« IELTS Reading: finding and understanding | Main | IELTS Writing Task 1: overview, highest and lowest »

November 01, 2017

IELTS Writing Task 2: easy opinion, not real opinion

You don't need to give your real opinion in your task 2 essays. Just choose an opinion that is easy to explain and support. For example, read the paragraph below.

..........

In my view, a new recycling law would be just one possible way to tackle the waste problem. Governments could make it a legal obligation for householders to separate all waste into different bins. There could be punishments for people who fail to adhere to this law, ranging from a small fine to community service, or even perhaps prison sentences for repeat offenders. These measures would act as a deterrent and encourage people to obey the recycling law. As a result, the improved behaviour of homeowners could lead to a clean, waste-free environment for everyone.

..........

Look at the phrase that I've highlighted in bold italic letters. Do I really believe that people should be sent to prison for failing to separate household waste properly?

The answer is no. I simply chose an easy opinion, and I explained it in a logical way, building an argument that, I admit, becomes a little extreme! But the examiner will not judge my opinions as extreme; he or she will only judge the coherence of the paragraph and the language used. The 'prison sentence' idea will not bring my score down. In fact, it will probably help my score because I've expressed the idea using some nice vocabulary.

Comments

Feed You can follow this conversation by subscribing to the comment feed for this post.

Hi Simon!

This essay is a two-part question?

Should wealthy nations be required to share their wealth among poorer
nations by providing such things as food and education? Or is it the
responsibility of the governments of poorer nations to look after their
citizens themselves?

Posted by: farbod | November 01, 2017 at 10:30

It seems to be an opinion essay.

Posted by: farbod | November 01, 2017 at 10:35

Dear Sir,
I have been living in Dhaka city for ten years. I am writing this letter to work as a volunteer in the next sports occasion, held in this city.
First of all, I love to sport a lot. When I was younger never missed any event of this sport so that I would like to participate in this occasion as a volunteer because I will be happy if I could be a part of it.
As far as I know that all aged people will be taking part in this game so I will take care aged people and especially children because they are weak than adults. Moreover, I will distribute fresh water to players since that will a summer period.
However, speech that had given by mayor was very long in the last sports event, I hope it will shorten this occasion. Furthermore, if it is possible to organize a cultural program after the sport in the evening, it will make people happier than ever.
I looking forward to your quick response
Yours faithfully
Ashraful

Posted by: Ashraful | November 03, 2017 at 03:51

To some extent, it is true that citizens do not dispose of their garbage properly. It is believed by some that only solution is to pass a law to abide people to recycle their waste to increase recycling. However, in my opinion, this is not the only solution. Creating awareness of recycling will add up the impact of recycling legislation.
If the government implements a law for recycling based on the views of people, would citizens follow this law? Mostly, in recent practices, it has been seen that when any law is imposed, people try to manipulate and twist it. These laws are in fact for the betterment of society, but most people do not want to follow them. For instance, there are laws for a drink and drive, and only certain amount of alcohol is allowed, but we have witnessed many accidents due to excessive consumption of alcohol. Also, the government has set an age limit to purchase alcohol, but youngsters do not follow this law. This malpractice of not following laws is indicating that imposing law is not the only solution for a problem.
One the contrary, I believe that there are several other methods to increase recycling habit among citizens. First and foremost, education about recycling is the main solution. The government can allocate a small percentage of the budget for advertisement in the newspaper and on television. People will learn from these strategies, and this method can promote waste recycling habits among citizens. In addition, the government can provide recycling bins with proper labeling for each household. This will not only cater recycling habit but will also educate them about appropriate disposal of household waste.
In conclusion, I believe that government can approve law regarding waste recycling, but at the same time, proper education and allocation of budget for promoting advertisement campaign would create more awareness.

Posted by: Asad | November 03, 2017 at 13:36

@Asad

Simon: "Your score will immediately drop if you don't separate paragraphs clearly. My advice: leave a full line between paragraphs."

http://ielts-simon.com/ielts-help-and-english-pr/2011/11/ielts-advice-big-mistakes.html

https://www.google.co.nz/search?q=%22add+to+the+impact%22&tbm=bks&lr=lang_en&dcr=0&gbv=1&sei=hZX8WcGDN4WF0QSH9am4Bg

https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=in+recent+practices%2Cin+recent+practice&year_start=1960&year_end=2008&corpus=15&smoothing=3&share=&direct_url=t1%3B%2Cin%20recent%20practices%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2Cin%20recent%20practice%3B%2Cc0

https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=laws+*+drinking+and+driving&year_start=1960&year_end=2008&corpus=15&smoothing=3&share=&direct_url=t2%3B%2Claws%20%2A%20drinking%20and%20driving%3B%2Cc0%3B%2Cs0%3B%3Blaws%20against%20drinking%20and%20driving%3B%2Cc0%3B%3Blaws%20about%20drinking%20and%20driving%3B%2Cc0%3B%3Blaws%20on%20drinking%20and%20driving%3B%2Cc0%3B%3Blaws%20regarding%20drinking%20and%20driving%3B%2Cc0

https://www.google.co.nz/search?q=%22minimum+age+for+purchasing+alcohol%22&tbm=bks&lr=lang_en&gws_rd=cr&dcr=0&ei=5Jj8WaKHMsej0QTo8LyQCQ

https://www.google.co.nz/search?q=%22age+threshold+for%22&tbm=bks&lr=lang_en&gws_rd=cr&dcr=0&ei=0pj8WbrfJcjK0AS37LnQDA

is indicating -> suggests

https://www.google.co.nz/search?q=%22only+solution+to+the+problem%22&tbm=bks&lr=lang_en&gws_rd=cr&dcr=0&ei=q5n8WbHaK4uc0gS71ZvQDg

https://www.google.co.nz/search?q=%22citizens%27+recycling+habits%22&btnG=Search&lr=lang_en&dcr=0&tbs=lr%3Alang_1en&tbm=bks

https://www.google.co.nz/search?q=%22good+recycling+habits%22&btnG=Search&lr=lang_en&dcr=0&tbs=lr%3Alang_1en&tbm=bks

https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=cater+*&year_start=1800&year_end=2000&corpus=15&smoothing=3&share=&direct_url=t2%3B%2Ccater%20%2A%3B%2Cc0%3B%2Cs0%3B%3Bcater%20to%3B%2Cc0%3B%3Bcater%20for%3B%2Cc0%3B%3Bcater%20only%3B%2Cc0%3B%3Bcater%20more%3B%2Cc0%3B%3Bcater%20primarily%3B%2Cc0%3B%3Bcater%20exclusively%3B%2Cc0%3B%3Bcater%20in%3B%2Cc0%3B%3Bcater%20mainly%3B%2Cc0%3B%3Bcater%20the%3B%2Cc0%3B%3Bcater%20a%3B%2Cc0

Posted by: DaNang | November 03, 2017 at 16:44

Hi Simon,

Is it ok to use ''in this essay I'm going to explain...' for introduction ?

Thanks in advance

Posted by: Damla | November 03, 2017 at 19:32

@Danang

Thank you for the suggestion. Beside paragraphing, any other comments you would like to share.

Thanks.

Posted by: Asad | November 03, 2017 at 20:23

Q: Some people think that the only purpose of working hard is to earn money. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion.

There are some people who consider that the only intension of working strong is to gain money. While I agree that people work hard for earn money, I believe that it is not the only motive.

On the one hand, Money is the 1st priority for every human being to live a wealthy life. So each person have the only intention to working hard for earn money,because without hard work it's not possible to gain money. For example, if a man is the only income holder in a house and he have wife and children , it is very common that he take all the responsibility for his family. Therefore, he work hard for gain money.
On the other hand, there are some people in every society, they love to live in a ordinary life, also love to working hard. Moreover, they respect their duty and it is important to everyone that love and respect their work. Most of the people take their work as a responsibility and give their best to institution, but it is not for gain money. Sometimes, most of them rewarded for best performance and it's the another reason for hard work.
In conclusion, it is my opinion that intension is not the main think but working hard is most important for whole people and society. By heavy work one person can gain more money and live a healthy and respectful life.

(Sir, it is my very first eassy for writing task 2. Can you please check this and confirm me which brand deserve it and what was the mistake?)

Posted by: Rubaiya | November 07, 2017 at 18:10

@ Rubaiya

Some grammar issues:
"each person have"
"he have wife"
"he take"
"he work"
"love to working"
"most of them rewarded"

vocab:
"working strong" -> toil away
"income earner .." -> income earner in a household

Check back on Simon's task 2 advice by clicking on left-hand sidebar as needed.

Posted by: Vince | November 07, 2017 at 19:38

@vince

each persons have
he has wife
he takes
he works
love to work
most of them rewarded -> can't recognize

Thanks for your great suggestions. I will follow the advice

Posted by: Rubaiya | November 07, 2017 at 23:37

Many governments think that economic progress is their most important goal. Some people however think that other types of progress are equally important for a country. Discuss both views and give opinion.

It is often believed that the most important aim of government is economic advancement and progress. However, other people think that there are more important factors. I believe that although economic progress is relevant, other factors such as infrastructural development in areas of health and education is more important. This essay will discuss both views and reiterate my opinion.

Admittedly, economic advancement of a nation will provide some certain benefits to it's citizens such as provision of job opportunities. In a booming economy, there will be various avenues for job seekers to gain meaningful employment and this will contribute considerably to the standard of living of citizens. For example, a recent study contucted showed a strong relationship between economic growth and improvement in standard of living. However, I disagree with this opinion because economy is dynamic and can become unstable over time thereby endangering the jobs of people who depend on it to survive.

On the other hand, other dorms of progress particularly in areas of health and education are more far reaching. This is because, education is a sustainable and stable investment that hardly is affected by economic instability. Educated citizens can bring about technological and scientific advancements to a country which will benefit it in the long run. Furthermore, investment in health sector will bring about a healthy population with improved life expectancy.
In conclusion, although economic progress is an important aspect of a nation's development, I believe that government officials should focus more on education and health as this would prove to be more significant in the long run.

Posted by: Medynat | November 08, 2017 at 05:17

Anyone here taking the ielts test ( academic) on November 11 in New Zealand ?

Posted by: Lynn | November 08, 2017 at 19:26

hi,sir i have an problem in writing task2,actually
i have some idea but i can't expend that idea so because of this i have not completed my writing of 280 word.If possible can you give your advise to me ,please.

Posted by: sneha | June 04, 2018 at 08:47

The comments to this entry are closed.