3. If you can't think of any ideas, start by thinking of some examples e.g. Did you or any
of your friends leave home before getting married? Do you know anyone who lived
with their parents until they got married? What were the reasons and benefits or
drawbacks of each decision?
You have 40 minutes for task 2, so try organising your time in the following way.
Please note that these are suggestions, not rules.
First 10 minutes
Read the question and make sure you understand what it is asking you to do. Write a
plan for a 4-paragraph essay (introduction, 2 main paragraphs, conclusion) and spend
most of the 10 minutes thinking of ideas for the 2 main paragraphs.
5 minutes
Write your introduction: 2 sentences are enough.
20 minutes
Spend 10 minutes on each of your main body paragraphs. These are they most
important part of your essay, and the key to a high score.
Last 5 minutes
Write a quick conclusion then check your work.
If you are struggling to improve your score for writing task 2, the solution might be to
spend more time planning before you start writing.
I asked the students on my most recent
question about whether the only purpose of prisons is to punish people. Here are the
ideas that my students had:
Paragraph 2: prisons do punish offenders
Punishment makes offenders think, reflect, feel sorry, understand the consequences
(that we have choices about the actions we take), suffering, revenge / justice for
victims, debt to society, taking away freedom and privileges, miss family, deter
people from committing crimes in future - fear of prison
Paragraph 3: other purposes of prisons
Reflection time, rehabilitation - help the prisoner to prepare for normal life: new
skills, education, courses, qualifications, treatment - reform, reeducate, find
employment, re-enter society - address the root causes of crime
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IELTS SHARE
With a plan like this, you should find it easier to write a great essay.
A student sent me the following question:
The role of prisons should be to punish criminals who have committed serious
crimes. Training courses and education offered to prisoners are a waste of
taxpayer's money. To what extent do you agree or disagree?
The student who sent me this question noticed that it contains two sub-topics:
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