Study IELTS Essay Writing Inside Out

What Is IELTS Essay Writing?

IELTS is a widely recognised exam around the globe for testing English proficiency, and essay writing is part of its writing section. IELTS essay is the same for academic and general, where you will be presented with a topic and asked to write an essay of around 250 words on the same.

You are allotted 40 minutes for the IELTS Task 2 out of the 60 minutes of the total writing test. In IELTS essay writing, you must express your thoughts, opinions, and arguments on a given topic. You will be assessed and evaluated based on your coherence, cohesion, use of lexical resources and grammatical accuracy.

Furthermore, the IELTS essay is a component of both exam types, meaning there is task 2 IELTS academic and task 2 general. IELTS academic asks you to write about a general statement or a controversial topic. You must also provide arguments, ideas, thoughts, and evidence to support your statements. Whereas IELTS general writing task 2 asks you to write about everyday situations like social issues, education, lifestyle chaos, or work.

How to Write an IELTS Essay?

Now that you know what IELTS essay writing is, let's dig deeper into how to write them. You must carefully plan, organise, and adhere to specific guidelines before you start writing. Follow the steps mentioned below to write a good essay response.

• Determine your opinions – You will be assigned one of four topics: giving an opinion, agreeing or disagreeing, proposing a solution, and pros and cons.  Decide what you think about the topic and why. Clear your mind, don't waver! You also need examples for this, so it is worth spending 5 minutes just planning.

• Trail the structure – Start with an attention-grabbing introduction that includes some background information, emphasise your central idea, make seamless transitions between body paragraphs, and wrap up with the ideas covered in the body paragraphs.

• Style your essay – Practise your vocabulary beforehand and use those words to express your ideas precisely. Pay more attention to grammatical errors, sentence formations, and word choice per the sentence’s context. 

• Other miscellaneous things to check – Avoid irrelevant data and informal style. Your essay has to be easy to read by the examiner, only assess your thoughts, and shouldn’t be expanded. There are more things to remember, that is, proofreading your essay.

Sample Essay Writing Questions

Now that you are well-versed in IELTS essay writing, it's time to practise by studying a few hypothetical essay questions. Look at them below.

Academic Essay Writing

Q1 - Write about the following topic:

Many people go through life doing work that they hate or have no talent for. Why does this happen? What are the consequences of this situation?

Give reasons for your answer and include relevant examples from your knowledge or experience.

Write at least 250 words.

Q2 - Write about the following topic:

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 ensure the survival of local languages, and if so, how?

Give reasons for your answer and include relevant examples from your knowledge or experience.

Write at least 250 words.

General Essay Writing

Q1 - Some people think that having a set retirement age (e.g. 65 years) for everybody, regardless of occupation, is unfair. They believe that certain workers deserve to retire and receive a pension at an earlier age.

Do you agree or disagree?

Which types of workers get benefits from early retirement?

Give reasons for your answer and include relevant examples from your knowledge or experience.

Write at least 250 words.

Q2 - Some people believe that teaching children at home is best for a child’s development, while others think it is important for children to attend school.

Discuss the advantages of both methods and give your own opinion. Give reasons for your answer and include relevant examples from your knowledge or experience.

Write at least 250 words.

Conclusion

To conclude, IELTS essay writing is meant to evaluate various writing skills, including how well you can order your thoughts, use a variety of language, and correctly employ grammar. Aside from this, you also get to understand what it is, its types, how to write them, and a few of the sample questions for your practical knowledge. 

We hope we have provided you with helpful insight into IELTS essay writing. Please contact Prepare IELTS (PI) counsellors if you need further guidance. Our team of education experts is dedicated to providing you with the best guidance in preparing for the IELTS Exam.

You can get a free one-on-one counselling session online via our platform. Contact us at info@prepareieltsexam.com or call us at +91 9773398388.