Many students are afraid of the second task in IELTS writing.
Why?
Well, Task 2 writing can be challenging for a number of reasons.
You can follow rules and advice, but do you still find it a problem to write 250 words?
Well, maybe you’re not sure you understand
- what you are writing,
- why you’re writing
- and for what purpose?
This post is going to provide a checklist so you can best attempt the task for a high Band Score
- and provide an example essay that answers a specific question
- which displays all the positive features of a high scoring Task 2 response.
I know candidates often struggle to get a good score in Task 2 writing and many don’t know the reason why?
Unlike Task 1, there are no rules to follow, no charts to comment on or features to notice.
In many ways, it’s a very different task and, unlike Task 1, it really does need you to talk about your ideas and opinions.
The first thing to do with any task question is to identify the parts of the question, the instructions and consider your opinion, for example, whether you agree and disagree with the statement presented, or to what extent.
You can do this by reading the question and identifying the topic and using the structure words to plan a line of argument.
You can use your own experience, but it is important to answer the question and answer it fully!
Too often, I see students attempt to answer their own question, be off topic by answering a similar question or even worse, attempt a question memorised from class.
Here is a checklist of the text features to consider in TASK 2
Remember to score highly in Task Achievement you must have
- Clearly stated an opinion
- Discussed both sides to an argument
- Supported both sides of an argument with relevant examples related to the question
- Clearly stated why one side of an argument is right
- Clearly stated why one side of an argument is wrong
- or stated to what extent you agree with the question
You can find out more about approaches to Task 2 Writing in this detailed post.
The Best Approach to Task 2 Writing for any candidate.
So, let’s begin. Here’s the Question I want to answer:
Studying at university is a great opportunity for all and it’s even more beneficial if the university attended is in a foreign country.
To what extent do you agree?
Here is my Response in more than four paragraphs.
More people are taking advantage of the opportunity to go to a foreign country to attend a university. University attendance rates in foreign countries have significantly increased over recent years for a number of reasons. A university education has several benefits for students; however this essay will discuss only aspects related to students that attend universities abroad.
Attending a university in another country has several advantages and disadvantages. First, the opportunity to develop language ability for future work will be discussed. Second, this essay will discuss how students can learn to increase their independence. Next, students self-control and discipline will be discussed. Finally, the problems associated with living costs in a foreign country will also be considered. Despite this, the I feel the benefits of this experience are great.
The first and perhaps the most obvious benefit of attending university abroad is that students can improve their language ability which can be useful for the their future careers. A very good example of this is a friend of mine who studied in Britain. She was able to improve her language ability so that on return to her country she was able to find a good position in a company. As a result of her fluency, understanding and translation abilities, she has been on many business trips and also received a promotion. So, attending a foreign university could improve a student’s career prospects.
A further advantage of attending university abroad is that students can increase and enhance their independence. Living and studying in a new and different environment can bring many challenges and new experiences. Being able to cope with these well are skills that can be useful in their future lives. Skills such as shopping, budgeting, cooking and travel and time management are transferable to later life after university, but can also increase a person’s adaptability and versatility.
However, coming with the increased independence are potential drawbacks related to a student’s self-control and discipline. Unlike at home, where everything is familiar, studying abroad may offer opportunities to share living space and meet new friends, try new experiences and also experiment. For many students, it may be difficult to be sufficiently disciplined enough to study when faced with these opportunities, while for others the experience may result in a form of culture shock. Both of these may have an effect on a student’s performance at university.
A further issue of international study is the costs involved. The costs are likely to be higher than in the home country and include international travel, tuition fees, accommodation, as well as daily living costs such as food and travel expenses. For many students, the opportunity to work part-time offsets some of these issues, and also provides useful life lessons. Despite that, costs remain one of the most significant factors for students studying abroad.
To conclude, while there are several advantages of studying abroad which include the improvement of language ability and independence, there are also many possible drawbacks that need to be carefully considered before embarking on such a decision. However, overall the greater long-term opportunities that it potentially offers successful graduates in the employment market is explained in the popularity of international education.
Remember you can write over the 250 words limit. This is a minimum, not a maximum target.
This is a Band 9 discussion essay because…
- It shows the writers opinion from the beginning (I feel)
- It structures the essay by the division of Introduction, Discussion, Reason, Reason and Opinion paragraphs.
- It provides a number of reasons (future career, career prospects, enhance independence) and a number of examples (bring challenges and experiences) AND extends the discussion (long-term opportunities)
- It links the discussion to the reasons (A further issue, a further advantage, the first and perhaps most obvious, potential drawbacks)
- It links further ideas in the paragraphs (as a result, despite that, both of these, a very good example)
- It answers the question directly and gives a reason (the greater long-term opportunities that it potentially offers successful graduates in the employment market is explained in the popularity of international education.)
- It users a variety of words that link sentences and ideas (first, finally, however)
- It emphasises the writers opinion (I feel)
- It uses lots of synonyms so that it does not repeat the question(study abroad, international education, University attendance rates in foreign countries)
- It tries to use NOUNS rather than verbs to sound academic and authoritative (enhance their independence, adaptability, versatility)
- It supports this with adjectives to add precision (sufficiently, successful, )
- It concludes with a strong call to action (the greater long-term opportunities that it potentially offers successful graduates in the employment market) and empahsises a consequence or condition (is explained in the popularity of international education.)
More people are taking advantage of the opportunity to go to a foreign country to attend a university. University attendance rates in foreign countries have significantly increased over recent years for a number of reasons. A university education has several benefits for students; however this essay will discuss only aspects related to students that attend universities abroad.
Attending a university in another country has several advantages and disadvantages. First, the opportunity to develop language ability for future work will be discussed. Second, this essay will discuss how students can learn to increase their independence. Next, students self-control and discipline will be discussed. Finally, the problems associated with living costs in a foreign country will also be considered. Despite this, the I feel the benefits of this experience are great.
The first and perhaps the most obvious benefit of attending university abroad is that students can improve their language ability which can be useful for the their future careers. A very good example of this is a friend of mine who studied in Britain. She was able to improve her language ability so that on return to her country she was able to find a good position in a company. As a result of her fluency, understanding and translation abilities, she has been on many business trips and also received a promotion. So, attending a foreign university could improve a student’s career prospects.
A further advantage of attending university abroad is that students can increase and enhance their independence. Living and studying in a new and different environment can bring many challenges and new experiences. Being able to cope with these well are skills that can be useful in their future lives. Skills such as shopping, budgeting, cooking and travel and time management are transferable to later life after university, but can also increase a person’s adaptability and versatility.
However, coming with the increased independence are potential drawbacks related to a student’s self-control and discipline. Unlike at home, where everything is familiar, studying abroad may offer opportunities to share living space and meet new friends, try new experiences and also experiment. For many students, it may be difficult to be sufficiently disciplined enough to study when faced with these opportunities, while for others the experience may result in a form of culture shock. Both of these may have an effect on a student’s performance at university.
A further issue of international study is the costs involved. The costs are likely to be higher than in the home country and include international travel, tuition fees, accommodation, as well as daily living costs such as food and travel expenses. For many students, the opportunity to work part-time offsets some of these issues, and also provides useful life lessons. Despite that, costs remain one of the most significant factors for students studying abroad.
To conclude, while there are several advantages of studying abroad which include the improvement of language ability and independence, there are also many possible drawbacks that need to be carefully considered before embarking on such a decision. However, overall the greater long-term opportunities that it potentially offers successful graduates in the employment market is explained in the popularity of international education.
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The Best Approach to Task 2 Writing
Paragraphing in Task 2 Writing
Writing – Benefits of a Foreign University Education
I’m Jonathan
I’ve taught IELTS and University English in more than a dozen universities and schools around the world.
I’m a parent, traveller and passionate about language teaching and helping students achieve their dreams.
Whilst living in Austria or working in Asia, I run IELTS courses to help students get to where they want to be.
If you are serious about IELTS, connect with me to see how I can help you.
