agree disagree essay ielts

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IELTS Agree Disagree Essay Sample Answer with Tips

For an IELTS agree disagree essay you can either agree with the statement, disagree with the statement or give your opinion which contains a balanced approach to the issues in the statement. However, this does not mean you can discuss both sides impartially – you must give a clear opinion to get a good score in the criterion of Task Response which is 25% of your marks. Another name for an agree disagree essay is an opinion essay or argumentative essay.

The Agree Disagree Essay is also called the Opinion Essay. They are not different essays. On this website, I usually refer to this essay as the Opinion Essay. However, I am using a different name here just for people who are used to calling it “agree/disagree essay”.

IELTS Agree Disagree Question

Remember, this is also called an Opinion Essay.

The growing number of overweight people is putting a strain on the health care system in an effort to deal with the health issues involved. Some people think that the best way to deal with this problem is to introduce more physical education lessons in the school curriculum. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

IELTS Agree Disagree Model Essay

Below is a model answer for the above Opinion Essay = Agree/Disagree Essay.

Owing to the problems which a growing population of overweight people cause for the health care system, it is thought that the key to solving this issue is to have more sport and exercise in schools. I agree that this is one way to tackle the problem, but diet must also be taken into consideration.

Increasing sport or regular exercise in schools is a useful way to tackle weight problems in the long run in the general population. This method will encourage a new generation to develop vital habits which support overall health and also help them maintain a reasonable weight. At the moment, the average child in the West does sport possibly twice a week, which is not enough to counteract their otherwise sedentary lifestyle that comes from many hours each day of sitting at a desk for their lessons. By incorporating more exercise time and possibly extracurricular physical activities, they will undoubtedly become fitter and more active, and continue living that way after leaving schools.

However, targeting physical exercise in school children to reduce the current issue of obesity in the wider population is not effective enough on its own. Firstly, children in schools need to also be educated about what constitutes healthy foods and why in order to ensure a new generation of people who understand clean eating. Secondly, for a more immediately impact, it is important to look at reducing the number of Ultra processed foods (UPFs) on the market which too many people gravitate towards. For example, the government could impose a tax on UPFs to increase the price, and also reduce the cost of healthy foods, such as vegetables, to encourage a better diet.

In conclusion, I believe the best approach to tackling weight issues in the population starts with diet and exercise in schools but must also include encouraging a healthier diet through price changes targeting specific foods on the market.

TIPS FOR AGREE/DISAGREE ESSAY (OPINION ESSAY)

• An Agree Disagree Essay is 100% the same as an Opinion Essay – they are two names for the same essay.
• Always analyse the essay question carefully and make sure you identify the key issue or issues in the essay question.
• Plan your main ideas and supporting points before you start writing.
• Introduction
• Topic Sentence
• Supporting points (usually two or three)
• (please note that sometimes it is possible to have three body paragraphs, you’ll find examples for model essays here: ALL MODEL ESSAYS FOR WRITING TASK 2
• Conclusion paragraph
• Make sure your introduction is not too long. Just paraphrase the essay question (background statement) and present your opinion (thesis statement).
• Make sure your opinion is consistent from introduction to conclusion. You can’t change your opinion during your essay.
• Each body paragraph presents a main idea which explains your opinion.
• Your body paragraphs should be equally developed for a high score.
• Supporting points must be relevant to the topic sentence of the paragraph.
• Never miss the conclusion. Keep it short, but make sure you write it! See this video about missing the conclusion: Using the last 5 mins in the writing test
• It is possible to have a partial agreement for the essay above where you think sports lessons are a good solution, but there is another more effective solution that must also be taken into consideration.
• Aim to write between 270 and 290 words. As you can see, my model essay above is over 300 words. However, that shouldn’t be your aim. More words open you up to more criticism.

RECOMMENDED FOR YOU When to give your opinion in an IELTS essay Advantage Disadvantage Model Essay Discussion Essay Model Answer OPINION ESSAY PRACTICE QUESTIONS ALL WRITING TASK 2 MODEL ESSAYS AND TIPS

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Hi, Liz. Can you please score my essay and also put suggestions as to what else I could improve about it. Thank you very much!

It is said that people should be encouraged to get married before they are 30, as this is best both for the individual and for society. Do you agree or disagree?

Finding a compatible partner to spend with before the age 30 is imperative for the relationship to thrive, some surmise it could contribute favorably both in the community and individually as a person. I accede with the notion due to the reasons that it could help lessen societal pressures and allows to create stronger emotional bonds towards each other, both will be elicited on the ensuing paragraphs.

A reason why I accede with the idea is it could amass a sense of freedom and autonomy from societal expectations, as much as anything, in some cultures or communities, there may be less pressure when it comes to marriage. Islamic marriage is exemplar to this, while there is no specific age to marry, early marriage is encouraged in their religion to avoid sinful life and protect one’s chastity. Therefore, finding a partner that shares the same values and beliefs is crucial.

Another point worth noting is, it can provide the opportunity to build stronger emotional support and intimacy, in other words, this could allow them to lean towards each other when facing a dilemma and celebrate each other’s successes as they build a life together. On the accounts of studies, by the time a person is already in their late 20s, they may have a clear sense of who they are and what they want in life. Hence, more capable of responsibility, accountability, and more likely to be financially stable which is optimal when starting a family.

To take all things into account, this essay has presented the reasons why I agree with the idea of getting married before the age 30 which are less pressure from society and greater emotional support. It is important to remember that these are just broad generalizations and no one ever really knows when they are ready for marriage unless you understand the complexities of a relationship and are ready to handle them.

This is the page to my writing task 2 tips, practice lessons and model essays: https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-writing-task-2/ . Review all tips pages to learn how to write an IELTS essay. Learn about the correct linking words to use, the balance of paragraphs and word count. Then review model essays to see how essays are written and how all those tips can be applied. Learn first.

hi Liz. I would be really happy if you checked my essay and gave feedbacks.

If some people get a chance to choose between life without work and spending most of the time working, then they would choose not to work.

To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Choosing a path without work rather than one having a job is gaining popularity among a number of people in the contemporary society, according to a certain view. As there is a likelihood that to avoid work-related stress and pursue personal interest, individuals might be willing to go life without job responsibilities, I completely agree with the given opinion.

To start, one reason why people choose life without a job is seemingly associated with their personal interests and passion. Giving their jobs up, ones can take the opportunity to spend their time used to be spent inside the office for leisure time activities, personal interests, traveling and so on. Since these activities can make a person do what he or she wants and enjoy learning new skills which are not tied up the jobs, it is evident that many are not in an attempt to do their jobs. In other words, currently personal wishes are outweighing the long-continued tradition of having a job.

In addition to the reason mentioned above, work-related stress and pressures can plan an important role in changing people’s mind towards not having a job in some ways. Due to stressful responsibilities and deadlines which usually continue for a long time, a worker begins to feel exhausted and unsatisfied, leading them to find a solution in life without the job. To avoid the potential depression caused by stress and maintain a better mental and physical lifestyle, some may select the free-job life. Indeed, this way can also be one where humans have the chance to improve themselves with freedom.

In conclusion, it is true that the tendency of having no jobs is being popular, while this trend can be beneficial for those who are willing to relieve their stress related to work and chasing self-interests.

You might want to think more about this topic. I don’t know anyone who can afford to have no work. Work pays the bills and having no work can put you in debt. This isn’t something you addressed. In the real world, almost everyone would choose to earn money because they need money. So, there definitely is not a tendency to avoid earning money through work. This lack of consideration does weaken your essay. It would have been better to say “In my opinion, while many people would like to have a life without work, few can afford to do so.” That would have been a better opinion.

Also, pay attention to the tense in the essay question (which unfortunately does have a slight grammar error in it). This is hypothetical. It is not about what is currently happening in the world today (because in fact this isn’t happening in the world today). This is about what people might choose if they had the chance. It is a second conditional tense which you need to use in your essay.

Hello Liz I need your feedback please 🙏🏾

Question: The working week should be shorter and workers should have a longer weekend. Do you agree or disagree? Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience. Write at least 250 words

Employees should have lengthy weekends by shortening the working week. I do not agree with this, but giving workers days off should be considered.

The week for work should not have to be reduced for employees to have a longer weekend. The amount of work hours spent on different tasks at work places has a direct relationship with the results gotten.In other words, when this hours are cut short from all the days of the week, it affects productivity of the job. For instance,in big grocery stores that run a 24 hours business, if this working schedule is tampered with by shortening working week for staff, customers are left unattended to and this will in turn bring financial loss. Additionally, cutting down working days will increase workload for employees, thereby affecting their efficiency at work.

However, rather than making weekends which in my opinion is already long as it is a two days break ,any longer, employers can work on the schedules in order for workers to have the grace of taking just one day off. This in addition to the weekend will create a fair balance between the working week and free days.

In conclusion, I believe that decreasing the weeks for work will lead to a decline in productivity at work and piled up work for workers, but companies should also be considerate of their staff by giving them one free day asides the weekend.

Although my website does not offer a feedback or marking service, I will give you a few comments.

1) The last time you posted, it was a writing task 1, which I told you needed expanding – your writing was too short. This essay again is too short. You’ve actually written less than 250 words when you have already typed that the instructions state “at least 250 words”. Your task 2 essay should be between 270 and 290 words. Any less than 270 words and it is a waste of time aiming for a high score. The word count advice is given on this page: https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-writing-task-2/ along with all other tips and model essays.

2) All body paragraphs should be of equal length for writing task 2 essays.

3) The main point in the second body paragraph is unclear. Are you saying people should have a weekend off and then an extra day off as well – that is the same as the essay question idea which you don’t agree with. Or are you saying the extra day off should be optional? Your main point is really not clear. When you don’t express your main point clearly, your score will go down.

4) Don’t give an opposite opinion in the conclusion. You state in the introduction that people should have a weekend free but no longer than a weekend (no extra day), which means you don’t agree with a long weekend (a long weekend being three days instead of two). Then in your conclusion, you state that giving staff an extra day off, as well as the weekend, is something to consider. Such contradictions will definitely lower your score.

Thank you for your feedback I will work extensively on this🙏🏾

Good luck. But before you practice, make sure you have read every single page on my website. Learn first, practice later.

I have tried to write my essay on the above topic before looking at your model answer. I can’t rate myself and want you to have a look. I know you do not have time for feedbacks, hoping against the hope, I am still posting this in case you might take some time out.

In order to reduce the burden of people with obesity on the healthcare system according to some an effective way to tackle this is to include additional physical activities in school. In my opinion, although physical lessons at school level are important, children should also be encouraged to avoid foods with high calorific content.

It is argued that by increasing the number of physical education lessons in the way forward in dealing with overweight problem. By doing this, children can understand the value of exercise in their life which might eventuate in a healthy lifestyle. Moreover, being fit can also result in children becoming competitive by participating in games such as football and marathon races. Finally, the experience of sportsmanship they would imbibe in schools will be beneficial for their future life as well as it is going to be helpful in reducing weight and becoming active.

Apart from physical training in schools, I believe children should be taught about how to intake healthy diet. It is essential for them to be aware of the detrimental effects which sugary and high-fat content foods can have on their health. Eating junk food, for instance, can contain more than thrice the amount of calories that are in a dish consists of vegetables. Additionally, physical education is not enough if children are not taught at homes about eating balanced diet. By combining exercises and healthy diet could bring about a possible change where the issue of obesity can be appropriately and effectively managed.

In conclusion, despite the inclusion of more physical lessons during schooling, I think children ought to be taught the benefits of healthy diet and in this way the problem of overweight people could possibly be resolved.

Although my website doesn’t offer a feedback service, I do have time for a couple of comments:

A great job. A clear introduction which connects the essay nicely. Good signposting and linking. Logical organisation of information and ideas. However…

1) Your first body paragraph is how extra physical education in schools can lower obesity numbers. The problem is that one of your sentence does not relate to tackling obesity, but to the benefits of competitive games – that is off topic. Every single sentence in that body paragraph should relate to physical education in schools and obesity, not other benefits of doing sport. So, for this paragraph, you should have talked about – children spending so much time in schools sitting at a desk – having more exercise can counteract this and support weight loss etc etc. While this is only one sentence that is off topic, most IELTS essays for task 2 only have about 13 sentences – so to have one that is 100% irrelevant is such a shame because irrelevant information has no place in a high band score essay. This is all about planning and being focused.

2) Your ideas in your second body paragraph also need a bit of rewording. You really need to make the link about how doing only physical education whilst still eating high fat and high sugar foods will not succeed in weight loss as the person will not be able to burn off the volume of calories they are eating. You must be specific and clear. While you have connected those points in your own mind, you haven’t been clear in the sentences. You only mention such food can have a detrimental effect on their health – you should have said such food can cause obesity. Be specific. This problem is also the result of not planning properly. During the planning stage (before writing), you think about the language and how you will connect ideas to the main topic (obesity).

Your writing is strong. But you need to take the time to plan and think more carefully about whether the idea supports the main aims and whether the idea is explained fully in connection to the essay aims. I hope this helps you gain focus because you really have the potential for a very high band score if you take more time planning and thinking things through more carefully.

I am thankful for your quick response. I will surely think over your above suggestions. In the end I must say your comments have certainly boosted my confidence level. Stay blessed

Hi Liz, I have given my IELTS exam today. Want to thankyou for your valuable lessons. More love to you Liz. I have a doubt regarding writing task2 word count. I have wirtten essay of 248 words. Is this minor mistake will effect my band score for writing?

The instructions tell you to write more than 250, not less. The direct and immediate punishment for writing under the word count has now been removed. However, writing under the word count will still impact your score in a negative way. With so few words, it isn’t really possible to expand ideas sufficiently for a high score. This is actually part of the marking criterion of Task Response, which counts for 25% of your marks. There is no way to predict your score because it will depend on many other factors. I’ll keep my fingers crossed that all other aspects of your writing were strong enough to still reach a high score, regardless.

I need guidance regarding opinion essays. The opinion essays that state “to what extent do you agree”, do they require that we state our opinion in full agreement or can we completely disagree or do we need to partially agree and disagree. what if i fully disagree with such essay? Can I state my opinion in complete disagreement and then give reasons?

When you are asked for your opinion using the instructions “to what extent do you agree?” OR “do you agree?” OR “to what extent do you agree or disagree?” Or anything other method of asking directly for your opinion, the opinion you choose is your own to decide. IELTS does not dictate and demand that you take any particular opinion. You can agree, disagree, partially agree, have a specific view point – you decide what your opinion is. You will be marked on how relevant and well explained your opinion is. You can get full training for an opinion essay in my store with my advanced lessons: https://elizabethferguson.podia.com/

Really happy to see you reply for us. Wish all the best all the time

Opinion essay “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.

Hi liz, this question was in your website but there was no answer available, so I tried to attempt it. It was a bit difficult to generate ideas for this topic for me.

There seems to be an increasing trend towards assessing students through exams rather than continual assessment. What are the advantages and disadvantages of exams as a form of assessment?

Nowadays, institutes are preferring to assess students through exams rather than continual assessment. Exams definitely help to gauge a student’s theoretical knowledge, but there are certain drawbacks which need to be addressed.

On the one hand, exams have certain benefits. Firstly, exams are very efficient at gauging the theoretical knowledge of the examinee. Exams help the examiner to know whether the test taker is thorough with their concepts. Secondly, they can be very useful to assess how good one’s problem-solving capability is, especially for subjects like math and physics, which contain many problem-solving-based questions. Finally, exams are very cost-effective, as they can be simply conducted using pen and paper and do not require anything extra.

On the other hand, there are several disadvantages of conducting exams. One disadvantage is that exams do not give the test taker any practical exposure to how the knowledge learned can be applied in real life, which other forms of assessment can provide, such as projects and assignments based on real-world problems. Another issue is that exams promote extreme competition and do not teach teamwork, whereas other forms of assessment like group projects allow collaboration of ideas while also developing leadership skills and teamwork. Lastly, certain examinations just gauge one’s memorization and not the understanding of the examinee, which can be detrimental to the future of that particular student.

In conclusion, while examinations have their upsides, they fail to give the test taker practical exposure and make one extremely competitive, preventing them from learning to be a team player.

It is certainly a tough topic and one that does appear in the IELTS test from time to time. This isn’t about the pros and cons of exams or about how performance relates to the real world or whether it leads to leadership etc. This is purely about how to assess performance. For example, IELTS is a test that assesses language – is this the best way to assess language? In schools, assessment can be done either by project work, continual assessment or exams. The exams create pressure – under pressure people’s performance can deteriorate so it isn’t a realistic impression of their ability. Exams are only a snapshot of their ability, for example someone might perform to an A grade throughout the year, but only get a C in an exam – so is that C a realistic measure of that person’s ability? So, this topic really is about how to measure ability within a school or university.

There a quite a few topics in IELTS writing task 2 which can be hard to tackle because of the topic. For this reason, I did create an Ideas for Topics E-book so that people could review a whole range of topics and get ideas for them to avoid such a situation. You can find it in my store: https://elizabethferguson.podia.com/

Hello dear Liz, I’ve read your E-Books and watched your tutorials, it will mean the world to me if you check my opinion essay, I want to know if I did understand the tips you mentioned, thank you.

It is often said that governments spend too much money on projects to protect wildlife, while there are other problems that are more important? Do you agree or disagree?

It is considered by some that authorities are spending too many funds on projects focusing on animals. In my opinion, there are far more important issues such as environmental problems and global warming that need to be addressed.

Instead of allocating money to wildlife, I do believe that environmental problems ought to be prioritized. For instance, pollution is one of the alarming situations that many countries are facing at the moment. Dumping chemicals into rivers, depletion of soil and making it infertile, polluting the air with pollutants such as carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxide, all will lead to irreversible repercussions. Consequently, our food chain and agriculture are affected, which can later result in extreme problems such as famine.

Following above, one of the more important matters than protecting wildlife is global warming. With the rising level of climate all around the world, serious negative effects are happening. Moreover, rising temperatures have resulted in the melting of ice caps in Greenland and Antarctica. This has raised the sea levels which threaten the lives of people living particularly in coastal cities and islands. Furthermore, droughts and floods have become more common these years. Hence, food production and ecological balance are both influenced negatively. This can later lead to poverty and local conflicts which will severely affect the economy of nations.

In conclusion, although is it thought by some that the focus should be on animals, I think human and financial resources should be spent on topics like global warming and pollution.

You’ve written a great essay which is well structured with relevant, well developed ideas. Each paragraph is well written and linking words are used flexibly. But I would issue a word of caution. This essay is about protecting wildlife and you must address this in your essay. Not just mention it briefly but actually give your opinion with supporting points. If you think protecting wildlife isn’t important, you would need a paragraph explaining why. You can’t push the issue aside without detailing your opinion of the issue. However, a paragraph that addresses why wildlife isn’t important, isn’t easy to write because in reality wildlife is important for this entire planet and for our own species. Instead, it is better to do this: “In my opinion, although I agree wildlife is important, other issues such as environmental problems are more critical.”. If you take this approach it is easier to form a strong, high band score essay. One body paragraph would be about the benefits of protecting wildlife and the other body paragraph can detail environmental problems which include soil depletion, pollution and global warming. In the second paragraph is not a good idea to have a list of environmental problem because then your body paragraph becomes a list which doesn’t give you a high score. Instead, just choose either one or two environmental problems and explain them with details – that would be better for Task Response, which is 25% of your marks.

I’m glad you enjoyed my e-books and advanced video lessons 🙂

Thank you soooo much Liz for your feedback, I absolutely adore your content 😀 so you suggest that I should’ve written a balanced essay since wildlife is an important subject? I also have another approach in mind, one BP for developed countries and the fact that they can focus on wildlife and another BP for underdeveloped and developing countries where other matters are much more needed, do you think this would also be a good approach? also again, it means the world to me, how kind and helpful you are, you’re a literal angel to me Liz. Thank you for existing.

You have absolutely got it! This would be a partial agreement (balanced essay with a specific view point). And yes, you definitely could aim to have one BP to explain that developed countries with fewer social problems could focus on wildlife and why this is important. Then the second BP could be about other countries which must focus on more critical social issues including education and health care. My only comment would be that these days, developed countries are in such a bad way that this almost isn’t the case anymore. For example, in the UK, they have just had to release over one thousand prisons back into society because there are no beds left in prison – this means men who have physically attacked their wives are back on the streets without serving their punishment. Also the NHS system is failing and the issue of housing is critical with the number of homeless people rising all the time. So, these days, even developed countries are struggling. I can easily imagine that all these social issues are likely to appear in IELTS writing task 2 more often because IELTS does follow current social issues for writing task 2. Anyway, you are going in the right way with how you are thinking and approaching writing task 2 🙂

Thanks a million dear Liz, I appreciate your dedication! you helped me massively, thank you again! 🙂

There has been an increase in the number of overweight cases in young people in many countries today and with this comes many health problems such as obesity, cardiovascular diseases, high blood pressure, liver diseases, which put a lot of strain to our health care systems. One of the solutions that has been proposed is to introduce sports and exercise in our schools. While this a good start, in my opinion, physical education alone cannot be an effective solution without considering diet and nutrition.

Introducing physical education in schools will introduce young learners to physical activities such as sports and exercises, thereby laying the foundation of understanding the relationship between exercise and weight gain. It will also help engrave in them a liking for sports and exercises. Research has shown that, people who start to engage in these activities at a young age, will most likely keep doing them in later stages of their lives.

On the other hand, physical education should be combined with proper dieting and nutrition to achieve the intended benefits. Availing nutritious foods can be a challenge to most families. Most nutritious foods are very pricey and out of reach for most people. Furthermore, there are places in our community where the existence of food desert is rampant. The government can help by implementing policies aimed at increasing food production, quality, and affordability. Introducing better agricultural practices, providing subsidies to farmers, and offering loans to local producers and small business, can help encourage large scale farmers and local producers to increase their production and invest in marginalized areas.

In conclusion, while introducing physical education in schools can be beneficial in reducing overweight cases, tackling other factors such as diet, nutrition, individual life choices, such as, addiction to fast foods should be addressed.

Hello,please I would really appreciate it if you would respond to my essay. There is a constant increase in the number of obese individuals, as a result, pressure is being placed on the health care system in dealing with health the health related problems. However, most people indicate that the best mathod of approach is to introduce more sports and physical education in schools. From mt perspective, I am in total agreement with this solution, although their diet should also be closely monitored. In order to prevent youngsters from becoming overweight, they should engage in more exercise training in school to help them stay in shape. Nevertheless, in addition to these physical lessons their consumption of food should be monitored. There should be educational classes on healthy eating habits to help them control their intake of food. For instance, advicing students to take more nutritious meal which include fruits and vegetables. Teach them on proper balanced diet and the reduction of snacks and instant meals. The increase in sport activities in schools will also assist in the regulation of overweight individuals. This is due to the fact that children spent majority of their time sitting, therefore,the addition of extracurricular activities will go a long way. It will enable most students become more sport orientated, giving an increasing value to children who participate in sport related competitions such as; swimming, baskerball and much more. It can also be furthered in the future as a career. In conclusion, I believe that this issue can be tackled through the enforcement of proper healthy eating habits as well as regulated exercise schedule in order to lesson the strain exerted on health care centres.

Please see this page: https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-writing-task-2/ . You’ll find links to how to structure your essay with appropriate paragraphs and also more model essays. Learn first, practice writing later.

The increasing number of overweight people is becoming a serious problem in the health care system which is why we should take immediate action to tackle this problem. In my opinion, the most effective solution to this problem is improving the physical education programs in school. However, I also believe diet is important to health.

Initially, enhancing our knowledge of physical education will help us to realize the importance of healthy lifestyle which is often be ignored. In some cases, people usually remains unaware of how the overweight can becomes the serious problem. For this reason, I think the most initial course of action to solve this problem is to introducing them the real possible consequences of being overwighted. So that, people will be more encouraged to take action by learning profoundly about the physical education.

In additionally, in order to making the solution more complex, lessons about healthy diet also needs to be implemented all together. The primary reason of overweight mainly comes from bad eating habits or heavy diets.

In conclusion, the best way to deal with this problem is encourage people to have a good knowledge of psysical education and healthy diets.

I would like you to go to the main writing task 2 page: https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-writing-task-2/ and review everything about how to structure an essay, how long it should be and review the length and format of all model essays. This why you will learn more about tackling an IELTS essay.

Hi, liz this is my approach for this essay have divided it into 4 para but the approach in writing is a bit different, would love to get some pointer on this essay which I wrote. thank you. time taken: 25 min 59 sec

Due to the growing number of obese people increasing strain on the health care system. Some suggest that the most efficient way to deal with this crises, is to introduce more physical education lessons in the school curriculum. This essay agrees with this view as regular exercise keeps one fit, but there are certain aspect like genetics, which also plays an important role.

Increasing regular exercise in schools definitely helps in tackling the issues of being overweight by making exercise a regular habit. As the student in school will be forced to do exercise every day as a part of curriculum, which helps the future generation be more healthier thereby putting less strain on the healthcare ecosystem. A recent study found that a person who does regular exercise will generally be much more healthier and in a good shape than one who does not.

However, there are some other aspect which may lead one to be fat. One such reason is genetics which is inherit and no amount of exercise can treat it. So a more holistic approach can give a much better result in long term which may include dietary guidelines to be followed with regular exercise, as unhealthy diet also leads to obesity. A similar strategy is followed in Japan, where students are involved in physical activities every day followed by a nutritious diet plan. This helped Japan to have a really healthy population reducing a huge amount of stress from their hospitals.

I would like to conclude my essay, supporting the initiative to introduce physical activities in class. However I believe additional changes in the initiative such as healthy diet plan will bring over better results.

Although my website doesn’t provide a feedback service, I will give you a couple of pointers relating to how to tackle an IELTS essay, particularly an Opinion Essay. 1) You are being asked for your opinion. This means it is your personal opinion. The words “this essay agrees” is not your personal opinion. You MUST use “I believe” or “In my opinion” – any words that use I or My to express your own view. 2) Grammar – pay attention to your complex sentences. The first sentence is grammatically incorrect without a clear verb. So, you mean “the growing number of people are putting an increased strain”? 3) Your first body paragraph is about how exercise/sports in schools can combat being overweight. This isn’t about being fit or being healthy – it’s about weight. Your paragraph must address the issue directly – overweight people. 4) This essay is about solutions to obesity. The suggested solution is more exercise/sports in schools. Your task is to give your opinion about whether this is the best solution to tackle obesity and possibly offer alternatives. This essay is not about the reasons people are obese. So, mentioning genetics is irrelevant and your topic sentence is offer topic. Certainly, you can tackle diet, but to write a whole sentence at the start of a body paragraph giving the reason of obesity is off topic. The first sentence of any body paragraph contains the main ideas of the whole paragraph. If the whole paragraph is about diet, then the first sentence introduces it. 5) “In conclusion” is the right way to introduce a conclusion in a formal essay. You can also use “To conclude” or “To sum up.” Linking words are for accuracy and clarity – not to used in a creative way or a chatty way.

Review all my free model essays and tips: https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-writing-task-2/ . You’ll see all my model essays are similar in structure and linking words – this is because they illustrate the right way to approach an IELTS essay to fulfil the requirements of a high score. If you need training, see my advanced lessons in my store: https://elizabethferguson.podia.com/

Thanks for the input, I will check out your advance lesson and try to reproach writing task 2

I redid the easy

An increasing number of obese people is straining the healthcare system, thus a number of people think that the best way to tackle this particular issue is to introduce more physical education classes in school curriculum. In my opinion I don’t agree that introducing more physical education lesson will help over weight crises. Instead awareness on balance diet and medication is the correct way forward.

Introduction of a balance diet in school is actually an optimum way to tackle the obesity issue rather than focussing on exercise. Nowadays students tend to eat a lot of ultra processed food, which is said to be a leading cause to get fat. Therefore schools should focus more on their student diet and change their lunch program to include much healthier option by introducing more protein and fibre (meat and vegetables) and reduce carbs.

Furthermore, more than half of the young population in India is obese not due to lack of exercise, but rather due to extreme amount of stress. Already students are quite stressed out and overworked. Adding extra hours of physical classes, without their consent, will further stress them out which can lead to issues such as over eating and eventually getting much fatter than before. So school should focus more on rest and introduce a program where students receive an optimum amount of rest.

Lastly, a large number of population is obese because of genetics, in such case exercise is not the way out. Rather an awareness program is needed, where students should be thought about the medication required in this case and its diagnosis, so they can start early and avoid further complications, thus reducing the load on the medical system.

I would like to conclude by adding that extra physical classes do not help with weight loss. Balance diet and correct medication is the right way forward.

Your ideas are being marked on relevancy and whether you have fully addresses the task. Your idea that stress causes obesity isn’t actually explained. It is an unusual idea to present. Personally, I would stick with points that we already know – exercise, diet and a balanced, healthy life style all play a role. And please remember that “I would like to conclude” is not appropriate for a formal essay. Just use “In conclusion” or “To conclude” – you need to no other linking words to open the conclusion for a band score 9.

I knew that stress could be a weird point but I came across that in an article and was impressed as it was a very unusual, I don’t know if the point holds true but I still thought to add it

You definitely should not be going for unusual ideas. The way ideas are marked in IELTS is not based on how interesting or unusual they are. In fact, that plays no part in marking. You are marked on how relevant the ideas are. This means the more normal and usual the idea is, the better. So, choosing points such as diet, exercise and life style in relation to weight are the ideas that known to be relevant and valid – those are the ideas to choose. Always remember that you must choose wisely in IELTS writing. Choose ideas that are known to the relevant and easy to explain for a high score. If the examiner stops reading your essay to think – that’s weird, that doesn’t make sense – you’ll get a lower score.

Hi Liz, thanks for all the tips. How would you rate my answer, and how can i improve it? I would be grateful if you could answer these questions! ans One of the main problems in the health care system is the increasing number of overweight people. It is thought by some people that the best method to handle this issue is to introduce exercise and sports classes in the school timetables. I strongly agree with these statements as obesity might not be seen as a major problem in the country, but health deteriorating due to obesity is a major issue.

Being overweight can cause a lot of problems not only in one’s physical health but also in one’s mental health. While exercise and sports can help overweight people in losing excess fat, diet is a crucial aspect too. One reason that people are overweight is because they had no subjects or courses on physical education in their school curriculum. Sports and physical education not only help students maintain good fitness, but they also bring discipline to them and a sense of responsibility.

However, sports and fitness alone are not enough to deal with this problem on a large scale. Diet must also be introduced in the course curriculum as it plays just as important a part as sports in maintaining good health. Students must be taught about various aspects of diet such as healthy food, food to avoid, palm oil, processed food, trans fat, sugar, etc. Teaching them the concept of calories can be very beneficial for them.

In conclusion, I believe sports, physical education, and diet are three of the most important aspects of maintaining good health and a healthy weight.

The aim of my website is not to provide feedback. But today I do have some time to drop a comment. 1) There is only one statement that you need to give an opinion on and that is about schools providing more exercise classes to tackle the number of overweight people. Your aim is not to comment on the fact that this puts a strain on the health care system (that is just background information). The aim is also not to discuss the problems of obesity. 2) Your introduction does not provide a clear opinion – do you think physical education is schools is the best way to tackle obesity? What is your answer? Be clear and be direct. If you agree that physical education in schools is a good way to tackle this, then you must say it clearly. Your thesis statement does not contain a relevant opinion because you are not being asked if you think obesity is a problem. So, you will be marked down on this. 3) Your first body paragraph contains mixed ideas with no clear relevant opinion. a) your topic sentence is confusing – you’ve written that being overweight is a problem – this isn’t what the essay is about, the essay is about solutions to obesity. Your topic sentence must contain a clear point in favour of your opinion relating to the solutions of obesity. b) the next sentence is confusing – is this paragraph about sports or diet? You can have only one clear point per paragraph in IELTS. You will be marked down for this. c) you add that sports lessons help bring discipline – this is off topic and irrelevant to the essay which is about solutions to obesity. The examiner will note all these details about your essay (a, b & c) and your score will suffer for them. 4) Note that sports are part of physical education in schools – they aren’t separate.

All these points above relate to both Task Response and Coherence & Cohesion. That means they will impact your score for both marking criteria which together count for 50% of your writing task 2 marks. These aren’t small issues. They all relate to your technique. IELTS essays are not “normal essays”. They are essays designed specifically for IELTS to fulfil the marking criteria. So, you must learn the techniques and the right way to approach writing task 2. Your English is good enough for a high score, but your lack of understanding of IELTS essays will lower that score a lot. Here is a link to my free lessons, model essays and tips: https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-writing-task-2/ . But to learn the techniques for essays relating to the band score requirements in detail, see my advanced lessons in my store for step by step guidance: https://elizabethferguson.podia.com/

I hope everyone can learn from this example essay and feedback.

Hey liz, i hope you are doing well. Would you spare a time for me to give a check on my essay and give recommendations and bands. I would be thankful to you.

The figure of fatty people has been increasing , and it can cause serious health problems. This has caused the distress among health department. To confront this issue, some people suggest that many fitness pertaining subjects should be added in school. In this essay, i will provide my opinion.

Firstly, by introducing physical health subject would result in improvement in the knowledge of students regarding body. many students does not have concern regarding their shape because they do not know that maintaining it is actually a thing to do and how many benefits are for maintaining a fit body. By the time, people grow they do not realise how they have destroy their body by not maintain it.

If we discuss further, junk food has also become a problem for youth. Mainly, the reason for over weight is due to eating burgurs, pizza and all sort of fast food. Majority of people does not think of that how much fat, oil it has which causes problems. Moreover, it has become a social status for people there are certain applications inwhich people give photos and videos what they eat following that other people also do the same which creates a trend of eating and showing of fast food.

In contrast, introducing health lectures in education system can cause over thinking among children. The children who enjoys alot of eating without any thinking would be in sudden depression if he/she know about the problems it may cause and it would destroy the enjoyment of children.

All thing considered, it can be seen that launching fitness period in academic can have variety of benefits to the youth.

The aim of my website doesn’t include writing feedback, but today I have some time for a few comments.

1) Paraphrasing – you paraphrase when you are 100% sure a word is a perfect replacement or to even improve language. The word “fatty people” is not suitable and shouldn’t be used. Likewise, “among health department” “fitness pertaining subjects” “a fit body” or “fitness period”. Each time you paraphrase and get it wrong, it is a reason for the examiner to lower your score. Your first two sentences should be: “The number of people who are overweight is increasing and this causes problems for health care services.” If you are not sure about changing a word, don’t change it. It is better for your score to repeat a word than choose badly.

2) You do not need “In this essay, I will provide my opinion”. Your thesis statement should provide your opinion. Watch the video on this page: https://ieltsliz.com/how-many-paragraphs-for-an-ielts-essay/ to learn how to write an introduction.

3) This is an Opinion Essay so introduce your opinion in the introduction and explain your opinion with one clear point in each body paragraph.

4) Never have one main point less developed than the other. All body paragraphs are equal length.

5) Don’t go off topic. This essay isn’t about why people become overweight (such as taking photos of food for social media). It’s about solutions to the problem. The whole essay, every paragraph and every single sentence must address and relate to ways of tackling this problem.

What I see from your writing is that you lack an insight into IELTS writing skills. You must learn what IELTS wants from an essay. I highly recommend you get my advanced lessons which you can find in my store: https://elizabethferguson.podia.com/

thankyou liz , for your feedback . I will work on it. 🙏❤️

Thank you for the good work you are doing and wish you a speedy recovery. I’m a big fan of your website actually and hoping to come out with flying colors in my up coming ielts exams.

Please in your thesis statement you agreed with the background statement but you also used the word ”BUT” and introduced diet as one way of tackling the overweight issues. Now my question is, doesn’t the word ”BUT” contradict your opinion and therefore nullify everything you’ve said?

Thank you for your response.

When you first learn English, you are often given simple explanations of how to use a word or what the word means. But as you develop your English, you become aware that words can have extended meanings and other uses. This is the case with But or However. It isn’t only used to negate the clause before, but can be used to add information as well that is conditional. For example, I love pizza, but only if there’s pineapple on it. This doesn’t mean you don’t love pizza, it just means there are conditions to the pizza you like. So, in this essay, the writer agrees it is a good solution, but adds the condition that there are other solutions that also must be considered alongside the first one. The examiner will notice how well linking words are used to reflect a higher understanding of English.

well understood. Thank you so much Liz

Due to an increasing number of obese people and their health concerns, health authorities have to make a significant effort to solve their health issues. To control this, some people believe that teaching physical workouts in schools is the best measure. However, I disagree with it because there are more effective solutions, such as educating people about balanced meals, and public awareness on quick home-workouts.

Public awareness about a balanced diet is a paramount concern in this regard. This is because that many people do not know about nutrition quantities that they should take in each meal. Hence, they eat junk food, excessive amounts of carbo-rich food, and fatty-food, which lead to obesity and related health issues. If they are educated about this, they will start to eat healthy food, and it will alleviate this situation. For instance, in Sri Lanka, many obese people have reduced their weights by following the meal plans that are published in the Face Book by Dr. Wannaku.  

One another important measure to mitigate this situation is educating public about an easy exercise schedule that can be done in home. This is effective because many people avoid physical exercises due to unavailability of facilities, and due to the difficulty of traveling to such facilities. Therefore, if they are taught to do a home-workout, they can do it from their homes without any equipment. This will help people to maintain healthy weights. For example, nowadays, some people stay healthily by doing equipment-free workouts available in mobile applications.

In conclusion, I believe that rather than teaching physical education lessons in the school, there are more effective solutions, such as educating people about eating healthy meals and equipment-free home exercise schedules.  

Although the aim of my website isn’t to provide feedback on writing, I do have time for a quick comment. The essay is about physical education in schools as a solution for obesity. In your introduction, you have stated you don’t agree. But where is the body paragraph that explains it? Just because you don’t agree doesn’t mean you can basically ignore the specific topic given (physical education in schools). You must address this in your essay. Then you can add your own understanding in another body paragraph. This is part of the marking criterion of Task Response.

Thanks a lot Liz for your valuable feedback. I just confused during planning on this point. I am well clear now for this type of questions. Thanks again for your valuable time.

The increasing number of overweight cases is placing a burden on the healthcare system in an attempt to resolve the problem. It is thought by some people that introducing sports and exercise lessons into school curriculum can help tackle this issue effectively. In my opinion, I think that this kind of scheme will be a good idea, however, health education should also be taken into consideration.

One good reason of introducing physical education lessons in school curriculum in order to tackle overweight problems is that it will help maintain the fitness levels of students. In other words, sporting activities will help students to be active and also give them a sense of consciousness about their health. This will help them to live and maintain a healthy lifestyle even after school as this will become part of them. The physical education lessons will stress on the importance of healthy living through exercise which will greatly benefit both individual and the nation.

Another point to consider in addressing this issue is to emphasize the importance of health education. Health education will help create awareness and also educate people about the advantages of living and maintaining healthy lifestyle as well as the complications bad habit will have on their health. Through health education people will be conscious about their diet, the need to reduce stress, and the value of regular exercise which is essential in preventing obesity. This will go a long way to benefit the society because a healthy people builds a healthy nation. It will also help reduce the workload on the healthcare system. Government will also spend less on treatments of these health related problems and can channel the money to other aspect of the economy.

In conclusion, the introduction of sporting activities into school curriculum and the education of people on their health will go a long way in tackling overweight issues in a country.

Hi Liz, Thank you for this wonderful website. I have a small doubt. In the “to what extent do you agree or disagree” questions, we have three options. (Completely agree, completely disagree, or have a balanced view)

For questions like “Do you agree or disagree?” can we have a balanced view? Or should we choose either completely agree or completely disagree and give my opinion on what I chose? Thank you.

It actually makes no difference how the instructions are written. The instructions could be: To what extent do you agree? Do you agree? Do you agree or disagree? What do you think? To what extend do you agree or disagree? All these instructions are the same and they are all Opinion Essays. IELTS likes to change the wording so that people don’t become dependant on wording. You can have a balanced view (partial agreement), full agreement or disagreement – the choice it yours, no matter the wording of the instructions. But never forget that a balanced view does NOT mean you agree with both sides – it is about having a specific view point and must be written carefully or you’ll get a low score in Task Response.

The increasing number of overweight issues is placing a burden on the healthcare system in an attempt to resolve this problem. It is thought by some people that introducing sports and exercise lessons into the school curriculum can help tackle the issue effectively. In my opinion, I think that this kind of scheme will be a good idea, however, health education should also be taken into account.

One good reason of introducing physical education lessons in school curriculum in order to tackle overweight problems is that it will maintain fitness levels of the students. In other words, sporting activities will help students to be active and also give them a sense of consciousness about their health. This will help them develop and maintain healthy lifestyle even after school as this will become part of them. The physical education lessons will stress on the importance of living and maintaining healthy lifestyle through exercise which will greatly benefit both individual and the nation.

Another point to consider in addressing overweight issues is to emphasize the importance of health education. Health education will help create awareness and also educate people about the advantages of maintaining a healthy lifestyle as well as the complications bad habits will have on their health. Through health education people will become conscious about their diet, the need to reduce stress, and the value of regular exercise which is essential in preventing obesity. This will go a long way to benefit the society because a healthy people builds a healthy nation. It will also help reduce the workload on the healthcare system. Government will also spend less money on treatment of these health related problems and can channel it to other aspect of the economy.

In conclusion, the introduction of sporting activities in school curriculum and the education of people on their health will go a long way in tackling overweight issues in a country.

Hi Liz, what would be the score if it’s written in a real exam?

All model essays on my website are band score 9. The techniques and tips are the same regardless of which band score you are aiming for. The difference in the final score will depend on how good you are at applying those techniques and the level of your English.

Hi Liz, thank you very much for all the tremendous work you’ve been doing! I feel a bit confused re the topic sentence for the first body paragraph as it seems to me extremely similar to the thesis. Do you think we can use the second sentence of this para as a topic sentence instead, saying “Firstly, this method will….etc”. Thank you in advance!

This is a good question. When we write “This method will ….” it is called referencing. It is a language feature that is marked in IELTS Writing, under Coherence & Cohesion (not grammar). In IELTS essays, you count each paragraph as a new entity. You can reference inside the paragraph but not from one paragraph to another. So, we could write “this method” …” in the same paragraph where we have already mentioned the method. We cannot use “it” or “this” at the start of a new body paragraph referring to something in the previous paragraph. The first sentence of a body paragraph is called a Topic Sentence, it contains the main point – it must always be written in full. The examiner should never have to stop reading to go back to a different paragraph to see what you are talking about. IELTS essays are different from other academic essays you might write in school, college or university.

Liz, thank you!

it’s very interesting and looks perfectly logical now.

Hi Liz, thanks for your wonderful website. I’m learning so much.

I want to ask you about the opinion essay. What is the difference between To What Extend Do You Agree and the essay which is Do You Agree? Are they the same or different. I’m confused.

Please advice me.

This is a common concern that people have. An Opinion Essay question might have different instructions. It might be “To what extent do you agree?” or “Do you agree?” or “Do you agree or disagree?” or “What is your opinion?”. Regardless of how the instructions are written, you can use the same approach, the same techniques because it is exactly the same essay task but with paraphrased instructions. You could agree, you could disagree or you could have a partial agreement, which is sometimes called a “balanced view” but does not mean that you convert it into a discussion essay. At no point can you sit on the fence. You are being marked on giving a clear opinion and explaining your opinion.

I watched lots of video of you 3 years ago and now I am preparing my IELTS test.

Please i need clarity in this kind of opinion question. From the available sample, the agreement is always the last sentence in the introduction paragraph. can i start the paragraph with “I agree” and have other parts of the intro coming after it?

Is it possible too to, in restructuring the introduction paragraph to fuse the “I agree” statement and continue with other supposed parts of the introduction ?

Please advise

You’ll find a free video lesson about how to write an introduction for writing task 2 on this page: https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-writing-task-2/

Dealing with obesity issues has long been a concern, as it poses a significant burden on health care organizations. Some people argue that introducing more physical education lessons in the school curriculum is the best solution. I completely agree with this opinion because it will motivate individuals to become healthier. First and foremost, introducing physical education lessons in the school curriculum will educate students about the detrimental effects of being overweight. Regular physical exercise has been proven to encourage a healthy lifestyle. For instance, schools that incorporate daily physical activities see lower rates of obesity among students. This demonstrates that the more physical exercise students engage in, the higher their potential to maintain a healthy and well-shaped body. Secondly, more physical education lessons will inspire students to engage in sports and develop lifelong healthy habits. From a young age, students will learn that exercise is fundamental to maintaining good health, which will help build a healthier generation in the future. By fostering a culture of physical activity, we can ensure that individuals grow up understanding the importance of fitness and incorporating it into their daily lives. In conclusion, I believe that incorporating more physical education lessons into the school curriculum is an effective way to combat obesity. Such programs would instill healthy habits in young people and raise awareness about the health risks associated with being overweight.

In past 10 years have seen a dramatic increase in the obesity rate .These numbers are rising day by day ,thereby putting stress on medical system to tackle these issues . It is considered by some people that by providing physcially or sports education in schools this problem can be solved . I partially agree with this idea and in this essay i will support my opinion with examples.

Firstly , long- term approach must be introduced by schools . For example, sport or health care syllabus should introduce in school curriculum because by doing this , students will habitual of playing games in ground ratherthan spending their time leisure time on mobile phones. Consequently , this idea will assists people to keep away from sedentary lifestyle. Moreover,by organisisng monthly sport tournaments, obesity rate is likely to be decrease as well as that will help for their good mental growth as well such as, if people will take part in sports that will assist for decrease the weight also they can relief from the pressure of daily other activities . Futher and even more interesting note that these activites will develop positive attitude towards their health and give solutions to control on obesity .

On other hands, medical system is also responsible for tackle this problem because not all students have same ability to play in ground such as , some students are not physcially strong thus they are unable to play games . Thus , health care assits these people to get rid from overweight . Futhermore , students from low – income families could not pay for extra seesions or games activities resultant they have to suffer with obesity and worse mental health . Therefore , health care department is also considerable for find the solutions regarding obesity .

In conclusion , although school plays important role to decrease this problem , role of medical system can not be given nelson ‘s eyes .

It has been noted that there is an increase in the number of people who are overweight, and this increase has a negative impact on the health care system. Physical activity awareness could be incorporated in schools to counter the problem and help reduce the pressure that the health care system faces.

Healthcare systems are created to help in the recovery and maintenance of health in the human population. In over the years, being overweight has been linked to the cause of many illnesses and sometimes the reason why recovery of health is slow or unsuccessful. I believe that exposure to information about physical health is important and influence the population to engage in more physical activity especially if it is introduced in early ages, for example, in schools as a subject.

Developing a hobby through physical education at schooling age will most certainly improve the populations awareness in maintaining a healthy weight and therefore help the health care system to provide efficient services with ease. I fully agree that physical education is a good intervention that should be implemented globally.

Don’t forget you will definitely get a low score if you fail to write a conclusion. It’s essential.

hello, i’ve noticed that you did not mention your opinion in the introduction.

A large number of people who are overweight, causing different difficulties in the health care system. A group of people think that adding more sports and exercise in the school might be helpful in order to mitigate the issue. However, I do partially agree with this and believe that along with the physical education lessons in the school, education about healthy diet and physical activities outside of the school is also essential to tackle the issue. Gaining weight is 80% depending on what we are eating in a day. the knowledge of the carb, protein, and vegetable intake in a meal can be helpful to maintain a healthy lifestyle and control weight. As a result, schools can arrange sessions for the students and sometimes for the parents to educate what a balanced meal is. In addition to this, educating about the impact of junk foods on our bodies also how it can damage our different organs can be beneficial for individuals at schools. Another key factor for gaining weight is less activity after school. Usually, after a tiring day at school, most student prefers to stay at home, play video games, or be idle. As a result, they do less physical activities and gain weight. Parents can play an important role in the early childhood of students by encouraging them to do outdoor activities like swimming, skiing, and playing badminton during weekends or after school hours. This will be helpful to keep them active throughout the day/week. In conclusion, adding physical activities to the school curriculum can be a good initiative. However, focusing on educating about a balanced diet and ensuring to do after-school activities can be helpful in handling the issue of being overweight.

Your thesis statement states that you agree exercise in school is needed. Then your body paragraphs completely ignore that point and only talk about food education and after-school activities. You’ll get a low score for ignoring the main part of the task, which is your opinion (fully developed) about exercise in schools. I strongly recommend that you get my advanced lessons to learn precisely how to tackle these essays: https://elizabethferguson.podia.com/ . You must learn how to tackle essays for IELTS so that you fulfil the marking criteria. The other issue is grammar. For example, your first sentence: “A large number of people who are overweight” = this is the subject of the sentence. It is a noun phrase. The next word should be a verb, but it isn’t. You ought to write “is causing” which is a present continuous because the problem is happening now. There also shouldn’t be a common between the subject and verb. The more errors you make in grammar and vocabulary, the lower your score. Aim for accuracy in every sentence and with every word. I have a Grammar E-book in my store to help you with your grammar.

As a result of the strain being placed on the healthcare system due to the growing number of overweight people, a number of people think that the best way to deal with this problem is to introduce more physical education lessons in the school curriculum of which I strongly disagree. I believe that providing easy accessibility of healthier foods and provision of foods that are lower in calories, as well as reducing the amount of sugars present in packaged foods and beverages would be a more effective method of tackling the problem of a growing number of overweight people in the society.

According to numerous researches conducted in recent times, the major cause of the growing number of overweight people in this generation is poor diet. An increasing number of people rely on fast foods and packaged foods for their main meals during the day and unfortunately, most of these foods are loaded with an outrageous amount of artificial sugars and are very calorie dense leading to a higher number of obese people in the society. Making healthier foods such as vegetables and whole grains more accessible and affordable by slashing their prices and making them available across all mini marts and supermarkets would go a long way in making it easier for people to make healthier food choices without breaking the bank or going to extreme lengths to access these foods.

In addition to this, the government should make it compulsory for packaged food producing companies to reduce the quantity of artificial sugars in the foods they produce. They should be mandated to make their foods as healthy as possible and made to reduce the quantity of calories present in these foods as much as is possible while retaining all the health benefits of such foods. For example, the Coca-cola company recently reduced the sugar content in their drinks while retaining the same taste, this goes to great lengths to prove that this is indeed a possibility.

In conclusion, I reiterate my stance that rather than introducing physical education lessons in the school curriculum which is a more passive approach to such an urgent matter, a more effective method of tackling the growing number of obese people in the society would be promoting accessibility and affordability of healthier food choices as well as mandating packaged food producing companies to reduce the quantity of sugars in foods they produce.

Try to remember your aim is to write an essay of around 270-290 words. Longer is definitely not the goal for IELTS. See this page with model answers and tips: https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-writing-task-2/

The increased rate of obesity is creating a problem in the health care system. Some people believe that to help solve the crisis it is imperative to present additional physical activities as part of school curriculum. I highly agree that it will be a crucial start to motivate young individuals in making way towards a healthy living.

Nowadays, most schools have a physical education intended for every student as part of their school curriculum. In addition to the said physical education are numerous kinds of extracurricular activities that some active students participate in. For example, football, basketball and running- all these activities are not graded as it is only an optional activity for students. In spite of the encouragement of many educators for young individuals to get engaged in many sports, there are many students who opt not to be involved at all. As a result, physical education only works if there is a grading system for students to follow. Moreover, students will be more motivated if they are constantly reminded that health education is a competitive subject that they need to pass.

Moreover, physical education that will be implemented at school will be a beginning of the young generations’ choices towards a healthy life. If the students know the importance of being in a good shape has a significant effect on their future, it will be a solid foundation for them to continue their healthy lifestyle even after they graduate from school. Through this they will aim not only to have good grades but for a positive and long lasting effect on their life.

In conclusion, physical education that is introduced as part of school curriculum will be a beginning of building a strong motivation to young individuals in making good and healthy choices throughout their lives.

I have a question: in opinion essays, should we present points in favor and points against, or should all points support our opinion? My issue is that I’ve seen some essays uploaded to these websites that have two paragraphs stating why they hold the opinion they have chosen, while others, like this one, list points in favor and against as if it were a discussion and finally state which one carries more weight. The difference is that in this one, it only states whether one agrees, and in the other, it states whether one agrees or disagrees (social media opinion). Can you explain this? Thank you in advance

I’m not fully sure I understand what you mean. So, I’ll try to guess. All Opinion Essays focus on your opinion only, not the opinion of other people. You can agree, you can partly agree (ie agree to some extent but not totally or have a specific view point) or you can disagree. Whatever your opinion, the whole essay is about it. This essay above agrees with the statement that exercise is the best method and the whole essay explains. The essay about social media asked about the effects on individuals and the community. The writer said it was positive for individuals but negative for communities – that was the opinion, the whole essay tackled that opinion. It is not about being in favour or against, it is about having an opinion, stating it and then explaining it. It is not related to other people’s opinions, only your own. See my advanced lessons for more detailed training: https://elizabethferguson.podia.com/

Hi Liz! I hope you’re doing well. It’s so nice to see you back😊. Liz I have a question I am going to write computer based test so in listening part can I write the answers in capital letters. Please let me know I am going to write my exam this week on April 27th

For the computer based test, handwriting is not an issue so you can use upper or lower case, as you wish.

Can I write examples from my own life? like ” For example, my friend was fit because……….”

All IELTS writing task 2 essays, for both the GT test and Academic test, are formal essays. That means you are not writing about friends, family or yourself. But rather your understanding and knowledge of people and the world in general. See all my model essays to learn the tone and types of essays: https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-writing-task-2/ . For detailed training, get my advanced lessons in my store: https://elizabethferguson.podia.com/

It is true that nowadays, the rise in the ratio of obese patients, are putting a significant amount of pressure on health systems to cater for their deteriorating health needs. A good number of people believe that the best way to deal with this endemic is to incorporate health education in school programs. This essay will completely agree to this statement and give relevant examples.

First and foremost, there are various reasons to this statement. However, the most powerful to this, is the ability to increase the life span of the young adults. This means that when adolecents are being educated enough on the risk of overweight, they are likely to change their habits. Most especially, when they are practiced at school level, this is because children learn better when they are with their colleagues. For example, a result to a research conducted in a montessori school revealed that children aged 4-17 consumed a ton of sugary snacks which was filled with unhealthy calories and they never liked fruits and vegetables as well. All of them had unequal body mass index which was detrimental to their health and if had continued they were continously going to be filled with infirmity and weren’t going to live long. The school changed and incorporated health science in their curriculum. In less than a year after evaluation, the children were all living well, loved healthy snacks. which resulted zero hospital visit.

Furthermore, the second benefit to eradicating obesity is incorporating sporty activities in the routine of their students. By so doing, pupils will always burn off excess calories while engaging in their favourite sports. This will also encourage people around them like their parents to get fit when they see the benefits in their kids. It is proven that parents with sporty children ends up finding interest in sports to encourage their children in doing better. In doing this, they are unconsciously living a healthy lifestyle thereby reducing the risk of obesity in the society.

To sum up, the preferred method to eradicate unhealthy weight is by educating children in schools and instilling exercise in their routine.

Just a quick comment. For an opinion essay, you can’t write “this essay will”. This essay question is asking for your opinion – your personal opinion. If you fail to give it, you will lose marks. Also make sure body paragraphs are equally developed and equally supported. See my advanced lessons to learn how to tackle this essay type: https://elizabethferguson.podia.com/

I was able to score 7.5 for my Academic Writing with the help of your valuable guidance. Thanks a lot for your genuine effort

That’s a great score! Very well done 🙂

Hii mam, please check the essay below and tell me band score of it and also tell where I did mistakes.

I argued that the people who are heavyweight visiting health care systems to reduce the weight,but few people thought that correct way to solve this issue at school about physical education lessons.I completely agree about the problem think that each and every school should introduce about physical education. first of all, nowadays most of the people are visiting to healthcare to reduce the weight because their is no proper exercises.so,to solve this problem at school education has to introduce about physical education lessons although they have to take care about exercise thrice in a week even though keep more activities about exercise. moreover encourage the children to participate in the physical activities while it should introduce from schooling about the physical exercise so their people donot face any issues about their weight.By using medication people can face health issues.Fir example in an army education they thought about physical activities like running, long jumps, overweight lifts so,in this education they maintain a proper weight however people don’t have any health issues. To conclude every educational institution should have about physical exercise and educate them by keeping the lessons on physical activities so we can avoid overweight problems.

Can you please share your feedback on my essay:

Overweight has always been a great challenge in the past few decades. These days patient list is increasing, not because of serious illness or emergency cases, but because of weight gain problems. Lately, people have started believing that to combat this issue; schools must include physical education as extra course. Although, the idea behind the belief is partially correct, but providing students with only these classes will not address the problem completely.

In a World health survey report of 2019, it was recorded that in Finland, there are least number of cases when it comes to health and fitness related sickness. Finland spends heavily on the health awareness programs at schools, and which, in turn, prepares students right from the very beginning, to be conscious about their body. However, this research doesn’t show the full picture, because Finland’s residents are eating only organic food since last 3 decades. Moreover, the deep cultural and traditional norm of Finland is to have only one meal a day, which automatically keeps people fit and fine.

Adding to the above point, school teachings are not the only way to create health awareness. In a research published by Doctor Prakashmurthy, at IIT Roorkee, it was discovered that hormones and stress levels play a crucial role in fat storage. Hence rather than some exercises, people of India opt for Yoga and meditation as tools to combat body problems related to weight gain.

To conclude, I agree that children should be trained about health and fitiness in schools, but it is also vital to teach them discipline about eating food and involve them in other activities, which are related to calmness of body, as these eventually leads to a healthy and fit body and mind.

It is often argued that the increasing number of obese people is putting a strain on the healthcare system. Some masses believe that the best way to tackle this problem is to introduce more physical education in the school curriculum. I completely agree with this opinion and think that it’s the most important thing that every school should do.

First of all, doing physical exercises daily enhances not only your physical health but also your mental health. Introducing physical education in the school curriculum provides daily basis physical training which helps to remove unnecessary fats and also helps to become free from anxiety, tension, and pressure which ultimately benefits both physical and mental health. For instance, students involved in daily basis physical education can be qualified for jobs related to body physics such as Army. Thus it is better to introduce more physical education.

Secondly, physical activity in schools is one of the best ways to eradicate obesity problems. It helps to form the habit in students on involving in physical activity. Even if the student completes their education in school, they have good knowledge of physical education which they can apply for the rest of their life. That’s why it is important to include physical education in every school, curriculum.

To conclude, I strongly believe that involving physical education in the school curriculum is beneficial because it helps to eradicate the obesity problem in a more holistic way.

there is no doubt that, I contemporary era, the majority of individuals are becoming victims of obesity, hence, it is suggested by few masses that involving the vast information regards physical education in school study, can be proved beneficial to tackle with this issue. I completely agree with this statement. Now I will discuss about this statement in my next sections along with explanation. To commence with, there are numerous reasons for increasing weight related issues. the first and the foremost is unawareness of folks towards balance diet. To clarify it, in modern era, human give high priority to fast food instead of home made, however, junk food has plenty of calories, which is responsible to make people fatty, therefore, it is excellent concept to give possible knowledge about physical education in school to children, because in this age they easily can understand and definitely follow in their future life. furthermore, advancement of technology is second cause fir this problem, To elaborate it, it can be seen that in earliest time, human being needed to move out for work, however, in modern time, it yas become straightforward for them to finish their at home, it means the roberts have been taken replace of human labour, for this reason, people have become lazy and do not anything to keep their body fit and health, and if the knowledge about demerits of enhancing weight will be given in younger age, can be fruitful for adolescence in further life. to conclude, after discussing this statement it is clear that everyone has various thinking, but, in my opinion, this notion is better for every person.

Nowadays, increasing number of obese people is putting a strain on the health care system. Some masses believe that the best way to tackle this problem is to introduce more physical activities lessons in the school curriculum. I completely agree that this is the best way to solve this issue.

to begin with, obesity is become a major problem in the society and adding more physical education lesson in school is the best way to solved this problem. for instance, if more physical lessons are introduced in the schools then children get more time to do physical activities like playing football, cricket and many more physical games, this thing not only make them physically fit but also make them more socialize and mentally happy. hence, adding more physical fitness lessons can change the lifestyle of the students and make them fit physically as well as mentally.

Another point to be consider is that introducing more sports lessons for pupils in school may result in creating more interest of children towards sports and also encourage them to take part in different sports event. Moreover, if a child take part in many sports events then he/she can also encourage their parents to do more physical activities. In other words, parents with more sporty child are more likely to involve in sports as a way of increasing interest of their child towards the sports. Thus, by both parents and children involvement in sports can create a good and healthy society.

In conclusion, to deal with unfit population changing the lifestyle of the coming generation by adding more physical activities in school is the easiest and most effective method.

Very good man

Hello Liz, thank you for making your website a great resource for many of us who are studying for the IELTS!

Essay on obesity topic, any inputs or comments would be greatly appreciated:

Reducing weight can be a challenge for many, and figuring out a solution to this health issue is an important task. Being overweight comes with its own related co-morbidies, such as heart disease, hypercholesterolemia, and osteoarthritis, just to name a few. Consequently, these health issues invariably put a strain on the healthcare system, through the involvement of multidisciplinary teams needed to manage these conditions as well as the cost of medications needed to treat the symptoms. Having said that, physical education lessons implemented at school is a possible solution. However, I disagree with the view that it is necessarily the ‘best way’ to deal with this problem.

Being overweight is defined as having a body mass index greater than 25 kilograms per meter square. Overweight and obesity are becoming an increasingly prevalent condition across the globe, more specifically in first world countries. This is partly because of the surplus in food available (especially fast food) as well as the sedentary lifestyles afforded by the children.

Physical activity in schools is just one way to combat obesity. Evidence-based research has shown that being overweight is not just caused by a sedentary lifestyle, it is a multimodal condition with several etiologies: genetics, diet and lifestyle. Hence, just focussing on one cause will insufficiently address and tackle the issue at hand. There needs to be enough done on all fronts in order to not only tackle the present issue, but also to take preventative measures for future generations.

Besides physical educations classes, governments can direct funds towards preventative campaigns through educational sessions in both school and through advertisements. Moreover, policy changes need to be implemented, which include -but not necessarily limited to – the following: banning sugary drinks and candies from school canteens, reducing junk food availability and providing healthier options such as salads. Parents should also be educated on the need and importance of reducing screen time – a known risk factor for obesity.

In conclusion, there cannot be one “best way” to deal with a complex issue such as overweight. This has to be tackled in a more holistic way in order to attain more statistically signifiant results and outcomes to have an impact on the healthcare system.

I am so grateful for your tutorials. I followed all your lessons, bought some of your e-books for my personal studies and finally wrote my exams this year. I am happy to say that I had Reading 8.0, Listening 7.5, speaking 7.5 and writing 7.0. Now I have informed all my friends about your wonderful website. God richly bless you Liz.

That’s wonderful. Well done to you 🙂 And thanks for sharing my website with others 🙂

It is considered that the best option to mitigate the stress of the health care system in tackling with the increasing overweight population is to make students take more physical education lessons at school. Although I agree that students having more exercise will help to deal with the issue to some extent, more attention should be put on enhancing the health awareness of people from all walks of life to solve the problem thoroughly.

On the one hand, exercise is definitely the best choice to keep fit compared to other improper methods like medicine therapy, especially for younger groups like students who are more energetic and able to refresh themselves at a relatively high speed after a running race. The obesity rates of students who have engaged in a sports club at school are averagely lower than those who have not. Therefore, increasing the number of lessons related to sports at school will have positive impact on tackling with the issue.

On the other hand, the physical education lessons cannot stop the rising trend of the obesity population outside the school, it is necessary to let people of all ages receive the health education. Children at school contributed a part of the population who are overweight, the rest part consist of people with unbalanced lifestyle and people suffered from diseases which are the primary cause of obesity like diabetes. It is inevitable to improve their awareness of staying healthy to deal with the growing number of overweight people. This can be achieved in many ways, health experts can give lectures on prevention of obesity and nutritionists can provide advice on daily diet, which are available for everyone on smartphones or TVs. A great number of people who are out of shape will benefit from the health education, which is the cornerstone of winning the battle with obesity.

To conclude, thought I agree that more sports lessons at school may contribute a part in solving the obesity issue, it is more important to improve the health awareness of people of all ages and only in this way, can we solve the problem thoroughly.

Could someone please give feedback on my essay.

The health care system is struggling to resolve the health problems caused by a number of more and more overweight people. It is addressed that introducing more physical education lessons in the school curriculum is the most efficient method. I totally agree that applying the new classes is the key for public health improvement. One plausible effect of the method is that people will spend more time outside and less time in bed. In fact, overweight and obesity people who are likely to eat quite much are not very active. Additionally, modern technologies contribute a huge impact on the sedentary lifestyle. Therefore, getting them engaged in such outdoor activities will help to improve their body health in a positive way. In other words, they can do frequent exercise and burn more unnecessary fat. Creating a stronger society bond is another feasible consequence of the teaching application. Attending physical lessons at school, people can find new friends, especially when they work in teams, and enhance the mental health. Achieving which, a chain effect on their existing relationships such as parents, siblings and classmates will blast. Gradually, people will get to know each other more and more. Nationwide competitions can be held on a regular basis, producing TV shows which entertain viewers and reducing stress among workers. Therefore, the health care system is no longer restrained. In conclusion, to tackle overweight problems, I consent that people should be active on both their mind and behaviors by emerging themselves in the school curriculum. This is among the easiest and most effective way that is either good for body development and social connection.

You’ve got some grammatical errors and I suggest contracting contractable words…. so instead of saying obesity people, say “obese.”

Overall, good job!

It is thought that some of the problems that the health care system faces due to the growing populations of overweight people can be solved by introducing sport and exercise lessons in the schools’ curriculum. I completely agree that this is the best solution to overcome such some of the health issues, in addition to increasing the awareness of people about healthy diet.

Firstly, I believe that making sport as a mandatory subject in schools will decrease the problems that face the health care system. When children do some exercises at different times in the day, they will get healthier and more fit in the future. Also, this will be reflected to their parents as they watch them. For instance, when parents take their children to a garden and the children start to practice what did they learn in their school, their parents will notice the elasticity of their children and they will start do like their children. This encourages most of people and increases their awareness about the importance of sport to their health.

Secondly, besides sport, an awareness about a healthy diet should be taken into account. Eating a lot of fats and sugar can cause some health problems regardless that someone does some exercises. For example, the government should put some taxes on fast food and reduce the taxes on the healthy food.This will encourage people to buy healthy food and as it becomes a habit to them and their children and they notice the difference in their weight and in turn their health. Thus, I strongly recommend to increase the awareness of people about their healthy food bedsides doing sport.

To conclude, I believe that sport and healthy diet will make a big difference in the health care system when they are introduced to children at schools. This results in increasing the awareness of the next generation about avoiding health problems and following a healthy lifestyle.

I dont think the second point was relevant. If it is being marked for Response point, adding and explaining how diet is helpful seems off-point. I think answering like that will be good for questions that ask you for more ways and solutions to the problem, rather than this type

Hello Respected Madam Liz 💗 Please help me to sort out the problem with the question type * To what extent do you agree or disagree) please i am having so much trouble in this ..

If you need training, please go to my store where you can find an advanced lessons about this essay: https://elizabethferguson.podia.com/

Obesity has become more common in our society due to the busy lifestyle practiced by individuals. This has caused enormous strain on the health care system, which can be avoided by practicing a healthy lifestyle.

It is important to promote awareness among the general public of the health problems that can occur due to obesity.

Increasing the frequency of physical education alone will not effectively solve the issue. That is one of the several other steps to inculcate a healthy lifestyle among people. Exercises have the potential to eliminate the excess calories present in our bodies. Exposing children to a variety of sports can help to identify their interests and sometimes, it can help to create a habit among them. In such cases, it can be taken as a very effective option to prevent the flooding of the health care system due to obesity. According to available statistics, the probability of such an occurrence is negligible.

More than that, a well-balanced, nutritious and healthy diet should be practiced. Governments should step up measures to reduce the accessibility of fast foods rich in Sodium and Sugar. They also can educate their citizens about the healthy diet options, which can be easily substituted for the fast food.

In conclusion, a healthy lifestyle, involving nutritious food, adequate sleep, rest and exercise, when combined in the right proportion, is the only solution to deal with any of the lifestyle abnormalities which overwhelm the health care system.

Hi Liz, Is it correct to write the thesis statement as: “I completely agree with this statement for two reasons which I will elucidate below.” Here, I am not using words related to the prompt because they will be used again in the topic sentences of both the body paragraphs.

That is a learned phrase. Each sentence should be connected to the topic you are given and created uniquely by yourself in the test. Is the topic about family? Is it about education? Each sentence must connect to the specific issues presented in the essay question. However, please note that all my advice is aimed at people aiming for the higher band scores. If you are needing only band 5 or around that score, it would be fine to use such techniques in your essay.

Wow… Liz you are back ..so happy for you ❤

Liz, hi. When they ask to what extent do you agree can I write my thesis statement I completely disagree. What is the difference between to what extent do you agree or disagree question and to what extent do you agree question.

There is no difference at all. IELTS like to paraphrase instructions – it’s still the same essay.

Very magnificaant👍👍👍

Hi Liz, thank you for the tips here, they are really helpful. What is the difference between these two essay types- ‘To what extent do you agree/disagree’ and ‘Do you agree or disagree’

Do i have to answer that ‘I completely agree’ to ‘To what extent do you agree question’ OR should i just answer ‘ I agree’ ( I mean, do i have to state the extent of my agreement or i should just simply say i agree)

They are 100% the same. IELTS like to paraphrase instructions from time to time.

Thank you for the response.

Thank You Liz.

I started my prep using your site, a week before my IELTS exam and I scored an overall 7.5 using your tips. Thanks for uploading such amazing tips and samples. They really helped me a lot in my exam.

Great to hear that you did well. Good for you !! 🙂

Hi. Pleaseeeee answer me if possible. In body paragraphs of agree/disagree essays, the first body paragraph should be assigned to agreement side and the second paragraph should be assigned to disagreement side? Or both paragraphs could be assigned to agreement or disagreement side? Thanks in advance.

Your whole essay is a presentation of your opinion. It is not a discussion essay. If you are unsure, please get my Advanced Lessons: https://elizabethferguson.podia.com/

Hi, Liz. I’ve seen certain solutions to the writing task 1 and 2 with a heading or title. Is that necessary please?

You definitely do not use headings or titles in any IELTS Writing task.

Hi Liz, I had practiced GT Writing Task 2 recently first time. Please check and tell that how much band score I’ll get if the following question will come. I’ll be thankful to you for this. Q- You should spend about 40 minutes on this task. Write about the following topic. Write at least 250 words.

In some countries it is thought advisable that children begin formal education at four years old, while in others they do not have to start school until they are seven or eight.

How far do you agree with either of these views?

Answer- In world, some countries believed that proper education of a child should start at the age of 4. On the other hand, other countries do not want to start the education of child before the age of 7 or 8. In my opinion, children have to start his/her education from the age of 4 so that basic concepts will be clear in coming 3-4 year. Firstly, if we discussed about formal education, it requires a formal schooling with adequate content and materials that create interest and increase knowledge related to the subject in a child. A young child brain is in developing stage up to the age of 5. If any country want to start primary education in formal way, it helps to increase knowledge of the children’s. Additionally, They will catch the new terminologies and content in a different ways e.g., play-way method. Secondly, if a country want to start children’s study from the age of 7-8 in formal school, they have to provide some materials and content before school. In other words, they have to provide them education in play schools and with new techniques e.g., learn and play, visual learning etc. When children join the formal school, an evaluation test needs to be taken to check the knowledge and capability they’ll have. After that, based on the performance, particular actions and classes should be arrange so that they all come at equal level. Lastly, I want to share my view that early education is very important. I would prefer to provide early school from the age of 4 so that kids brainstorming can be done at right time. I am strongly agreed to start education from the age of 3-4 years.

Hello, I just took Ielts indicator test. I really messed up with the writing task 2. What I wrote is off topic. I don’t remember the question clearly. It is about lectures and technology and maybe it means that teaching in the class I wrote about lecture paper and students should find information from internet by their own I didn’t write about teaching in class. Do you think I can get 6. Please, reply my message I really need to know If I can’t get 6 I have to try again on 27. I need all skills at least 6.

For listening, In Sec 4, there are 4 multiple questions so I think questions are not the same. I just wanna share the others.

It is important to understanding the way Writing Task 2 is marked. If your essay is off topic then you might get only band 4 or 5 for Task Response. It will depend on whether some parts of your essay are relevant as to what you get for Task Response. Task Response counts for 25% of your Task 2 marks. The other marking criteria for Task 2 will not be affected. You could get band 4 in TR, but get band 8 in the other three marking criteria. You can do the maths. On top of these considerations, you must also consider that Task 1 counts for about 33% of your final marks for Writing. With all these considerations, your overall score will depend on so many factors. You will need to judge for yourself what score to expect in the three other criteria then calculate your prediction for your score in Task 2. Then you will need to add your prediction for Task 1 on to that as well.

Thank u so much for your reply Tr, Liz. In task 1 they asked for one bar chart and pie chart and I think I did well. And thank you so much for your lessons. These help me a lot I really appreciate all these lessons provided, I really mean it. In speaking part 2, the time you didn’t tell a truth to your friends and in part3 why children lie to parents and why people tell lies and that kinds of questions. (just sharing the other friends ). I can’t use earphones in speaking maybe because I’m under 18 and my father had to sit near me. It is ok to use earphones in listening.

Good luck with your results !! Let me know how you do when they arrive

Yes, teacher, I will. Thank u so much for the lessons. My result will not be good as others but I’m glad to study your lessons.

GOD Bless You Hello Liz very thnx for your help

You’re welcome 🙂

Good afternoon Liz.I should say You are very intelligent and thank you very muuuuuch .Since your tips help improve my writing .Thanks😘

Please Liz I took my ielts today I completely agreed on an opinion in my introduction but ended up discussing on partially agreed in the paragraphs, please how will this affect my score

It will affect your score for Task Achievement which is 25% of your task 2 marks. If you look at this page: https://takeielts.britishcouncil.org/sites/default/files/ielts_task_2_writing_band_descriptors.pdf , you’ll see that presenting a clear position throughout is a requirement for band 7. This means that for this marking criterion, you would struggle to hit band 7 if you alter your opinion in the middle or end of your essay. But luckily. it won’t affect your score for the other three marking criteria for task 2. Hopefully other people reading this comment thread will see the importance of fully planning your essay before you start writing your introduction.

Thank you very much Liz for such a kind support. Your’s blog is the best one which i follow the most in my preparation. Specially i recently bought your Essay ideas e-book, which is also very helpful.

Kind Regards

I’m so glad you are enjoying my Ideas for Topics E-book 🙂

Hello, ma’am, I took my IELTS exam on 11th nov. 2020. and i got only 5.5 band(overall).i am struggling with grammar and lack of confidence. please assist me for that.

This year I released a Grammar E-book. However, the level of the e-book is quite high. It will help you, but make sure you don’t overreach yourself. It is important to only produce English within your level rather than trying to impress. The more errors you make, the lower your score. So, use the e-book to improve your accuracy and reduce your errors: https://elizabethferguson.podia.com/

Thank you liz.।।। Making content accessable

I took the test on 12th of Sept 2020. Here is the Writing Task 2 question: The most important priority of any governments is to provide housing. To what extent do you agree or disagree. I hope it helps.

Dear Liz, Your lessons are really very helpful and easy to understand.Thanks for the useful instructions:) Could you please help in assessing the below essay?

Looking at the eating habits and sedentary lifestyle of people, obesity problem has grown over the years which in turn is increasing pressure on the healthcare systems. In my view, introducing physical exercise lessons alone in the school cannot solve this problem. In addition to this, proper eating habits should be followed by people.

Firstly, there is no doubt that physical education can help people maintain their weight and thereby reduce the health problems arising due to overweight. Making students aware of the importance of body stretching on a regular basis is the initial step towards solving this problem .Students can learn a lot about the body structure , its functioning and the ways to keep the body fit through exercises. When the students understand the value of physical exercise, they can pass on this information to their families as well. This is the kind of transformation which is possible only by involvement of not only students but also elders .

Secondly, doing exercise alone cannot be a solution to this problem. There are many more factors such as eating habits (junk food) and sleep cycle , which are responsible to this overweight issue.So , along with the physical fitness, people should start working on their eating patterns and the type of food they eat. Taking an average amount of sleep is also required for healthy lifestyle.This can be achieved by introducing healthy-lifestyle specific lessons in the school curriculum and make children implement the healthy eating habits in their life.

In conclusion, adding more physical fitness lessons at the school level will greatly help in improving the health of people. However, eating habits should also be in control to keep oneself fit and active.

Thank you very much for the free lessons. Can I partially agree in agree and disagree essay even when I’m not asked: ”to what extent do you agree”?

Yes, you can.

But, I was told never to have a clear opinion in agree and disagree question. It’s not only in situations of “to what extent” that we can decide our grace.

Do you agree? Do you agree or disagree? To what extent do you agree? To what extent do you agree or disagree? What is your opinion? All the above are the same instructions which are used for an Opinion Essay. They are not different instructions. This means the techniques for an Opinion Essay apply to an Opinion Essay regardless of how the instructions are phrased. They are simply paraphrases of the same instructions. If you are confused, please get my Advanced Lessons so you can learn the right way to tackle an IELTS essay: https://elizabethferguson.podia.com/

My instructor told me my reasoning behind my opinion was not strong enough. For instance, when the topic was about the advantages of having older people in a country, I discussed my views as “Children need older people at home for supervision as most of them have working parents”, whereas, my instructor thinks, I should’ve discussed it in country’s perspective saying ” older people are experienced in their occupations”.

I described my arguments clearly with supportive lines. But he didn’t like the “argument” itself. Is that a problem? Will I get less marks for this?

Both you and your instructor are thinking about two different points, not the same point. Your instructor is talking about how older people have more experience in their work which is beneficial for a country. Your point is that elderly people provide family support to take care of the grandchildren if their parents are working. Both points are relevant, but they are completely different points. You get a high score to organising your clear points into logical paragraphs and explaining what you mean in detail. As long as your point was well explained, it’s fine.

You are really super and your explanatory techniques and exemplification in addition to how simple you discuss and present the material are awesome. you have a high talent or skill in analyzing all the discussed and handled topics. thank you from the depth of my heart as you are helping me alot Haytham Selim Egyptian in UAE

I’m really pleased you are finding my lessons useful. Good luck in your test!!

hey liz, Thank you so much for your free content. I did my IELTS test today and it was quite fair. My task 2 was “employers should give their employees at least 4 weeks holiday per year. Do you agree or disagree with the statement?”

Thank you so much for the wonderful tips and lessons, I have learned so much in my short time of preparing. I would be taking the test for the first time in Aug. I hope I make it.

I do have a question on paraphrasing. Is it OK to paraphrase only the 1st sentence of the question, as I saw this done on a model essay. The 2nd sentence was used as the thesis statement. Please find Sample question below. I would truly appreciate it if you could give a model answer.

“According to a recent study, the more time people use the Internet, the less time they spend with real human beings. Some people say that instead of seeing the Internet as a way of opening up new communication possibilities world wide, we should be concerned about the effect this is having on social interaction. How far do you agree with this opinion? ”

Thank you for your help ☺️

Learn how to write an introduction and see model essays on this page: https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-writing-task-2/

Hey Liz, It’s Mr. Jasjit singh here and I am working as an IELTS trainer in a company. Here, my concern is to point you out that you have used “sporty children” in the essay’s body para – 2, even though, the word SPORTY is an informal. According to the parameters of marking, the informal language must not be used basically in the essay writing, otherwise there is a penalty. Do you think it is worthy to be used by the candidates?

Kindly share your perspective asap!!

“sporty” is completely fine. However, to use the word “kids” is too informal.

I have a question, please answer me.

In my IELTS writing, while checking things at last minute, I did a foolish mistake and change all the words next to comma “, ” in a capital letter.

i.e “However, This was…..”

So, the question is how many marks did the checker will cut or how many bands of mine are at risk. I am worried sick.

Please reply.

Well, I still don’t understand how I did that mistake. Time was ticking and something pushes me to do it :@ maybe this was because of C.D test. I am.sure if I were writing on a paper it would not happen. But fate :@

Since childhood, we know that after full stop next letter is Capital and not after the comma :@ but…argh

This would just count as one systematic error. It means you make the same mistake over and over again. It will affect your score for Grammar, but it isn’t possible to predict your overall score. Your Grammar score will depend on how many other errors you made and the range of grammar features you used. Good luck with you results! Try not to worry too much.

Hello Liz and thank you for all the info that you give us!! I would like to ask you. In this type of essay can I add examples from my personal experience? or I just say my opinion at the introduction and nowhere else?

The style of all essays should be formal which means you should avoid writing about your family and friends. Instead share your experience of the people in your country or around the world.

Dear Liz, Please, I am confused; agree/disagree is opinion essay? I mean: both are the same? Regards

Yes, they are the same. Do you agree or disagree? To what extent do you agree? What is your opinion? All the above are Opinion Essays.

Should I write the word count at the end of the writing task 2?

No, definitely don’t waste your time with that. The examiner will count the words himself if necessary.

Hi Liz, First of all thanks a lot for your great website and youtube channel. These are treasure troves of information. Millions of thanks to you.

I took the test couple of days ago. Writing part 2 was a bit confusing for me.” some people agree it is the best way to make detailed plan of activities in their free time”. While others disagree. Discuss both the views and give your opinion. I read this question more than 10 times, meanwhile, I was writing the essay. Whether it is asking about ‘ free time activities plan’ or ‘If we are free and utilize that time to make a plan about upcoming activities’. I hope you can solve my confusion.

However, the remaining questions are:

Writing part 1: write a letter to the manager about an accident you met with? Speaking: part1: about me, my residential area, facilities, whether you like living in an apartment or not? did you write with a pen or pencil as a child? what do you think if you get a pen as a gift? How do you think when it is compulsory to write only using a pencil-like this test? speaking part 2: An incident when you were not allowed to take a phone with you. (No more points to explain). speaking part 3: why the phones are restricted in some areas of the hospital? Importance of politeness, Need of rule for using mobile phones.

You haven’t remembered the essay question correctly – there are English language mistakes in it. For this reason, I can only speculate. Most questions like this are about whether you should make plans for free time activities or not. Many people like to plan each and every activity they do in their free time, whereas others prefer to wake up and decide what to do based on how they feel that day or how the weather is etc – they don’t want to schedule or plan.

I am preparing my IELTS exam and I have written the below eassy all myself can I please have your feedback

Since the 18th Century technological advances have replaced people in the workplace. with today’s technology this process is happening at a greater rate. Technology is increasingly responsible for unemployment.

To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement? Since Industrial age technological breakthroughs have taken the place of individuals in many companies. Now a day’s Digital process plays a great role in many organizations due to which a lot of people are jobless. I completely agree that machines have taken place of human beings. Firstly, mobilized process has fasten the work and brings out better results than of humans. Organizations doesn’t have to double check the work as its scientifically proven that computers and machines are not liable to make errors or mistakes. Many firms are trying to replace the employees with robots where possible to reduce the number of workers in their company, save money which can be used to do investments, buy shares and make profit. For instance, I work in a water company, where distribution of water is 24hours. there are many departments were large number of employees are working. In the production department, earlier men’s where used to drive the forklift and load the trucks now they have been replaced with robots to do the same job.

Secondly, Using Scientific advancement can lead to organizational growth in very less time. As the employer doesn’t have to go through the hiring process which is time consuming and sometime leads to failure as the wrong person is hired for the job. A good illustration of this is, Accounts department is the most important section in any huge firm if the employees are not provided with computers the calculations may go wrong and in worst case the firm could face loss.

In conclusion, I would highly recommend especially large organization to save their time, efforts and utilize their money in digitalizing their work which will lead them to huge profit.

Number of overweight people and children are increasing from last 10 years. Some people think that to solve these issues, facilities of sports and exercises should be provided in school. I completely agree that this is the best solution to tackle the issue for improving public health in relation to weight.

Firstly, to deal with increase in number of obesity and weight of people, some steps should be taken by schools and colleges. Easy access and more facility in sports should be introduced for children and people. This will ensure fitness among students and people interested to take part can join with no age barrier. This will result in reducing sadentry lifestyle and will encourage all to take part in competition.

Secondly, the sports lesson for children in school would result in children developing interest in exercise which might encourage the old age or parents to get motivated. In other word parents with sporty children will try to involve themselves with sports to make their children happy. If both of them get interested, they will practice daily. This would be the best and natural way to improve health of people.

In conclusion, to deal with reducing laziness and overweight people, changing the lifestyle and access to more facility will change the body shape with less problems.

Hi Liz, Is this an opinion essay and we need to cover both sides? Or just the side that I support. I am confused.

It is generally accepted exercise is good for children and teenagers. Therefore physical education and sports should be made compulsory for all students in all schools. What do you think ?

IT is asking for your opinion. It is an opinion essay. It is the same as “do you agree or disagree?” or “To what extent do you agree?”. You present your opinion of the issue or issues stated and use the body paragraphs to give reasons and explanation for your opinion.

Thank you so much Liz! I got a score that is very useful (lrsw=8,9,8.5,7.5). I was just 0.5 away from 8 in writing to get a perfect score! It was an opinion question. I agreed in part in other to have ideas to get my body paragraphs. Number of words 330 essay and 190 letter (computer-based IELTS is the best if you enjoy typing but hurrible hand written like me). I looked through all your model essays, and I discovered that my issues were mainly articles and punctuations).

Well done with your results 🙂 I’ve put loads of information about articles in my new Grammar E-book as well as a chapter on punctuation. I hope to have the e-book ready at the end of April or beginning of May 🙂

May I ask could I take both sides on the question like “Do you agree or disagree”?

Sorry, I think I just found the answer in the comments… 100% same. Which is strange. I thought agree or disagree should give only one position; and for “to what extent do you agree or disagree” require two positions.

Thanks for the great community!

They are the same instructions, just paraphrased.

Hi Liz, is “the key to solving these issues is” correct? Shouldn’t it be “the key to solve” ? Thank you

“the key to solving” is 100% correct. The word “to” is used as a preposition in this phrase, not as part of the verb.

Hi, Liz! I’ll have an IELTS test next week, but am still confused about agree-disagree essay.

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

Is that alright if I say on my introduction as follows: In my opinion, dress codes are significant in a working environment, while employees’ competence should matter as well.

My first body paragraph explains the reason why dress codes are important, and my second body paragraph is about why competence should matter.

I do hope you answer my question. Thank you, Liz! Get well soon.

You’ve got the right approach for a partial agreement. However, you need to address your English. “In my opinion, both dress codes and employee competence should be important to any employer.” Try to aim for accuracy and clear meaning in your written English. Don’t try to write in any particular style – just be clear and direct.

Wish me all the best liz!!… I ve covered all your lessons!!…

Thank you very much Liz. Your lessons were of immense help. I got the band score that I wanted.

That’s great to hear. Well done 🙂

Thanks for all time! We truly appreciate your efforts in making IELTS easier to tackle. However I would like to ask about recent questions reported by student for writing task 2. My exam is on the 13th of this month.

Thanks! Don’t forget to get well soon 🙂

I will post Recent Questions for January 2020 soon.

Hi Liz, Thank you soo much for your help.

Should we quote example only if they asked for it in the question or should we give it for all essay questions?

You give examples when you know of a good example to use that will help support and explain the main idea of the body paragraph.

Hi dr liz u r great soul i ever seen wish u a happy happy new year

Thanks 🙂 Happy New Year 🙂

Hi dear liz,wish u a very happy new year ,stay blessed always. U r the great soul i ever seen. I have a doubt regarding essay. If the question was asked about leadership innate or achieved opinion essay shall i write my balanced view lik this, i agree that this skill must be innate for political leadership i bliv this should be achieved for managerial leadership.is this stand ok for partly agree. Thanks in advance for reply

If you want a quantified response which you by you say it is X in this situation and Y in this, make sure your grammar and language are 100% clear. If you make any mistakes with that statement it could have serious consequences. So, make sure you write it clearly without any errors at all.

Its quite evident that the physical structure of humans are mainly measured in terms of average weight and height. This aspect of human body varies based on several factors. Also there are many speculations anticipated especially with respect to the optimal weight of any person. This requires a lot of monitoring and maintenance efforts to predict the health related outcomes of any individual who is known to be overweighted. I totally agree with some of the initiatives incorporated at the school levels in order to mitigate the above factor. School Managements in recent days have implemented diet related programs with the strong vision of maintaining advisable health care system, particularly for stalwarts who are considered be above the average weight. Furthermore, the students have to be encouraged rigorously to participate in sports, games and other outdoor activities. Now a days, we also find a typical gymnasium court with trained experts dedicated to help students who are weighing above the acceptance level. The above attempts can also be recommended to help students to address their depression levels if they are facing any sort of misbehaviour from their fellow mates. There are many real-time scenarious wherein a kid is illtreated or accused by his or her classmates due to their physical appearances pertaining to overweight. It should also be treated as key responsibilities of teachers especially physical fitness trainers in schools. Overall, these kind of programs will always stand as unique and responsive while addressing many health related issues due to overweight. Irrespective of any barriers pertaining to this, the schools shall give atmost importance to motivate students who are observed to be above the normal weight.

You definitely need to realise that an IELTS essay is an essay formed and structured in a particular way for this test to adhere to the band score requirements. You must first learn how to structure your essay. Look at all the differences between my model and your own essay. If you can’t see the differences, please get my advanced lessons which teachin how to write an IELTS essay step by step: https://elizabethferguson.podia.com/

Really you are a very good trainer.

How are you ? Will you please explain the difference between writing task 2 of academic and general? in your website nothing is mentioned like for academic and general for writing task 2. i am preparing for general. please let me know writing task 2 is same for academic and general or different ?

Go to the RED MENU BAR and select “Test Info”. You’ll see an option for GT IELTS information. Always use the MENU BAR to access what you need.

Hi Liz !thanku so much for your topic they are all very useful. I think I got a high band score for writing task 2 thankuuuuu sooo much dear.

That’s really good to hear !! Very well done 🙂

Hi liz, this is the first time I am commenting! Hope you are well. Please tell me where I can find the model answers of writting task 2 provided in your WT – 2 section !

You can find all model essays, tips etc in the main writing task 2 section of the website. Just click on the RED MENU BAR at the top of the page to open the section of the test you want to learn.

That’s is really great for my IELT practice and I’m just 13 and I’m gonna take it when I’m 13 and a half thanks for the information

Good luck 🙂

hi !!! Can we use ‘A LOT OF’ and ‘SO’ in task 2 ? as someone told me that we cannot use it in writing , reason being these both are INFORMAL. Is it true ?

No, that isn’t true. It’s completely fine to use those words.

Hey there!! Can we use “And” and “But” For the beginning of the sentence in between the body paragraphs to add and contrast information respectively ???

PLEASE PROVIDE ME WITH AN EXPLAINED INFORMATION ASAP, I WOULD BE GRATEFUL FOR THAT.

— Jasjit Singh

No, you can’t. See the linking words page for details: https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-writing-task-2/

Hi Liz , I sat for my academic test on the 28 of September, 2019. I got an overall score of 7.5. LRWS = 7.5, 8.0,6.0,8.0. For the Speaking questions. Part 1: 1.Tell me your full name please? 2. Do you work or study? 3.How is the weather in your country?. 4.Would you like to live in a place with a different weather from your country? 5. Where do you like to read? 6. Do you like to read in an hot weather or cold weather?. Part 2: Talk about an historical building you visited in your country. Part 3:1. Should the appearance of public buildings be designed ? 2. Do you think people should pay taxes to use public buildings? I can’t remember the other 3 questions she asked. For the reading questions, most of them were Yes, No, and Not given questions. I think I did well because the passages were close to what I studied in school. The listening was easy. I got lost in some places though. Writing Task 1. I was given a table to describe the population of people in Jakarta, Sao Paolo, and Bangkok in 1999 and 2001. There was a column for the projected population in 2001.The numbers were too close. I got confused a bit. Writing task 2: Some people believe that university admissions should only be offered to young people with the highest merits while some believe that admissions should be given to all people without considering their grade. Discuss both views and give your opinion. I didn’t finish my writing to my satisfaction. I think that’s the reason for my low score. Time finished faster than I thought. I just want to say Thank you Liz for everything. I learnt a lot from your lessons. Hopefully,i won’t write this exam again.

Well done with your results and thanks for sharing 🙂

Hi Liz, I love all your content. Thank you so much for helping us through IELTS. I just wan to know is there a difference between “Do you agree or disagree” and “to what extend do you agree or disagree ” also are opinion essays same as agree disagree essays ?

They are 100% the same.

Hi Liz, thanks for all your help to prepare for my IELTS exam. I can’t thank you enough. I have a doubt regarding “To what extent do you agree or disagree” question. Can I just see it as Agree or Disagree question and just take one side or do I need to address both the side? This question type is really confusing. Kindly advise me. Thanks again for all your help and you are indeed my God for IELTS 🙂 🙂

Thanks, Karthik

They are 100% the same essay – no difference at all.

I am also confused about “to what extend do u agree or disagree” and “Do u agree or disagree” Is there any diference in their answer plz explain

No, there is no difference at all.

hello madam I’m Nikhil I have a doubt that crushing my mind since 10days, please madam could you solve it.

my Institute tutor said we must follow this pattern for agree or disagree question Introduction paraphrase question thesis statement ( not mentioning agree or disagree)

para1 (agree|) statement ! example

para2 (agree) sate3ment2 example

para3 statement3 example

conclusion now I must discuss my opinion

Above essay can also write in vise verse with disagree madam, I already comment you, but you didn’t give reply madam please help me out from this problem, I would be ecstatic.

There is no such thing as a fixed content for body paragraphs. Of course you should state your opinion in the introduction – give your answer and then explain it in the body paragraphs. Please see my Advanced Writing Task 2 lessons if you need training: https://elizabethferguson.podia.com/

Hi Liz! Thank you for your lessons. They are all very useful.

I would like to ask your opinion regarding examples in body paragraphs.

To get a high band score for writing task 2, it is necessary to support and develop our main ideas. I found some websites recommend providing examples from surveys, polls, government report, etc to support main ideas. Is example really needed? Are there any other ways to support main ideas without using examples?

If we really want to give an example, does it have to be a real example? Can we fabricate false/unreal example?

I look forward to hearing from you.

Thank you, Liz!

Examples with data from sources are definitely not required. You can explain and illustrate your ideas in any way you want. Giving the source of information is a waste of time in IELTS because a) it is written as a learned phrase which doesn’t help your language score b) the examiner doesn’t mark data in task 2 so it won’t help your score either. You decide how to explain your main ideas. You can see most of my essays don’t have examples with data.

Thanks, Liz! It’s so helpful.

Hi Liz, i want to clear my doubts regarding this essay type. There is an essay question in your website which is about the rapid expansion of supermarkets because of which local shops are closing, and some people believe that this is causing death of local communities.

I disagreed with this argument and wrote that supermarkets provide efficacious results for native communities. In body paragraphs i wrote reasons of my opinion, and i hadn’t mentioned local shops in body paragraphs. I just wrote reasons to support my view that this and this are the advantages which benefit local communities. I want to ask is it okay to not mention local shops because i am supporting my view for supermarkets?

You can’t ignore part of the essay question. The fact presented to you is that supermarkets are expanding and local shows are closing. This is the basis of your essay. The opinion you tackle is “do you think this is the death of local communities?”. So, if you think supermarkets are good for local communities – do you also think it is good that local shops are closing?? You need to address the issue or issues in the question.

But if i also acknowledge that local shops are good for local communities then i might be contradicting my own agreed view point that supermarkets are good for local communities, so it means that i have to say that local shops are not good for local communities?

It would mean you have a partial agreement. You don’t have to agree with one side. Think more carefully about why you think supermarkets are good for local communities and then think about what effect local shops closing will have. Once you’ve brainstormed, analyse your ideas and think of exactly what your view is and how to you will express it. After that, plan supporting points. Hopefully you can now see how important planning is 🙂

Hi Liz… Your website is so helpful for me. Thank you much for that. My confusion is…. In this model esssy, there is no discussion about health system. Should we avoid discussion about it? I used to elaborate about helath system in one paragraph . Am I wrong? Please guide.

An opinion essay is not a discussion essay. This essay does not ask you to discuss the health care system. It is asking your opinion about whether you think the problem that obesity is causing on the health care system can be solved by offering more physical education in schools – do you agree with this solution?? Your whole essay from beginning to end is about your opinion of solutions to the problem.

Hi Liz, thank you for all the tips and essay examples. They really help us to achieve better scores on IELTS. Anyway, I was practicing this essay before reading the example, and I wrote it differently. So I want to know your opinion on how I wrote it.

In the first body paragraph, I wrote that including physical activities such as sports in schools’ curriculums is the best way to introduce children to an active and healthier life, giving the example of how US do this.

However, in the second body paragraph I explained that there are other approaches that should be done to countries witness a really dramatic decrease of healthcare use: lowing the taxes of companies that produce natural and organic food, to make these types of food cheaper to people, and making awareness campaigns about having a healthier diet.

I conclude restating that physical activities in schools are essential to create the habit of being physically active, but it should be combined with an awareness of healthy diet.

So the question is: can I agree and also include other aspects to the subject? Thank you!

Yes, of course. It’s called a partial agreement (or balanced approach). It means that you agree to some extent but not 100%. So, you would explain what you agree with and then add what else needs to be considered. I find this approach to be very useful sometimes because it’s easier to find unique ideas for each body paragraph which results in a more focused essay and also a better range of language. See my Advanced Writing Task 2 lessons if you want more training: https://elizabethferguson.podia.com/

Oh nice! That’s a relief. I don’t agree completely sometimes with the affirmation on the question, so I’ll look the page that you recommended. Thank you very much for the answer!

I love this response.

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Agree Disagree Essays in IELTS

Updated On Oct 13, 2023

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Table of Contents

Ielts writing task 2 agree or disagree essay, tips to write agree disagree essays, ielts agree disagree essay structure, agree disagree essay topics:.

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The agree or disagree essay questions are the most commonly asked in the IELTS examination . They are also called as argumentative essays.  In this type of essays, you are asked to give your opinion, whether you agree or disagree on the particular sentence that is given. You are given 40 minutes to complete the 250-word essay. Most of the students find it easy because you only have to agree and disagree with the sentence given. You have to support only one opinion.

There are few tips which will  help you to write about IELTS agree disagree essay questions, which are as follows:

• When you get these type of questions, it is advisable to completely agree or completely disagree with it. You have to support only one point of view and not both.
• By doing this, the essay will be more clear and structured and can be easily understood by the examiner.
• You can support the other side of the statement if you want to, but make sure that you do it in a positive way and also say it, only in one or two sentences.
• While writing the essay, make sure that the explanation given doesn’t hurt the feelings of the other person.
• The choice of agreement or disagreement has to be made carefully. You need to choose the side which has more supporting points and which you can illustrate with examples so that the answer that you write is voluminous. Please note that you have to either agree or disagree and cannot do both.
• Also, ensure that the introduction of the topic is not too long. The question should be paraphrased to form the introduction.
• The explanation that you give regarding the topic should match with the introduction and the conclusion given.
• There will be two or three body paragraphs, make sure that each paragraph has a central topic.
• The body paragraphs should include the main features that have to be explained and also your overview and an in-depth explanation of your opinion.
• You have to compulsorily write the conclusion. If you do not have time to complete the essay, make sure you at least write 2 or 3 sentences of conclusion, but the conclusion should be included.

In all the sections of the IELTS examination, structure plays a very important role because it will be easy for the test taker to write the answer. Also, the examiner will find it easy to evaluate the answer. So here is the structure that you can follow while writing an agree/disagree essay:

Paragraph 1: Introduction

How to start an agree disagree essay?

First of all, like any other section, the first sentence must be a paraphrase of the question that is given. In the second sentence, you can state your opinion regarding the topic. In the third sentence, you can write on what you are going to explain in the forthcoming paragraphs.

Paragraph 2: Body paragraph

In the second paragraph, the first sentence should be explaining the central idea. In the second sentence, explain in detail, assuming that the examiner doesn’t know anything about the topic. In the third sentence, you can give examples which support the sentence. In the last sentence, you can give the opposing point of view, but in a positive manner.

Paragraph 3: Body paragraph

The third paragraph is very similar to the second paragraph. The first sentence should explain the central idea. The second sentence, should include  supporting details and the third sentence, examples which support the idea.

Paragraph 4: Conclusion

In the last paragraph, you have to write a summary of the essay. In the first sentence, you can sum up the body paragraphs and rephrase your opinion.

Sample Checklist for Agree/Disagree essays:

• Some people who have been in prison become good citizens later. Some people think that inviting these people to talk to school students is the best way to tell them about dangers of committing a crime. Do you agree or disagree?
• The only way to improve road safety is to give much stricter punishments on driving offenses. To what extent do you agree or disagree?
• It is generally accepted that exercise is good for children and teenagers. Therefore, physical education and sport should be compulsory for all students in all schools. What do you think?

Take a look at some IELTS Agree/Disagree Essay sample answer

Also check :

• IELTS Writing tips
• IELTS Writing recent actual test
• IELTS Writing Answer sheet
• IELTS map vocabulary
• IELTS Writing Task 2

Frequently Asked Questions

Can agree/disagree essays be called as opinion essays?

Can I partially agree?

Can I skip the conclusion part if I’m running out of time. What weightage does that one liner consist of?

Can I use the word “I” such as ” I agree” or “I disagree”?

What is the structure of Agree/Disagree essays?

Practice IELTS Writing Task 2 based on Essay types

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Janet had been an IELTS Trainer before she dived into the field of Content Writing. During her days of being a Trainer, Janet had written essays and sample answers which got her students an 8+ band in the IELTS Test. Her contributions to our articles have been engaging and simple to help the students understand and grasp the information with ease. Janet, born and brought up in California, had no idea about the IELTS until she moved to study in Canada. Her peers leaned to her for help as her first language was English.

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IELTS Writing: Agree or Disagree Lesson with Sample Answer

Agree or disagree essays: ielts writing task 2 lesson.

This lesson will teach you how to write ‘agree or disagree’ or ‘opinion’ IELTS task 2 essays that could score a Band 7, 8 or 9.

Agree or disagree question types are among the most common on the IELTS writing paper, so you must learn how to write them properly.

In this post, we will look at:

Deciding Opinion

Idea generation.

• Writing an Effective Introduction
• Writing Supporting Paragraphs
• Writing a Conclusion

We will use a question from an IELTS past paper to help us understand the task.

Many students fail to do well in this type of question because they do not have a clear opinion and they do not use an appropriate structure .

The best structure you can use for this type of essay is:

Paragraph 1- Introduction

Sentence 1- Paraphrase Question

Sentence 2- Thesis Statement

Sentence 3- Outline Statement

Paragraph 2- Supporting Paragraph 1

Sentence 1- Topic Sentence

Sentence 2/3- Explain Topic Sentence

Sentence 3/4- Example

Paragraph 3- Supporting Paragraph 2

Paragraph 4- Conclusion

Sentence 1- Summary and reiteration of your opinion.

That’s it! Four paragraphs.

Note : You don’t have to use this structure; other structures can get you a high score. However, this structure has been approved by IELTS examiners to allow you to write a clear and cohesive essay. This structure will allow you to focus on generating your ideas and then writing an effective essay.

In this essay, IELTS examiners want you to give a clear opinion, so you must decide when you read the question. You will also need to do this to write an effective thesis statement.

Let’s look at an example:

In some countries, many people suffer from health problems due to eating too much fast food. It is, therefore, necessary for governments to impose a higher tax on this kind of food.

Do you agree or disagree?

  With this type of essay, we have two choices:

• We agree with the statement or;
• We disagree with the statement

Some teachers advise you to partly agree and disagree. However, I would NOT recommend this because it often leads to an essay with NO clear focus and a CONFUSING structure.

Therefore, for this agree or disagree essay, you can say either:

• This essay agrees that governments should tax fast food or;
• This essay disagrees that governments should tax fast food

I think I will have more ideas for A, so I’m choosing that one. Always choose the one you feel comfortable writing about – even if you don’t feel that way. You don’t get extra marks for writing about how you feel; you want to give the examiner what they need to score your essay a Band 7+.

Now we have to think of ideas for why governments should tax fast food.

Here are some:

• Cigarettes and alcohol are taxed in the same way
• The money raised could be used to treat people with health problems
• Fast food companies should be punished for selling unhealthy food to people
• Making the food more expensive would stop people from eating it
• The money raised could be used to educate people about healthy eating

We don’t need to use all of these, just two for our supporting paragraphs. I will pick the first and the fourth ones because I know a little about these two and feel confident I can expand on them with explanations and examples. Remember, the examiner wants you to fully support your arguments, not just list many ideas.

Now we have two supporting ideas; we can move on to our introduction.

Introduction

As previously stated, we will use the following structure:

For a more detailed explanation, please see our post on writing an effective introduction.

To paraphrase  the question, we restate it with a different meaning using synonyms. I will also reorder the question. Here is the question again:

In some countries, an increasing number of people are suffering from health problems due to eating too much fast food. It is, therefore, necessary for governments to impose a higher tax on this kind of food.

Paraphrased: It is argued that governments should levy a tariff on junk food because the health risks associated with consuming this kind of food are rising. 

This is our first sentence.

We now need to write our thesis statement. This is our opinion in one sentence. This essay will agree with the above statement and will, therefore, look like this:

This essay agrees that a higher rate of tax should be paid by fast-food companies.

This is our second sentence.

We now need to write our third and final sentence, which is the outline sentence . This sentence outlines what you will write about in the main body paragraphs.

Firstly, alcohol and tobacco companies already pay higher taxes; secondly, higher taxes could raise prices and lower consumption. 

So our full introduction will look like this:

It is argued that governments should levy a tariff on junk food because the number of health risks associated with consuming this kind of food is on the rise. This essay agrees that a higher rate of tax should be paid by fast-food companies. Firstly, alcohol and tobacco companies already pay higher taxes; secondly, higher taxes could raise prices and lower consumption.

We now need to write our supporting paragraphs for our agree or disagree essay:

Supporting Paragraph 1

This paragraph should include:

• Topic Sentence
• Explanation

A topic sentence tells the examiner about the rest of the paragraph. In other words, it is a summary of your first idea. It should look something like this:

Higher excise on liqueur and cigarettes has proven to curb the harm caused by these substances.

We now need to expand on this point a little. A good way of doing this is to assume that the examiner does not know this subject, and you must explain clearly what you mean. Here is what this could look like:

This revenue has been used to treat health problems associated with these products and has proven useful in advertising campaigns warning people about the dangers of alcohol and tobacco abuse. Tax from fast food could be used in the same way.

We should now think of an example to support our point. Think about any recent news stories, studies or adverts. If you can’t think of one, make one up. The examiner won’t check if it is real or not.

The United Kingdom is a prime example, where money from smokers is used to treat lung cancer and heart disease while at the same time, pumped into health campaigns in schools to warn children about the dangers of smoking.     

That’s it. Four sentences. The full paragraph should look like this:

Higher excise on liqueur and cigarettes has proven to curb the harm caused by these substances. This revenue has been used to treat health problems associated with these products and has proven useful in advertising campaigns warning people about the dangers of alcohol and tobacco abuse. Tax from fast food could be used in the same way. The United Kingdom is a prime example, where money from smokers is used to treat lung cancer and heart disease.

Supporting Paragraph 2

We now repeat the same formula with our second supporting point- higher taxes will increase prices and reduce consumption.

Our topic sentence:

Increasing taxes would raise prices and lower consumption.

Explaining this further:

Fast food companies would pass on these taxes to consumers in the form of higher prices, leading to people not being able to afford junk food because it is too expensive. Junk food would soon become a luxury item, and it would only be consumed occasionally, which would be less harmful to the general public’s health.

We now support our point with an example:

For instance, the cost of organic food has proven prohibitively expensive for most people, and that is why only a small percentage of the population buys it regularly.

The full paragraph would look like this:

Increasing taxes would raise prices and lower consumption. Fast food companies would pass on these taxes to consumers in the form of higher prices, leading to people not being able to afford junk food because it is too expensive. Junk food would soon become a luxury item, and it would only be consumed occasionally, which would be less harmful to the general public’s health. For instance, the cost of organic food has proven prohibitively expensive for most people, and that is why only a small percentage of the population buys it regularly.

Four sentences.

Conclusion  

As stated before, a good conclusion for agree or disagree essays should include:

Sentence 1- Summary of main points

Sentence 2- Your opinion

Don’t write any new ideas in this paragraph.

A good conclusion should restate your thesis statement and your main supporting points.

In conclusion, junk food should be taxed at a higher rate because of the good precedent set by alcohol and tobacco and the fact that the increased cost should reduce the number of fast-food people buy.

Agree or Disagree IELTS Sample Essay 

 In conclusion, junk food should be taxed at a higher rate because of the good precedent set by alcohol and tobacco and the fact that the increased cost should reduce the amount of fast-food people buy.

I hope you found this ‘agree or disagree’ essay IELTS lesson useful.

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