IELTS Writing tips for Task 2 Simply and Completing the Test Quickly

Task 2 accounts for 60% of the total score in the IELTS Writing test. Therefore, Task 2 is always more challenging to score well compared to Task 1. Additionally, IELTS Writing Task 2 requires candidates to have a deep and broad knowledge base. So, let's refer to the following article shared by a Preppies member on IELTS Writing tips for Task 2 quickly and effectively to improve your writing skills!
 

1. IELTS Writing tips for Task 2 - Read Carefully & Understand the Prompt

The first thing you should do when writing Task 2 is to read the prompt carefully and understand its requirements. Did you know that you shouldn't underestimate the prompt and think that you just need to paraphrase it to write the introduction? The prompt in Writing Task 2 actually tells you what the examiner expects you to write. It also indicates the direction you should take. This is the part that informs you about what to include in your thesis statement and topic sentence.

➡ IELTS Writing Task 2 Prompt: “Some people think spoken communication is more powerful than written communication. To what extent do you agree or disagree?”

➡ In this prompt, the examiner presents two aspects: “spoken communication” and “written communication”. They want you to argue which one is more important. And of course, you can only choose one side based on your personal opinion. So, if your approach to Writing Task 2 here is to agree with the given opinion, you will think that "spoken communication" is more important, and vice versa. Don't be wishy-washy in your essay, as it will weaken your argument and reduce focus.

2. IELTS Writing tips for Task 2 - Brainstorm Before Writing 

In the past, when writing persuasive essays in high school, teachers always required us to outline our essays before writing them. The purpose of this was to identify the ideas we needed to include and arrange them logically within the essay. The same applies to writing argumentative essays in English. Therefore, brainstorming before writing is an effective approach to Writing Task 2!

➡ The IELTS Writing tips for Task 2 here is to spend at least 2-3 minutes on brainstorming. This is even applicable during the actual exam because it is extremely helpful. When you have organized your ideas beforehand, you will be able to write higher-quality topic sentences. The writing time is reduced as you don't need to think while writing. Once you have control over your writing speed, you can calculate the time to go back to the essay and proofread it.

For more information, refer to the following article:

• The ultimate guide to mastering the detailed approach to writing IELTS Writing Task 2

3. IELTS Writing tips for Task 2 - Each Paragraph Should Focus on One Main Point 

To ensure clarity of your essay and to be highly persuasive, show the examiner the "valid" reasons you present to support your viewpoint as correct. This is one of the highly effective approaches to Writing Task 2. Consider the following example to practice writing an effective IELTS Writing Task 2:

➡ Prompt: Nowadays it is not only large companies that can make films. Digital technology enables anyone to produce films. Do you think it is a positive or negative development?

The two ideas for the body paragraphs in this prompt are: 

• ➡The fact that filmmaking is increasingly more accessible has helped add variety to cinematography.
• ➡ Additionally, easy access to filming technology helps discover hidden talented people.

To support the personal viewpoint that modern digital technology allows everyone to make films is a positive development, the author presents the main benefit of this, which is that it makes cinematography in general more diverse, and with the advantages of the technology, we have discovered many hidden talents.

In their essay, they present these two main points. And they use introductory phrases and paragraph structure to let the examiner know which point they are addressing. Learn these IELTS Writing tips to have an effective Task 2!

4. IELTS Writing tips for Task 2 - Provide Relevant and Highly Authentic Reasoning

To achieve a band score of 7.0 or higher for the Writing Task 2, you must provide authentic evidence to persuade the examiner. Refer to the following example to understand more about how to write IELTS Writing Task 2:

Using the same prompt as above, the development would be as follows, for the first argument:

• The fact that filmmaking is increasingly more accessible has helped add variety to cinematography. Movies made by big companies, on the one hand, are restricted to a handful of themes and backgrounds, several of which are even heavily censored. On the other hand, films made by potential filmmakers, albeit amateur, transcend barriers of ethnicities and backgrounds.
• Around 400-500 movies are made by Hollywood every year, many of which are Americentric and revolve around superheroes, romance, thrillers, and comedies. Meanwhile, with a phone sitting in our pockets and film editing applications at our disposal, that number can add up to millions, with more themes covered and a great array of settings shown.

They prove the point that the increasing accessibility of filmmaking has helped diversify cinematography. They mention that films produced by large companies often face issues with censorship and copyright. Additionally, they provide two figures, 400-500 and millions, to talk about the number of films made by major producers and amateur filmmakers.

Hopefully, some IELTS Writing tips for Task 2 shared in this article will help you complete the exam quickly and efficiently. PREP wishes all Preppies good luck in their exam preparation, knowing how to write IELTS Writing Task 2, and achieving high results in the real exam!