This is the IELTS Energy Podcast, Episode 1528.
What type of IELTS Task 2 essay should I write?
Welcome to the ielts energy podcast from all ears english, downloaded more than 35 million times, with examiner trained ielts wiz aubrey carter and lindsay mcmahon, the english adventurer.
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Don't miss the most important step when you write an IELTS essay figuring out what kind of essay you should write.
It's not always obvious from the question.
Build a key IELTS writing skill in today's episode.
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Hey, Lindsay, how are you?
Good, Aubrey.
How's it going?
Excellent.
Question for you.
Did you have a hard time writing essays when you were in college?
You know honestly, in graduate school I found essays harder because the literature and just the rigor of the work was harder.
But in college I feel like I just I just followed the structure that I was given and it really wasn't that hard.
You know, the master's thesis, that was difficult.
You have to do research and research and quote all of these sources, all the reading, all the reading in graduate school.
It's so much I could never go back.
I actually just my daughter.
She's in college and she just had a professor reach out asking if she could use her essay as an example for future courses.
I was like, that is the ultimate compliment.
I don't think I ever got that.
She should be proud of that.
She is proud.
I'm proud of her as well.
But essays can be really difficult.
Your task to essay.
There's so much that goes into it.
We got a really great question about sort of the brainstorming side of things today.
Yes, I'm excited for this.
So should I go ahead and just read the question, Aubrey?
Yeah, let's do it.
This is from one of our amazing listeners, and they said, I have a question.
I find it difficult to decide what type of essay I should write about the following.
Immigration has a major impact on society.
What are the main reasons for immigration?
To what consequences can it lead?
The listener is wondering, should they only write a problem essay with no solution?
What should they do?
Such a good question.
Yes.
So you can see how essays are worded in a lot of different ways, right?
We know that there are these problem solution essays, but often they're worded more like this.
The word problem might not be there.
The word solution might not be there.
But really, if you think about what's being asked, what are the main reasons of this is still asking what are the causes, what is the problem?
And then to what consequences can it lead, what are the effects, right?
So sometimes it'll be a problem-solution essay, sometimes it'll be cause and effect, but those actual words won't always be in the answer.
And this is truly part of preparation.
It's preparing how to think about what kind of essay to write, which is a huge skill for the exam, right?
Exactly.
This can save you so much time on test day.
If you have already practiced this, you've read a lot of topics and you know immediately what type of essay that you should write.
Hugely important for your time management on writing.
Oh my gosh.
So, all right, let's let's dig in.
I think our listeners are again.
What else do we want to say here?
Yeah.
So we're going to share today five recent task, two questions and which type of essay you should write, because a lot of them are more like this one.
The listener sent in, where it's not always immediately evident what's being asked.
What type of essay should be written?
You do need this experience reading essays and thinking about what type of essay would I write.
I love that.
This is going to be a very useful episode for anyone anywhere on the IELTS journey.
But first hit follow on the show, guys.
We publish two days a week and you don't want to miss a single episode of IELTS Energy.
Right?
Absolutely.
Yes, guys, wherever you listen to your podcast, make sure that you hit follow.
Sometimes there are bonus episodes as well that you'll miss if you're not following the show.
Yes.
All right, let's get into it.
So the first example of an ambiguous question where we're not quite sure what kind of essay we should write.
What would it be, Aubrey?
All right, I'll read the topic for us.
Some feel that the best way to ensure a happy home life for children is for parents to take a parenting course once a year.
Others disagree.
Discuss both sides and give your own opinion.
So what type of essay would this be, Lindsay?
All right.
So we believe this should be or we know this should be an argument essay, because it sounds like the question is directly saying discuss both sides of the issue.
Exactly.
Right.
You have less options here.
Right.
You can't just write your opinion because the directions explicitly state discuss both sides.
So the best organization is to first write about the side you don't agree with and in the first body paragraph, and then the side that you agree with in the second body paragraph.
Okay.
Yeah.
And what's the reason for that?
Why is that the best way to do that, Aubrey?
Any thoughts on that?
Yeah, that's the easiest structure where you can share a reason for the side you don't agree with.
And then because you want your opinion to be clear and consistent throughout the essay.
You're going to be stating your opinion in the introduction.
And then again in the second body paragraph, where you are stating the side that you agree with, and then you're restating it again in the conclusion.
So this is the easiest way to keep your opinion clear and consistent throughout the essay.
You certainly could write about the side you agree with first, but it makes a little less sense because you've just stated your opinion.
So then to immediately state it again and defend it is just a little bit of a weaker structure.
I think that makes sense.
That makes total sense.
But what if in the question it just said, give your opinion?
Yeah, which doesn't say discuss both sides.
Yeah, this is where you can decide.
You can either write an opinion essay where both body paragraphs share reasons for your opinion, reasons for the one side of an argument, or you can still write an argument essay, if you choose where you're writing about one side and then the side you agree with.
So if it's, and this is pretty common, that just says, what is your opinion?
Or give reasons for your opinion.
That's where you have a little flexibility.
Yes, I love that.
Okay, very clear answer.
We're ready for number two.
I'm excited.
Here is the question.
Many people feel that media coverage has become increasingly biased today.
Why is this and what can be done to fix the problem?
How would we answer this, Aubrey?
So this is a problem solution essay.
You will write about the causes for this problem in the first body paragraph and then writing about the solutions in the second body paragraph.
Yeah.
So when we see keywords, are there keywords we might see, like what can be done to fix something, or like you know what I mean.
So the keywords are more in that first sentence, right?
You're looking for what has to be covered in this topic.
So here we have media coverage. increasingly biased.
So then, but you have to answer both of these questions.
So some topics will give you two questions like this.
Some will just sort of say like, what are the problems and what are the solutions?
Or they'll restate that another way.
This is a little bit easier, where you can just take both of these questions and answer them each in their own paragraph.
All right.
Anything else we need to know about how we would answer this in a problem solution?
Yeah.
So you've heard this from us before, but this is really key.
Don't forget to include your opinion.
One of the most common mistakes we see with these types of essays, because it doesn't say what is your opinion or share your opinion explicitly in the topic.
Don't forget that the instructions for task two explicitly ask you to share your opinion, and it is required by the scoring section.
The scoring system.
In fact, you can't score even higher than a four on task response if you have no position at all.
That's band three or lower for task response.
Band three?
I've never even heard of band three.
That's crazy.
That's really going to pull down your overall score.
And this is if no position, if you're just answering the question and providing all these but don't have anything that shares your own opinion, then your task response score will be very low.
That's a punishment that would, like you said, bring down the overall average across the four score points, right?
And this happens less when if in this actual topic, it says, just, you know, give your own opinion.
But don't forget, whether it says that or not, your opinion is required in every task two essay.
Exactly.
All right, here's number three.
Nowadays, it's easier for young people to have a credit card compared to the past.
Do the advantages of this trend outweigh the disadvantages?
Okay, so this is what we call an advantages-disadvantages essay in Three Keys IELTS.
And what's really vital here is that you note the plural.
If there's a plural, you're being asked about advantages, plural, and disadvantages.
Then in order to satisfy the task requirement here, you have to share at least two.
This is more difficult.
You can either share two that are related and details and examples that support them both.
Or if you have separate ones, right, they're each going to need supporting details and examples.
You can never just have an advantage on its own with no support.
Well, this episode really emphasizes to me how important it is to read the question carefully.
Definitely know exactly what you're looking for.
Do I see a plural like advantage advantages that triggers one action that I know I have to do?
It's so careful in terms of how we need to read the question.
Absolutely.
You must really be aware of what you're being asked to write about.
You have to understand the question.
Read it a couple of times.
You should be spending five minutes brainstorming, making sure you understand the question quickly, deciding which type of essay you will write and then making sure you note those plurals.
Don't forget your opinion, no matter what.
What is my opinion?
And be ready to support it.
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Okay, we are back from break, Brie.
Now we have another one.
Yes, we have two more.
Do you want me to read this one?
Yeah.
Here we go.
Huge companies like Walmart and Amazon are very popular, but they have put many small, local or family-run companies out of business.
Why are companies like Amazon so popular?
How can we create balance between big companies and small businesses?
It's a great question.
It's a really good question.
Right.
I'm always thinking about this.
Yeah.
So what kind of essay would this be and why?
Yeah.
So if you look at those questions and really think about what they're asking, this is a problem solution essay.
Right.
The problem is sort of laid out here that small family run businesses are being put out of work.
And when it says, why are companies like Amazon so unpopular?
Right. or so popular, right?
It's asking like, what is the root of this problem?
What causes this problem?
The easiest thing to do here, this is a really key strategy.
When you have two questions like this, just take each one and answer it very directly in its own body paragraph.
It's going to be the best way to structure it.
It's the best way to make sure that you directly address everything in the task.
I love that idea.
So you're saying that our answer to why are companies like Amazon so popular would be paragraph one?
Exactly.
Or paragraph two after your intro, I guess.
Yep, your first body paragraph, correct.
First and second body would be how can we create balance between big companies and small businesses?
Exactly.
So you don't even want to spend two seconds deciding?
All right.
What is the actual problem at just answer that first question in a body paragraph with strong support examples and then do the same for the second paragraph in that second question?
When we put it that way, it seems more straightforward than we think, right?
It's like sometimes we're reading between the lines and sometimes we're just blatantly answering exactly what they ask, right?
Exactly, right?
The only trick is if the question just says like, why is this?
Then you have to look back at the topic.
Okay, what are that?
Why is what?
What exactly are they asking about?
Love it.
All right.
Are we ready for the last one of the day?
Yeah, let's do it.
All right.
Here's number five.
In numerous nations, there's a growing trend for individuals to frequently discuss financial matters, such as their earnings or expenditures, in everyday conversation.
What are the reasons behind this phenomenon and is it advantageous or detrimental?
All right.
This is interesting.
This is what we call a mixed essay, where you will have a combination of either problems and advantages or reasons behind like this causes.
And either advantage or disadvantage.
So where you're asked, is it advantageous or detrimental?
You decide.
This is where you're going to share your opinion if you think there are more advantages or more disadvantages.
So it's a mix of two different types of essays.
And again, the best strategy here is to answer each of those questions in its own body paragraph.
A mixed essay, very modern, right?
I think this was maybe a newer addition to IELTS.
I'm not sure exactly when this got added.
Yeah, it's been a few years now.
Mixed essays are now very common.
But yeah, back in the day, that was a little more clear.
And then they started mixing it up and giving you you know, maybe a problem with this advantages or disadvantages, trying to trick people.
Yep.
And so incredibly important to add your opinion here.
Again, like Aubrey said, band three or lower if we don't add our opinion, right?
Exactly.
If you look at the scoring system, just to make sure that you're aware and understand how serious this is.
Band four says presents a position, but may not always be clear.
And then band three, it's like no position is presented.
So you have to give your opinion.
You have to make your position clear.
Yes.
Oh my God.
This has been an incredibly useful episode.
It's about honing the eye and getting better at reading pausing, thinking about what we're building.
It's like measure twice, cut once, right?
Absolutely.
Yes.
And you need to be ready before test day to get that brainstorm done in five minutes.
You don't want to have to spend any time thinking about how do I structure this?
What goes into which paragraph, which type of essay?
You need to know all of that as soon as you look at the topic.
Because you've read a lot of them.
You've practiced these skills, where you're able to know what type of essay to write as soon as you read it.
Yeah, it's so true.
And you know that initial step of planning is just one of the three steps that we teach you in our course, Three Keys Aisles, where you get a very systematic teaching and plan on how to build the skills in a step by step way.
Podcast is great, but it's a little random, right?
A little random what we're teaching here.
Little bits here and there, right?
Exactly.
In the course, we go into each of these types of essays.
You see a lot of examples and you learn how to write a band nine essay for each one.
Yeah.
So go to allersenglish.com slash K-E-Y-S to get into the course.
Aubrey, any final thought or piece of advice?
A lot to think about.
Maybe listen to this one again, right?
Don't forget to include your position.
Make sure that you're ready for all of these different types of essays.
All right.
We will be ready for test day.
Good stuff today, Aubrey.
We'll see you very soon.
Thanks for being on.
Awesome.
See you next time.
All right.
Bye-bye.
Thanks for listening to IELTS Energy.
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