IELTS Writing Task 2 requires a 250-word argumentative essay in 40 minutes, and it counts for two-thirds of your overall Writing score. This guide covers the five essay types you'll face, the four-paragraph structure examiners expect, how the four assessment criteria are scored, and the specific mistakes that keep Band 6 writers from reaching Band 7+.
Understanding the Five Essay Types
Every Task 2 prompt falls into one of five categories, and misreading the type is one of the fastest ways to lose marks on Task Response before you've written a single body paragraph.
- **Opinion (Agree/Disagree):** The prompt states a view and asks "To what extent do you agree or disagree?" You must take a clear position — either fully agree, fully disagree, or agree with reservations — and hold that position throughout. - **Discussion:** You're asked to "discuss both views and give your own opinion." Both sides need genuine, balanced coverage, and your own opinion still has to appear clearly, usually in the introduction and conclusion. - **Problem-Solution:** The prompt describes an issue and asks you to identify causes and/or propose solutions. Each problem you raise should be matched with a realistic solution rather than left hanging. - **Advantages/Disadvantages:** You weigh benefits against drawbacks. Some prompts ask you to also state which side outweighs the other — read the exact wording carefully, because that determines whether you need a personal stance. - **Two-Part Questions:** The prompt asks two related sub-questions (e.g., "Why is this happening, and what can be done about it?"). Each question needs its own well-developed body paragraph — answering only one half is a common Task Response penalty.
Identify the type in your first minute of reading. It decides your entire paragraph plan before you write a word.
Building a Band 7+ Essay Structure
A reliable four-paragraph structure keeps your essay organized and easy for an examiner to follow: Introduction, Body Paragraph 1, Body Paragraph 2, Conclusion.
Introduction (2-3 sentences):
> **Original:** "Some people believe that unpaid community service should be a compulsory part of high school programmes. To what extent do you agree or disagree?" > > **Paraphrase:** "It has been suggested that secondary school students should be obliged to carry out unpaid voluntary work as part of their education. This essay agrees that such a requirement would be beneficial, for reasons explored below."
Body Paragraphs (each with one clear idea):
Conclusion (1-2 sentences):
Planning and Time Management
Task 2 is allotted roughly 40 of your 60 writing-section minutes (Task 1 takes the other 20), and how you divide that time matters as much as what you write.
1. **5 minutes planning:** Identify the essay type, decide your position, and brainstorm two main ideas with one supporting example each. Jot a one-line outline — don't skip this step even under time pressure. 2. **30 minutes writing:** Write the full essay from your outline. Aim for 260-290 words — comfortably over the 250-word minimum without padding, since going well past 320-350 words often costs you time you need for checking and increases the risk of errors. 3. **5 minutes checking:** Reread for subject-verb agreement, tense consistency, article use, and whether every sentence actually answers the question. Fixing three or four small errors here is often the difference between Band 6.5 and Band 7 on Grammatical Range and Accuracy.
The Four Scoring Criteria Examiners Use
Examiners assess Task 2 against four criteria, each worth exactly 25% of your Task 2 band score:
- **Task Response:** Does your essay fully address every part of the question, with a clear position and well-developed, relevant ideas supported by examples? - **Coherence and Cohesion:** Is the essay logically organized into paragraphs, with ideas that progress clearly and linking devices used naturally rather than mechanically inserted? - **Lexical Resource:** Do you use a sufficient range of vocabulary, including less common words and phrases, accurately and with natural collocation? - **Grammatical Range and Accuracy:** Do you use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures with good control, and how frequently do grammar errors interfere with meaning?
Because all four are weighted equally, a brilliant argument written with only simple sentences and repetitive vocabulary caps your score just as surely as a grammatically flawless essay that ignores half the question.
Common Band 6 Mistakes That Block Band 7+
These are the patterns that keep otherwise competent essays stuck below Band 7:
- **Memorized templates and phrases.** Examiners notice pre-learned sentences ("In this modern era, technology plays a vital role...") that don't connect naturally to the specific question — generic filler lowers both Task Response and Lexical Resource. - **Answering only part of the prompt.** A Two-Part question with one paragraph missing, or an Opinion essay that never states a clear position, caps Task Response regardless of writing quality elsewhere. - **One-sided Discussion essays.** If the prompt asks you to discuss both views, giving three paragraphs to one side and a token sentence to the other is treated as an incomplete response. - **Overusing basic connectors.** Relying only on "firstly," "moreover," and "in conclusion" without variety signals limited range in Coherence and Cohesion, even when paragraphing is otherwise fine. - **Vague, unsupported examples.** "For example, many people think this is important nowadays" isn't an example — it restates the claim. A real example names a specific situation, group, or scenario. - **Overly ambitious complex sentences.** Long, complicated grammar that breaks down mid-sentence hurts Grammatical Range and Accuracy more than a clean, correct simple sentence would.
Cohesion and Lexical Resource: Practical Tips
Coherence and Cohesion is about more than linking words. Vary how you connect ideas: use reference words ("this issue," "such measures"), substitution, and paraphrased repetition of key terms instead of repeating the same noun every sentence. Make sure each paragraph has one clear topic sentence so the logical structure is visible even before an examiner reads the details.
For Lexical Resource, precision beats sophistication. A less common word used correctly is worth more than a "big" word used awkwardly. Build topic-specific vocabulary for common themes — education, environment, technology, government policy, health — and practice it in full sentences, not just as a list. Avoid stock openers like "nowadays" or "in today's society," and double-check collocations (natural pairings like "raise awareness" or "address a problem") rather than combining words that merely sound plausible together.
Reading model answers helps, but the fastest way to internalize all of this is timed practice with real feedback. EnglishHub's IELTS mock exams put you under genuine Task 2 time pressure, and our AI scoring gives you a band-by-band breakdown across all four criteria so you know exactly which one is holding your score back.
Author
Dr. Sarah Chen