REPEAT THE TWO MAIN IDEAS

4)

U

Conclusion

U

: repeat the two main ideas.

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IELTS SHARE

This was a recent exam question:

Differences between countries become less evident each year. Nowadays, all over

the world people share the same fashions, advertising, brands, eating habits and TV

channels.

Do the disadvantages of this trend outweigh the advantages?

Here's my outline for a 4-paragraph essay:

Introduction

It is true that many aspects of culture are becoming increasingly similar throughout

the world. Although this trend has some benefits, I would argue that there are more

drawbacks.

First sentence of paragraph 2

On the one hand, the globalisation of fashion, brands, eating habits and other areas of

culture has some benefits. (Explain the benefits)

First sentence of paragraph 3

On the other hand, I believe that the disadvantages of cultural globalisation are even

more significant. (Explain the disadvantages)

Conclusion

In conclusion, it seems to me that the drawbacks of globalisation, in terms of cultural

habits such as the clothes we wear or the foods we eat, do outweigh the benefits.

'Advertising' has been the topic of IELTS writing task 2 several times this year. It's a

popular topic, so you need some ideas and opinions about it.

Here are some opinions about advertising, taken from my

Advertising should be ______.

Advertising ______ children should be controlled or even banned.

Unhealthy foods should not be marketed ______ attracts children.

Products that can be a risk to health should ______ warnings.

However, advertising is necessary in free ______ economies.

It creates ______ products.

Governments should only ______ false information or products that are harmful.

Fill the gaps with these words/phrases:

market, in a way that, regulated, display, censor, demand for, aimed at

Note:

'Advertising' is uncountable (you can't say "an advertising" or "advertisings").

'Advertising' is the name of the industry, activity or profession (like 'marketing'). 'An

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advertisement' (or 'advertisements') is what you see on TV, in the street, in

newspapers etc.

I've noticed that the more essay practice I do with my students, the more defined my

writing method becomes.

For example, I now know that my 250-word essays usually contain 13 to 15

sentences: 2 for the introduction, 5 to 6 for each main paragraph and 1 sentence for

the conclusion. It takes me 10 minutes to write a good plan, 5 minutes to write an

introduction, I have 2 main ways of writing main paragraphs etc. etc.

The question is: Do you have a clearly defined method? Do you repeatedly practise

writing essays in the same way?

If you don't have a method, it's just "hit and hope".

Some people think the main purpose of schools is to turn children into good citizens

and workers, rather than to benefit them as individuals.

To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Here are 3 different introductions. Notice that the opinion is clear in each one.

U

Agree:

U

People have different views about what the main purpose of schools should be.

Personally, I agree that a school's role is to prepare children to be productive members

of society.

U

Disagree:

U

Many people argue that the main role of schools is to prepare children for their future

jobs. However, I believe that the purpose of education should be to help children to

grow as individuals.

U

Balanced view:

U

To a certain extent I agree that the role of schools is to prepare children to be

productive members of society. However, I also believe that the education process has

a positive impact on us as individuals.

This is the most common question 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?

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The answer is: it's your decision. If you completely agree, 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.

Look at

point of view, but after the last introduction I would mention both sides.

Behaviour in schools is getting worse. Explain the causes and effects of this

problem, and suggest some possible solutions.

Here are some ideas for two main body paragraphs:

Causes of bad behaviour in schools: