IELTS Writing Task 2: introduction technique

As I've said before, task 2 introductions should be short and direct. You only need to write two sentences in order to do two things:

1. Introduce the topic.
2. Respond to the question, making your position clear.

Take this question from last week's lesson:

More houses are needed in many countries to cope with increasing populations. Would it be better to build houses in existing towns and cities, or to develop new towns in rural areas?

Here's my 2-sentence introduction:

It is true that the populations of many countries are growing, and that new housing is therefore needed. In my opinion, it would be better to increase the provision of housing by creating new towns, rather than by further developing existing towns and cities.

Comments

[Hibba]

hello Simon
as I know when you write your introduction,you have to understand the question and try to paraphrase the sentences, but here you used many same words. is that acceptable for someone who strive to get the magic 7 in writing?

[Tariq Jamal]

Paragraph 2
The inauguration of new buildings in already developed parts of a country has twofold problems. To begin with, it is not good from medical perspective. Scientific research has shown that an increased degree of congestion will intensify the level of mental stress as well as noise pollution. Secondly, with increasing number of inhabitants in an urban area will increase sense of competition among the citizens for the existing resources. Hence, this imbalance in the demand and supply will not only augment the scarcity of resources but will also raise tariffs on certain basic necessities like electricity, gas and water.

Could anybody give me any suggestion about how to make this a band 7 paragraph? Please!

[Tariq]

Hi tariq jamal ,it seems to me very good and it will defiantly get 7

[azkad]

Hi there,
Here is my introduction:

It is common knowledge that a dramatic increase of people the world over is posing a number of questions to which housing is not an exception. I firmly believe that developing building projects on the rural outskirts of a country can solve the problem in question.

[bihi]

The burgeoning population growth of many countries demands new houses to be built.I think developing new towns in the rural areas is better than building more houses in existing towns and cities.

Hi Simon, how does this sounds?

[Manar]

Dear Simon,
How do I write an introduction for the below question? I find it difficult to write an introduction for these types of questions (when there is more than one part to answer)

Many people around the world are choosing to move to live in cities. What problems do people experience in big cities? Should governments encourage people to move to smaller towns?

[Khalda]

It is true that many countries in the world suffer from overcrowding and the number of houses should increase to solve this problem.In my opinion,it would be better to give a chance to new cities to see the light regarding this issue.
Give me ur ideas I need band 7 urgently please.

[Sandy]

Hi Simon:

If student write too much words ( about 60-80 words ) in introduction, what will be happen ?
Is that a good way to show your ability to examiner?

thank you in advance

[sonny]

Please give me suggestion or any opinion

It is true that the populations of many countries are growing, and that new housing is therefore needed. In my opinion, it would be better to increase the provision of housing by creating new towns, rather than by further developing existing towns and cities.

On the one hand, many problems are difficult to be avoided if extra residential buildings are being created in well-established towns and cities. Firstly, there is no doubt more demands tend to stimulate the housing prices, and as a result, only few people can afford to buy expensive houses. Besides, more people are vulnerable to be mentally stressful and depressive due to higher living expenditures and traffic congestion. Next, it can even pose a threat to residents’ living quality and condition. It is likely that many public leisure and recreation areas, such as gardens and parks, will be potentially substituted by new-built apartments. In fact, such green environments provide great opportunity for dwellers to breathe fresh air and relax themselves. Consequently, the loss of green lands can decline the life quality of citizens.

On the other hand, developing new towns in rural regions is a relatively available and efficient approach to resolve housing demands. The first and the most conspicuous advantage is that people can enjoy more comfortable living quality. As all sorts of necessities and amenities can be found in local community and inhabitants can enjoy convenient shopping experience rather than suffer from overcrowded city life. In turn, it could possibly relieve certain level of megacities’ traffic congestion and reduce urban air pollution. Besides, as living cost is not as high as cities, people have more disposable income to afford their trips or long distance journey, which can contribute to their happiness and wellbeing.

In conclusion, I personally believe that creating new communities in rural areas can bring much more benefits that developing existing towns and cities does not have.

[Mansour]

Dear Simon,

Nowadays in many countries, the population escalating has brought about new houses needed.In my opinion, it would be better to heighten the building of new houses by developing new towns in the rural areas.

[Aleksandra Bucholc]

Greetings for all.
I give you my trial on the task given,with the introduction of course. However,typically for me this essay is probably too long.I still have a problem with writing in a more concise way.

There is a visible boost in the number of inhabitants in cities and towns, across the world, with the urgent need for new housing system. While to a certain extent is still possible to extend existing places to live I consider the new towns development to be done in rural areas as much more efficient.

As regards the first proposal , putting it into practice would not be easy with the continuously increasing population. Even the most spacious city has its limitations which cannot simply be exceeded. The unreasonably high number of people ,per square metre ,may threaten them in terms of not met hygienic, healthy and safety standards..Certainly, the size of all forms of accommodations will be extremely restricted and more and more land is needed to build new ones at the cost of vanishing green and recreational areas. In addition, the scarcity of resources will also concern places of work, schools, health centres and means of transport unable to provide enough services for all citizens. All of this draws a miserable picture plus traffic on the roads, crimes on the streets and competition for everyday goods.

On the other hand, the second option may have some initial problems ,with the huge financial investment needed to transform the rural areas into a new urban centre. However, in the long-term the changes should be beneficial. When wisely designed, beautiful and self-sufficient units may be created with spacious houses and gardens and all the town infrastructure ,but on a smaller scale. Among them the job opportunities developing on the place are the most important ,and with good conditions to live, work and rest it may encourage people to stay there.

In conclusion, it is obvious that the growing population must be provided with new housing solutions. The much better and practical idea seems to be a creation of new smaller towns outside the most overcrowded cities instead of increasing them ,what should lessen their overload and allow new generations to live far more decently .

[Deepak]

Hi,

World bank website hosts information on development issues of the society.
Below topics are discussed:
Climate Change
Conflict
Corruption
Debt Relief
Disability
Education
Employment
Environment
Gender
Globalization
Health
HIV/AIDS
Infrastructure
MDGs
Trade
Urbanization

one can navigate the website using the below link:
http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/EXTABOUTUS/0,,contentMDK:23272494~pagePK:51123644~piPK:329829~theSitePK:29708,00.html

[SImon]

Thanks Deepak. I'll have a look at that.

[Bubbles]

Dear Simon,

Reading your blog has been the most powerful tool to improve my writing technique. Thank you very much for all your advices. I have achieve a 7.5 and just now I am thinking about taking the advance. Are you familiar with this exam?

As I said, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR HELP.

[Nafiseh]

Hi,can anybody please tell me whether this essay will score band 7 or not? Thanks

There is no doubt that the world population is growing rapidly. As a result, the need for new accommodations goes up. In my opinion in order to avoid over-crowed cities it is better to construct new towns rather than extra houses in existing cities.
First of all, congested cities always create serious problems for the inhabitants of those cities such as pollution and poor living standards. Pollution causes various diseases such as heart diseases and chronic pulmonary illnesses. Secondly, poor health care and poor education system is more common in over-crowed cities as there will be much bigger sized classes which make it difficult to be controlled by only one teacher. Added to this, crime rate is significantly higher in cities compared to towns. Finally, the cost of living will be much higher in a city which makes people to live in smaller and less hygienic
On the other hand, developing new towns help people to live in much better conditions and enable them to access wider facilities in terms of education, health care system and improved housing. Furthermore, pace of life is much slower in a town and people will have more sense of community. By this I mean people in towns are more friendly and considerate compared to people in cities. Moreover, lack of traffic jam means healthier environment with less infectious diseases. Many people in towns are living close to amenities such as schools, shopping centres where there is no need to drive a car is.
In conclusion, for the reasons mentioned above, I am convinced that building up new towns would help to avoid over-crowed cities and I firmly believe that constructing of new houses in existing cities causes populous cities.

[Nafiseh]

Sorry, in the end of the second paragraph is hygienic houses.

[SImon]

Congratulations Bubbles!

[Vy]

Hi,
I have a question to ask. I've got your essay structure model when I bought your idea ebook. My exam is this Saturday and i need to clear this on my mind asap.
In the discussion + OPINION essay, body paragraph 1 talks about 1 view then paragraph 2 talks about the second (the one you agree with). So, does these 2 paragraph needs to be at the same length? or the one I agree with has to be longer? Because last time I wrote the second one longer and the correction team suggest I should make those 2 equal
Can Simon or Martin or someone who knows this well give me the answer?

[Nafiseh]

Hi,Please ignore my first essay becuse there was two unwanted mistakes and I do not know how it happend.Anyway, this is the correct version.

There is no doubt that the world population is growing rapidly. As a result, the need for new accommodations goes up. In my opinion in order to avoid over-crowed cities it is better to construct new towns rather than extra houses in existing cities.

First of all, congested cities always create serious problems for the inhabitants of those cities such as pollution and poor living standards. Pollution causes various diseases such as heart diseases and chronic pulmonary illnesses. Secondly, poor health care and poor education system is more common in over-crowed cities as there will be much bigger sized classes which make it difficult to be controlled by only one teacher. Added to this, crime rate is significantly higher in cities compared to towns. Finally, the cost of living will be much higher in a city which makes people to live in smaller and less hygienic houses.

On the other hand, developing new towns help people to live in much better conditions and enable them to access wider facilities in terms of education, health care system and improved housing. Furthermore, pace of life is much slower in a town and people will have more sense of community. By this I mean people in towns are more friendly and considerate compared to people in cities. Moreover, lack of traffic jam means healthier environment with less infectious diseases. Many people in towns are living close to amenities such as schools, shopping centres where there is no need to drive a car.

In conclusion, for the reasons mentioned above, I am convinced that building up new towns would help to avoid over-crowed cities and I firmly believe that constructing of new houses in existing cities causes populous cities and its related problems.

[Nafiseh]

Sorry it is because not becuse.Thanks

[Nafiseh]

Hi Bubbles,
Can u please tell us what was the topic of task2 question in your exam? thanks

[Martin]

Hi Vy,

I always suggest my students to keep the body paragraphs similar in length. However, I think it is still OK if you write the 2nd one a bit longer. You won't get a lower score because of this!

I really don't think you need to worry too much about this. Just make sure you support your ideas in a logical, coherent manner and you will be fine.

Hope this helps.

Martin

[thangngovan]

Hi Vy and everyone
Can you tell me the exact name of "idea book", please?. I also want to know the types of essay task 2, structure, guide idea. So what books should i read?

[saipavan]

can an introduction part has how many sentences sir

[Asha]

Dear Sir and All,
Greatly appreciate the dedication. Please guide us in writing introduction for different categories of essays. According to my current knowledge, there are 4 .
1]. Argumentative- Should state the direction or balance in Introduction.
2]. Opinion or Thesis type- State it in intro.
3]. Discussion essay- Just mentioned as two sides exists in Inro, but take the side in para before conclusion as refute.
4]. Cause and effect type- Summarize both at Intro.

Please correct.

Thank You.

[Mishi]

Tommorrow is my test n this place help me very much in writing task thanks Simon

[Darwin Lesmana]

Dear Simon

Thanks for your great website.

Dear All

Could you please help by commenting on my introduction, (it doesn't have to be from Simon), I really need some positive critics.:

It is true that the positive growth on the economic sector for some countries is causing population increments, and resulting a new social problem, the high demand for properties. I strongly believed that the government should expand new residential suburbs, rather than concentrating the existing areas.

Thanks

[J,M]

Hi Simon, I did an IELTS preparation course and the instructor never mentioned anything about stating our opinion in the introduction, on the contrary, he said that we should only state our opinion in the conclusion. He also said that in the introduction we should only rephrase the key words and pose the twofold arguments that the question refers to. Is that right?

Here is my intro. Could you please tell me whether it would score 7 or not? Thank you

There is no question that the rise of megacities has increased the provision of new housing, however it is still a debatable issue whether new buildings should be inaugurated in well-established cities and towns or in rural areas.

[vanaja]

I have taken exam thrice. I got strucked in writing and speaking at 6.5. I recently moved to uk 3months ago.Could u please suggest how to improve in these modules? I have been working on ielts exam for the past 6 months.

Private companies that support and carryout scientific research are spending more than the government these days. Do u think advantages outweigh the disadvatages?Explain and give reasons .

How to write introduction, if i believe that it has both advantages and disadvantages.

[vanaja]

Dear simon,

I bought ur e book as well. I think it is a great web site.Kindly suggest me some advice regarding writing and speaking module. I have to give my PLAB(medical)exam in the month 0f june, if i get 7 in each module.

[sansan]

Dear simon,
I'm going to take Ielts Test. I find this website so helpful. Thank you so much.

[Charanya]

In today's world , population is one of the key problems faced by many countries. The increase in population demands a proportional increase in amenities for the citizens as well. I strogly beleive that government should build and develop rural areas than crowding the already crowded city areas.

Please let me know if this is ok

[Shervin]

Dear Simon,
It is my introduction.

Acoording to the increasing populations , some countries need more houses to address this problem. In my opinion, it would be better to build houses in new towns in lieu of developing houses in existing towns and cities.

[Janet]

Hi,Simon!
I need to get score 7 in each module. Is it possible to get few lessons with over the Internet or Skype ?
Please reply, thank you Janet

[Shahnoza]

Hi Simon!
I have recently come across your web site and found it useful. since then I have been following your lessons. Also, I decided to look through all your previous lessons.
here is my introduction:
It is true that many countries in the world are facing housing problems due to global overpopulation. In my opinion, it would be better to provide growing population with accomidation in suburban areas rather than expanding existing towns and cities

[tize]

rate my introduction guys,

The every increasing population in many countries means that more new houses are required. In my view, governments should develop new towns rather than rebuilding the existing ones for many reasons.

[tize]

Hi Vanaja,
An introduction for the question

Private companies that support and carryout scientific research are spending more than the government these days. Do u think advantages outweigh the disadvatages?Explain and give reasons .

In today's competitive world, many private corporations are spending too much on research and development which at times surpasses government budget on science. These developments, in my opinion, has both advantages and drawbacks.

[khushboo]

is there any common introduction for all essay ?

[Tom]

Could u rephrase this. many scientist think human activities are contributing to climate change. Write an article persuading people to live a greener life style.

A) rephrase the wording of the question

[binh]

Hi Simon and everyone,
Could you give me some advice on my introduction, please?
Thanks so much

It is not deniable that there is an increase in populations of many countries around the world and that means many new dwellings should be provided. In my opinion, building more houses in by developing new towns is more effective choice than doing so in presenting cities.

[Rabia]

Could u rephrase this. many scientist think human activities are contributing to climate change. Write an article persuading people to live a greener life style.

Simon please check out my introduction and then tell me is it right or not??

According to analist many of the civilized human being's activities are the main factors involved in creating environmental changes.people should change their life style in order to a live a healthy life.

[paramjit]

hi sir this topic is agree and disagree topic