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IELTS Writing Task 2: Advertisements (Opinion)
Advertisements are becoming more and more common in everyday life. Is it a positive or negative development?
Sample Answer
Advertisements could be found anywhere in our daily lives. In my opinion, the current prevalence of advertising is a positive development for companies and a negative development for customers.
On the one hand, advertisements are a powerful tool of competition for companies. Advertising stimulates demand, expands the scale of production and in turn reduces the cost of production per unit. This not only increases profit but also creates a competitive pricing advantage for companies of advertised products. In addition, since it pays to advertise, advertised products are usually of good, if not the best quality. In other words, a company would emphasize on improving the quality of products before advertising, which also helps to create a trustworthy brand image among customers.
However, advertising is so common that it now becomes useless and a nuisance to customers. First, customers are often bombarded with advertisements of the same product, making it increasingly challenging for them to believe the advertising message if all companies claim they provide the best service or quality products. As a result, buyers now often turn to their friends or acquaintances for recommendations, which renders advertising ineffective. In addition, due to constant repetition, people have now developed an aversion to advertisements and try to get rid of them as much as possible. For example, most viewable media platforms like YouTube or Netflix are now using the removal of advertisements as the unique selling points to attract new customers, implying the audience’s hostile attitude toward advertising.
In conclusion, I believe advertising could assist companies in generating profit and improving product quality. However, due to their prevalence, advertisements are becoming less effective as customers not only struggle to believe the advertising messages but also try to avoid them as much as possible.
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IELTS Writing Task 2 Advantages and Disadvantages Topics/Questions 2024
The list of Task 2 Advantages and Disadvantages topics that were added by IELTS student in 2024 . These Advantages and Disadvantages questions could be repeated from previous months. Keep in mind that the provided Advantages and Disadvantages questions are not predictions. The collection of Advantages and Disadvantages questions is updated every hour. Choose one of the topics and start practicing answering this type of question to prepare for the IELTS exam and to get a good grade.
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IELTS essay, topic: Advertising affects what people think is important and has a negative effect on their lives (agree/disagree)
- IELTS Essays - Band 8
Today people are surrounded by advertising. This affects what people think is important and has a negative impact on people’s lives. To what extent do you agree or disagree?
With the advent of the Internet, advertisements, originally displayed only on TV, billboards, posters and so on, are becoming increasingly ubiquitous and commonplace for the general public. In my view, this kind of impact could be both crucial and, on a certain level, detrimental.
On the one hand, this phenomenon could denote that although we have already had a diverse range of , people are still capable of inventing innovative approaches catering for all kinds of requirements of advertising. It is a symbol that demonstrates the creativity rooted in human beings. Apart from that, it also represents that the speed of spreading information is conspicuously escalating. More purposeful is, therefore, the fact that, besides booming of the advertising, it constitutes a major reason why people could be so prosperous in this digital age.
On the other hand, there are various unpleasant consequences as well. Firstly, with the omnipresent , it could potentially cause people to do impulsive shopping. Secondly, the , if regulated in a mismanaged , could make people constantly feel uncomfortable or annoyed. In this sense, instead of being an instrumental tool to promote amenities, advertisements could be considered a hindrance when people are frequently blocked by them. Furthermore, it would cost one precious time to have to sift the helpful ad from a host of others.
In conclusion, as far as I am concerned, advertising is a beneficial phenomenon for all with a number of insignificant drawbacks. I believe that in the future we can improve the way advertising is done at present, and embrace the positive influence of advertising even further in the long run.
This essay is another example of what Band 8 writing may look like. It’s weak point is that the author goes slightly off-topic while trying to discuss whether advertising affects what people view as important and instead talks about the reason advertising is spreading and about human creativity. However, the other part of task type (negative effects of advertising) is covered well, the ideas are well-developed and supported. There is a clear logical flow of information and a range of transitional words is used appropriately to sequence ideas. The way author uses synonyms to rephrase the task topic in the intro paragraph demonstrates their lexical skill, which is also evident in other parts of this essay. There are many complex sentences and very few errors. Overall, this essay seems worthy of IELTS Band 8.0.
Click here to see more IELTS essays of Band 8
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4 thoughts on “IELTS essay, topic: Advertising affects what people think is important and has a negative effect on their lives (agree/disagree)”
Advertisement has the main role of developing countries. advertisement is shown on the internet ,tv or radio .it has good aspects as well as bad aspects.it gets more income for the company All the company dont show their products or facilities on tv or internet .for example,one company show his product and gets more money but another company dont show his product and dont get money. On the other hand ,it helps purchasers to know the quality of the product before they buy it .also ,the company and tv or radio benefit of advertising the product In conclusion, advertisment has more advantage than disadvantage ,it helps people enjoy todays life in the world
Nowadays, people are enveloped with the advertisements of many product and services offered by the companies as well as individuals. Modern marketing techniques has impacted the public on a high scale to decide what is good, bad, essential and important to them. Necessarily, in my opinion, advertising is required to reach out to the customers while keeping them authentic. In this ever-growing competitive world, organizations as well as local sellers find it challenging to sell their products due to the availability of many alternatives. One of the best ways to promote their services are through novel publicizing ideas that should reach the target customers. On the other end, the needy customer may not know about an existing item if it doesn\’t appear in their day to day activities, and so, it is imperative to bring them to their doorsteps. When many commercials persuade the audience to buy their product with false and incorrect information, others do it truthfully whose core business ethics is strong. Finding a difference between a bogus and genuine advertisement lies within the audience\’s virtue. Easily manipulative people often end up losing their hard-earned money and trust in these fake companies & their products. Moreover, the public often think or enquire less, when an instant application of that product is necessary. For instance, a diabetic patient who falls short in his/her daily supplies would opt for an alternative medicine without looking deep into its credibility that can exacerbate their medical condition. In conclusion, the media board of the country should step up their measures to ensure the authenticity of the advertisements before they reach the public regardless the medium, whether it is through television, digital media, postures, banners, etc.
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- Essay Task 2
Guide to Advantage Disadvantage IELTS Essay Type
- Essay Types
- Double Question
- Advantage Disadvantage
- Problem Solution
- Essay Length
IELTS advantage/disadvantage essays ask you to write about the benefits and drawbacks of a topic as well as (sometimes) asking for your opinion. This guide covers everything you need to know to complete an Academic IELTS advantage/ disadvantage essay. Let’s start preparing with Benchmark IELTS!
Table of Contents
1.1 understanding the question, 1.2 example advantage/disadvantage questions, 2.1 essay structure 1, 2.2 essay structure 2.
- 3.1 Identify key words and phrases
3.2 Organise your ideas
3.3 identify vocabulary, 4.1 introduction, 4.2 main body paragraphs, 4.3 conclusion, 5.1 complete the sample advantage/disadvantage essay, 5.2 advantage/disadvantage sample essay, 1. advantage/ disadvantage essay overview.
This section of the guide will show you how to identify an IELTS advantage/disadvantage question.
Remember, there are five main types of writing task 2 questions:
- Advantage/disadvantage
- Double question
- Problem/solution
It is very important to understand what type of question you are given in the exam so you can respond in an appropriate way: different question types will require different responses.
Advantage/disadvantage essay questions can be presented in several different ways.
Here are some examples of the way an advantage/disadvantage question may be worded:
- Discuss the advantages and disadvantages and give your opinion.
- Describe the advantages and disadvantages of _____ and give your opinion.
- What are the advantages and disadvantages of _____?
You may also see questions using synonyms for advantage and disadvantage, for example:
- What are the benefits and drawbacks of…?
Be careful, the question itself might not always use words or phrases relating to advantage/disadvantage and they could be hidden in the statement, as seen here:
- Some people believe that using a bicycle as your main form of transport has a lot of advantages , whereas others believe that it has many disadvantages . Discuss both views and give your opinion.
Here is another example of a question where you are asked to give your opinion:
- Do the advantages of … outweigh the disadvantages
After you have identified the essay type , you need to understand what you are being asked to do. To do well in the Task achievement marking component, you need to ‘ address all parts of the task’ .
This type of essay question will always be split into two parts:
- The IELTS statement
- The question
You must always write about both the advantages and disadvantages of the given topic. As we can see in example questions 1-6, sometimes you are asked to give your opinion on the question, and sometimes you are not. Let’s compare the following questions:
You are not being asked to give your opinion
Here are some example advantage/disadvantage essay questions:
In the past, when students did a university degree, they tended to study in their own country. Nowadays, they have more of an opportunity to study abroad.
Do the advantages of this development outweigh the disadvantages?
Today children spend a lot of their free time watching TV.
Do the advantages outweigh the disadvantages of this practice?
Also, read the following IELTS Essay Writing Guides
- IELTS Discussion Type Questions
- Double Question IELTS Essay Topics
- Opinion-based Task 2 IELTS Guide
- Problem Solution IELTS Writing Task Statement
The threat of nuclear weapons maintains world peace. Nuclear power provides cheap and clean energy.
The benefits of nuclear technology far outweigh the disadvantages.
To what extent do you agree or disagree?
In the past, when students did a university degree, they tended to study in their own country. Nowadays, they have the opportunity to study abroad.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of this development?
More and more people prefer to read news online rather than on paper.
Do you think the advantages of this trend outweigh the disadvantages? Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge and experience.
2. Essay Structures for Advantage/Disadvantage Essays
There is more than one way to structure your advantage/disadvantage essay. You could take a thesis-led (opinion in the introduction) or an evidence-led (opinion in your conclusion).
You could also choose to focus on one or more than one advantage/disadvantage in each of your main body paragraphs.
The next two sections will give you two possible ways that you could structure your essay using four clearly organized paragraphs.
Thesis-led approach
Evidence-led approach
3. Planning your Advantage/Disadvantage Essay
Before you start writing your essay, you should give yourself 5 minutes to analyze the question and organize your ideas . Follow the tips below to create a well-planned essay!
3.1 Identify keywords and phrases
It sounds simple, but it is very important that you read the question carefully and understand what you are being asked to write about. To analyze the question, first, identify any keywords and phrases .
You should first identify the topic of the essay. If you do not write about the correct topic, you will score poorly in Task achievement . The general topic can always be found in the IELTS statement.
Let’s take a look at one of the previous examples:
The threat of nuclear weapons maintains world peace . Nuclear power provides cheap and clean energy .
The topic words are underlined and show the general topic of this essay question in nuclear weapons/power/technology .
After you have identified the general topic, you need to locate other keywords that give you more detail about the topic. In this question, the words world peace and cheap and clean energy in bold give you more information about the general topic. Therefore, your essay should only relate to these aspects of nuclear weapons/power/technology .
Now take a look at the question for our model answer at the end of this guide. Can you identify the general topic?
This is an important step that is often skipped by test-takers. By quickly writing down your key ideas, you will avoid repeating or missing any points and improve your score in both Task achievement and Coherence and cohesion .
You could use bullet points , columns , or another preferred method of writing down ideas . Here is an example for our sample essay:
Take a look at our Master Guide for a more in-depth look at idea generation and organizing your ideas.
Taking a moment to write down more uncommon vocabulary related to the essay topic will not only make you feel more relaxed in the exam but will also help you to improve your score in Lexical resources .
This doesn’t have to be a long list, just a few ideas that come into your mind. Here are some examples of the topic of studying abroad:
- Culture shock
- Language barrier
- Broaden one’s horizons
4. Writing your Advantages/Disadvantages Essay
Your introduction should be the shortest paragraph in your essay (about 40-60 words is perfect).
You need to rephrase the IELTS statement in your own words. This is known as paraphrasing (a key skill to develop for the IELTS exam).
Take a look at our example:
You can also briefly state what your essay will be about in one clear sentence. For instance:
This essay will discuss both points of view and then I will give my opinion.
If you are taking a thesis-led approach, you can use one of the following sentence starters to briefly give your opinion:
- I believe that…
- It is my belief that…
- In my opinion,…
A note on the use of the first person ‘I’: Unlike writing task 1, it is appropriate to use the first person in your writing task 2 essay. In fact, it is unavoidable when giving your opinion. But , you should not overuse ‘I’ in your essay and we recommend you limit your use to your introduction and conclusion.
Topic sentences Usually, the first sentence of your main body paragraph will be a topic sentence . The purpose of your topic sentence is to introduce the main idea of your paragraph .
You should include one topic sentence for each advantage/disadvantage . This means that, if your main body paragraphs focus on two advantages/disadvantages , then you should have two topic sentences per paragraph.
Here’s an example: One advantage of studying abroad is that students can improve their language skills.
Here are some other sentence starters you can use for your essays (you can replace the underlined words with vocabulary linked to your topic):
- One advantage of studying abroad is that ….
- Another benefit of studying abroad is that…
- One downside of studying abroad is that…
- Another downside of studying abroad is that…
Supporting sentences You should then expand on your topic sentence with a supporting sentence/sentences . Your sentence(s) could either describe a result of the advantage/disadvantage, go into more detail , or explain the reason(s) why these benefits/drawbacks occur.
Our example supporting sentence describes a result of the advantage given in the topic sentence.
Topic sentence – One advantage of studying abroad is that students can improve their language skills.
Supporting sentence – This means that when the students return to their home countries, they will have more employment opportunities.
Here are some sentences starters you can use to begin your supporting sentences:
- This is because…
- The result/consequence/reason is that…
- This means that…
- As a result/consequence,…
- In other words,…
Giving examples For all writing task 2 essay types , you must support your response with examples. Do not personalize your examples and link them to your life instead, Keep your examples more general . Also, do not refer to made-up statistics .
Here are some instances of suitable and non-suitable examples:
Suitable For example, many young people who study in an English-speaking country for a few years develop strong communication skills and have the confidence to work in an international company when they return home.
Not suitable My cousin spent three years in an English-speaking country and they got an excellent job with an international country when they came back to Spain. ( this example is too personal as it refers to the writer’s family ) ❌
According to statistics, international students are 30% more likely to get a job in an international company when they study overseas. ( this example contains a made-up statistic )
You must include a conclusion to achieve a good score in Task achievement . Your conclusion does not have to be very long, but it needs to be clear and do two main things:
- Paraphrase yourself : summarise the key points in your body paragraphs
- Give your opinion : It depends if you have taken an evidence-led or thesis-led approach, you will either be re-stating the opinion given in your introduction or giving your opinion for the first time.
Make your conclusion easy to identify for the examiner by starting with linking phrases such as:
- To sum up,…
- To summarise,…
- In conclusion,…
When you are paraphrasing the main points of your essay, you need to state that you have examined both sides of the argument (as that is what the question has asked you to do). To do this, consider using a phrase like:
In conclusion, having looked at this topic in detail, it is clear that there are both advantages and disadvantages of studying abroad .
You would need to replace the underlined section with your essay topic.
To give your opinion, you need to use a range of cohesive devices to introduce each example such as:
- From my perspective,…
- In my view,…
You then need to clearly state which side of the argument you agree with (advantage or disadvantage). Remember, your actual opinion does not matter, it is how you present your opinion using English that is important.
Here are some example sentences to do this effectively:
- In my opinion, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.
- From my perspective, the drawbacks outweigh the benefits .
5. Example Advantage/Disadvantage Essay and Exercise
Now you’ve taken a look at how to write an advantage/disadvantage essay, let’s look at a model answer.
We have removed some of the words so you can put your knowledge to the test.
Select the correct missing words and complete the model answer.
In recent years, it has become much more common for students to complete their degree overseas instead of their house country. Many persons believe that there are significant benefits of doing this, while others argue that there are also drawbacks connected to studying abroad. This essay will discuss both points of mind and then I will give my opinion.
One advantage of study abroad is that students can improve their employee skills. This means that when the students return to their home countries, they will have more employment opportunities. An example, many young people who study in an English-speaking country for a few years develop strong communication skills and have the confidence to work in an international company when they return home. On the other hand benefit of studying abroad is that you can develop a better understanding of other cultures, Example , learning about a country’s customs, traditions and cuisines. The consequence of this is that people become more open-minded.
In the other hand, there are some disadvantages of studying abroad. One backdraw is that students may miss their friends and family and feel homesad. They may also find it difficult to connect with other students and make friends due to a language barrier . Another disadvantage is that students can experience a real culture shock when moving to another country. This is because the culture and language may be different which could lead to frustration for the student and dissatisfaction with their study experience.
To overall , it is clear that there are both advantages and disadvantages of studying abroad. In my thought, the benefits outweigh the drawbacks. Although it is true that the experience may be challenging at first, on balance , if you study abroad you will have an enriching experience that will broaden your horizons and increase your future prospects.
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How to Plan & Write IELTS Advantages and Disadvantages Essays
Questions for IELTS advantages and disadvantages essays can be worded in several different ways. Here is some typical wording that might be used:
- What are the advantages and disadvantages of….?
- Do you think the advantages outweigh the disadvantages?
- Discuss the advantages and disadvantages and give your opinion.
It is also common for synonyms of ‘advantages’ and ‘disadvantages’ to be used, such as ‘benefits’ and ‘drawbacks’, as can be seen in this sample question.
A lot of places in the world rely on tourism as a main source of income. Unfortunately, tourism can also be a source of problems if it is not well-managed.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of tourism in the modern world? Do you think that the benefits of tourism outweigh its drawbacks?
I’ll be using this question to guide you through the process of planning and writing an IELTS advantage and disadvantages essay later on in this lesson.
Here’s what the lesson covers:
- Understanding IELTS advantages & disadvantages essay questions
- Essay structures
- How to plan
- How to write an introduction
- How to write main body paragraphs
- How to write a conclusion
Want to watch and listen? Click on this video.
Click the links to see lessons on each of these Task 2 essay writing topics.
Once you understand the process, practice on past questions. Take your time at first and gradually speed up until you can plan and write an essay of at least 250 words in the 40 minutes allowed in the exam.
The Question
IELTS advantages and disadvantages essay questions fall into two main categories:
- Questions that ask for your opinion.
- Questions that do not require you to state your opinion.
The first part of the question will always be a statement. You will then be asked to write about both the advantages and disadvantages of the idea stated. You may also be required to state your opinion.
Here are two more sample questions for illustration. For the first one, you must give your opinion but in the second, you should not.
1. Small businesses are disappearing and being replaced by large multinational companies.
Do the advantages of this outweigh the disadvantages?
2. Most career choices demand vocational skills or specialist knowledge. However, despite this, most schools still teach academic subjects such as history or social studies.
Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of this?
Essay Structures
Now let’s look at two simple structures you can use to write IELTS advantages and disadvantages essays. They're not the only possible structures but are ones I recommend because they are easy to learn and will enable you to quickly plan and write a high-level essay.
I’ll explain later why I’m giving you two slightly different structures.
These structures will give you a well-balanced essay with 4 paragraphs.
One Advantage and Disadvantage or Two?
The question will state 'advantages' and 'disadvantages' in the plural, that is, more than one. However, it is acceptable to write about just one.
This should give you an essay of just over the minimum 250 words. To write about two advantages and disadvantages will require you to write nearer 400 words which are a lot to plan and write in the 40 minutes allowed.
It is better to fully develop one advantage and one disadvantage than ending up with your second idea missing an explanation or an example because you run out of time, but you can write about two if you feel able to or more comfortable doing so.
Having said that, using essay structure 2, where you start with the examples, will enable you to easily add more than one advantage and disadvantage without having to write many more words.
It will be more suitable for some questions than others so bear this in mind when you're writing practice essays and try out both structures.
I’m going to use essay structure 2 to show you step-by-step how to write an IELTS advantage and disadvantages essay. I’ll also give you a model answer using essay structure 1 so that you can compare the two.
How To Plan IELTS Advantages and Disadvantages Essays
The planning process only takes around 5 minutes but it is essential as it will save you time overall and will result in a far better essay and thus, higher marks. Th ere are the 3 things you need to do:
- Analyse the question
- Generate ideas
- Identify vocabulary
# 1 Analyse the question
Analysing the question will ensure that you answer it fully. It’s quick and easy to do. You just need to identify 3 different types of words:
- Topic words
- Other keywords
- Instruction words
Topics words are the ones that identify the general subject of the question and will be found in the statement part of the question.
Here is the question we’re going to be working on. I’ve highlighted the topic words in blue.
So, this question is about ‘ tourism’ .
Many people do this first step of the process and then write about the topic in general. This is a serious mistake and leads to low marks for task achievement.
What we need to do now that we know the general topic, is to understand exactly what aspect of tourism we're being asked to write about.
The other keywords in the question tell you the specific topic your essay must be about.
A lot of places in the world rely on tourism as a main source of income . Unfortunately, tourism can also be a source of problems if it is not well-managed.
By highlighting these words, it’s easy to see that you are being asked to write about the conflicting issues of tourism being ‘a main source of income’ in many places, yet also being ‘a source of problems’.
Your essay must only include ideas relevant to this aspect of tourism.
The instruction words are the question itself. They tell you exactly what to include in your essay.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of tourism in the modern world? Do you think that the benefits of tourism outweigh its drawbacks ?
Here, we are required to write about:
- The advantages of tourism in relation to income generation.
- The disadvantage of tourism in relation to problems it can cause.
- Our opinion as to whether the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.
Note the use of the synonyms ‘ benefits ’ and ‘ drawback ’ in the second sentence of the question.
# 2 Generate ideas
The next task is to generate some ideas to write about.
There are several different ways to think up ideas. I cover them fully on the IELTS Essay Planning page.
I’m going to demonstrate two of them for you here – the ‘friends technique’, which is suitable for most IELTS essays, and the ‘example method’, which perfectly fits essay structure 2.
The ‘ friends technique ’ is the method I generally prefer as it allows you to take a step back from the stress of the exam situation and think more calmly.
Here’s how it works. Imagine that you are chatting with a friend over a cup of coffee and they ask you this question. What are the first thoughts to come into your head? Plan your essay around these ideas.
Doing this will help you to come up with simple answers in everyday language rather than straining your brain to think of amazing ideas using high-level language, which isn’t necessary.
Here are my ideas using the friends technique:
There are far too many ideas here to include in an essay of just over 250 words. Think up a few then pick one advantage and one disadvantage that you think you can develop well.
With the ' example method ', on the other hand, you start by thinking of specific examples related to the question. They can come from your own experience or be something you’ve read or heard about. These examples will generate ideas that will become the main points of your essay.
It works particularly well for the model question I’ve selected for this lesson which is why I’ve included the second essay structure.
Here are my ideas using the examples technique:
Now that we have some ideas, we’re almost ready to start writing our IELTS advantages and disadvantages essay, but first, we have one more task to do.
# 3 Vocabulary
During the planning stage, quickly jot down some vocabulary that comes to mind as you decide what you're going to write about, especially synonyms of key words. This will save you having to stop and think of the right language while you’re writing.
Writing an IELTS Advantages and Disadvantages Essay
We’re ready to begin writing our essay. For the first model answer, I’m going to take you step-by-step through essay structure 2. I’ll then give you a model answer for essay structure 1.
Here’s a reminder of the question and the essay structure.
We’ll now start work on the introduction.
How To Write an Introduction
The introduction to an IELTS advantages and disadvantages essay should have a simple 2 or 3 part structure:
- Paraphrase the question
- Outline the main ideas
- State your opinion (if required)
Our tourism question asks for our opinion so our introduction will have 3 parts.
1) Paraphrase the question
Start your introduction by paraphrasing the question statement.
Question: A lot of places in the world rely on tourism as a main source of income.
Unfortunately, tourism can also be a source of problems if it is not well-managed.
Paraphrased question:
Although holidaymakers contribute hugely to the economies of many popular destinations, the influx of tourists can also cause serious issues.
Note my use of synonyms for some of the key words. It’s fine to repeat one or two words if you can't think of suitable synonyms. Above all, your language must sound natural.
2) Outline statement
Now we need to add a statement where we outline the main points that we’ll be covering in the rest of the essay, that is, an advantage of tourism and a disadvantage of tourism.
Here are the two main ideas I’ve chosen to write about:
- Advantage – Poor areas are now prosperous tourist resorts
- Disadvantage – Displacement of local people
Outline statement:
This essay will demonstrate how tourism can transform the economy of poor areas but will also show that this can lead to such problems as the displacement of local people.
3) Opinion statement
The question also asks for our opinion and it’s essential that we include it in the introduction.
Opinion statement:
Whilst acknowledging that there are drawbacks, the essay will argue that the advantages of the tourist industry outweigh the disadvantages.
So, let’s bring the three elements of our introduction together.
Introduction
This introduction achieves three important functions:
- It shows the examiner that you understand the question.
- It acts as a guide to the examiner as to what your essay is about.
- It also helps to keep you focused and on track as you write.
The two ideas in your introduction will become your two main body paragraphs.
Main body paragraph 1 – Poor areas are now prosperous tourist resorts
Main body paragraph 2 – Displacement of local people
How To Write Main Body Paragraphs
Main body paragraphs in IELTS advantages and disadvantages essays written using structure 2, should contain 3 things:
- Topic sentence – give an example
- Explanation – explain the benefits/advantages
- Consequence – state the result
Main Body Paragraph 1
The topic sentence summarises the main idea of the paragraph. It plays an important role in ensuring that your ideas flow logically from one to another. It does this by acting as a signpost for what is to come next, that is, what the paragraph will be about.
If you maintain a clear development of ideas throughout your essay, you will get high marks for task achievement and cohesion and coherence.
In this instance, the topic sentence will introduce our first example, for which I’ve chosen Thailand.
- Main idea – Poor areas are now prosperous tourist resorts
- Example – Thailand
Topic sentence:
One country that has experienced a significant economic boost from tourism is Thailand.
Next, we must write an explanation sentence that states the main point of our example.
Explanation sentence:
Over the past 50 years, many of its small fishing villages, where people often struggled to make a living, have been developed into thriving holiday destinations.
Finally, we explain the consequence or result of the situation. This is where we give an example of one specific advantage. It is better to pick one and develop it than to just add a long list.
Consequence:
With all the hotels, restaurants, shops and other tourist facilities that have been developed, there are now enough jobs for everyone and the general standard of living has greatly increased. Many local people have spotted new business opportunities and become entrepreneurs which has further diversified the economy.
That’s the 3 parts of our first main body paragraph complete. Here’s the finished paragraph.
We’ll now follow the same process for our second main body paragraph.
Main Body Paragraph 2
Main idea – Displacement of local people
Example – Venice
First, we write the topic sentence to summarise the main idea.
Topic sentence:
In Venice, on the other hand, the huge popularity of the beautiful canals and stunning architecture with visitors from around the world has had a negative impact on local residents.
Now for the explanation sentence that states the main point of our example.
Explanation sentence:
The growing need for tourist accommodation, places to eat and shops has forced many people from their homes to make way for this new development.
Finally, a specific example to explain the consequence .
Not only have these people suffered by having to move away from their family and friends but the situation has also resulted in a lost sense of community in the worst affected areas.
That’s the 3 parts of our second main body paragraph complete. Here’s the finished paragraph.
Now we need a conclusion and our IELTS advantages and disadvantages essay is done.
How To Write a Conclusion
The conclusion is a summary of the main points in your essay and can generally be done in a single sentence. It should never introduce new ideas.
If you're below the minimum 250 words after you’ve written your conclusion, you can add a prediction or recommendation statement.
Our essay is already near the minimum word limit so we don’t need this extra sentence but you can learn more about how to write a prediction or recommendation statement for IELTS advantages and disadvantages essays on the Task 2 Conclusions page.
The conclusion is the easiest sentence in the essay to write but one of the most important.
A good conclusion will:
- Neatly end the essay
- Link all your ideas together
- Sum up your argument or opinion
- Answer the question
If you achieve this, you’ll improve your score for both task achievement and cohesion and coherence which together make up 50% of the overall marks. Without a conclusion, you’ll score below band 6 for task achievement.
You can start almost any final paragraph of an IELTS a dvantages and disadvantages essay with the words:
- In conclusion
or
- To conclude
Now all you need to do is briefly summarise the main ideas into one sentence.
Here’s a top tip . Go back and read the introduction to the essay because this is also a summary of the essay. It outlines what you are going to write about.
To create a great conclusion, you simply have to paraphrase the introduction.
Introduction:
Here's the same information formed into a conclusion:
That’s it. We’ve completed our advantages and disadvantages essay. Here it is with the 4 paragraphs put together.
Finished IELTS advantages and disadvantages essay.
Go through this lesson as many times as you need to in order to fully understand it and put in lots of practice writing IELTS advantages and disadvantages essays from past exam questions. Practice is the only way to improve your skills.
Example IELTS Advantages and Disadvantages Essay for Structure 1
Now, here’s a model answer for essay structure 1. First, a reminder of the structure and the ideas I generated using the friends technique.
Ideas generation - Friends technique
I’ve underline the ideas I’ve chosen to write about in this second essay:
Advantages of tourism – source of income:
- Provides jobs for local people
- Opportunities for local entrepreneurs
- Tourist spending boosts both national & local economy
- Brings improvement in local infrastructure & facilities which benefit whole community
- Helps maintain traditions & culture
Disadvantages of tourism – the problems:
- Money goes to wealthy business owners not local people
- Increased crime
- Illegal activities, e.g. drugs
- More pubs & clubs – changes the local culture
- Increase in property values
- Destruction of the natural environment to build hotels, airports & other facilities
- Displacement of indigenous people
See if you can identify the different parts of the essay and how I have developed them.
That's it. Now it's time for you to get practicing.
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More help with ielts advantages and disadvantages essays & other task 2 essays.
IELTS Writing Task 2 – T he format, the 5 question types, the 5 step essay writing strategy & sample questions. All the key information you need to know.
The 5 Types of Task 2 Essay – How to recognise the 5 different types of Task 2 essays. 15 sample questions to study and a simple planning structure for each essay type.
Understanding Task 2 Questions – How to quickly and easily analyse and understand IELTS Writing Task 2 questions.
How To Plan a Task 2 Essay – Discover why essay planning is essential & learn a simple 4 step strategy, the 4 part essay structure & 4 methods of generating ideas.
How To Write a Task 2 Introduction – Find out why a good introduction is essential. Learn how to write one using a simple 3 part strategy & discover 4 common mistakes to avoid.
How To Write Task 2 Main Body Paragraphs – Learn the simple 3 part structure for writing great main body paragraphs and also, 3 common mistakes to avoid.
How To Write Task 2 Conclusions – Learn the easy way to write the perfect conclusion for a Task 2 essay. Also discover 4 common mistakes to avoid.
Task 2 Marking Criteria – Find out how to meet the marking criteria in Task 2. See examples of good and poor answers & learn some common mistakes to avoid.
The 5 Task 2 Essay Types:
Step-by-step instructions on how to plan & write high-level essays. Model answers & common mistakes to avoid.
Opinion Essays
Discussion Essays
Problem Solution Essays
Advantages & Disadvantages Essays
Double Question Essays
Other Related Pages
IELTS Writing Test – Understand the format & marking criteria, know what skills are assessed & learn the difference between the Academic & General writing tests.
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IELTS Advantages and Disadvantages Essays 2024 – Samples, Model Essays and Topics
Updated On Feb 05, 2024
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In the writing task 2 advantage and disadvantages essay of IELTS, you will be asked to write the benefits and drawbacks of the topic given. Here, you have to be careful that you write the advantages and disadvantages of the topic given and NOT your opinion about the topic!
While explaining these kinds of essays, you can divide the content into 2 paragraphs.Paragraph 1 for Positive points and Paragraph 2 for negative points.
To help you understand this advantage and disadvantages essay of IELTS better, given below are some tips and a sample essay with a detailed outline. Along with this, there are numerous advantages and disadvantages of essays to help you practise during your preparation.
Tips to Crack Writing Task 2 Advantage and Disadvantages Essay of IELTS
Given below are some points which you can refer to master this question type!
- When the topic statement is given, you need to spend at least 5-10 minutes in understanding the benefits and the drawbacks related to the topic.
- Make sure that you have relevant points, supporting the topic. Do not deviate from the topic.
- Make sure whatever you write is structured.
- Put the advantages of the topic in one paragraph and the disadvantages in a separate paragraph.
Structure of an Advantage and Disadvantages Essay of IELTS
The IELTS Writing Task 2 is considered one of the most dreaded tasks among all other tasks by IELTS aspirants. This task requires writing an essay encompassing various topics from all walks of life, from social issues to workplace issues. These essays are of various types, including opinion essays, discussion essays, advantage-disadvantage essays, etc.
Now, we will see the structure of advantage disadvantage essays and what should be the approach of writing one!
Introduction
Now, the first thing that you have to do is to write an introduction. Your introduction should paraphrase the topic of the essay and try to use different vocabulary/synonyms for the words in the topic, wherever possible.
Then, give a brief idea about what could be expected in the essay, i.e. the advantages and the disadvantages of the concerned topic and state which side you think weighs the most (when asked for an opinion.)
Body paragraphs
Body paragraph 1: This should state the advantages of the topic. This should be backed by practical points, and the examples would be even better. Day-to-day incidents and instances can be brought to notice.
Body paragraph 2: This should state the disadvantages of the topic. This as well, should be supported by valid points, and the daily incidents and examples can be highlighted to back your points.
Conclusion: Conclude the topic by providing a summary of the points put forth in the entire essay and how the advantages or disadvantages of the topic outweigh the other (if applicable).
Wondering the Trick to Score a Band 8 in Writing Task 2? Know the Secret!
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Advantages and Disadvantages IELTS Essay Questions and Sample Answers
Given below are some sample questions for the advantages and disadvantages type of essay and band 9 methodologies of answering them.
Sample Question 1
More and more students are choosing to study at colleges and universities in a foreign country. Do the benefits of studying abroad outweigh the drawbacks?
Given below is a brief outline of what to write in the essay after identifying the essay type.
Advantages and Disadvantages Essay
- Paraphrase the topic of the essay
- Mention the contents of the subsequent paragraphs
Body Paragraph 1
- Foreign education has various advantages like better educational facilities, gaining valuable experience and international exposure. Studying abroad also opens up several high paying employment opportunities.
Body Paragraph 2
- Travelling abroad for educational purposes also has some disadvantages like increased tuition fees and living expenses. Other disadvantages include learning to live in a foreign society and prolonged periods of time away from home.
- Summarize the essay and mention the final view on the topic.
Sample Answer
Foreign education has become one of the most sought-after ventures in this day and age. A majority of students plan on pursuing higher education in a foreign nation, especially when it comes to a master’s degree. One of the reasons why studying abroad has become such a popular phenomenon is the relaxation of travel laws and procedures across the world. However, there are pros and cons to studying abroad and the following paragraphs, will explore the topic and elaborate on why the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.
One of the primary reasons for studying abroad is the presence of a more refined and sophisticated education system in several first-world countries. It is common for students from underdeveloped or developing countries like Brazil, China, India, Argentina and other countries to look for better opportunities than the ones available in their native country in terms of academics. Also, residing in a foreign country helps individuals to gain international exposure and also helps them develop social and interpersonal skills, which are extremely important for being eligible for lucrative job opportunities..
Nevertheless, there are numerous drawbacks to travelling abroad for education. First of all, from the beginning of applying to a foreign university to staying in the host country for the entire duration of your degree, it is an exorbitant affair. Such a costly endeavour is often unaffordable for the household of many people. That being said, becoming accustomed to the norms and conventions of an unfamiliar country can be a tough ordeal for many due to differences in culture and social traditions.
Finally, I would like to conclude by saying that foreign education can be a blessing if it is financially feasible for aspiring students. That being said, the benefits of studying abroad surpass the drawbacks for the same.
Sample Question 2
What are the advantages and disadvantages of globalization? Do the benefits outweigh the drawbacks?
- Paraphrase the essay topic using synonyms for the words used in the question.
- Mention the contents of the following paragraphs.
- Globalisation has led to a lot of positive changes, especially in underdeveloped and developing countries. There has been an increase in employment opportunities, products and services are easily available to people around the world.
- Globalisation also has various disadvantages like the exploitation of cheap labour from developing countries and also the decline in quality of products and services.
- Summarize the topic and state the final view.
Globalisation has been one of the most significant phenomena in the last few decades, and it has changed several aspects of human society both economically and socially. There has been remarkable progress in terms of economic and financial development for developing countries due to the expansion of global organizations. However, there are several drawbacks to this rapid progress that need to be addressed. Evidently, globalization has more advantages than disadvantages and the following paragraphs, will elaborate on the topic and justify these views.
First of all, the most advantageous aspect of globalization is the advent of numerous international companies and franchises in developing countries. Ever since global brands and corporations have expanded their operations in countries such as India, China, Sri Lanka and many more, there has been a notable increase in employment in these countries. Additionally, due to the remarkable rise in the number of imports and exports, people from third world countries now have access to a vast catalogue of products and services that were previously unattainable.
That being said, there are drawbacks to globalization that create concerning issues for a sizeable portion of the global population. One of the most disturbing consequences faced is the exploitation of labour. Many corporations are known to outsource their operations to developing countries due to cheap labour costs. This enables them to accomplish their manufacturing operations without having to provide proper remuneration. Also, due to the use of inexpensive labour, the quality of products is diminished, and customers receive inferior products.
In conclusion, there is no doubt that the effects of globalization are not entirely positive or negative. Nonetheless, the benefits brought by this occupation outweigh the drawbacks.
Bonus Advantages and Disadvantages IELTS Essay Topics
- Is it good for children to start using computers from an early age and spend long hours on them? Discuss the advantages and disadvantages.
- What are the pros and cons for children of watching television? Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant example from your knowledge or experience.
- The internet has brought about many changes into our day-to-day life. Nowadays we are doing things such as mailing, contacting, banking and communication much faster. Do these developments have more advantages than disadvantages?
- The development of tourism contributed to English becoming the most prominent language in the world. Some people think this will lead to English becoming the only language to be spoken globally. What are the advantages and disadvantages to having one language in the world?
- At the present time, the population of some countries includes a relatively large number of young adults, compared with the number of older people. Do the advantages of this situation outweigh the disadvantages?
- These days, many people have their own computer and telephone, so it is quite easy for them to do their job at home. Does working at home have more advantages or more disadvantages?
- A lot of places in the world rely on tourism as a main source of income. Unfortunately, tourism can also be a source of problems if it is not managed correctly. Describe the advantages and disadvantages of tourism in the modern world. Do you think that benefits of tourism outweigh its drawbacks?
- Tests and examinations are a central feature of school systems in many countries. Do you think the educational benefits of testing outweigh any disadvantages. Give reasons for your answer.
- What do you think are the strengths and weakness of the education system in your country. Use your own experience to support your idea.
- In the last decade, there has been a great increase in the number and variety of online courses available to adults. This has been welcomed as a great opportunity by many students, however, other students see these courses as less effective than classroom teaching. What are the advantages and disadvantages of studying an online course?
- Some parents buy their children a large number of toys to play with. What are the advantages and disadvantages for the child of having a large number of toys?
- Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of mobile phones in our daily lives.
- In some countries, more and more adults are living with their parents after graduating from college , University or even after finding a job. Do the advantages of this outweigh disadvantages?
- Every year large numbers of people migrate from one country to another for different reasons. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of migration for the individual and for society as a whole.
- Nowadays online shopping becomes more popular than in-store shopping. Is it a positive or a negative development? Give your reasons and examples.
- Describe the advantages and disadvantages of living in a large city.
- Some companies and organizations require their employees to wear uniform. What are the advantages and disadvantages of wearing uniform?
Do you have an essay on any of these topics? Post yours in the comment section so that, One of our expert IELTS trainers can evaluate it and reply!
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More Related Advantage Disadvantage IELTS Essay Writing Topics:
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- Advantage/Disadvantage Essay – Topic: Students
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- IELTS Writing tips
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is an advantage/disadvantage essay? How do you identify that the essay falls under this category?
What is the structure of an advantage/disadvantage essay?
Is it mandatory to put advantages and disadvantages separately in two paragraphs or can I club them?
In case of questions where advantages outweigh disadvantages, I might have to write disadvantages first? Will it affect my score?
In the conclusion part of the advantage/disadvantage essay, is it ok to support one side?
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.
Explore other Advantage Disadvantage Essays
Janice Thompson
Nehasri Ravishenbagam
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Ashlin Devi
Posted on Oct 5, 2023
Nowdays, technologies are in high demand. People are possessed with their own computers and cell phones, so it is quite easy for them to do their job at home. Even though it is acknowledged with several points that working from home is quite easier, the essay will argue that the drawbacks of working from home will outweigh its strength. The main disadvantages are ineffective communication and the relationship amongst people becoming distant. First of all, people need internet to communicate. The internet connectivity is very poor at times, especially in the remote areas. Furthermore, during virtual meetings, discussion gets difficult due to connection issues where meeting is not worthwhile since no voice or no video. Moreover, working from home gives distance amongst people where you will not be able to have interact with colleague. Face-to-face discussion is very important where you get to work more effectively and efficiently. On the other hand, working from home is indeed benefit. People do not have to travel to reach work. The time which are spend on travelling, can be utilized on other activities such as house cores, leisure activities or even can work extra hours to meet the given deadline. Furthermore, people get flexibility in working hours, since there are no superior workers supervising employee. To conclude, there are some strengths on working from home but drawbacks overweigh strengths since working from home is not as easy task as people think since ineffective communication and people interaction is very important.
ria mahajan
Posted on Oct 6, 2023
Overall Band 5.5 Main ideas are relevant, but some are insufficiently developed and lack clarity, while some supporting arguments and evidences are missing for the question.Simple vocabulary is used accurately but the range does not permit much variation in expression.A mix of simple and complex sentence forms is used but flexibility is limited. For detailed analysis,you can avail a Free trial class Find the link below: https://ieltsmaterial.com/signup-1/ or you may reach out to us: +91 8929053019
Posted on May 29, 2022
Nowadays, studying abroad is a new trend among students. Undoubtedly, there are positive and negative aspects of studying in a foreign country. However, the benefits of attending colleges and universities in a foreign country outweigh the drawbacks. The next couple of paragraphs will explain the topic and justify these viewpoints.
To begin with, studying abroad has several advantages for students. For instance, a student who is studying in a foreign country will probably improve language skills better than others. Learning a foreign language is extremely significant in a global environment. Moreover, living outside of a home country will enhance students’ worldview thanks to the culture of the host country. Therefore, it can be said that studying abroad paws the way for great career options.
However, there are undesired sides to education in a foreign state. One of them is education expenditure. Studying abroad might be expensive. Thus, it might lead to a huge economic burden for both student and his family. When a student moves to another country for education, he must face several challenges caused by living alone. For instance, some students might have some psychological problems during the first couple of weeks following their move. It can be claimed that being homesick is a common problem among young students.
In conclusion, having a graduate degree from a foreign country has both negative and positive sides. Although there are significant advantages, the benefits of studying abroad surpass the drawbacks for the same.
Posted on May 30, 2022
Band Score – 6
Concentrate on the correct usage of quantifiers and subject-verb agreement.
In some places words are used incorrectly, pay attention to them.
Use C2 level of words.
Purnima Koli
Posted on Oct 25, 2021
Parents tend to give the children better resources as compared to their own childhood. This way they also feel compensated in the process while bringing up their own child. While having a huge collection of toys to play with is not all that bad, at the same time can lead to some issues.
Firstly, having a diversity in the range of toys have multiple benefits. The child can learn how to manage or organize better. Varied exposure to different themes of toys makes one more aware.
Secondly, sharing can also develop social skills among the child’s friend circle. To get hands-on-experience with toys such as Rubix’s cube, puzzles hone mental capacity of the kid. Similarly, educational and infotainment toys help shape likes and dislikes, opinions, communication skills. Thus, caters to holistic development which is often a cause of worry for parents.
On the other hand, if the child is given more and more, this may result in losing the value of individual toy. Not only is this expenditure wasteful but also teaching consumerist tendencies to the child. Perhaps unconsciously the child stops valuing his toys and takes them for granted in desire for more.
To have enough needs to be inculcated rather than frivolous costs being incurred. The parents need to be also mindful of teaching holistic habits like outdoor games, reading, painting apart from playing with toys for all round development.
Having many toys is also burdensome when it comes to maintenance. If that could be sorted then it’s much easier to assemble and play as per the child’s convenience. Gifting once in a while is a good option to keep the spirits of the child happy.
Posted on Nov 13, 2021
If you would have presented this same as a 4 paragraph structure and added the conclusion you would have score 7 easily.
Overall band: 5
Coherence: It is better to follow a 4 paragraph structure so that it is easy for the examiner to mark you for coherence. Conclusion is missing in your essay. Conclusion is where you sum up and restate points.
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IELTS Writing Task 2: Advantages and Disadvantages
IELTS essays frequently focus on the advantages and disadvantages of an issue but the question types may vary.
Discuss advantages and disadvantages
One of the most common IELTS writing task 2 essay types is: Discuss advantages and disadvantages. many test-takers also find it one of the easier question types because what it asks for is very straightforward. Nonetheless, proper planning and organization must go into your essay to ensure the highest band score possible.
Nowadays, a lot of buildings such as offices have open-space design instead of separate rooms. What are the advantages and disadvantages of this trend?
Plan – the prewriting stage
Analyze the question – make sure you totally understand what you are supposed to answer. Spend a couple of minutes reading and underlining the key words.
Determine your position.
In this essay type, stating your position is relatively simple. Since the question does not ask for your opinion, you can merely write that there are advantages and disadvantages to the issue.
Position: While there are practical advantages to open-space interiors, there are also disadvantages worth mentioning.
Brainstorm for ideas
Aim for at least one well developed idea for each paragraph
Body paragraph 1 - advantages
- Open interiors allow companies flexibility as their staffing changes
- No walls means open communication among colleagues
- light, airy feeling
Body paragraph 2 - disadvantages
- No walls means no privacy
- too many distractions - difficult to focus
- not optimal for all types of businesses
Brainstorm for support for your advantages and disadvantages. Support can be an example, further explanation, a definition, or any statement explaining why or how your main idea is true.
Support: If a company expands in terms of its personnel suddenly, open-space offices provide space for everyone without the need to search for offices.
Introduction
Start by rephrasing the prompt. Make sure you include all the sides of the topic that the writing task 2 addresses.
State your position.
Your introduction should be 3 or 4 sentences. Do not waste time getting into details in the introduction – save these for your body paragraphs.
Example introduction:
Around the world it is a growing trend to see open-space offices rather than closed, individual spaces. While there are practical advantages to open-plan interiors, like the flexibility they provide, there are also disadvantages worth mentioning including a lack of privacy.
Start with a topic sentence that introduces the central idea of the paragraph.
Open-plan offices provide companies and their employees numerous advantages.
Introduce your first main advantage.
One such advantage is the flexibility that these spaces afford the company.
Follow this with support .
Should a company require room for more employees, whether temporary or permanent, these open interiors allow for various configurations that will accommodate all staff appropriately.
Add a second main idea for the advantages in communication and include support for this as well.
Another point worth mentioning is that open plan offices facilitate communication among colleagues. An employee does not have to wonder if a colleague is available to speak; he or she simply needs to look across the room. Furthermore, having people around to speak to fosters creativity and problem solving. Rather than searching for solutions alone, employees can convene with their office mates easily to brainstorm.
Create a summary statement that is essentially a rephrasing of your topic sentence. Begin this with therefore, thus, or consequently.
Therefore, it is clear that open-space offices benefit both the employer and employee.
Task Response
An IELTS writing task 2 that scores well on task response answers the question directly and develops the topic fully.
A band 9 answer leaves no further questions for the reader. The band descriptors state that a Band 9 essay:
... provides a fully developed position in answer to the question with relevant, fully extended and well supported ideas
In the example body paragraph 1, the advantages of open space offices on communication was fully developed; two aspects of this were included in the supporting sentences.
Coherence and Cohesion
Test takers are scored on their ability to appropriately organize their paragraphs and show a logical progresion of ideas. For this reason, both body paragraphs need to have:
- clear topic sentence which introduces the central idea
- main idea which explains the central idea
- evidence or explanation which further develops the main idea and explains how or why it is true.
Sometimes, an IELTS writing task 2 may require a second main idea and piece of support, especially if the test taker is aiming for a higher band score.
Lexical Resource
Unless you have personal knowledge of architecture, it may be difficult to come up with synonyms for words and expressions like open space offices. For this reason, it is important to focus on showcasing your IELTS vocabulary in other ways.
- configurations
- accommodate
These are all high level words that, while not topic specific, show precision and high level lexical resource.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Show flexibility with advanced grammar.
If- then statements
These are advanced grammatical structures that many IELTS test takers avoid but impress examiners when they see them. Their combination of tenses make them a bit overwhelming for some, but for higher level candidates, these should be used.
Even within these statements, called Conditionals, there are varying degrees of difficulty. You could write:
If a company requires room for more employees, these open interiors allow for various configurations that will accommodate all staff appropriately.
This is a standard conditional statement. However, you could use a conditional statement without if like this:
Should a company require room for more employees, these open interiors allow for various configurations that will accommodate all staff appropriately.
Make it even m o re complex but including a little extra information like this:
Keep it brief – 2 sentences should be enough. Start by restating your position. Leave your reader with a
general, thought-provoking statement.
In conclusion, office interiors without walls are more than likely here to stay. They provide a flexible, economic solution at the cost of privacy and sometimes efficiency.
Do the advantages outweigh the disadvantages?
This is another common IELTS essay type which is somewhat different than the above. Here, you must clearly state your opinion, as it is assumed that one side is stronger than the other. You will need to make your position clear throughout the essay.
Nowadays tourists and scientists are allowed to travel to remote natural environments. Do you think the advantages of this development outweigh the disadvantages? Give reasons for your answer and include examples from your own experience.
Analyze the question – make sure you totally understand what you are supposed to answer. Spend a couple of minutes reading and underlining the key words. There are multiple elements to write about so make sure you organize the task 2 essay in a way that covers all of them.
There are definitely important benefits to scientists traveling to remote regions and less important advantages for tourists. Despite this, the advantages outweigh any disadvantages.
In this essay, the body paragraphs must address tourists and scientists and both the advantages and disadvantages of them traveling to remote areas.
Think of areas you believe are remote. Why would it be good for scientists to go there? What would they - and science - gain? What about tourists? How would tourists benefit? The region? Any people living there?
Ask yourself similar questions for disadvantages.
Paragraph 1 - advantages
- Scientists can research flora and fauna that might hold cures to deadly disease
- tourists can bring a boost to the economy of these regions, positively affecting local people
Paragraph 2 - disadvantages
- Scientists may cause harm to the region in their efforts to uncover its mysteries
- tourists may also destroy the environment as well as alter the surroundings for their comfort, negatively affecting local people
Brainstorm for support for your ideas. For each of your ideas, find additional explanation, examples statistics or proof.
Support: Scientists would have new areas to study for cures to diseases or to answer other questions of nature.
Start by rephrasing the task. Make sure you include all the sides of the topic that the task addresses.
State your opinion.
Your introduction should be 3 or 4 sentences.
Advances in travel technology have made it possible for people, including scientists and tourists, to travel to areas that were previously impossible to reach. While there are some clear disadvantages associated with this issue, on the whole the advantages are greater.
Start your task 2 with a topic sentence that introduces the central idea of the paragraph.
Travel to remote areas carries with it numerous disadvantages.
Introduce your first main idea.
One such disadvantage is that tourists tend to taint natural areas, not only with waste they leave behind, but with all the infrastructure required to support tourism.
When a remote area requires restaurants, hotels and wifi cables, among other amenities, it ceases to be a virgin area. This may have a negative impact on the local people living there, affecting their livelihood or way of life.
Add a second main idea for the disadvantages of travel by scientists and include support for this as well.
Similarly, scientists may affect a pristine environment as well by setting up laboratories and tampering with the native flora and fauna. The development required to support scientific inquiry may compromise the environment, causing it to lose the very essence of what made it initially appealing.
Thus, travel to remote areas may bring numerous drawbacks.
Some candidates struggle with finding ideas that are relevant. There are a number of ways to develop this task. You could have advantages of tourists and scientists in one paragraph, with disadvantages of both groups in another.
Alternatively, you could describe disadvantages of tourists in one paragraph and advantages of scientists in another. Other combinations are possible as well. When you brainstorm, see which ideas are stronger and organize your essay around those.
Part of the Coherence and Cohesion criteron examines if your paragraphing is accurate and if the order of ideas is appropriate.
Many IELTS examiners recommend leaving your strongest argument for last, closer to your conclusion. In this essay, that would mean that the first body paragraph would address disadvantages and the second advantages.
This gives the advantages paragraph more weight and it remains in the mind of the reader more strongly. It also links to the conclusion better.
The introduction and body paragraph 1 contain both general and topic specific vocabulary that is high level:
- infastructure
Sample Task 2 essay
Travel to remote areas carries with it numerous disadvantages. One such disadvantage is that tourists tend to taint natural areas, not only with waste they leave behind, but with all the infrastructure required to support tourism. When a remote area requires restaurants, hotels and wifi cables, among other amenities, it ceases to be a virgin area. This may have a negative impact on the local people living there, affecting their livelihood or way of life. Similarly, scientists may affect a pristine environment as well by setting up laboratories and tampering with the native flora and fauna. The development required to support scientific inquiry may compromise the environment, causing it to lose the very essence of what made it initially appealing. Thus, travel to remote areas may bring numerous drawbacks.
Although there are clear disadvantages to remote travel, the advantages it provides cannot be overstated. Areas far removed from urban centers frequently suffer from a weak economy, therefore interest from tourists in these regions could give a much needed economic boost. Additionally, with the development of necessary infrastructure, new jobs would be created for people of the area. More importantly, however, is what research in such regions could give to the world of science. Opening an uncharted world to scientists could bring about new knowledge that would help mankind, or even perhaps cure heretofore untreatable diseases. A recent report from the New York Times indicated estimated that 22% of diseases with no cure could find treatments from plant life in areas such as deserts and rainforests. Therefore, the advantages to investigating these regions are innumerable.
In conclusion, no gain is without costs. Similarly, the advantages of travel to remote areas comes at a price. However, all told, the benefits to humanity are too great to ignore.
Reduced relative clauses
Areas far removed from urban centers = areas THAT ARE far removed from urban centers
The development required to support scientific inquiry = the development THAT is required to support scientific inquiry.
The position is restated and a thought-provoking, dramatic statement leaves the examiner with a strong impression.
Want to see how you do? You can write this essay and submit it to the team at IELTSPODCAST.COM as part of our Single Essay Correction. Get feedback from expert ex-examiners and be on your way to succeeding at IELTS.
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- Advantage Disadvantage Essay
IELTS Advantage Disadvantage Essay Lesson
This lesson is about IELTS advantage disadvantage essay questions when you are told to assess whether the benefits of something outweigh the drawbacks.
The topic of the essay which is used as an example is about the trend to live and work abroad.
Take a look at the essay question we are going to analyse:
People now have the freedom to work and live anywhere in the world due to the development of communication technology and transportation.
Do the advantages of this development outweigh the disadvantages?
Understanding the Task
When you have this type of advantage disadvantage essay it is important to distinguish between this and one that asks you to discuss advantages and disadvantages but does not ask your opinion.
If you are asked “ What are the advantages and disadvantages of….. ” you are not being asked your opinion. You simply have to discuss the benefits and drawbacks.
You could do this in two body paragraphs:
- Body One: The positive points
- Body Two: The negative points
However, if you have the word “ outweigh ” or “ Will this trend have more positive or negative effects? ” then you are being asked for your opinion and you must say which there are the most of – positive or negative impacts.
If you do not do this then you may get your score reduced on ‘ Task Response ’ for not fully addressing the question.
If you look at the IELTS public band descriptors (available to download if you do an internet search or available from your local IELTS centre), you will see that this could reduce your band to a 5 for this criteria (it would not necessarily affect the other three criteria).
(Check this lesson on IELTS Band 7 for an overview of the criteria for getting a band 7 if you are unsure of what the criteria are).
Take a look at these examples:
What are the advantages and disadvantages of this trend?
This advantage disadvantage essay is not asking for your opinion. You could simply write one paragraph on the advantages and another on the disadvantages.
However, this one does:
Will this have more positive or negative impacts?
What does 'Outweigh' mean?
Another point to be careful of is using the word ‘ outweigh ’. It is common for IELTS students to get mixed up when they write the thesis statement, and actually say the opposite to what they write in the essay!
For example, they will say the drawbacks outweigh the benefits, but then give more benefits in the essay. This makes no sense.
So if you are not sure you can use the word correctly, I would recommend not using it in this type of IELTS advantage disadvantage essay. You can just say what your opinion is, as in the thesis in the model answer:
I believe that this has more benefits than drawbacks.
This will avoid any mistakes.
Writing your Thesis
You then need to think of 3 supporting ideas . One for one side and two for the other side.
So you will then have three body paragraphs, one with the drawback / benefit and two with the advantages / disadvantages.
It is common academic practice to start with the opposing opinion to yours, so you can start with the point that you have one idea for.
As explained above, it is very important, especially if you are looking for a band 7 or higher, that your opinion reflects what is in your essay. So if you have said there are more benefits, then you would have two benefits and one drawback.
Now take a look at the advantage disadvantage essay model answer.
Model Advantage Disadvantage Essay
You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.
Write about the following topic:
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own experience or knowledge.
Write at least 250 words.
Advantage Disadvantage Essay Model Answer
These days many people choose to live or work in other countries, which has been made possible because of the convenience of air travel and modern communications. I believe that this has more benefits than drawbacks.
The disadvantage of this development is the distance that is put between family members. If a person moves away it is true that air travel and devices such as skype mean that communication and contact can be maintained. However, it is likely that a person will only be able to return one or two times a year during holidays, and speaking on skype or via email is not the same as face-to-face contact.
Despite this, there are significant advantages it can bring to people’s lives. Firstly, it means that people have the opportunity to see other parts of the world and the way people live. For example, people from the West often go to work in Asia or the Middle East and visa-versa. This enriches many people’s lives as they get to learn about other languages, traditions, cultures and different ways of working from their own country.
In addition to this, on a wider level it may also benefit other countries. If someone moves abroad for work, it is usually because their skill is required there. To illustrate, nurses and Doctors often move to work in hospitals in other countries when there is a shortage, so this is very valuable to the place they move to.
I would therefore argue that although there are disadvantages of the current trend to live and work abroad, they are outweighed by the advantages. It can enrich people’s lives and lives of the people in the countries that they move to.
( 283 Words )
As you can see in the essay, the writer believes there are more benefits so the essay is biased towards this opinion, giving more advantages than disadvantages.
The opinion is very clear, and repeated in the conclusion, and the body of the essay reflects this opinion so there will be no confusion when someone reads it.
Other Ways to Answer the Question
This is not to suggest that this method is the only way to answer this type of question. There could be other ways.
For example, some people advise to write two body paragraphs - one on the advantages and another on the disadvantages, then in the conclusion state which one outweighs the other.
You can do this, but it can look at bit odd if you write about them equally, but then say there are more of one than the other! A conclusion can be cleverly worded to make this work, but that is a high level skill that many candidates do not have.
You could write only about the advantages or only about disadvantages and argue that one vastly outweights the other. However, the fact that the question uses 'outweigh' or 'more' is suggesting that there are both benefits and drawbacks.
The benefit of organising your advantage disadvantage essay as illustrated in this lesson is that by looking at both sides, you will have more ideas to brainstorm . And importantly, your opinion is clear and this is reflected in the essay , which is balanced to reflect and support your opinion.
A model answer for this essay will be posted shortly so watch this space, or sign up using the form on the right to be notifed when there are updates to the site.
Now you can have a practice.
Try to answer this advantage disadvantage essay question:
More and more students are choosing to study at colleges and universities in foreign countries.
Do the benefits of studying abroad outweigh the drawbacks?
More Task 2 IELTS Lessons:
How to Identify the Task in an IELTS Essay
Learn how to identify the task in an IELTS task 2 essay question. This is one of the most important steps in responding to an essay question.
How to Identify the Topic of an IELTS Essay Question
In IELTS you must identify the topic of your essay as this is a key to making sure your essay is on topic.
IELTS Problem Solution Essay Strategies and Tips
In IELTS problem solution essays you have to discuss a particular issue and present ideas to solve that problem.
Transitional Phrases for Essays
Learn transitional phrases for essays to get a band 7 or higher in your IELTS writing for coherence and cohesion.
Using Substitution in IELTS to Improve Writing Coherency
You can use substitution in your IELTS essays in order to improve coherency and coherence.
IELTS Task Response - 25% of your essay grade
The IELTS Task Response criteria in the scoring makes up 25% of your band score for your essay.
Using Pronouns to Improve IELTS Essay Coherency
Find out how to use pronouns to improve your coherency for IELTS task 2 essays.
How to Write an IELTS Essay: The key steps
Learn key steps on how to write an IELTS Essay. This guides you on how to write a great essay plus other lessons to improve your writing skills.
The 3 Types of IELTS Opinion Essays in IELTS
IELTS opinion essays in IELTS can be placed into three types. This lesson explains the different types and how to analyse these essay questions.
IELTS Music Essay: Understanding a Complex Question
An IELTS essay about music is used to show you how to answer a more complex IELTS essay question that does not have a clear 'task' given to you.
How to use brainstorming and planning to generate essay ideas.
Brainstorming and planning is a key step in developing your IELTS essay. This lesson has tips on how to coming up with ideas and organising them.
Paragraph Writing for IELTS: Building strong arguments
This paragraph writing lesson provides tips on constructing the best paragraphs for your IELTS essay.
Generating ideas for IELTS essays for writing task 2
Generating ideas for IELTS essays for writing task 2 can be difficult but complex ideas are not expected.
Improving Writing Coherence for IELTS essays
25% of the writing grade is on how you organise your essay so this lesson shows you how to improve your writing coherence.
Tips on How to Score IELTS Band 8 in Writing and Speaking
To score IELTS Band 8 you need to understand exactly what is in the IELTS Band Descriptors for an 8 for writing and speaking first.
Thesis Statement Tips for IELTS Essays
Your thesis statement in an IELTS essay should be written quickly and concisely. Use these tips to do that.
Requirements for IELTS Band 7 in Writing
Getting to an IELTS Band 7 is a struggle for many candidates. This lesson explains exactly what you have to do to reach this band score.
Writing an IELTS Essay Conclusion
The IELTS essay conclusion is the final part of your IELTS essay. This lesson guides you on how to write a conclusion quickly but effectively.
Writing an IELTS Essay Introduction
Tips on how to write an introduction for an IELTS essay introduction in a quick and easy way.
Can you use Personal Pronouns in Essays for IELTS?
Learn how to use personal pronouns in essays for IELTS correctly. Can you use "I", "we" and "you"?
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IELTS Writing Task 2: Advantage/Disadvantage Sample Essay
In this post, we’re going to look at an IELTS Writing Task 2 advantages and disadvantages sample essay. In this type of Task 2 question, you will read a description of a common situation or practice. From there, you’ll describe the advantages and disadvantages of the idea you were presented with. For more background info and advice on this particular question type, you can go to my post on the Task 2 question types in IELTS Writing.
In this article, I’ll show you a sample advantage/disadvantage prompt and a model essay that responds to the prompt. The model essay is an example of band 9 level writing—this is the highest score you can get on the Writing section. I’ve patterned the essay after this IELTS Writing Task 2 template , which was created by Magoosh IELTS expert Rachel Kapelke-Dale.
IELTS Writing Task 2 Advantages and Disadvantages Sample Essay
Before we get started, you should of course first read the sample prompt.
IELTS Writing Task 2 Advantages and Disadvantages Sample Essay Question
With modern transportation, workers and students are increasingly mobile, and have more and more opportunities to study and work abroad. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of this development. Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
Write at least 250 words.
IELTS Writing Task 2 Advantages and Disadvantages Model Essay (Band 9)
Nowadays, both work and study can easily take a person out of their home country. This can be good because people can explore new cultures now more than ever. At the same time, world travelers may become disconnected from their own home countries. In this essay, I will take a closer look at the aforementioned key advantage and key disadvantage.
To be sure, ordinary people now have unprecedented access to life abroad. It is easier than ever to work or study in a foreign land for months and even years. Many large international corporations offer overseas work to their employees, just as nearly all universities provide study abroad options at partner campuses overseas. Ultimately, nearly any adult anywhere in the world can potentially immerse themselves in another language or culture, with support from their bosses or teachers.
The problem is that international workers and students sometimes become unconcerned with the affairs in the nations they are from. This kind of apathy can prevent people from doing their civic duty. As one example, people from countries with compulsory military service may spend years abroad and even renounce their citizenship to avoid protecting their homeland. Even more commonly, people who go abroad may choose not to vote in elections back home, failing to make their voice heard on important matters. So modern mobility can undermine one’s ability or desire to make a difference back home.
Learning about other cultures by actually living abroad is a powerful tool for better intercultural understanding. However, as valuable as this is, sometimes going abroad can cause people to ignore the importance of their own culture and country. Not all students and workers should go abroad, and the ones that do should not forget their role in their country of origin.
Word count: 294
Scoring Rationale
This IELTS Writing Task 2 advantages and disadvantages sample essay is held to the same standards as any other Writing Task 2 essay. These standards are listed in the official rubric for IELTS Writing Task 2 . If you read the level 9 description carefully and compare it to this essay, you should see the reasons it has a top score. But I’ve also included scorer commentary immediately below.
Scorer Commentary (Advantage/Disadvantage IELTS Essay Sample, Band 9)
The score report below is based on the official IELTS Writing Task 2 rubric . This report also looks very similar to the Magoosh IELTS essay scoring service .
Overall Band Score: 9
What was done well in the essay:
- This essay has over 250 words. This is a small but important way to avoid needlessly losing points due to the IELTS Writing word count penalty .
- The essay does a good job of covering both the advantages and disadvantages. The advantage of easy access to foreign experiences is explored in the first body paragraph. The disadvantages of becoming too distant from one’s home community is similarly explored in the second paragraph.
- Each paragraph has a clear topic sentence, followed by supporting details, examples, and a concluding sentence that wraps things up nicely.
- Transitional phrases such as “to be sure” and “even more commonly” are used to clearly link ideas between paragraphs and within paragraphs.
- Vocabulary and grammar are used very fluently; this essay is free of any serious errors in this aspect of English.
More IELTS Writing Task 2 Example Responses
If you found this example essay helpful, you’ll love the rest of them. Click the links below to access model responses for the other common Task 2 question types.
- Two-Part Question Essay
- Causes/Solutions Essay
- Discussion Essay
- Agree/Disagree Essay
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2 responses to “IELTS Writing Task 2: Advantage/Disadvantage Sample Essay”
will it be correct to include brain drain and the problem of excessive number of immigrants in the disadvantage part?
Hi Paromita,
If you can support these ideas in the essay and explain why they are disadvantages, then that could work if your reasoning is sound.
Hope that helps! 😀
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IELTS essay: Compare the advantages and disadvantages of different mediums for car advertisements
by Manjusha Nambiar · April 30, 2013
Compare the advantages and disadvantages of three of the following places where marketers would place advertisements for cars. Explain which do you think would be the most effective.
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own experience.
This question was taken from Kaplan IELTS.
Sample answer
Car makers spend millions of dollars on advertising. In a bid to lure more and more people into buying their cars, marketers are testing every possible platform. Although we may encounter car advertisements anywhere, I think the most effective mediums for placing car adverts are newspapers, billboards and televisions. Newspapers reach millions of readers and are an effective platform for placing car advertisements. Most newspaper publishers already have enough information regarding the likes and aspirations of their readers and they may willingly share this information with their advertisers. By placing advertisements in select editions that reach the right kind of audience, car advertisers can boost their sales. Although newspaper advertising has the potential to reach a large number of prospective customers, it does have some drawbacks. For one thing, newspaper adverting has a very short life span. No matter how inspired or revolutionary the campaign may be, newspapers will ultimately end up in the rubbish bin. And then the advert may be forgotten. Billboards are another popular platform for advertising cars. Billboards erected in strategic locations, for example along busy highways, will attract many eyeballs. An advantage of this medium is that a large number of people who watch these commercials travel a lot and are either drivers or people interesting in buying cars. On the flip side, people tend to go past these advertisements in a matter of seconds. This can seriously affect the efficiency of a billboard campaign. Television is perhaps the most effective medium for advertising cars. The best thing about a television commercial is that it allows advertisers to highlight the most impressive features of their cars. By making proper market research car advertisers can air their commercials at the exact time they will be viewed by the right audience. Unfortunately, this medium too has many disadvantages. Although television advertisements can leave a powerful impact, they often fail to reach an audience because many viewers tend to change channels when advertisements are aired. In conclusion, even after trying multiple platforms car advertisers have a tough time reaching the right audience. In my opinion television is the most effective platform for placing car advertisements. After all, a television commercial grabs more eyeballs than a newspaper advert or billboard.
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Manjusha Nambiar
Hi, I'm Manjusha. This is my blog where I give IELTS preparation tips.
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‘Advantage & Disadvantage’ Essay in IELTS: Tips, Structure and Samples
- Updated on
- Dec 16, 2023
The advantage/disadvantage essays in IELTS writing require students to critically evaluate a topic and formulate cohesive answers that weigh both advantages and disadvantages. Want to ace the advantages/disadvantages section of IELTS writing? Here’s a pro tip: make a mental note of five to ten drawbacks and benefits right off the bat to get a head start for your answer. This approach will help you save a lot of your time and even aid you in crafting cohesive and comprehensible arguments, ultimately bolstering your score. In this blog, we will talk about the IELTS advantage disadvantage in essay.
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Best tips for advantages and disadvantages ielts essay in 2024, what is the structure of an advantage disadvantage ielts essay , top 10 most common ‘advantages & disadvantages’ essay topics in ielts writing, ielts advantage disadvantage essay sample answers .
Here are some of the best tips for writing well-articulated, coherent and cohesive essay answers for the much-dreaded advantages and disadvantages questions in IELTS writing. Have a look.
- Dedicate at least ten minutes to comprehend all the advantages and disadvantages about the given topic.
- After making a mental note of all the advantages/disadvantages, ensure that your points are supporting the topic. A quick advice would be to stick to the topic and not digress further.
- Everything you write should be structured in a well-articulated and cohesive manner that is comprehensible for the readers. It is necessary that you keep your advantages and disadvantages separate. For example, if you are enlisting the advantages in one paragraph, then ensure to put your disadvantages in another paragraph.
The structure of the advantages and disadvantages essays in IELTS writing comprises two primary segments, i.e., the introduction, body paragraphs and a conclusion. Let us delve deeper into the structure of the answer below.
Introduction
The introduction part requires you to paraphrase the topic of the essay by using different vocabulary and synonyms. Once you are done paraphrasing the topic, you’ll need to give the readers an idea about the gist of the essay and what to expect.
Body Paragraphs
In your first body paragraph, i.e., Body paragraph 1, you’ll be required to state the advantages of the topic. You must back your answer by providing legitimate reasons, points and examples. You can even state some anecdotal experiences to support your opinion. On the contrary, you must state the disadvantages in the body paragraph 2. You can support this by providing examples and valid points.
In the end, you’ll need to conclude the topic by summing up the entire essay in a sentence or two.
The “advantages and disadvantages” question is predominantly asked in IELTS writing task 2. One must have a good understanding of such questions to score well in the writing section of the IELTS exam. Mastering these high-scoring questions can significantly improve your overall IELTS score. To familiarise yourself with these examples, refer to the following sample questions covering various topics. By practising with these and similar questions, you’ll be well-prepared to tackle such types of questions on your actual test. Here are some sample questions for the IELTS Advantages and Disadvantages Essay.
- Many believe that the goal of one’s career should be to pursue a passion. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of pursuing a passion in this day and age.
- Nowadays, most countries can improve the standard of living through economic development, but some social values are lost as a result. Do you think the advantages of this phenomenon outweigh the disadvantages?
- Schools should use films, computers and games instead of books. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using such a medium of education.
- Virtual reality can be used for therapeutic interventions and mental health treatments. To what extent do you agree or disagree?
- Young people are often influenced in their behaviours by others in the same age group. Some argue that peer pressure is important, while others feel it has distinct disadvantages. Do the disadvantages of peer pressure outweigh the advantages?
- Many People Believe that countries should produce food for the whole population and import as little food as possible. Explain the advantages and disadvantages.
- Some people feel that the media should not openly share the private lives of celebrities. Explain the advantages and disadvantages of being active on social media as a celebrity.
- These days, many people like to watch live performances (like shows or concerts) at home, either on TV or on a computer, instead of attending in person. Do the advantages of this trend outweigh its disadvantages?
- Government money should be used to support children in school for sports rather than to support professional sports and arts that perform for the general public. Explain the advantages and disadvantages.
- Fossil fuels are the main source of energy around the world today. In some countries, the use of alternative sources of energy is replacing fossil fuels. Explain the advantages and disadvantages of the scenario.
If you’re an IELTS test-taker worried about the writing section, especially the advantage/disadvantage questions, going through some of the sample answers given below can be a great help! It won’t just give you a clear understanding of the answer structure, but it will also equip you with valuable skills to develop coherent and cohesive responses. So, let’s dive into some sample answers and see how to tackle these questions effectively.
Sample 1
- Question: These days, many people like to watch live performances (like shows or concerts) at home, either on TV or on a computer, instead of attending in person. Do the advantages of this trend outweigh its disadvantages?
Ans: The advent of technology has revolutionised the way we consume entertainment with a growing trend of watching live performances, such as concerts and shows, at home through TV or computer, instead of attending in person.This essay will explore the advantages and disadvantages of this trend and evaluate whether the benefits outweigh the drawbacks.
To begin with, the most significant advantage of watching live performances at home is convenience. With busy schedules and geographical constraints, attending a live performance in person can be challenging for many. Watching these performances at home eliminates travel time and costs, and allows viewers to enjoy the show at their own pace. Moreover, it provides an opportunity for people living in remote areas or those with mobility issues to experience performances they might otherwise miss. Another advantage is the potential for a larger audience. Performances broadcasted on TV or streamed online can reach millions of viewers worldwide, far exceeding the capacity of any physical venue. This not only benefits viewers who get to enjoy a wider variety of performances but also performers who gain increased exposure and potential revenue.
However, this trend is not without its disadvantages. The most notable one is the lack of atmosphere and communal experience that attending a live performance offers. The energy of the crowd, the immediacy of the performance, and the shared experience with fellow attendees are unique aspects that cannot be replicated in a home setting. Furthermore, there is a risk that this trend could lead to a decline in traditional performing arts venues. If more people choose to watch performances at home, these venues might struggle to survive, leading to potential job losses in the industry and a loss of cultural heritage.
In conclusion, while watching live performances at home offers numerous advantages such as convenience and accessibility, it also has its drawbacks including a diminished atmosphere and potential harm to traditional venues. However, considering the increasing globalisation and digitalization of our world, it seems that the advantages do outweigh the disadvantages. The key lies in finding a balance – leveraging technology to make performances more accessible while still preserving and supporting traditional venues.
Question: In many cities, problems related to overpopulation are becoming more common. Some governments are now encouraging businesses and individuals to move out of cities to rural areas. Do the advantages of this trend outweigh the disadvantages?
Ans: In recent years, the issue of overpopulation has become a pressing concern in many cities around the world. As a result, some governments are encouraging businesses and individuals to move to rural areas. While there are some benefits to this trend, it also has its drawbacks. In this essay, I will discuss how the advantages of this trend outweigh the disadvantages.
On the one hand, there are several advantages to encouraging businesses and individuals to move to rural areas. First and foremost, it can help to alleviate the problem of overpopulation in cities. With fewer people living in urban areas, there will be less strain on infrastructure and resources such as housing, transportation, and water. Moreover, moving to rural areas can lead to a lower cost of living. Land, property, and goods tend to be cheaper in rural areas, which can save people money in the long run.
Additionally, moving to a rural area can offer a more peaceful and tranquil way of life, away from the noise, pollution, and stresses of city living.
On the other hand, there are also several disadvantages to this trend. One of the biggest drawbacks is the lack of infrastructure and services in rural areas. Many rural areas do not have the same level of access to healthcare, education, and other essential services as urban areas do.
This can make it difficult for businesses and individuals to thrive and succeed. Furthermore, moving to a rural area can lead to feelings of isolation and loneliness, especially for those who are used to the hustle and bustle of city life. Finally, for those who depend on urban jobs or have family ties in cities, moving to a rural area may not be a feasible option.
In conclusion, while there are some benefits to encouraging businesses and individuals to move to rural areas, the disadvantages should not be overlooked. It is essential to consider the lack of infrastructure and services in rural areas, as well as the potential feelings of isolation and loneliness.
Therefore, governments need to strike a balance between encouraging people to move to rural areas and ensuring that there are adequate resources and services available to support them.
So that was all about IELTS Advantages and Disadvantages essays. Hope the blog could have covered all your queries regarding the topic.
Ans: These essays require students to state the negatives and positives of the given topic.
Ans: These essays are segregated into three segments, i.e., introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion.
Ans: The IELTS writing section takes around 60 minutes to complete.
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Shubham Das
Shubham Das has been working as an educational content writer for the past two years and has a background in filmmaking & screenplay/ teleplay writing. He is fascinated by the human psyche, literature and cinema.
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IELTS writing task 2 online course
General overview.
- Types of essay in IELTS writing task 2
- Main topics of IELTS essay
- How to generate ideas on IELTS Writing Task 2
- How to Write Examples in IELTS Writing Task 2?
- How Many Paragraphs Should I Write in IELTS Essay?
- How many points or examples should I write in an IELTS essay?
- How to Write a Conclusion on IELTS Writing Task 2?
- Where to Take Notes in IELTS Writing Task 2?
- How to Manage Time on IELTS Writing Task 2?
- Tips for preparing for IELTS essay writing task 2
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The form of questions about advantages and disadvantages is considered to be the easiest type of test in IELTS Writing, but in reality, many candidates still lose points with this type of test.
The following article will point out the most common mistakes candidates make when doing the IELTS Writing Task 2 Advantages and disadvantages essay, and provide the most reasonable strategy to approach this type of test.
Don’t forget that at the end of the article, Simply IELTS will provide you with a sample essay “super big” standard 8.0 for your reference more about this type of article
Types of questions in the form of Advantages and disadvantages Writing Task 2
Advantages and disadvantages IELTS Writing Task 2 can be divided into two sub-categories: Dạng 1: What are the advantages and disadvantages? With this type of IELTS test , candidates only need to list 2 advantages and 2 disadvantages to ensure the requirements. Candidates do not need to compare the pros and cons, or give their own opinion.
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IELTS advantage disadvantage essay
Model answer for an ielts advantage disadvantage (outweigh) essay..
Updated: February 2024
One of the most difficult essay types for many band 6 students is the ‘outweigh’ essay, which is an advantage disadvantage essay that is asking your opinion about which side you think is stronger.
The keyword in the task is ‘outweigh’. So you must cover the advantage and the disadvantage in this essay and clearly state your opinion. Do not only write about the advantages. you will need to cover both sides for a higher score in task response.
If you believe the advantage is stronger you must give your opinion on that in the thesis statement, but also make sure you show what a possible downside is. Have a look at the structures below for this type of essay.
Note that these are just guidelines. There is nothing mentioned in the marking criteria about the correct structure to use.
Check this blog post on the 3 types of advantage disadvantage essays.
Model answer.
People now have the freedom to work and live anywhere in the world due to the development of communication technology and transportation. Do the advantages of this development outweigh the disadvantages?
In recent times people have the choice of any location worldwide to live and work because of advances in communication technology and transport. Although there are downsides, this essay argues that the advantages are stronger as this has positively changed work life because people can work remotely via the internet from anywhere in the world.
One considerable advantage of technological innovation in transportation and communication is that it has revolutionised the way people work, bringing new opportunities and employment that did not exist before. In my view, this has had a positive impact on peoples lives due to the flexibility of combining work with travel. For instance, reliable Wi-fi networks and cloud computing, cheaper flights and high-speed trains allow people to live anywhere in the world while working online. Additionally, employees can participate in video conference calls and international forums, while entrepreneurs can run their businesses online from any location worldwide.
Admittedly, there are drawbacks in that some individuals have issues while living and working in different countries. In particular, culture shock and motivational problems while living outside their home country. This tends to lead to frustration for many remote workers who are relocated to offices in other countries. For example, multinational companies often neglect to train employees to deal with culture shock, as they assume that a positive experience on vacation in a new country will lead to easy cultural integration abroad. I believe communication technology has a positive role to play here, such as online coaching, which could help employees with motivation and cultural adjustment.
To conclude, despite the downsides, I believe that the benefits of communication technology and transport are greater because of new opportunities to travel and work online globally.
As you can see, I’m going with one advantage and one disadvantage here. This is ok for a Band 7+ but the essay must be well developed. If you have 2 advantages and 2 disadvantages, you may run out of time and end up with a very long essay at well over 300 words. Keep the essay concise.
You will notice in the thesis statement that I state:
‘Although there are downsides, this essay argues that the advantages are stronger as this has positively changed work life because people can work remotely via the internet from anywhere in the world.’
This shows balance as I have referred to the fact that there is a downside. In main body one, I cover the advantage and give my opinion on this. ‘ In my view, this has had a positive impact on people’s lives… .’
In main body two, I stated: ‘Admittedly, there are drawbacks….’ this shows the examiner that I’m covering the downsides now.
In the conclusion I refer to the disadvantages again briefly then restate my opinion… ‘ To conclude, despite the downsides, I believe that….’
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IELTS Advantages and Disadvantages Essay Lesson
IELTS advantages and disadvantages questions normally give you a statement and ask you to comment on the advantages and disadvantages of that statement.
The problem is that there are 2 different types of advantages and disadvantages essays, each requiring a different approach. If you answer them differently, you risk losing many easy marks.
This lesson will look at each of the three question types and suggest a standard sentence-by-sentence structure for each of them. There will also be sample answers for each of the three questions to help you compare and understand the two approaches.
In some countries, young people are encouraged to work or travel for a year between finishing high school and starting university studies.
Discuss the advantages and disadvantages for young people who decide to do this.
Some experts believe that it is better for children to begin learning a foreign language at primary schools rather than secondary schools.
Do the advantages of this outweigh the disadvantages?
Question 1 simply asks us to discuss the advantages and disadvantages. It does not ask for our opinion or says which side is better or worse, so we should not include this information in our answer.
This requires a simple structure in which the student will look at the advantages in one paragraph and the disadvantages in the other.
Question 2 is different because we have to say if the advantages are stronger than the disadvantages. Notice I didn’t say ‘if there are more advantages than disadvantages’. The question is not asking you to talk about numbers but comment on the overall weight of the advantages or disadvantages. For example, there are many advantages to travelling by private jet, but there is one huge disadvantage (the cost) that stops most people from flying that way, and therefore the disadvantages outweigh the advantages.
In this example, we will have to decide which side (advantages or disadvantages) is stronger, affecting our structure. If you choose advantages, you will have to say why these are much stronger than the disadvantages and why the disadvantages don’t hold much weight. You would also have to make this clear in your thesis statement.
Structure for Essay 1
Introduction
Sentence 1- Paraphrase question
Sentence 2- Outline sentence
Supporting Paragraph 1 (Advantages)
Sentence 3- Topic sentence (2 Advantages)
Sentence 4- Explain first advantage
Sentence 5- Explain second advantage
Sentence 6- Example of second advantage
Supporting Paragraph 2 (Disadvantages)
Sentence 6- Topic sentence (2 Disadvantages)
Sentence 7- Explain first disadvantage
Sentence 8- Explain second disadvantage
Sentence 9- Example of second disadvantage
Sentence 9- Summary of main points
Structure for Essay 2
Sentence 2- Thesis statement (state which one outweighs the other)
Sentence 3- Outline sentence
Main Body Paragraph 1 (Stronger Side)
Sentence 4- Topic Sentence
Sentence 5- Explain why it is strong
Sentence 6- Example
Sentence 7- Topic Sentence
Sentence 8- Explain why it is strong
Sentence 9- Example
Main Body Paragraph 2 (Weaker Side)
Sentence 10- Topic Sentence
Sentence 11- Explain why it is not strong
Sentence 12- Example
Sentence 13- Summary of main points and restate position.
Question 1 Advantages and Disadvantages Sample Answer
Before college, many young people are advised that a year of working or travelling may be a good option. This essay will suggest that experience gained and money saved are the biggest advantages of this, but delaying careers and reducing motivation to study are the primary disadvantages.
The main advantages of a gap year are learning more about the world and earning money. For students who have just finished secondary school, working or travelling for a year will allow them to learn what life is like outside of the education system. Also, third-level education is very expensive, and many students decide to work for 12 months and save money before they begin their studies. The average student at a UK university requires over £10,000 per annum to survive, and many drop out because they cannot afford to stay.
Despite these advantages, students lose a year that could have been used to advance their future careers, and they often get used to working or travelling and don’t want to return to a life of study. As job markets are very competitive, an extra year of experience can make a massive difference when applying for jobs, and those who took a gap year are at a disadvantage. Moreover, some decide to bypass university altogether and go straight into a job that is beneath their capabilities or may not offer the same prospects their future career might have. For instance, jobs in the service industry are easy to get without a third-level education, and many gap students fill these roles only to be stuck in them for the rest of their lives.
In conclusion, taking a break from studies can be advantageous if it allows people to accumulate savings or learn more about the world. However, they should also be careful that it does not delay the start of their careers and lead to disillusionment with education.
Question 2 Advantages and Disadvantages Sample Answer
Some authorities think that it is more favourable for pupils to begin studying languages at primary school instead of secondary school. This essay will argue that the advantages of this outweigh the drawbacks. The essay will first demonstrate that the earlier someone learns an additional language, the more likely they are to master it and that it brings added cognitive benefits, followed by an analysis of how the primary disadvantage, namely confusion with their native tongue, is not valid.
The main reason to start kids off with foreign languages early is that this increases the likelihood they will achieve fluency in adulthood. That is to say that they will have far more years to perfect their skills, and speaking bilingually will seem perfectly normal. For example, in countries such as Holland and Norway, where English is taught from a very young age, most adults speak it at an advanced level. Learning a second language also helps to improve overall cognitive abilities. In other words, it benefits the overall development of a child’s brain. It is well known that bi-lingual children are significantly more likely to score higher in Mathematics and Science.
Those opposed to this say that it causes the child to become confused between their mother tongue and the other language. However, there is actually no evidence to support this view and children from bilingual families do just as well in both languages. My son was brought up speaking both Vietnamese and English and outperforms most of his classmates in both.
On balance, the fact that early foreign language learning leads to higher fluency and improved brain function clearly outweighs the flawed argument that it impairs the uptake of native languages.
Advantages and Disadvantages Essay Next Steps
Now that you are more confident about IELTS advantages and disadvantages essays, you can practice and reach the level you need.
Do you need me to correct your essays and give you feedback on them? Check out our VIP Course .
I hope this has been of help to you, and please let me know if you have any questions or feedback.
The British Council and IDP also have some useful resources for IELTS preparation.
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IELTS Advantage Disadvantage Model Essay
Below is an IELTS advantage / disadvantage model essay about having one language in the world. The essay is estimated at band score 9.
The development of tourism contributed to English becoming the most prominent language in the world. Some people think this will lead to English becoming the only language to be spoken globally. What are the advantages and disadvantages to having one language in the world?
It is thought by some people that English, which is now the most widely spoken language in the world, may one day predominate over all other languages and result in their eventual disappearance. Having one language would certainly aid understanding and economic growth but there will also be some drawbacks.
One evident benefit to having one global language is that it would enable greater understanding between countries. In other words, if everyone spoke one language, there would be complete understanding between not only countries but all people throughout the world which would promote learning, the flow of information and ideas. Another reason that one language would be advantageous is that it would help economic growth. With all people speaking the same language, there would be fewer barriers and therefore trade would flourish between countries, resulting in a healthier world economy.
On the other hand, there are obvious disadvantages to having only one global language. Firstly, it would mean that all other languages would eventually disappear and, along with them, their cultures. The diversity of cultures is one of the joys this world has to offer. Each culture is unique with its own way of life and own perspectives of the world which would all be lost if there were only one language. Secondly, it would result in the collapse of tourism because there would be no reason to travel for pleasure and interest if all countries had the same language and similar cultures. This would devastate many countries economically that rely on tourism as a source of income.
In conclusion, while there are plus points to having one global language, too much would be lost as a result. Maintaining local languages and cultures should be prioritised to ensure a rich world heritage for future generations.
Comments: This sample answer addresses the task fully and provides relevant, well extended ideas. All aspects of cohesion is well managed. Vocabulary is flexible and there is a good range of complex sentence structures.
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Hi Litz, Your youtube channel and this blog is really helpful in preparing for my IELTS exam. I am having a doubt, which I would like to be clarified by you. So, in the advantages and disadvantages essay, we should explain one body paragraph as advantages and 2nd as disadvantages? and then give the conclusion which is better? or either explain one those and give opinion. Please clear my this doubt as i have my exam in a week. Thank you and wish you a speedy recovery.
If you are in doubt, please see my advanced lesson in my online store for detailed training: https://elizabethferguson.podia.com/
Thank you for the reply. I just want to know what structure is used in advantage/disadvantage essay. In the above model essay you used one BP showing advat and 2nd BP showing disadvnt. I just want to know is this the structure for this essay?
Of course, this is the structure. This is the purpose of my website and of these model essays – it allows you to learn at home.
Dear Madam, I found the below topic confusing. I can’t decide whether it refers back to “Do you agree or disagree” in which we ought to focus on only one side of the essay topic and forget the other side, or the “Advantages and Disadvantages” where we should discuss both sides. If the latter is correct, which I don’t think so, then we should cover both sides of two topics (living in a house and apartment) which would be a very long essay and unwanted in IELTS. So please help me out on this and thank you in advance.
Some people prefer to live in a house, while others feel that there are more advantages to living in an apartment. Are there more advantages than disadvantages of living in a house compared with living in an apartment. (Test 1, General Training, Volume # 7, IELTS Cambridge Series)
This is a very unusual question to get in IELTS because it is complicated and too lengthy. Most essays contain instructions which are more simple such as “Discuss both sides and give your opinion” or “Do you agree” or “What are the advantages and disadvantages?”. So, before I explain I will say that although this question is found in an IELTS Cambridge test books, which makes the question authentic, it is very uncommon to get any such question. The first thing to tackle in your mind are – what are the advantages to living in a house than living in a flat. Examples: internal space, privacy, outside spaces which flats generally don’t have. The downside would be – cost more than the countryside and there are fewer houses available in cities compared to rural areas. With these ideas planned. We then think about structuring the essay using these ideas and addressing the task. We can see that generally there are more advantages and less disadvantages. So, we will present the advantages in one body paragraph and provide simple comparison points such as “a house is more spacious than a flat” and then state the disadvantages in another body paragraph. We will present the opinion in the introduction and conclude it as well. So, you can see that although the essay question is written differently, it is an outweigh essay with simple comparisons. I hope this helps you 🙂
The reason for English developing into the most well-known language in the world owes to the advancement of tourism, leading some people to speculate that it will be the sole spoken language globally. One of the main benefits would be the improvements in communications, while the lack of diversity would be the drawback if English became the only language in the world.
The greatest benefit from having a single worldwide language is that people can understand each other more than they used to. Not only is this beneficial, but this also means that information would be easily exchanged between different cultures; for instance, many people would have been more educated if they had been given access to education materials in a language that they can understand. For these reasons, it would be more useful to have the same language as everyone else in the world.
It could be argued that despite the benefits, one of the most appealing sides of diversity, the mother tongue of other cultures, would be lost. Following this, the tourism industry, which relies on showcasing different atmospheres created by the variety in languages, would suffer the consequences. Travellers would become bored more easily and their desires to visit other places would reduce. Take the latest research findings as an example; conclusion therein states that countries which lost their mother tongue have seen to have fewer annual visitors than their counterparts. Thus, there would be some problems when it comes to uniting the entire planet under one language.
In conclusion, while there are some downsides to having a global language, it would still be beneficial for the majority. Hence, convincing societies to switch to English should be our priority for the better of the posterity.
Hi Liz, can I add ” personally, I believe…” before the last sentence in conculsion section? (personally, I believe maintaining local languages and …..)
I know some examiners that find that too informal. Your essay should always be formal: in my opinion, I believe, I think, from my point of view
There is no doubt that increasing number of tourism industry has put up the English as global language, which is concern for many people as they think this will result in English as the only language spoken internationally. Having one language would certainly aid the understanding and economic growth but there will also be some drawbacks. There will be many advantages of one language being spoken world-wide. Firstly, it will enhance the human-to-human connectivity and more understanding between them. This will also enable more trade between countries and fuel the economic growth. It will also help the research and education field, for instance, all research work, technology advancement and educational books will be available only in one language and it can benefit the whole world without any translation. On the other hand, the downside will be many local languages will be lost and with this many cultures and rituals will be vanished. The world will become monotonous and there will be no variation in people’s way of life or their cultures. The world is beautiful with its rich and diverse culture and the main reason for this is the language. The people will be no more interested in visiting other parts of world as the main reason is that that to go to different parts of world to experience the different cultures and language. In conclusion, speaking one language world-wide will surely benefit people in trade and many other aspects of life but the loss will be irreparable. Maintaining local languages and cultures should be prioritized to ensure rich world heritage for future generation.
Hi Liz, I have one question. I can’t understand why you wrote the last sentence. Isn’t it an opinion? I know this question is just discussing, not requesting my opinion…but why…?
It is possible to provide a final comment in your conclusion which might be an opinion, a prediction or suggestion. However, in an opinion essay, you would not present a new opinion in this way.
Advantage of “something ” outweigh the disadvantage? In the statement, can I have opinions for both, for instance, advantages point and disadvantage point as well ?
You still need to say which is more dominant. You must present a clear position. It doesn’t mean you must choose only one, but you must be clear which outweighs more than the other.
English is becoming the most popular language around the globe for many different reasons, one of those reasons is the increasing number of tourists to English speaking countries this might lead to an only English-speaking globe. In this essay I will illustrate the positive and negative impacts of speaking one language on both individuals and countries.
There would be a number of advantages to have one language in the world which people use to communicate ideas and feelings since communication will be easier and clearer for all individuals with no room for mistranslations or misunderstandings. In addition, foreign students and workers will not have to spend long periods of time learning a new language to study, work or live abroad. The globe will be more connected with one universal language.
On the other hand, having one global language results in a loss of each country’s heritage and history since language is seriously linked to culture and religion, for instance, travelers claim that learning local language brings them closer to local residents and helps them to deeply understand their culture and customs. Moreover, human brains develop different linguistic and intellectual levels while learning a new language which enhance individuals’ skills and personalities. Furthermore, there are many jobs that are based on the number of languages people speak globally such as teaching, translation and tourism which would disappear if humans speak only one language.
In conclusion, there are various advantages and disadvantages to have one spoken language in the world. Having English as the global language would ease communication and save a lot of time translating news and information, but it would demolish extremely important aspect of individuality and uniqueness between countries and cultures.
Having a common langue will ease all the language barrier and connect the people more easily. It is obvious that having a one common languages will help us to build strong understanding between countries and people which will help to build strong relationship. When people of different countries share a common ideas strong relationship. it will automatically result to built trust and hence improve our trade and economy.
On the other hand, having a single common language will eventually lead to disappear our unique culture and heritage.
Some people believe that it is best to accept a bad situation, such as an unsatisfactory job or shortage of money. Others argue that it is better to try an improve such situations. Discuss both these views and give your opinion
Some people believe that it is better to avoid struggle and stay with what you have such as lack of money or unsatisfactory job. Whereas, other people believe that it important to work more and try to change your lifestyle. In my opinion, avoiding hard work and accepting other decision is worse approach to leave a life. At first, without courage to improve life standard it is impossible to come out from such situation. One who is not trying to change his life he will never be able to change his life. At start it is difficult to move toward progress but with passage of time improvement will come if we are consistent and doing hard word for the sake of progress. Although, competition is on the peak and it is hard to make place in market but if our decisions are strong enough then no one can compete us. In addition setting goal and objective at start will help to get reward at the end and will lead us toward progress. On the other hand, if we stay with what we have it is worse decision of our life. When we a see achievement of other and happiest moment of those who are close to their goal. It will hurt us. Study shown that, people who are not trying again and again will never get success and end up with nothing. In conclusion, hard work is key to success and laziness will lead you toward negative thoughts as a result never you will never enjoy pleasure of success.
hye liz i am your big fan please check my essay and suggest band score
Having a language dates back to the earliest centuries of human beings’ lives. It has always been needed for people to understand each other and communicate. Various languages are spoken in many countries. It is arguable, that the increasingly enhanced tourism actions are empowering the English language, because tourists can use it wherever their destination is to explain their needs. This is due to the indulgence of it in all schools and universities curriculums worldwide. A small group of individuals believe that this will lead to a world with only one spoken language, which is English. This may have several merits such as a world described to be a close-knit community and less education expenses. However, it would badly affect the traditions of local cultures, in addition to the deterioration of countries’ economies.
A world controlled by people speaking one common language would be stronger, with notable education cost reduction. Many researches and projects are held on an international level. This emphasizes the importance of complete understanding and communication that will enhance the final outcome. For instance, according to an article released in 2019, many businesses have extended their cooperation with other companies all over the world, with the use of English. Hence, it could be justified that parents spend a lot of money, about half of their salaries, for teaching their children a second language, which is mostly English in non-English speaking countries. This can be explained by the enormous spreading of its usage and demand in all different nations. Thus, if it was the only language taught in schools, there would be no need to pay extra money to learn it. As the Netherlands has become an English speaking country, this fact has helped its citizens to save more than a quarter of their yearly income.
On the other hand, traditions and values will be affected negatively with the disappearance of local languages. All customs and history are inherited from generation to generation via books and stories that are better transmitted using domestic alphabits. The globalization of English will break down all the history of ancient tribes. In India, all traditions are connected with songs and festivals, which depend incredibly on slang and proverbs. Nevertheless, these cultural distinctions are the major attraction to tourists. Individuals will find it inessential to visit a country with a similar history and inheritance. For instance, American people tend to buy tours to European countries ten times more than taking a holiday to the UK, as stated in the sun daily journal.
To conclude, English is becoming increasingly significant, as a result, there will be one monocultural nation controlling the Earth, with no need for extra fees paid for linguistic lessons, yet with a fragile economy, and eroding traditions.
I don’t usually reply to people posting their essays because I don’t offer such a service. But in this case, I will point out that your aim is to write around 270-290 words, not over 400. Keep your introduction to just two sentences and make sure your main points are very clear and well presented in the body paragraphs. See all my free lessons and tips to learn more about writing an IELTS essay: https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-writing-task-2/
You are so humble and genuine.
That’s kind. Thank you
Nowadays, the tourism industry has developed on large scale because of easy transportation services and technological advancement. This development of tourism has led to English being one of the most widely used languages all around the world to communicate effectively. Moreover, some people think in the coming years English will be the only language spoken globally. There are lots of advantages and disadvantages to it as lots of countries have their native language depicting their culture and traditions. The biggest advantage of this will be that all the people around the world will have only one language to follow. This will help the traveler to communicate easily and get the desired help in an unknown place. Because of the language barrier tourism in that particular place is affected a lot hence having a single speaking language around the world will help boost the tourists’ spots and help in development. Although, the disadvantage of having a single speaking language is that every community wants to preserve its essence of culture and traditions. With languages all around the world, every particular region has its own style of communication which also contributes to history, music and art which will fade away overtime leading to extinction of communities around the world. So, having a single language as a communication protocol may work but at the same time will lead to communal protest and disagreement globally from the countries who have strong cultural and historical background in their native language.
Please Rate my Writing
Hello Liz. First of all, thank you for beautiful contents. I have a very important question. In ‘advantages-disadvantages’ essays, what if one don’t think there isn’t any advantages or disadvantages ? In the sample esssay, you tell the advantages in one body paragraph, and you tell the disadvantages in the following paragraph then you give your own statement in the conclusion (if I understand correctly.) But, what if you think there isn’t any disadvantages of monoculture and having one, predominant language in the world and you totally believe that this is how it should be ? Do pupils pretend that they think there are both advantages and disadvantages ?
This type of essay isn’t about your opinion. It is about presenting the information that IELTS are requesting. You are requested to present the advantages and the disadvantages – you must do that. It is part of the Task Response marking criterion. Furthermore, you now know that many IELTS essays will request you to do this. It isn’t a surprise. This means it should be part of your preparation to prepare ideas for topics and that includes advantages and disadvantages of various world concerns or trends.
The importance of English language which was always debatable has now become more controversial with many people claiming that it is beneficial while other reject this nation. The substational influence of this trend has sparked controversy over the potential impact in recent years. In my opinion, there are more demerits as compared to merits and i will discuss the both views in the upcoming paragraph.
On the one hand, there are some advantages on this trend. The first and foremost reason behind this is that, English is a very significant part in everyone’s life. If school provide English language since childhood then it will very beneficial for children because in this contemporary era, majority of jobs provide the job if masses know about english. Another striking benefit is that, if children do learn English since childhood do learn English since children then younger ones can easily crack their exam related abroad countries. For instance, IELTS, PTE , TOEFL etcetera and people can easily understand foreign language.
On the other hand, there are numerous reasons why I think there are more disadvantages. People avoid their native language then people do not follow the traditions and cultures so it is a very bad thing because Punjabi and Hindi language is also very important language and it maintain our discipline. During this, individuals follow their culture
In conclusion, there are some advantages, individuals can easily understand foreign language and crack the English based exam, Nevertheless, I believe that there are many pitfalls such as it become low popularity about native language .
Hi Liz, Could you please enlighten me, In adv outweigh disadv and discuss both views and give your opinion questions, Should I write the side I choose in more detail than the other? I mean Should I write two equal body paragraphs for two sides or give importance to one of them?
Best wishes Merve
The length of the body paragraphs should be equal. This is stated in the band score descriptors published by IELTS. But you can express your opinion clearly in the body paragraphs to make your stance clear.
Thanks Liz ☺️ I have been watching your videos in You tube
thank you for your model essey it was useful for me. Thank you so much again.
I had my IELTS exam last weekend. The question for task 2 was: “Some people buy their food from small shops and local markets, others buy from large supermarkets. Which one has more advantages for the customers?” What is the right way to write this essay?
Thanks and regards, Hilda
This is the “outweigh” essay. The instructions say: Do the advantages of X outweigh the advantages of Y. So, just approach it with the normal approach for the adv/disadv outweigh essay.
Hi Liz, is it okay to say in the introduction statement that “both the advantages and disadvantages of this development will be elaborated in this essay?”
Sounds very much like a learned phrase that you can apply to any adv/disadv essay. This doesn’t help your score increase. This is a language test and each sentence should be unique to yourself. Try to avoid memorising sentences to fill your essay. Also the examiner knows you will elaborate the advs and disadvs – the examiner has the instructions as well. You don’t need to repeat the instructions. So, it’s really a waste of time focusing on such sentences which are not needed and won’t increase your score. There are much more important things to focus on in your writing task 2 preparation.
Hi Liz! I love the way that you write. Thank you for your beautiful page and I hope you keep going with. You are my inspiration!
I’m glad my lessons are helpful 🙂
Could I ask, in this model essay, where are the examples in body paragraph 1 and 2 ? Could you help highlight them for me? Or is it not necessary to have examples, so you haven’t mentioned them?
Thanks for your help with this!
You don’t need examples in all body paragraphs. Explain and illustrate your ideas your way.
Hi Liz! My ielts teacher (not a native speaker of English) said it’s better to avoid using words like” firstly””secondly”, because it is like ” chidren’s essay “. But you are still using them in your essay. Is it true?
They are perfectly fine to use and certain not children’s language. However, try not to use them at the start of each paragraph to avoid “mechanical linking” which is a feature of band 6 for Coherence and Cohesion. Using them within a paragraph is fine. But use them once only.
There is no denying fact that the phenomenon of English widely spoken is ubiquitous across the globe due to the paramount importance of tourism. One school of thought opine that this should not be the case, however others consider that a couple of problems may also occur because of the same. Although this has plethora of merits yet numerous demerits are also there which will be elaborated in the upcoming paragraphs. Initiating with the best possible benefits, the most significant advantage is ease of communication. In other words, people would interact using only one language which would promote easy understanding between countries and societies. To cite an example, a survey conducted by the British magazine in 2019 reported that, 80 % of the people living in UAE communicate easily with rest of the nationalities by speaking English alone. Along with it, the relationship among the nations will become healthier. As a result, this will make countries to build a stronger bond between them. On the paradoxical side, there are several drawbacks as well. First and foremost, the extinction of the local languages. To explain further, various languages will ultimately be vanished slowly and gradually by the domination on one language. Secondly, People would not be interested to travel to other tourist places to explore the culture and lifestyle. Consequently, there will be a significant fall in the economy of the countries. To conclude, without any doubt this is a mixed bag. Although this topic has many positive aspects to centralize one language, the negative points of this notion may not be underestimated.
Wow… This is wonderful essay. It made me inspired and developed my attitude. This essay should score band 9.
The spikes in Tourism has made English the well known language in the world to communicate to which masses believe that it will be the only dialect accepted and implemented worldwide. This notion has its own advanatages and disadvantages related with it and we shall discuss on the same in this essay. I believe this should not be implemented. The effects of movies has a great impact on masses resulting an increase in travel industry. English being accepted globaly makes the communication easy with the native and tourists. Both the parties can communicate , understand and can be on the same page. Having a single language will certainly be user friendly worldwide. The possibities of awkwardness will not occur. Both the parties can convey their opinions with no hesitaion .Conversing in same speech will be fluent and smooth leading to no scope of shyness between the two person. At touristy spots, there will be no need for a local guide or translator for a traveller to shell their money on. However , a coin has two sides. Their are few disadvantages as well related with the notion. Every country has a cultural and native language which it is renowned for. For example, Europe is famous for French which has a major significance for the country. India has several cultural languages which it is famous for. Having the same language will not inculcate learning native language for the children and youth of the country. It is vital to stay grounded to your roots.The employement rate for attendant, translators will decrease. The history of the country will be hampered leading to no room of learning. To conclude English is well accepted globally but the roots of the country i.e language should be intact for the betterment.
It is a wide-known fact that English is considered to be the most dominant language worldwidely. Many claim that English will predominate over the other languages, leading to their gradual disappearance. The use of only one language universally will definitely have some benefits in terms of travelling or communication between the governments but at the same time, may have severe disadvantages on cultural identities and world economic status. Initially, an argument in favour of having a common language is that the travelling experience is enhanced and becomes more efficient. In other words, visiting a country with a different language is frequently a real struggle for some people, who might feel insecure to walk around and enjoy. Consequently, a common language may motivate more people to travel overseas, which will certainly boost the tourism for every country. Moreover, a mutual language may help addressing and tackling global issues such as the environmental problem. For instance, as long as all the governors share the same language, their communication will be more effective and their relationships will be strengthened. Under these circumstances, dealing with universal problems will be considerably more productive. On the contrary, the dominance of one language has some apparent drawbacks. Firstly, there is no doubt that each language is the bright gem of each country. This is exemplified by the fact that the various languages offer a great insight into the cultures and civilizations. If the languages start eliminating, then the long-term history and the uniqueness of each country will extinct very soon. Secondly, another equally significant argument against the prevalence of one language is that may negatively affect the travel frequency. To paraphrase, many people are motivated to learn a language and visit the country, where is spoken, either for practice or for simple interaction with local people. Provided that people speak the same language, this may discourage many to travel and as result tourism and world economy might be affected damagingly. In conclusion, although there are positive points to have a catholic language, maintaining the local languages is a great way to promote each country’s diversity and appreciate the differences that make each culture unique!
I would like you to ask you about main ideas and supporting details. Many teachers say that you should have only one main idea per paragraph and support it with your supporting ideas. So, for example, for advantages and disadvantages type of questions they recommend firstly find all ideas for advantages and disadvantages and after group them into main ideas and write one paragraph for each main ideas.But, in your eassay there is one paragraph for advantages and one paragraph for disadvantages. Is it ok to write paragraphs without main ideas? I am just confused about different style of essays.
The examiner is looking for logical organisation which means all advantages together and all disadvantages together. Furthermore, the marking criteria states that paragraphs should have a central topic – which means all advantages together. Many teachers get confused about this because they think a central topic must be a central idea – but that is not actually the case. It is about a central topic.
Hey Liz, Hope you are doing well. I got my ielts academic result today, with an overall band of 8. I just want to thank you for all the tutorial videos and sample essays you have made, they helped a lot to me. Thank you very much.
That’s a really great score 🙂 Very well done 🙂 Glad my lessons helped.
The English language has developed over the years to become one of the most recognized and popular languages all over the world. With the onset of tourism, people are connecting and interacting with different cultures and languages and English has become the preferred mode of communications. Hence, this has lead to speculations that the diversity of language spoken would become affected. While I do agree that English unites most people and allow for improved communications and sharing of knowledge, I find all languages to be rich in culture, beauty and individualism and it is highly unlikely that they would become extinct over time.
With twenty-first century becoming more globalized, there is a greater need for common ground understanding and communications with different people from all over the world. This has inspired people to pick up a second or third language and English is really popular among people. This is significant, as it allows for better sharing of knowledge, information and culture and helps bring more understanding in the world.
On the other hand, it is important to preserve different languages, as it is our culture and roots. If the world were to be left with English language, we may become less tolerable of different diversity and lose our individualism. In addition, we may find ourselves losing touch and the ability to understand our histories and artefacts (which are written in other languages).
Furthermore, given the growing popularity for the Chinese, Japanese, Korean, French and German languages, it becomes highly unlikely for English to be the only surviving language. People appreciate and admire the beauty and complexity with different languages and as such, I find it highly unlikely for humanity’s love for languages to die out.
In conclusion, despite the fact that having one language may improve communications, I believe that most people would agree that languages would make our world a more colourful and interesting place to be in.
In band descriptor of Writing there isnt any point explaining about idomatic language wherger we have to use or not. Yet, for speaking band descriptor explicitly mentions to use idomaric vocabulary. In your advanced lessons’ videos, u use few idomatic phrases, such as money does not grow on trees. As you are not only an IELTS teacher but also a native speaker, I have written some of your exact phrases, but my non-native tutor advised not to use them. Since I accept ur lessons more, how can I convince my teacher that they are not only ok, but also really good?
Any language I use in model essays or lessons about essay writing is fine to use for your IELTS essay. Less common idiomatic language is good for your score, but only when used appropriately.
Hello ma’am, plz check this essay fr me Topic – At the present time, the population of some countries includes a relatively large number of young adults, compared with the number of older people, Do the advantages of this situation overweigh disadvantage?
Essay : In the existing era, in some countries the population consists of large number of young generation, in comparison to the figure of old people. In my opinion, there are various benefits to this but the drawbacks cannot be overlooked. To begin with, there are several advantages of this notion. Having more youth in nation will give better development to the country. But the biggest downside of this is the loss of culture. As the older people maintains it in every home, which keeps the nation balanced. It also maintains the responsibility and strictness in the society. However, if these things get vanished in the contemporary time, there would be no limits on anyone as well as the freedom will be misused. Another evidence of this is it will result into unemployment. As there will be more young adults, more jobs will be needed. And it would not be easy for the companies to generate lot of employment. India, for example, is the country where unemployment rate is very high, especially the age group 20-40 are the most which remain jobless. In conclusion, the increase in young era may lead to various consequences although in my view, a country needs balanced population to keep it’s people well developed.
I would like to inform you that I have taken the date of exam for 7/9/2019
Most of the IELTS teacher suggest to put a example in each paragraph but I didn’t find anyone in this essay..why???
Because it is a recommendation and not a requirement. You choose how and when to illustrate. Not all illustrations need to use “for example” – not all illustrations are introduced by a linking word.
Hi Liz. I have encountered this question on your practice page. “What are the disadvantages of knocking down old buildings? Do the advantages outweigh the disadvantages?” Is the structure of the essay for this similar with what you have taught us on your advanced lesson video on outweighing? Or is there a new structure for this since there are two questions? I’m a little bit worried because I will be taking the exam this week. Thank you Liz!
If you have two questions, you must answer both. So in the first body paragraph, you state the disadvantages and in the second you would give your outweigh ideas. As you have only one paragraph for the outweigh – keep your position easy.
According to grammar rules mam we can not use to with verb form+ing but in your essay you have used many sentences in this form is it right? Can we use this?
It is not used as a verb. It is not a (verb+ing). It is the same as writing “I’m looking forward to hearing from you”. This aspect of grammar should not be used unless you have been trained to use it.
That is a to- infinitive, the variation Liz used is at the object position of the sentence. You can have it at the subject position too(initial part of a sentence) in which case it becomes “nominalized” e.g. ‘Reading is a good way to pass time’ or ‘To read is a good way to pass time’ My test is tomorrow Liz, wish me luck… I’m not too scared though because I’ve been following your lessons here and on youtube
I wish you all the luck in the world! Keep your eye on the clock for reading and writing. Make sure you plan your writing thoroughly. Read the essay question again and again before you start each paragraph – it will help you keep on track with ideas and language. Fingers crossed 🙂
If question says, “More advantages or disadvantages?” Does it mean “outweigh essay” which requires to mention both advantages and disadvantages along with my own opinion in Thesis statement (e.g. advantages outweigh disadvantages)?
Those instructions are the outweigh essay. IELTS like to paraphrase instructions from time to time.
How can your paid videos be accessed?
They are accessed through an email which is sent automatically after purchasing. Always check your spam folder. However, I am stopping all sales for the next month. They will be available again in September.
HI Liz, Thanks a lot for the fabulous work you are doing here. Your website has been a great help to me and even though I’ve not gone through other IELTS website, I can confidently say your site is the best out of the lot. So, I attempted my first IELTS (General) on March 23,2019 after a one week prep to sit for the exams and that as you would’ve guessed didn’t go too well. For my first attempt my results were; Listening 8.5 Reading 5.5 Writing 6.0 Speaking 6.5 Overall Band 6.5 This was obviously a bad result since I needed atleast a band of 7.0. Also, with a masters degree from a country which has English as its International language, I naturally underestimated the IELTS and I only chanced on your site after five days into my one week prep, which then meant I had very little time to get enough guidance from your site.
So, after that sore experience and having found your site, I decided to sit for the IELTS again but with enough time using solely your site as my study material and some Youtube simulation IELTS speaking videos to prep for my second attempt which was on May 23, 2019. Fast forward, I just checked my result and the breakdown is as follows; Listening 8.0 Reading 8.0 Writing 6.5 Speaking 7.5 Overall Band of 7.5
You can just imagine how excited I am right now, and this is all thanks to you Liz for your patience in replying to these many comments on your lessons and putting together such a well structured lessons on your site. This site is one-stop-shop for IELTS preps and I would encourage all those who are yet to sit for the exams to follow the lessons here diligently like I did.
Thank you again and may God continue to bless you, Liz.
Brilliant improvement – I’m really impressed !! Very well done 🙂 It really shows your determination to succeed 🙂 Thanks for recommending my site – I’m glad my lessons were helpful 🙂
Well done Seloram However, I can’t help but comment that when I read your post I really did feel you ought to have received a better score for your writing since your writing style is quite impressive. Did you contemplate giving a try for remarking?
Yes, I did consider requesting for a remark because I had enough time to plan, write and even had 5mins to go over and correct some errors for both writing tasks before the time was up. However, since I had hit my goal of getting an overall band of 7, I quickly disregarded the thought of a remark. Thanks!
I wanted to buy your new e-book, but turkey is not listed in the paypal system. So how can I get your e-book?
Unfortunately, I don’t have other payment options. However, it is possible for you to ask a friend to buy them for you.
I have been referring your website for clearing many IELTS, GT, Task2 related confusions, however, one confusion remains and, it has given me sleepless nights. It is regarding having one idea and developing/extending it or two ideas in one body paragraph.
I have seen your videos where you suggest to pick one idea, extend and support it to gain higher band. But, in your sample essays, more than often you have use two ideas in one body paragraph. I also referred other websites, which says that two ideas in one body paragraph may affect score in cohesion and coherence.
Please guide. Looking forward to your kind response. Thank you
You are confusing have one idea and having a central theme to the paragraph. You are being marked on your ability to group information into paragraphs which have a central theme. If you are giving advantages and disadvantages, a central theme would be all advantages in one body paragraph with disadvantages grouped in another. If you are presenting individual reasons for supporting your opinion, you would present each reason (each idea) in a separate body paragraph. So, your choice of structure and your paragraphing is flexible depending on what information you are presenting. This is what you are being marked on in Coherence and Cohesion.
Thank you for quick response.
you have cleared my doubt. This is the best explanation I have received.
God bless you.
I’m relieved you understood. It isn’t always easy to explain in a message.
Please feedback if this could score more than 7.5
Globally and due to tourism English has become so well known that some of us believe that, it would become the only spoken language in the world. While there are advantages in having one language such as the ease in conducting business, and improving communication among people, there are certain drawbacks such as erasing other languages, and loosing cultures identities.
Firstly, English has spread in many parts of the operational world and in particular in business. For example, many universities now are offering their postgraduate programs entirely in English. This allows international students to study and share research opportunities all in the same language. This benefit proves to be extremely rewarding as it unifies talents from all over the world and it enables students to grow in business endeavours together. Secondly, when conducting business, specifically, when it comes to transactions, it has been proven that bank operations in English are smooth and with less chances of making errors. Additionally, The Wall Street Journal has estimated that using English on the stock markets across the wold has saved expenses for many companies from translation costs as well it has substantially improved fast and easy communication. As a result, there is a clear confirmation that in business, it absolutely beneficial to use English as the main form of information.
However, there are some downsides to the notion of using one language. On the one hand, it gradually eradicates the potential to learn another language. For instance, because it is much easier when travelling or temporary visiting another country to use English instead of Spanish, people in general, lose the ability to attempt to learn a different language because they know that they can function with just applying English. A simple example, would be to communicate in English with a real estate agent in Spain, to purchasing a backpack in Germany, to even getting around with errands in China. Nonetheless, in the long run, this absolves you from the effort to learn the local language and as a result, one ends up living in a foreign country without learning to a greater extent about the culture. This appears to be only of disadvantage to us since we are not making progress in developing our skills. A study released from Harvard Psychology Magazine has found out that our brains are not as challenged by only relying on one language and therefore, they recommend continuous learning of other languages. Moreover, the notion of just having one language world-wide would definitely erase the character of many places, which we cherish as they are, for example, the authentic sound of French, the historical value of the Greek language, as well as the importance of medical terminology in Latin.
In conclusion, even though some purport to the idea that English is beneficial especially in business communications, others still think that it would eventually destroy other languages and ultimately eliminate the significance of other cultures.
I think u should go for a remarking. Your style of writing is good. Think again!!
I have been using this website since few months ago & I purchased your advance writing lessons as well. I could really enhance my knowledge through them. You are certainly born for teaching IELTS.:)
Could you please help me to build the background statement of following essay. “Some parents buy their children a large number of toys to play with.What are the advantages & disadvantages for the child of having a large number of toys?”
If I write this way is it correct ? “Although an excessive number of toys is thought by some to be useful for children, other people consider that it can be detrimental.” I have a little confusion there as question is not focused on negative aspect.
I’m going to take IELTS at beginning of May & hope you would help me.
Don’t change the content of the background. The essay question didn’t say anything about it being detrimental. It only stated a fact, not an opinion. So, you should paraphrase it exactly as it is: Some parents are indulgent and spend a lot of money buying toys for their children’s amusement. OR Some parents do not limit the number of toys they buy for their children’s amusement. OR Some children are indulged by their parents who buy them many toys to play with. (this option changes the order of information by starting with children rather than parents – this is a useful technique is paraphrasing is tough).
I took my ielts exam today. Everything went well, but I think I have messed up with essay task 2.
The question was: Companies are selling their products globally these days. Does this trend has more advantages or disadvantages. Support your answer with reasons and examples.
Unfortunately, i got confused that the question prompt is asking me to opt one side and write about it-because it said ‘or’ and not ‘and’
Was it incorrect to write only about the benefits and not disadvantages? How much would it impact my score?
It would affect your score for Task Response which is 25% of your marks for task 2. Your score cannot be predicted. Your task was to choose adv more and disadv less OR adv less and disadv more. This was an “outweigh” essay.
Hi, Mam, can you please post video lectures for cause solution and Direct Questions Essays. I need help with those. I ay. already purchased all your video lectures.
Waiting for your Kind Reply. My Ielts will be on 27 April.
Unfortunately, I stopped making videos due to health problems. See my free lessons and model essays: https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-writing-task-2/ . I’ll start making videos when I’m better – hopefully next year.
God Bless you and Get well soon. All good wishes to you and thanks for the reply
Wishing you speedy recovery Liz.
Thanks for giving us gerund to make a complex sentence. I used it. but I have some mistakes while making a complex sentence.my aim is 6.is it necessary to make every sentence in complex form for me
If your aim is band 6, you can use a combination of simple and complex. Review the band score criteria here: https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-writing-task-2-band-scores-5-to-8/ . Then review all lessons and tips here: https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-writing-task-2/
Your website is wonderful. Please what does a note form look like? I’m going through road to ielts writing and I came across a part that said note form and bullet points are not allowed.
We write notes when we are short for time in a meeting, for example. They are not fully formed sentences – just notes. You should avoid writing like this and write with fully formed sentences which adhere to English grammar rules.
In the Adv./ Disadv. Essay with whether the Advantages outweighs disadvantages, considering an opinion where the advantages indeed outweighs the disadvantages, will it be alright if I discuss the disadvantages first and then advantages. (I feel more comfortable in placing the heavier argument in the second paragraph. )
Thanks 🙂 Shailesh
Whatever order you choose, make sure it is logical. This means that the order in the introduction follows the order of the body paragraphs. Organisation is marked on logic.
Good point to remember. Right after this comment, I saw the way to attempt such essays in your Advance Writing video, and I think that would be more appropriate than reversing the order.
Thank you Liz. You are great!! Shailesh
Great. Glad you got the Advanced Lessons. Whenever you are in doubt in IELTS always aim for logic and clarity 🙂
Hi Liz, thanks a lot for posting this answer, however, i have a doubt. The question does not require you to provide your opinion (it only asks to mention what are the advantages and disadvantages), which i think means that you have to provide a neutral answer of both advantages and disadvantages. However, in the second sentence of your conclusion, do not you think that you are leaning towards one of the sides? Would not this contradict the requirement of the question to be relatively neutral? Am particularly concerned with the “should be prioritised”. What are your thoughts on this?
This is called a final comment – it is not a new point. It is possible that an opinion is a final comment as long as it is a neutral essay. A final comment is not actually necessary – it is optional.
Could you please rate the below essay and provide feedback.
The topic is as follows:
The development of tourism contributed to English becoming the most prominent language in the world. Some people think this will lead to English becoming the only language to be spoken legally. What are the advantages and disadvantages of learning one language in the world?
My essay is as follows:
Thanks to the development of tourism, English has become the most prominent language across the globe. This creates a standard where English becomes the main language for communication across countries. However, the downside to this is that many people would neglect their own native language, which would result in that language being lost as the generations go by.
The benefits of having a universal language is that it allows knowledge, communication and innovations to be shared across countries. For instance, in the past, many people would work as translators because each country would publish their discoveries in their native language. This process has been rendered obsolete thanks to the invention of a universal language. Having one language in the world, saves a lot of time as you don’t have to translate it from one language to another. It also allows for information to be shared much more efficiently.
In earlier generations, schools would teach their students the native language and offer foreign languages as an option. Consequently, schools now teach English and offer the native language as an option. As a result, many languages are being forgotten and lost. When Languages are lost, ancient cultures and stories written in that language are also lost.
In conclusion, one major advantage of learning one language in the world is that it saves a lot of time as you don’t have to translate from one language ti another. However, the disadvantage of learning one language in the world is that many languages and ancient cultures are forgotten and lost.
Thank you so much for the example. It’s pretty well-organized and everything flows logically and I am quite able to extract a structure for the advantage/disadvantage essay out of it.
As I am currently studying this kind of essay, I came across this prompt from Cambridge IELTS 7. It says:
Some people prefer to live in a house, while others feel that there are more advantages to living in an apartment. Are there more advantages than disadvantages of living in a house compared with living in an apartment?
I am quite confused since I feel there are way more issues to address here. Here’s what I understood:
Issue 1: Living in an apartment: advantages and disadvantages Issue 2: Living in a house: advantages and disadvantages Issue 3: My answer to that question: are the advantages of living in an apartment more than the advantages of living in a house?
So if my position is: I think that living in an apartment has far fewer advantages than living in a house, how would I structure my body section? Should I talk about the disadvantages of living in an apartment in one paragraph then the advantages of living of in a house in another paragraph?
Please help! Thank you.
Your structure is too complicated. You seem to think your opinion is separate from the advantages and disadvantages. It is not. Your whole essay is your opinion. This means you have only BP1 and BP2 as described above but written as your opinion. Always keep structure simple.
Good Day, Liz. I am confused with advantage \ disadvantage type 1 and type 2 essays. Any easy solution?
Try my Advanced lessons. Those two essays are explained in an Advanced tutorial taking over 1 hour: https://elizabethferguson.podia.com/
Hey Liz !! I am learning a lot from your videos.I wanted to ask you what can be the background statement for the topic
“Some parents buy their children a large number of toys to play with. advantages and disadantage ?
A significant number of children are bought many toys by their parents.
Based on the written essay, could you please provide an analysis report showing which sentences or essay points have potentially taken into account to enable this essay to be scored band 9 based on score criterian?
An example would be as follow :
Task achievement score is band 9 because of following points : A) B)…
Lexical item band 9 because ;.. A) B)
I believe a blog post based on this structure could have better enhance ones understanding in the effort at attaining band 9 for ielts writing for task 1 and task 2.
I have been working on ielts writing for GT to get at least band 8. I’ve took the exam twice and received same band score which is band 6 for writing with comment below:
A) my conclusion is not clear B) paragraph at not aligned in logical order C ) some of the grammar mistakes
If you could show this weakness to be solve, it would be much appreciated.
I also would like to understand better on the test criteria of “use of range of grammar structure”. Would it possible to demonstrate this based on a written essay? How to enhance this section to gain band 9?
Thank you , Hema
I have already written about the marking and how to improve each marking criteria: https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-writing-task-2-band-scores-5-to-8/ . It seems you did not visit my main writing task 2 page and read all the tips and links. I suggest you do that. Learn first, ask second: https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-writing-task-2/
Teacher, You wrot in the first paragraph ” To haveING ” . Sorry, but is it correct grammar ? as I know TO shoul be followed by first tense of verb. I know that is not a mistake but what are the conditions where we use it ?
“I look forward to hearing from you” – it is 100% fine to do this “to + verbing”. The “to” is a preposition!!!! It is advanced grammar, don’t use it if you haven’t learned it.
Hi Liz, Can we use the word ‘Statistics’ for giving example in IELTS General essay. I read somewhere, that Statistics must not be used as we are not giving a report but our thought/opinion, though i believe ‘Statistics’ is a better word. Also, please confirm if we can give false example to prove our point. For example, Statistics shows that 75% of women in London are working OR For example, Most women in London are working.
“statistics show that 75% …” is a learned phrase. This means it doesn’t help your score. The examiner doesn’t care what the percentages are. You don’t get a higher score because you have percentages. If your wrote “the overwhelming majority of women ..” that shows better language skills. Task 2 is an essay based on language, not a report.
Hello Liz, Please advise, if we should use comma before and or not.(Should we use Oxford Comma)
For example, which of below statements is correct or both are fine.
1: I have visited Spain, Italy, France, and UK. 2: I have visited Spain, Italy, France and UK.
This is an IELTS exam website. For English grammar lessons, please visit a grammar website.
Please advise if we should always write ‘outline statement’ in Introduction paragraph and can follow below structure. In few cases, this may not be possible. Please explain. Thanks.
1: Paraphrase Question 2: Thesis statement 3: Outline statement
The outline statement is optional. It is not a requirement of IELTS.
Thank you for this content. It is very useful.
Could you please guide further on the test criterion ‘Grammar Range and Accuracy’. What does it exactly mean to use range of sentence structures and tenses?
Yes, that is exactly right. You are being tested on your range of sentence structures and tenses. You don’t need to use all tenses, of course – that’s impossible. But you should use a range. But particularly, you should focus on a range of sentences structures. I’m currently writing an e-book for grammar range for writing task 2 – is that something you think would be popular?
Yes it would. Would be helpful if you could blog post some details on them as well.
Hi Liz, Can you please advise, where you gave examples in above mentioned Body Paragraphs, as i somehow could not find them.
I closely observes your posts and your reply for this would really help me. Thanks in advance.
There are many ways to illustrate and explain an idea. Examples are just one way and are not actually a requirement.
Hi Liz, this is what I came up with as paraphrase for the topic
English is becoming the most spoken language globally as a result of improvement in tourism, some argue that the outcome will be that English will become the only spoken language spoken around the world
the most widely spoken language in the world is Chinese 😉
No its not, English is, and there is no such language as Chinese, its called Mandarin!
Mandarin might be most native spoken language in the world (in population numbers of Chinese), but English is the most widely spoken language in the world, for example, Chinese, Spanish, Hindi, Arabic which falls into the top 5 most native speaking languages, some of them might take up or speak English as their second language, which in result makes English the most wide spoken and understood language in the world ! Hope this answers your question…but you are quite right, Mandarin/Chinese is the most spoken native language in the world ! This question in the Essay is very tricky as it it describes English as the most prominent language in the world, whether we agree or disagree, we need to stay on topic and just pretend we agree that English is the most widely spoken language in the world. This is why its very important to focus 3-4 mins on the question before responding as per Liz says.
Science has verious activities which is good for health,others are bad. Despite knowing,millions of people are having unhealty life. What do you think and is there other method to solve this.
This was the question asked in today’s ielts writing. Can any body reply these with a ansews I am doubt.
The problem is that the full essay question has not been written correctly. It contains a lot of mistakes and it makes it difficult to read. Try thinking more carefully and checking your grammar. I can’t offer tips unless I see an accurate question.
Good day, Ms. Liz! I am just confused. I want to ask about the tense you used on your second body paragraph before the second argument, it says “if there were only one language”. I am not good in grammar so I want to know why you used “were” if you are only referring to “one language” and why is it on past tense since it is has not happened yet? Thank you.
It is conditional.
I didnt see any examples on this essay.is it possible to score 7+ without giving examples ?
You give examples if you want to – it is not a requirement.
Hii lizz Thanku Is it opinion essay ‘do advantages outweigh the disadvantages?’ I’m little bit confused Gurdeep
It requires an opinion.
I studied your advanced writing course: advantage and disadvantage essay and practiced writing. I have a question: can I write one advantage and one disadvantage only? The question is asking advantages and disadvantages. Thank you!
If you can only think of one adv, then you will only be able to give one: the most significant adv is….
Hello Liz, I am taking my academic IELTS this weekend and I have been learning the tips and skills from your videos.Thank you so much for your help. But I have got a question regarding the writing tasks (especially task 2) : will I earn a higher score by writing complex sentences as many as possible by the use different clauses and conjunctions? Thank you.
Grammar counts for 25% of your marks and this includes range of tenses, range of sentence structures, punctuation and number of errors. A complex sentence in IELTS is considered a sentence that is not simple. So, for example, a sentence which contains one clause is considered a complex structure by an examiner. The biggest mistake students make is creating sentences that are too long and contain more and more clauses – one in enough and length should be controlled. Conjunctions, such as linking words, relate to the marking criteria of Coherence and Cohesion, which is 25% and also includes organisation of information and paragraphs as well as a good range of linking words. See this page: https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-writing-task-2/ and this page for my advanced writing task 2 lessons : https://elizabethferguson.podia.com/
Hi madam , how can I buy three of the videos together . Is there any other option ? Thank you Bineetha
Each lesson is bought individually. Please remember that this offer will not be available tomorrow.
Hi madam Could you please help me to understand what type of writing task 2 question is given below . We are becoming increasingly dependent on computers .They are used in business ,hospitals ,crime detection and even to fly planes .In which more field will they be used in future? Is this dependence on computers salutary or should we be more cautious about their benefits ? Is this a advantage and disadvantage question ? If it is . I guess they have also asked a opinion ( in which field they will be used in future ? ) I am confused . Their is a dilemma to understand such question . Could you please help me . I would really appreciate it . Thank you so much Bineetha
This is how I answered your topic. The world is relying more on computers, and computers have found use in various spheres of life including healthcare, forensic investigations, and even the auto pilot located on aircrafts. In my opinion, computers still have many other unexplored uses and I also believe that dependence on computers have more positive eventualities than negatives. It is worthwhile to approach the exploration of the positive attributes with caution. To begin with, in our everyday lives, computers will likely play more important roles as scientists discover more ways to apply its versatile nature. I foresee computers being used in environmental studies, for instance, measuring the amount of smog or soot in the atmosphere. Also, computers could likely replace guide dogs that walk people with visual impairment. Computers might be deployed to monitor ocean floor activities as part of an early warning system against earthquakes. The possibilities on the use of this versatile creation- the computer is truly endless. I believe that dependence on computers will have more positive eventualities than negatives. While it is argued that the dependence on computers and the increase in computer’s knowledge dubbed ‘Artificial Intelligence’ could threaten the human workforce, I am of the opinion that it will vastly increase productivity. Furthermore, computers should take over jobs which humans cannot do due to our nature. Finally, the call for caution in harnessing the positive attributes of the computer is being made in good-faith. Science fiction movies have demonstrated that computers could eventually take over the world, in collusion with some humans. It is not an idea that seems remotely impossible, since every uman process is gradually being linked to the computer. The possibility is indeed very scary. In conclusion, It is very important to be cautious as we automate and computerize our everyday activities; this is to ensure that we do not become over reliant on the computer and lose out in the end.
I’m sure it is not up to scratch, but the questions are multiple and not the usual agree/disagree type. It is more of discussion type essay.
Hi Liz, First of all thank you for your website, it has been really helpful for my IELTS study and practice. I have a question though, will they consider correct if I spell a word using the american English? Example the word “prioritize” which in UK would be “prioritise”. Thank you, Marina.
You can use either American or British Spelling – but you can’t use both. So, choose which one you will use.
You told in of your videos that you should not use “There is/are”. however, you have used it in your essay more than once?
This is not what I have said at all. Which video are you referring to?
Hello liz mam, I’d purchased your ielts essay lessons, but I’m still confused –
-Is this positive or negative development ? ( what structure I’ve to follow in this type of question ?) Body para 1 – negative side Body para 2 – posivite side It is same as advantage and disadvantage essay or some thing else ? Hoping for your reply soon as my exam is on 25 Nobember
Follow the instructions as I taught in my advanced lessons. If it ask X AND Y = both / if it asks X OR Y = you choose. Just read the instructions!!
Thank you so much mam 🤗
Another advantage will be that we don’t have to take IELTS exam
You are completely right and I agree with you.
Hello mam, Is it correct format If i write the balanced conclusion (means there are merits and demerit) in advantage and disadvange type essay????
The conclusion summarises the main points. You can’t plan what you will write until you essay the topic and essay question. You certainly don’t memorise sentences or phrases.
Thank you mam
I have some concern with one advantage and disadvantage essay question, which state “Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of this and give your opinion”. Should I follow the same structure of ” Do the advantanges outweigh the disadvantages”, in which the key is the thesis statement. Therefore, my essay will have two body paragraph which explain the advantages and disadvantages, then I explain my opinion with the side I agree with. Or can I have three body paragraph – one advantages, one disadvantages, and another disadvantages (or advantages) which clearly support my opinion. Or do I have to tackle with this question type as “Discuss both view and give your opinion”? Maybe be for some questions, it is possible to do this, for instance (discuss the advantages of both methods and give your opinion, in which my opinion can be more specific) but in this case – discuss the advantages and disadvantages, and give your opinion – my opinion can not be other than whether advantage or disadvantage. I hope my question makes sense. Please give me a feedback for this concern teacher Liz.
Thank you so much for your response, your time and for this amazing blog. All the best.
You would tackle it as “Discuss both sides and give your opinion”. However, adv & disadv essays usually say “What are the advs and disadvs?” – they don’t ask for an opinion as well. So, make sure you read the instructions very carefully.
How important it is to have only one topic sentence each paragraph for a high band score? In this essay each body paragraph has more than one key points(adv or disadv).
A topic sentence (the first line) defines the content of the paragraph – that is what you need for each body paragraph.
Hi mam liz..its my first time to paraphrase a questions for task 2 in writing and the question is ” some people think that it would be better for large companies and industry to move to regional areas outside large urban centers. Do you think the advantages outweigh the disadvantages?
And this is my answer.. Almost all of the people think that its better to transfer all big companies and industry to a place which is away from big cities.
Place correct my sample answer to this question..i am not confident with my grammar and vocabularies please help me to expand my ideas in creating essays…thank you so much in advance
Sorry I don’t comment on writing.
can we express our opinion in conclusion part in this kind of essay which requires a discussion on advantages and disadvantages?
It is possible to do it as a final comment. A final comment is the second sentence in the conclusion after you summarise the main points in your essay. It is not actually necessary to have a final comment. Having just one sentence which only summarises your ideas is fine.
Hello Ma’am Is it increase my band in writing task 2 if I write idioms or proverbs?
See this page: https://ieltsliz.com/using-quotes-or-idioms-in-your-ielts-essay/ and then review all my tips: https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-writing-task-2/
Hi Liz, I really find your lessons extremely helpful. I want to ask do I need a title for my essay? Will it affect my band score if I had/ didn’t have one?
As you can see from my model essays – there is no title.
Hey Liz I have a query regarding advantage disadvantage essay, do we have to give our opinion in conclusion as I feel u have given ur opinion in conclusion in this model answer , I thought we only have to give our opinion if the question asks do the advantages outweigh the disadvantages but not for simple advantage/disadvantage essay .Kindly help in this regard Thanks in advance Mehwish
It is not necessary to write an extra comment in the conclusion as shown above.
Hi Well i wish 2 know that in witing task 2 are no of ideas considered for marking? Nd moreover if i write few ideas or simple ideas but in an effective way how much grade shud i expect? And should i emphasize on writing gud ideas in my answer or i just hav to b concerned about my writing?
See this page to learn about writing task 2 marking: https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-writing-task-2-band-scores-5-to-8/
I have a question about an “Advantage Disadvantage essay”. When I see question like this: “Do you think the advantages of economic development outweigh the disadvantages?” – may I state my opinion in the thesis statement? Or should I leave it impersonal?
It is asking directly what you think. Therefore, you must answer it directly. Do you think the advs outweigh the disadvs – state what you think.
Dear Liz, I received my results and I got 7.5, I wouldn’t get that without your tips and notes. I would like to take the opportunity to thank you for the help provided. You are an angel. Best Regards, Noura Ghanem
Well done, Noura!! Band 7.5 overall is a great score 🙂 I’m so pleased my lessons were helpful 🙂
Hello teacher! Can i write a couple of advantages in one paragraph ? In advantages and disadvantages question.
Yes, of course. As long as your body paragraph has a central theme (for example, one body paragraph with all advs), it’s fine.
Hi teacher, I would like to ask about when to use past tense in writing task 2? I thought in academic writing should only have present tense, but I saw you use past tense in example section..? Hopefully you can reply my message. Thank you~
Of course you must use a range of tenses in writing task 2. This is language test and they are testing your range and accuracy.
Thanks so much Liz. My exam is this week and your lessons have been of immense help. I am however confused about something . In this advantage-disadvantage essay, I noticed an opinion was given at the conclusion. I thought opinions are only allowed in opinion essays. Thanks once again as I await your response.
It is possible to add an opinion as a final comment to a conclusion. However, I often prefer to use predictions instead. In fact, it is possible to skip the final comment and just have one line summarising the main points instead as a conclusion.
Hello Liz, in your advantage and disadvantage model essay, you gave two examples for each section. My question is that if I give only one example for advantage and two examples for disadvantage, does it lower my score ?
You can choose how many examples to give. There are no rules about this. It is your choice how you support your main point.
Hope you are doing well. Kindly help me with a confusion.
When we are asked if advantages outweigh disadvantages, do we discuss both advantages and disadvantages in BP1 and BP2 respectively or just give our opinion in introduction and discuss the one which we choose. For example if we say advantages outweigh disadvantages then we just discuss advantages in the body paras or still discuss both.
I will really appreciate your guidance. Many thanks.
Warm Regards, Preeti
You must explain why one is more important than the other. So, in expressing your opinion you will refer to both sides.
Hello Liz, Can I use “one common language” or “one international language” as a synonym of “one global language”? Regards. Sadia.
Yes, both options are fine.
Hi Liz, Is it okay for coherence to put two unrelated points in the same paragraph if both are advantages for example?
See my model essay above – it shows you how I put two advantages in one paragraph. The central theme of the paragraph is “advantages” – this is what IELTS are looking for – central themes.
Thank you! That’s what I did, but my teacher said that made it incoherent, so I thought I misunderstood the method in the model essay.
I think people get confused about having only one idea in a paragraph and having a central theme to the paragraph. For cause and solution essays, it’s the same. One paragraph for causes and one paragraph for solutions. The examiner is actually looking for logically organised ideas and it definitely logical to organise it in that way. Good luck with your results 🙂
Hello, Liz! First of all, thanks a lot for your really useful materials and video lessons! I have passed my exam this Friday and Saturday. Now I am waiting for my results. I would like to ask you about writing 2 essay type which I was given. “Do advantages outweigh its disadvantages” is it same with “What advantages and disadvantages does it have”? My topic was “most government develop its economy to improve living standard but ts leads to the loss of social values”
The main differences is that the “outweigh” essay requires your opinion – which is more important – advs or disadvs. But otherwise, it is similar. Good luck with your results 🙂
Dear Liz can I use having one global languge=monolingual world
Thanks Liz….im following your tips and hope to get d desired score soon and will let u be the results…..
Thank you for sharing your knowledge to us.
I’m wondering for advantage and disadvantages essay. Could I put any conclusion sentence in last paragraph. Or I don’t have to write any conclusion for this type of essay.
Thanks, Yun
ALL essays for task 2 MUST have a conclusion. Failure to write a conclusion for task 2 will result in band 5 for Task Response which is 25% of your task 2 marks.
Hi Liz, Thank you for this wonderful site and your tips. Could you please clear me how to approach this kind of essay. for example, “Many people starts travelling to other city. is it a positive or negative trend”. i am very confused how to approach this kind of essays, are they same like advantages and disadvantages type? looking forward to hear from you soon. Thanks.
This question is asking for your opinion. Is this positive or is this negative? Give your opinion in the introduction and explain your view in the body paragraphs.
Many thanks for your fast answer…
Hi Liz, is it grammatically correct if I write ‘the benefit OF having one …’ instead of ‘TO having’? Thanks
Yes, it’s fine.
Hi Liz, Can u please clarify me: In advantages overweigh disadvantage., Do I need to mention advantages and disadvantages and then conclude? Regards, Bhavya
You need to express your view. Which is more important than the other.
Firstly, *cough, cough*, I would like to thank you kindly for such an extensive effort into providing such detailed and straightforward information. Your lessons and tips are clear and concise, and really useful. After having lived the first 14 years of my life in an english speaking country, when asked to take the IELTS for immigration purposes, I focused on the test style, namely listening and reading, having given little thought to the writing aspect of the test, thinking it would be unnecessary. My overall band score was 8.5, however, the writing score was 6.5, and the department of immigration looks only at the lowest of all band scores. Unfortunately that score is insufficient, so this time, I am making sure I do not make the same mistake.
To conclude, *ahem*, I studied solely based on the rich and vast quantity of information contained in your site and by following your instructional videos. This time, I am sure I will obtain the desired band minimum.
Thanks again for the great work, and keep well.
Even a native speaker needs to prepare for the writing test. It is skills based as well as language based. This is the reason why having excellent English is not enough. When is your next test?
This essay is very balanced but there are repetition with “would”. why ?
It’s a conditional grammar tense.
In advantages and disadvantages essays, can we write one for each and explain and give example? Or should we write at least 2?
You can give an example , two examples or none – it’s your choice.
Thank you for your time and knowledge sharing. I would like to know, if for the above model essay if they ask for give your opinion what should should be modified in order to reuse the above essay.
You can take ideas for essays but that’s all. You can’t memorise an essay to use in the test.
Hi Liz, Can you provide a sample for introduction of advantages outweighing disadvantages essay model?
I did already – please see previous comments.
Hi Liz, Can you provide a sample of an introduction for advantages outweighing disadvantages essay model?
Question: Many students take a year off between finishing high score and going to university. Do you think the advantages outweigh the disadvantages? Into: Having a gap year before starting tertiary education is becoming increasing popular. I believe that although there may be problems with this, in the long run it is more beneficial and helps students developing into more rounded characters.
Thank you for your kindness. It will be of great help to me.
Hi liz, in this kind of question is it okay if i state first the disadvantages then advantages afterwards? will it affect my TR? thank you
It will affect your score for Coherence and Cohesion which is 25% of your marks and includes the logical order of information and ideas. It is not logical to change the order.
Hi Liz , in this topic , you did not include any examples .is this ok ? i am sorry but i try to understand and define a certain forum to follow . thanks
You don’t need to give examples. There are many ways you can choose to illustrate your ideas. It doesn’t affect your score.
I thought giving examples is mandatory to support our ideas.Is it not required to give examples? If no,What are the other ways to illustrate our ideas?
You give examples when relevant. You don’t need to illustrate ideas, you need to develop them – explain them – give details.
Regarding the above question, could you tell me please how and where to put the likely answer for //state which you consider to be the most effective//.
Your opinion should always be put in the introduction when it is asked for. See my advanced lessons if you need training: http://subscriptions.viddler.com/IELTSLizStore
Hi Liz In an advantage/ disadvantage essay, should I always say which is best in my conclusion?
No. If the instructions say “what are the advantages and disadvantages”, you don’t give your opinion at all.
Hello Liz! But you did state your opinion in your conclusion when you said that “Maintaining languages and cultures should be prioritised…”. And now you are saying that you shouldn’t give your opinion. Can you clarify this contradiction please. Regards, Vlad
It is possible in a conclusion to add a final comment which might be a suggestion or prediction.
If everyone spoke? is that past indefinite?I think its wrong.
Hi Liz! I hope you will be fine. I wanna ask, we should use connectors like firstly, secondly, on the other hand etc. in start of the paragraph or use between the paragraphs in an essay. And we should make four or five paragraphs while writing an essay.
You use sequencers and linking words where necessary depending on your ideas and the content of the next paragraph. There is no fixed rule.
Hello there Liz, I think this is a discussion essay so my question is, can I freely give my opinion on what side I am for as a conclusion even though it wasn’t asked? Thank you. =)
You only give your opinion when the instructions ask for it. Stick to that strategy and you won’t make mistakes.
With the last sentence in the sample essay, have you not stated your opinion even though you did not use ‘in my opinion’ there?
It counts as a suggestion. You could also have finished with a prediction if you wish. It’s just a final comment, that’s all.
Your videos are very helpful to me, and I’m still studying some of the essay lessons. I’m practising my writing task 2 and I have realise that I am not sure when to use can and could, shall and should, and will and would. Is there any rules of when to use these words. I hope to hear from you.
Sincerely, Lynn
See this page: http://www.learnersdictionary.com/qa/could-can-and-would
Thank you so much! This will be a great help for me.
Suncerely, Lynn
Dear Liz, One writing task which misleads always is – 2 opinions discussion and your opinion. Kindly help with this. Following are the 2 examples of that 1. Some people prefer to live in a house, while others feel that there are more advantages to living in an apartment. Are there more advantages than disadvantages of living in a house compared with living in an apartment? 2. Some experts believe that it is better for children to begin learning a foreign language at primary school rather than secondary school. Do the advantages of this outweigh the disadvantages?
My question is the following 1. Do I need to write advantages & disadvantages of living in house- 1 paragraph, advantages & disadvantages of living in apartment- 2 paragraph and my opinion- 3 paragraph? 2. Do I need to write advantages & disadvantages of learning foreign language in primary school- 1 paragraph, advantages & disadvantages of learning foreign language in secondary school- 2 paragraph and my opinion- 3 paragraph.
Both these examples have 2 opinions instead of 1, and each opinion has advantage and disadvantage and finally writers opinion. This is going to be a long essay, kindly advise on this. Does any of your advanced essay videos address this, I want to buy them.
Yes, in my advanced lessons, the “advs disadv essay lesson” covers both “what are the advantages and disadvantages?” and also “do the advantages outweigh the disadvantages?” http://subscriptions.viddler.com/IELTSLizStore . That lesson is 1.5 hours in length and explains in great detail how to tackle those questions.
Dear Ms Liz, Thanks a lot for your lessons. my English has improved so much since i’ve got your page. However, i missed one of your essay, that is What are the advantages for a company of having uniform that you uploaded. Would you pls help me find this. Big thanks to you
Here’s the link: https://ieltsliz.com/finding-ideas-for-ielts-writing-task-2/
Dear Liz, I want to ask you about the body paragraph of advantage and disadvantage , agree or disagree .Do they have the same method ?
https://ieltsliz.com/liz-notice-2015-2016/
your page is deeply useful, thanks very much, really, thanks for all,
i just would to ask why you wrote “In other words, if everyone spoke one language” (at the beginning of the second paragraph instead “In other words, if everyone speak one language”. As I said, thank you very much for all,
I have some problem with writing and speaking what can be done to overcome this Because only 20 days left for my ielts test
See my advanced lessons for writing task 2: http://subscriptions.viddler.com/IELTSLizStore and see this page for speaking: https://ieltsliz.com/develop-your-ielts-speaking-for-free/
Hello madam, I really thank you very much from the bottom of my heart for making this site . It is very useful for my as I plan to take islets next month on February 19th and it is my first time hoping to get the score band I want .
Actually I want ask if we can use in the phrase ( in a matter of fact ) in the begging of the introduction like you used ( it is thought by ) or it will not helping in score
Thanks in advance
Sorry for some errors in writings I were not fully concentrating 🙁
Hi there, The teacher used that statement because if you go back to video she presented in the section of Discussion Essay Useful Language. She introduced the most important statements should be utilised. Therefore, I would advice to be on the sife side and use one of them better. Best regards, Salah
Hi liz I am lakhpreet from india and my ielts examz is on 29/11/2016 so i have problem in writing task1 and task2 how can i prepare to get good score in my ielts examz . I have lot of problem in writing task 2 introduction i don’t know what i should write so please give me tips
See the main pages for writing task 1 and 2 below to learn what to do: https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-writing-task-1-lessons-and-tips/ https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-writing-task-2/ You can also find advanced training for writing task 2 in my online store: http://subscriptions.viddler.com/IELTSLizStore
this is very useful website !!!!really
The topic is a discussion essay that does not require our opinion. However, the conclusion seems to be an opinion even though it does not use ‘I’ or ‘we’ – having one language has more disadvantages and that languages and culture should be protected.
Is this acceptable or should the conclusion be more neutral?
Good article. I am facing some of these issues as well..
I find your explanation very helpful, straight on point and easy to understand. I am very happy I came across your website. I have learned so much from the content you’ve posted here. I hope you keep up doing such great work continuously.
Warm regards,
Dear Liz Just wanted to know if there is a ques in writing task 2 How the disadvantages outweigh the advantages? Do we need to write both disadvantages and advantages at the same time and then writing in favour of disadvantages in the end or we just need to discuss the disadvantages????? Moreover, if you are slightly under words in task 2 like if you only write around 237/238 words, is that a problem? Kindly reply
Hi Mam i am Varun From India. Is it good to take stance in the introduction paragraph in both types of essays as you have done ( Arguement as well as Discussion essays )? What do you think would it be better to take stance in introduction paragraph in case of Arguement Essay and in conclusion paragraph in Discussion Essay? Please if possible then post some more model answers
Hi Liz, So in this type of question (adv vs. dsadv), there should be no thesis statement but still with a conclusion at the end? Thanks, Joharra
And, can I use “universal language” as paraphrased for “one global language”? Thanks
Yes, that’s fine. Liz
Thank you Liz 🙂
Dear Liz, I’m so thankful that I bumped to your very-useful blog. It’s nice to have an online tutor who is totally friendly and helpful. I would say that I want to share this blog to all of my friends in Indonesia who are struggling for IELTS as I am.
I have an alternative for the introduction above, if you don’t mind, you can correct it for me.. “Some people believe that because of the tourism grew up widely which influenced the usage of English to become the most spoken language, it will soon make it as the choice of language to be spoken internationally. Owing to this prediction, there would be some advantages in increasing mutual understanding and economic growth among nations. Otherwise, there also would be some disadvantages related to cultures.”
64 words, i know this is too many 🙁 Thank you so much for your response and consideration.
Sincerely, Grace, Indonesia
Sorry but I don’t comment on writing. Liz
Hi Liz, I am still very confused with how to structure my essay if the question is outweighing advantages and disadvantages. Can you please enlighten me on this? Thank you Liz.
I will be publishing a lesson on this hopefully next week. Please wait for that. It can not be explained in just a few sentences. All the best Liz
Thank you Liz. I am very keen as my exam will be on the first week of November. 🙂
Greetings from Minnesota! I’m bored to tears at work so I decided to check out your website on my iphone during lunch break. I really like the knowledge you present here and can’t wait to take a look when I get home. I’m amazed at how fast your blog loaded on my cell phone .. I’m not even using WIFI, just 3G .. Anyhow, very good blog!
Hope you enjoy the lessons 🙂
Hi Liz Shouldn’t you have used “had” instead of “have” in the sentence in the third paragraph?
“Secondly, it would result in he collapse of … if all countries “have” the same language…”
Isn’t this supposed to be an unreal or imaginary condition? thanks
Well spotted. It is indeed second conditional. Liz
I just came to see one Discussion essay “Discuss the advantages of both methods and give your own opinion” . Can we follow the same structure of ” Discuss both views and give your own opinion ” in this case.
Yes, you would need to have one BP for the advantages of one method and then another body paragraph for the advantages of the other method. Your opinion would either be explained in a separate body paragraph if you agree with neither side or you can explain your opinion in the BP with the side you agree with. All the best Liz
I have one doubt The development of tourism contributed to english… This is the first line in topic, But i am not able to understand where you have paraphrased this line in introduction ? You have only mention tourism section in last line of 3 paragraph .
please explain because i think it is important to describe that section.
Because it is an extra piece of information that IELTS have added which is irrelevant to the topic. While native speakers are able to distinguish this, foreign language speakers might have a problem. Sorry if it confused you. Liz
I am not confused. I thought we have to give some detail regarding tourism contribution in making english a prominant language in world as first line of statement topic is important, But I am agree that it is not relevant to the main topic
I have one more doubt about model answers given in official book provided by IDP when we book IELTS exam. The format and techniques provided by you and other internet sources are not same with the model answers in that book . Your information regarding ielts exam seem so relevant but model answer in that book cannot be wrong as they are giveb by Organization conducted ielts exam. For instance , they have written examples in thier first paragraph.
( this is my second attempt. i got 8 – reading , 6.5 – speaking and listening , 5.5 – writing. My exam date is 19 sept and i am still confused. please clear this doubt .
With Regards Anish Kashyap
The model answers from IELTS are not designed to make essay writing easier for you. They don’t want to make their test easy. But teachers work hard to make it more achievable which is why their models are better. It is best if you spend more time learning about how the writing is marked and how to improve your score based on the marking criteria. These pages will help: https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-writing-task-1-band-scores/ and also https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-writing-task-2-band-scores-5-to-8/ All the best Liz
Can I use ‘benefit of having global language’ rather than ‘benefit to having’
Many Thanks
Yes, sure it’s fine. Liz
Just want clarification because I keep on reading on your essays “to having”. Aren’t we suppose to write “to + infinitive” and not “to + verb(ing)”
“to” in this case is a preposition.
In the second paragraph, is it okay to say ” there would be complete understanding not only between countries but all people throughout….” instead of “there would be complete understanding between not only countries but all people throughout….”
Yes, definitely. I like the way you have re-written it very much. Liz
Hello Liz ,As you mentioned “evident benefit TO havING “…so my question is, as I learned in grammar we do no use any forms with any verb after “to” …i mean no ing,no s or es,no second forms of verb…will you please elaborate ?if i write to have will it be wrong? Thank you:)
In this sentence, “to” is a preposition not part of the noun. Please google “advantages to having” and you will see more information about it. All the best Liz
Can i say that the conclusion is paraphrasing to the introduction?
Yes, that’s right. It summarises the main points which hopefully you put in your thesis statement. Liz
Dear Liz, Thanks a lot for your invaluable tutoring. I learned so much from your video lessons and rich website. I wanted to ask a little question for clarification – if we are asked about the advantages and disadvantages (of English as a global language), why is the writer’s opinion expressed in the conclusion? (that the disadvantages outweigh the advantages) Many thanks in advance, Barak
After you summarise the main points, you have the choice of adding a final comment to your conclusion which can be a prediction or suggestions (depending on the type of essay question you have). To learn more see my advanced lessons: http://subscriptions.viddler.com/IELTSLizStore All the best Liz
Okay, Great. Thanks a lot Liz for the very quick response!
Hi Liz, Could you kindly read my following essay and give your feedback.If you could roughly give a band score i would be so greatful to u. Q.Some believe that watching tv is a waste of time.Others think that tv is a boon for all.State your view wirh examples.
Ans: Some people think that spending time on watching tv is spoiling the quality of time.While opponents argue that television is a bliss for eveyone.However,in this essay i am going to explain my view on this topic with relevant examples.
To begin with,watching tv for a long time is waste of time.It can create lots of health problems as well as mental issues.For instance,some people tend to watch tv while they eat food.Apparently they do not understand how much do they consume.Consequently they will end up with obesity.Some viewer’s give much preference for unimporant tv programmes such series and reality shows.Eventually they will isolate themselves and some psychological ilness develops among them .For example depression and stress.Furthermore,children who watch tv for a long time will be like clone.Some kids tend to behave ,act and talk like their super heroes.
Television is a popular form of entertainment.It provides diffent kind of programmes such as,information,entertainment,education and more.Any age group can find their interested programme on tv.The news gives an uptodate kwoldege around the globe.Whereas tv shows ,music programmes and all help us to relax and reduce tension.Some educational programmes broaden the horizon of peoples knowledge.
To put it in a nut shell,waching tv ease international tension and equip people with information and knowledge.In my point of view watching tv’s advantages outweigh its disadvantage.
Please read my notice: https://ieltsliz.com/posting-writing/ and also check my video about using linking words for the conclusion: https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-writing-task-2-video-lesson-conclusion-linkers/ Liz
thank you.but i wish u could help me
i want all essay of writing yask 2 … where i can find it ? give me the website .
I don’t understand. do you want essay questions, model essays, tips?? You can find all these on this page: https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-writing-task-2/ Liz
I am not sure where you’re getting your info, but great topic.
I needs to spend some time studying much more or figuring out more. Thanks for fantastic info I used to be in search of this information for my mission.
Glad it was helpful 🙂
Dear Liz, I have confusions regarding “Advantages/Disadvantages” type of question. Like – do you think this trend has more advantages or disadvantages? Do the drawbacks outweigh the benefits? In these type of questions do we need to write both advantages and disadvantages even we agree on one side?
The question asks you if the advantages outweigh the disadvantages so you need to give your answer and show that the advantages are more important than the disadvantages – that means you need to give details of both sides in order to support your answer. All the best Liz
Thank you so much for a prompt response. I have exam tomorrow . Love from Nepal
Hi, Liz! I want to thank you for an excellent video course about opinion essey writing. I have never seen such a clear explanation. So my question is when should we expect for your new amazing video on advantages&disadvantages essey type?
The next video on my course is about the discussion essay. I’m filming it at the moment. After that I’ll do the advantage disadvantage essay. I’m really pleased you found the lesson on the opinion essay useful. All the best Liz
Hi Liz, Can you post the link of advantages and disadvantages here. I’m looking for it but nothing worked! Thank you very much! Love,
I think the reason is that I haven’t added more lessons for these types of essays. I only have one extra: https://ieltsliz.com/do-the-advantages-outweigh-the-disadvantages/ . I’ll tried to add more soon. Liz
I read about you comment about not writing “this essay will look at/discuss” but I don’t know how to remove it when writing an advantage and disadvantage and problem solution essay.
I have examples below and I really appreciate if you could help me. Thanks!
In the last decade, there has been a great increase in the number and variety of online courses available to adults. This has been welcomed as a great opportunity by many students, however, other students see these courses as less effective than classroom teaching.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of studying an online course?
As more online courses are being offered to adults, different aspects of this learning medium have become apparent. Online courses offer students some advantages over studying in a classroom, however there are some definite drawbacks. This essay will discuss some of the advantages and disadvantages of online courses.
example 2: Cars have become a convenient and economical form of transport and as a result, the use of cars has increased dramatically during the last century.
Discuss the problems this increase has created, and offer some practical solutions.
Most people now use cars as their main form of transport. An increase in this trend during the last centry has contributed to major traffic congestion in cities, and to a decline in the quality of our environment. This essay will look at how this is occuring and what can be done to address this problem.
Please read my notice: https://ieltsliz.com/posting-writing/ Liz
Hi Liz. Please take a look at my work and feel free to criticize.. Thank you for your help.
Majority of countries nowadays use English as part of their languages as a result of the development in tourism. With English language dominating globally, some people have come to think that, eventually, it will be the only language used in this world. Though, it will bring advantages in communication as a whole, the national identity of a country is also threatened as a consequence.
Noted 🙂 Anyway, I just want to thank you for this very helpful website. Enjoy your day Liz 🙂
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Ielts essay # 1478 - advantages and disadvantages of public libraries existing online, ielts writing task 2/ ielts essay:, public libraries will soon no longer be housed in a building as all facilities and books will be available online for all to access., what are the advantages and disadvantages of public libraries existing online.
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IELTS Writing Task 2 Sample Essay. Advertising is gaining more popularity in the marketing of products or services. While advertisements are considered to be advantageous, they can have numerous negative influences. ... IELTS Writing Task 2 Advantages and Disadvantages Essay Topic: Living in big cities is becoming more difficult.
Topic: Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of advertisements. Band 6.5 IELTS Essay. Recently, it has become clear that advertising is growing in popularity across all industries. With the evolution of technology, there has been a significant global tendency toward brand publicity.
Sample Answer. Advertisements could be found anywhere in our daily lives. In my opinion, the current prevalence of advertising is a positive development for companies and a negative development for customers. On the one hand, advertisements are a powerful tool of competition for companies. Advertising stimulates demand, expands the scale of ...
Sample essay. People have been debating the positive and negative aspects of advertising for a while. Some people believe that advertisements must be banned because they have negative impacts on our lives. Others including I disagree with them. My actual observation of life has convinced me of the positive aspects of advertising.
The list of Task 2 Advantages and Disadvantages topics that were added by IELTS student in 2024.These Advantages and Disadvantages questions could be repeated from previous months. Keep in mind that the provided Advantages and Disadvantages questions are not predictions. The collection of Advantages and Disadvantages questions is updated every hour. . Choose one of the topics and start ...
To conclude, while it is true that the market of popular consumer goods is booming because of the high sales, instead of the real needs of humans, capitalism and advertising are the key factors behind this prosperity. 1) Simon: "task 2 introductions should be short and direct". "Keep your introduction short.
Write a topic sentence with a clear main idea at the end. Explain your main idea. Develop it with specific detail as fully as possible. Continue to develop it and don't change to a new idea. 1. Nonetheless, advertising mainly serves to distract and entice. 2. The purpose of advertisements is not simply to inform. 3.
This essay is another example of what Band 8 writing may look like. It's weak point is that the author goes slightly off-topic while trying to discuss whether advertising affects what people view as important and instead talks about the reason advertising is spreading and about human creativity. However, the other part of task type (negative effects of advertising) is covered well
4. Writing your Advantages/Disadvantages Essay 4.1 Introduction. Your introduction should be the shortest paragraph in your essay (about 40-60 words is perfect). You need to rephrase the IELTS statement in your own words. This is known as paraphrasing (a key skill to develop for the IELTS exam). Take a look at our example:
Writing an IELTS Advantages and Disadvantages Essay. We're ready to begin writing our essay. For the first model answer, I'm going to take you step-by-step through essay structure 2. I'll then give you a model answer for essay structure 1. Here's a reminder of the question and the essay structure.
Body paragraphs. Body paragraph 1: This should state the advantages of the topic. This should be backed by practical points, and the examples would be even better. Day-to-day incidents and instances can be brought to notice. Body paragraph 2: This should state the disadvantages of the topic.
IELTS essays frequently focus on the advantages and disadvantages of an issue but the question types may vary. Discuss advantages and disadvantages One of the most common IELTS writing task 2 essay types is: Discuss advantages and disadvantages. many test-takers also find it one of the easier question types because what it asks for is […]
Advantage Disadvantage Essay Model Answer. These days many people choose to live or work in other countries, which has been made possible because of the convenience of air travel and modern communications. I believe that this has more benefits than drawbacks. The disadvantage of this development is the distance that is put between family members.
This essay has over 250 words. This is a small but important way to avoid needlessly losing points due to the IELTS Writing word count penalty. The essay does a good job of covering both the advantages and disadvantages. The advantage of easy access to foreign experiences is explored in the first body paragraph.
Below is a list of IELTS sample essay questions for advantage / disadvantage essays in writing task 2. These essay types are often taught together with discussion essays but I think it is worth studying them separately to be better prepared. Advantage / Disadvantage Essay Tips. spend time planning the benefits and drawbacks of the statement given
IELTS essay: Compare the advantages and disadvantages of different mediums for car advertisements. by Manjusha Nambiar · April 30, 2013. Compare the advantages and disadvantages of three of the following places where marketers would place advertisements for cars. ... Although newspaper advertising has the potential to reach a large number of ...
I have collected a variety of advantages and disadvantages essays from the real IELTS test. Enjoy and consider signing up for my Patreon Ebooks here. Dave. IELTS Task 2 Question Types: Advantages and Disadvantages. Young people are often influenced in their behaviors by others in the same age group.
The "advantages and disadvantages" question is predominantly asked in IELTS writing task 2. One must have a good understanding of such questions to score well in the writing section of the IELTS exam. Mastering these high-scoring questions can significantly improve your overall IELTS score.
There are at least two different ways to write an advantages and disadvantages essay. However, we suggest the best and the easiest ones to complete the task if you get in your IELTS exam. Step 1. Analyse the task. Do not start writing immediately. First, read the statement and underline key information.
The form of questions about advantages and disadvantages is considered to be the easiest type of test in IELTS Writing, but in reality, many candidates still lose points with this type of test. The following article will point out the most common mistakes candidates make when doing the IELTS Writing Task 2 Advantages and disadvantages essay ...
The keyword in the task is 'outweigh'. So you must cover the advantage and the disadvantage in this essay and clearly state your opinion. Do not only write about the advantages. you will need to cover both sides for a higher score in task response. If you believe the advantage is stronger you must give your opinion on that in the thesis ...
IELTS advantages and disadvantages questions normally give you a statement and ask you to comment on the advantages and disadvantages of that statement. The problem is that there are 2 different types of advantages and disadvantages essays, each requiring a different approach. If you answer them differently, you risk losing many easy marks.
Below is an IELTS advantage / disadvantage model essay about having one language in the world. The essay is estimated at band score 9. The development of tourism contributed to English becoming the most prominent language in the world. Some people think this will lead to English becoming the only language to be spoken globally.
In this essay, I will discuss both the advantages and disadvantages of online public libraries. On the positive side, the transition to online libraries offers unparalleled accessibility. Online libraries transcend geographical limitations, allowing users to access a vast array of resources from anywhere, at any time.