IELTS Essay Writing Samples 2023 - Find Samples for Different Writing Task 2 Questions

What is IELTS Essay Samples?

IELTS essay samples are important and one of the most effective ways to prepare for IELTS writing task 2. Students should critically evaluate the essay samples to know how they can score band 9 in task 2 of the IELTS writing section.

The IELTS essay writing samples of the IELTS exam give them an overview of the pattern to be followed while penning down the essay and also a framework to write it. The sample essays not only boost the knowledge of students but also help them to write better essays as one learns well if provided with examples.

There are generally five types of essays in the IELTS exam and each has a structure of its own. Students must be careful not to exceed the word limit and write unnecessary information. The essays should be backed with proper arguments and examples. Here, the students will be walked through the format of essays and some tips associated with the same.

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IELTS Writing Task 2 Samples

The writing section of IELTS consists of two tasks. Task 1 for IELTS General Training Writing is a 150 words letter. For IELTS Academic it is writing from pictographic information. Task 2 is the same for both IELTS General Training and IELTS Academic where candidates are supposed to write an essay on the topic.

250 words have to be written in Task 2 or the IELTS essay. The candidates are expected to justify their viewpoints using arguments, and examples while providing suitable solutions to the problems. The time allotted for IELTS writing task 2 is 40 minutes. The students have to write using the appropriate style. The ideas must be arranged appropriately in paragraphs and linked correctly to make the reading easy.

The IELTS essay samples give the students an idea of how to craft their essays. They also teach them the writing style and structure of the same. The students should read as many IELTS essay samples as possible to get a good understanding of the necessities of the IELTS exam.

Overview of IELTS Writing

The students must go through this quick highlight of the IELTS Writing section to develop a better understanding of the same before we discussmore about IELTS essay writing samples:

IELTS Essay Writing Task 2: Assessment Criteria

The candidates should be aware of the evaluation or assessment criteria of the IELTS essay writing beforehand. The scores are decided after evaluating the following four key criteria:

• Task Achievement: The ability of the student to address and illustrate the important points in the essay including the full development of the ideas is assessed.

• Cohesion and Coherence: This checks how well organised and arranged are the ideas in the essay. It also checks the use of linking words and cohesive devices to create a flow in the essay.

• Lexical Resource: Here the students' vocabulary knowledge is checked. The examiners check how appropriately they efficiently they have employed the lexical resources and if there are less commonly used words.

• Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Here the range, accuracy and construction of sentences along with the grammatical framework are checked.

Types of IELTS Essay Samples

Students often question how should I write an IELTS essay or how do I start an IELTS essay. Hence, they search for IELTS essay samples online for reference. 

Knowing the types of IELTS Writing Task 2 questions helps the candidates to create a structure in their heads that they can use as a formula for writing.

The knowledge of structuring an IELTS essay goes a long way in helping students get their desired band score. A well-structured essay evidently shows the expertise of the student in the craft of writing. Here are the five common types of IELTS essay samples:

Opinion Based Essays

The students are asked to give their opinion. The questions are framed as: What is your opinion? Do you agree or disagree? or To what extent do you agree or disagree? They are also known as argumentative essays; the students have to take sides here.

Structure of Opinion-Based Essays

Let us look at the structure of opinion-based essays that the students can use while attempting IELTS writing task 2.

• Introduction: The introduction to the IELTS essay should be short and to the point. Here the students can first paraphrase of the question and then can state their opinion briefly. Also, they can give two reasons to support their answer.

• Main Body Paragraph 1: Here they can pick up the first idea and provide an explanation with appropriate examples.

• Main Body Paragraph 2: Similarly, here the second idea has to be discussed. The students have to elucidate it and write examples supporting the view.

• Conclusion: Here, the students can summarise the essential ideas and draw a logical end to the essay.

Opinion Based Essay Topics

• Social Interaction and the Internet
• Human Cloning
• Examinations or Formal Assessment 
• Multinational Organisations and Culture
• Internet vs Newspapers
• Airline Tax
• Taxes in the Country/Paying Taxes
• Free University Education
• Scientific Research
• Banning Smoking
• Employing Older People
• Vegetarianism/Veganism 
• Advertising
• Alternative Medicine
• Spending on the Arts
• Technology Development 
• Dying of Languages

Discussion Based Essays

In a discussion-based essay, a proposition is given and students are given questions like ‘Discuss both points of view and give your opinion’. Here both sides of the argument have to be presented and the opinion of the student is also sought regarding the topic.

Structure of Discussion-Based Essays

Here is the structure of the discussion-based IELTS essay samples for the students to refer to:

• Introduction: Here students can write the question in their own words. After this, they can state their opinion and also two reasons to support it.

• Main Body Paragraph 1: The negative viewpoint has to be addressed first. Then justification of the same has to be written with examples.

• Main Body Paragraph 2: Here the viewpoint with which the student agrees can be outlined and some examples can be given to support it.

• Conclusion: The conclusion can contain the summarised key points with the opinion of the student.

Discussion Based Essay Topics

• Diet and Health

• Childcare

• Donating Money to Charity

• Formal and Informal Education 

• Influence of Scientists and Politicians

• Sources for Stories

• Closing Zoos  

• University Education

• Reducing Crime

• Animal Rights

• Child Development

• Becoming Independent 

• Searching for Extraterrestrial Life

Problem-Based Essays

Problem-based essays are essays that ask for ‘causes and solutions’ or ‘problems and solutions’. Here the question begins with a statement, then the student is asked to discuss the problems or causes and the solutions to the same.

Structure of Problem-Based Essays

The structure of the problem-based essays is quite simple:

• Introduction: The students can address the question by rephrasing it and giving one problem and solution.

• Main Body Paragraph 1: In the second paragraph, they can give two causes and explain them in detail. Examples should also be given.

• Main Body Paragraph 2- The solutions have to be stated here. Explanations and examples supporting the solutions have to be given.

• Conclusion: The opinion with a summary of the points is required here.

Problem-Based Essay Topics

Advantages and Disadvantages Essays

In this type of essay, a statement or idea will be provided. Along with it the advantages and disadvantages of the same have to be given.

Structure of Advantages and Disadvantages Essays

If the students follow the given structure they are sure to succeed:

• Introduction: Here the students have to write the idea again in their own way. Then they can outline the views.

• Main Body Paragraph 1:.In the first paragraph of the body, one advantage can be written with an example. The result of it can also be written.

• Main Body Paragraph 2: One disadvantage has to be written here citing a familiar situation. The result of the disadvantage has to be written.

• Conclusion: A summary of key points has to be given.

Advantages and Disadvantages Essay Topics 

• Children using Tablets and Computers 

• Cell Phones, Internet and Communication 

• Working from Home 

• Traffic Problems

• Food Additives

• Computer Games

• Age Discrimination at Work 

• Eating Locally grown Produce 

• Oil and Gas Essay 

Double Question Essays

The double-question essays contain two direct questions to which the students have to write the answers. A statement will be given and two questions will follow. There might be a connection or no connection between the questions.

Structure of Double Question Essays

For the double-question essays, the structure to be followed is:

• Introduction: After paraphrasing the questions in the answer, students can write the answer to both questions in the introduction.

• Main Body Paragraph 1: The answer to the first question is to be written here with a reason and example.

• Main Body Paragraph 2: This part will contain the answer to the second question accompanied by a suitable reason and example.

• Conclusion: A summary of the questions and answers can be given here.

Double Question Essays Topics

• Overpopulation

• Job Competition 

• Professional/Work Immigration

• Communication Technology

• Influence of Friends While Grwoing Up

IELTS Essay Samples and Questions

Here are some of the IELTS essay samples or IELTS essay writing sample questions of IELTS writing task 2 that came in previous years and can be practised by students/aspirants:

IELTS Essay Sample Question 1

IELTS Essay Sample Question 2

IELTS Essay Writing Sample Answers

Here are the IELTS essay samples of the IELTS essay writing sample questions that are provided above. The students can take cues from the answers and practice writing accordingly:

IELTS Essay Sample Answer 1

IELTS Essay Sample Answer 2

Tips for IELTS Essay Writing Task

Scoring band 9 in task 2 of IELTS is not impossible. Meticulous planning and implementation of the four criteria of evaluation given below can help to write a perfect essay. 

• Writing What is Being Asked: This is one of the most important IELTS tips that students tend to ignore. Often students stray away from the main topic and do not answer what is being asked in the question. The task achievement section of the IELTS writing assessment desires students to be accurate with their answers and fully address the tasks.

• Making a Plan for the Essay: Starting to write without a clear structure in the head is not a wise decision. Students should spare five minutes of their precious time and first outline the essay and jot down the important points that come to their minds. Then they can make progress with the writing. The size of the introduction and conclusion can be the same and the two paragraphs of the body should be of the same length.

• Writing the Essay and Revising it: It is essential to go through the essay once it is finished. Students should not waste unnecessary time to come with synonyms for words. They can think of it after they have finished their writing and improve the lexical content of the essay. Checking the grammar, spelling and information is an absolute necessity.

• Making Writing a Habit: The students should spend at least 40-45 minutes a day writing an essay on a relevant topic. They should focus on brainstorming ideas, making a clear outline of the topic, finding relevant examples to support their view and finding the vocabulary to enrich their content. Getting evaluated by an expert is necessary in this case to know the faults and how to improve them. They can also refer to IELTS essay samples in different IELTS study material (offline and online) that are available to them.