IELTS Writing Task 2: Question Types and How to Answer Each

IELTS Writing Task 2 gives you a point of view, an argument or a problem, and asks you to write an essay of at least 250 words in response, in about 40 minutes. It is the more important of the two Writing tasks: IELTS.org states that Task 2 contributes twice as much as Task 1 to the Writing score. Task 2 prompts can be grouped into a handful of shapes, and recognising the shape tells you what a complete answer has to contain.

The official pages describe the skills Task 2 tests rather than naming fixed question types, so the five shapes below are a practical grouping of what prompts ask you to do. Each comes with an example prompt and a model plan written for this article. For the Writing test as a whole, including Task 1 and the four criteria, see our IELTS Writing guide.

What Task 2 asks for

The task is the same length and timing in both versions of IELTS, with a slightly different focus:

• IELTS Academic. You discuss the most relevant issues of a given topic in an academic or semi-formal, neutral style. The official format page says the task may ask you to present a solution to a problem, present and justify an opinion, compare and contrast evidence, opinions and implications, or evaluate and challenge ideas, evidence or an argument.
• IELTS General Training. You write a semi-formal or neutral discursive essay on a topic of general interest. The official format page gives examples such as whether children's leisure activities should be educational, how environmental problems can be solved, and whether smoking should be banned in public places.

In both, the rules are the same: at least 250 words, full connected sentences rather than notes or bullet points, no copying, and a response that stays on the topic you were given. The Academic page makes the point with an example: if the question is about one aspect of computers, write about that aspect, not about computers in general.

How Task Response is judged

Task 2 is marked on Task Response, Coherence and Cohesion, Lexical Resource, and Grammatical Range and Accuracy. According to the official key assessment criteria, Task Response looks at:

• how fully you respond to the task;
• how adequately your main ideas are extended and supported;
• how relevant your ideas are to the task;
• how clearly you open the essay, establish your position and formulate conclusions;
• how appropriate the format of the response is to the task.

The band descriptors show how much depends on answering every part. At band 7, "the main parts of the prompt are appropriately addressed" and "a clear and developed position is presented." At band 6, the main parts are addressed "though some may be more fully covered than others", and conclusions "may be unclear, unjustified or repetitive." At band 5, "the main parts of the prompt are incompletely addressed" and the writer's position is expressed, "but the development is not always clear." That is why the first job in Task 2 is not writing but reading the question.

Five question shapes

1. Opinion: agree or disagree

Example prompt (written for this article): Some people believe that university education should be free for every student. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

What a full answer needs: a clear position on the statement, held from the introduction to the conclusion. "To what extent" allows a partial position, such as agreeing with conditions, but it must still be one position, not a list of both sides with no decision.

Thesis: I largely agree that university education should be free, because it widens access to opportunity, although I believe students should still contribute through public service or a later tax on high earnings.

Plan: Paragraph 1 — free tuition removes cost as a barrier for capable students from low-income families. Paragraph 2 — society as a whole benefits from a better-educated workforce. Paragraph 3 — the limit of my agreement: some contribution keeps the system sustainable. Conclusion — restate the qualified position.

2. Discuss both views and give your opinion

Example prompt: Some people think that children should start learning a foreign language at primary school, while others believe they should wait until secondary school. Discuss both views and give your own opinion.

What a full answer needs: three things, not two. Explain the first view, explain the second view fairly, and state which you support. Leaving out your opinion, or tucking it into the last line, means one main part of the prompt is under-covered.

Thesis: While there are reasonable arguments for waiting until secondary school, I believe an early start is more effective, provided lessons focus on speaking and listening rather than grammar.

Plan: Paragraph 1 — the case for waiting: older children understand grammar better and already have a firm grasp of their first language. Paragraph 2 — the case for starting early: young children imitate sounds easily and are less afraid of making mistakes. Paragraph 3 — my view and the condition attached to it. Conclusion.

3. Advantages and disadvantages

Example prompt: More and more people now work from home rather than in an office. Do the advantages of this development outweigh the disadvantages?

What a full answer needs: read the instruction exactly. "Discuss the advantages and disadvantages" asks you to cover both. "Do the advantages outweigh the disadvantages?" adds a judgement: you must say which side is heavier and why.

Thesis: Although working from home can isolate employees and blur the line between work and private life, I believe its advantages, above all the time saved on commuting and greater control over the working day, outweigh these drawbacks.

Plan: Paragraph 1 — the disadvantages: isolation from colleagues and longer working hours. Paragraph 2 — the advantages: no commute and a more flexible day. Paragraph 3 — why the advantages weigh more, and how employers can reduce the drawbacks. Conclusion.

4. Problem and solution, or cause and solution

Example prompt: In many cities, traffic congestion is getting worse. What are the main causes of this problem, and what measures could be taken to solve it?

What a full answer needs: both halves, each developed. It is easy to spend most of the essay on causes and add a single sentence of solutions at the end; avoid that. Ideally, each solution responds to one of the causes you described.

Thesis: Congestion is mainly caused by a growing reliance on private cars and by public transport that does not meet people's needs, so the most effective measures are those that make the alternatives faster and more convenient than driving.

Plan: Paragraph 1 — causes: more private cars, and bus and rail services that are slow or poorly connected. Paragraph 2 — solutions linked to each cause: dedicated bus lanes and better connections, and charges or limits on driving into the centre. Conclusion — which measure matters most.

5. Two-part or direct questions

Example prompt: Many people today choose to live alone. Why is this the case? Is this a positive or a negative development?

What a full answer needs: an answer to each question, in order, with roughly equal weight. A good habit is to give each question its own body paragraph so the examiner can see that both have been addressed.

Thesis: People increasingly live alone because they marry later and can afford independence, and I see this as a largely positive development, as long as communities offer ways to stay connected.

Plan: Paragraph 1 — why: later marriage and greater financial independence. Paragraph 2 — whether it is positive: more freedom and personal growth, against the risk of loneliness. Conclusion — answer both questions in one or two sentences.

One plan for all five shapes

Whatever the shape, the same steps keep an essay complete:

1. Underline the instruction words. "To what extent", "discuss both views", "outweigh", "causes and solutions", "why … is it positive" each set different requirements.
2. Count the parts. Write down how many things the prompt asks for, and make sure each has a home in your plan.
3. Decide your position before you write. If the prompt asks for an opinion, your introduction should state it and your conclusion should repeat it.
4. Give each body paragraph one main idea. State it, explain it and support it with an example, which the official format pages say can come from your own experience.
5. Leave a few minutes to check. Look for missing words, wrong word forms and sentences that do not connect to the one before.

What lowers a Task 2 score

• Answering only part of the prompt. At band 5 the main parts are "incompletely addressed".
• No clear position, or a position that changes. At band 4 the descriptors say "a position is discernible, but the reader has to read carefully to find it."
• Ideas that are listed but not developed. Task Response asks how adequately your main ideas are extended and supported, so one idea explained well beats three ideas mentioned.
• Writing about the general topic instead of the question. Relevance is part of Task Response, and off-topic writing is penalised.
• Memorised phrases. The descriptors list inappropriate use of memorised phrases and formulaic language among the features of band 4 responses.
• Too short, or in note form. Fewer than 250 words may not give enough evidence for higher bands, and notes or bullet points are penalised.

How to practise Task 2

Write full essays to time rather than collecting model answers: reading a sample essay shows you a finished product, but only your own writing shows you where your marks go. Practise planning quickly, and practise each of the five shapes so that none of them catches you out on the day. Since IELTS Academic is delivered on computer, type your essays unless you know you will be using the Writing on Paper option.

The fastest progress comes from feedback on your own essays, followed by a rewrite. In our online IELTS course, a live group course in small classes, your tutor checks your weekly Writing homework and gives you feedback; in one-to-one IELTS tutoring, your essays are gone through against the four criteria. To see how your Writing compares with the other three skills under real timing, start with the free diagnostic test on our IELTS practice tests page.

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