The best preparation for IELTS: Writing academic module band 9

Writing Task 2 is designed to test your ability to write an academic style essay. You must present the information in your own words as complete sentences within paragraphs. You are required to write over 250 words, and the task should be completed in about 40 minutes (both part 1 and 2 must be finished in 1 hour).

Types of Topics

There are many different topics for essays in the exam, but typical topic areas include: education, crime, media, technology, social issues, technology and the future, and the environment. In this case it makes sense to build up vocabulary in these key areas in order to have sufficient language to write an essay well.

Types of Questions

There are three main types of essay questions that are included in the IELTS writing exam. It is important to learn how to structure each of these types. Each of these will be described more fully in the sections that follow. Briefly, they are an opinion essay, where you are asked to give your own personal opinion on a topic; a both sides and opinion essay, where you are required to discuss both sides of an argument and then give your own personal opinion on the topic; and a two question essay, which involves responding to two different questions.