IELTS Simon

IELTS Writing Task 2: 'artificial intelligence' topic

On Monday I shared a reading exercise about artificial intelligence. I chose that topic because it seems to be appearing in the news a lot at the moment, with people like Elon Musk saying that they are worried about it.

Perhaps we should prepare some ideas and opinions about artificial intelligence, in case this topic appears in the IELTS test.

Here are some questions to encourage you to prepare ideas:

1. What does artificial intelligence (AI) mean?
2. Can you give any examples of it?
3. What benefits might AI bring?
4. What are the potential drawbacks or dangers?
5. What is your opinion of AI?

IELTS Vocabulary: from the 'advertising' essay

Here are some good phrases from the essay that I shared in Wednesday's lesson. Write them down in your notebook, and see if you can use them in your own sentences.

• we are increasingly surrounded by
• has an impact on
• tempt people to buy products
  
• that they might not otherwise want
• queuing to buy the latest models
• does not need replacing
• the influence of marketing
• leads us to make decisions
• stay up to date
• the latest fashions
• a high-status device
• make choices
• make a purchase
• new versions of products
• improved features
• improved safety features
• more economical to run (referring to a car)
• pollute less
• communicate more quickly or effectively
• enhancing their quality of life
• our buying behaviour
• their real needs

IELTS Writing Task 2: 'power of advertising' essay

Somebody asked me whether I had a sample answer for the question below, which comes from Cambridge IELTS book 6. I realised I had an old essay that I wrote with some students, so I'm sharing that with you today.

Today, the high sales of popular consumer goods reflect the power of advertising and not the real needs of the society in which they are sold. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

It is true that we are increasingly surrounded by advertising by companies that want to sell us their products. To some extent I agree that advertising has an impact on sales, but I would also argue that we do need most of the goods that we buy.

Advertisements can certainly tempt people to buy products that they might not otherwise want. A good example could be the mobile phone. Every year people can be seen queuing to buy the latest models, even when they already have a perfectly good phone that does not need replacing. Perhaps it is the influence of marketing that leads us to make these kinds of decisions; we want to stay up to date with the latest fashions or own the newest high-status device. The high sales of the iPhone seem to support this idea.

On the other hand, I believe that most people do not buy products because of the advertising alone. There are other good reasons why we make these choices, and there must be some kind of need before a person makes a purchase. New versions of products almost always have improved features that buyers may want. A new car, for example, may have greatly improved safety features, or it may be more economical to run, or it may pollute less. A new phone may allow the user to communicate more quickly or effectively, thus enhancing their quality of life.

In conclusion, while advertising obviously influences our buying behaviour, I do not agree that people make decisions that go against their real needs.

(261 words)

Note:
I wrote this essay with my students during a lesson using the students' ideas. I haven't checked it properly, so maybe we can analyse it together. It might not be perfect!

IELTS Writing Task 2: vocabulary and grammar review

Here's a list of the good vocabulary in last week's essay:

• national versus global
• great books and historical events
• global events and foreign novels
• develop a sense of identity
• this approach is appealing to parents
• just as their parents did (meaning "like their parents did")
• educational continuity across the generations
• an emphasis on
• gives educators a narrower teaching scope
• making curriculum design an easier task
• cause unnecessary difficulty and confusion
• more able to comprehend
• events that took place in
• exposure to international literature
• is likely to require
• not ready for such complications
• it is undesirable
• to cover aspects of
• ground their pupils in the local culture

And here's my analysis of the grammar in the same essay:

- No mistakes at all.
- Plenty of sentences with more than one clause.

There's no need for a deeper analysis of grammar than this. Examiners don't have a checklist of required 'structures' or sentence types!

Remember: vocabulary mindset!

IELTS Writing Task 2: 'literature and history' essay

We've been looking at the following task for several weeks, so I think it's time for a full sample answer.

Some people believe that it is more important to teach children the literature and history of their own country, rather than the literature and history of other countries. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

People have different views about the teaching of national versus global literature and history in schools. Personally, I support the idea that children should study first and foremost the great books and historical events of their own countries.

There are several reasons why I believe that schools should focus on teaching national literature and history. Firstly, children enjoy learning about where they live, and by studying the ideas, culture and history of their own countries they begin to develop a sense of identity. At the same time, this approach is appealing to parents, who studied the same books and historical events and can therefore help their children with school work. English children, for example, read Shakespeare and learn about the Battle of Hastings just as their parents did, and there is educational continuity across the generations. Finally, an emphasis on national literature and history gives educators a narrower teaching scope, making curriculum design an easier task.

By contrast, the study of global events and foreign novels could cause unnecessary difficulty and confusion for school pupils. For example, I do not see the point in presenting Russian or Chinese history to a British child who has not yet studied the history of his or her own country in detail. Surely the child would be more able to comprehend historical events that took place in London than those that happened in Moscow or Beijing. Similarly, any exposure to international literature is likely to require the teaching of a foreign language or the use of translations. Young people at primary or secondary school age are simply not ready for such complications.

In conclusion, I would argue that it is undesirable for schools to cover aspects of foreign history and literature; they should ground their pupils in the local culture instead.

(297 words, band 9)

Students' questions: starting essays with 'nowadays'

Here's a question that I've been asked many times:

Is it ok to start an essay with 'nowadays'?

The quick answer is yes. There's nothing wrong with this word, and the examiner won't reduce your score if you use it.

But be careful. Not all topics can be introduced with the word 'nowadays'. This word is usually used by native speakers to compare the present with the past e.g. Fifty years ago, only the rich could afford international holidays, but nowadays foreign travel is relatively inexpensive.

My tip: While there's nothing wrong with the word 'nowadays' when it is used correctly, I think it's a bit of a beginner's way to start an essay. If your mind goes blank in the exam, go ahead and use it. Otherwise, I'm sure you can find another way to start your essay.

IELTS Writing Task 2: follow the numbers!

If you've written a good plan, it should be relatively easy to write a good paragraph. Simply follow the numbers to write your five sentences.

For example, look at my 5-sentence plan in last week's lesson, then read my 5-sentence paragraph below. I've highlighted the key idea in each sentence.

Note: this is just one paragraph, not a full essay.

There are several reasons why I believe that schools should focus on teaching national literature and history. Firstly, children enjoy learning about where they live, and by studying the ideas, culture and history of their own countries they begin to develop a sense of identity. At the same time, this approach is likely to please parents, who studied the same books and historical events and can therefore help their children with school work. English children, for example, read Shakespeare and learn about the Battle of Hastings just as their parents did, and there is educational continuity across the generations. Finally, an emphasis on national literature and history gives educators a narrower teaching scope, making curriculum design an easier task.

IELTS Writing Task 2: 'different perspectives' paragraph

A nice alternative to the "firstly, secondly, finally" type of paragraph is to look at the question from different perspectives.

As an example, let's plan some ideas for paragraph 2 from this lesson.

1. Topic: reasons why children should read books and study historical events of their own countries
2. The child's perspective: young children like learning about where they live, it makes sense to them
3. The parent's perspective: they studied the same books and historical events, they can help their children, there is a sense of continuity across the generations, passing down knowledge
4. Example: reading Shakespeare or learning about the Battle of Hastings in English schools
5. The school's perspective: a consistent curriculum of topics, clear limits to teaching scope, easy to visit key locations on school trips

We now have a good plan for a 5-sentence paragraph. If you have time, have a go at writing it!

IELTS Writing Task 2: 'local vs foreign' essay plan

Some people believe that it is more important to teach children the literature and history of their own country, rather than the literature and history of other countries. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Here's my 4-paragraph 'essay structure' plan:

1. Introduce the topic: teaching national vs global literature and history
   Answer the question: I agree that studying national books and events is the priority
2. Paragraph 2: explain why children should read books and study the key historical events of their own countries
3. Paragraph 3: explain why teaching the literature and history of other countries is unnecessary or less important
4. Conclusion: repeat / summarise the answer

Planning ideas for the main body:

We've planned our essay structure (above), but the plan isn't finished yet. We need to brainstorm ideas for paragraphs 2 and 3. Try spending three minutes brainstorming and writing notes for each paragraph. You can share your ideas in the 'comments' area below.

IELTS Writing Task 2: 'local vs foreign' introduction

Instead of working on the two separate questions that I showed you in this lesson, I thought it would be easier to blend them together:

Some people believe that it is more important to teach children the literature and history of their own country, rather than the literature and history of other countries. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Let's write a two-sentence introduction for the question above:

People have different opinions about whether schools should prioritise the teaching of national literature and history, instead of taking a more global view of these subjects. I tend to agree with the idea that children should study first and foremost the great books and historical events of their own countries.

IELTS Writing Task 2: real opinion or easy opinion?

Before I start work on one of the "local vs foreign" questions that we saw in last week's lesson, let's consider two things: our real opinion and the easy opinion.

Here's a basic version of the two questions from last week:

Is it more important to teach children about local culture (history, literature etc.) than foreign cultures?

My real opinion
I haven't really thought about this idea before. My instinct seems to be telling me that we should start with local culture. It also seems useful to have some idea of global history, major events that have shaped other countries, the great works of literature from a range of countries. But I'm not sure what the ideal blend of local and global would be, or how teachers could cover such a wide range of material.

The easy opinion
Yes. We should focus on the history / literature / culture of our own countries.

I advise students to go for the easy opinion. Your real opinion is often too complex or nuanced* for the demands of a 250-word essay! We'll start work on an "easy opinion" essay next Wednesday.

*Look this word up in a dictionary or on Google if you're not sure what I mean.

IELTS Writing Task 2: 'local vs foreign' topic

Here are two exam questions that students have asked me about recently:

Question 1
It is more important to learn about local history than foreign history. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Question 2
Some people believe that it is more important to teach children the literature of their own country, rather than that of other countries. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

These two questions are essentially the same, so I think we can work on them both at the same time. Let's start with our overall opinion: Do you agree that we should place more importance on learning about our own countries / cultures?

IELTS Writing Task 2: forget about 'word lists'

If you want to become a better essay writer, I advise you to forget the idea of learning lists of 'difficult' or 'academic' words.

Here's the alternative approach that I recommend:

• Do more reading, and make a note of the 'natural' collocations and phrases that native speakers use. You'll find many of these in the lessons on this site.
• Also, instead of always learning new words, try to become better at using the words you already know. For example, did you know that we use the words 'shoulder' and 'responsibility' together ? e.g. "It is true that parents shoulder a huge responsibility" from this essay.

Here's the simple way to understand the advice above: focus on phrases instead of individual words. Communication is about using words together.

IELTS Writing Task 2: 'parenting course' essay

Here's my full essay for the question below.

Caring for children is probably the most important job in any society. Because of this, all mothers and fathers should be required to take a course that prepares them to be good parents. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this view?

It is true that parents shoulder a huge responsibility and that raising children is by no means an easy task. However, I completely disagree with the idea that we should therefore force all mothers and fathers to attend parenting courses.

In my opinion, the idea that all future parents should take a parenthood preparation course is completely impractical. Many prospective parents have jobs and busy schedules, and they may not be willing or able to attend regular parenting classes. This raises the question of whether those who missed the classes, or perhaps refused to attend, would be punished. I believe that it would be wrong to do this, and it would therefore be impossible to enforce the idea of compulsory training for parents. Besides, even if parents could be forced to attend, I doubt that people would agree on what good parenting entails, and so it would be difficult to create a parenting course to suit everyone.

As well as being impractical, I would argue that training courses for parents are unnecessary. Mothers and fathers have been raising children without any formal help or official interference for thousands of years. Parenting skills are learnt from family members, friends, neighbours and the surrounding culture. Perhaps more importantly, adults learn to be good parents by instinct, by trial and error, and by getting to know their own children; for example, a good parent will try different strategies when faced with a badly-behaved child, and will gradually develop an understanding of what works to correct the behaviour. None of this requires the intervention of a taught course.

In conclusion, while compulsory parenting lessons might seem like a good idea, I believe that such a scheme would be unworkable and largely pointless.

(289 words, band 9)

IELTS Writing Task 2: 'moreover' isn't a difficult word

I've written before about students' overuse of the word 'Moreover' and why I would ban it. But for some reason, many people still believe that 'Moreover' will help them to get a high score.

Here's a trick that I sometimes use to demonstrate to my students that 'Moreover' isn't the key to a high score: Teach me the word for 'Moreover' in your language. If a beginner like me can learn it, it can't be such a difficult word!

IELTS Writing Task 2: in theory... in reality

Here's one way to write a conclusion for the 'parenting courses' question that we've been looking at over the last few weeks:

Write a 'while' sentence that compares the theory with the reality.

For example, here's my conclusion:

In conclusion, while compulsory parenting lessons might seem like a good idea in theory, I believe that such a scheme would be completely unworkable in reality.

IELTS Grammar: conclusion mistakes

The following sentences come from conclusions that people shared below this lesson. Can you improve them by correcting mistakes or by choosing more natural phrasing?

1. Organising a same parenting course for mothers and fathers with different family, culture and education background is impractical.
2. I do not see it as applicable to force parents to attend special courses.
3. That is a hard journey with fully challenges.
4. I disagree with the need for parents attending a mandatory parenting course.
5. I disagree with the view that parents should be made to undertake a parenting course instead these factors should rather be taken into consideration.

IELTS Writing Task 2: introduction and conclusion

Let's turn our attention back to the question below.

Caring for children is probably the most important job in any society. Because of this, all mothers and fathers should be required to take a course that prepares them to be good parents. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this view?

Here's a possible introduction for a 'completely disagree' essay:

It is true that parents shoulder a huge responsibility and that raising children is by no means an easy task. However, I completely disagree with the idea that we should therefore force all mothers and fathers to attend parenting courses.

How to write a conclusion:

The easiest way to write a conclusion is to paraphrase the introduction that you have already written. Start with "In conclusion", and write one sentence that summarises your answer. Can you rewrite my introduction as a one-sentence conclusion?

IELTS Writing Task 2: a flexible approach?

I received a useful question from another IELTS teacher this week. Here's a summary of what the teacher asked me:

The IELTS-Simon approach to writing task 2 is very prescriptive (strict and always the same): always 4 paragraphs, 13 sentences etc. But what do you think about giving students a more flexible approach to IELTS writing task 2? For example, might it sometimes be better to write 5 paragraphs instead of 4?

Here's a summary of my response:

The more you try to teach your students to be flexible, the more you risk confusing them and making them less decisive and efficient when they find themselves under pressure on test day. I've found that students perform better if they know exactly what to do every time they write an essay. The prescriptive approach seems to work better than a flexible approach.

IELTS Writing Task 2: one view or both views?

This is one of the most common questions that students ask me:

For "agree or disagree" questions, do I have to discuss both sides,
or should I just support one side of the argument?

The answer is: it's your decision. If you completely agree (or completely disagree), you don't need to mention the opposite view - just support your side of the argument. If you partly agree, you should write something about both sides.

IELTS Writing Task 2: from plan to paragraph

Here's part of my essay plan from last week's lesson:

First main body paragraph: I disagree because the idea is impractical

- Many adults are too busy with work and other commitments
- They may miss sessions, and would they therefore be punished?
- It would be impossible to force prospective parents to attend
- Different parenting styles, impossible to create a course that suits everyone

And here's my 5-sentence paragraph using the ideas above:

In my opinion, the idea that all future parents should take a parenthood preparation course is completely impractical. Many prospective parents have jobs and busy schedules, and they may not be willing or able to attend regular parenting classes. This raises the question of whether those who missed the classes, or perhaps refused to attend, would be punished. I believe that it would be wrong to do this, and it would therefore be impossible to enforce the idea of compulsory training for parents. Besides, even if parents could be forced to attend, I doubt that people would agree on what good parenting entails, and so it would be difficult to create a parenting course to suit everyone.

Try using the plan in last week's lesson to create paragraph 2 in the same way.

IELTS Writing Task 2: a paragraph from an adjective

Look again at the question below.

Caring for children is probably the most important job in any society. Because of this, all mothers and fathers should be required to take a course that prepares them to be good parents. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this view?

When I write my answer I'm going to completely disagree with the idea that all parents should take a parenting course. And I'll build each main body paragraph around a single idea, which can be expressed using an adjective. I'll show you what I mean below.

First main body paragraph: I disagree because the idea is impractical

- Many adults are too busy with work and other commitments
- They may miss sessions, and would they therefore be punished?
- It would be impossible to force prospective parents to attend
- Different parenting styles, impossible to create a course that suits everyone

Second main body paragraph: I disagree because it is unnecessary

- Parents have been raising children without help for thousands of years
- Parents learn from family members, their own upbringing, friends...
- They learn by instinct, trial and error, getting to know their children
- Example: correcting bad behaviour, trying different strategies

IELTS Writing Task 2: 'parenting' topic

Let's start work on a new writing topic. Here's a recent exam question that a student sent me:

Caring for children is probably the most important job in any society. Because of this, all mothers and fathers should be required to take a course that prepares them to be good parents. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this view?

Feel free to share your ideas in the 'comments' area below this lesson, and I'll continue with this topic next Wednesday.

IELTS Writing Task 2: adverbs and writing style

Note: I don't normally give the following advice to IELTS students. However, I think it's an interesting idea to consider.

Did you know that some professional English writers try to avoid using adverbs? Let's look at some examples to understand why they might do this.

1) Sometimes the adverb is unnecessary. Compare these two phrases:

- It is true that
- It is certainly true that

I often use the second phrase in my essays, but you could argue that the word "certainly" is redundant. If something is true, it's true! Do we really need to emphasise it?

2) Sometimes a single word is more descriptive:

- This is very important = This is essential, vital, crucial
- This is really difficult = This is complicated, complex, problematic, challenging

For our purposes, I think the second point above is more useful, because it encourages you to use a wider range of vocabulary to express ideas.

Remember: There's nothing wrong with using adverbs in the IELTS writing test. I just think it's interesting to consider the alternatives.

IELTS Writing Task 2: rewriting

Instead of writing five different essays, have you considered rewriting one essay five times?

Most people don't like rewriting essays because it seems boring. And the people who do rewrite essays usually only do this because they need to correct grammar mistakes.

But good rewriting is about more than just grammar corrections; there are many other things that you could improve, such as:

• how well you address the question
• clarity of your position
• sentences or phrases that are vague or irrelevant
• level of detail in your explanations
• overall paragraph structure
• paragraph movement
• coherence between neighbouring sentences
• repetition and variety of vocabulary
• use of connectives to link sentence clauses
• anything else that 'tightens up' your writing

Imagine how much you could learn if you rewrote one essay five times (or more!) to address all of these areas.

Warning 1:
You'll need help from a teacher to do this properly. Show him or her this lesson so that you both understand what you're aiming to do.

Warning 2:
This is the kind of hard work that most people aren't prepared to do. But it's the kind of work that yields real results!

IELTS Vocabulary: from this week's essay

Here's a list of the good 'topic vocabulary' from Wednesday's essay:

• in the modern workplace
• dress codes
• should be seen as irrelevant
• in many work contexts
• certain professions
• technology giants like Google and Facebook
• create relaxed office environments
• encouraged to dress casually
• are rarely seen wearing anything other than...
• produce work of outstanding quality
• global dominance
• in the technology sector
• a practical or safety function
• identify the person's position or role in society
• to portray an image of
• authority, trustworthiness and diligence
• smart, formal attire
• not applicable to all occupations
• sectors of the economy

IELTS Writing Task 2: 'dress code' essay

Here's my full essay for the question that we looked at a couple of weeks ago.

Some people think that employers should not care about the way their employees dress, because what matters is the quality of their work. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

In the modern workplace, dress codes are changing as employers focus more on results than on the rules that employees must follow. While I agree that the way people dress should be seen as irrelevant in many work contexts, I believe that dress codes still exist for good reason in certain professions.

On the one hand, many employers have stopped telling their staff how to dress, and I see this as a positive trend. Some of the most successful companies in the world, including technology giants like Google and Facebook, are famous for the relaxed office environments that they try to create. Employees are encouraged to dress casually, and even the company executives and leaders are rarely seen wearing anything other than T-shirts and jeans. However, while managers and programmers are free to dress how they like, they are expected to produce work of outstanding quality. It is clear from the performance and global dominance of such companies that strict dress codes are completely unnecessary in the technology sector.

However, I would also argue that rules regarding employees' clothing are still relevant in other work situations. We expect certain professionals, such as nurses, police officers and airline pilots, to wear uniforms. These uniforms may have a practical or safety function, but perhaps more importantly they identify the person’s position or role in society. Similarly, a lawyer, politician or school principal may choose to wear formal clothing in order to portray an image of authority, trustworthiness and diligence. I believe that most of us prefer to see these professionals in smart, formal attire, even if it is not strictly necessary.

In conclusion, I support the trend towards relaxed dress codes for workers, but I do not see it as applicable to all occupations or sectors of the economy.

(298 words, band 9)

IELTS Advice: clear thinking = clear writing

On Tuesday I used part of a very interesting speech by a university professor. I could sum up his message in this way:

There's no difference between thinking and writing. We should teach people to write well so that they learn to think well.

Of course, the opposite must also be true: If you want to write clearly and coherently, you need to think clearly and coherently.

Ask yourself this: When I'm writing an IELTS essay, does my thinking feel clear, coherent and organised? Or do I feel confused and disorganised?

IELTS Writing Task 2: both sides or one side?

Can you see the difference between the two tasks / questions below?

A) Explain the positives and negatives of this development.
B) Is this a positive or negative development?

and these two questions:

A) What are the advantages and disadvantages?
B) Do the advantages outweigh the disadvantages?

and these two questions:

A) Discuss both views and give your opinion.
B) To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Answer:
The difference is that for all of the (A) questions you must explain both sides of the argument, whereas the (B) questions can be answered by giving both sides or by supporting only one side, depending on the view that you express in your introduction.

This is still the most common confusion that students ask me about. Make sure you understand the difference between the questions above; if you're still unsure, look through all of my task 2 lessons to see further advice and examples.

IELTS Writing Task 2: irrelevant information

Read the following question and the introduction paragraph below it. I would argue that part of the introduction is irrelevant.

Question:
Governments should make people responsible for looking after their own local environment. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Introduction:
In the midst of a booming economy, environmental protection has always been an issue of public concern. While I agree that people should be made accountable for their local areas, governments also have an essential role to play in preserving the environment.

Task:
Can you see which part of the introduction is irrelevant or off-topic? What changes could we make to correct this problem?

IELTS Writing Task 2: example-led paragraph

One way to write a main body paragraph is by starting (or 'leading') with an example. I call this an example-led paragraph.

Here's a paragraph that I wrote in this way. Notice that I bring in the examples in the second sentence, straight after the topic sentence.

Paragraph topic: employers should not care how employees dress

On the one hand, many employers have stopped telling their staff how to dress, and I see this as a positive trend. Some of the most successful companies in the world, including technology giants like Google and Facebook, are famous for the relaxed office environments that they try to create. Employees are encouraged to dress casually, and even the company executives and leaders are rarely seen wearing anything other than T-shirts and jeans. However, while managers and programmers are free to dress how they like, they are expected to produce work of outstanding quality. It is clear from the performance and global dominance of such companies that strict dress codes are completely unnecessary in the technology sector.