IELTS Writing Part Two Analysis

Analysing IELTS Writing Task 2 questions

Look at this Writing Part 2 task below related to cities and answer the questions below:

Write about the following topic:   1. Many people say that modern city life is unnatural and doesn’t suit humans, while others think it is preferable to people’s traditional existence in the countryside. Examine both sides of the argument and give your own conclusion.   Give reasons for your answer and give any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience. Write at least 250 words.

 

• What exactly do you need to do to answer the question?
• How is this task different from IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 tasks?
• How many paragraphs will the essay need (to achieve the task)?
• What would the topic of each body paragraph be?
• What needs to go in the introduction of that essay?
• What needs to go in the final paragraph of that essay?
• How many ideas does each body paragraph need? How can you come up with such ideas? Do you need to worry about the ideas being good ones?
• How can you support your ideas?
• What should you do when you turn the page and look at the task? What stages would planning and writing Task 2 have, and how much time would you spend on each part?

Look at the alternative tasks below and discuss how your answers to the questions above would be similar or different

Alternative tasks – to go in the place in bold in the task above

2. Many people say that modern city life is unnatural and doesn’t suit humans. To what extent do you agree with this idea?

 

3. Some people think that people should be encouraged to move out of cities and back to the countryside. What could be the advantages and disadvantages of taking such an approach, and which of those factors would be the most important?

 

4. Some people have suggested moving government out of the capital city. In your opinion, who should decide on such matters and what factors should they take into account?

 

5. Some countries have a policy of having a limit to the growth of cities, with a “green belt” of countryside around them that cannot be built on. Discuss whether this is a good policy in the majority of cases, and what exceptions there might be.

 

6. All over the world people are moving into cities. What are the reasons for this, and what consequences are there for the people and the environment?

 

Discuss the questions above, trying to follow what you discussed about what you need to say, what order you say it in, what support you can use for your arguments, etc.