IELTS Writing Task 2: The 3 Sentence

Introduction
1. Neutral Background Statement.
2. Rewrite the Question
3. This essay will…

1. Problem / Solution
2. Double Question
3. Agree / Disagree
4. Discuss both views (+ give your opinion)
5. Advantages / Disadvantages (+ give your opinion)

1. Problem / Solutions
Every year more and more students choose to study online rather than attend
classes on the campus.
What do you think are the causes of this? What solutions can you suggest?

Studying online is becoming increasingly popular. Each year more students opt to
study online as opposed to attending classes on campus. This essay will discuss the
reasons why this is happening and put forward several solutions for this issue.

2. Double Question
Every year more and more students choose to study online rather than attend
classes on the campus.
Why do students prefer to study online? What can universities do to attract students
to study on campus?

Studying online is becoming increasingly popular. Each year more students opt to
study online as opposed to attending classes on campus. This essay will discuss why
students prefer studying online and provide options for how universities can bring
them back to campus.

3. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Studying online is far more effective than studying on campus. To what extent do
you agree or disagree?

The effectiveness of studying online is debatable. Some people believe that it is

much more effective than traditional classroom-based learning. This essay will
discuss why online study is far more effective than campus-based study.

4. Discuss both views

Some people think studying on campus is the most effective way to learn while
others believe that studying online is more effective.
Discuss both views.

The effectiveness of studying online is debatable. Some people believe that it is

much more effective than traditional classroom-based learning while others do not.
This essay will discuss both sides of argument in detail.

5. Discuss both views + opinion

Some people think studying on campus is the most effective way to learn while
others believe that studying online is more effective.
Discuss both views and give your opinion.

The effectiveness of studying online is debatable. Some people believe that it is

much more effective than traditional classroom-based learning while others do not.
This essay will discuss both sides of argument in detail and provide evidence as to
why online learning is superior.

6. Advantages/Disadvantages
Some people think studying on campus is more effective than studying on campus.
What are advantages and disadvantages of studying online?

The effectiveness of studying online is debatable. Some people believe that it is

much more effective than traditional classroom-based learning while others do not.
This essay will discuss the positive and negative aspects of online study.

7. Advantages/Disadvantages + Opinion
Some people think studying on campus is more effective than studying on campus.
Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of studying online and give your own
opinion about which one is the best?

The effectiveness of studying online is debatable. Some people believe that it is

much more effective than traditional classroom-based learning while others do not.
This essay will discuss the positive and negative aspects of online study and argue
why studying online is superior.

8. Advantages/Disadvantages + Opinion
Each year more and more students choose to study online. Do you think the
advantages of studying online outweigh the disadvantages?

Studying online is becoming increasingly popular. While studying online does have
some deficits these are negligible compared the benefits. This essay will discuss why
the advantages of studying online do in fact outweigh the disadvantages.
ELTS Writing Task 2 PARAGRAPH
SUPER STRUCTURES
Two types of paragraphs you can use in your WT 2

1. Problems/ Solutions Essay

Every year more and more students choose to study online rather than attend
classes on the campus.
What do you think are the causes of this? What solutions can you suggest?

Studying online is becoming increasingly popular. Each year more students opt to
study online as opposed to attending classes on campus. This essay will discuss the
reasons why this is happening and put forward several solutions for this issue.

+ First type of paragraph ( 4 sentences paragraph)

1. Opening sentence
2. Supporting sentence
3. Evidence
4. Closing sentence.

Cause 1:
Paragraph 1:
First and foremost, students are increasingly studying online because of the
convenience factor. Put simply, it is far easier to study from one’s bedroom than to
travel to university each day, especially if the university is located far from where
one lives. While some university students might live on campus, in which case
attending classes is extremely convenient, most do not; they may live on the other
side of the city, which makes it extremely inconvenient for them to attend classes. In
sum, as technology enables on demand study, people will seldom attend classes in
person because they can simply study from wherever they are and whenever they
want.

Paragraph 2:
The secondary reason why students are opting for online study over in-class study
is because of the increasing effectiveness of learning technology. Every day there are
breakthroughs in e-learning that improve traditional classroom teaching
techniques. For example, on-demand video allows students to stop and pause the
video and watch it later, which contributes to comprehension of subject matter.
These technology developments are happening rapidly and are improving upon the
effectiveness of classroom-based learning.

SOLUTIONS
1. Opening sentence
2. Example 1 (Firstly…)
 3. Example 2 (Secondly…)
4. Example 4 (Thirdly…)
5. Closing sentence

Paragraph 3:
Despite the rapid development of technology and the exodus of students from on-
campus classes, there are several measures that universities can take to remediate
the issue. Firstly, they could stop broadcasting their lecture online. Secondly, they
could improve the on-campus resources. Thirdly, they could foster an on-campus
community. All of the measures would help to bring students back to class.

1. Problem / Solution
2. Double Question
3. Agree / Disagree 2,3,4 –single idea paragraphs
4. Discuss both views (+ give your 1, 5 – double idea paragraphs
opinion)
5. Advantages / Disadvantages (+ give
your opinion)

Single idea paragraphs

1) Introduce the first idea (opening)
2-3) Explain the first idea (reason)
4-5) Give example(s) of the first idea (evidence)
6) Refer back to the first idea (closing)
Example
Every year more and more students choose to study online rather than attend
classes on the campus.
Why do students prefer to study online? What can universities do to attract students
to study on campus?

Studying online is much more effective than attending campus. Students don’t
have to leave their homes to listen to lecture or participate in tutorials. They can
even interact with fellow peers just by using their laptops. For example, while
online courses used to target working professionals who couldn’t attend class,
they now target anyone because universities have realized that people are time
poor. In short, because of enormous time savings that online courses allow,
people prefer it rather than attending face to face classes.

Double ideas paragraph

1) Introduce set of idea (e.g. advantages)
2) Explain first idea (advantage 1)
3) Give example of first idea (evidence)
4) Explain second idea (advantage 2)
 5) Give example of second idea (evidence)
6) Refer back to first two ideas. (closing)
There are two primary reasons why studying online is more advantageous than
attending classes on campus. Firstly, it is far more convenient; students do not have
to travel in order to attend a lecture or tutorial. For example: students can simply
login to their universities’ website to study. Secondly, online learning is much more
effective. Indeed, online learning has been increasing in effectiveness since the late
1990s. One research article suggests that it now supersedes face to face learning by
16%. Overall, online learning is better than on-campus learning because of its
convenience and effectiveness.