IELTS Writing Task 2: from ideas to paragraph

Following on from the paragraph about a recycling law in last week's lesson, we need to write a paragraph about other measures that governments could take to encourage recycling.

Here's my plan for a 5-sentence paragraph:

1. Topic sentence: other measures, instead of a recycling law
2. First idea: educate people with a recycling campaign
3. Example: teach children in schools, inform homeowners too
4. Second idea: regulations for companies that produce packaging
5. Third idea: invest in recycling facilities to process waste better

Here's a paragraph using the ideas above:

However, I believe that governments should do more than simply introduce a recycling law. It would be far more effective if politicians put education, rather than punishment, at the centre of a recycling campaign. For example, children could be taught about recycling in schools, and homeowners could be informed about the environmental impact of household waste. Another tactic that governments could use would be to create stricter regulations for the companies that produce the packaging for household products. Finally, money could also be spent to improve recycling facilities and systems, so that waste could be processed more effectively, regardless of whether people had separated it correctly in the home.

Comments

[preet]

It is really very nice. Simon please could u tell me how to make intro more effective like how to write thesis and background intro?

[Eric Gao]

Hi Simon,
I have followed your blog for a period of time and I did gain a lot of achievements. Now I have a question with regards to task 2, to be specific the agree or disagree essay. In most cases, the statement in the topic consists of two parts; one is a fact and the other is an idea. My question is that when I argue in an essay, can I challenge both the fact and the idea or the idea only. Anyway, we can make an assumption that a fact is always right and you cannot move it in any circumstance. however, sometimes we would have much more options if we could argue the fact as well. Thank you, Sir

[Zoltan]

@Eric Gao

See Martin's comments and Simon's reply here:

http://ielts-simon.com/ielts-help-and-english-pr/2017/11/ielts-writing-task-2-from-ideas-to-paragraph.html#comments

Also:

IELTS Question:"These days many of us prefer to throw damaged things away,.."

Comment: "What can I write if I disagree with the premise? For example, "many of us prefer.." ; no we don't "prefer", we just have no alternative."

Reply:
You make a good point, and in the "real world" you are of course right. However, in the context of an IELTS test I would say that you are over-complicating things.

You could disagree with the premise and deconstruct the assumptions made in the question, but I don't think this would be the wisest course of action. It's going to be much easier to simply accept the (simplistic) premise and answer the questions. Remember that this is just a language test.

http://ielts-simon.com/ielts-help-and-english-pr/2017/03/ielts-writing-task-2-two-part-question.html

[Zoltan]

@preet

http://ielts-simon.com/ielts-help-and-english-pr/2010/08/ielts-writing-task-2-how-to-write-an-introduction.html

Note Simon's comment: "It is completely unnecessary to write a thesis statement"

and google "IELTS simon task 2 thesis" for more.

[Hong minh]

Hi Simon, I have followed your website for one year, last day I took my first IELTS test, unfortunately I did not finished the conclusion paragraph in task 2 of writing test. Could you tell me how it will affect my writing score? Thank you so much.(Task 2 was about causes and effects So I just had to paraphrase the question in conclusion part? )

[Ferenc]

@Hong minh

"[Simon] then states his opinion in the topic sentence of the second body paragraph, and again in the conclusion.

Many IELTS teachers don't advise doing this, but it is clearly in the IELTS marking criteria, so focus on communicating your opinion throughout the essay."

http://ielts-simon.com/ielts-help-and-english-pr/2017/06/ielts-writing-task-2-homework-essay.html

[nav j]

Hi
What I feel is that the last two points in second body paragraph are not explained fully as i have studied in the examiner comments on various essays given in cambridge books .They ofently argue that student fail to achieve marks due to insufficient explaination of some particular point.

[Masoud Hadadi]

IELTS test in Iran and the Philippines – October 2017 (Academic Module):
WT2
Many people complain about commercial advertisements and their influence on children. Should it be controlled by the government? What are the possible effects on children?

[Simon]

nav j,

Remember that the last two points are explaining the main point of the paragraph. In other words, I'm using them to explain the topic sentence fully - you're not expected to explain every supporting point fully.

[Karl]

This is really effective!

Hi Simon! Your website is the best. This was the only reference I used for my self-review. I followed all your advice and applied all your techniques which led me to achieve a great score. I just got my result today, L-9 R-8.5 W-7 S-7. You have contributed immensely to my success. Thank you so much!

[Simon]

Thanks Karl, and congratulations. Great scores!