IELTS Writing Task 2

The key to IELTS Writing Task 2 success is to give the examiner exactly what they want and nothing else.

Below you will find everything you need to achieve a high score in IELTS Writing Task 2.

It includes:

1. 5 Step Approach Video
2. Essential Information
3. Task 2 Preparation
4. Writing Task 2 Tips
5. Essential Skills
6. Sentence-by-Sentence Structures
7. Common Topics
8. Full Lessons On All Question Types.
9. Grammar
10. Sample Answers
11. Correction Service and Online Course
12. Easy to Understand Infographic

IELTS Writing Task 2: 5 Step Approach

IELTS Writing Task 2 requires you to write an academic-style essay on a common topic. You have 40 minutes to write at least 250 words.

Task 2 can be broken down and thought about more easily in 5 steps:

     1. Question Analysis

You must first understand the question to know exactly what the examiner is looking for. One of the biggest mistakes students make is not answering the question properly. If you do not answer the question fully, you can’t score higher than a Band 5.

In order to do this, you must first identify the question type, then identify the keywords in the question and finally identify the instructions words in order to find out what the examiner wants you to do with the question. We will look at these skills in more detail below.

    2. Planning

The students who get the highest marks plan before they write and they often plan for up to 10 minutes. Planning helps you organise your ideas and structure before you write, saving you time and helping you write a clear essay.

    3. Introduction

The introduction should tell the examiner what the rest of the essay is about and also answer the question directly. This tells the examiner that you know what you are doing straight away and helps you write your main body paragraphs.

   4. Main Body Paragraphs

This is where you give the examiner more detail. You do this by stating your main points and supporting these with explanations and relevant examples.

   5. Conclusion

Here you provide a summary of what you have already said in the rest of the essay.

That’s it you’re done!

See below for articles on the specific skills you need to do this and full lessons on each different question type. 

IELTS Writing Task 2 Essential Information

Below are 10 essential facts about Task 2. Many students worry about these small details instead of focusing on what really matters- improving your performance. These facts will help you understand what the test is and how it is scored so that you can move on to improving your performance.

1. You must write an essay in response to a question.
2. It is important that you write 250 words or more.
3. You should spend around 40 minutes on this part of the test.
4. Task 2 is worth 2/3 of your total mark on the Writing test.
5. General Training and Academic are essentially the same for Task 2, but different for Task 1.
6. There are certain types of questions you will be asked, such as opinion, discussion etc. See below for more detail on these.
7. You will be assessed in four areas:
   1. Task Achievement (25%)
   2. Coherence and Cohesion (25%)
   3. Lexical Resource (25%)
   4. Grammatical Range and Accuracy (25%)
8. The questions will be about common topics that most people in the world should be aware of.
9. The most important thing is that you can demonstrate that you can clearly communicate in English.
10. The key to doing well is to know exactly what the examiners want and giving it to them.

IELTS Writing Task 2 Preparation

Many people know that they need to improve their writing, but have no idea how to do that. Below is the methodology that I use with all of my successful students.

Understand

You must first understand what the IELTS Writing Task 2 is, what the examiners expect you to do and how to give the examiners what they want. This is the first stage and one that is often overlooked. There are a huge number of online resources, often with conflicting and poor quality information, so finding a reliable source of information is key.

Identify

If your car broke down, you would try and identify which part caused the problem. If you are sick, your doctor will run tests to find out the exact cause of your symptoms.

Task 2 is exactly the same. We must first identify WHY you are not getting the score you need before we can move to the next stage.

However, be very careful! You wouldn’t ask the average man on the street for medical advice, so make sure you find someone who actually knows what they are doing to help you with this.

Fix

Now that we know what the problems are we must fix these problems.

If your grammar needs work, fix those issues. If your vocabulary is lacking, work on fixing this issue.

Just like a good doctor will be able to help you fix a medical issue, a good IELTS teacher will be able to help you fix your particular issues.

Practice and Feedback

Practice alone is not going to help you. It is an essential part of your preparation, but you must also get feedback on your work if you are really going to improve.

You wouldn’t try to teach yourself how to drive without an instructor, would you?

Find someone who will give you accurate and helpful feedback on your work. If you don’t, you will not be able to move to the last stage.

Improvement

Now that you understand what you need to do, you’ve identified the exact areas you need to work on, you’ve improved those areas and got feedback on your work, you are ready to improve and get the score you need. You are not ready to get the IELTS Writing Task 2 score you deserve.

Essential Writing Task 2 Skills 

No matter how good your English is you still need to learn some IELTS writing skills before you do Writing Task 2. Below are helpful guides that will take you through each of these skills step-by-step.

• Writing Task 2: 8 Steps to Success

This article is unique to anything we’ve published before. Read it now to access our 61-page Task 2 strategy.

• How to Plan an Essay

Making a good plan actually saves you time when you write your essay. If you don’t plan you are more likely to get lost halfway through your essay and the result is normally a very confused piece of writing that is difficult to read. This guide will show you how to write a clear essay every time.

• How to Think of Relevant Ideas

Thinking of good ideas is one of the most challenging parts of the test for some people. This guide provides 5 different methods to help you quickly think of relevant ideas that are directly linked to the question.

• How to Write a Complex Sentence

Complex sentences help you boost your score for grammar. Complex sentences are actually very simple to write and are not complex at all- in this article we show you how.

• How to Paraphrase

Paraphrasing is one of the essential IELTS skills, not just in Writing Task 2, but in all parts of the IELTS test. You should paraphrase the question in every essay and I recommend doing this in the very first sentence to help boost your vocabulary score.

• How to Write a Supporting Paragraph

Supporting paragraphs are the main body paragraphs and are the meat in the sandwich. This is where you provide the detail the examiner is looking for in the form of explanations and examples.

• How to Write a Thesis Statement

A thesis statement tells the examiner your opinion. Many IELTS Writing Task 2 questions specifically ask for your opinion and if you don’t write it clearly you have not answered the question properly. This article shows you how, where and when to give your opinion.

• How many words should I write?

Around 250 words? Exactly 250 words or over 250 words? How many words over? How do I know how many words I have? This article answers all those questions.

• How to Understand and Analyse Any Question

A critical part of answering any question. This article shows you how to break down any Task 2 question and identify the keywords, micro-keywords and instruction words to help you answer the question effectively.

• How to Write a Great Introduction

The introduction is the first thing the examiner reads and it is, therefore, essential that we give them a good first impression. I have a very specific sentence by sentence structure that I share in this article to help you write introductions quickly and effectively.

• Task 2 Marking Criteria 

Do you know how Task 2 is marked? What is the difference between a Band 5 and a Band 8 answer? This article breaks the marking criteria down for you and explains it in simple language so you can give the IELTS examiners exactly what they want.

• How to Write a Conclusion

A good conclusion should be a summary of your main points. The conclusion is the last thing the examiner reads and if you can write a good one you will leave them with a very good impression.

• Using Examples

Each of your supporting paragraphs should have a specific example that supports and illustrates your main point. This is an essential skill to learn if you want to get one of the higher band scores.

• Cohesive Devices

Cohesive devices, sometimes called linking words, are one of the most misunderstood and misused elements of writing. Learn how to use them and when to use them here.

• The Danger of Synonyms

Synonyms are very important, but they can also really reduce your mark if used incorrectly.

• Student Case Study

Learn how Tina went from a Band 6 to and Band 8 in IELTS Writing in just 6 weeks.

• How to Think Like an IELTS Expert

I recorded a video of me answering a Task 2 question live and thought out loud as I recorded my computer screen. This will give you an insight into how someone with lots of IELTS experience thinks about these questions.

• Paragraphing and Editing

This article will show you how to make your writing as clear and as easy to read as possible. It will also give you advice on whether to use a pen or pencil.

• IELTS Writing Tips

I have compiled these tips after years of teaching IELTS and all of them have been approved by IELTS examiners.

• Coherence and Cohesion

This is a video lesson that shows you in practical terms how to improve your coherence and cohesion score.

Writing Task 2 Structures 

These structures give you a sentence-by-sentence structure for all the main Task 2 question types, making your job much easier on exam day.

• Task 2 Essay Structures

One thing I would like to warn you about structures is that they are not a magic wand that will help you automatically get a higher score. They will help you, but please realise that they are just a small part of the overall score.

Writing Task 2 Common Topics 

Knowing the common topics can help you prepare for the test more efficiently. Here are the 10 most common topics over the last few years. Studying hard is great, but don’t forget to study smart.

The article below will show you the top 10 most common IELTS topics.

• Most Common Task 2 Topics 

The article below will show you how you can use the most common Task 2 topics to your advantage.

• IELTS Essay Topics

Full Writing Task 2 Practice Lessons 

Making the change from a Band 6.5 – 7 can be incredibly difficult for many IELTS students. To help you close this gap, I made a video lesson which goes through a former VIP Student’s essay in great detail, showing you exactly how I helped her improve her Writing Task 2 score from a Band 6.5 to a Band 8:

Here are some lessons that I have used when teaching students about Task 2. I have changed them so that you can easily learn at home. They are very long but combined with the skills above, they contain all the information you need.

• Agree or Disagree (Opinion) Lesson

In this lesson, we look at how to tackle an ‘agree or disagree’ question. Many people worry about whether to take one side of the other or if to discuss both sides. They also worry about how to deal with ‘To what extent’ question. We allay all of these fears in this lesson.

• Discussion Essay Lesson

‘Discuss both views’ question often cause confusion because you are asked to do many things in one essay. It is very important to remember that the question is asking you to discuss BOTH views AND give YOUR opinion.

• Problem and Solution Essay Lesson

These questions are much easier than you think. You probably discuss problems and solutions in your day to day life all the time. Keep it simple.

• Advantages and Disadvantages Lesson 

There are a couple of different types of advantages and disadvantages questions. This lesson will show you how.

• Writing Task 2 Exercise with Video

Writing is a skill and just like any other skill, it is important to practice in order to improve.

• From Band 6.5 t0 8 Demo Lesson

This is my most comprehensive free lesson on Writing Task 2. We show you how we took one VIP student from Band 6.5 to an amazing 8.

Grammar and Vocabulary

Grammar is one of the four things you will be marked on in the Writing Task 2 test. Finding out what your common grammar mistakes are and then fixing them is a very powerful way to boost your score in this area. Here are some common grammar mistakes I have found after making hundreds of tests.

• Top 10 Grammar Mistakes

For most IELTS students, the problem is not grammar in general, it is the fact that they have 1-2 problem areas. Fix these main weaknesses and you’ll improve your grammar, and your writing, dramatically.

• Using Personal Pronouns

Hint- They aren’t as big of a deal as you think.

Sample Answers

It’s very important that you have some good examples so that you can compare your writing and see if you are on the right track. Click the link below for lots of sample answers and over 100 questions.

• Task 2 Sample Answers
• Agree or Disagree Sample Essays
• Task 2 Band 9 Sample Essay
• Latest Real Task 2 Questions
• Official Sample Test Questions
• Cambridge Sample Questions
• Free Practice Test
• Recent Confusing Questions
• IELTS Writing Practice Guide

IELTS Writing Course

We offer help to a very small number of students with IELTS Writing Task 2 and all other areas of the test. I do not believe that simply offering students lots of videos helps them, so we do things very differently on our online courses.

We believe that students do best when they have full support and can get feedback and help with their particular problems. We treat our students as individuals, not numbers in a classroom. If you would like more information about our courses, please feel free to check them out here.

Due to the success of our courses and overwhelming demand, there is normally a waiting list.

Essay Correction Service

Need help writing IELTS Writing Task 2 essays like these? Check out our ESSAY CORRECTION SERVICE.

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