each of them comes with some description that explains why I have written the essay in that way. I think this is really important because otherwise there is not much you can really learn from them.

The important thing to take away from today’s lesson though is that, whilst getting a high score for IELTS is certainly not easy, there really is no secret to it. For Task Achievement, you just have to provide a fully developed answer. For Coherence and Cohesion, you have to organise and link your ideas logically. For Lexical Resource and Grammatical Range and Accuracy, you have to make sure that your words are used correctly and that you don’t repeat yourself too much. That’s pretty much the core of it, and anyone who’s teaching tricks and tips is just misleading you.

About The Author

David S. Wills

David S. Wills is the author of Scientologist! William S. Burroughs and the 'Weird Cult' and the founder/editor of Beatdom literary journal. He lives and works in rural Cambodia and loves to travel. He has worked as an IELTS tutor since 2010, has completed both TEFL and CELTA courses, and has a certificate from Cambridge for Teaching Writing. David has worked in many different countries, and for several years designed a writing course for the University of Worcester. In 2018, he wrote the popular IELTS handbook, Grammar for IELTS Writing and he has since written two other books about IELTS. His other IELTS website is called IELTS Teaching.

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IELTS Advantages and Disadvantages Writing Samples Band 9

Nowadays, many people choose to be self-employed, rather than to work for a company or oganisation. why might be the case what could be the disadvantages of being self-employed, at the present time, the population of some countries includes a relatively large number of young adults, compared with the number of older people. do the advantages of this situation outweigh the disadvantages, some schools are very strict about their school uniforms and the appearance of their pupils, while other schools have a very relaxed dress code. what are the advantages and disadvantages of children of having a school uniform, in some countries, more and more adults are living with their parents after graduating from college, university or even after finding a job. do the advantages outweigh the disadvantages, 2.it is becoming increasingly popular to have a year off between finishing school and going university. what are the advantages and disadvantages of this trend, many people work long hour, leaving very little time for leisure activities. does this situation have more advantages or more disadvantages, at the present time the population of some countries includes a relatively large number of young adults, compared with the number of older people. do the advantages of this situation outweigh the disadvantages, it is important for people to take risks, in both their professional lives and personal lives. do the advantages of taking these risks outweigh the disadvantages, in the past lectures were the traditional method of teaching large numbers of students. nowadays new technology is increasingly being used to teach students. what are the advantages and disadvantages of this new approach in teaching, international tourism has brought enormous benefit to many places. at the same time, there is concern about its impact on local inhabitants and the environment. do the disadvantages of international tourism outweigh the advantages, nowadays, as a part of the educational process, students work at a company for a short period of time without pay. do the advantages of this outweigh the disadvantages, as global trade increase, many goods including those we use in daily basis are produced in another country and have to be transport long distance. do benefit of this trend outweigh disadvantages, at the present time, the population of some countries includes a relatively large number of young adults, compared with the numbers of older people. do the advantages of this situation outweigh the disadvantages, nowadays, a lot of offices employ open-space designs instead of separate rooms for work. do the advantages of this outweigh the disadvantages, some people believe that life in a big city is difficult while others say that it is more convenient. what are the advantages and disadvantages of living in big cities, 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 of your people who decide to do this, many retired people today are choosing to live in other countries. what are the advantages or disadvantages of this, some experts believe that it is better for children to begin learning a foreign language at primary school rather than secondary school. do the advantages of this outweigh the disadvantages, in many countries, teenagers are encouraged to do part-time jobs. what's the situation like in your country what do yout think are the advantages and disvanatges of doing part-time jobs, with the rise of e-books comes the decline in paper books. some people see this as a good step forward while others do not. what are the advantages and disadvantages of this trend..

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IELTS General Writing Task 1: Letter samples, phrases and tips.

Home  »  IELTS General Task 1 » IELTS General Writing Task 1: Letter samples, phrases and tips.

The  general writing task 1 exam evaluates the test taker’s writing skills in responding to a complaint, requesting information or explaining a certain situation in a letter.

You should spend no more than 20 minutes on this section and you should write at least 150 words. IELTS Task 1 forms 33% of your total writing mark.

IELTS training writing task 1

IELTS general writing task 1 sample letters to make a complaint

General writing task 1 sample letters to make an application

IELTS general writing task 1 sample letters to invite

Sample letters to advise

IELTS sample letters to apologise

Sample letters to make a request

General task 1 informal letter samples

Task 1 sample letter to inform

Latest 2018- March 2020 general task 1 questions

VIDEO: IELTS Band 9 Sample General Task 1 and Vocabulary

IELTS writing sample task 1 letters ebook

More IELTS Writing Task 1 Tutorials

Frequently Asked Questions

Audio tutorial: general task 1 samples and answers

IELTS Letter Writing General Task 1 – training and overview

Letter writing in English consists of standard phrases and structures, most of which are outlined below in this tutorial.

Also, you can use the question as a ready-made plan to follow for your writing, you can write a few sentences for each bullet point in the question, and you have a well-structured answer covering the task response requirement.

Below we have a large list of questions, IELTS letter samples and phrases to help you with your online IELTS preparation . For more help with IELTS writing, take a look at our range of  writing tasks .

IELTS Writing General Task 1: Sample letters to make a complaint

• Example Letter: A formal complaint You have eaten at a restaurant and it was such a terrible experience that you have decided to inform the manager by letter of what happened and that you want your money back. Things to include: – Facts. You need to be concise but explain what happened. – Polite. No one responds to insults. – Outline what you wish from this. What do you want to happen? – Firmness. You want to be taken seriously.
• Example Letter: Your next-door neighbour owns a small dog that barks throughout the day and the night. Write a letter to your neighbour requesting that something be done about the dog. Include in your letter: – Your reason for writing – What you would like to happen – A nice, respectful style
• Example Letter: You ordered an item from an online store and it has arrived damaged. Write a letter to the retailer to complain. In the letter: – Explain why you are unhappy – Request a refund – Make arrangements to return the damaged item
• Example Letter: Your internet connection has been slow and intermittent. Write a letter to your internet service provider to complain. In the letter: – Describe the problem and why you are unhappy – Arrange for an engineer to visit your home – Request a reduction in your bill
• A reporter complained about a new TV program that you like. Write a letter to the newspaper editor. – Describe your point of view. – Say what you like about the show and why. – Ask the newspaper to take some action.

Useful general Task 1 Phrases to make a complaint

IELTS Letter samples for Task 1: to make an application

• IELTS writing sample: A job application Cover letter You are applying for a job. As well as attaching a CV, you need to write a cover letter explaining your reasons for choosing this particular job at this particular company, and why you would be a good hire. Things to include are: – Possible qualifications or reasons for you to be hired – Your energy and enthusiasm for the job – Your past experience in a similar position.
• IELTS writing sample: The school library is seeking applicants for a job over summer break. Write a letter to the library’s manager, in your letter include: – A brief introduction of yourself – Your experience and relevant skills – Why you want the job
• You would like to join the local orchestra Write a letter of application to the orchestra. In the letter: – Introduce yourself and your instrument of choice – Explain how your credentials make you a good candidate – Express your enthusiasm for music
• IELTS writing sample: Your children go to a local school that requires volunteers to accompany school science trips. Write a letter to the school to apply to be a volunteer. In the letter: – Introduce yourself and give details of your children who attend the school – Explain why you are interested in the position – Talk about any relevant experience that you have with children

IELTS Task 1 formal vocabulary to make an application

IELTS General Letter Writing Samples: How to write an invitation

General writing task 1 sample: Your friends recently moved to a new city. You will also be moving to the same city. Write a letter to your friends and include: – Ask where to find a place to live – Tell them what type of place you’re looking for – Share some fun things you would like to do when you get there

IELTS general writing task 1 sample: You will be graduating from university and would like to invite your family to the ceremony. Write a letter of invitation to your parents. In the letter: – Explain that you have completed your studies – Give details of the event, including time, date and dress code – Let them know how many tickets they have and who they are for

IELTS general writing task 1 sample: You have won a holiday to Hawaii with one extra ticket. Write a letter to someone to invite them along with you. In the letter: – Explain what has happened and that you would like them to come – Give details of when the trip will take place – Inform the person of the things they will need for the trip

IELTS Writing Task 1 Vocabulary to invite or reply to an invite

IELTS General Letter Writing Samples: Answers to advise

• Writing task 1 sample letter: Write a letter to your favourite restaurant. Include the following: · Your reason for writing · What you like about the restaurant · Suggestions for improvement
• Writing task 1 sample letter : Write a letter to the newspaper editor about an experience you had at a restaurant. The experience can be good or bad. Describe your experience in detail and state whether or not you recommend others to visit the restaurant.
• Writing task 1 sample letter : A friend is considering buying a house nearby, but you have decided to leave the area due to a rise in crime. Write a letter to your friend advising them not to move into the neighbourhood. In your letter: – Recommend that your friend not go ahead with the purchase – Give the reasons behind your decision to leave – Suggest possible alternative areas that you know

IELTS Writing Task 1 Vocabulary to advise

IELTS sample letters / answers to apologise

• Writing task 1 sample letter to apologise: IELTS sample: A formal apology and explanation You have received a letter from your university of Albion demanding a reason for your absence from an exam. You were ill that day but failed to submit the evidence. Write a letter to the Examinations Committee explaining your situation. You should include: – Apologies for the situation – Identification for yourself (Name, student number, case number) – An explanation of what had happened and any possible evidence you may have – Possible resolutions to consider.
• Writing task 1 sample  Letter to apologise: You agreed to take a particular job over the summer, but due to unforeseen circumstances, you can no longer take the position. Write a letter including: – Explaining your situation – An apology – Express that you would be interested in the position next summer
• Writing task 1 sample letter to apologise: You recently applied for two separate jobs. Both have chosen to hire you, but you must write a letter to one of them explaining why you are unable to take the position. Include in your letter: – An apology – An explanation of your situation
• Writing task 1 sample letter to apologise: You have not seen a close friend for a very long time. You also still have a few of your friend’s belongings that were left at your house the last time she visited. In your letter include: – Why you are writing – What you’ve been doing since you last spoke together – Apologize for still having the items and ask how you can return them

General letter writing task 1 GT vocabulary to apologise

Writing task 1 sample letters: answers to make a request

• IELTS writing task 1 sample: A new neighbour has moved in next door and has taken your main rubbish bin. Write a letter to your new neighbour requesting that they return the item. In the letter: – Explain that new bins must be sourced from the local council – Request that the person returns your bin immediately – Inform the person of what further actions you will take should they not return your bin
• IELTS writing task 1 sample: You would like to work in a different city to be closer to your family. Write a letter to your employer to request a transfer to another office. In the letter: – Explain why you would like to move – Request that your employer place you in a specific city – Request that it be completed by a certain date
• IELTS writing task 1 sample:: You live near a record shop that sells music, movies, and books. Write a letter to the shop asking if they have a few different items =you are looking for. – Ask what the prices are and if they can be orders – Ask when they would arrive and if you can have them held in advance.
• IELTS writing task 1 sample: You recently used a taxi and left some important documents there. Write a letter to the taxi manager and say: – Describe what you left and where it happened. – Why are these papers important? – What would you like the manager to do about it?

IELTS General Writing Task 1 Vocabulary to make a request

General task 1 informal letter samples and answers

• IELTS informal letter sample : Your sibling has sent you a letter asking for an update on your life. Write a letter to your sibling. In your letter: – Describe what you did for your last birthday – Ask for photos of your sibling’s last holiday – Talk about something you are looking forward to
• IELTS informal letter sample: Your best friend is moving back to your city after being o verseas for five years. Write a letter to convince your friend to move in with you. In the letter: – Explain how much you have missed your friend – Describe how you feel about your friend’s return – Give reasons that you and your friend should share a home
• IELTS informal letter sample: Write a letter to a pen pal. This can be your first letter or a letter you’re writing after knowing your pen pal for a long time. Include details you would normally include when writing to a pen pal in this situation.

IELTS General Writing Task 1 Vocabulary for informal letters

General Writing Task 1 sample answer to inform

A letter to inform is used whenever the sender (you) would like to inform the receiver of some information. The information you wish to convey could be related to just about anything. Below is a list of topics or concepts your letter may cover:

• Inform about a death/ engagement/ wedding/ special life event
• Inform about an acceptance or rejection of application
• Inform about the receipt of a document or package
• Inform about a current event

The purpose of an “inform” letter is to make sure that whatever important news the receiver has to get is clear and articulate. You want to ensure that your letter has a structure. This would include your introduction, your body and ultimately your conclusion.

The introduction- here you want to set up the conversation of the letter. This can include a greeting, an enquiry about how the receiver is doing and then depending on how well you know the receiver a brief introduction of who you are.

Example: Letter to inform about an upcoming wedding

Sample introduction:

This is Jill, we met at the art exhibition last year. I hope this email finds you well.

The body – Once the introduction is complete you need to write the reason for your “inform letter”.

Sample Body:

Jack and I engaged! I would love it so very much if you could make it to our wedding. You played a  huge role in us getting together and it only makes sense that you are part of the big day.

The conclusion – this section is where you close your letter. You can make any final requests or list any final requirements

Sample conclusion:

By the way , I lost all my contacts as my phone was stolen. This is my new number 123 456 789. I look forward to hearing back from you.

Your friend, Jill

For more help with your IELTS preparation , take a look at our tutorials:

• How to Plan and Write IELTS Task 1 Informal Letters In 20 Minutes
• IELTS Sample Letters – Band 9
• IELTS task 2
• IELTS academic task 1
• IELTS general task 1 recent questions
• IELTS sample general task 1 letter
• Take a look a the most recent IELTS general task 1 questions
• All you need to know about the IELTS writing exam

Another component for your IELTS writing success is lexical resource, here is an in-depth tutorial  to help you boost your essays.

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Take a look at our free IELTS sample task 1 GT letters ebook(PDF)

Frequently asked questions (faqs), how can i practice ielts letter writing.

First, look at examples. Then make a list of different types of letters (informal and formal) with appropriate vocabulary for each one. Try to memorize fixed expressions such as, I would really appreciate your help with this.

Is there letter writing in IELTS academic?

No, letter writing (often an email) is only in the IELTS General exam so no need to practice that if you are doing IELTS Academic. In IELTS General, it takes the place of the diagram, map or process in task 1.

What is a formal letter in IELTS?

This is a letter in which you might make a complaint or write an application (for a job or college place). You could also be giving advice, making a request or apologizing for something.

How can I get an 8 in IELTS writing general?

You’ll need to make sure your letter and essay answers are formal, fully address the task and contain hardly any grammar or word choice errors. There’s more information about getting band 8 here.

How do you write a general writing Task 1?

Make sure you practice different letter types – informal and formal and be clear about the purpose of your letter (an apology, responding to an invitation, asking for information). Use the correct phrases and set your letter out following a model.

How do I get my IELTS writing checked online?

If you are serious about improving,  IELTS writing essay correction  can give you feedback on your essays in 24h, getting your work corrected will help you identify errors (grammatical range and accuracy) and improve much faster. Raza jumped from 6.5 to 7.5 using this exact course

How long will this online course take?

If you have your IELTS test coming up soon, you can get complete everything, including the 9 essay corrections (both Task 1 & Task 2) included, within 10 days. However, we advise most students to allow a month so that they can properly review their IELTS essay corrections so as to get the most from them.

What is the success rate of the IELTS online course?

We have helped lots of students from around the world achieve their desired IELTS scores. Read our success stories here .

Your IELTS success story starts with the right tools, online converter helps to convert documents into various form. Try now!

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New IELTS Speaking questions from Taiwan – July 2024

• Recent IELTS exams

Our student from Taiwan took IELTS a few days ago and was asked these questions in her Speaking test:

Speaking test

Part 1 (Interview)

– What is your name? – Where do you live? – Do you work or study? – Do you like getting up early in the morning? – Do you find it difficult to wake up early in the morning? – What is the first thing you do when you wake up? – How long does it typically take you to get ready in the morning? – Let’s talk about sharing. – Do you share things with your friends? – What type of things do you share with friends? – Did your parents encourage you to share things? Why?

Part 2 (Cue Card)

Talk about someone who likes to cook for others. You should say

– who the person is – what kind of dishes he/she usually cooks – how often he/she cooks for others

and explain why you think he/she enjoys it.

Part 3 (Discussion)

– Do you like cooking? Why or why not? – Do you think that schools should teach students how to cook? – Why don’t many schools have cooking classes? – Why do many students learn cooking from TV shows? – Some people like to eat out. Why is that? – Should people eat meat? Why or why not?

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• Latest IELTS questions from Taiwan – April 2024 (Academic Module) Our student A has taken IELTS in Taiwan very recently...

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