Make A Plan! (Task 2 Writing)

Before you travel to another country, you have to make a plan.

Before you present your business proposal, you have to make a plan.

If you want to receive a high score on IELTS writing, you’d DEFINITELY better make a plan! IELTS examiners can always tell if a student has taken a few minutes to plan their ideas before they start writing. Planned essays are easier to understand and usually have the correct number of words. They communicate all the important information without a lot of extra rubbish.

So how do we make a plan?

Most IELTS Task 2 Questions come in this form:

Some people believe that the government should provide financial assistance to artists such as painters, musicians and poets. Others think that it is a waste of money. 

Discuss both points of view and give your opinion.

The first and most important advice that you should follow is that, when the topic says

“give your opinion”

you must

give your opinion.  

This may seem like a silly thing to say, but it’s surprising how many students write a big, long essay without actually answering this part of the question. Your essay will be clearer and better if you choose your opinion right away. Of course, you can still speak about the opposite viewpoint, but in the introduction and in the conclusion, you should state which opinion you hold.

Most IELTS essay topics are dichotomous, meaning that there are two main opinions to choose from. Very rarely, you will see a topic that asks you to “write a report” but we will deal with that problem in a later post.

For now, let’s talk about opinions.  In the topic above, there are two main opinions I can hold.

The first one is:

The government has a responsibility to support the arts.

The second one is:

Supporting the arts is a waste of money, and government funds would be better spent in other areas.

Remember that I should state my opinion right away in the introduction! Don’t wait until the end of your essay to state your opinion as this usually leads to confusion. Another point is that you needn’t write about the topic that you feel the most deeply. When taking the IELTS exam, PICK THE OPINION WHICH IS EASIEST TO WRITE ABOUT.

The examiner does not care very much about your opinion. He or she just wants to know if you can communicate your ideas clearly in English. For me, the opinion

The government has a responsibility to support artists because their work benefits society as a whole.

is easier for me to write about, so that is what I will choose.

So, after we have chosen our opinion, we should very quickly plan the structure of our essay. All essays should follow one of the following two structures. The first way is called the Thesis-led Approach, which we should use if we have a strong opinion or a lot of information about our opinion. It usually goes like this:

• Paragraph 1: Introduction, including a clear statement of my opinion.
• Paragraph 2: The first reason for supporting my opinion with some examples.
• Paragraph 3: Another reason for supporting my opinion with examples.
• Paragraph 4: Conclusion, including a restatement of my opinion.

It seems like we are repeating ourselves a little, doesn’t it? But don’t worry, we are going to use a variety of vocabulary to say our ideas so that it will not be exactly the same. Also, keep in mind that English is a very explicit language. We must say exactly what we mean. Do not assume that the reader of your essay has any knowledge on the topic that you’re writing about. Pretend that you are explaining your ideas to a child or a stupid person!

Another way to write an essay is called the Argument-led approach. If you would like to use this way, you must still state your opinion in the first paragraph. However, in this approach, you will talk a bit about the advantages and disadvantages of the opposing view. 

So, your essay structure will be like this:

• Paragraph 1: Introduction, including a clear statement of my opinion.
• Paragraph 2: Advantages and disadvantages of the opinion that is NOT mine.
• Paragraph 3: Disadvantages and advantages of my opinion.
• Paragraph 4: Conclusion, including a restatement of my opinion.

Notice that we will speak about the opinion which is not ours FIRST. Then, at the end of my essay, we will conclude that our opinion is the best.

Of course, the main problem with IELTS writing tends to be running out of time. People wrongly believe that they will be able to finish more quickly if they jump into writing immediately without making a plan. This is almost never true!

So, regarding the topic above, we can simply write out a quick plan using the Thesis-led approach:

• Paragraph 1: The government has a responsibility to support artists because their work benefits society as a whole.
• Paragraph 2: Music, art, and writing are very valuable forms of expression that benefit everyone.
• Paragraph 3: The government has a large amount of money and influence, and so it can give support more easily than individuals.
• Paragraph 4: In conclusion, our society will be much poorer without government support for the arts.

Here is a basic plan using the Argument-Led approach:

• Paragraph 1: The government has a responsibility to support artists because their work benefits society as a whole.
• Paragraph 2: Some say that the arts are a waste of money because there are other more useful things to do with artistic funding.
• Paragraph 3: However, the government must fund artists because music, art, and writing are very valuable forms of expression that benefit everyone.
• Paragraph 4: In conclusion, the government must provide funding for the arts.

In conclusion, when you have a basic idea for what your essay topic and main supporting reasons will be, you can write your essay much more quickly. It will also improve your organisation and help you get the score you need!

To review the steps of making a plan:

1. Choose your opinion.
2. Decide which opinion is easier for you to write about.
3. Decide if you will use Thesis-led or Argument-led approach.
4. Quickly write down or think about your main points.
5. Write your essay!

Before you take the exam, it’s a good idea to choose a few common IELTS topics and make a plan for them. That way you will be prepared with ideas and you can get right to work.

(2 Example Essays For This Topic Coming Soon.)