IELTS Academic & General Task 2: How to Write at a Band 9 Level

  • IELTS Writing Task 2 assesses candidates on Task Achievement, Coherence and Cohesion, Lexical Resources, and Grammatical Range and Accuracy.
  • Essay structure:
    • Introduction: Background, detailed background, thesis, outline.
    • Supporting Paragraphs (2): Topic, example, discussion, conclusion.
    • Conclusion: Summary, restatement of thesis, prediction/recommendation.
  • Keywords are the topics, qualifying words describe the relationship between ideas, and action words elicit the essay's argument.
  • Theses in argument essays declare the writer's position. Discussion essays state topics to be analyzed.
  • Coherence is the understandability; cohesion links ideas logically, often using cohesive devices.
  • Supporting paragraphs prove the thesis with examples and discussion; link back to the essay's central argument.
  • Concluding paragraphs summarize main points, restate thesis, and offer a prediction or recommendation.
  • Discussion essays objectively analyze varying positions before the statement of position in the concluding paragraph.
  • Double action questions:
    • Require the candidate to respond in more than one way.