This is an IELTS Energy Podcast, Episode 1551, How to Have Ideas for Every Writing Task 2 Essay.
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Hello, Aubrey.
How's it going?
Good to be over here on IELTS Energy, yeah?
Yes.
Hello, Lindsay.
How are you doing?
Good.
Ready to talk through IELTS.
What are we getting into today?
I have a question.
I know that you are a good conversationalist, Lindsay.
Thank you.
Where do you find ideas of interesting things to talk about?
I think it's just consuming a lot like reading the news, talking to people, just keeping my eyes open to culture news politics, interesting things happening in society.
Yeah, same.
And I think we've all met you know, people who don't do that as much.
And the conversation doesn't always go very far, you don't have quite as much to talk about.
Yeah, so yeah, it's interesting.
And the same skills that make you a good conversationalist also make you really good at writing.
Task two essays.
So we're going to answer a really good question here and dive into some strategies that you need and how you need to preparing to have all of the ideas you need for task two.
Yeah, because we know that the ultimate goal is not a seven or higher on writing.
It is getting past IELTS, but we have to get that usually that seven or higher on writing to get past IELTS.
So this is where we want to focus in with our prep time.
Well, and that's the nice thing that these skills will help you get the writing score you need, but then also be so helpful with your English after IELTS, connecting getting the job you want, having interesting conversations in English.
It's so true.
Because what if you score high?
You get to your country and now you're not making friends or you're not building your social network, you're not going to be happy or successful in that new country.
So these skills go way beyond IELTS, Aubrey.
Exactly.
So I'll share the question.
This was from one of our IELTS webinars, from Hina Khan, who said I need help generating ideas in writing.
Task two
This is such a great question.
And this is something that has to be practiced ahead of time.
If you're in the test center on test day and that's the first time you've started trying to think of ideas to answer a task, two topic, you're not going to have time.
It would take you far too long to brainstorm.
You'll know you've made a grave mistake if it's the first time you're brainstorming.
That's why we're here learning about this now.
So but before we get into it, Aubrey, we do want to announce Spotify poll results.
Guys, if you listen on Spotify, you can participate in our amazing polls.
What was the question, Aubrey?
Yes.
So we asked, have your IELTS results ever been withheld?
We were talking about someone asked about their IELTS results being withheld in episode 1538.
And 25% of those who responded said yes.
75% said no.
So it's interesting.
This is happening.
Definitely go back and listen to that episode if you missed it, so that if this happens, you know why it might have.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Really interesting topic.
And while you're over there in Spotify, hit the follow button, whether you're in Spotify or Apple Podcasts or even our YouTube channel.
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All right.
Yes, exactly.
So we are going to share today what you should be doing to get ideas for task two essays.
And then we're also going to do a brainstorm of a recent task to question from November of twenty twenty five.
So stay to the end so that you can see us use these strategies to go through that brainstorm.
All right, let's do it.
So what's our first tip for our listeners?
What do we need to know?
So when brainstorming, the best thing is to use real examples.
IELTS encourages you to draw from your own experience.
So of course, you want to think of experiences that you have had related to the topic, or that someone you know who does.
But for a lot of IELTS Task 2 topics, you won't have personal experience.
So it's interesting.
You need a lot of options.
You need a lot of information from, like you said Lindsay, you know all of these different sources where we can be learning about societal issues.
But sometimes the best thing to do is think of an example from your personal life, and that will help you know what to support.
So when you do that, the first thing we want to do is answer the W's, right, Lindsay?
The W's are the who, what, when, where, what and how.
I remember we learned these when like in journalism classes in school.
Right.
Who, what, when, where, why was what we learned.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And thinking about answers to those questions is going to give you a lot to write about, is going to help you think of examples and details right,
Yeah.
So we're going to go over a really interesting strategy here that when you first see an IELTS Task 2 topic, you can work backwards.
So you first think of an example before choosing your main idea or before even deciding on your opinion.
What is an example that you could share that would support it?
Okay, so we start, we work backwards.
I love it.
So what's the example topic first?
Yeah, let's go over an example topic.
This is also from a very recent IELTS exam.
Someone reported getting this task two topic.
In many countries, coffee chains are expanding rapidly, which some claim threatens the survival of small local cafes.
To what extent do you agree or disagree?
So if you haven't thought about this much before, the first thing you want to do is work backwards.
What is your personal experience?
Like Lindsay, answer for us if you had to write this.
What is your personal experience with a coffee chain like Starbucks, for example?
Yeah.
I mean, I find that they're super convenient, but they're a bit all the same every time, no matter where you go.
And sometimes I do want that local flavor.
I want to chat with my barista and feel like I'm in a local place.
Yes, absolutely.
And this is where we'd need to think.
You know, have I personally seen these chains push out small local cafes right?
Wherever you live, have you seen small cafes close?
And it seemed like they couldn't compete with these bigger chains, right?
I mean, I know I have.
Have you seen it?
Yes.
Yeah, definitely.
There's like a small neighborhood cafe that's no longer open because it's easier, quicker to go through the drive-through of the chain right.
Oh, so sad.
Yeah.
So this is an interesting question because, of course, you have to answer the question directly.
And a lot of students will read a question like this and they start thinking, you know.
And then the problem is if the opinion you share is, for example, that you prefer local cafes, or That would be off topic, right.
Because, with what this topic is asking, your opinion needs to be whether you agree that coffee chains threaten the survival of local cafes or not.
So when you go to come up with your example, look at the question, look back to the question, make sure you know is this an example just of which I like more?
Or is it an example of a local cafe that closed down because of the coffee chain?
That's a really good point.
So the importance of staying really tight to the question, constantly going back.
As we're writing, we're brainstorming our examples.
And then as we move into the writing phase, are we actually answering the question?
That's hugely important, Aubrey.
I'm so glad you said that.
Especially if, as you're practicing, you've answered a kind of related topic and And then the one you get on test day might be just different enough that if you read it quickly, you might end up answering the wrong question.
So, just like you said Lindsay, as you're brainstorming, look back at the topic, read it again, make sure that you're directly answering that topic.
Stay on topic for the highest task response scores.
Love it.
And then where should we get our ideas, Sabri?
I mean, where can we go?
Once you have your example, you need details, right?
You need supporting details.
And these you're collecting as you listen to and read English, right?
Just like Lindsay was saying, the same places we get interesting ideas for conversations, podcasts.
TV shows and not just like sitcoms, but maybe documentaries, right?
TV shows that are more about societal issues.
Yeah, for sure.
News reports, watching the news, maybe YouTube channels.
Like you said, documentaries are good.
Movies.
There's just I think there's also an element of curiosity that we kind of have to have, right?
Because we want we have to want to consume those things in order to get the information.
Exactly.
Right.
So just like you don't want to be in the conversation, that where you're just saying, like interesting, I hadn't heard that before.
I hadn't thought of that.
You also want interesting details to add, something you've heard on a podcast, something you've read in an article.
This is vital for writing task two.
In order to have those interesting supporting details, you need to be taking in a lot of English on these topics that come up on IELTS a lot the environment, the economy, all of these social issues that you need to have details to write about.
Yeah.
And we know that a lot of our top scoring students in our Three Keys IELTS course.
This is exactly what they did, right.
They made it part of their preparation, part of their study plan to consume and consume and consume.
So they were filled up with ideas by the time they were ready for test day.
Exactly.
So let's take a quick break and then we are going to do a sample brainstorm.
So stick around to the end so you can see how this works on test day.
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Okay, Aubrey, let's jump into a sample.
Brainstorm as promised.
So this is an IELTS writing task two question, right?
Yes.
And it's from an IELTS exam, November 12th.
Do you want to read the question for us, Lindsay?
Here we go.
Some people think the government should subsidize fruits and vegetables to make healthy food more affordable.
Others argue that the government should tax unhealthy food instead.
Discuss both views and give your opinion.
So when we do the brainstorm, first step is to figure out what type of essay is required.
And it's a very specific one for this, right?
Because it says discuss both views.
Mm hmm.
Yep.
Yep.
Love that.
So then so it's an argument essay.
Is that right?
Exactly right.
You're going to discuss one side of the issue in the first body paragraph, the other side in the second body paragraph, just like the.
The instructions require.
It's a little cut and dry because there aren't options here.
Okay.
So it sounds like we need an idea to support both sides then, yeah?
Exactly, right?
Examples and ideas, not just supporting your opinion which of these you agree with, but both sides of the argument.
Exactly.
Okay.
All right.
Where would we start with a brainstorm then?
Yeah.
So let's separate this out.
We have the first side, that the government should subsidize fruits and vegetables to make healthy food more affordable.
So that's the first thing you do.
If you do this strategy of working backwards, You're first thinking about your personal experience.
So, Lindsay, what about you?
Do you think if the government made fresh products more affordable, would you eat more of them?
Or has this happened for you ever?
I don't think it's ever happened as far as I know, but I probably would.
I mean, I already eat kind of a lot of those, but I probably would eat even more.
Let's just say that.
Yes.
Yeah.
Get more organic stuff, probably.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And this is interesting to think about.
This is the type of topic that, if you haven't ever thought about it before, the brainstorm would take you a second.
You know, you might want to think of someone you know who buys unhealthy food because it's cheaper, or is it related to?
Is it health or is it the cost?
Right.
Right, exactly.
There's a lot here.
So, reflecting on what you've maybe heard on podcasts or on the news you've learned from documentaries, there's a lot out right now in the US about the food stamps.
Getting the quality of what's being given out with SNAP benefits are actually is going down significantly.
Have you heard about that, Aubrey?
Yes.
And that would be a perfect thing to talk about here.
Or I saw an article that there were fruit and vegetable subsidies like this in Europe and they have successfully increased fruit and vegetable sales and purchases.
So there is a correlation there and it makes sense.
Interesting.
And then what's the side number two?
Because again, we have to argue both sides.
So side number two is another way of getting at the problem, which is the government should tax unhealthy food.
I'm a fan of this one.
Yes, it makes sense, right?
And so again, when you're coming with the example, I know that in some countries Mexico and the UK for sure they have taxed sugary drinks, which has led to a reduction in consumption.
So that if you've heard about that on a podcast or read articles about it, that would be a perfect example here.
It has been proven to work.
Yeah, this idea of You know, instead of banning something, just make people pay more if they want to smoke cigarettes or buy chips or soda.
I think.
But yeah, this makes sense, right?
So clearly, if you were to write this task too, that's the side.
Your opinion would be supporting that side.
But everyone out there, whoever, if you're writing this task too, that would be up to you to decide.
But you would, again, need to make sure that your opinion is clearly stated.
Which do you think works better?
Which makes more sense, right?
And so then, if you have that example, I looked up and Gastropod had an episode series called The Great Soda Wars about that, going into all of The effectiveness and the impact to public health.
They had all of these studies.
So that's where you certainly won't have listened to every podcast, but you should be looking for these types of podcasts and articles about the types of social issues that come up often on IELTS.
Yeah.
Public health is a big one, right?
That's huge.
And that can mean so many things.
It can mean vaccines, disease prevention, nutrition, poverty.
It can mean so much.
But definitely, I think that broadly as a topic would be something to look into.
Exactly.
But I think this.
Going through this brainstorm and sort of talking through our thoughts about it and the ideas we would have really highlights how important it is to do that ahead of time.
If, on test day, that's the first time you start thinking about, what do I think about these different public health issues?
You have such a limited amount of time, five minutes for that brainstorm.
So those ideas need to be top of mind and the work for that is done ahead of time.
A hundred percent.
Yep.
That's part of your preparation work.
And, you know, obviously we can't control what question we're going to get.
We might get an unlucky, obscure question, but you're reducing the chances of that happening.
If you expose yourself to lots of information, ask your friends what they think of these.
This is a really interesting topic.
What should we do?
Should we tax people more for unhealthy things, or should we ban them?
Or should we subsidize healthier things?
It's a fascinating conversation.
It is fascinating.
It's not controversial, but people will have different opinions.
So it makes for an interesting conversation.
Ideas for a task to essay, and then interesting conversations in real life.
Yeah.
See what your friends think.
Bring it up at a dinner party.
I mean, this is the stuff we want to be talking about anyways.
Right.
Exactly.
So we have a Spotify poll we want you to fill out.
We are interested.
What do you find most difficult about task two?
So the ideas here you could choose generating ideas using high scoring vocabulary or providing those supporting details and examples.
So come back to Spotify, fill out that poll so that we know what is hard about task two.
Yeah, let us know guys, because we can create more content in the new year based on what you struggle with the most.
So make sure you make your voice heard there.
And while you're at it, check out episode 1547.
How can I write longer IELTS essays?
Yeah.
Yeah, that's tricky, right?
They can't be too short.
You have to completely answer the question.
So if you missed that one, scroll up and check it out.
Yeah.
Any final takeaway, Aubrey, that we should leave our listeners with?
Yeah.
Don't wait until test day to practice brainstorming, to practice thinking of ideas and to practice this strategy to come up with the example first and then work backwards, then decide your opinion and come up with supporting details.
It's the easiest way to brainstorm.
Love it.
So good.
Always be consuming.
ABC.
Yes, definitely.
All right.
Good stuff.
Aubrey, you have a good rest of your day.
Thanks for being on the show today.
You too.
See you next time.
All right.
Bye.
Thanks for listening to IELTS Energy.
Hit subscribe now, and don't forget to find your estimated band score at allearsenglishcom.
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