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IELTS Writing · Task 2

IELTS Writing Task 2 69 questions, 69 model answers

Task 2 is the essay, and it is worth twice as much as Task 1 in your Writing band. Every question below comes with a complete model answer and a measurement of what that answer does: sentence length, cohesive devices, vocabulary range. Free, no signup.

Written by Manish Sharma · CELTA and DELTA qualified · 8 years teaching IELTS

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What Task 2 is

You get 40 minutes and a written argument to make in at least 250 words. It is the second half of the Writing paper, but it carries twice the weight of Task 1, so if you are short of time it is the one to protect. The question always states a position or a situation and then tells you what to do with it: agree or disagree, discuss both views, explain the causes, suggest solutions. That instruction is the whole task. Answering a different question well is the fastest way to cap your Task Response band, and it happens most often to candidates who recognise the topic and stop reading.

The four things you are marked on

Task Response asks whether you answered the question that was asked, covered every part of it, and held a clear position throughout. Coherence and Cohesion asks whether the reader can follow the argument: paragraphing, logical order, and the linking words that signal how one idea relates to the next. Lexical Resource is vocabulary range and precision, not length or difficulty. Grammatical Range and Accuracy is the mix of structures and how often they are right. All four carry equal weight. That matters more than it sounds: a candidate with excellent grammar and a memorised essay that half answers the question does worse than one with ordinary grammar who answers it directly.

The word count, and why going under it is worse than it looks

The minimum is 250 words. Going under it is penalised directly under Task Response, and the penalty is not the only cost: an underlength essay is almost always underdeveloped, so it loses marks a second time for thin arguments. The median model answer in this library is 291 words, which is the range to aim for. Well over 300 is not rewarded and eats the time you need for Task 1. Wording copied from the question does not count towards the total, so padding an introduction with the prompt does nothing at all.

How to use this library

Write first, read second. A model answer read before you attempt the question teaches you almost nothing, because you cannot notice what you would have missed once you have been shown it. So pick a question, set 40 minutes, write, and only then open the model answer. Each page measures the model answer it publishes: how long its sentences run and how much they vary, which cohesive devices it uses and how many different functions they cover, how much of its vocabulary repeats, and how many words it copies from the question. Compare your own answer against those numbers before you compare the wording. The measurements are the part you can act on.

Opinion questions (agree or disagree) (19)

The question states a position and asks how far you agree. Pick a side in the introduction and hold it. A balanced answer to an opinion question is the single most common way a strong writer loses marks on Task Response.

Public Transport vs Roads Investment · Government Spending267-word model answer · AcademicPractical Skills in School Curriculum275-word model answer · General TrainingShould Primary Schools Teach Money Management?292-word model answer · General TrainingAre Traditional Festivals Losing Their Meaning?289-word model answer · AcademicPublic Transport vs Roads Investment · Policy277-word model answer · AcademicShould Fast Food Be Taxed to Reduce Obesity?307-word model answer · AcademicWorking From Home: Younger or Older Workers?294-word model answer · General TrainingOnline Communication and Face-to-Face Skills327-word model answer · AcademicBanning Mobile Phones While Driving296-word model answer · AcademicTourism and Damage to Destinations277-word model answer · AcademicCompulsory Art and Music in Secondary School293-word model answer · General TrainingShould Secondary School Pupils Do Community Service?300-word model answer · AcademicShould Home-Grown Food Labels Be Legally Promoted?295-word model answer · AcademicIs Relocation to Cities for Work a Positive or Negative Trend?275-word model answer · General TrainingIs Creativity Innate or Can It Be Taught?285-word model answer · AcademicShould Employers Allow Time Off for Family Emergencies?314-word model answer · General TrainingAre Customers Becoming Too Demanding of Businesses?319-word model answer · General TrainingShould Countries Aim for Self-Sufficiency?267-word model answer · AcademicShould Universities Set Gender Quotas in Subject Enrolment?274-word model answer · Academic

Discussion questions (both views) (29)

You are asked to discuss two views and then give your own. All three parts have to be there. Leaving out your own view caps Task Response no matter how well the two sides are argued.

Does Technology Make People Less Social?263-word model answer · AcademicShould University Education Be Free?292-word model answer · AcademicReducing Crime Through Education307-word model answer · AcademicSpace Exploration vs Funding Earthly Problems282-word model answer · AcademicPractical Skills vs Academic Theory at University302-word model answer · AcademicDo Pets Benefit Children's Development?326-word model answer · General TrainingWorking After School vs Going to University290-word model answer · General TrainingIs Travel the Best Way to Learn About Other Cultures?297-word model answer · General TrainingExtreme Sports: Ban or Life Skills?320-word model answer · AcademicOne Foreign Language or Several?319-word model answer · General TrainingThe Influence of Advertising on Consumers275-word model answer · General TrainingIs History the Most Important Subject Schools Teach?308-word model answer · AcademicShould the Retirement Age Be Raised?309-word model answer · General TrainingCity or Countryside: Where Is It Better to Raise Children?309-word model answer · AcademicShould Museums Be Free, or Should They Charge for Entry?314-word model answer · General TrainingReading Fiction: Beneficial or a Waste of Time?307-word model answer · AcademicDedicated Cycling Lanes: Encouragement or Disruption?306-word model answer · General TrainingCompetition Between Students: Healthy or Harmful?285-word model answer · General TrainingSugar Taxes and Obesity303-word model answer · AcademicAre Zoos Still Relevant for Conservation?291-word model answer · General TrainingShould Governments Invest in Public Art?303-word model answer · General TrainingShould Voting Be Made Compulsory?286-word model answer · AcademicAre Video Games Educational or Harmful?289-word model answer · General TrainingShould Friends Lend Each Other Money or Valuable Items?310-word model answer · General TrainingShould Employees Be Allowed to Work Flexible Hours?323-word model answer · General TrainingRenewable Energy: Government or Individual Responsibility?273-word model answer · AcademicReducing Urban Traffic: Private or Public Solutions?266-word model answer · AcademicAre Older People Being Left Behind by Technology?275-word model answer · AcademicShould Universities Spend More on Facilities or Teaching?273-word model answer · Academic

Problem and solution questions (2)

Name the problem precisely before you solve it. Vague problems produce vague solutions, and the examiner is marking whether your solution actually addresses the problem you named.

Problems of Sedentary Lifestyles and Government Solutions288-word model answer · General TrainingChildren, Television and Screen Time272-word model answer · General Training

Advantages and disadvantages (8)

Read the last line carefully. 'Do the advantages outweigh the disadvantages' asks for a judgement; 'discuss the advantages and disadvantages' does not. Answering the wrong one is a Task Response penalty.

Working from Home: Advantages and Disadvantages303-word model answer · General TrainingWorking From Home Permanently · Advantages and Disadvantages287-word model answer · AcademicRapid Adoption of Electric Vehicles · Advantages and Disadvantages278-word model answer · AcademicOnline Learning Replacing Traditional Classrooms · Advantages and Disadvantages284-word model answer · AcademicMoving to a Cashless Society · Advantages and Disadvantages285-word model answer · General TrainingThe Growth of Global Tourism · Advantages and Disadvantages287-word model answer · General TrainingUsing AI to Make Hiring Decisions · Advantages and Disadvantages297-word model answer · General TrainingPedestrianised Town Centres · Benefits and Drawbacks277-word model answer · Academic

Two-part questions (2)

Two direct questions, both of which need an answer. Give each one its own body paragraph so the examiner can see both are covered.

Are Celebrities Paid Too Much?289-word model answer · General TrainingWhy Working From Home Has Grown, and Whether the Trend Will Last283-word model answer · Academic

Every other Task 2 question (9)

The rest of the bank, by topic. Task 2 topics repeat across sittings: education, environment, technology, health, work and crime cover most of what appears.

Has Technology Improved Education?290-word model answer · AcademicWorking From Home · Employees vs Employers292-word model answer · General TrainingFunding Space Exploration vs Solving Earth's Problems288-word model answer · AcademicAre Four-Day Work Weeks Realistic for Most Industries?296-word model answer · AcademicUrbanisation and Rising Housing Costs282-word model answer · AcademicWhy Social Media Harms Mental Health, and Its Effects on Young People274-word model answer · General TrainingBusiness Travel · Advantages for Companies and Problems for Family Life337-word model answer · AcademicRenewable Energy Investment · Benefits and Barriers345-word model answer · AcademicStudying Abroad · Benefits to the Home Country and Personal Challenges357-word model answer · General Training

Frequently asked questions

How many words should IELTS Writing Task 2 be?+

At least 250. Below that you are penalised under Task Response, and the essay is usually underdeveloped as well, which costs a second time. The model answers in this library run to a median of 291 words.

Is Task 2 worth more than Task 1?+

Yes. Task 2 carries twice the weight of Task 1 in your Writing band. If you are running out of time, protect Task 2.

Are these real IELTS Writing Task 2 questions?+

They are written in the format and register of the exam, across the topics that recur in it. Real exam questions are not published by the test owners, so no site can offer them. What matters is that the task shape and the marking criteria are the same.

Should I memorise a model answer?+

No. Memorised essays are recognisable and examiners mark them down under Task Response because they answer a general topic rather than the specific question. Use the model answers for structure, cohesion and vocabulary, then write your own.

Can I get my Task 2 essay scored for free?+

Yes. Paste it into the IELTS writing checker and you get a band for each of the four criteria plus the sentences costing you marks, in about 30 seconds, with no card required.

Reading about it is not practising it. Get a band in seconds.

Write an answer to any question above, paste it in, and get a band for each criterion with the sentences that cost you marks.

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