How to Identify the Type of Essay in IELTS Writing Task 2?

Understanding how to identify the type of essay in IELTS Writing Task 2 would help you build confidence during the exam. As there are various types of essays, you might find it difficult to distinguish among them. Therefore, you need to get clarity on the structure so that you can identify them easily.

As you practice, you would need to strategize for each essay type since they follow a specific pattern. With consistent practice, you will get familiar with it and learn how to effectively brainstorm ideas and also put them on paper. Since you would have only 40 minutes to write, you need to elevate your knowledge on understanding the different types of essays to ace the IELTS Writing Task 2.

Band 8+ Strategies on How to Identify the Type of Essay in IELTS Writing Task 2

Before you attempt writing different essay types, it is important to get familiar with the strategies which can guide you to identify the essay type. With regular practice, you will achieve a higher IELTS Band Score of 8+. Remember to use these tips in your preparation so that you can learn how to brainstorm ideas better.

• Spend at least 1 minute reading the prompt carefully. Check for instruction words such as discuss, agree, cause, solution, advantages, or opinion.
• Let action words and topic keywords be underlined or highlighted, as they will keep you focused and avoid writing about something unrelated to the topic.
• Try to understand what the question is asking you as to whether it requires your opinion or asking to provide advantages or disadvantages. This will narrow down the essay type, and you will understand it better.
• Practice two essay types every week so that you can become more familiar with each one of them. This will help you to use the specific structure and answer according to the topic.
• Always keep 5 minutes to brainstorm ideas and note down the outline of the essay so that you do not deviate from the main topic.

Want to learn How to Write Body Paragraphs in IELTS Essay? Check out the video below!

What are the Different Types of Essays in IELTS Writing Task 2?

In the second part of the IELTS Writing section, there are seven different types of essays that can appear. Both General Training and Academic writing task 2 include these types of essays where you need to write between 250 and 280 words. Even though you would only get one essay in the question paper, you still need to be aware of all the types so that you would know which tricks to use for what essay type. Below are the seven essay types which you would encounter as you prepare.

1. Cause and Solution Essay 
2. Positive and Negative Essay
3. Advantage and Disadvantage Essay
4. Discussion Essay
5. Two-Part Essay
6. Agree and Disagree Essay
7. Opinion Essay

Let’s look into these essay types in detail along with its structure. Remember that this would help you in brainstorming ideas related to the topic and also help you get a band 8+ in the IELTS exam. This is because the writing task 2 weighs almost double for which you need to practice each question type. 

1. Cause and Solution Essay

In the IELTS Problem Solution Essay, you are usually not asked to provide any opinion. Therefore, you must just explain the causes/problems in the first body paragraph while mentioning the solutions to the problems in the second body paragraph. Let’s look at the question below to understand it better.

The first part of the question would be a statement. After that, you’ll be asked to discuss the cause and give solutions. Here are the points that you can address for the above question:

• State the cause clearly.
• Develop your arguments on the cause 
• Make sure to link the cause to its solution 
• Develop your arguments on its solution 

2. Positive and Negative Essay

If you get the Positive and Negative Essay type, you need to provide your opinion first in the introduction. In this type, you would have three options based on which your body paragraphs would follow. Below are the three options out of which you can choose any one.

• Only positive - Both body paragraphs will have reasons related to the positive developments
• Only negative - Both body paragraphs will have reasons related to the negative developments
• Both - Body paragraph 1 will contain reason related to the positive side while the second body paragraph will have reason in relation to the negative development.

The first part of the question would be a statement. After that, you’ll be asked to give your opinion about the statement, whether it is a positive or a negative development. 

Here are the points that you can address for the above question:

• Select one side or both sides.
• State your opinion clearly in the introduction.
• Maintain the same opinion throughout the essay.
• Give supporting arguments as to why you hold the opinion.

3. Advantage and Disadvantage Essay

As you dive into the IELTS Advantages Disadvantages Essays, remember that there are two types of questions as a sub-part. In one of the parts, you are not asked for your opinion if the question just asks you to mention the advantages and disadvantages. For the second part, the question would be : “Do the advantages outweigh the disadvantages?” In this case, you would have to mention your viewpoints which can either be more advantages or more disadvantages. Let’s look at the example below to understand it better.

The first part of the question would be a statement. After that, you’ll be asked to discuss both advantages and disadvantages of the statement. 

Here are the points that you can address for the above question:

• Mention your opinion as to whether there are more advantages or more disadvantages.
• State the advantages and develop your argument on them. 
• State the disadvantages and develop your argument on them. 
• Conclude your essay with your opinion and explain why you hold the opinion. 

4. Discussion Essay

You will have to provide reasons for both viewpoints in their respective paragraphs for the discussion essay. Since you need to give reasons for both sides of the argument, you need to become familiar with the knowledge on How to Write an IELTS Discussion Essay. Look at the sample question given below.

The first part of the question would be a statement and you have to address both sides of the argument. You will almost always be asked for your opinion as well. 

Here are the points that you can address for the above question:

• Discuss both sides of the argument
• State your opinion clearly.
• Give supporting arguments for both sides.

5. Two-Part Essay

The two-part essay question is another type of IELTS Direct Question Essays. In these essay types, you will encounter questions which are quite direct but there would be two questions asked. You need to answer the questions sequentially based on the body paragraphs used. Let’s look at the example below.

The first part of the question would be a statement, and after that, you’ll be asked two direct questions. The question may or may not be connected. 

Here are the points that you can address for the above question:

• State your opinion in the introduction.
• Discuss both the questions. 
• Give supporting arguments for both questions.

6. Agree and Disagree Essay

For the Agree Disagree Essays in IELTS, you will need to provide your opinion as to whether you agree or disagree with the statement given. However, this would also depend on the question type. If the question mentions just ‘agree or disagree’, then your opinion would only be either completely agree or completely disagree. But, there is a third option for opinion which is ‘partially agree’ that can only be used if the question says ‘to what extent’. Let’s look at the question now.

In this essay, you need to first be clear as to which side you are on before you move on to explaining the reasons related to the opinion chosen. Here are the points that you can address for the above question:

• State your opinion in the introduction.
• Discuss the reasons with relevant examples in the body paragraphs
• Give supporting arguments.

Knowing exactly the different types of essays in IELTS Writing Task 2 is necessary to provide a well-structured and focused response for the IELTS Exam. By careful reading of the question given while recognizing the essential keywords words and practicing regularly on different question types, you will build confidence for the actual exam day. Therefore, practice regularly so that you get an idea on how to approach different essay types.

Also Check :

• Tips to Write an Effective Introduction for IELTS Writing Task 2
• 6 Essay Writing Secrets to Boost Your IELTS Band Score Fast
• Common IELTS Essay Topics for Writing Task 2
• Best IELTS Writing Task 2 Tips for Achieving Band 9
• Recent IELTS Writing Actual Test & Model Answers
• IELTS Band 9 Essay Samples: Writing Task 2 Tips for Target IELTS Score
• IELTS Writing Answer sheet