So what do you need to do?

Look at this example:

Learning English at school is often seen as more important than

learning local languages. If these are not taught, many are at risk of
dying out.
In your opinion, is it important for everyone to learn English?
Should we try to ensure the survival of local languages and, if so,
how?

Let’s first look at the key words in the initial statement. It’s a good
idea to circle or underline the key words as you read:

Learning English at school is often seen as more important than

learning local languages. If these are not taught, many are at
risk of dying out.

The first thing to notice here is that the question is asking about two
things – learning English and learning and preserving local
languages. This is clearly spelt out in the instructions that follow, but
it’s important to keep in mind from the start. When you are writing
your introduction and when you are planning what to say in the
body of your essay, you need to make sure that you include
discussion of both English and local languages, and don’t focus all
your attention on one or the other.

The second key point here is that some people think learning
English is more important. You are not only being asked if you think
learning English is a good idea or not. The question is asking about
the relative importance given to each.

The third key phrase is about many local languages dying out. What
does this mean? Is it true? It is unlikely that it is referring to major
languages like Mandarin Chinese, Spanish, Hindi etc. with
hundreds of millions or even billions of speakers. So, in your essay
you should consider what types of local language may be at risk
and why.

Next, let’s look at the questions:

In your opinion, is it important for everyone to learn
English? Should we try to ensure the survival of local
languages and, if so, how?

As you can see, there are a number of parts to the question and to
score well for Task Response, you must answer all of them. That
means you have to:

 State your opinion about whether or not you feel everyone

should learn English
 State your opinion about preserving local languages (and as
mentioned above, make it clear what you mean by local
languages)
 If your opinion is that local languages should be protected,
how can this be achieved? You need to propose at least one
or two solutions.

Finally, let’s look at the part of the question that is the same in every
IELTS Task 2 question, the sentence telling you to ‘give reasons for
your answer, and include examples from your own knowledge or
experience’. We will look at giving reasons in more detail in the next
steps, but it’s a good idea to think about examples from your own
knowledge or experience right at the start. It may only be one
sentence in the final essay, but it can make a difference.

Now look at this Task 2 question:

Rising university fees and limited employment prospects for

graduates have led some people to say that universities should not
teach arts subjects, like philosophy and history, and only offer
practical degree courses that maximise chances of employment. To
what extent do you agree or disagree?
In Step 2.4, you analysed this question:

In your opinion, is it important for everyone to learn English?

Should we try to ensure the survival of local languages and, if so,
how?

The first part of that question is something that most people will
have an opinion on, so it should be quite easy for you to decide how
you feel about it. Possible answers could include:

 Yes everyone should learn English. (Why?)

 Yes everyone should learn at least some English. (Why?)
 Yes it’s important for some people but not for everyone. (Why
only some people?)
 No it’s not important for everyone to learn English. (Why not?)

The second part of the question asks if you feel we should protect
local languages. Possible answers could include:

 Yes we should always protect all local languages. (Why?)

 We should protect some local languages. (Why?)
 We should not protect local languages. (Why not?)

By answering these questions right at the start, the next steps of

generating ideas, evidence and examples will be much easier.

How would you answer these two questions? Tell us in the

comments and give your reasons. Try to explain your reasons
as fully as you can.

Practise making a plan with your own ideas, opinions,

evidence and examples.

In Step 2.6, we looked at the following opinion question, and asked

you to think of and share your own ideas to answer each part of it.
Learning English at school is often seen as more important than
learning local languages. If these are not taught, many are at risk of
dying out.
In your opinion, is it important for everyone to learn English?
Should we try to ensure the survival of local languages and, if so,
how?

Between your own ideas and all the ones shared by other learners,
you should have plenty to say on this topic by now! In this step you
are going to use those ideas to create a complete plan, from
introduction to conclusion, including supporting arguments and any
examples from your own knowledge or experience. Remember, you
don’t need lots of points to discuss, just a few that you can explore
and expand on fully. You are not going to write the essay now - we
will look at building good paragraphs and writing strong
introductions and conclusions later in the course - but you are going
to decide exactly how you would answer.

To make your plan:

1. Analyse the question.

2. Decide on your personal response. If it’s an opinion
question, do you agree, disagree or a little of both? If it’s a
problem / solution essay, what solution would you propose?
3. Think of ideas that you might include in your essay.
4. Choose the ideas you think are best or that you think you
would have most to say about. Remember, the examiner is
not interested in a long list of ideas. They are interested in
how well you express and explore a few. And if you include
irrelvant points that do not answer the question it will
negatively affect your score.
5. Explore these ideas further by
asking why, how, who, what and where questions and thinking
of evidence and examples to support them.
6. Organise your points into paragraphs with a logical
structure. Look for connections and examples so you can
group related ideas together in the same paragraph.
That’s it! If you follow these steps you should have a clear plan with
all your key ideas arranged in paragraphs, each with supporting
arguments, evidence and / or examples. Use the following
structure:

1. Introduction
2. Body paragraph 1
3. Body paragraph 2
4. Conclusion

Share your plan for the question above in the comments

below, then read other people’s plans and comment on any
you find useful or interesting.

Supporting sentences

Now look at what the other sentences in the paragraph do.

1. This sentence explains the topic sentence and gives examples

of where the pressure comes from. Expression like In other
words …, What I mean by this is …, What this means is
…, This means … are good ways to start this kind of
sentence.
2. This sentence gives an example of a possible
consequence. The result is … or As a result … can be used
for this. We’ll look at more examples in the next step.
3. Finally, this sentence adds some more serious possible
consequences. It finishes the paragraph off neatly by
repeating the word conform from the topic sentence.

4. Here is another example from the same essay. Read it and try
to write a topic sentence that sums up the main idea, and
follows on from the topic sentence in the previous paragraph:
5. ____________ (1) What I mean by this is that children are
being tested on their learning more frequently and at a
younger age. (2) Constant testing makes children anxious
about school and children who are not suited to academic
 study feel inadequate when they take exams and then fail. (3)
Instead of helping children’s minds grow, the education
system has become the cause of many mental health
problems in the young today.
6. Finally, notice how similar the structure is to the first
paragraph. In general, it is a good idea to practise structuring
paragraphs that start with a topic sentence, then have three or
four sentences that give examples, provide evidence, give
explanations and reasons or describe consequences or
results. As with any skill, the more you consciously practise
this in your own writing, the easier it will become. We will
practise this more in Step 2.14.
7. Cohesive devices
8. 20 comments
9. A look at what is meant by cohesive devices in the IELTS
assessment criteria, why they’re important, how to use
them and what to avoid.
10. A good essay takes the reader on a journey and leads
them from your introduction, through each of your arguments,
to your conclusion. Like any journey though, it can be easy to
get lost along the way. And that’s where cohesive devices
come in. They are like signposts that link sentences and
paragraphs together or signal to the reader what is coming
next. These include:
11. Linking words

FUNCTION Linking words and phrases

Adding similar ideas in addition, furthermore, moreover

in contrast, on the other hand, on the

Contrasting ideas
contrary, although, however
FUNCTION Linking words and phrases

Giving examples or evidence for example, for instance

Explaining results as a result, for this reason, consequently

firstly, secondly, next, to begin with,

Sequencing
finally

Providing explanations owing to, because of, due to

Drawing conclusions in conclusion, to sum up

in my opinion, from my point of view, to

Introducing your opinion
my mind, it seems to me that …

12. There are many more linking words and you can find a
complete guide and more practice activities on Step 2.17.
You can also test yourself in the next step.
13. One important point to remember though, is not to
overuse linking words. Sometimes people get carried away
and add them to almost every sentence. It’s not just that this is
unnecessary, it actually makes your writing worse. It is
unnatural and repetitive and shows a lack of flexibility and
 control in your use of other devices and complex structures. In
fact, overuse of linking words will result in a lower band score.
Look at the descriptors for Band 5 and Band 7:
14. Band 5 - makes inadequate, inaccurate or over-use of
cohesive devices
Band 7 - uses a range of cohesive devices appropriately
although there may be some under-/over-use
15. So as you can see, overuse of linking words can be just
as bad as not using them enough, and can result in a lower
band score.
16. Referencing and substitution
17. Cohesion does not only come from linking devices. Look
at this band descriptor for Band 5:
18. Band 5 - may be repetitive because of lack of
referencing and substitution
19. Referencing means using words
like this, that, these, those, they, them, the former, the
latter and so on, to refer back to things you have mentioned
earlier. Look at these examples:
20. It is now much easier to move to other countries to
find work, and this leads to better employment
prospects for individuals.
21. This refers back to the fact that it is easier to move to
other countries. Without it the sentence would read:
22. It is now much easier to move to other countries to
find work, and the fact that it is much easier to move
to other countries leads to better employment
prospects for individuals.
23. As you can see, the second sentence is clumsy and
repetitive.
24. Substitution just means saying the same thing in a
different way. It helps cohesion because you are again
referring back to something you said earlier, but without
repeating yourself. You can often substitute one expression
for a group of several similar things you have just mentioned.
Look at this example:
25. I suggest that every student should have instruction
in philosophy, history or other arts subjects because
learning critical thinking skills, and developing a wide
background knowledge, will benefit them enormously in
 later life. In addition to this general training, we need
specialist graduates.
26. How do you feel about linking words, referencing
and substitution? Is it something you think about in your
writing? Were any of the examples in this step new to
you? Tell us in the comments.

Most people accept that we now live in a globalised world but

not everyone agrees that this is beneficial. To what extent is
globalisation a positive or negative development?

Globalisation is here to stay, driven by advances in information

technology and resulting in scientific, technological and economic
progress and increased international trade and investment. It has
had wide-ranging positive and negative effects on employment and
economic development, scientific research, language and culture,
and the environment.

One positive result of globalisation is the global distribution of

labour. It is now much easier to move to other countries to find
work, and this leads to better employment prospects for individuals
and to more diverse workplaces. In addition, capital and industrial
resources have migrated to developing countries, thus providing
local jobs and boosting local economies. It has also resulted in
greater contact between different cultures, as travel has become
relatively safer and less expensive than it used to be. Ease of
communication has encouraged an unprecedented level of global
scientific research and cooperation, and a subsequent explosion of
knowledge and information.
———————————————————————————–

Negatives:

Global economy – problems affect everyone – global financial crisis

started in USA – like virus.

Culture and language – becoming all the same English vs. other
languages
Growth in developing countries – pollution – global warming.

A downside of this global economy is that when a catastrophe occurs, as in the recent global
financial crisis that started in the USA, it affects the whole world. Similarly, when a virus emerges in
one region of the world, it spreads rapidly, threatening worldwide health. Globalisation affects
culture and language, too; minority languages are dying out because of the necessity of learning
English for international business, and indigenous cultures are being rejected in favour of a
dominant, often USA-based, culture. Finally, levels of pollution are rising as countries strive for
economic growth and a competitive edge in the global market.

———————————————————————————–

In conclusion, globalisation is a double-edged sword that has

created jobs and promoted international cooperation but has led to
cultural losses, more environmental damage, increased health risks
and exposure to economic crises. However, our world will continue
to shrink as technology expands, and we need to accept
globalisation as a fact of life in the 21st century.

There is no simple list of topics for IELTS Writing. Almost anything

can come up. However, if you look through sample test papers you
will notice that some topics occur more often than others. Some of
the more popular topics and questions include:

Health and healthcare issues – questions on government

spending, private medicine, diet, exercise, obesity, smoking

Education – the role of education at different life stages, private

versus public education, overseas study, the relevance of different
subjects, discipline, gender differences, lifelong learning

Tourism – benefits and disadvantages, environmental impact,

cultural impact, impact on popular destinations

Transport – congestion, pollution, public transport, role of

government
Technology – effects on society, families and individuals, children
and the internet/smartphones, availability to all/cost

Environment – global warming, alternative energy, personal vs.

government responsibility, activism, habitat destruction

Social issues – crime, inequality, poverty, homelessness, gender

relations, population growth

Remember, you are not expected to be an expert in any of these

areas, just to have a general knowledge and awareness of them.

How to learn and remember useful

vocabulary
119 comments

In this step we’re going to look at how you can widen your
vocabulary range and find useful, less common or specialised
vocabulary which may help in your essay writing.

Remember, this is not about becoming an expert in any of the

subjects discussed in the previous step. It’s about being able to
learn and correctly use the right words and expressions to
communicate your ideas clearly, and being able to use some topic-
specific vocabulary where appropriate.

Where to find new vocabulary

The single best way to improve your vocabulary is by reading. Yes,

you can find long lists of ‘IELTS vocabulary’ or ‘Academic word lists’
online, but that is much less effective than reading online
newspapers or magazines and seeing the language used in
context. Remember, Band 7 says, ‘uses less common lexical items
with some awareness of style and collocation.’ That is not
something you can learn from a word list, but it is something you
can learn by reading a good English-language newspaper online.
If you’re not keen on reading articles, you can also use online
videos to learn. Websites like TED-Ed have lots of short, academic
videos on topics like health, education, technology and the
environment, all with subtitles and practice activities.

Perhaps the most important thing is to find the sources that are right
for you. You’re much more likely to keep reading or watching if
you’re genuinely interested in or enjoy something. You can find
more links to useful websites on Step 3.19.

How to learn and remember new vocabulary

 Be selective. Don’t try to learn too much at one time. When

you find expressions that you think are useful, record them in
a notebook or on your phone.
 Always record new words in context, not on their
own. This will help you to remember and will also help you
use them correctly in future.
 Use new vocabulary as soon as possible. If you read an
interesting article on tourism, for example, find an IELTS
writing task on the same subject and try using the new
vocabulary straight away.
 Use spaced repetition. It’s not enough to use new
vocabulary once then move on, and it’s not good to repeat it
over and over again in one day. Use it as soon as you can,
then again the next day, then a few days later and so on until
you remember it easily.

Step 3.19 also has links to more tips and tools to help you with
this.

Where do you find new vocabulary? How do you record, revise

and practise it? Do you find it easy or difficult to learn new
vocabulary? Tell us in the comments and share any useful tips
or resources of your own.

The art of the introduction

185 comments

A step-by-step guide on how to write a great introduction.

It may seem strange to speak about the introduction after looking at

so many other steps in writing an essay, but there is a good reason
for that. The introduction may be the shortest paragraph in your
essay, but it is a crucial one to get right. For any reader, including
the examiner, it’s the first impression they will get of your essay. It
will set the context of what you are writing about, indicate how you
are going to respond to the task and give them an idea of what to
expect.

A good introduction should be quite short. It has to achieve three

things, and in general three to four sentences is all you need to do
that. These are the things you want your introduction to do:

1. Outline the topic and give context for your answer. This
involves stating in your own words what the situation or problem is,
then adding any necessary details or examples to illustrate or clarify
it. One or two sentences is all you need for this.
2. Restate the question in your own words. For example, if the
question asks you ‘What are the advantages and
disadvantages?’ you might write something like, ‘This has brought
many benefits to society, but it has also created a number of
problems’.
3. Depending on the question type, the final sentence of your
introduction might state what your opinion is, explain what you
plan to do in the rest of the essay, or ask a new question which
you will go on and answer, such as ‘what does this mean for the
future of education?’

It should be clear now why we waited until after we had looked at

how you decide on the content and organisation of your essay
before talking about the introduction. A good introduction should
reflect these things – basically, you need to know where you are
going yourself before you can tell people. Once you do, and you
practise writing introductions which strictly follow the pattern above,
it will become easier and easier to get it right.
Let’s look at a couple of examples.

It is important to ensure that children with a wide range of

abilities and from a variety of social backgrounds mix with
each other at school. To what extent do you agree or disagree.

I most definitely agree with this statement, and I am convinced that

if more people would share this agreement, many of today’s
problems could be avoided and, under the risk of sounding candid,
the world would be a better place.

This introduction shows some good lexical resource, and the

grammar and sentence construction are good. But it is not a good
introduction. Why not? It misses out the first step we outlined
above. It gives no context at all. It starts straight in by saying ‘I
agree’. But agree with what? Your essay needs to stand alone -
anyone should be able to pick it up without seeing the question,
read your introduction and immediately know what the topic is.

Now look at this example.

Solar energy is becoming more and more popular as a source

of household energy in many countries around the world. Why
is this? What are the advantages and disadvantages of solar
energy?

Solar power as a source of domestic household energy is

becoming more desirable because many individuals and
governments are concerned that burning fossil fuels adds carbon to
the atmosphere and thus accelerates global warming and climate
change. Others feel that nuclear power is potentially unsafe, and do
not like its associated pollution from radioactive waste. Therefore,
many researchers and consumers have looked at alternative
sources of energy and have found that solar power has many
benefits and few drawbacks.

This is a strong introduction. It clearly outlines the topic in the first

sentence and responds to the question ‘why’. It then paraphrases
the question by saying ‘solar power has many benefits and few
drawbacks’. It would be clear to anyone reading this what the essay
is about and what to expect - a discussion of these benefits and
drawbacks.

Try to write a better introduction for the first example above.

Follow the steps we discussed, write three to four sentences,
and share them in the comments below. Read and comment on
each other’s introductions.

How to finish: writing a strong

conclusion
75 comments

A guide on how to write a simple, clear and effective

conclusion for any essay.

A good conclusion is just as important for an effective essay as a

strong introduction. Like the introduction, it does not need to be very
long – two to three sentences is generally enough. In the same way
that the introduction is partly about first impressions, the conclusion
is the last thing the reader will see and can affect their view of the
whole essay. An essay without a conclusion is effectively unfinished
and will feel unsatisfactory to any reader.

So what makes an effective conclusion? A good conclusion should:

 not be more than two to three sentences long

 briefly summarise your main points
 bring the essay to a clear, satisfying end
 not introduce any new ideas or arguments

The work you did in Step 2.6, where you asked yourself the
question and decided on your position before starting your plan, will
often help you write a strong conclusion. It means that before
writing one word of the essay, you will already know more or less
what your conclusion will say, and all you have to do is restate that,
and summarise in one or two sentences the reasons you have
included in the body paragraphs.

Look at this conclusion from the essay we studied in Step 2.14 in

answer to the question To what extent is globalisation a positive or
negative development?

In conclusion, globalisation is a double-edged sword that has

created jobs and promoted international cooperation but has led to
cultural losses, more environmental damage, increased health risks
and exposure to economic crises. However, our world will continue
to shrink as technology expands, and we need to accept
globalisation as a fact of life in the 21st century.

As you can see, the first sentence summarises the main points,
then the last sentence clearly states the writer’s position. Without
reading the rest of the essay it’s clear that the writer believes that
globalisation has both positive and negative aspects, but that it is
inevitable.

Compare it to the introduction from the same essay:

Globalisation is here to stay, driven by advances in information

technology and resulting in scientific, technological and economic
progress and increased international trade and investment. It has
had wide-ranging positive and negative effects on employment and
economic development, scientific research, language and culture,
and the environment.

As you can see, the conclusion revisits the same points, just using
different words and summarising the examples and arguments
included in the body of the essay. For example:

 The introduction says globalisation is ‘here to stay’. The

conclusion says it is ‘a fact of life’.
 The introduction talks about ‘economic progress’. It does not
mention any negative effects – those come in the body of the
essay. The conclusion summarises this and adds to it by
 saying it ‘has created jobs … but has led to … more
environmental damage, and exposure to economic crises’.

This is an effective approach which provides a clear ending and

leaves no doubt in the reader’s mind what the writer wants to say.

How do you feel about writing conclusions to your essays? Do

you always include one? Do you find it easy or difficult? Do
you think the approach described here will help? In the next
step you will practise writing a conclusion to a model essay.

Teacher tips - final advice

22 comments

Watch some final tips from British Council IELTS teachers

now.

Here are some dos and don’ts to read and remember from this final
week.

Do:

 make sure there’s a purpose to every sentence you write

 look at the language in the question to help you decide which
language to use in your answer
 practise a lot. The more you feel confident about answering all
the different task types, the better you’ll feel going into the
test.

Don’t:

 forget to plan, but also make sure you don’t use too much time
for planning. Decide on how much time you need and stick to
it
 introduce new ideas at the end of any of your writing: the
conclusion should bring together what you’ve already written
about in the main body
  put anything extra in your answers – nothing unnecessary.
Keep it simple!

As usual, tell us which ones are most useful, and add any of
your own in the comments below.