IELTS Writing Task 2 Introduction
This post will help you write better introductions in your Task 2 IELTS essays and show the specific sentences I advise all of my students to use when writing IELTS Writing Task 2 introductions.
The introduction is the first part of the essay the examiner will read and it will give them a good first impression of what to expect in the rest of the essay.
Just like in person, first impressions last.
I often tell my students that a bad introduction in IELTS writing part 2 is the same as going in to the speaking exam and being rude to the examiner- no matter how good you are in the rest of it, the examiner won’t be happy and unhappy examiners are more likely to give you a lower mark.
Despite this warning, many good students go on to produce introductions with a few common problems in them.
Common Problems
- Talking too generally about the topic.
Most of these essays start off with ‘Nowadays……’ or ‘In modern life….’ followed by general information about the topic. In my opinion, this is the worst start you can possibly make. Remember that you are supposed to answer the question not write generally about the topic.
- Not including a thesis statement
This is the most important sentence in the essay. Not including one will lose you marks in several different ways. I will tell you more about this below.
- Not outlining what you are going to do
If you don’t include a sentence outlining what your essay will say, the examiner doesn’t really know what you are going to write about in the rest of your essay. This will also lose you marks. I’ll show you how to write an outline sentence below.
- Trying to write a ‘hook’ or be entertaining
Remember this is an IELTS exam, not a university essay. There are no extra points for being interesting, in fact being boring will probably help you. This will help you avoid ‘flowery’ language.
- Using an informal style
Know your audience. You are expected to write in an academic style.
Good and Bad Examples
Question: There is a good deal of evidence that increasing car use is contributing to global warming and having other undesirable effects on people’s health and well-being.
To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?
Good Introduction
Rising global temperatures and human health and fitness issues are often viewed as being caused by the expanding use of automobiles. This essay agrees that increasing use of motor vehicles is contributing to rising global temperatures and certain health issues. Firstly, this essay will discuss the production of greenhouse gases by vehicles and secondly, it will discuss other toxic chemicals released by internal combustion engines.
Bad Introduction
Nowadays, cars are a very popular way of getting around. Day by day many more people drive cars around but others feel that they cause global warming. Global warming is one of the most serious issues in modern life. They also affect people’s health and well-being which is also a serious issue.
As you can see the bad example talks about the topic very generally, copies words and phrases from the question and doesn’t include a thesis statement or outline statement.
If your introductions look something like this, don’t worry. Most of my students write introductions a lot like this when they first start in my class and the structure below always helps them fix any problems and write very effective introductions.
Structure of a Good Introduction
If you use this structure you will not only score higher marks but you will also save time in the exam. If you practice enough, introductions will become easy and you will do them in just a few minutes. This will leave you lots of time to focus on the main body paragraphs where you can pick up lots of mark.
An IELTS writing task 2 opinion essay should have three sentences and these three sentences should be:
- Paraphrase question
- Thesis statement
- Outline statement
That’s it. Simple! Let’s look at each sentence in more detail.
Paraphrase Question
Paraphrasing means stating the question again, but with different words so that it has the same meaning. We do this by using synonyms and flipping the order of the sentences around.
Question: There is a good deal of evidence that increasing car use is contributing to global warming and having other undesirable effects on people’s health and well-being.
Paraphrase: Rising global temperatures and human health and fitness issues are often viewed as being caused by the expanding use of automobiles.
The synonyms I’ve used are:
Increasing- expanding
Car use- use of automobiles
Global warming- rising global temperatures
People’s health and well-being- human health and fitness
As you can see, I then switched the order of the sentence around.
I have therefore demonstrated to the examiner that I can paraphrase and have a wide range of vocabulary. These are two of the things that the examiner is specifically looking for and you will gain marks for including them.
You should practice this with past paper questions.
Thesis Statement
This is the most important sentence in your essay. This is your main idea and I often describe it to students as how you feel about the whole issue in one sentence. It tells the examiner that you have understood the question and will lead to a clear and coherent essay.
Let’s look at the thesis sentence from the previous example:
Thesis statement: This essay agrees that increasing use of motor vehicles is contributing to rising global temperatures and certain health issues.
It is always just one sentence long so you will have to practice summing up your opinion in one sentence. It should also address the micro-keywords and not the topic in general.
You should start your thesis statement with:
This essay agrees that….. or this essay disagrees that….. (Opinion essays)
The main cause(s) of this issue is….. (Causes and solutions)
The principal advantage(s) is (xxxxx) and the main disadvantage is (xxxxxx). (Advantage and disadvantages).
For a discussion (of two points of view) essay you should state both points of view clearly.
Let’s look at another example:
Some aspects of celebrity culture have a bad influence on young people.
To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?
To keep things simple, we have two options-
- Agree that some aspects of celebrity culture have a bad influence on young people.
- Disagree that some aspects of celebrity culture have a bad influence on young people.
My essay will argue that celebrity culture does have a bad influence and my thesis statement will there be:
This essay agrees that the some famous people’s lifestyles have a detrimental effect on the youth of today.
I have stated my opinion in one sentence and used synonyms to make sure I don’t just repeat the question.
Thesis statements are very important but only in question that ask you for your opinion. Some IELTS questions do not ask you for your opinion and in these cases you can leave it out.
Outline Statement
Now that you have paraphrased the question and told the examiner what you think in your thesis sentence, you are now going to tell the examiner what you will discuss in the main body paragraphs. In other words, you will outline what the examiner will read in the rest of the essay. This should be one sentence only.
Example:
Question: There is a good deal of evidence that increasing car use is contributing to global warming and having other undesirable effects on people’s health and well-being.
Outline statement: Firstly, this essay will discuss the production of greenhouse gases by vehicles and secondly, it will discuss other toxic chemicals released by internal combustion engines.
So what I have done is just look at my main body paragraphs and wrote about what they contain. You should have only one main idea per paragraph. In this essay, I have only two main body paragraphs, so I only need to say two things in the outline statement.
Main body paragraph 1- production of greenhouse gases by cars.
Main body paragraph 2- toxic chemical produced by car engines.
Again, your main body paragraphs should have only one main idea so it should be easy to spot these and then write a sentence about them.
For advantages and disadvantages essays and problem and solution essays you could write something like this:
Advantages and disadvantages: this essay will first discuss the (main advantage(s)) followed by an analysis of the (main disadvantage(s)).
Problem and Solution: This essay will analyse the principal problem(s) and offer solutions to this issue.
Final Example
Question: Learning to manage money is one of the key aspects to adult life. How in your view can individuals best learn to manage their money?
Good answer: One of the keys to adulthood is appreciating how to budget your finances. It is clear that the best way someone can learn this, is by managing money during childhood. Firstly, the essay will discuss the importance of parental involvement during childhood and secondly, the essay will look at the importance of having a part time job during childhood.
As you can see, the above introduction follows the structure I laid out above.
Next Steps
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Faten says
Hi,
You said that the thesis statement for problem and solution is as follows :
The principal problem is….. and a possible solution is…..
Then the outline statement is as follows:
This essay will analyze the principal problem and offers solutions for this issue
Don’t you think there is a kind of repetition??
The same problem with adv. and disadv. question
saeed says
i appreciate of you since of your teach.Really it was useful
mahfam says
Great sir.
Chinelo Chiemeka-Unogu says
Thank you so much for this step by step clarification.I appreciate it a lot.
Tahir Yasin says
Hi Sir,
Thanks for sharing invaluable tips.
Opinion based essay should have 3 sentences
1- Paraphrase
2- Thesis statement
3- Outline statement
Could you please clarify if this is said for Academic or General Training IELTS?
Christopher Pell says
Task 2 is the same for both.
sandeep says
Sir how many maximum word should be there in task 2 introduction?
Christopher Pell says
There is no maximum. However, I wouldn’t write more than around 100 words.
sandeep says
Thank you very much sir.
AL-AMEEN AL-AZZAWI says
These info had truly changed my life, I’d recommend it everywhere.
Kindly advise regarding the brackets:
“My essay will argue that celebrity culture does have a bad influence and my thesis statement will (there) be:
This essay agrees that (the) some famous people’s lifestyles have a detrimental effect on the youth of today.”
Thank you,
Al
Paramjit Kaur says
thank you very much ..Really your suggestions are helpful in writing task 2.
Amal says
thanks it was very helpful
Claudia says
I wonder if this recommendation is for advanced English levels or those who really want to get a higher score than 7. I got 7 in writing using a bad introduction according to this reading . Nevertheless I am pleased with the score… :/
harmanderjit chahal says
Hi Chris
Thank you for your advise to go through your blog. I am impressed and think it will really help me to achieve my goal.
Harman
Mirrena says
Dear Christopher,
First of all, I would like to thank you for your extremely useful blog. I believe thousands of IELTS students are grateful for all the tips and materials you have provided.
I would only like to ask you a question related to Agree/Disagree essays, namely: Aren’t students supposed to express their opinions in the introduction in a slightly more personal way? I mean, you suggest that we write a thesis statement starting with: “It is agreed that…” but since this is a passive structure it, in my opinion, sounds more impersonal and objective. From what I’ve seen and read in various IELTS student’s books and also heard from other teachers, candidates should use more personal language which clearly states whether they agree or disagree with a statement. For example, something like “Personally, I support the view that job satisfaction…” or “While many believe …, I disagree and feel that …”, “I am unconvinced that it is dangerous, and feel that…”etc.
I would be really happy to know which way of writing the thesis statement is better and why.
Thank you in advance!
Christopher Pell says
You can write them in a personal way or not. Either is fine.
numair says
Thank you for sharing your knowledge.
Khenny says
Question:
There is a good deal of evidence that increasing car use is contributing to global warming and having other undesirable effects on people’s health and well-being.
Paraphrased:
Evidences show that global warming and some health issues can be attributed to increased use of motor vehicles.
Christopher Pell says
Nearly. Should change to: Evidence shows that global warming and some health issues can be attributed to increased use of motor vehicles.
Yasir says
Can you please provide an example of good introduction for this essay.
Without capital punishment, our lives are less secure and crimes of violence increase. Capital punishment is essential to control violence in society.
To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?
Christopher Pell says
Try writing one and I will tell you how you are doing. You might want to read my article on how to write a good introduction first.
Nouman says
Dear Christopher,
This article has helped me out how to compose introduction for good band. Your blog seems very effective and interesting and it is sure that I will overcome my deficiencies by following tactics mentioned in your detailed explanation article.
Below is my first introduction written after following your points in this article. Please have a look and highlight with your comments.
“It has been accepted by large number of people that growing brutality is being originating among children through cruel movies and video games. It is agreed that brutal movies and games force children to adopt immortal personality. Firstly this essay will discuss how violent movies have mental disturbance among children and, secondly, it will shed some light on children’s ruthless attitude caused by wild source of entertainment.”
Kind Regards,
Nouman Shabbir
mehsamali says
Hi, I would like to thank you for the frabjous efforts that you’re making to help IELTS test takers, and I must say all your tips are quite helpful in this regard!
Please check my introduction, and comment accordingly:
The rise in agressive behavior among young lads is often viewed as a clear reflection of violent content exhibited in movies and miscellaneous computer games. It is agreed that unpeaceful films and video games have a monumental impact on the way of acting in children of all age groups. At first, the essay will discuss the influence of mass media and its psychological effect on kids and secondly, it will discuss the roll of parents and teachers in controlling a childs’ exposure to such wicked content.
1)Body Pragraph Thesis:
Since its inception, the mass media has had a big influence over the mind of people from all age groups, especially on children, who are the most vulnerable to Imitating what they see because they examine everything with scrutiny.
2)Body Paragraph Thesis:
Mother or farther are a child’s first hero and role model whome they follow the most in earlier stages of their life. Therefore, the role of parents is the most vital in regulating their young one’s exposure to different types of media related content, as they are the closest to their children and can closely examine their behavior, whereas the teachers can also do the same within the school premises, where kids imitate what they learn from elsewhere.
HUNG Lai Truong says
I amire such a large efford you have given for us on this Website. Thank you so much ^^
Following is my INTRODUCTION, hope you don’t mind commenting on it:
Brutal and aggressive contents appearing in movies and video games are exposing negative effects toward their audiences and players, especially children. It is agreed that children’s violent behaviors is resulted of those contents. The essay will discuss the ways how violent content is abused to attract its young audiences, and how children are stimulated to mimic the wrongs on the screen.
Christopher Pell says
Thanks for your effort. A few small grammar and vocabulary mistakes but nothing that stops me understanding the meaning. You structure is good and you have both made your opinion clear and outlined what you will discuss in your essay. Well done.
shaila says
Dear Mr. Christopher,
This is my introduction, could you please review it?
Most of the adult people argue that rising aggressiveness among the youngsters are often viewed as being caused by watching of intense films and computer games.It is agreed that increasing number of savagery movies and video games production are responsible for rising ferocity among juvenile. Firstly, this essay will discuss how those types of media create more aggressive children and secondly,the essay will look at the effects on these children later on in life.
Please let me know your opinion.
christopherpell444 says
Thanks Shaila. You have followed the structure properly, well done.
You should be careful with your vocabulary ‘intense films’ isn’t really a synonym of violent and ‘savagery movies’ is the same. If you are unsure keep it simple.
tharcy says
Hi, Christopher. Could you be so kind to review my essay’s introduction? Thanks! 😉
“Movies and videogames are often viewed as a bad influence to children because of its violent content.It is agreed that exposure to highly agressive videos and computer games contributes to increase violence in youngsters. The essay will first discuss the reasons why children are attracted by these kind of materials, and, afterwards, the essay will discuss the importance of an adult orientation about how these attitudes may affect severely a children’s life if imitated.”
christopherpell444 says
Well done.
Konstantina says
Hi Christopher! I’m lucky i found this site!
Your instructions are really helpful…
Could you please check my introduction?
There is a wide belief that during childhood the interaction with films or computer games of a violent content could be the main reason why people tend to create an aggressive character in their later life. It is agreed that the way someone behaves is strongly linked with its edification. Firstly, my essay will discuss the importance of the sufficient parental involvement in the upbringing of the child before analyzing to what extent the exposure to crime media could come in contrudiction with the gained moral principles.
Please let me know your opinion.
christopherpell444 says
Well done.
misbahzia says
Children aggressiveness is increasing by watching hot-tempered and intense movies and games.It is agreed that violent movies and games is the main culprit of wilderness behaviour of children’s.Firstly,the essay will discuss how the violent movies ruining attitude towards their parents secondly, will address the learning abilities compromises over watching these stuff.
christopherpell444 says
Well done. Keep practicing.
misbahzia says
Thanx for your help
Daniel Sansoni says
Chris – what should we make of the word “other” in the first sample Takky 2 you mention? It’s coupled with ‘effects’, the undesirable kind, and contrasted with the “undesirables” posed to health and well-being by global warming.
By the way – great new site!
Lucas says
Thank you very much sir!
Really happy to receive your feedback!
Ann Nguyen says
Dear Mr.Christopher,
I also develop the rest of the essay:
Overusing aggressive games linked to bad behavior in children because they usually mimic what they saw. Moreover, they are not mature enough to differentiate the right and the wrong, so it is understood that they will also practice the bad ones. According to a recent research, 60% of children try to copy their admirable characters, who come from comic books, online games and movies. However, there are still many of them are under better parental control and being more realistic.
On the other hand, the expansion of Internet as well as modern electronic devices, for example smartphones and tablets, allow children approach violent activities more easily than ever. As a result, more and more youngsters have been affected by bad ideas and they tend to act more aggressively. For instance, the number of bullying cases at high schools in Viet Nam increased significantly last year, with over 20 serious cases. Nevertheless, the rising rate of adolescence crimes is also attributable to other social issues like poverty and unemployment.
In summary, violent content leads to many negative consequences, including the growth of young crimes. In my opinion, parents should play a more important role on choosing positive content for their children. Furthermore, an effective classification system must be apply strictly to limit the spread of bad content.
Ann Nguyen says
Dear Mr. Christopher,
This is my introduction, could you please review it?I’ve learnt a lot from useful tips you shared. Thank you so much.
The noticeable rise of young crimes rate is claimed for detrimental effects of violent content, such as films and video games. It is agreed that those harmful entertaining channels cause increasing bad behaviors among youngsters. Firstly, this essay will discuss how those types of media create more aggressive children and secondly, it will discuss the correlation between the high crimes rate and the prevalence of violent media.
Lucas says
Dear Christopher,
Could you pls review my introduction below?
Many people advocate that the increasing rude and badly-behaved behavior among the youth is attributable to violent computer games. It is agreed that the rise of adolescence crime rates these days is a direct consequence of overuse of aggressive video games. Firstly, the essay will discuss psychological and physical effects of gaming on the children and secondly, the essay will look at trend of imitating among young people during their childhood.
christopherpell444 says
Very good Lucas. Well done. You should look at your use of articles i.e. a, an, the.
Shabbir ahmed says
thank you again, Sir. I think I should be prepared way better way. 🙂
Would you mind referring me some online practice materials or articles that would help me in my writing.
christopherpell444 says
Sure. There are lots on this website. Just click above on the writing tab.
Shabbir ahmed says
thank you again, Sir. I think I should be prepared way better way. 🙂
nahida says
cruelty is raising among children because of watching too much brutality movies and video games. It is agreed that expose of too much criminal activity in films and video games help to gain violence nature amount children. Firstly this essay will discuss how violence activities influence children mind to being brutal through the movie and video games. Secondly the essay will focus on how to reduce such violence.
christopherpell444 says
Hi Nahida. Thanks for your comment.
Overall your structure is very good. Well done.
In your first sentence you talk about cruelty. Is this the same as violence? Not really. Only use words that are directly related to those in the question and mean the same.
What are ‘brutality movies’? If you are not 100% sure a word or phrase is correct, don’t use it.
Good effort to make a thesis statement in your second sentence. There are a lot of grammar mistakes however. You might be better using simpler language that is 100% correct.
Your last sentence says you will discuss solutions. This is not a problem and solution essay and the questions does not ask you to discuss solutions and you therefore should not talk about this.
Thanks again for your comment.
Shabbir ahmed says
Children are thought to be very aggressive with their behavior because of those terrible films and games on computer or mobile that are violent. It is consented that horrible activities in movies and games are the main reason for hampering children’s attitudes towards things. This essay will firstly describe the reason why children get attracted and catch these sort of behaviours and afterword it will discuss the outcome of it.
christopherpell444 says
Hi Shabbir. Thanks for your comment.
You have paraphrased the question well in your first sentence but be careful to use words that mean the same as those in the question. Does terrible mean the same as violent? Not really.
“Hampering children’s attitudes towards things”. What does this mean? If you are unsure of a word or phrase don’t use it. Only write what you are 100% sure about. Also, the question asks about violence. Does your second sentence address this issue? It should because it is the thesis statement.
You have outlined well what you are going to do in the third sentence.
Well done and thanks again.
Shabbir ahmed says
Thank you sir for your valuable
suggestion.
Instead of writing ‘children’s attitudes towards things’, if I write ‘children’s attitudes towards violence activities’, would it be correct?
And from now on I’ll be very careful of writing words in the appropriate way.
christopherpell444 says
That would be much better but I would change it to ‘violent’ activities.
Lemuelle Bryan says
This is my essay.. Kindly check..
The rise of violence in youngsters are often viewed as being caused by the exposure to fierce films and audio-visual games. It is agreed that exposure to aggressive shows and video games contributes to increased violent in teenagers. Firstly, the essay will discuss the importance of parental involvement during childhood, and secondly, the essay will look at the effects on these children later on in life.
During this period of development, children make things on their own. Parental involvement begins to take an important role in the child’s life as they teach the child specific skills. One study shows that, active parental involvement in children’s media-usage-including discussing the inappropriateness of violent scenes to real life conflicts and offering alternative nonviolent games can reduce the impact of media violence on children.
Everything that children see or hear in the media early on in their lives affects them in some way later on in life. An increase of aggressive behaviour is linked to the amount of time children are allowed to play video games. Studies show that children who play video games for more than three hours a day are more likely to be hyperactive, get involved in fights. The problems were linked to the amount of time spent gaming rather than the types of games played. They also found playing games for less than one hour a day might be positive for children’s behaviour.
In summary, parents should monitor and be more attentive to their children. Highlighting the fact that playing video games may be just another style of play that children engage with in the digital age, with benefits felt from the act of playing rather than the medium itself being the significant factor.
christopherpell444 says
Your third paragraph is good because it is directly linked to the question and is supported by explanations and examples.
Your second paragraph is not directly linked to the question. The question asks if video games and TV affect children and cause them to be violent and you should therefore talk about this, not parental involvement.
Lemuelle Bryan says
Hi Christopher.. Kindly Check my output.
The rise of violence in youngsters are often viewed as being caused by the exposure to fierce films and audio-visual games. It agrees that exposure to aggressive shows and video games is contributes to increased violent in teenagers. Firstly, the essay will discuss the importance of parental involvement during childhood, and secondly, the essay will look at the effects on these children later in life.
christopherpell444 says
First sentence- Good attempt at paraphrasing. ‘Fierce’ is not really a synonym of violent and ‘audio-visual’ is not a synonym of video. Computer games would be better.
Second sentence- ‘Try to always start with ‘It is agreed…’ You have stated your point of view well. Well done.
Third sentence- Very good. Make sure your ideas are directly linked to the question but difficult to tell from just an introduction.
Well done and thanks for commenting.
nhungluonganew says
Hi Christopher,
Thank you for your hard-work and useful tips to prepare for IELTS. I would like to share your blogs with my friends and hope it will become more and more popular!
I am interested in your tips on how to write an introduction and here is my answer. I would appreciate it if you gave a look at it!
The fact that the young children are becoming more and more exposed to great violence on films or computer games is widely considered as one of the main reason for their growingly aggressive behaviors. It would be agreed that violent media tend to cause detrimental effects on social development of children. My essay first will discuss how this kind of media cause immediate mental illness among the young before analyzing the relationship between the popularity of violence on media and higher crime rate recently.
Once again, thank you!
christopherpell444 says
I’m so sorry to have missed your comment and it has taken me such a long time to reply. Please accept my apologies.
Your structure is very good and you have paraphrased very well.
Your thesis statement is a little off because the question does not ask about ‘social development’ but violence. You should stick to the question in your thesis statement.
Your last sentence is very good and you have relevant and specific ideas, which is great.
Well done.
christopherpell444 says
Hi Truong. You have followed the structure well. Well done.
Be careful with cause and effect in your first sentence. I think you need to switch this around.
There are also a few grammar mistakes. Be sure to check your work after you write for mistakes and only write sentences you know are correct. It is better it write simple sentences you know are error free than try to write complex sentences you are not sure about.
Vinamilk Truong says
Thank you very much for your share. It is very useful and well explained.
I try to practice the exercise that you gave. Can you take a look at it and give some recommendation. I appreciate for your help.
The introduction paragraph is following:
Getting familiar with violent media such as movie and video games are usually viewed as being caused by expanding crimes among children. It is agreed that exposing to crime media is increasing at risk of number of negative outcomes for children. Firstly, the essay will discuss the children imitating the actions in violent media and secondly, the essay will look at the repetition of crime behaviors establishing them in memory.