Types of Essays in IELTS Writing Task 2

IELTS Writing Task 2 in both the IELTS Academic and General Training is a compulsory section with one essay writing question. The essay topics could be of any general interest based on environmental problems, improving educational activities for children, if smoking in public places should be banned, who should take financial care of old people, and many more.

The section evaluates your English writing proficiency based on your ability to respond by giving and justifying an opinion, discussing a topic, summarizing details, outlining problems, identifying possible solutions, and supporting your writing with reasons, arguments, and relevant examples from your knowledge or experience. The word limit for the section is a minimum of 250 words. You are penalized for writing less than 250 words but will not be penalized for crossing the word limit. The task should be completed in 40 minutes.

The questions for IELTS Writing Task 2 are fairly general and cover a wide range of topics. While preparing for this section, it becomes important to understand and practice all the types of essays given in the IELTS Task 2. The applicants need to focus and prepare essays on various topics to make it easy to write a winning essay on the examination day. Let’s have a look at different types of essays in IELTS Academic Writing Task 2 and IELTS General Training Writing Task 2.

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IELTS Academic Writing Task 2

Here are the different types of essays in IELTS Academic Writing Task 2 that will help you understand the pattern and format.

1. Discussion Essay
2. Opinion Essay
3. Multi-part Essay
4. Multi-part and Opinion Essay
5. Positive/Negative Essay
6. Cause/Solution Essay
7. Advantage/Disadvantage Essay

Discussion Essay

In discussion essays, you get a question with opposing views, where you have to discuss both sides of an statements and give supporting points. Start with mentioning general opinions on both the views based on what others think about it. You can state your personal opinion only if you are asked to do so. 

The easiest way to approach this type of IELTS Task 2 question is to choose one point of view to agree with and disagree with the other. For this, you need to understand the question well and then draft the essay  in such a way that it does justice to both the sides. This is up to you to decide whether you agree with the statement or not. Example: Many consider television is good for students, while some think it is a bad influence. Here, you need to speak for both the sides and finally pen down your opinion. The structure of the discussion essay looks like the following:

• Introduction stating both the views
• Paragraph A with opinion of others on one view
• Paragraph B with opinion of others on another view
• Conclusion Summarizing both the sides and ending with a personal opinion (Only if asked) 

IELTS Opinion Essay

The opinion essay is the most common type of IELTS Task 2 question. Here, the question will be presented with a particular opinion. you need to either agree or disagree with the opinion and provide your their opinion based on relevant information, ideas, and experience. This is also an argumentative essay where the opinions are discussed, and contrary statements are also produced. There should be suitable reasons behind agreeing or disagreeing with the particular opinion in the question. It is important to discuss both views, from agreeing to disagreeing points of view, and then end the essay with your opinion. Example: A big salary is much more important than job satisfaction. Do you agree? Do you disagree? What is your opinion? This is a highly scoring type of essay, but it is essential to understand the question and then present a relevant opinion with the support of evidence and ideas. The following is the structure of the opinion essay:

• Introduction paraphrasing the question and stating your opinion
• Paragraph A with no topic sentence but a core idea
• Paragraph B with the expansion and supporting examples of the core idea stated in paragraph A
• Conclude with your final thought or opinion on the question 

Multi-Part Essay

In the multi-part essay type, you get one statement followed by two different questions. These questions may or may not be linked. This essay type is known as two question or direct-question essay. Below is the structure of the multi-part essay:

• Introduction paraphrasing the question and highlighting the sentences that answer the two questions
• Paragraph A answering the first question with a topic sentence, explanation, and supporting examples
• Paragraph B answering the second question with a topic sentence, explanation, and supporting examples
• Conclusion highlighting the key points of both the answers 

Multi-part and Opinion Essay

In the multi-part and opinion essay type, you get one statement followed by two questions. You are expected to analyze both questions and state your opinion. The following easy structure needs to be considered while answering this question:

• Introduction paraphrasing the main idea and highlighting the answers to both the questions
• Paragraph A explaining the first answer with supporting examples
• Paragraph B explaining the second answer with supporting examples
• Conclusion stating your opinion on the questions 

Advantage and Disadvantage Essay

• An advantage and disadvantage essay type is  also a two-part essay, also a two-part essay, where you need to enlist all the advantages and disadvantages of a particular thing, event, or situation. given in the statement. It is essential to understand the question; only then will candidates be able to note down all the perks and drawbacks of a certain sentence. For example, a topic like “Some people think it is good to take a year gap before joining the university.” Write the advantages and disadvantages of this statement. Here, you are not supposed to write your own opinion, or agree or disagree with the statement. It is an informative essay where you discuss the advantages and disadvantages of a particular event or thing. Make sure the points are valid for both sides. The question type could be any of the following three categories where:
• you have to write advantages and disadvantages only.
• you have to decide whether the number of advantages outweighs the number of disadvantages or vice versa.
• you have to write advantages and disadvantages along with stating your opinion.

Also, when writing the advantage and disadvantage type of essay, the below essay structure needs to be followed:

• Introduction rephrasing the question and highlighting the view points from there
• Paragraph A mentioning one or two advantage(s) along with a detailed explanation and one example
• Paragraph B mentioning one or two disadvantage(s) along with a detailed explanation and one example
• Conclusion highlighting the key takeaways and your opinion

Positive and Negative Essay

The positive and negative essay type gives a general statement followed by a question, where you have to write if the given statement is a positive or negative development. Understand the context well to answer this question type. Given below is the easy structure that will help you build a strong essay:

• Introduction paraphrasing the statement and stating your opinion on whether it is negative or positive
• Paragraph A highlighting the positive aspect of the statement along with the explanation and a supporting example
• Paragraph B highlighting the negative aspect of the statement along with the explanation and a supporting example
• Conclusion mentioning the key points and stating whether it is positive or negative

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Cause and Solution Essay

A cause and solution essay  types give you a question stating a problem. Here, you are expected to mention the causes of a certain situation or event, along with all the solutions or precautions to avoid such problems. You must analyze and interpret the statement to find the causes and then think of unique and competitive ideas that can stop or prevent those problems For instance, pollution has drastically increased with more and more people switching to personal vehicles. What are the other causes of pollution? Discuss the solutions to overcome the problem of pollution.

Follow the below-mentioned essay structure for cause and solution type of essay in IELTS Writing Task 2:

• Introduction paraphrasing the problem statement given in the question
• Paragraph A mentioning the problem or cause, along with its explanation and supporting example
• Paragraph B mentioning the solution, along with its explanation and supporting example
• Conclusion mentioning the key points and your opinion 

IELTS General Training Writing Task 2

Here are the different types of essays in IELTS General Training Writing Task 2 that will help you understand the pattern and format.

1. Discussion Essay
2. Opinion Essay
3. Two-part Questions Essay

Discussion Essay

The discussion essay type in the IELTS General Writing Task 2 comes with a statement with two opposing view points. It is the same as the discussion essay question of IELTS Academic Writing Task 2. Here too, you need to speak on both sides and finally pen down your opinion. The structure of the discussion essay looks like the following:

• Introduction mentioning both the views
• Paragraph A with opinions of others on one view
• Paragraph B with opinions of others on another view
• Conclusion with your personal opinion 

Opinion Essay  

The opinion essay type question in IELTS General Writing Task 2 comes with a statement where you are expected to provide your opinion on the statement. Your opinion must be based on relevant information, ideas, and experience. The following is the structure of the opinion essay: 

• Introduction paraphrasing the question and stating your opinion
• Paragraph A with no topic sentence but a core idea
• Paragraph B with the expansion and supporting examples of the core idea stated in paragraph A
• Conclusion with your final thought or opinion on the question 

Two-Part Questions Essay

The two-part question essay type comes with two questions, and you must answer both questions. In this question, you need to understand what requires your focus before answering it. Your response depends on your understanding of the following three categories of task type:

• Cause + effect
• Cause + opinion
• Cause + solution  

Here is the essay structure for constructing a response toward the two-part essay type:

• Introduction paraphrasing the question and highlighting the sentences that answer the two questions
• Paragraph A answering the first question with a topic sentence, explanation, and supporting examples
• Paragraph B answering the second question with a topic sentence, explanation, and supporting examples
• Conclusion mentioning the key points of both the answers 

Keys Tips to Prepare for IELTS Writing Task 2

Here are a few tips that will help you answer each type of essay that appears in IELTS Writing Task 2:

1. Practice reading the English newspaper’s editorial section to gain a good knowledge of vocabulary and grammar.
2. Practice listening to English news channels daily for a better understanding of topics that need your agreement or disagreement.
3. Note your keywords while reading the essay questions, and then plan to write your thoughts clearly. This will help in better time management and avoid any confusion.
4. Practice as many sample papers as your can before attempting the IELTS exam. This will help you gain experience and improve your writing speed and accuracy. 
5. While solving the sample papers, keep a watch and track your time so that you can manage reading, attempting, and revising the question within 40 minutes.

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