IELTS Writing Class Task 2

IELTS Writing ClassTask 2 To what extent do you agree or disagree? (Opinion Essays) To what extent do you agree or disagree? This is one of the most common IELTS writing task 2 questions.

Many students fail to do well in this type of question because they do not have a clear opinion and they do not use an appropriate structure.

In this lesson we will look at:

Structure Deciding Opinion Idea Generation Writing Supporting Paragraphs Writing a ConclusionPractice

We will use a question from an IELTS past paper to help us understand the task.

Structure Paragraph 1- Introduction

Sentence 1- Paraphrase Question Sentence 2- Thesis Statement Sentence 3- Outline Statement

Paragraph 2- Supporting Paragraph 1

Sentence 1- Topic Sentence Sentence 2- Explain Topic Sentence Sentence 3- Example Sentence 4- Concession Sentence

Paragraph 3- Supporting Paragraph 2

Sentence 1- Topic Sentence Sentence 2- Explain Topic Sentence Sentence 3- Example Sentence 4- Concession Sentence

Paragraph 4- Conclusion

Sentence 1- Summary Sentence 2- Prediction or RecommendationMatch the sentences to the structure Every year several languages die out. Some people think that it is not important because life will be easier if there are fewer languages in the world.

To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion?

Deciding OpinionIn this essay IELTS examiners want you to give a clear opinion, so it's really important for you to make a decision when you read the question. You will also need to do this on order to write an effective thesis statement.

Let's look at an example:

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

To what extent do you agree or disagree?

With this type of essay we have two choices:

We agree with the statement We disagree with the statement

So for this essay you can say either:

It is agreed that governments should tax fast foodIt is disagreed that governments should tax fast food

Idea GenerationNow we have to think of ideas.

There are 5 ways we could do this:

Brainstorm Mind Map Five Questions MethodCommon Topic Familiarisation Coffee Shop Method

Now try one method for the question below

Most high-level positions in companies are filled by men even though the workforce in many developed countries is more than 50 percent female. Companies should be required to allocate a certain percentage of these positions to women. Do you agree?

Idea Generation Reasons why companies should be required to allocate a certain percentage of high-level positions to women:

Equal pay for equal performanceWomen can bring qualities to work place that men do not haveWomen currently outperform men at universityA balance of genders leads to higher productivity and a more harmonious workplace

Reasons why companies should not be required to allocate a certain percentage of high-level positions to women:

Certain jobs require skills only men havePositions should be allocated to people on merit not genderWomen can take large amounts of time off to have children

We don't need to use all of these, just two for our supporting paragraphs. Remember the examiner wants you to fully support your arguments, not just list a lot of ideas. Pick the ones you feel comfortable talking about.

Now we have two supporting ideas we can move on to our introduction.

Supporting Paragraph 1 Supporting Paragraph 1 This paragraph should include: Topic SentenceExplanation Example Concession

Topic Sentence A topic sentence tells the examiner what the rest of the paragraph is about. In other words, it is a summary of your first idea.

It should look something like this:

Despite years of so called equal rights for women in the work place they continue to be underpaid.

ExplanationWe now need to expand on this point a little. A good way of doing this is to assume that the examiner has no knowledge of this subject and you have to explain clearly what you mean.

Here is what this could look like:

Many women who do exactly the same job as their male colleagues earn less money and this is unfair.ExampleWe should now think of an example to support our point. Think about any recent news stories, studies or adverts. If you can't think of one, make one up. The examiner won't check if it is real or not.

For example, a recent survey of accountancy and legal firms in the United Kingdom found that women earn on average 17% less than men with identical roles.ConcessionWe have now fully supported our first point and the last thing we need to do is write a concession statement. This statement shows that there may be a counter argument or limits to your point. A concession statement demonstrates that you have thought about the other side of the argument, thus making your argument stronger.

It could look something like this: However, this may be due to women taking maternity leave and falling behind their male counterparts.The full paragraph should look like this:

Despite years of so called equal rights for women in the work place they continue to be underpaid. Many women who do exactly the same job as their male colleagues earn less money and this is unfair. For example, a recent survey of accountancy and legal firms in the United Kingdom found that women earn on average 17% less than men with identical roles. However, this may be due to women taking maternity leave and falling behind their male counterparts.Supporting Paragraph 2Now try it yourself with the second supporting paragraph. Example This unfairness is compounded by the fact that females are currently getting higher grades in most university courses. Even previously male dominated fields, such as law and medicine, now see women in the ascendency and they should therefore be rewarded with top roles. For example, females recently outperformed males for the first time in law in U.K. universities. Despite this, employers should bear in mind that roles should be handed out on merit, not gender alone.ConclusionAs stated before a good conclusion should include:

Sentence 1- Summary of main points and opinionSentence 2- Prediction or Recommendation

Don't write any new ideas in this paragraph. A summary should just restate your thesis statement and your main supporting points.

Prediction or Recommendation Finally, we should make a prediction or recommendation based on what we have already discussed. This shows the examiner that you have really understood the question and the points you have been making. Finally, it is predicted that with the ever increasing health problems associated with obesity, governments are sure to introduce some kind of 'fat tax' in the near future.

Try writing a conclusion for the essay I give youExampleIn conclusion, junk food should be taxed at a higher rate because of the good precedent set by alcohol and tobacco and the fact that the increased cost should reduce the amount of fast food people buy.

Your TurnSome people believe that unpaid community service should be a compulsory part of high school programmes (for example working for a charity, improving the neighborhood or teaching sports to younger children).

To what extent do you agree of disagree?

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