These are the main Types of Task 2 essay questions:
- For- Against (Discuss both views and give your opinion)
- Problem- solution
- Advantages- Disadvantages, Positives-negatives
- Agree-Disagree
- Cause- Effect
All of the above essay question types can be written by addressing both sides of the argument.
Here are some essay structures you can use for all essay types:
Most common Task 2 essay structure
IELTS Task 2 essays can be written in four paragraphs
First paragraph: Introduction (General statement- An overview of the main topic)+ Thesis statement (Your opinion/what you think/what you will argue/What you are going to explain in the essay)
Second paragraph: Opposite side argument/Problems/Advantages/Causes/Reasons to disagree or agree
Third paragraph: Your opinion/Solution/Disadvantages/Effects/Reasons to agree or disagree
Fourth paragraph: Conclusion- Reiteration of your main ideas and opinion. You can also write a final statement such as recommendation or a consequence (use conditional sentence like “if”, “even if”)
There are different essay structures we can use to write a Task 2 essay
Have a look at this essay question:
‘The role of the government is to protect the country and provide urban infrastructure (roads, water supplies etc). All other services (education, health etc) should be provided by private companies.’
To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion?
There are different essay structures we can use to write the above given Task 2 essay
Structure 1: 4 paragraphs
First paragraph: Introduction (General statement + Thesis statement-my opinion)
Second paragraph: Reasons why some people disagree?
Third paragraph: Reasons why I agree?
Fourth paragraph: Conclusion (Reiteration of your main ideas and opinion + Recommendation/Consequence)
Structure 2: 4 paragraphs
First paragraph: Introduction (General statement + Thesis statement-my opinion)
Second paragraph: Reasons to agree?
Third paragraph: Reasons to disagree?
Fourth paragraph: Conclusion (My opinion + Recommendation/Consequence)
With “Do you agree or disagree” or “To what extent do you agree or disagree” questions, we can follow the below given structure as well, though it is not applicable for other question types.
Structure 3: 4/5 paragraphs
First paragraph: Introduction (General statement + Thesis statement-my opinion)
Second paragraph: Reasons why I agree
Third paragraph: Reasons why I agree
Fourth paragraph: Reasons why I agree (if needed)
Fifth paragraph: Conclusion (Mention both sides but reiterate my opinion + Recommendation/Consequence)
Structure 4: 4/5 paragraphs
Another excellent way to write agree/disagree essay is to strongly disagree with the argument.
First paragraph: Introduction (General statement + Thesis statement-my opinion)
Second paragraph: Reasons why I disagree with the view (Give reasons to why you think others are wrong)
Third paragraph: Reasons why I disagree with the view (Give reasons to why you think others are wrong)
Fourth paragraph: Reasons why I disagree with the view (Give reasons to why you think others are wrong)
Fifth paragraph: Conclusion (Mention both sides but reiterate my opinion + Recommendation/Consequence)
The benefit of Structure 5 is that you get to refute the opposite side strongly, which requires the usage of many complex and emphatic statements in order the convince the examiner about why you think the other side is wrong. This gives you a higher band score.
Model essay using Structure 4
‘The role of the government is to protect the country and provide urban infrastructure (roads, water supplies etc). All other services (education, health etc) should be provided by private companies.’
To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion?
Introduction
Government run and privately owned institutions are commonly seen in today’s world. Many people are of the opinion that it is the responsibility of the government to provide its citizens with essential services and basic infrastructure, whereas proponents of privatisation believe that privately owned enterprises are indispensable in order to have an efficient healthcare and education sector. In this essay, I will outline both sides and argue that private companies can dramatically improve the efficiency of major sectors and it is absolutely necessary to embrace capitalism.
Paragraph 2
One of the reasons why people are in favour of government run health care and education system is that affordable services can be given to people without any profit motives. Though affordability is not the only factor with which many people decide whether to choose particular services from a hospital. Just because treatment is cheap does not necessarily mean that patients are treated effectively. For instance, it seems to be evident that many government hospitals in developing countries like India are infamous for appalling services and treatment facilities. Indeed, most of these hospitals are so inefficient that they often fail to pay doctors on time due to surplus and out of control costs as a result of inefficiency.
Paragraph 3
When it comes to an industry such as education, people often argue that free access to education services should be provided for all its citizens especially children. Although they argue that education is a human right that should be provided by government, the most important factor of quality is overlooked by them. Advancements in teaching methods require technological prowess and significant investments that can only be provided by private enterprises. Moreover, the low skilled and unemployable students churned out by government schools can have a detrimental long run effect on the economy as graduates from these so-called public schools and colleges are unemployed or even underemployed.
Paragraph 4
There is one final argument that is often cited in defence of public ownership, which is the belief that transport and energy services can be provided with a price-cap regulation, making it affordable for all. However, in my view, this is not the best option. For example, government run electricity board in India is consistently criticised for frequent rolling blackouts as they cannot keep up with the increase in demand of electricity. Meanwhile companies like Reliance Power are providing services at a similar price but without any disruptions. A similar effect could be seen in the transport sector where frequent delays, cancellations and insanely crowded trains are commonly seen in Indian railways. As a result, travellers are unable to reach their workplaces on time and many deaths are reported every day in India die due to overcrowding.
Conclusion
To sum up, I believe that services such as the ones described above should always be privately owned where there will be more focus on quality of services rather than just affordability. If the chief aim is to provide high quality essential services at cheap prices, massive privatisation has to be encouraged without succumbing to false notions that it is corporate greed.
