advantage disadvantage essay ielts format

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IELTS Advantage Disadvantage Model Essay With Useful Tips

Below is an IELTS advantage / disadvantage model essay about having one language in the world. The essay is estimated at band score 9. You will also find tips about this kind of IELTS essay.

What is an IELTS Advantage Disadvantage Essay?

Many teachers teach the advantage/disadvantage essay as a discussion essay because it tackles two sides of an issue or topic. However, I like to keep this essay type separate because it has specific language relating to advantages and disadvantages, such as

• positive points
• advantageous
• negative points

Two Types of Advantages Disadvantage Essay

• This essay is asking directly for you to state the benefits of something and the drawbacks of something. The question isn’t asking you for your opinion. It is just asking for X and Y. 
• The biggest issue people have with this type of essay is going off topic. This mainly comes from not spending enough time analysing the issue or issues presented in the question and taking time to think deeply. 
• This is a different type of essay which is asking for your opinion.
• The question is basically asking you: are the advantages more important than the disadvantages OR do you think the disadvantages are more important than the advantages? You must decide what you think and present your view.
• This essay question can also be paraphrased as “Are the advantages more important than the disadvantages?
• This essay also requires you to use language relating to advantages and disadvantages so make sure you are expressing your ideas appropriately.
• You can see a model essay for this type of task at the bottom of this page.

Paragraphing & Structure

Regardless of which type of essay, the paragraph structure will be the same:

Introduction with Background Statement and Thesis statement. You do not require more for an introduction. A long introduction does nothing for your score. All IELTS introductions are function and quite short (usually between 45 and 55 words).

Body Paragraphs which have a topic sentences and supporting points. All body paragraphs start with the main theme or idea for the paragraph. If the whole paragraph is about advantages, then you make it clear in the first sentence. This helps both with Task Response and Coherence & Cohesion. Always make sure support points explain your ideas – keep them highly focused and relevant.

Concluding paragraph – this is the shortest paragraph and its function is to restate the main ideas. The biggest mistakes with this are 1) using inappropriate linking words  2) stating a different main point that hasn’t been given in the essay  3) running out of time to write the conclusion. See this video lesson about using the last 5 mins of your writing test: Last 5 Mins Tips

IELTS Advantage Disadvantage Model Essay

The development of tourism contributed to English becoming the most prominent language in the world. Some people think this will lead to English becoming the only language to be spoken globally. What are the advantages and disadvantages to having one language in the world?

It is thought by some people that English, which is now the most widely spoken language in the world, may one day predominate over all other languages and result in their eventual disappearance. Having one language would certainly aid understanding and economic growth but there will also be some drawbacks.

One evident benefit to having one global language is that it would enable greater understanding between countries. In other words, if everyone spoke one language, there would be complete understanding between not only countries but all people throughout the world which would promote learning, the flow of information and ideas. Another reason that one language would be advantageous is that it would help economic growth. With all people speaking the same language, there would be fewer barriers and therefore trade would flourish between countries, resulting in a healthier world economy.

On the other hand, there are obvious downsides to having only one global language. Firstly, it would mean that all other languages would eventually disappear and, along with them, their cultures. The diversity of cultures is one of the joys this world has to offer. Each culture is unique with its own way of life and own perspectives of the world which would all be lost if there were only one language.  Secondly, it would result in the collapse of tourism because there would be no reason to travel for pleasure and interest if all countries had the same language and similar cultures. This would devastate many countries economically that rely on tourism as a source of income.

In conclusion, while there are plus points to having one global language, too much would be lost as a result. Maintaining local languages and cultures should be prioritised to ensure a rich world heritage for future generations.

Examiner Comments: This essay addresses the task fully and provides relevant, well extended ideas. All aspects of cohesion is well managed. Paragraphing is logical and the use of linking words flexible. There is a wide range of vocabulary which allows for precise meaning. Grammar structures are accurate and complex with a range of grammar features.

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Hi Liz, thanks for sharing insights of writing task 2. I attempted this from one of your paid courses. I would be grateful if you could review it. thanks : )

Some people believe that paid work is beneficial for children, while others argue that it can be harmful.

Paid work is often considered a valuable experience for children, but some believe it can have negative effects. While children can learn about money management and gain independence through work, it is essential to consider the potential drawbacks.

One advantage of children having jobs is that they learn the value of money. Earning their own income teaches them responsibility, as they are less likely to waste money when they understand the effort required to earn it. Additionally, a paid job can serve as a first step in managing finances, helping children save for things they may not otherwise afford. Moreover, work fosters a sense of independence, which can prepare children to become self-sufficient and responsible adults.

However, a major downside is the risk of exploitation. In some developing countries, for instance, children are forced into labor with minimal legal protection, often receiving very low wages for physically demanding work. Another concern is that long working hours can interfere with their studies, impacting academic performance. Since education is essential for a successful future, children who prioritize work over school may face challenges in the long term.

In conclusion, while children can gain valuable life skills from paid work, it can also expose them to exploitation and harm their education. Striking a balance is crucial, ensuring they benefit from work experience without compromising their academic and personal development.

Just a quick comment. Make sure you write your topic sentences in full or it will have a negative impact on your score. For example, the first sentence of BP2, you wrote “However, a major downside is the risk of exploitation”. This does not mention or link to the topic which is children doing paid work. So, this means you started your body paragraph without making your points connected and clear. You should have written “However, a major downside when children take paid work is the risk of exploitation”. Topics sentences must always be very carefully written in IELTS – each new body paragraph is like a new answer to the question.

Hello, I hope you are doing well. The essay above uses conditionals with ‘would be’ and ‘should be’. Can we write the essay in future tense structures using ‘will be’ and ‘shall be’? Thank You.

If the essay question is about the future, you would use future forms. Whatever tense you use, it is about select the right tense for what you are trying to communicate in English according to normal English grammar rules.

Q: The development of tourism contributed to English becoming the most prominent language in the world. Some people think this will lead to prominent language in the world. Some people think this will lead to English becoming the only language to be spoken globally.

What are the advantages and disadvantages to having one language in the world?

A:The burgeoning of globalisation encourages interaction, but promotes uniformity in the same time. There is a thought by some people that English will soon turn into the only leading language in the world and erase other languages simultaneously. Having one language would certainly promote better understanding between people so boost the growth in multiple aspects, but there will also be some drawbacks.

To begin, having a single global language allows better understanding among people from diverse nationalities. Specifically, it could wreck the communication barrier and promote effective conversation, fostering the flow of information and ideas. Besides that, it ushers the growth of any professional aspect. In other words, people could transfer and invest time that they used to put on the accomplishment of languages on other their interests, thereby flourishing the development of multiple professions in the world.

On the other hand, there are observable downsides when there is the sole language on earth. First, it will be notorious to the cultural diversity. Language is another form of culture, representing by its uniquity to different regions that each carry their particular historical experiences and values. These uniquity offers mankind their belonging to the land and the uniformity of language must disrupt this relationship. In addition, when there is only a single language in the world, there is less motivation for people taking a travel to different countries, since the whole world could share the same language and culture. It could by no doubt devastate the economics of different countries that rely on tourism as the primary source of income.

All in all, while there are multiple plus points to have only one global language, the trade-off could be hard to estimate and should not be neglectable.

Q: could you tell about my IELTs score and any to improve? Thanks!

Hello liz,I attempted a question please I need your assistance

Task 2: Some cities have vehicle free days where private cars, trucks and motorcycles are banned in city centres. Only bus, bicycles and taxis are permitted in the city centre. Do you think the benefits outweigh the disadvantages? Write at least 250 words.

Certain urban areas implement designated days where private vehicles such as cars, trucks and motorcycles are prohibited from entering the city center. During these times, only buses, bicycles and taxis are allowed to operate within the city limits. In my opinion, the upsides of this rule exceeds the drawbacks.

The disadvantage of restricting the movement of private automobiles on some days is the price hike in transport that comes with it. In other words, owing to the ban on the mobility of personal cars and trucks, there will be a significant rise in the number of people using public transport, therefore the price of these modes of transport increases. This prices are outrageous in most cases, as it is not convenient for the budgets of many people.

Despite this, there are important advantages of vehicle free days. Firstly, it means that traffic will be reduced. The traffic situations experienced in cities are as a result of too many cars on the road, this rule will assist in mitigating the congestion on the road. Additionally, the number of accidents that occur due to busy roads will decrease.

In addition to this, the rate of pollution will also decline. The amount of smoke that comes from the exhaust pipes of many cars on the road polluted the air, limiting the number of cars alleviates pollution. Also, the noise pollution that these vehicles emit results in pollution, when the cars driving on the road are reduced the noise decreases to an extent.

I would therefore argue that although there are disadvantages of appointing specific days to limit the use of private cars, motorcycles and lorries in cities, they are surpassed by the advantages.

Although my website doesn’t offer a feedback service, I do have time for a few comments that can help you and everyone else who reads this.

1) Your first body paragraph has gone off topic. This essay isn’t about price hikes at all. It is simply that people can choose to travel by public bus, bike or private taxis on certainly days. This means people can choose free transport (bikes), cheap public transport (buses) or private taxis (which are more expensive). So, there’s no price increase within those transport options, particularly when bikes are free and buses are cheaper. Also, when you consider the price of parking in most cities, the cost of a taxi probably isn’t that much more. So, the actual disadvantage of this is that bikes make the journey into the city long (and it isn’t pleasant in cold weather) and buses also can make the journey longer than normal because of all the stops they make along the way. Taxis of course will be in high demand and are most costly than bikes or buses. But this essay is not about the price of buses going up or the price of riding a bike. No prices are going up and people on limited income can still travel by bike or bus which are cheap than a private car.

2) Your organisation of advantages is confusing and illogical. You’ve got two advantages in one body paragraph and then another two advantage in another. Always put your advantages together in one paragraph and never have more than two advantages in any essay of this type.

3) It is also illogical to start with disadvantages when you’ve actually introduced the opposite trend in your introduction. You are being marked on logical organisation and this error will reduce your score for CC.

4) Your point about the reduction in accidents is completely underdeveloped. Either you explain what you mean or you don’t include it. You don’t get a high score because you have more advantages, you get a high score because you’ve developed the ideas.

5) Your point about noise pollution isn’t a strong one. It would be better if you had just written about two advantages – 1) lack of congestion 2) reduction in air pollution – both of these advantages are on point and very strong.

During your planning stage, your aim is not to push as many ideas as possible into your essay, but to choose specific ideas wisely and think about how to develop them.

Hello Liz! I have a question about your essay. Being an advantages and disadvantages essay, shouldn’t it be neutral? I mean without expressing an opinion. I have read your article about ” When and how to give your opinion” already and I feel like that this part of your conclusion “Maintaining local languages and cultures should be prioritized to ensure a rich world heritage for future generations.” could be considered an opinion. It might sound stupid but I used Chat GPT and Claude to make sure that I wasn’t completely wrong, but both of them agreed that it is leaning on expressing an opinion in the conclusion, even though the other paragraphs are neutral. I would love to know why you used this sentence, and if someone that doesn’t have your English proficiency should just avoid sentences like that, because they might mess up their writing.

Only someone trained in assessing IELTS having done the IELTS examiner training should comment on writing. I did not put the opinion in the introduction because it does not form part of the essay or play a role in Task Response. I also did not put it in the body paragraphs because it has no function for this essay. It is in fact a final comment, which can be varied. A final comment could be suggestion, a prediction or an opinion. However, at no point should you ever put an opinion as a final comment for any essay which actually requires an opinion for TR because that would be introducing a new main point which should never happen in a conclusion. But for a neutral essay, it is a suitable final comment. Final comments are not required for the band score of a neutral essay, but can be used as shown above.

Thank you for the clarification. So it’s basically a sentence that can be used or avoided (for this essay), depending on the writer. My first impression when I read your articles was to not include an opinion/final comment at all in essays that don’t actually require an opinion. I got that a bit wrong. Thanks again for the clarification. Also, sometimes we have to use technology (especially AI), because finding English teachers, or even IELTS trained examiners is really difficult or not worth it from a cost perspective (50€ per hour). Coping and pasting the official IELTS grading system to a chatbot is a free method of reviewing and grading essays, even though it has its own set of problems and risks. I am really thankful for your lessons. They are the only free lessons that are actually helpful.

I understand about how much you all want feedback and marking. But AI is not even accurate with language, let alone with IELTS. Your IELTS band scores are based 50% on marking criteria that AI can’t mark. So, you will never be able to get any feedback from AI that relates to IELTS band scores for writing. It isn’t possible. In fact, it could make your writing worse because it could lead you in the wrong direction to what really makes a true difference for band scores.

Hi liz can you please check this. I followed the advance lesson and it has help me in structuring but if you can comment on it overall so I can get much better idea, wheter I am improving “Prevention is better than cure”. Researching and treating diseases is too costly so it would be better to invest in preventative measures. To what extent do you agree.

There is a saying prevention is better than cure, suggesting that it is better to work on preventive measure rather than focusing on researching and treating diseases as it is too costly. In my opinion, investing in preventive measures is important, but that does not mean that research conducted to cure diseases should be stopped.

Investing upon prevention of diseases can help both the government and its population . Government can help their citizen by providing vaccine and spreading awareness about certain diseases like malaria. This in turn results in the individual being safeguarded from deadly diseases, while also reduces the stress on the healthcare infrastructure. A good example of preventive measure is the polio prevention campaign implemented by the government of India in 2002. The campaign aimed to vaccinate every citizen before 2003 and prevent them from ever getting polio, it was a success.

Another great point is how cheap preventive measures can be for both individuals and the government.A simple vaccine or awareness campaign can prevent life-threatening diseases. If not prevented, it could cost thousands of dollars to cure, an expense that would either be borne by the government or the individual. On the other hand a preventive vaccine would cost just a couple of dollars, far cheaper than curing the disease. This preventive approach has been highly effective to fight against diseases like polio and malaria.

However, It would be unwise to cut upon the funding for research done to cure diseases. There are many diseases, where preventive measures are ineffective and cure is the only way. For example, heredity based diseases cannot be prevented, the only way to fight it is cure based. There are also instances where sudden injuries or diseases can occur, even after going through preventative measures. Again in such cases cure is important.

In conclusion, Investing and researching on preventative measure is a good step, but that does not mean that research on cure should be cut down.

You’ve got a very clear opinion which you do explain in detail with precise and well thought out examples. As your argument is more in support of prevention than cure (hence two body paragraphs about prevention and only one about cures), it might be well to stress this in your introduction (thesis statement). On the other hand, it could be possible to put both arguments supporting prevention into one body paragraph (simplifying the details) and have the second body paragraph about cures or treatments (which would then need expanding so that both body paragraphs are of equal length). I do want to mention grammar: “Government can help their citizen by providing vaccine and spreading awareness about certain diseases like malaria” The word “government” is a noun and it’s countable. So, for countable nouns, they can be plural with or without an article (a/the). Or they are singular but require an article. In this case, you used it as a single noun and failed to give an article so this is a grammar error. You make the same error twice more in the same sentence: citizen / vaccine. This means it is a systematic error and you should fix it before your test. Also never use “like” as a linking words. The sentence should be: Governments should help their citizens by providing vaccines and spreading awareness about certain diseases, such as malaria.

hi liz, how can i improve the thesis part can you re write it so I may get an idea, on how to do it. I tried wanted a balance opinion but am not able to come up with a better thesis. Moreover, I will work on my grammar.

If you want to focus on prevention instead of cure, but still note that cures are important, you need to be very very careful how you express this in English. If you make a mistake with your language, it could ruin your entire essay. For this reason, if a partial agreement seems challenging or the precise meaning of your English might be lacking, it is always better to go with a one sided view. But in this essay, a one-sided view is quite tricky. So, you could have written:

“I agree that prevention should be the priority because it is more effective and cheaper, although admittedly there are certain diseases which will still need research and treatment.”

In the above thesis statement, you are making your position clear in favour of prevention without totally excluding the other side. However, it isn’t really a strong argument because one of the biggest killer diseases is cancer and that has no real preventative measure, likewise with heart disease and strokes. All these diseases need treatments and research. So, your essay will be harder to write when you choose to have a weaker argument. For this reason, it is better to have a partial agreement whereby you divide your opinion depending on diseases:

“In my opinion, while investing in prevention can be more effective and cheaper in tackling some diseases, there are other diseases where this is not possible and so treatments and research are still vital.”

When you approach an IELTS essay always choose the easiest option. Your choices will affect your band score.

hi . I have a question. can you please guide me which type of essay it is? Q: the use of social media is replacing face-to-face interaction among people in society. Do you think the advantages outweigh the disadvantages?

If you go to this page: https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-writing-task-2/ , you’ll find a link to the types of IELTS essays that exist. You’ll find this type listed there.

Hello dear Liz, Hope you have a wonderful day I really enjoyed your E-books and tutorials, which were amazing, especially the tutorials. I was hoping if you could check my essay on task achievement and coherence/ cohesion criteria. best regards, Some schools are very strict about their school uniforms and the appearance of their pupils, while other schools have a very relaxed dress code.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of children of having a school uniform?

While some schools have strict regulations about how students should present themselves, others do not follow any tight rules surrounding dress codes. Regardless of the positive aspects it brings, students have difficulty expressing their unique selves and there is no proof that students will do better under these conditions.

Wearing school uniforms is advantageous in many aspects. Not only does it promote equality between children but it also avoids further discrimination. Children from lower backgrounds will not stand out due to their outfits and can blend in better between other students from different classes. Therefore, detrimental acts, such as bullying and peer pressure will be discouraged. Another benefit that is worth mentioning is the fact that uniforms are more cost-effective for parents. Families will not be under the pressure of affording varieties of attires for their kids. Consequently, the money will be saved for better uses such as saving up for children’s tuition fees.

On the other hand, forcing students to wear the same outfit throughout their education can be disadvantageous for various reasons. Limiting the children’s freedom and creativity will discourage them to be less innovative. Creating a dull and lifeless environment, which obligates students to shut down their uniqueness and diminish their personal touch. Furthermore, limiting pupils’ choice of clothing has not been proven to increase their academic performance. There is no evidence that uniforms are less distracting and will result in better concentration among students.

In conclusion, Regardless of the difference in opinions, uniforms can bring unity and equality alongside with the negative aspects.

What can I say? …. You nailed it! All points are relevant and well developed. You use an excellent range of flexible language which allows you to express yourself in a precise way. You have very clear logical organisation with good signposting and linking. Your Task Response is therefore strong as is Coherence & Cohesion. Just make sure you don’t use a capital letter in the wrong place, for example the third word of your conclusion. I’m glad you enjoyed my e-books and advanced tutorials. I’ve got materials for another five advanced tutorials made already. Unfortunately, I can’t do anything until my health improves further. But I really appreciate your feedback on them.

It has been noted that tourism has accelerated the growth of English language. As tourism develops, English has gained dominance over other languages, making most people to think that it might become the only language to be spoken globally. Having one language will eliminate language barrier, but there will also be some drawbacks.

On one hand, there are advantages to having a single language. For instance, it will make international trade, information gathering and sharing between countries much easier and faster. Bi-lateral trade between countries will run smoothly by removing language as a barrier. Each country will fully understand the terms of trade, the expectation and outcome. Sharing research information on innovation and discoveries especially in medical fields will be faster, with no need for translations. Furthermore, the entertainment industry will be able to reach a wider target audience with new motion pictures and music without a need for dubbing and translation.

On the other hand, there are disadvantages to having single language. It is a quick way to loosing diversity, and cultural identity. Having different languages means having and maintaining different cultures and values. One word can have different meanings in different languages. Adopting one language can bring confusion during relearning and adoption of common phrases. Consequently, adopting one language comes the need for global standardization of metrics, and units, especially in the field of science and engineering, that might bring its own challenges.

In conclusion, while having one language promotes trade, information sharing, can enhance the growth of entertainment industry, it also can kill diversity and cultural identity of nations, and create confusion in standardizing global metrics and units, relearning meaning of new words and adoption.

The Advancement in tourism has played a crucial role in making English as one of the most out spoken language around the globe. According to the perspective of some individuals, this may cause the English to be the only language spoken worldwide.

One of the biggest problems of communication and understanding will be solved as it will help people to convey their message concisely and in an effective manner. This will provide them a chance to express their feeling correctly and reduce the chances of miscommunication. Similarly, as the people will be able to know each other in a better way, this will enable countries to understand each other’s economic conditions and improve trading process among different regions across the continent because no translation will be required.

On the other hand, it will also led to grow some serious issues worldwide that may affect the growth of countries as there will be no curiosity to discover and travel which will led to fall in tourism. There will be no reason to visit any new country or region as people would have the same culture and language. Since there will be no communication barrier, hackers around the world may approach innocent people for sensitive information which will led to increase in cybercrime and ultimately there will be an record increase in the people getting deceived.

In conclusion, having English as the only language spoken around the world will have some significant impact in either case but still it is important to have multiple languages else the culture would cease to exist.

I have a question like, miss said that we need to have 2 examples for advantages and 2 for disadvantages but what if I had 3 for advantages and 2 disadvantages. will it be okay? also provide some feedback as it is my first try with task 2

The most important point to remember is that Task Response isn’t marking how many ideas you have. It is marking A) if your ideas are relevant B) if your ideas are well explained. If you have three advantages in one body paragraph and the body paragraph is about 95 words (which is the norm), then each point will not be developed enough to hit that high score. So, you could have one advantage which is thoroughly developed or you could have two advantages which are also well developed but to a lesser degree but still enough for a high score. But three advantages doesn’t allow for you to extend each point with enough details. So, never go for more than two advantages and two disadvantages.

English is considered by many people to be the most important language that may dominate the world due to the advancement in tourism. Having one language can facilitate better understanding and economic growth but there are also drawbacks to be taken into account.

On the one hand, there are a number of benefits of having one language. Firstly, it brings understanding between people and countries. In other words, speaking a common language can help people communicate easily and understand each other no matter which country they find themselves. Secondly, another positive aspect of having one language is that it promotes economic growth. With one language people can trade easily without any barriers with regards to language. This will help boost the economy and also improve the standard of living of individuals in a country.

On the other hand, one negative aspect of having a common language globally is that there will be lost in identity and culture. Language gives one a sense of identity and also exhibits one’s culture therefore having one language will undermine individual culture and identity. Another issue of people speaking one language is that it will bring down tourism. There would be no need for people to travel to experience the diversities of cultures in other countries which will be a setback for a nation whose major income is through tourism.

In conclusion, while there are several benefits of speaking one language globally, it can also lead to cultural and identity lost and also the collapse of tourism.

wow, I liked your essay so much. many thanks 😊

Adding: The conclusion is grammatically wrong. Fix: “In conclusion, while there are several benefits of speaking one language globally, it may lead to the loss of cultural identities and the potential decline in tourism.”

PS: I don’t write this lengthy comment to make anyone feel bad. This comment is just a constructive suggestion, as I’m also a student myself. Learning and helping others should improve both parties, that’s what I think. If you find any mistakes, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. TY I hope my comment will help the original poster and other readers.

Hi Miss, I d like to ask a question about adv/disadv essay. When we are asked “do advantages outweigh the disadvantages” and let’s say advantages outnumber, can we give 1 disadvantage and 3 or 2 advantages? Cauze in the question the word disadvantage is given in plural form.

One of the first steps in tackling the essay, after you’ve analysed the question, is brainstorming ideas. After you have a list of ideas, you then select the best. You do not get a high score because you have three advantages compared to two advantages. In fact, having three advantages in a relatively short body paragraph of about 95 words will lower your score because you can’t develop them enough. So, at no time, will you have more than two advantages. If you have only one disadvantage and two advantages that is fine. But make sure they are all sufficiently developed for a high score.

Hi Liz…. I wanted to ask if in advantages – disadvantage’s question and problems/cause and solution essays is it okay to write just one advantage and disadvantage or problem and solution or do we need to write two only?

If you can only think of one advantage, for example, you could write “the main benefit is…” and focus on that one benefit for the body paragraph. You can still do well with just one advantage. And this applies for all types of essays when they ask in the plural form for solutions or causes or advantages etc.

Thank you so much, Liz. I need a band 7 so would be okay for that? I must say you are an amazing teacher

Yes, definitely. Just make sure you develop that one advantage as much as needed. Part of the marking criterion of Task Response is how well you develop each and every main point. Good luck!

thank you so much liz you are an angel

Hi Liz, I got your advanced E-book and video tutorials for writing recently. After completing the lessons on Advantages and disadvantages, i encountered a confusing question in Cambridge IELTS Academic 14. Here is the question : “Nowadays many people choose to be self-employed, rather than to work for a company or organisation. why might this be the case? what could be the disadvantages of being self-employed?” I feel the question is asking the advantages AND disadvantages of being self-employed, so here is my essay. Kindly evaluate…

A lot of individuals are more into self-employment today than corporate jobs. In as much as flexible work hours are considerable benefit of working for oneself, there are some intricacies associated with it.

Most People are drawn to self-employment because it gives comfortable work hours. There is no on-and-off time; work hours can be anytime of the day. Another advantage of working for oneself is the opportunity to be seen in work force. Most companies only promote their employees based on the work years invested in the company, not minding the work roles suitable for them, such individual takes ages to ascend the career ladder.

Admittedly, these upsides are significant in self-employment, but they are usually evident in later years. For a start-up, the first few years invested in pushing your work forward to gain recognition in the career world warrants taking up multiple roles, more stressful work input, little or no rest, and a potential burn out. Another disadvantage of being your own boss is unpaid breaks. A small or medium entrepreneur for instance, evaluates earnings based on attention given to the business, and broadly speaking, most start-ups do not outsource due to funds involved, which they do not have, and size of the business. In this situation, a personal travel break may imply that your business will be rid of attention and earnings, till you are back. Additionally, there is no guaranteed paycheck working for oneself. This is because there is no guarantee that a self-employed person can have a stable income, some period may have more input and less output, and this can potentially limit financial capabilities.

In conclusion, working for oneself is challenging due to more work demands, unpaid breaks, and diverse roles that can potentially cause burn outs, although its benefits draw most people to it.

Let me explain. 1) Try not to change the wording in the task given to you because you feel it is better if the task is advantage and disadvantages. Certainly, the first part of your task “why this might be the case?” is looking at the advantages of doing something, but the wording of the question is actually asking you for the reasons. Therefore, the language you use in the first body paragraph is relating to “reasons” not “advantages”. So, you would take your ideas and use difference language “One reason that people choose this is because ….”. 2) Make sure your first body paragraph and second body paragraph are both of equal or similar length. You get a lower score if one main point is less developed that the other. 3) Be careful with your topic sentence for the second body paragraph because it doesn’t relate to disadvantages, which it should. 4) Be careful of using informal language in your essay.

See my model below using your ideas:

An increasing number of people are choosing to be self-employed instead being accepting employment in a company. This is because of the flexibility that being self-employed can bring even though it does have downsides to it.

One of the key reasons why people prefer being self-employed is because it gives them greater flexibility in important areas of their life. Firstly, when someone works for themselves, they are able not only to choose how many hours they work but also to choose their own work schedule. This flexibility greatly enhances a persons quality of life and can reduce stress, particularly with people who have families and prefer hours that are more child friendly. Another motive for being self-employed is that there is no ceiling for how successful you can become. In other words, in many companies, people struggle to get promotions that they feel they deserve, while someone who is self-employed has no such limitation for their career path.

On the other hand, regardless of the aforementioned benefits, there are still serious downsides to being self-employed. One such disadvantage is the amount of effort involved in starting one’s own business, which involves multiple tasks from product design to marketing to administration. Within a company, these tasks are usually distributed to various departments, not all performed by one person. This amount of work can lead to stress and even burnout. Another issue is that being self-employed lacks the financial security that someone employed by a company usually has. Should someone self-employed become sick or want to take a holiday, they will not receive sick pay or any other benefits. Not only that, but they also risk losing their business should they be required to take a long time off work.

In conclusion, the motivation behind people choosing to be self-employed is clear and can certainly improve their standard of living, but it does come with serious risks to a person’s health and their financial stability.

Note: look carefully at structure, language and how ideas are signposted. I hope this helps 🙂

Thank you so much Liz. This means a lot to me!

I learnt a lot from this carefully written task. Thank you so much Liz.

I’m glad you are reading the comments. Many of my comments on my website are like little extra lessons for you all 🙂

Hi liz, this question “Nowadays many people choose to be self employed….. why this might be the case what are the disadvantages.” ain’t that 2 question format . where 2 direct question is been asked by the essay

Yes, it is a Direct Question essay which combines two types of essays (a cause essay and a disadvantage essay). However, the name of the essay is no as important as just following the direct and very specific instructions given.

so I should follow the instructions u gave for direct questions essay in this situation ?

Yes, definitely. One body paragraph for each question.

Hey Liz, for the causes, can we name a disadvantage of working in companies such as “bad treatment” and an advantage of being a freelancer such as the freedom that comes with it?

You would need to be very careful of how you explain “bad treatment” as a disadvantage of being employed in a company. You certainly can’t say that the majority of people who are employed are badly treated. These essays about people in general and mainly look at the majority of all people rather that just unusual individual cases. For the advantage of “being a freelancer gives more freedom”, you would have to explain in detail what you mean by freedom – are you referring to the freedom of choosing your own work schedule or the freedom to make your own decisions about other aspects of work. IELTS essays are about strong relevant ideas that are explained with relevant, well-developed details.

hi liz , ain’t this a direct question based essay

See how the essays are categorised on this page: https://ieltsliz.com/types-of-ielts-essays/

Hi Liz, I trust you are well. I don’t know enough words to appreciate or thanks you. Everyday you are helping thousands of students to understand the exam system of IELTS. However, can you help us by uploading one advantage disadvantage outweigh model essay? It will be extremely helpful. Love from Bangladesh.

Sure, I’ll put it on my list of new lessons to post 🙂

English is the most spoken language in the world. Nowadays, English has become a world common language. Some people are worried about English becoming the only language in the world. I believe there will be benefits and drawbacks to having only one language for our human civilization. Firstly, the benefit of having one language in the world is that there will be no more barriers to communicating with everyone. It is easier to build relationships with other countries. Nations can communicate without having language barriers. If there is only one language in the world, students would not need to study other foreign languages and put more effort into other subjects. For another reason, people can ask for help. In fact, they can build a better relationship with each other. On the other hand, the diversity of every country could slowly disappear. Language represents the civilisation of that country. And the unique background behind the country can not be replaced. It will cause an extinction of the society of minorities. Language is not only a tool for communication, the country should be proud of its own language. For another drawback, the unemployment rate would increase. Also, there would be tons of translators and language teachers who would become unemploy. In conclusion, having only one language can communicate without any language barriers. It can build a stronger relationship with others. But having only one language could stop the development of local culture. It might lead to the extinction of the minority language.

Nowadays, English language is gaining popularity as a result of increase in the tourism sector through out the world. People are of the opinion that eventually English become the only spoken language in the world. In this essay, we will discuss about the pros and cons of having one language globally. First of all, having one global language will make communication easy for all type of people in the world, people from diverse background can easily communicate with each other. For example, when English speaking tourist visits a rural area of Pakistan, then the villagers can easily provide information to the foreign tourist. This will lead the local people to introduce their cultural easily to other, which will benefit both the people. Secondly, having one global language will make trade easier among the countries. Different countries with out the help of any translator can carry on their trade. As a result, it will benefit in economic upliftment of the countries. On the other hand, having one language also have some demerits. Firstly, as a result of having only one language in the world will automatically be harmful for the local languages. This will lead to the disappearance of the local culture and values. For instance, there are almost more than 200 languages are spoken in Pakistan. With the passage of time these languages will be diminished. Secondly, the future generation will be unaware of the beauty of different languages spoken through the world. Similarly, this one spoken language will gradually take away from us our culture. In conclusion, having one global language both has merits and demerits on their own. However, it would be great to maintain our local languages and our culture.

English has grown to become the most significant language in the world. This has benefits as well as drawbacks, which will be discussed in this essay. Having English as a common language to communicate makes it very convenient for people while traveling to different countries, or sometimes even different states in the same country, where the language spoken is different from one’s own. This has been a big boon for the tourism industry, in turn leading to a country’s economic development. Having a singular language for conversing, also helps accommodate people to become global citizens. In spite of having the above-mentioned benefits, the increasing prominence of 1 language leads to other languages being de-valued. Native languages are the backbones of a nation’s culture and heritage. When English is given a higher level of importance than native languages, there is a risk of losing it eventually. This can also have effects on other aspects. For example, studies have shown that education in one’s mother tongue is the best way to understand and gain knowledge. This can be negatively affected if English is relied on for the same, instead of native languages. In conclusion, though the prominence of the English language comes with its own sets of convenience and benefits, like unifying people from different parts of the world, aiding in increase in a country’s economic growth and globalization, its major disadvantage is, the subsequent neglect of native and colloquial languages, which could eventually lead to its extinction.

I don’t offer feedback or marking, but I will give you these two pointers: 1) Never use a learned phrase such as “This has benefits as well as drawbacks, which will be discussed in this essay.”. It is a phrase that is generic to be used regardless of the topic and does nothing for your score because it isn’t an example of your own English. Each sentence should be created by yourself. Look at how I write my introduction in the model above and use the same technique. My model essays are there to learn from. 2) The conclusion is a short functional paragraph, shorter than the introduction. Again, check my model essay.

Thank you so much. I shall check out the model essays.

Having one language world wide can developed economy and become the stregnth. This has been by few people that with one language individuals can easily communicate with various countries people but there are also some drawbacks to having one language.

Firstly, There are a lot of benefits to having one language. To explain this it would be become easier to economical growth people having more job oppourtnity one’s can easily get job in another country and travel world. Moreover there would chance to rid of poverty in order to having more job oppourtnities. For instance as per the survey there are a lot of languages worldwide and people facing difficulties while having conversation with others therefore they would not be able to explore. Thus having one language more advantages in order to becoming similar on the earth.

On the other side, There are some drawbacks to have one language globally. To eloborate this many people visit to foreign countries to explore activities. Therefore, there would be less tourism because of having one language people will not be more interested to travel besides of this people having their own language which make sense for others. For example, India is a diverse country and there is different language after every 10 km. That is why people would lose their culture and heritage, customs. people having their own thoughts and feeling would have forget To conclude this, English language is one of the most popular language in any kind of business. Having one language can effect on people behaviour and their way of communicate.

Hi Liz, I’ve a query here in this essay introduction. The question says ” The development of tourism contributed to English..” . However, you didn’t mention the concept of development of tourism in introduction. Is this ok to skip that as i know, we should include every information from the question.

The essay questions is “The development of tourism contributed to English becoming the most prominent language in the world. Some people think this will lead to English becoming the only language to be spoken globally.”. As you see, there are two sentences. The first one is a background which is factual. It doesn’t require a discuss or your opinion. The second sentence is an opinion “some people think ….” – this is what you are replying to in your essay. Not every essay has two statements like that. So, make a note if you find one that does and make sure you are discuss the right part of the essay question.

Thank you so much for clearing my doubt. God bless you

Hope you are doing well. Could you give me if we get a question that ends with, “Is this a good thing or a bad thing.”

What type of essay is this? (advantages and disadvantage) some other.

Teachers can give essays different names. I called this a Direct Question essay where your task is to answer one or two particular questions. This is similar to “do the advantages outweigh the disadvantages”. You need to evaluate and give your opinion about whether it is good or bad.

Hi dear Liz. I just wanted to ask a thing or two regarding your above model answer. (i) In the second BP, firstly and secondly is used, without lastly. Is it ok to write points like that. (ii) This was adv and disadv essay, and it was not required to give your opinion, according to the essay question. Then why did you write in the conclusion that a lot will be lost. I reckon it is a opinion. Your comments would be highly appreciated. Regards

1) Just because you use first and second does not mean you must use lastly. Also using first and second within a paragraph can be helpful, but not between paragraphs because it is too mechanical for a high score. 2) Putting a final comment in the conclusion is fine, it could be an opinion, prediction or suggestion. But you never put an additional opinion in the conclusion as a final comment if your entire essay is opinion based.

Hi Litz, Your youtube channel and this blog is really helpful in preparing for my IELTS exam. I am having a doubt, which I would like to be clarified by you. So, in the advantages and disadvantages essay, we should explain one body paragraph as advantages and 2nd as disadvantages? and then give the conclusion which is better? or either explain one those and give opinion. Please clear my this doubt as i have my exam in a week. Thank you and wish you a speedy recovery.

If you are in doubt, please see my advanced lesson in my online store for detailed training: https://elizabethferguson.podia.com/

Thank you for the reply. I just want to know what structure is used in advantage/disadvantage essay. In the above model essay you used one BP showing advat and 2nd BP showing disadvnt. I just want to know is this the structure for this essay?

Of course, this is the structure. This is the purpose of my website and of these model essays – it allows you to learn at home.

Hello Liz, I truly appreciate your valuable lessons and information about IELTS. I have a question for you. The instruction was “Do you think the advantages of taking risks outweigh the disadvantages?” So I stated my opinion that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. And I write two body paragraphs for two advantages. I include the idea that disadvantage is not big in these body paragraphs. But I am concerned that should I write one full body paragraph for disadvantage? Or supporting my opinion is fine since I stated that disadvantage is not that strong.

I hope you answer my question. 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

You are marked on your logical organisation of information into paragraphs. Having both advantages and disadvantages mixed up in a body paragraph isn’t going to help your score for Coherence & Cohesion. Separating ideas into body paragraphs is essential. However, that is only one part of Coherence & Cohesion, and it won’t affect your score for the other marking criteria.

Dear Madam, I found the below topic confusing. I can’t decide whether it refers back to “Do you agree or disagree” in which we ought to focus on only one side of the essay topic and forget the other side, or the “Advantages and Disadvantages” where we should discuss both sides. If the latter is correct, which I don’t think so, then we should cover both sides of two topics (living in a house and apartment) which would be a very long essay and unwanted in IELTS. So please help me out on this and thank you in advance.

Some people prefer to live in a house, while others feel that there are more advantages to living in an apartment. Are there more advantages than disadvantages of living in a house compared with living in an apartment. (Test 1, General Training, Volume # 7, IELTS Cambridge Series)

This is a very unusual question to get in IELTS because it is complicated and too lengthy. Most essays contain instructions which are more simple such as “Discuss both sides and give your opinion” or “Do you agree” or “What are the advantages and disadvantages?”. So, before I explain I will say that although this question is found in an IELTS Cambridge test books, which makes the question authentic, it is very uncommon to get any such question. The first thing to tackle in your mind are – what are the advantages to living in a house than living in a flat. Examples: internal space, privacy, outside spaces which flats generally don’t have. The downside would be – cost more than the countryside and there are fewer houses available in cities compared to rural areas. With these ideas planned. We then think about structuring the essay using these ideas and addressing the task. We can see that generally there are more advantages and less disadvantages. So, we will present the advantages in one body paragraph and provide simple comparison points such as “a house is more spacious than a flat” and then state the disadvantages in another body paragraph. We will present the opinion in the introduction and conclude it as well. So, you can see that although the essay question is written differently, it is an outweigh essay with simple comparisons. I hope this helps you 🙂

The reason for English developing into the most well-known language in the world owes to the advancement of tourism, leading some people to speculate that it will be the sole spoken language globally. One of the main benefits would be the improvements in communications, while the lack of diversity would be the drawback if English became the only language in the world.

The greatest benefit from having a single worldwide language is that people can understand each other more than they used to. Not only is this beneficial, but this also means that information would be easily exchanged between different cultures; for instance, many people would have been more educated if they had been given access to education materials in a language that they can understand. For these reasons, it would be more useful to have the same language as everyone else in the world.

It could be argued that despite the benefits, one of the most appealing sides of diversity, the mother tongue of other cultures, would be lost. Following this, the tourism industry, which relies on showcasing different atmospheres created by the variety in languages, would suffer the consequences. Travellers would become bored more easily and their desires to visit other places would reduce. Take the latest research findings as an example; conclusion therein states that countries which lost their mother tongue have seen to have fewer annual visitors than their counterparts. Thus, there would be some problems when it comes to uniting the entire planet under one language.

In conclusion, while there are some downsides to having a global language, it would still be beneficial for the majority. Hence, convincing societies to switch to English should be our priority for the better of the posterity.

Hi Liz, can I add ” personally, I believe…” before the last sentence in conculsion section? (personally, I believe maintaining local languages and …..)

I know some examiners that find that too informal. Your essay should always be formal: in my opinion, I believe, I think, from my point of view

There is no doubt that increasing number of tourism industry has put up the English as global language, which is concern for many people as they think this will result in English as the only language spoken internationally. Having one language would certainly aid the understanding and economic growth but there will also be some drawbacks. There will be many advantages of one language being spoken world-wide. Firstly, it will enhance the human-to-human connectivity and more understanding between them. This will also enable more trade between countries and fuel the economic growth. It will also help the research and education field, for instance, all research work, technology advancement and educational books will be available only in one language and it can benefit the whole world without any translation. On the other hand, the downside will be many local languages will be lost and with this many cultures and rituals will be vanished. The world will become monotonous and there will be no variation in people’s way of life or their cultures. The world is beautiful with its rich and diverse culture and the main reason for this is the language. The people will be no more interested in visiting other parts of world as the main reason is that that to go to different parts of world to experience the different cultures and language. In conclusion, speaking one language world-wide will surely benefit people in trade and many other aspects of life but the loss will be irreparable. Maintaining local languages and cultures should be prioritized to ensure rich world heritage for future generation.

Hi Liz, I have one question. I can’t understand why you wrote the last sentence. Isn’t it an opinion? I know this question is just discussing, not requesting my opinion…but why…?

It is possible to provide a final comment in your conclusion which might be an opinion, a prediction or suggestion. However, in an opinion essay, you would not present a new opinion in this way.

Advantage of “something ” outweigh the disadvantage? In the statement, can I have opinions for both, for instance, advantages point and disadvantage point as well ?

You still need to say which is more dominant. You must present a clear position. It doesn’t mean you must choose only one, but you must be clear which outweighs more than the other.

English is becoming the most popular language around the globe for many different reasons, one of those reasons is the increasing number of tourists to English speaking countries this might lead to an only English-speaking globe. In this essay I will illustrate the positive and negative impacts of speaking one language on both individuals and countries.

There would be a number of advantages to have one language in the world which people use to communicate ideas and feelings since communication will be easier and clearer for all individuals with no room for mistranslations or misunderstandings. In addition, foreign students and workers will not have to spend long periods of time learning a new language to study, work or live abroad. The globe will be more connected with one universal language.

On the other hand, having one global language results in a loss of each country’s heritage and history since language is seriously linked to culture and religion, for instance, travelers claim that learning local language brings them closer to local residents and helps them to deeply understand their culture and customs. Moreover, human brains develop different linguistic and intellectual levels while learning a new language which enhance individuals’ skills and personalities. Furthermore, there are many jobs that are based on the number of languages people speak globally such as teaching, translation and tourism which would disappear if humans speak only one language.

In conclusion, there are various advantages and disadvantages to have one spoken language in the world. Having English as the global language would ease communication and save a lot of time translating news and information, but it would demolish extremely important aspect of individuality and uniqueness between countries and cultures.

Having a common langue will ease all the language barrier and connect the people more easily. It is obvious that having a one common languages will help us to build strong understanding between countries and people which will help to build strong relationship. When people of different countries share a common ideas strong relationship. it will automatically result to built trust and hence improve our trade and economy.

On the other hand, having a single common language will eventually lead to disappear our unique culture and heritage.

Some people believe that it is best to accept a bad situation, such as an unsatisfactory job or shortage of money. Others argue that it is better to try an improve such situations. Discuss both these views and give your opinion

Some people believe that it is better to avoid struggle and stay with what you have such as lack of money or unsatisfactory job. Whereas, other people believe that it important to work more and try to change your lifestyle. In my opinion, avoiding hard work and accepting other decision is worse approach to leave a life. At first, without courage to improve life standard it is impossible to come out from such situation. One who is not trying to change his life he will never be able to change his life. At start it is difficult to move toward progress but with passage of time improvement will come if we are consistent and doing hard word for the sake of progress. Although, competition is on the peak and it is hard to make place in market but if our decisions are strong enough then no one can compete us. In addition setting goal and objective at start will help to get reward at the end and will lead us toward progress. On the other hand, if we stay with what we have it is worse decision of our life. When we a see achievement of other and happiest moment of those who are close to their goal. It will hurt us. Study shown that, people who are not trying again and again will never get success and end up with nothing. In conclusion, hard work is key to success and laziness will lead you toward negative thoughts as a result never you will never enjoy pleasure of success.

hye liz i am your big fan please check my essay and suggest band score

Having a language dates back to the earliest centuries of human beings’ lives. It has always been needed for people to understand each other and communicate. Various languages are spoken in many countries. It is arguable, that the increasingly enhanced tourism actions are empowering the English language, because tourists can use it wherever their destination is to explain their needs. This is due to the indulgence of it in all schools and universities curriculums worldwide. A small group of individuals believe that this will lead to a world with only one spoken language, which is English. This may have several merits such as a world described to be a close-knit community and less education expenses. However, it would badly affect the traditions of local cultures, in addition to the deterioration of countries’ economies.

A world controlled by people speaking one common language would be stronger, with notable education cost reduction. Many researches and projects are held on an international level. This emphasizes the importance of complete understanding and communication that will enhance the final outcome. For instance, according to an article released in 2019, many businesses have extended their cooperation with other companies all over the world, with the use of English. Hence, it could be justified that parents spend a lot of money, about half of their salaries, for teaching their children a second language, which is mostly English in non-English speaking countries. This can be explained by the enormous spreading of its usage and demand in all different nations. Thus, if it was the only language taught in schools, there would be no need to pay extra money to learn it. As the Netherlands has become an English speaking country, this fact has helped its citizens to save more than a quarter of their yearly income.

On the other hand, traditions and values will be affected negatively with the disappearance of local languages. All customs and history are inherited from generation to generation via books and stories that are better transmitted using domestic alphabits. The globalization of English will break down all the history of ancient tribes. In India, all traditions are connected with songs and festivals, which depend incredibly on slang and proverbs. Nevertheless, these cultural distinctions are the major attraction to tourists. Individuals will find it inessential to visit a country with a similar history and inheritance. For instance, American people tend to buy tours to European countries ten times more than taking a holiday to the UK, as stated in the sun daily journal.

To conclude, English is becoming increasingly significant, as a result, there will be one monocultural nation controlling the Earth, with no need for extra fees paid for linguistic lessons, yet with a fragile economy, and eroding traditions.

I don’t usually reply to people posting their essays because I don’t offer such a service. But in this case, I will point out that your aim is to write around 270-290 words, not over 400. Keep your introduction to just two sentences and make sure your main points are very clear and well presented in the body paragraphs. See all my free lessons and tips to learn more about writing an IELTS essay: https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-writing-task-2/

You are so humble and genuine.

That’s kind. Thank you

Nowadays, the tourism industry has developed on large scale because of easy transportation services and technological advancement. This development of tourism has led to English being one of the most widely used languages all around the world to communicate effectively. Moreover, some people think in the coming years English will be the only language spoken globally. There are lots of advantages and disadvantages to it as lots of countries have their native language depicting their culture and traditions. The biggest advantage of this will be that all the people around the world will have only one language to follow. This will help the traveler to communicate easily and get the desired help in an unknown place. Because of the language barrier tourism in that particular place is affected a lot hence having a single speaking language around the world will help boost the tourists’ spots and help in development. Although, the disadvantage of having a single speaking language is that every community wants to preserve its essence of culture and traditions. With languages all around the world, every particular region has its own style of communication which also contributes to history, music and art which will fade away overtime leading to extinction of communities around the world. So, having a single language as a communication protocol may work but at the same time will lead to communal protest and disagreement globally from the countries who have strong cultural and historical background in their native language.

Please Rate my Writing

Hello Liz. First of all, thank you for beautiful contents. I have a very important question. In ‘advantages-disadvantages’ essays, what if one don’t think there isn’t any advantages or disadvantages ? In the sample esssay, you tell the advantages in one body paragraph, and you tell the disadvantages in the following paragraph then you give your own statement in the conclusion (if I understand correctly.) But, what if you think there isn’t any disadvantages of monoculture and having one, predominant language in the world and you totally believe that this is how it should be ? Do pupils pretend that they think there are both advantages and disadvantages ?

This type of essay isn’t about your opinion. It is about presenting the information that IELTS are requesting. You are requested to present the advantages and the disadvantages – you must do that. It is part of the Task Response marking criterion. Furthermore, you now know that many IELTS essays will request you to do this. It isn’t a surprise. This means it should be part of your preparation to prepare ideas for topics and that includes advantages and disadvantages of various world concerns or trends.

The importance of English language which was always debatable has now become more controversial with many people claiming that it is beneficial while other reject this nation. The substational influence of this trend has sparked controversy over the potential impact in recent years. In my opinion, there are more demerits as compared to merits and i will discuss the both views in the upcoming paragraph.

On the one hand, there are some advantages on this trend. The first and foremost reason behind this is that, English is a very significant part in everyone’s life. If school provide English language since childhood then it will very beneficial for children because in this contemporary era, majority of jobs provide the job if masses know about english. Another striking benefit is that, if children do learn English since childhood do learn English since children then younger ones can easily crack their exam related abroad countries. For instance, IELTS, PTE , TOEFL etcetera and people can easily understand foreign language.

On the other hand, there are numerous reasons why I think there are more disadvantages. People avoid their native language then people do not follow the traditions and cultures so it is a very bad thing because Punjabi and Hindi language is also very important language and it maintain our discipline. During this, individuals follow their culture

In conclusion, there are some advantages, individuals can easily understand foreign language and crack the English based exam, Nevertheless, I believe that there are many pitfalls such as it become low popularity about native language .

Hi Liz, Could you please enlighten me, In adv outweigh disadv and discuss both views and give your opinion questions, Should I write the side I choose in more detail than the other? I mean Should I write two equal body paragraphs for two sides or give importance to one of them?

Best wishes Merve

The length of the body paragraphs should be equal. This is stated in the band score descriptors published by IELTS. But you can express your opinion clearly in the body paragraphs to make your stance clear.

Thanks Liz ☺️ I have been watching your videos in You tube

thank you for your model essey it was useful for me. Thank you so much again.

I had my IELTS exam last weekend. The question for task 2 was: “Some people buy their food from small shops and local markets, others buy from large supermarkets. Which one has more advantages for the customers?” What is the right way to write this essay?

Thanks and regards, Hilda

This is the “outweigh” essay. The instructions say: Do the advantages of X outweigh the advantages of Y. So, just approach it with the normal approach for the adv/disadv outweigh essay.

Hi Liz, is it okay to say in the introduction statement that “both the advantages and disadvantages of this development will be elaborated in this essay?”

Sounds very much like a learned phrase that you can apply to any adv/disadv essay. This doesn’t help your score increase. This is a language test and each sentence should be unique to yourself. Try to avoid memorising sentences to fill your essay. Also the examiner knows you will elaborate the advs and disadvs – the examiner has the instructions as well. You don’t need to repeat the instructions. So, it’s really a waste of time focusing on such sentences which are not needed and won’t increase your score. There are much more important things to focus on in your writing task 2 preparation.

Hi Liz! I love the way that you write. Thank you for your beautiful page and I hope you keep going with. You are my inspiration!

I’m glad my lessons are helpful 🙂

Could I ask, in this model essay, where are the examples in body paragraph 1 and 2 ? Could you help highlight them for me? Or is it not necessary to have examples, so you haven’t mentioned them?

Thanks for your help with this!

You don’t need examples in all body paragraphs. Explain and illustrate your ideas your way.

Hi Liz! My ielts teacher (not a native speaker of English) said it’s better to avoid using words like” firstly””secondly”, because it is like ” chidren’s essay “. But you are still using them in your essay. Is it true?

They are perfectly fine to use and certain not children’s language. However, try not to use them at the start of each paragraph to avoid “mechanical linking” which is a feature of band 6 for Coherence and Cohesion. Using them within a paragraph is fine. But use them once only.

There is no denying fact that the phenomenon of English widely spoken is ubiquitous across the globe due to the paramount importance of tourism. One school of thought opine that this should not be the case, however others consider that a couple of problems may also occur because of the same. Although this has plethora of merits yet numerous demerits are also there which will be elaborated in the upcoming paragraphs. Initiating with the best possible benefits, the most significant advantage is ease of communication. In other words, people would interact using only one language which would promote easy understanding between countries and societies. To cite an example, a survey conducted by the British magazine in 2019 reported that, 80 % of the people living in UAE communicate easily with rest of the nationalities by speaking English alone. Along with it, the relationship among the nations will become healthier. As a result, this will make countries to build a stronger bond between them. On the paradoxical side, there are several drawbacks as well. First and foremost, the extinction of the local languages. To explain further, various languages will ultimately be vanished slowly and gradually by the domination on one language. Secondly, People would not be interested to travel to other tourist places to explore the culture and lifestyle. Consequently, there will be a significant fall in the economy of the countries. To conclude, without any doubt this is a mixed bag. Although this topic has many positive aspects to centralize one language, the negative points of this notion may not be underestimated.

Wow… This is wonderful essay. It made me inspired and developed my attitude. This essay should score band 9.

The spikes in Tourism has made English the well known language in the world to communicate to which masses believe that it will be the only dialect accepted and implemented worldwide. This notion has its own advanatages and disadvantages related with it and we shall discuss on the same in this essay. I believe this should not be implemented. The effects of movies has a great impact on masses resulting an increase in travel industry. English being accepted globaly makes the communication easy with the native and tourists. Both the parties can communicate , understand and can be on the same page. Having a single language will certainly be user friendly worldwide. The possibities of awkwardness will not occur. Both the parties can convey their opinions with no hesitaion .Conversing in same speech will be fluent and smooth leading to no scope of shyness between the two person. At touristy spots, there will be no need for a local guide or translator for a traveller to shell their money on. However , a coin has two sides. Their are few disadvantages as well related with the notion. Every country has a cultural and native language which it is renowned for. For example, Europe is famous for French which has a major significance for the country. India has several cultural languages which it is famous for. Having the same language will not inculcate learning native language for the children and youth of the country. It is vital to stay grounded to your roots.The employement rate for attendant, translators will decrease. The history of the country will be hampered leading to no room of learning. To conclude English is well accepted globally but the roots of the country i.e language should be intact for the betterment.

It is a wide-known fact that English is considered to be the most dominant language worldwidely. Many claim that English will predominate over the other languages, leading to their gradual disappearance. The use of only one language universally will definitely have some benefits in terms of travelling or communication between the governments but at the same time, may have severe disadvantages on cultural identities and world economic status. Initially, an argument in favour of having a common language is that the travelling experience is enhanced and becomes more efficient. In other words, visiting a country with a different language is frequently a real struggle for some people, who might feel insecure to walk around and enjoy. Consequently, a common language may motivate more people to travel overseas, which will certainly boost the tourism for every country. Moreover, a mutual language may help addressing and tackling global issues such as the environmental problem. For instance, as long as all the governors share the same language, their communication will be more effective and their relationships will be strengthened. Under these circumstances, dealing with universal problems will be considerably more productive. On the contrary, the dominance of one language has some apparent drawbacks. Firstly, there is no doubt that each language is the bright gem of each country. This is exemplified by the fact that the various languages offer a great insight into the cultures and civilizations. If the languages start eliminating, then the long-term history and the uniqueness of each country will extinct very soon. Secondly, another equally significant argument against the prevalence of one language is that may negatively affect the travel frequency. To paraphrase, many people are motivated to learn a language and visit the country, where is spoken, either for practice or for simple interaction with local people. Provided that people speak the same language, this may discourage many to travel and as result tourism and world economy might be affected damagingly. In conclusion, although there are positive points to have a catholic language, maintaining the local languages is a great way to promote each country’s diversity and appreciate the differences that make each culture unique!

I would like you to ask you about main ideas and supporting details. Many teachers say that you should have only one main idea per paragraph and support it with your supporting ideas. So, for example, for advantages and disadvantages type of questions they recommend firstly find all ideas for advantages and disadvantages and after group them into main ideas and write one paragraph for each main ideas.But, in your eassay there is one paragraph for advantages and one paragraph for disadvantages. Is it ok to write paragraphs without main ideas? I am just confused about different style of essays.

The examiner is looking for logical organisation which means all advantages together and all disadvantages together. Furthermore, the marking criteria states that paragraphs should have a central topic – which means all advantages together. Many teachers get confused about this because they think a central topic must be a central idea – but that is not actually the case. It is about a central topic.

Hey Liz, Hope you are doing well. I got my ielts academic result today, with an overall band of 8. I just want to thank you for all the tutorial videos and sample essays you have made, they helped a lot to me. Thank you very much.

That’s a really great score 🙂 Very well done 🙂 Glad my lessons helped.

The English language has developed over the years to become one of the most recognized and popular languages all over the world. With the onset of tourism, people are connecting and interacting with different cultures and languages and English has become the preferred mode of communications. Hence, this has lead to speculations that the diversity of language spoken would become affected. While I do agree that English unites most people and allow for improved communications and sharing of knowledge, I find all languages to be rich in culture, beauty and individualism and it is highly unlikely that they would become extinct over time.

With twenty-first century becoming more globalized, there is a greater need for common ground understanding and communications with different people from all over the world. This has inspired people to pick up a second or third language and English is really popular among people. This is significant, as it allows for better sharing of knowledge, information and culture and helps bring more understanding in the world.

On the other hand, it is important to preserve different languages, as it is our culture and roots. If the world were to be left with English language, we may become less tolerable of different diversity and lose our individualism. In addition, we may find ourselves losing touch and the ability to understand our histories and artefacts (which are written in other languages).

Furthermore, given the growing popularity for the Chinese, Japanese, Korean, French and German languages, it becomes highly unlikely for English to be the only surviving language. People appreciate and admire the beauty and complexity with different languages and as such, I find it highly unlikely for humanity’s love for languages to die out.

In conclusion, despite the fact that having one language may improve communications, I believe that most people would agree that languages would make our world a more colourful and interesting place to be in.

In band descriptor of Writing there isnt any point explaining about idomatic language wherger we have to use or not. Yet, for speaking band descriptor explicitly mentions to use idomaric vocabulary. In your advanced lessons’ videos, u use few idomatic phrases, such as money does not grow on trees. As you are not only an IELTS teacher but also a native speaker, I have written some of your exact phrases, but my non-native tutor advised not to use them. Since I accept ur lessons more, how can I convince my teacher that they are not only ok, but also really good?

Any language I use in model essays or lessons about essay writing is fine to use for your IELTS essay. Less common idiomatic language is good for your score, but only when used appropriately.

Hello ma’am, plz check this essay fr me Topic – At the present time, the population of some countries includes a relatively large number of young adults, compared with the number of older people, Do the advantages of this situation overweigh disadvantage?

Essay : In the existing era, in some countries the population consists of large number of young generation, in comparison to the figure of old people. In my opinion, there are various benefits to this but the drawbacks cannot be overlooked. To begin with, there are several advantages of this notion. Having more youth in nation will give better development to the country. But the biggest downside of this is the loss of culture. As the older people maintains it in every home, which keeps the nation balanced. It also maintains the responsibility and strictness in the society. However, if these things get vanished in the contemporary time, there would be no limits on anyone as well as the freedom will be misused. Another evidence of this is it will result into unemployment. As there will be more young adults, more jobs will be needed. And it would not be easy for the companies to generate lot of employment. India, for example, is the country where unemployment rate is very high, especially the age group 20-40 are the most which remain jobless. In conclusion, the increase in young era may lead to various consequences although in my view, a country needs balanced population to keep it’s people well developed.

I would like to inform you that I have taken the date of exam for 7/9/2019

Most of the IELTS teacher suggest to put a example in each paragraph but I didn’t find anyone in this essay..why???

Because it is a recommendation and not a requirement. You choose how and when to illustrate. Not all illustrations need to use “for example” – not all illustrations are introduced by a linking word.

Hi Liz. I have encountered this question on your practice page. “What are the disadvantages of knocking down old buildings? Do the advantages outweigh the disadvantages?” Is the structure of the essay for this similar with what you have taught us on your advanced lesson video on outweighing? Or is there a new structure for this since there are two questions? I’m a little bit worried because I will be taking the exam this week. Thank you Liz!

If you have two questions, you must answer both. So in the first body paragraph, you state the disadvantages and in the second you would give your outweigh ideas. As you have only one paragraph for the outweigh – keep your position easy.

According to grammar rules mam we can not use to with verb form+ing but in your essay you have used many sentences in this form is it right? Can we use this?

It is not used as a verb. It is not a (verb+ing). It is the same as writing “I’m looking forward to hearing from you”. This aspect of grammar should not be used unless you have been trained to use it.

That is a to- infinitive, the variation Liz used is at the object position of the sentence. You can have it at the subject position too(initial part of a sentence) in which case it becomes “nominalized” e.g. ‘Reading is a good way to pass time’ or ‘To read is a good way to pass time’ My test is tomorrow Liz, wish me luck… I’m not too scared though because I’ve been following your lessons here and on youtube

I wish you all the luck in the world! Keep your eye on the clock for reading and writing. Make sure you plan your writing thoroughly. Read the essay question again and again before you start each paragraph – it will help you keep on track with ideas and language. Fingers crossed 🙂

If question says, “More advantages or disadvantages?” Does it mean “outweigh essay” which requires to mention both advantages and disadvantages along with my own opinion in Thesis statement (e.g. advantages outweigh disadvantages)?

Those instructions are the outweigh essay. IELTS like to paraphrase instructions from time to time.

How can your paid videos be accessed?

They are accessed through an email which is sent automatically after purchasing. Always check your spam folder. However, I am stopping all sales for the next month. They will be available again in September.

HI Liz, Thanks a lot for the fabulous work you are doing here. Your website has been a great help to me and even though I’ve not gone through other IELTS website, I can confidently say your site is the best out of the lot. So, I attempted my first IELTS (General) on March 23,2019 after a one week prep to sit for the exams and that as you would’ve guessed didn’t go too well. For my first attempt my results were; Listening 8.5 Reading 5.5 Writing 6.0 Speaking 6.5 Overall Band 6.5 This was obviously a bad result since I needed atleast a band of 7.0. Also, with a masters degree from a country which has English as its International language, I naturally underestimated the IELTS and I only chanced on your site after five days into my one week prep, which then meant I had very little time to get enough guidance from your site.

So, after that sore experience and having found your site, I decided to sit for the IELTS again but with enough time using solely your site as my study material and some Youtube simulation IELTS speaking videos to prep for my second attempt which was on May 23, 2019. Fast forward, I just checked my result and the breakdown is as follows; Listening 8.0 Reading 8.0 Writing 6.5 Speaking 7.5 Overall Band of 7.5

You can just imagine how excited I am right now, and this is all thanks to you Liz for your patience in replying to these many comments on your lessons and putting together such a well structured lessons on your site. This site is one-stop-shop for IELTS preps and I would encourage all those who are yet to sit for the exams to follow the lessons here diligently like I did.

Thank you again and may God continue to bless you, Liz.

Brilliant improvement – I’m really impressed !! Very well done 🙂 It really shows your determination to succeed 🙂 Thanks for recommending my site – I’m glad my lessons were helpful 🙂

Well done Seloram However, I can’t help but comment that when I read your post I really did feel you ought to have received a better score for your writing since your writing style is quite impressive. Did you contemplate giving a try for remarking?

Yes, I did consider requesting for a remark because I had enough time to plan, write and even had 5mins to go over and correct some errors for both writing tasks before the time was up. However, since I had hit my goal of getting an overall band of 7, I quickly disregarded the thought of a remark. Thanks!

I wanted to buy your new e-book, but turkey is not listed in the paypal system. So how can I get your e-book?

Unfortunately, I don’t have other payment options. However, it is possible for you to ask a friend to buy them for you.

I have been referring your website for clearing many IELTS, GT, Task2 related confusions, however, one confusion remains and, it has given me sleepless nights. It is regarding having one idea and developing/extending it or two ideas in one body paragraph.

I have seen your videos where you suggest to pick one idea, extend and support it to gain higher band. But, in your sample essays, more than often you have use two ideas in one body paragraph. I also referred other websites, which says that two ideas in one body paragraph may affect score in cohesion and coherence.

Please guide. Looking forward to your kind response. Thank you

You are confusing have one idea and having a central theme to the paragraph. You are being marked on your ability to group information into paragraphs which have a central theme. If you are giving advantages and disadvantages, a central theme would be all advantages in one body paragraph with disadvantages grouped in another. If you are presenting individual reasons for supporting your opinion, you would present each reason (each idea) in a separate body paragraph. So, your choice of structure and your paragraphing is flexible depending on what information you are presenting. This is what you are being marked on in Coherence and Cohesion.

Thank you for quick response.

you have cleared my doubt. This is the best explanation I have received.

God bless you.

I’m relieved you understood. It isn’t always easy to explain in a message.

Please feedback if this could score more than 7.5

Globally and due to tourism English has become so well known that some of us believe that, it would become the only spoken language in the world. While there are advantages in having one language such as the ease in conducting business, and improving communication among people, there are certain drawbacks such as erasing other languages, and loosing cultures identities.

Firstly, English has spread in many parts of the operational world and in particular in business. For example, many universities now are offering their postgraduate programs entirely in English. This allows international students to study and share research opportunities all in the same language. This benefit proves to be extremely rewarding as it unifies talents from all over the world and it enables students to grow in business endeavours together. Secondly, when conducting business, specifically, when it comes to transactions, it has been proven that bank operations in English are smooth and with less chances of making errors. Additionally, The Wall Street Journal has estimated that using English on the stock markets across the wold has saved expenses for many companies from translation costs as well it has substantially improved fast and easy communication. As a result, there is a clear confirmation that in business, it absolutely beneficial to use English as the main form of information.

However, there are some downsides to the notion of using one language. On the one hand, it gradually eradicates the potential to learn another language. For instance, because it is much easier when travelling or temporary visiting another country to use English instead of Spanish, people in general, lose the ability to attempt to learn a different language because they know that they can function with just applying English. A simple example, would be to communicate in English with a real estate agent in Spain, to purchasing a backpack in Germany, to even getting around with errands in China. Nonetheless, in the long run, this absolves you from the effort to learn the local language and as a result, one ends up living in a foreign country without learning to a greater extent about the culture. This appears to be only of disadvantage to us since we are not making progress in developing our skills. A study released from Harvard Psychology Magazine has found out that our brains are not as challenged by only relying on one language and therefore, they recommend continuous learning of other languages. Moreover, the notion of just having one language world-wide would definitely erase the character of many places, which we cherish as they are, for example, the authentic sound of French, the historical value of the Greek language, as well as the importance of medical terminology in Latin.

In conclusion, even though some purport to the idea that English is beneficial especially in business communications, others still think that it would eventually destroy other languages and ultimately eliminate the significance of other cultures.

I think u should go for a remarking. Your style of writing is good. Think again!!

I have been using this website since few months ago & I purchased your advance writing lessons as well. I could really enhance my knowledge through them. You are certainly born for teaching IELTS.:)

Could you please help me to build the background statement of following essay. “Some parents buy their children a large number of toys to play with.What are the advantages & disadvantages for the child of having a large number of toys?”

If I write this way is it correct ? “Although an excessive number of toys is thought by some to be useful for children, other people consider that it can be detrimental.” I have a little confusion there as question is not focused on negative aspect.

I’m going to take IELTS at beginning of May & hope you would help me.

Don’t change the content of the background. The essay question didn’t say anything about it being detrimental. It only stated a fact, not an opinion. So, you should paraphrase it exactly as it is: Some parents are indulgent and spend a lot of money buying toys for their children’s amusement. OR Some parents do not limit the number of toys they buy for their children’s amusement. OR Some children are indulged by their parents who buy them many toys to play with. (this option changes the order of information by starting with children rather than parents – this is a useful technique is paraphrasing is tough).

I took my ielts exam today. Everything went well, but I think I have messed up with essay task 2.

The question was: Companies are selling their products globally these days. Does this trend has more advantages or disadvantages. Support your answer with reasons and examples.

Unfortunately, i got confused that the question prompt is asking me to opt one side and write about it-because it said ‘or’ and not ‘and’

Was it incorrect to write only about the benefits and not disadvantages? How much would it impact my score?

It would affect your score for Task Response which is 25% of your marks for task 2. Your score cannot be predicted. Your task was to choose adv more and disadv less OR adv less and disadv more. This was an “outweigh” essay.

Hi, Mam, can you please post video lectures for cause solution and Direct Questions Essays. I need help with those. I ay. already purchased all your video lectures.

Waiting for your Kind Reply. My Ielts will be on 27 April.

Unfortunately, I stopped making videos due to health problems. See my free lessons and model essays: https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-writing-task-2/ . I’ll start making videos when I’m better – hopefully next year.

God Bless you and Get well soon. All good wishes to you and thanks for the reply

Wishing you speedy recovery Liz.

Thanks for giving us gerund to make a complex sentence. I used it. but I have some mistakes while making a complex sentence.my aim is 6.is it necessary to make every sentence in complex form for me

If your aim is band 6, you can use a combination of simple and complex. Review the band score criteria here: https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-writing-task-2-band-scores-5-to-8/ . Then review all lessons and tips here: https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-writing-task-2/

Your website is wonderful. Please what does a note form look like? I’m going through road to ielts writing and I came across a part that said note form and bullet points are not allowed.

We write notes when we are short for time in a meeting, for example. They are not fully formed sentences – just notes. You should avoid writing like this and write with fully formed sentences which adhere to English grammar rules.

In the Adv./ Disadv. Essay with whether the Advantages outweighs disadvantages, considering an opinion where the advantages indeed outweighs the disadvantages, will it be alright if I discuss the disadvantages first and then advantages. (I feel more comfortable in placing the heavier argument in the second paragraph. )

Thanks 🙂 Shailesh

Whatever order you choose, make sure it is logical. This means that the order in the introduction follows the order of the body paragraphs. Organisation is marked on logic.

Good point to remember. Right after this comment, I saw the way to attempt such essays in your Advance Writing video, and I think that would be more appropriate than reversing the order.

Thank you Liz. You are great!! Shailesh

Great. Glad you got the Advanced Lessons. Whenever you are in doubt in IELTS always aim for logic and clarity 🙂

Hi Liz, thanks a lot for posting this answer, however, i have a doubt. The question does not require you to provide your opinion (it only asks to mention what are the advantages and disadvantages), which i think means that you have to provide a neutral answer of both advantages and disadvantages. However, in the second sentence of your conclusion, do not you think that you are leaning towards one of the sides? Would not this contradict the requirement of the question to be relatively neutral? Am particularly concerned with the “should be prioritised”. What are your thoughts on this?

This is called a final comment – it is not a new point. It is possible that an opinion is a final comment as long as it is a neutral essay. A final comment is not actually necessary – it is optional.

Could you please rate the below essay and provide feedback.

The topic is as follows:

The development of tourism contributed to English becoming the most prominent language in the world. Some people think this will lead to English becoming the only language to be spoken legally. What are the advantages and disadvantages of learning one language in the world?

My essay is as follows:

Thanks to the development of tourism, English has become the most prominent language across the globe. This creates a standard where English becomes the main language for communication across countries. However, the downside to this is that many people would neglect their own native language, which would result in that language being lost as the generations go by.

The benefits of having a universal language is that it allows knowledge, communication and innovations to be shared across countries. For instance, in the past, many people would work as translators because each country would publish their discoveries in their native language. This process has been rendered obsolete thanks to the invention of a universal language. Having one language in the world, saves a lot of time as you don’t have to translate it from one language to another. It also allows for information to be shared much more efficiently.

In earlier generations, schools would teach their students the native language and offer foreign languages as an option. Consequently, schools now teach English and offer the native language as an option. As a result, many languages are being forgotten and lost. When Languages are lost, ancient cultures and stories written in that language are also lost.

In conclusion, one major advantage of learning one language in the world is that it saves a lot of time as you don’t have to translate from one language ti another. However, the disadvantage of learning one language in the world is that many languages and ancient cultures are forgotten and lost.

Thank you so much for the example. It’s pretty well-organized and everything flows logically and I am quite able to extract a structure for the advantage/disadvantage essay out of it.

As I am currently studying this kind of essay, I came across this prompt from Cambridge IELTS 7. It says:

Some people prefer to live in a house, while others feel that there are more advantages to living in an apartment. Are there more advantages than disadvantages of living in a house compared with living in an apartment?

I am quite confused since I feel there are way more issues to address here. Here’s what I understood:

Issue 1: Living in an apartment: advantages and disadvantages Issue 2: Living in a house: advantages and disadvantages Issue 3: My answer to that question: are the advantages of living in an apartment more than the advantages of living in a house?

So if my position is: I think that living in an apartment has far fewer advantages than living in a house, how would I structure my body section? Should I talk about the disadvantages of living in an apartment in one paragraph then the advantages of living of in a house in another paragraph?

Please help! Thank you.

Your structure is too complicated. You seem to think your opinion is separate from the advantages and disadvantages. It is not. Your whole essay is your opinion. This means you have only BP1 and BP2 as described above but written as your opinion. Always keep structure simple.

Good Day, Liz. I am confused with advantage \ disadvantage type 1 and type 2 essays. Any easy solution?

Try my Advanced lessons. Those two essays are explained in an Advanced tutorial taking over 1 hour: https://elizabethferguson.podia.com/

Hey Liz !! I am learning a lot from your videos.I wanted to ask you what can be the background statement for the topic

“Some parents buy their children a large number of toys to play with. advantages and disadantage ?

A significant number of children are bought many toys by their parents.

Based on the written essay, could you please provide an analysis report showing which sentences or essay points have potentially taken into account to enable this essay to be scored band 9 based on score criterian?

An example would be as follow :

Task achievement score is band 9 because of following points : A) B)…

Lexical item band 9 because ;.. A) B)

I believe a blog post based on this structure could have better enhance ones understanding in the effort at attaining band 9 for ielts writing for task 1 and task 2.

I have been working on ielts writing for GT to get at least band 8. I’ve took the exam twice and received same band score which is band 6 for writing with comment below:

A) my conclusion is not clear B) paragraph at not aligned in logical order C ) some of the grammar mistakes

If you could show this weakness to be solve, it would be much appreciated.

I also would like to understand better on the test criteria of “use of range of grammar structure”. Would it possible to demonstrate this based on a written essay? How to enhance this section to gain band 9?

Thank you , Hema

I have already written about the marking and how to improve each marking criteria: https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-writing-task-2-band-scores-5-to-8/ . It seems you did not visit my main writing task 2 page and read all the tips and links. I suggest you do that. Learn first, ask second: https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-writing-task-2/

Teacher, You wrot in the first paragraph ” To haveING ” . Sorry, but is it correct grammar ? as I know TO shoul be followed by first tense of verb. I know that is not a mistake but what are the conditions where we use it ?

“I look forward to hearing from you” – it is 100% fine to do this “to + verbing”. The “to” is a preposition!!!! It is advanced grammar, don’t use it if you haven’t learned it.

Hi Liz, Can we use the word ‘Statistics’ for giving example in IELTS General essay. I read somewhere, that Statistics must not be used as we are not giving a report but our thought/opinion, though i believe ‘Statistics’ is a better word. Also, please confirm if we can give false example to prove our point. For example, Statistics shows that 75% of women in London are working OR For example, Most women in London are working.

“statistics show that 75% …” is a learned phrase. This means it doesn’t help your score. The examiner doesn’t care what the percentages are. You don’t get a higher score because you have percentages. If your wrote “the overwhelming majority of women ..” that shows better language skills. Task 2 is an essay based on language, not a report.

Hello Liz, Please advise, if we should use comma before and or not.(Should we use Oxford Comma)

For example, which of below statements is correct or both are fine.

1: I have visited Spain, Italy, France, and UK. 2: I have visited Spain, Italy, France and UK.

This is an IELTS exam website. For English grammar lessons, please visit a grammar website.

Please advise if we should always write ‘outline statement’ in Introduction paragraph and can follow below structure. In few cases, this may not be possible. Please explain. Thanks.

1: Paraphrase Question 2: Thesis statement 3: Outline statement

The outline statement is optional. It is not a requirement of IELTS.

Thank you for this content. It is very useful.

Could you please guide further on the test criterion ‘Grammar Range and Accuracy’. What does it exactly mean to use range of sentence structures and tenses?

Yes, that is exactly right. You are being tested on your range of sentence structures and tenses. You don’t need to use all tenses, of course – that’s impossible. But you should use a range. But particularly, you should focus on a range of sentences structures. I’m currently writing an e-book for grammar range for writing task 2 – is that something you think would be popular?

Yes it would. Would be helpful if you could blog post some details on them as well.

Hi Liz, Can you please advise, where you gave examples in above mentioned Body Paragraphs, as i somehow could not find them.

I closely observes your posts and your reply for this would really help me. Thanks in advance.

There are many ways to illustrate and explain an idea. Examples are just one way and are not actually a requirement.

Hi Liz, this is what I came up with as paraphrase for the topic

English is becoming the most spoken language globally as a result of improvement in tourism, some argue that the outcome will be that English will become the only spoken language spoken around the world

the most widely spoken language in the world is Chinese 😉

No its not, English is, and there is no such language as Chinese, its called Mandarin!

Mandarin might be most native spoken language in the world (in population numbers of Chinese), but English is the most widely spoken language in the world, for example, Chinese, Spanish, Hindi, Arabic which falls into the top 5 most native speaking languages, some of them might take up or speak English as their second language, which in result makes English the most wide spoken and understood language in the world ! Hope this answers your question…but you are quite right, Mandarin/Chinese is the most spoken native language in the world ! This question in the Essay is very tricky as it it describes English as the most prominent language in the world, whether we agree or disagree, we need to stay on topic and just pretend we agree that English is the most widely spoken language in the world. This is why its very important to focus 3-4 mins on the question before responding as per Liz says.

Science has verious activities which is good for health,others are bad. Despite knowing,millions of people are having unhealty life. What do you think and is there other method to solve this.

This was the question asked in today’s ielts writing. Can any body reply these with a ansews I am doubt.

The problem is that the full essay question has not been written correctly. It contains a lot of mistakes and it makes it difficult to read. Try thinking more carefully and checking your grammar. I can’t offer tips unless I see an accurate question.

Good day, Ms. Liz! I am just confused. I want to ask about the tense you used on your second body paragraph before the second argument, it says “if there were only one language”. I am not good in grammar so I want to know why you used “were” if you are only referring to “one language” and why is it on past tense since it is has not happened yet? Thank you.

It is conditional.

I didnt see any examples on this essay.is it possible to score 7+ without giving examples ?

You give examples if you want to – it is not a requirement.

Hii lizz Thanku Is it opinion essay ‘do advantages outweigh the disadvantages?’ I’m little bit confused Gurdeep

It requires an opinion.

I studied your advanced writing course: advantage and disadvantage essay and practiced writing. I have a question: can I write one advantage and one disadvantage only? The question is asking advantages and disadvantages. Thank you!

If you can only think of one adv, then you will only be able to give one: the most significant adv is….

Hello Liz, I am taking my academic IELTS this weekend and I have been learning the tips and skills from your videos.Thank you so much for your help. But I have got a question regarding the writing tasks (especially task 2) : will I earn a higher score by writing complex sentences as many as possible by the use different clauses and conjunctions? Thank you.

Grammar counts for 25% of your marks and this includes range of tenses, range of sentence structures, punctuation and number of errors. A complex sentence in IELTS is considered a sentence that is not simple. So, for example, a sentence which contains one clause is considered a complex structure by an examiner. The biggest mistake students make is creating sentences that are too long and contain more and more clauses – one in enough and length should be controlled. Conjunctions, such as linking words, relate to the marking criteria of Coherence and Cohesion, which is 25% and also includes organisation of information and paragraphs as well as a good range of linking words. See this page: https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-writing-task-2/ and this page for my advanced writing task 2 lessons : https://elizabethferguson.podia.com/

Hi madam , how can I buy three of the videos together . Is there any other option ? Thank you Bineetha

Each lesson is bought individually. Please remember that this offer will not be available tomorrow.

Hi madam Could you please help me to understand what type of writing task 2 question is given below . We are becoming increasingly dependent on computers .They are used in business ,hospitals ,crime detection and even to fly planes .In which more field will they be used in future? Is this dependence on computers salutary or should we be more cautious about their benefits ? Is this a advantage and disadvantage question ? If it is . I guess they have also asked a opinion ( in which field they will be used in future ? ) I am confused . Their is a dilemma to understand such question . Could you please help me . I would really appreciate it . Thank you so much Bineetha

This is how I answered your topic. The world is relying more on computers, and computers have found use in various spheres of life including healthcare, forensic investigations, and even the auto pilot located on aircrafts. In my opinion, computers still have many other unexplored uses and I also believe that dependence on computers have more positive eventualities than negatives. It is worthwhile to approach the exploration of the positive attributes with caution. To begin with, in our everyday lives, computers will likely play more important roles as scientists discover more ways to apply its versatile nature. I foresee computers being used in environmental studies, for instance, measuring the amount of smog or soot in the atmosphere. Also, computers could likely replace guide dogs that walk people with visual impairment. Computers might be deployed to monitor ocean floor activities as part of an early warning system against earthquakes. The possibilities on the use of this versatile creation- the computer is truly endless. I believe that dependence on computers will have more positive eventualities than negatives. While it is argued that the dependence on computers and the increase in computer’s knowledge dubbed ‘Artificial Intelligence’ could threaten the human workforce, I am of the opinion that it will vastly increase productivity. Furthermore, computers should take over jobs which humans cannot do due to our nature. Finally, the call for caution in harnessing the positive attributes of the computer is being made in good-faith. Science fiction movies have demonstrated that computers could eventually take over the world, in collusion with some humans. It is not an idea that seems remotely impossible, since every uman process is gradually being linked to the computer. The possibility is indeed very scary. In conclusion, It is very important to be cautious as we automate and computerize our everyday activities; this is to ensure that we do not become over reliant on the computer and lose out in the end.

I’m sure it is not up to scratch, but the questions are multiple and not the usual agree/disagree type. It is more of discussion type essay.

Hi Liz, First of all thank you for your website, it has been really helpful for my IELTS study and practice. I have a question though, will they consider correct if I spell a word using the american English? Example the word “prioritize” which in UK would be “prioritise”. Thank you, Marina.

You can use either American or British Spelling – but you can’t use both. So, choose which one you will use.

You told in of your videos that you should not use “There is/are”. however, you have used it in your essay more than once?

This is not what I have said at all. Which video are you referring to?

Hello liz mam, I’d purchased your ielts essay lessons, but I’m still confused –

-Is this positive or negative development ? ( what structure I’ve to follow in this type of question ?) Body para 1 – negative side Body para 2 – posivite side It is same as advantage and disadvantage essay or some thing else ? Hoping for your reply soon as my exam is on 25 Nobember

Follow the instructions as I taught in my advanced lessons. If it ask X AND Y = both / if it asks X OR Y = you choose. Just read the instructions!!

Thank you so much mam 🤗

Another advantage will be that we don’t have to take IELTS exam

You are completely right and I agree with you.

Hello mam, Is it correct format If i write the balanced conclusion (means there are merits and demerit) in advantage and disadvange type essay????

The conclusion summarises the main points. You can’t plan what you will write until you essay the topic and essay question. You certainly don’t memorise sentences or phrases.

Thank you mam

I have some concern with one advantage and disadvantage essay question, which state “Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of this and give your opinion”. Should I follow the same structure of ” Do the advantanges outweigh the disadvantages”, in which the key is the thesis statement. Therefore, my essay will have two body paragraph which explain the advantages and disadvantages, then I explain my opinion with the side I agree with. Or can I have three body paragraph – one advantages, one disadvantages, and another disadvantages (or advantages) which clearly support my opinion. Or do I have to tackle with this question type as “Discuss both view and give your opinion”? Maybe be for some questions, it is possible to do this, for instance (discuss the advantages of both methods and give your opinion, in which my opinion can be more specific) but in this case – discuss the advantages and disadvantages, and give your opinion – my opinion can not be other than whether advantage or disadvantage. I hope my question makes sense. Please give me a feedback for this concern teacher Liz.

Thank you so much for your response, your time and for this amazing blog. All the best.

You would tackle it as “Discuss both sides and give your opinion”. However, adv & disadv essays usually say “What are the advs and disadvs?” – they don’t ask for an opinion as well. So, make sure you read the instructions very carefully.

How important it is to have only one topic sentence each paragraph for a high band score? In this essay each body paragraph has more than one key points(adv or disadv).

A topic sentence (the first line) defines the content of the paragraph – that is what you need for each body paragraph.

Hi mam liz..its my first time to paraphrase a questions for task 2 in writing and the question is ” some people think that it would be better for large companies and industry to move to regional areas outside large urban centers. Do you think the advantages outweigh the disadvantages?

And this is my answer.. Almost all of the people think that its better to transfer all big companies and industry to a place which is away from big cities.

Place correct my sample answer to this question..i am not confident with my grammar and vocabularies please help me to expand my ideas in creating essays…thank you so much in advance

Sorry I don’t comment on writing.

can we express our opinion in conclusion part in this kind of essay which requires a discussion on advantages and disadvantages?

It is possible to do it as a final comment. A final comment is the second sentence in the conclusion after you summarise the main points in your essay. It is not actually necessary to have a final comment. Having just one sentence which only summarises your ideas is fine.

Hello Ma’am Is it increase my band in writing task 2 if I write idioms or proverbs?

See this page: https://ieltsliz.com/using-quotes-or-idioms-in-your-ielts-essay/ and then review all my tips: https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-writing-task-2/

Hi Liz, I really find your lessons extremely helpful. I want to ask do I need a title for my essay? Will it affect my band score if I had/ didn’t have one?

As you can see from my model essays – there is no title.

Hey Liz I have a query regarding advantage disadvantage essay, do we have to give our opinion in conclusion as I feel u have given ur opinion in conclusion in this model answer , I thought we only have to give our opinion if the question asks do the advantages outweigh the disadvantages but not for simple advantage/disadvantage essay .Kindly help in this regard Thanks in advance Mehwish

It is not necessary to write an extra comment in the conclusion as shown above.

Hi Well i wish 2 know that in witing task 2 are no of ideas considered for marking? Nd moreover if i write few ideas or simple ideas but in an effective way how much grade shud i expect? And should i emphasize on writing gud ideas in my answer or i just hav to b concerned about my writing?

See this page to learn about writing task 2 marking: https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-writing-task-2-band-scores-5-to-8/

I have a question about an “Advantage Disadvantage essay”. When I see question like this: “Do you think the advantages of economic development outweigh the disadvantages?” – may I state my opinion in the thesis statement? Or should I leave it impersonal?

It is asking directly what you think. Therefore, you must answer it directly. Do you think the advs outweigh the disadvs – state what you think.

Dear Liz, I received my results and I got 7.5, I wouldn’t get that without your tips and notes. I would like to take the opportunity to thank you for the help provided. You are an angel. Best Regards, Noura Ghanem

Well done, Noura!! Band 7.5 overall is a great score 🙂 I’m so pleased my lessons were helpful 🙂

Hello teacher! Can i write a couple of advantages in one paragraph ? In advantages and disadvantages question.

Yes, of course. As long as your body paragraph has a central theme (for example, one body paragraph with all advs), it’s fine.

Hi teacher, I would like to ask about when to use past tense in writing task 2? I thought in academic writing should only have present tense, but I saw you use past tense in example section..? Hopefully you can reply my message. Thank you~

Of course you must use a range of tenses in writing task 2. This is language test and they are testing your range and accuracy.

Thanks so much Liz. My exam is this week and your lessons have been of immense help. I am however confused about something . In this advantage-disadvantage essay, I noticed an opinion was given at the conclusion. I thought opinions are only allowed in opinion essays. Thanks once again as I await your response.

It is possible to add an opinion as a final comment to a conclusion. However, I often prefer to use predictions instead. In fact, it is possible to skip the final comment and just have one line summarising the main points instead as a conclusion.

Hello Liz, in your advantage and disadvantage model essay, you gave two examples for each section. My question is that if I give only one example for advantage and two examples for disadvantage, does it lower my score ?

You can choose how many examples to give. There are no rules about this. It is your choice how you support your main point.

Hope you are doing well. Kindly help me with a confusion.

When we are asked if advantages outweigh disadvantages, do we discuss both advantages and disadvantages in BP1 and BP2 respectively or just give our opinion in introduction and discuss the one which we choose. For example if we say advantages outweigh disadvantages then we just discuss advantages in the body paras or still discuss both.

I will really appreciate your guidance. Many thanks.

Warm Regards, Preeti

You must explain why one is more important than the other. So, in expressing your opinion you will refer to both sides.

Hello Liz, Can I use “one common language” or “one international language” as a synonym of “one global language”? Regards. Sadia.

Yes, both options are fine.

Hi Liz, Is it okay for coherence to put two unrelated points in the same paragraph if both are advantages for example?

See my model essay above – it shows you how I put two advantages in one paragraph. The central theme of the paragraph is “advantages” – this is what IELTS are looking for – central themes.

Thank you! That’s what I did, but my teacher said that made it incoherent, so I thought I misunderstood the method in the model essay.

I think people get confused about having only one idea in a paragraph and having a central theme to the paragraph. For cause and solution essays, it’s the same. One paragraph for causes and one paragraph for solutions. The examiner is actually looking for logically organised ideas and it definitely logical to organise it in that way. Good luck with your results 🙂

Hello, Liz! First of all, thanks a lot for your really useful materials and video lessons! I have passed my exam this Friday and Saturday. Now I am waiting for my results. I would like to ask you about writing 2 essay type which I was given. “Do advantages outweigh its disadvantages” is it same with “What advantages and disadvantages does it have”? My topic was “most government develop its economy to improve living standard but ts leads to the loss of social values”

The main differences is that the “outweigh” essay requires your opinion – which is more important – advs or disadvs. But otherwise, it is similar. Good luck with your results 🙂

Dear Liz can I use having one global languge=monolingual world

Thanks Liz….im following your tips and hope to get d desired score soon and will let u be the results…..

Thank you for sharing your knowledge to us.

I’m wondering for advantage and disadvantages essay. Could I put any conclusion sentence in last paragraph. Or I don’t have to write any conclusion for this type of essay.

Thanks, Yun

ALL essays for task 2 MUST have a conclusion. Failure to write a conclusion for task 2 will result in band 5 for Task Response which is 25% of your task 2 marks.

Hi Liz, Thank you for this wonderful site and your tips. Could you please clear me how to approach this kind of essay. for example, “Many people starts travelling to other city. is it a positive or negative trend”. i am very confused how to approach this kind of essays, are they same like advantages and disadvantages type? looking forward to hear from you soon. Thanks.

This question is asking for your opinion. Is this positive or is this negative? Give your opinion in the introduction and explain your view in the body paragraphs.

Many thanks for your fast answer…

Hi Liz, is it grammatically correct if I write ‘the benefit OF having one …’ instead of ‘TO having’? Thanks

Yes, it’s fine.

Hi Liz, Can u please clarify me: In advantages overweigh disadvantage., Do I need to mention advantages and disadvantages and then conclude? Regards, Bhavya

You need to express your view. Which is more important than the other.

Firstly, *cough, cough*, I would like to thank you kindly for such an extensive effort into providing such detailed and straightforward information. Your lessons and tips are clear and concise, and really useful. After having lived the first 14 years of my life in an english speaking country, when asked to take the IELTS for immigration purposes, I focused on the test style, namely listening and reading, having given little thought to the writing aspect of the test, thinking it would be unnecessary. My overall band score was 8.5, however, the writing score was 6.5, and the department of immigration looks only at the lowest of all band scores. Unfortunately that score is insufficient, so this time, I am making sure I do not make the same mistake.

To conclude, *ahem*, I studied solely based on the rich and vast quantity of information contained in your site and by following your instructional videos. This time, I am sure I will obtain the desired band minimum.

Thanks again for the great work, and keep well.

Even a native speaker needs to prepare for the writing test. It is skills based as well as language based. This is the reason why having excellent English is not enough. When is your next test?

This essay is very balanced but there are repetition with “would”. why ?

It’s a conditional grammar tense.

In advantages and disadvantages essays, can we write one for each and explain and give example? Or should we write at least 2?

You can give an example , two examples or none – it’s your choice.

Thank you for your time and knowledge sharing. I would like to know, if for the above model essay if they ask for give your opinion what should should be modified in order to reuse the above essay.

You can take ideas for essays but that’s all. You can’t memorise an essay to use in the test.

Hi Liz, Can you provide a sample for introduction of advantages outweighing disadvantages essay model?

I did already – please see previous comments.

Hi Liz, Can you provide a sample of an introduction for advantages outweighing disadvantages essay model?

Question: Many students take a year off between finishing high score and going to university. Do you think the advantages outweigh the disadvantages? Into: Having a gap year before starting tertiary education is becoming increasing popular. I believe that although there may be problems with this, in the long run it is more beneficial and helps students developing into more rounded characters.

Thank you for your kindness. It will be of great help to me.

Hi liz, in this kind of question is it okay if i state first the disadvantages then advantages afterwards? will it affect my TR? thank you

It will affect your score for Coherence and Cohesion which is 25% of your marks and includes the logical order of information and ideas. It is not logical to change the order.

Hi Liz , in this topic , you did not include any examples .is this ok ? i am sorry but i try to understand and define a certain forum to follow . thanks

You don’t need to give examples. There are many ways you can choose to illustrate your ideas. It doesn’t affect your score.

I thought giving examples is mandatory to support our ideas.Is it not required to give examples? If no,What are the other ways to illustrate our ideas?

You give examples when relevant. You don’t need to illustrate ideas, you need to develop them – explain them – give details.

Regarding the above question, could you tell me please how and where to put the likely answer for //state which you consider to be the most effective//.

Your opinion should always be put in the introduction when it is asked for. See my advanced lessons if you need training: http://subscriptions.viddler.com/IELTSLizStore

Hi Liz In an advantage/ disadvantage essay, should I always say which is best in my conclusion?

No. If the instructions say “what are the advantages and disadvantages”, you don’t give your opinion at all.

Hello Liz! But you did state your opinion in your conclusion when you said that “Maintaining languages and cultures should be prioritised…”. And now you are saying that you shouldn’t give your opinion. Can you clarify this contradiction please. Regards, Vlad

It is possible in a conclusion to add a final comment which might be a suggestion or prediction.

If everyone spoke? is that past indefinite?I think its wrong.

Hi Liz! I hope you will be fine. I wanna ask, we should use connectors like firstly, secondly, on the other hand etc. in start of the paragraph or use between the paragraphs in an essay. And we should make four or five paragraphs while writing an essay.

You use sequencers and linking words where necessary depending on your ideas and the content of the next paragraph. There is no fixed rule.

Hello there Liz, I think this is a discussion essay so my question is, can I freely give my opinion on what side I am for as a conclusion even though it wasn’t asked? Thank you. =)

You only give your opinion when the instructions ask for it. Stick to that strategy and you won’t make mistakes.

With the last sentence in the sample essay, have you not stated your opinion even though you did not use ‘in my opinion’ there?

It counts as a suggestion. You could also have finished with a prediction if you wish. It’s just a final comment, that’s all.

Your videos are very helpful to me, and I’m still studying some of the essay lessons. I’m practising my writing task 2 and I have realise that I am not sure when to use can and could, shall and should, and will and would. Is there any rules of when to use these words. I hope to hear from you.

Sincerely, Lynn

See this page: http://www.learnersdictionary.com/qa/could-can-and-would

Thank you so much! This will be a great help for me.

Suncerely, Lynn

Dear Liz, One writing task which misleads always is – 2 opinions discussion and your opinion. Kindly help with this. Following are the 2 examples of that 1. Some people prefer to live in a house, while others feel that there are more advantages to living in an apartment. Are there more advantages than disadvantages of living in a house compared with living in an apartment? 2. Some experts believe that it is better for children to begin learning a foreign language at primary school rather than secondary school. Do the advantages of this outweigh the disadvantages?

My question is the following 1. Do I need to write advantages & disadvantages of living in house- 1 paragraph, advantages & disadvantages of living in apartment- 2 paragraph and my opinion- 3 paragraph? 2. Do I need to write advantages & disadvantages of learning foreign language in primary school- 1 paragraph, advantages & disadvantages of learning foreign language in secondary school- 2 paragraph and my opinion- 3 paragraph.

Both these examples have 2 opinions instead of 1, and each opinion has advantage and disadvantage and finally writers opinion. This is going to be a long essay, kindly advise on this. Does any of your advanced essay videos address this, I want to buy them.

Yes, in my advanced lessons, the “advs disadv essay lesson” covers both “what are the advantages and disadvantages?” and also “do the advantages outweigh the disadvantages?” http://subscriptions.viddler.com/IELTSLizStore . That lesson is 1.5 hours in length and explains in great detail how to tackle those questions.

Dear Ms Liz, Thanks a lot for your lessons. my English has improved so much since i’ve got your page. However, i missed one of your essay, that is What are the advantages for a company of having uniform that you uploaded. Would you pls help me find this. Big thanks to you

Here’s the link: https://ieltsliz.com/finding-ideas-for-ielts-writing-task-2/

Dear Liz, I want to ask you about the body paragraph of advantage and disadvantage , agree or disagree .Do they have the same method ?

https://ieltsliz.com/liz-notice-2015-2016/

your page is deeply useful, thanks very much, really, thanks for all,

i just would to ask why you wrote “In other words, if everyone spoke one language” (at the beginning of the second paragraph instead “In other words, if everyone speak one language”. As I said, thank you very much for all,

I have some problem with writing and speaking what can be done to overcome this Because only 20 days left for my ielts test

See my advanced lessons for writing task 2: http://subscriptions.viddler.com/IELTSLizStore and see this page for speaking: https://ieltsliz.com/develop-your-ielts-speaking-for-free/

Hello madam, I really thank you very much from the bottom of my heart for making this site . It is very useful for my as I plan to take islets next month on February 19th and it is my first time hoping to get the score band I want .

Actually I want ask if we can use in the phrase ( in a matter of fact ) in the begging of the introduction like you used ( it is thought by ) or it will not helping in score

Thanks in advance

Sorry for some errors in writings I were not fully concentrating 🙁

Hi there, The teacher used that statement because if you go back to video she presented in the section of Discussion Essay Useful Language. She introduced the most important statements should be utilised. Therefore, I would advice to be on the sife side and use one of them better. Best regards, Salah

Hi liz I am lakhpreet from india and my ielts examz is on 29/11/2016 so i have problem in writing task1 and task2 how can i prepare to get good score in my ielts examz . I have lot of problem in writing task 2 introduction i don’t know what i should write so please give me tips

See the main pages for writing task 1 and 2 below to learn what to do: https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-writing-task-1-lessons-and-tips/ https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-writing-task-2/ You can also find advanced training for writing task 2 in my online store: http://subscriptions.viddler.com/IELTSLizStore

this is very useful website !!!!really

The topic is a discussion essay that does not require our opinion. However, the conclusion seems to be an opinion even though it does not use ‘I’ or ‘we’ – having one language has more disadvantages and that languages and culture should be protected.

Is this acceptable or should the conclusion be more neutral?

Good article. I am facing some of these issues as well..

I find your explanation very helpful, straight on point and easy to understand. I am very happy I came across your website. I have learned so much from the content you’ve posted here. I hope you keep up doing such great work continuously.

Warm regards,

Dear Liz Just wanted to know if there is a ques in writing task 2 How the disadvantages outweigh the advantages? Do we need to write both disadvantages and advantages at the same time and then writing in favour of disadvantages in the end or we just need to discuss the disadvantages????? Moreover, if you are slightly under words in task 2 like if you only write around 237/238 words, is that a problem? Kindly reply

Hi Mam i am Varun From India. Is it good to take stance in the introduction paragraph in both types of essays as you have done ( Arguement as well as Discussion essays )? What do you think would it be better to take stance in introduction paragraph in case of Arguement Essay and in conclusion paragraph in Discussion Essay? Please if possible then post some more model answers

Hi Liz, So in this type of question (adv vs. dsadv), there should be no thesis statement but still with a conclusion at the end? Thanks, Joharra

And, can I use “universal language” as paraphrased for “one global language”? Thanks

Yes, that’s fine. Liz

Thank you Liz 🙂

Dear Liz, I’m so thankful that I bumped to your very-useful blog. It’s nice to have an online tutor who is totally friendly and helpful. I would say that I want to share this blog to all of my friends in Indonesia who are struggling for IELTS as I am.

I have an alternative for the introduction above, if you don’t mind, you can correct it for me.. “Some people believe that because of the tourism grew up widely which influenced the usage of English to become the most spoken language, it will soon make it as the choice of language to be spoken internationally. Owing to this prediction, there would be some advantages in increasing mutual understanding and economic growth among nations. Otherwise, there also would be some disadvantages related to cultures.”

64 words, i know this is too many 🙁 Thank you so much for your response and consideration.

Sincerely, Grace, Indonesia

Sorry but I don’t comment on writing. Liz

Hi Liz, I am still very confused with how to structure my essay if the question is outweighing advantages and disadvantages. Can you please enlighten me on this? Thank you Liz.

I will be publishing a lesson on this hopefully next week. Please wait for that. It can not be explained in just a few sentences. All the best Liz

Thank you Liz. I am very keen as my exam will be on the first week of November. 🙂

Greetings from Minnesota! I’m bored to tears at work so I decided to check out your website on my iphone during lunch break. I really like the knowledge you present here and can’t wait to take a look when I get home. I’m amazed at how fast your blog loaded on my cell phone .. I’m not even using WIFI, just 3G .. Anyhow, very good blog!

Hope you enjoy the lessons 🙂

Hi Liz Shouldn’t you have used “had” instead of “have” in the sentence in the third paragraph?

“Secondly, it would result in he collapse of … if all countries “have” the same language…”

Isn’t this supposed to be an unreal or imaginary condition? thanks

Well spotted. It is indeed second conditional. Liz

I just came to see one Discussion essay “Discuss the advantages of both methods and give your own opinion” . Can we follow the same structure of ” Discuss both views and give your own opinion ” in this case.

Yes, you would need to have one BP for the advantages of one method and then another body paragraph for the advantages of the other method. Your opinion would either be explained in a separate body paragraph if you agree with neither side or you can explain your opinion in the BP with the side you agree with. All the best Liz

I have one doubt The development of tourism contributed to english… This is the first line in topic, But i am not able to understand where you have paraphrased this line in introduction ? You have only mention tourism section in last line of 3 paragraph .

please explain because i think it is important to describe that section.

Because it is an extra piece of information that IELTS have added which is irrelevant to the topic. While native speakers are able to distinguish this, foreign language speakers might have a problem. Sorry if it confused you. Liz

I am not confused. I thought we have to give some detail regarding tourism contribution in making english a prominant language in world as first line of statement topic is important, But I am agree that it is not relevant to the main topic

I have one more doubt about model answers given in official book provided by IDP when we book IELTS exam. The format and techniques provided by you and other internet sources are not same with the model answers in that book . Your information regarding ielts exam seem so relevant but model answer in that book cannot be wrong as they are giveb by Organization conducted ielts exam. For instance , they have written examples in thier first paragraph.

( this is my second attempt. i got 8 – reading , 6.5 – speaking and listening , 5.5 – writing. My exam date is 19 sept and i am still confused. please clear this doubt .

With Regards Anish Kashyap

The model answers from IELTS are not designed to make essay writing easier for you. They don’t want to make their test easy. But teachers work hard to make it more achievable which is why their models are better. It is best if you spend more time learning about how the writing is marked and how to improve your score based on the marking criteria. These pages will help: https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-writing-task-1-band-scores/ and also https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-writing-task-2-band-scores-5-to-8/ All the best Liz

Can I use ‘benefit of having global language’ rather than ‘benefit to having’

Many Thanks

Yes, sure it’s fine. Liz

Just want clarification because I keep on reading on your essays “to having”. Aren’t we suppose to write “to + infinitive” and not “to + verb(ing)”

“to” in this case is a preposition.

In the second paragraph, is it okay to say ” there would be complete understanding not only between countries but all people throughout….” instead of “there would be complete understanding between not only countries but all people throughout….”

Yes, definitely. I like the way you have re-written it very much. Liz

Hello Liz ,As you mentioned “evident benefit TO havING “…so my question is, as I learned in grammar we do no use any forms with any verb after “to” …i mean no ing,no s or es,no second forms of verb…will you please elaborate ?if i write to have will it be wrong? Thank you:)

In this sentence, “to” is a preposition not part of the noun. Please google “advantages to having” and you will see more information about it. All the best Liz

Can i say that the conclusion is paraphrasing to the introduction?

Yes, that’s right. It summarises the main points which hopefully you put in your thesis statement. Liz

Dear Liz, Thanks a lot for your invaluable tutoring. I learned so much from your video lessons and rich website. I wanted to ask a little question for clarification – if we are asked about the advantages and disadvantages (of English as a global language), why is the writer’s opinion expressed in the conclusion? (that the disadvantages outweigh the advantages) Many thanks in advance, Barak

After you summarise the main points, you have the choice of adding a final comment to your conclusion which can be a prediction or suggestions (depending on the type of essay question you have). To learn more see my advanced lessons: http://subscriptions.viddler.com/IELTSLizStore All the best Liz

Okay, Great. Thanks a lot Liz for the very quick response!

Hi Liz, Could you kindly read my following essay and give your feedback.If you could roughly give a band score i would be so greatful to u. Q.Some believe that watching tv is a waste of time.Others think that tv is a boon for all.State your view wirh examples.

Ans: Some people think that spending time on watching tv is spoiling the quality of time.While opponents argue that television is a bliss for eveyone.However,in this essay i am going to explain my view on this topic with relevant examples.

To begin with,watching tv for a long time is waste of time.It can create lots of health problems as well as mental issues.For instance,some people tend to watch tv while they eat food.Apparently they do not understand how much do they consume.Consequently they will end up with obesity.Some viewer’s give much preference for unimporant tv programmes such series and reality shows.Eventually they will isolate themselves and some psychological ilness develops among them .For example depression and stress.Furthermore,children who watch tv for a long time will be like clone.Some kids tend to behave ,act and talk like their super heroes.

Television is a popular form of entertainment.It provides diffent kind of programmes such as,information,entertainment,education and more.Any age group can find their interested programme on tv.The news gives an uptodate kwoldege around the globe.Whereas tv shows ,music programmes and all help us to relax and reduce tension.Some educational programmes broaden the horizon of peoples knowledge.

To put it in a nut shell,waching tv ease international tension and equip people with information and knowledge.In my point of view watching tv’s advantages outweigh its disadvantage.

Please read my notice: https://ieltsliz.com/posting-writing/ and also check my video about using linking words for the conclusion: https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-writing-task-2-video-lesson-conclusion-linkers/ Liz

thank you.but i wish u could help me

i want all essay of writing yask 2 … where i can find it ? give me the website .

I don’t understand. do you want essay questions, model essays, tips?? You can find all these on this page: https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-writing-task-2/ Liz

I am not sure where you’re getting your info, but great topic.

I needs to spend some time studying much more or figuring out more. Thanks for fantastic info I used to be in search of this information for my mission.

Glad it was helpful 🙂

Dear Liz, I have confusions regarding “Advantages/Disadvantages” type of question. Like – do you think this trend has more advantages or disadvantages? Do the drawbacks outweigh the benefits? In these type of questions do we need to write both advantages and disadvantages even we agree on one side?

The question asks you if the advantages outweigh the disadvantages so you need to give your answer and show that the advantages are more important than the disadvantages – that means you need to give details of both sides in order to support your answer. All the best Liz

Thank you so much for a prompt response. I have exam tomorrow . Love from Nepal

Hi, Liz! I want to thank you for an excellent video course about opinion essey writing. I have never seen such a clear explanation. So my question is when should we expect for your new amazing video on advantages&disadvantages essey type?

The next video on my course is about the discussion essay. I’m filming it at the moment. After that I’ll do the advantage disadvantage essay. I’m really pleased you found the lesson on the opinion essay useful. All the best Liz

Hi Liz, Can you post the link of advantages and disadvantages here. I’m looking for it but nothing worked! Thank you very much! Love,

I think the reason is that I haven’t added more lessons for these types of essays. I only have one extra: https://ieltsliz.com/do-the-advantages-outweigh-the-disadvantages/ . I’ll tried to add more soon. Liz

I read about you comment about not writing “this essay will look at/discuss” but I don’t know how to remove it when writing an advantage and disadvantage and problem solution essay.

I have examples below and I really appreciate if you could help me. Thanks!

In the last decade, there has been a great increase in the number and variety of online courses available to adults. This has been welcomed as a great opportunity by many students, however, other students see these courses as less effective than classroom teaching.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of studying an online course?

As more online courses are being offered to adults, different aspects of this learning medium have become apparent. Online courses offer students some advantages over studying in a classroom, however there are some definite drawbacks. This essay will discuss some of the advantages and disadvantages of online courses.

example 2: Cars have become a convenient and economical form of transport and as a result, the use of cars has increased dramatically during the last century.

Discuss the problems this increase has created, and offer some practical solutions.

Most people now use cars as their main form of transport. An increase in this trend during the last centry has contributed to major traffic congestion in cities, and to a decline in the quality of our environment. This essay will look at how this is occuring and what can be done to address this problem.

Please read my notice: https://ieltsliz.com/posting-writing/ Liz

Hi Liz. Please take a look at my work and feel free to criticize.. Thank you for your help.

Majority of countries nowadays use English as part of their languages as a result of the development in tourism. With English language dominating globally, some people have come to think that, eventually, it will be the only language used in this world. Though, it will bring advantages in communication as a whole, the national identity of a country is also threatened as a consequence.

Noted 🙂 Anyway, I just want to thank you for this very helpful website. Enjoy your day Liz 🙂

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IELTS Writing: advantages & disadvantages essay

In this lesson you will learn how to produce a band 9 answer for advantages & disadvantages essay in IELTS Writing. As an example, we will use a topic of tourism in modern world . Basically, in all advantages and disadvantages essays your task is to describe positive and negative sides of a given topic + give your opinion.

In this lesson you will:

• see a question sample
• learn effective ways to quickly produce ideas for your answer
• learn band 9 answer structure

for advantages and disadvantages essay in IELTS.

IELTS advantages & disadvantages question sample

For example, you can get this question for IELTS writing task 2:

A lot of places in the world rely on tourism as a main source of income. Unfortunately, tourism can also be a source of problems if it is not managed correctly.

Describe the advantages and disadvantages of tourism in the modern world. Do you think that benefits of tourism outweight its drawbacks?

This essay topic is related to tourism. Of course, topics for questions will vary, but ideal answer structure is the same for all advantages & disadvantages essays in IELTS.

Producing ideas for your answer

Before you start writing your essay, you should always spend 1-2 minutes on producing ideas for your answer . This way, you’ll know what to write about and your answer will be more coherent and well-structured. In case of advantages & disadvantages essay , you need to think of 2-3 advantages and 2-3 disadvantages of the given issue.

Let’s think about advantages and disadvantages of tourism in the modern world.

Advantages of tourism :

• boost in country’s economy due to increased spending
• new job opening for local people
• opportunities to discover new places for individual travelers

Disadvantages of tourism :

• destruction of popular tourist destinations by large numbers of tourists
• development of illegal economic activities
• local people can experience loss of privacy

Now, after we’ve collected some ideas, it’s time to use them in our essay.

Band 9 answer structure for causes & solutions essay

Though there are many ways to structure your IELTS essay, we’ll use this time-tested band 9 essay structure:

• Introduction
• Body paragraph 1 – advantages
• Body paragraph 2 – disadvantages

Tip : before starting to write your essay, decide what you think: does tourism have more advantages or disadvantages? You’ll need to make accent on your opinion in one of the body paragraphs.

We’ll use the opinion that tourism has more advantages .

Introduction Write the introduction in 2 sentences:

• Sentence 1 - paraphrase the question (restate the problem):

Nowadays tourism generates a significant portion of national income for many countries, but it has certain drawbacks too.

• Sentence 2 - tell the examiner what you’re going to describe in your essay:

This essay will examine the advantages and disadvantages of tourism and provide a logical conclusion.

Body paragraph 1 - advantages

• Sentence 1 - state 2 main advantages:

The two main advantages of developed tourism industry are boost in country’s economy and a large number of new job openings for the local people.

• Sentences 2-4 - explain the first advantage + give an example (if possible):

Firstly, tourists spend money on a wide range of services, including hotels, amusements, transportation, food and medical services. This way, tourism yields an additional income, greatly supporting the countries’ economies.

• Sentences 5-7 - explain the second advantage + give an example (if possible):

Secondly, tourism increases the level of employment by bringing new jobs. For instance, the influx of tourists results in a larger demand in restaurant workers, tour guides, hotel staff and employees of retail services, exhorting business owners to hire more people for these positions.

• Sentence 1 - state 2 main disadvantages:

However, tourism also has some major disadvantages like destruction of popular tourist destinations and development of illegal economic activities.

• Sentences 2-4 - explain the first disadvantage + give an example (if possible):

Ancient buildings, temples and monuments struggle to cope with a vast amount of visitor’s traffic and get damaged. Also, the large number of tourists can cause environmental problems. For instance, when places of interest are overcrowded, natural resources often become overexploited.

• Sentences 5-7 - explain the second disadvantage + give an example (if possible):

What’s more, tourism can create more serious situations where criminal issues are involved. The presence of a considerable number of tourists with a lot of money to spend, and often carrying valuables such as cameras and jewelry, increases the attraction for criminals and brings with it activities like robbery and drug dealing.

• Sentences 8 - make an accent on your opinion (we’ll use the opinion that tourism has more advantages ):

However, proper hospitality management and correct usage of tourism revenue by the local government can eliminate these disadvantages.

• Sentences 1-2 - briefly restate the advantages and disadvantages

To conclude, although tourism has certain disadvantages like destructive effects and growth of crime rate, it has an extremely positive impact on country’s economy and provides a large number of new jobs for the local people.

• Sentence 2 - give your final opinion

I believe that these benefits of tourism outweigh its drawbacks.

Band 9 answer sample

Nowadays tourism generates a significant portion of national income for many countries, but it has certain drawbacks too. This essay will examine the advantages and disadvantages of tourism and provide a logical conclusion.

The two main advantages of developed tourism industry are boost in country’s economy and a large number of new job openings for the local people. Firstly, tourists spend money on a wide range of services, including hotels, amusements, transportation, food and medical services. This way, tourism yields an additional income, greatly supporting the country’s economy. Secondly, tourism increases the level of employment by bringing new jobs. For instance, the influx of tourists results in a larger demand in restaurant workers, tour guides, hotel staff and employees of retail services, exhorting business owners to hire more people for these positions.

But tourism also has some major disadvantages like destruction of popular tourist destinations and development of illegal economic activities. іAncient buildings, temples and monuments struggle to cope with a vast amount of visitor’s traffic and get damaged. Also, the large number of tourists can cause environmental problems. For instance, when places of interest are overcrowded, natural resources often become overexploited. What’s more, the presence of a considerable number of tourists with a lot of money to spend, and often carrying valuables such as cameras and jewelry, increases the attraction for criminals and brings with it activities like robbery and drug dealing. However, proper hospitality management and correct usage of tourism revenue by the local government can eliminate these disadvantages.

To conclude, although tourism can have certain negative effects like destructive impact and growth of crime rate, it has an extremely positive influence on country’s economy and provides a large number of new jobs for the local people. I believe that these benefits of tourism outweigh its drawbacks.

(299 words)