Task 2 – understanding the question and planning

The five IELTS Writing Task 2 question types, how to analyse a question so you answer every part, and a five-minute planning method.

Task 2 is an essay of at least 250 words in response to a statement and a question. It is worth two-thirds of your Writing score. More marks are lost here through not answering the question than through any weakness of language, so before we look at how to write, we must look at how to read.

The anatomy of a Task 2 question

In many towns and cities, people now buy most of what they need online rather than in local shops. Some people think this will lead to the death of town centres and that governments should take action to prevent it.

To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Every question has two elements:

1. The statement – one or two sentences describing a situation, a view or a problem. It defines the topic and usually narrows it.
2. The instruction – the actual question. It tells you what kind of essay to write.

The standard final line, ‘Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience’, means: explain and illustrate. You are not expected to quote statistics or studies. Examples from your country, from people you know or from general knowledge are fine.

The five question types

Lesson 12 gives a structure for each. For now, learn to recognise them instantly, because each one sets different obligations.

Recent tests have tended to use more specific questions, and combinations that do not fit a memorised template: for example, ‘Why might this be the case? Do you think it is a positive or a negative trend?’ The safest preparation is not to memorise essays but to learn to analyse any question.

Analysing the question in four steps

Step 1: Find the topic

The general subject: online shopping; university education; children and exercise.

Step 2: Find the focus

What exactly about the topic? This is where candidates go wrong. In the example above, the focus is not ‘the advantages of online shopping’. It is two claims:

1. online shopping will lead to the death of town centres;
2. governments should act to prevent it.

An essay about how convenient it is to shop online would be on the topic and off the question.

Step 3: Underline the limiting words

Words that restrict or strengthen the claim: all, only, most, the best way, the main cause, always, never, should, must, young people, in cities, compulsory.

Some people believe that unpaid work in the community should be a compulsory part of secondary school programmes.

You must discuss whether it should be compulsory, not merely whether volunteering is good; and for secondary school pupils, not for adults.

Step 4: Identify the instruction and count the tasks

How many things are you asked to do?

If any task is missing from your essay, the public band descriptors limit Task Response to Band 5 or below. If one is covered much more thinly than another, you are unlikely to pass Band 6.

Worked analysis

Some people believe that the main purpose of a university is to prepare students for the jobs that the economy needs. Others think that universities should allow students to study whatever interests them, whether or not it is useful to an employer.

Discuss both these views and give your own opinion.

• Topic: university education.
• Focus: its purpose: job preparation versus free choice of subject.
• Limiting words: the main purpose; whatever interests them; whether or not it is useful.
• Tasks: (1) explain why some people hold the first view; (2) explain why others hold the second; (3) give my own opinion.

Notice that tasks 1 and 2 require you to present views fairly even if you disagree with them. ‘Some people think X, but they are wrong’ is not a discussion.

Deciding your position

Examiners do not care what you think. They care whether your position is clear, relevant and consistent. So choose the position that is easiest to support.

Possible positions on an agree/disagree question:

• Strongly agree or strongly disagree – simple to write and perfectly acceptable.
• Partly agree – often the most natural, but you must say exactly which part you accept and which you do not. ‘I agree to some extent’ with no explanation is not a position.

While I accept that traditional retail is under real pressure, I disagree that town centres will die, and I believe governments should help them to adapt rather than try to hold back the change.

That sentence tells the reader precisely where the writer stands on both claims.

Do not change your mind halfway through. An essay that argues for something in the body and concludes against it shows a ‘lack of clear position’.

Generating ideas

Many candidates say, ‘I don’t have any ideas.’ Try these prompts.

1. Think of the people affected. For almost any issue, ask how it affects individuals, families, employers, the government, society and the environment.

2. Think in categories. Economic, social, educational, health, environmental, practical, psychological.

3. Ask ‘why?’ and ‘so what?’ These turn a bare idea into a developed one.

Idea: Working from home saves time. Why? No commute; some people spend two hours a day travelling. So what? More time for family, exercise and rest → better health and morale.

4. Think of a concrete case. Someone you know, your own town, your country. A specific example often suggests the general point.

You need two or three main ideas for the whole essay, each one developed. You do not need eight.

The five-minute plan

Planning feels like lost time. It is the opposite: a plan stops you from wandering, repeating yourself or discovering in paragraph three that you disagree with paragraph one.

A plan is a few words per paragraph:

Intro: online shopping → pressure on shops; BUT centres won’t die; govt should help adapt, not prevent B1: centres ≠ just shops: cafés, services, leisure → my city: empty units → gym, workspace, busier evenings B2: protecting shops = wrong: online = cheaper, choice, helps elderly/disabled/rural; better: convert shops → homes, transport, lower charges for small traders Concl: transforming not destroying; govt eases the change

With that in front of you, writing is a matter of turning notes into sentences.

How many paragraphs?

Four or five:

• Introduction
• Body paragraph 1
• Body paragraph 2
• (Body paragraph 3, if the question type needs it)
• Conclusion

Each body paragraph has one central idea. Leave a blank line between paragraphs so that the structure is visible.

Common mistakes at the planning stage

• Writing about the topic, not the question.
• Missing a task: discussing two views but giving no opinion; giving causes but no solutions.
• Ignoring a limiting word such as main, only or compulsory.
• A vague position: ‘There are advantages and disadvantages’ in an agree/disagree essay.
• Too many ideas, none developed.
• Reproducing a memorised essay on a similar topic. Examiners recognise these, and off-topic memorised material is penalised.

Try it

Analyse this question: topic, focus, limiting words, tasks.

In many countries, children and teenagers are far less physically active than young people were in the past. What are the causes of this problem, and what measures could be taken to deal with it?

Answer: Topic – young people and exercise. Focus – the decline in physical activity. Limiting words – children and teenagers (not adults); than in the past (so causes must be things that have changed). Tasks – (1) causes; (2) measures. The measures should respond to the causes you give.

Key points

• Read the statement for topic and focus; read the instruction for the essay type and the number of tasks.
• Underline limiting words and make sure you address them.
• Choose a clear position that you can support, and keep to it.
• Two or three developed ideas are enough.
• Spend five minutes planning; the essay will be faster and better.

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