IELTS Writing Task 2: three recent questions

Here are three questions that students have sent to me recently. Let me know, in the comments area, which question you think we should work on next.

Discussion question
Some people say that it is possible for a country to be both economically successful and have a clean environment. Others disagree. Discuss both views and give your own opinion.

Opinion question
Popular hobbies and interests change over time and are more a reflection of trends and fashions than an indication of what individuals really want to do in their spare time. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

2-part question
Society seems to pay less attention to women's sports than to men's sports. Why do you think this is the case? Is it a positive or negative trend?

Comments

[yeguo]

vote for Opinion question

[Maha Mustafa]

Hello Simon

can you please do the discussion question.

best regards

[Mandeepp kaur]

From my side we should go through with all these questions one by one with your daily sessions.
Thank you

[kelly]

i'd like to know more about the opinion question. thank you.

[shokhrukh]

These are actually great questions (especially the last two). Got me thinking a lot.

[Kk]

Opinion essay

[Pachu]

Seeing the examination pattern, most of the questions are of the opinion type and then discuss both sides.2 part question is a bit interesting but it is easy to answer.So, I recommend that we should work on Opinion Essay first, then discussion essay and at last 2 part question type essay.

[Ankit Joshi]

Opinion question?

[Vishaal]

Hello Simon
Is it possible that we can work on all 3 essay types? Personally, I would like to write essays on all three topics.

[Rupin]

2 part question

[Murad]

Dear Simon,
I consider that you have got more discussion and opinion essays than two-part ones. My suggestion is the third essay question.

[Kung Lien]

Discussion question

[Tae]

I would like to choose discussion question.

[Morteza]

please OPINION Q

[Nakie]

How about discussing all the 3 questions? That is my opiniom

[niuxiufeng]

I think all of these questions are difficult,
if possible, I prefer to solve them one by one with you,
our great teacher.

[Akter]

I would like to say a discussion type essay because It is more interesting than other types of question.

[Chandeep]

On the contrary i think opinion question seems more interesting and at certain aspects difficult to tackle, so discussing it would give more insights of essay writing and mistakes generally students do.

[Orhan]

2 part question

[David]

the opinion question could be a common ielts question that comes in a way or another. It could be also helpful in the speaking module, in terms of generating ideas.

[den]

Hello Simon,

I think 2-part question will be the best.

[Pri]

Hello Simon,

2-part question would be great.

Even though tips for other types wouldn't harm anyone either.

[Vishaal]

Society seems to pay less attention to women's sports than men's sports. Why do you think this is the case? Is it a positive or negative trend?

These days, male games are getting more popularity than female sports. I think the orthodox mentality of some people towards women’s capabilities contributes to this and this is a completely downward trend as many females are playing equally good or better than males in some sports.

Even today, many people in our society keep the belief that male athletes are a stronger and better performer than female players for many sports. This is often because they might carry the negative mentality of their parents or grandparents as in the past, it was quite common for people to think that women are not efficient enough for many activities including sports. For instance, it is the fact that in some villages of India, females are not allowed to even participate in sports due to the negative outlook of villagers.

I think that the trend of favoring only men’s sports is detrimental for society as female players would get demotivated for sports activities and as a result, a country may lose some talented players who are able to increase its recognition around the globe. For example, the female wrestler Mary Kom is the first boxer in India who won six consecutive gold medals in the World Championship tournaments. If she was not recognized or followed or supported by Indians, she would not have won all the gold medals and raised India’s respect in the world.

In conclusion, female games are not getting enough recognition due to the negative outlook of society towards women’s abilities for sports and I consider this a negative development as the game of proficient female players may hamper drastically.

[Daman]

Opinion essay

[Veronica Mars]

Hi Simon, can’t help writing the opinion essay lol. would you please grade it? sometimes I write an essay way longer than required. is it gonna affect my score negatively? I have been trying to get an 8 for the writing test, but I’ve been stuck with a 7.5 for three times in a row. kinda frustrated.

Opinion is divided as for the statement that the change in the common hobbies with time demonstrates social trends rather than individuals’ conscious choices. Personally speaking, it equally represents the feature of the current era and the private interest; each plays an important role.

the popular hobbies first surely reflect the fashion. Many people probably won’t know there’s such an activity until they repeatedly see relevant news coverage or Facebook posts about it. For example, I wouldn’t have become a fan of outdoor sports if I hadn’t first heard from friends that there were several National Parks in New Zealand that were perfect for hiking. Besides, when a hobby gets popular, there are more vendors selling the gears and tools required for it, which in a way facilitates the accessibility of such a thing. Last, many people see hobbies as a chance to spend some quality time with friends. Thus it doesn’t matter too much what they personally want to do; it’s just a venue to socialize. The popularity of the table game called Wolverine Kill in China exactly proves my point.

On the other hand, it’s also the personal decision for many people. For one thing, a hobby can get trendy exactly because people start to do it. Clearly the first batch of people who develop a certain hobby genuinely love it. For another, for a hobby to get popular, it at least has to somehow speak to the contemporary minds, catering to the interest and needs of the general public. Otherwise among tons of activities, why are a certain few gets so hot? Why not the others? Take the outdoor sports for example again. The reason why it has become the newly found passion for many people is exactly that the urbanites are so tired of being caged in the concrete buildings and breathing in toxic air day by day. They desperately want to get close to natural views and free themselves from the anxiety brought by work.

The influence of both factors decides what’s the next hit in society. Popular hobbies of course change, partly due to the technological advance and partly due to people’s pursuit of sense of novelty. In the time of computer games, many people are addicted to it. It doesn’t mean people didn’t like playing computer games before; it’s just that computers weren’t invented yet. And those people might prefer something else to computer games in the future, because they need something new to give them a sense of freshness and excitement.

[cara]

Vishaal

These days, male games are getting more popularity [becoming more popular/ achieving more popularity] than female sports.

https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=men%27s+sports%2Cmale+games%2Cfemale+sports%2Cwomen%27s+sports%2Cmale+sports%2C+female+games&year_start=1960&year_end=2008&corpus=15&smoothing=3&share=&direct_url=t1%3B%2Cmen%20%27s%20sports%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2Cmale%20games%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2Cfemale%20sports%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2Cwomen%20%27s%20sports%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2Cmale%20sports%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2Cfemale%20games%3B%2Cc0
[]
['games' would include internet and video gaming, so avoid here.
'downward trend' indicates direction, that is, declining popularity, whereas 'negative trend' in the question is about whether it is good or bad for society as a whole. ]

Even today, many people in our society keep [hold]the belief that male athletes are a stronger and better performers than females players for many sports. This is often because they might carry ... [in next section use: 'due to the lower social status of women' ? ]

I think that the trend of favoring only men’s sports ...

In conclusion, female games sport is are not getting ... as the game of proficient female players may hamper [be hampered: 'hampered' means somewhat restricted and so cannot be 'drastic'].

[Why not mention equality? Effect on self-esteem? Sport as an essential activity for health in a sedentary society or occupation? News media bias as a symptom of a patriarchal society? The enslavement of women? ]

[Nihat]

Hey Simon,

I think 2 part question is the most difficult one. Would be great if we move on with that. Thanks.

[Anne]

In this case, I would choose the 2-part question as the most difficult one. I hope you can help us to handle it step by step. Thank you so much!

[Maitri]

Hello Simon,

I think for 2-part question we are facing hurdle

[Vishaal]

Difficult but just did it!

Some people say that it is possible for a country to be both economically successful and have a clean environment. Others disagree. Discuss both views and give your own opinion.

While some believe that a nation can grow its economy without making pollution by acquiring advanced techs, I believe that industrialization and immigrating higher number of skilled workforce in particular country would be the best options as new systems are yet not ready to use, and these both ideas are likely to affect our environment negatively.

It seems that people might be considering modern technologies, like artificial intelligence which demonstrates greater productivity without the need of skilled workers, in support of their argument and may argue that if a nation has fewer modernized industries instead of many traditional production facilities, product output will enhance significantly and hence lesser waste will be produced and this would boost the country’s economy without making much pollution. Japan, for instance, is the least polluted country in the world which shows a consistent rise in the economy year by year.

On the other hand, I am uncertain about the success and implementation of modern techs in our industries as most of these are not yet fully equipped for the implementation. In this case, a country would still need to rely largely on existing manufacturing processes as well as expand it to enhance the product output and thus boosting the economy. Moreover, a country would also require a more talented workforce to run industries efficiently and ultimately making more profit. As a result, the level of air, water and soil pollution would grow as more waste would be produced by industries and more vehicles would be needed for the transportation of working people.

In conclusion, although it would be possible for a country to develop its economy and maintain the pollution-free environment at the same time by using modern techs in industries, I would argue that such techs are yet not fully developed for use and environmental pollution would be inevitable because of industrial proliferation and increased workforce in a country.

[Vishaal]

Thanks again Cara for the assessment of my work and valuable suggestions!

[Vishaal]

Popular hobbies and interests change over time and are more a reflection of trends and fashions than an indication of what individuals really want to do in their spare time. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

It has been argued that people’s preference for spare-time activities varies time to time and this is primarily due to they follow latest trends and fashions instead of what actually interests them to do in their free time. I completely disagree with this argument.

In my view, many people hold the same hobbies for many years. This is because individuals often appear improvements in their performance of particular activity as they practice it more and consistently, and thus this motivates them to not only become better at their hobbies but also progressing them to get mastery in it. With such encouragement, I do not see any point that anyone wants to change his or her hobby in the future. M.S. Dhoni, for example, is playing cricket as his hobby since his childhood and I suppose he will pursue the same hobby or game till his retirement.

I believe that most people would like to spare their free time in their favorite activities rather than in following the latest trends and fashions. Although some youngsters would prefer to follow latest trends and fashions, I think they would do it for a shorter span of time and in the long-term, they would prefer more to pursue activities which really excite them rather than following currently popular things. For instance, most of the males in India used to grow their beards as a trend just a year ago, but nowadays I rarely see anybody who has a beard on his face.

In conclusion, I firmly believe that the majority of people would like to pursue same hobbies over the years and they would choose more to do those things which truly interest them instead of following trends and fashions for a long time.

[Oleg]

@Vishaal

"techs" means technicians. You need 'technology' here.

-> I believe that the best options for a particular country would be industrialization and allowing higher number of skilled immigrants
-> both these

-> There seems to be little support to the argument that modern technologies ....
OR ... little merit in the argument...

https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=little+*+for+the+argument%2Clittle+*+to+the+argument%2C+little+merit+*+the+argument&year_start=1960&year_end=2008&corpus=15&smoothing=3&share=&direct_url=t2%3B%2Clittle%20%2A%20for%20the%20argument%3B%2Cc0%3B%2Cs0%3B%3Blittle%20support%20for%20the%20argument%3B%2Cc0%3B%3Blittle%20sympathy%20for%20the%20argument%3B%2Cc0%3B%3Blittle%20evidence%20for%20the%20argument%3B%2Cc0%3B.t2%3B%2Clittle%20%2A%20to%20the%20argument%3B%2Cc0%3B%2Cs0%3B%3Blittle%20difference%20to%20the%20argument%3B%2Cc0%3B%3Blittle%20weight%20to%20the%20argument%3B%2Cc0%3B%3Blittle%20support%20to%20the%20argument%3B%2Cc0%3B%3Blittle%20force%20to%20the%20argument%3B%2Cc0%3B%3Blittle%20merit%20to%20the%20argument%3B%2Cc0%3B%3Blittle%20attention%20to%20the%20argument%3B%2Cc0%3B%3Blittle%20credence%20to%20the%20argument%3B%2Cc0%3B%3Blittle%20importance%20to%20the%20argument%3B%2Cc0%3B%3Blittle%20consequence%20to%20the%20argument%3B%2Cc0%3B.t2%3B%2Clittle%20merit%20%2A%20the%20argument%3B%2Cc0%3B%2Cs0%3B%3Blittle%20merit%20in%20the%20argument%3B%2Cc0%3B%3Blittle%20merit%20to%20the%20argument%3B%2Cc0

-> and, thus boosting the economy.
.. to run industries efficiently and ultimately to make more profit.

[Comment: why do we need economic 'growth' in the first place? ]

[Oleg]

@ Vishaal

-> due to (them) following the latest trends [Some people would write their following .... ]

-> many people pursue the same hobbies for many years. This is because individuals often achieve improvements ...

I do not see any point at which anyone would wish to change...

M.S. Dhoni, for example, has been playing cricket as his hobby since...
[present perfect with 'since']

I believe that most people would like to use their free time ...

Avoid the word 'youngsters' in IELTS. It is old-fashioned.

to pursue the same hobbies over the years

[Vishaal]

Thanks a lot Oleg for the assessment.

Did I achieved task in both the essays? I was little unsure at the time of writing.

Can you please elaborate your comment on economic growth, sorry I do not understand what points you want to make?

[Oleg]

@ Vishaal

"Popular hobbies and interests change over time": Task 2 questions often contain an assertion about the current situation, a premise. The easy route is to just accept the premise, rather than trying to argue it as you have done in the second paragraph.

The question asks for your position along a spectrum with "a reflection of trends and fashions" at one extreme and "what individuals really want to do" at the other end. Perhaps this suggests one paragraph each for each factor. Perhaps one exploring how trends and fashions influence people, and the other how people find out what really interests them. Or alternatively, think of examples from your own life, friends and acquaintances, base your essay on them, and build up your own viewpoint. Do you know someone who has turned a hobby into a business? Someone who found a new hobby later in life?

Economic growth seems to be the main criterion for 'success' in government, but perhaps all it means is the rich grow richer and so on. You might like to consider:
what are the criteria for eco-sustainability?
If sustainability implies cutting back on over-consumption, then growth will be checked and possibly living standards will fall. For example, if vehicle ownership per capita in India was the same as in the USA, pollution would be twenty times as much. So do we want this kind of economic growth and rise in living standards?
India = one car per twenty people.
USA = not far off one car each.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_vehicles_per_capita

[Vishaal]

Got it now, thanks Oleg!

[Jie]

Hi, Simon, the third one looks difficult. But it will be perfect if you can figure out all three of them with us. Haha

[MikeLi]

I prefer 2-part question. Cheers!

[Liz]

Hi Simon,
I wonder if this is a right way to respond the question.

In many countries smoking in now illegal in public places.
Do you agree or disagree?

Smoking has been banned in public places like parks, hospitals, public transport and restaurants in many nations. This essay agrees with this initiative because it reduces the harmful effects of passive smoking and also encourages smokers to quit.

Thank you very much!

[ilkin]

Hi All,
Could you please help me to choose the best approach answering "Using a cell phone while driving is dangerous because it causes the driver to become distracted. Therefore, cell phone use by drivers should be made illegal.
To what extent do you agree or disagree?" question.

Option 1:
It is often argued that there should be a law against using a cell phone while driving, but I completely disagree with this point of view. I believe that often cell phone use by a driver is necessary and there are ways to make it safe.

Body Pharagraph 1: cell phones are necessary
Body Pharagraph 2: other ways to make it safe while driving

Option 2:
It is often argued that there should be a law against using a cell phone while driving. While I agree that mobile phones could distract a driver while driving a car, I believe that there are other ways to make it safe.

Body Pharagraph 1: Yes, cell phones could distract a driver and could be dangerous.
Body Pharagraph 2: However, banning phone use while driving is not a solution. there are other ways.

[zoltan]

@ Liz

"This essay agrees with this initiative": I am not sure in what sense an essay can agree with anything. Only people can have an opinion. Of course we can use 'agree with' to mean 'be in conformity with', as in:
a) the picture does not agree with the original;
b) the two scales agree exactly.

That said, I acknowledge that the phrase does occur on Google book some dozen or so times. However, it seems to me overly academic or stilted at the very least. In my opinion, what the examiners are looking for is something more natural like "I believe", as used in the British Council model answer.

[SHREYASH MAKWANA]

Opinion essay

[zoltan]

@ Ilkin

You would need to prove that using a cell phone while driving is necessary, rather than baldly asserting it: where is your evidence and examples? How did people live without cell phones whilst driving for nearly a century in the period 1900 to 1995? Why do people not use cell-phones whilst riding a horse?

What are the "other ways" to make it safe? Do "hands-free" phones not distract the driver too?

In what way is looking at a mobile phone more distracting and dangerous than holding a conversation with a passenger, or alternatively twisting round to sort out the children in the back seat?

Good luck with that.

[ilkin]

@zoltan
of course, my body pharagraphs will contain supporting details.
My question is different, that is, about task achievement.

[zoltan]

@ ilkin
The first sentence of the question is a premise or assumption on which the actual question is based. For IELTS purposes, it is often easiest to go along with this, as there is not really enough time or space to explore whether this is a valid and safe foundation. I do not see the point in wasting your first body paragraph in agreeing with the first sentence in the question, although if you wished to challenge the premise it might be worthwhile.

So this might be possible:
Body paragraph one: using cell phones while driving is no more distracting than conversing with a front seat passenger or dealing with children in the back seat (and therefore no legislation is called for).

Body paragraph two: other solutions (hands-free headsets, AI driver-less cars).

Ultimately though, you are up against statistics, such as: cell phones caused 26 percent of car accidents in the U.S. in 2014. Text messaging causes 5 percent of crashes.
https://www.beyandassociates.com/2018/04/how-many-car-accidents-are-caused-by-cell-phones/
Government has an interest in this because they pay for all the police, and emergency services that become involved in an accident, and in some countries pick up the tab for long term disabilities and personal injuries caused, together with hospitalization, rehabilitation and physiotherapy costs.

The main difficulty seems to be enforcement. This is the case where I live, where phoning while driving is already illegal. There are many other factors involved in reducing the road toll, including rumble strips, median dividers, AI aids, increased petrol prices and so on, but significant reductions can be achieved.

[reet]

A nation's success often comes with a compromisation on their environment. however, nowadays, some optimistic people come forward with a view that a country can be both economically prosperous and have aaa health surrounding whereas others still contradict and believe that it is not possible to achieve both elixirs of life simultaneously. this essay intends to delve into both views apropos. I, however, vehemently accord with former view.

[Charlotte]

Help me check this writing,,,,thannnnnkkk you in advance!!!!
Happy new year

public museums and art galleries are not needed because people can see historical objects and artistic works by using computers TO what extent do you agree or disagree?

It is true that people can search and see information about relics and artifacts on the Internet without leaving our home. While some people believe that the Internet can totally replace museums, I fully disagree with this view that the museum will be not necessary for our life.

On the one hand, nowadays, the importance of museums is to be used education. Many parents are more willing to visit the museum with their children than stay at home and look for information and photos online because they know watching in person can bring history alive. The experience could give deep information on children’s feelings and memories, and children could understand better for the historical knowledge and story of relics. On the other hand, schools and teachers like to organize students to go to the local museum on the weekend as a team activity, which can strengthen their bones by learning and traveling together. Therefore, the museum still plays a significant role in each country.

At the same time, the museum is a vital tourist attraction in many nations. For example, the biggest museum, Beijing history museum, is located in Beijing, and there are thousands of domestic and international people to visit there. It is a fortune that people can see the precious relics and artifacts by themselves, and it could boost the local economy.In addition, the museum is a good place to collect and preserve crucial an expensive historical items as well as can be served as a job site where can offer well-paid and decent jobs for those people who did not get high qualifications, definitely, it could reduce the rate of unemployment. Personally, computers could not bring so many benefits to the public and society.

In conclusion, It seems to me that we can gain more form museum such as better education, job, and finance, and I believe that computer can be a good teaching and learning aid.

[zsófi]

Charlotte

https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=I+*+disagree&year_start=1960&year_end=2008&corpus=15&smoothing=3&share=&direct_url=t2%3B%2CI%20%2A%20disagree%3B%2Cc0%3B%2Cs0%3B%3BI%20would%20disagree%3B%2Cc0%3B%3BI%20strongly%20disagree%3B%2Cc0%3B%3BI%20must%20disagree%3B%2Cc0%3B%3BI%20totally%20disagree%3B%2Cc0%3B%3BI%20may%20disagree%3B%2Cc0%3B%3BI%20also%20disagree%3B%2Cc0%3B%3BI%20entirely%20disagree%3B%2Cc0%3B%3BI%20respectfully%20disagree%3B%2Cc0%3B%3BI%20completely%20disagree%3B%2Cc0%3B%3BI%20do%20disagree%3B%2Cc0

With countable nouns it is easier to generalize in the plural without any articles. museums

-> museums are important for educational purposes

The experience could give deep information on children’s -> Museums can provide memorable experiences.

On the other hand: wrong linking adverbial phrase. This point is in support of the previous one. If it truly were 'on the other hand' then a new paragraph would be required to maintain one central idea within each paragraph. See Band 7 Cohesion requirements.

-> It is fortunate that

economy.In addition : space after the full stop please.

To me, the third paragraph is something of a jumble of ideas without any particular development or logic.

Maybe point out that the exhibits are all laid out and displayed, whereas online one has to troll through stuff aimlessly? Also, the exhibits must be stored somewhere in order to photograph them, and somehow be made physically available to researchers. Again, certain countries had a habit of stealing art treasures during colonial times, so perhaps there is a compromise to be made when returning them to their rightful owners.

[Charlotte]

@zsófi

Thank you for your feedbacks
Happy New year
thank you very much

[Sail]

Dear Simon,

I think that the '2-part question' is a very interesting topic.

I so wonder how you will answer such a topic.

To be honest, I do not have good ideas about it.

[Firasath]

Hi simon
Can we do the discussion questn

[Arpan Shah]

Hi,
I will be much happier if u discuss opinion essay first.

[Sam]

Hi, i will go for opinion question but also discuss 2 part question