IELTS Luminary
Best Online Centre for IELTS Preparation
IELTS Writing Task 2 Essay Structure
After receiving your essay, examiners will not start reading straight away. At first they will take a look at the whole picture of it. If it looks well paragraphed, it will convey a good first impression which is very important for your marks. Therefore, you need to organize the essay with a proper paragraphing technique.
There are so many essay writing structures and techniques. All of them might not necessarily suit to everyone. You might like one specific structure, whereas your friend is comfortable with a different one. Therefore, we don't recommend you all follow one specific structure. You can go with your favorite one, as long as it's a standard IELTS Academic essay writing structure.
However, our secret technique is the simplest to understand, simplest to remember, and easiest to apply you will ever find. We suggested our students practice and apply this. They did it and came up with outstanding band scores in IELTS Writing. Therefore, this is now a highly proven effective technique that we are going to discuss below:
Essay Structure
Just write 14 sentences spread over 4 paragraphs. Your IELTS Task 2 essay is complete. It is that simple. This is our 4/14 essay technique. It's very easy to remember and execute during exam:
-
Introduction
-
Body Paragraph 1
-
Body Paragraph 2
-
Conclusion
On this page, we are going to show you step by step how to form this four paragraph essay.
However, we've developed a simple paragraphing style that will make your life easiest ever. We call it 3443 Approach. Remember it, practice it, apply it. It will make your IELTS Task 2 writing so easy that you can't even imagine.
What we mean by 3443:
-
3 Sentences for Introduction Paragraph
-
4 Sentences for Body Paragraph 1
-
4 Sentences for Body Paragraph 2
-
2 or 3 Sentences for Conclusion Paragraph
These are the 3+4+4+3 = 14 sentences. Quite simple. Now let's distribute these sentences among the 4 paragraphs.
Introduction
Sentence 1: Paraphrase the question sentence.
Sentence 2: Write a thesis statement.
Sentence 3: Write an outline sentence.
Body Paragraph 1
Sentence 1: Topic Sentence 1
Sentence 2: Explain the Topic Sentence
Sentence 3: Present logic or example for the Topic Sentence
Sentence 4: Give an example or a concluding remark for the discussion in this paragraph
Body Paragraph 2
Sentence 1: Topic Sentence 2
Sentence 2: Explain the Topic Sentence
Sentence 3: Present logic or example for the Topic Sentence
Sentence 4: Give an example or a concluding remark for the discussion in this paragraph
Conclusion
Sentence 1: Summarize the body paragraph 1.
Sentence 2: Summarize the body paragraph 2.
Sentence 3: Give a final remark summarizing the both body paragraphs.
This is pretty simple to remember. By responding step by step to an actual test question, we are going to demonstrate you the beauty of this secret formula:
Example Question
"Globalization is harming people more, rather than doing good. For example, most of the contagious diseases are spreading at an unprecedented faster pace due to advanced global communication.
To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?"
Introduction
This is the most important paragraph of your essay. Because it will bear an overall picture of the essay. Therefore, this paragraph is very important to convey a positive impression to the examiner. We suggest you write only the following 3 sentences in this paragraph:
Sentence 1: Paraphrase the question sentence.
Sentence 2: Write a thesis statement.
Sentence 3: Write an outline sentence.
(However, we have a complete guide on how to write a great introduction. We also have a full article regarding how to write a thesis statement. We suggest you check them now, if you haven't already.)
The 1st sentence is the paraphrase of the question statement. By reading this sentence, the examiner will get the perception whether you have properly understood the question or not.
Thesis statement is the 2nd sentence. This is the most important sentence in the whole essay. This sentence will demonstrate your reaction regarding the question statement, and it will also indicate how you are going to justify your position in the essay.
Outlining sentence is the 3rd sentence of your introduction paragraph. This sentence will give a brief idea how the discussion is going to proceed in the following paragraphs. Let's apply our introduction paragraphing strategy in the question stated above on this page.
Paraphrasing of the Question Sentence
"Argument goes that globalization made people worse off rather than making them better off; for instance, transmissible diseases can go global due to globalization."
Thesis Statement
"This essay disagrees with this argument, and it strongly states that globalization is not harming, rather it is helping us to form united global actions against different adversities."
Outline Sentence
"This essay is going to demonstrate how globalization is helping us more rather than harming."
The Complete Introduction
"Argument goes that globalization made people worse off rather than making them better off; for instance, transmissible diseases can go global due to globalization. This essay disagrees with this argument, and it strongly states that globalization is not harming, rather it is helping us to form united global actions against different adversities. This essay is going to demonstrate how globalization is helping us more rather than harming."
Body Paragraph 1
Remember, you are asked to write your essay with at least 250 words. Yes you can
write a few more like 270 - 300, and we strongly recommend you never exceed 300. However, sometimes even 300 words might not be enough for explaining your logic. You might have a number of points to focus on. This is why you need to make a choice what to discuss, what not to. Considering the word limit, we suggest you choose only 2 or three major points at most, and divide the points into two body paragraphs.
(We have a full article on our special strategy for IELTS Writing Task 2 body paragraphs. We suggest you check it now, if you haven't already.)
We're showing our strategy below how we form the two body paragraphs:
Sentence 1: Topic Sentence 1.
Sentence 2: Explain the Topic Sentence 1.
Sentence 3: Present logic for the Topic Sentence 1, including drawbacks.
Sentence 4: Give a supportive example of the Topic Sentence 1.
Sentence 1 (Topic Sentence 1)
"United global response against any adversity is one of the main benefits of globalization."
Sentence 2 (Explain the Topic Sentence 1)
"Countries all around the globe can easily send food, medical stuffs and other essentials to the affected region because of advanced global communication."
Sentence 3 (Present logic for the Topic Sentence 1, including drawbacks)
"Though the contagious diseases can spread faster due to global connectivity, it's very insignificant comparing the obvious blessings of global integration."
Sentence 4 (Give a supportive example for the Topic Sentence 1)
"For instance, Cuba and the other advanced medically equipped countries shared their emergency medical support to the nations that became badly affected by the epidemic disease COVID-19."
The Complete Body Paragraph 1
"United global response against any adversity is one of the main benefits of globalization. Countries all around the globe can easily send food, medical stuffs and other essentials to the affected region because of advanced global communication. Though the contagious diseases can spread faster due to global connectivity, it's very insignificant comparing the obvious blessings of global integration. For instance, Cuba and the other advanced medically equipped countries shared their emergency medical support to the nations that became badly affected by the epidemic disease COVID-19."
Body Paragraph 2
If you have two major points, simply discuss one point in Body Paragraph 1, and the other one in Body Paragraph 2. If there are three points, take the Body Paragraph 1 for the most important one, and explain the other two points in Body Paragraph 2.
However, we suggest you limit your number of points into two. If there are only 2 points, you can comfortably explain them individually in the two body paragraphs. Let's see our simple structure for the Body Paragraph 2:
Sentence 1: Topic Sentence 2
Sentence 2: Explain the Topic Sentence 2.
Sentence 3: Present logic for the Topic Sentence 2, including drawbacks.
Sentence 4: Give a supportive example for the Topic Sentence 2.
Sentence 1(Topic Sentence 2)
"On the other hand, global information exchange is another major benefit of globalization."
Sentence 2(Explain the Topic Sentence 2)
"Using the information from affected regions, other countries can gain important idea about the possible causes and effects of the pandemic disease."
Sentence 3(Present logic for the Topic Sentence 2, including drawbacks)
"Though it might turn into a different scenario if many countries are affected together, still the global information sharing for the causes can prevent the worse."
Sentence 4(Give a supportive example for the Topic Sentence 2)
"For example, most of the countries across the world rapidly shared information on corona virus infection, which helped other nations take necessary precautionary measures for themselves and supportive measures for the affected ones."
The Complete Body Paragraph 2
"On the other hand, global information exchange is another major benefit of globalization. Using the information from affected regions, other countries can gain important idea about the possible causes and effects of the pandemic disease. Though it might turn into a different scenario if many countries are affected together, still the global information sharing for the causes can prevent the worse. For example, most of the countries across the world rapidly shared information on corona virus infection, which helped other nations take necessary precautionary measures for themselves and supportive measures for the affected ones."
Conclusion
You must let the examiner know your final say. Remember, though we don't recommend a conclusion paragraph for IELTS Task 1, you must add a paragraph for conclusion here in case of Task 2 essay. Remember, you need to write at least one sentence as a conclusion paragraph even if you fear running out of time. This paragraph is that much important for the Task 2 IELTS Writing.
Write the conclusion in such a way that answers the question clearly. And the answer has to be completely based on the discussion above. That means never bring any new idea in the conclusion. We also suggest you try to avoid the vocabulary that you have already used in the essay. These are the basic requirements for a conclusion paragraph.
Remember, you will lose marks if you fail to write a conclusion in an IELTS Task 2 essay. To put simply, it resembles you worked all day together as a team, but left without saying 'bye' to anyone at the end of the day.
(We have a detailed guide on how to write a smart conclusion. We suggest you check it now, if you haven't already.)
Let's focus on our simple secret of constructing a conclusion paragraph:
Sentence 1: Summarize the body paragraph 1.
Sentence 2: Summarize the body paragraph 2.
Sentence 3: Give a final remark summarizing the both body paragraphs.
Sentence 1 (Summarize the body paragraph 1)
"This essay discusses how globalization can facilitate international response to any emergency issues such as pandemic diseases."
Sentence 2 (Summarize the body paragraph 2)
"It also explains the importance of global information exchange which has become possible due to global connectivity."
Sentence 3 (Give a final remark summarizing the both body paragraphs)
"In brief, this essay does not comply with the statement that argues against globalization, rather it illustrates how it is a blessing for us, regardless some drawbacks."
The Complete Conclusion
"This essay discusses how globalization can facilitate international response to any emergency issues such as pandemic diseases. It also explains the importance of global information exchange which has become possible due to global connectivity. In brief, this essay does not comply with the statement that argues against globalization, rather it illustrates how it is a blessing for us, regardless some drawbacks."
Up next:
Just for a gentle reminder, We help students with a guarantee of 7+ band score in IELTS Writing. You can check how to avail the maximum benefit from our IELTS Writing Assistance.
Don't ignore the resources below:
Check the detailed discussion on all the types of IELTS Task 2 essays:
Don't forget to check the following resources as well: