Brainstorming is such an important skill that can really help your Task 2 IELTS Writing and Part 3 IELTS Speaking.
If you can brainstorm well, you’ll amaze your friends, bosses, and co-workers as if you were a magician pulling amazing ideas out of your hat.
But the key to brainstorming isn’t pulling out an amazing idea every time – it is pulling out hundreds of bad ideas, not feeling bad about that and then finding a good one every once in a while.
You have to get through the bad ideas to get to the good ones. If you feel bad about yourself, you will give up early and never get to the good ones.
Read some of my sample answers here to see examples of ideas in action!
Be sure to avoid the mistakes that most students make on writing by signing up for my exclusive IELTS Ebooks here on Patreon.
Dave
Activity #1 Change your Perspective
This is from one of our followers in Azerbaijan on our Facebook Page: 
This is a really common and well-known strategy.
Imagine that you are someone else considering the problem.
For example, ‘Should we ban hunting for sport/fun?’
What would different people say about this and why?
A hunter might say ‘No, because it is a traditional activity handed down for generations that has many benefits related to family bonding and personal enjoyment.’
A cop might say ‘Yes, because it allows people to buy powerful guns that can then be used in violent crimes.’
A doctor might say ‘Yes, because there are countless hunting injuries each year, and these often involve people who were not even hunting.’
A liberal-wuss might say ‘Yes, because we share the earth with animals – we do not own them.’
Even try some strange ones like from the point of view of a famous (or imaginary) person or a different gender, age group, time period or location:
Superman might say with a smirk ‘I don’t really have an opinion about this but if there’s an asteroid coming towards the Earth I WILL stop it and save all the humans AND animals.’
A child might say ‘It is simply wrong to hurt animals because they are cute and friendly.’
A person from the past might say ‘Animals should only be killed to be eaten.’
A person in a poor country might say ‘There isn’t enough time or money to spend hunting for fun.’
I would say ‘[fill in your opinion here]’
See how easy that was to think of tons of great ideas? Try it out on your next Task 2 Writing Essay!
Activity #2 Use Humour to Release your Ideas
The best video lecture on creativity was given by John Cleese, the famous comedy writer and actor of Monty Python. You can find it here.
One of his many insights is that humour is a fast way of getting to a creative place and thinking of good ideas.
Tell a joke, everyone laughs and that lowers their defences and helps them think more freely and confidently.
So what can you do on the IELTS exam? Think of a joke from a comedian or a friend or a TV show or movie that you like.
Enjoy the joke for a second. That will relax you. Then write down your ideas after that.
Activity #3 Question Words
Who? Where? Why? When? How? How much/many? What? Which?
Use these question words to generate ideas.
For example, the IELTS question is ‘Should we ban hunting for sport/fun?’
Ask yourself:
“Who wants to ban hunting? Who doesn’t?”
“Where is hunting common?”
“Why do people hunt? Why do people want to band hunting?”
“How do most people hunt? Is it dangerous?”
“How much does hunting cost? How many animals are killed every year?”
“What would happen if hunting was banned? What if it becomes more popular?”
“Which countries hunt the most? Does this have an effect?”
This makes it a lot easier to come up with some really good ideas!
Activity #4 Wishful Thinking
Think about the ideal or perfect solution.
If you were doing a Task 2 Writing about Space Tourism – the advantages and disadvantages – what is the best possible outcome?
“We discover new technology and new planets and learn more about the universe. We come in contact with friendly aliens.”
If it was a Part 3 Speaking question – ‘Will people in the future continue to live in the city rather than the countryside?’
“The ideal future would be most people living in cities for work but still large populations outside the cities so that they are not too crowded. Maybe people will live outside cities if there are more opportunities for work there.”
Alternatively, you can think of the worst possible outcome and that will help you to think of ideas as well.
Activity #5 Word Links/Associations
This is a classic brainstorming method.
Write down the main word related to the topic. For example, ‘pollution.’
Now write down all the words that you usually associate with this word – climate change, governments, corporations, taxes, fossil fuels, etc.
Use these words as the basis of your main ideas and support in your paragraphs.
You can also try out this website which is really helpful for starting to think of ideas if you are doing a practice essay at home or practicing your part 3 speaking: WordStorm.com
Activity #6 Doodling and Mind Maps
Drawing pictures is a great way to come up with ideas because it allows your mind to drift and naturally think of a large number of related ideas.
So if you find yourself stuck in your Task 2 Writing, and you like to draw, try doodling a little bit on the test to start thinking again.
You don’t want to spend the full hour drawing pictures because the examiner probably won’t give you a good band score no matter how amazing your pictures are.
But taking a minute to draw what you are talking about will get you thinking again.
Activity #7 A Mathematical Equation
The last idea is for people who think artistically and this one is for people who are more logical and mathematical.
If this was a Task 2 Writing Question, for example, ‘What are the disadvantages of too many people living in cities?’ you could rewrite it like an equation:
Too many people + _________________ = Bad for cities
Then write down a few possibilities for the blank space: traffic jams, pollution, cleanliness, expensive, crime, etc.
Then choose the best 1 or 2 ideas and write about those in your essay.
Activity #8 Reverse Thinking
This means to think backwards from the solution.
Here’s a problem solution Task 2 Writing Question: Children today are becoming less healthy. Why is this a problem and what possible solutions are there?
Start with a solution: getting more exercise.
Now work backwards – how did you get children to exercise more?
Long gym classes at school, more sports facilities open to the public, public service announcements to encourage parents to go out with their kids more often, more parks in cities, etc.
That’s your whole Task 2 solutions paragraph – done!
You can also use the is for Part 3 of the Speaking test: ‘How could governments encourage people to go to museums more often?’
‘By building better, more interesting museums. To do this they could include more interactive exhibitions, update the items in museums more often, make sure museums are free on certain days of the week and advertise the museums better.’
Activity #9 The 6 Thinking Hats
Edward de Bono is one of the most famous writers on the subject of creativity.
One of his most famous books is about the 6 thinking hats.
This is very similar to activity #1 except instead of pretending to be another person, you just pretend to have a different perspective (i.e. ‘wear a different hat’).
Blue hat: manages the brainstorming by look at the overall picture or question. What are you trying to decide overall?
White hat: Uses data and information. Think about statistics, evidence and facts with this hat.
Yellow hat: Always looks for positive answers, always optimistic and hopeful. Think of ideal solutions and perfect situations here.
Green hat: Creative hat. Think about all the different possible alternatives here. This is the brainstorming hat.
Red hat: the instinctive hat. What is the first thing that comes into your head? How do you feel? Answer those questions for this hat.
Black hat: The judging hat. This hat judges the ideas you have thought of. Be careful not to use this hat too early or too much.
Activity #10 Rapid Writing
Just write – don’t stop writing.
This is the fastest method, I think.
Write down as many ideas as you can as quickly as you can. Take maybe 5 minutes.
Then go back and cross off some, circle some and improve some.
Simple but powerful!
Finally! Here’s a video helping you to think about main ideas for Task 2 Writing from our YouTube Channel!
Now it’s Your Turn! Brainstorm ideas for the question below:
What are the best ways to reduce crime in your country?
improve the welfare system; encourage people to get more education; give parents free training about how to raise children; public service announcements to alert people the cost of crime
Yes great! Do you find this method to be effective?
.
Politicians: By building more top-notch schools in depriving areas where youngsters are more likely to fall prey of crime
Parents: By enacting tougher criminal laws to keep wrongdoers behind bars for a long time
Teachers: By incorporating skills-based subjects into the high school curriculum, thus young people will be ready to get a job.
Fringe parties supporter: By giving governments permission to apply the death penalty, this will provoke a deterrent effect on crime
Me: By spending enough money on welfare to help those people in needs. Also, governments can built more sport public facilities and encourage people to practice sports during their idle hours.
That’s great work! I love your idea of ‘me’ at the end and will it add it to my post – thanks for the idea!
Je vous en prie!
I will be practicing writing more often, next month I will sit the test.
I’m reading through your tips and strategies to grasp a good understanding of task 2.
Good luck!
1.Provide some facilities to intertain public including sport gyms, music halls, amusement park, swimming pool and so on.
2.introduce more strict laws
3. Make harsh punishment
4. Banning gun trade
5. Learn children being responsible for their acts against people and environment
6. Increase job opportunities
Yes, very good!
Does that help you to think of ideas? It is important after you think of them to choose the one that you think will be easiest to write about. What’s your best main idea there?
i think the last two items are more easier to develop
Good! Keep practicing that method with different questions and you should have an easier time on the test thinking of main ideas quickly!
my teacher learned us the other way to expand the ideas.
looking at topic from 4 different views:
1.environmentally
2. economic
3. personally
4. socially
although. maybe i made mistake in remembering 4 items correctly.
what is your opinion about this method.?
Yes, I love that technique and it is very similar to my own!
Crime exist in all nations around the world. To reduce crime rate, not only the citizens need to collaborate with their neighbors within the community and rely on technology, the government can also have a strong positive impact by providing sufficient education and federal welfare support.
To start, home alarm and neighborhood watch in the community could significantly reduce crime rate. It is beneficial for families to install alarm so they can monitor their houses when away and respond immediately when necessary. Also, unfamiliar personals and vehicles stand out in the neighborhood. With families watching out for each other, the chance of criminals carrying out illegal tasks is limited because neighbors can call the police and arrest the thieves.
The fundamental measure to lower crime rate is by offering all young adults with proper education and vocational training as well as developing well rounded social welfare system, which enables equips everyone with the ability to attend to their own needs and support their families. If all individuals manage to put food on the table and have a shelter over their heads at night, I doubt any of them would take the risks of breaking the laws or harming the society.
In conclusion, crimes could be reduced or even stopped with many measures. I am optimistic in lowering crime rate as long as people actively watch out for each other in the community; families install alarm connected with their phones; and the government takes the responsibility to make sure nobody is left behind in education as well as social welfare. (259 words)
– neighborhood watching is encouraged in the community to reduce domestic crime
– Installing digital alarm to monitor home when away
– provide education and vocational training opportunities to all young adults
> Government Education should be improved
> Strict law should be enforced
> Strict punishment should be given for flony crimes
> Government should improve welfare systems
> Law controlling agencies should be positive and active
> Parents should educate their children about good and bad of socities
> Teachers should work on some lessons about lawful crimes and their punishments with examples
> Create centers to work on misdemeanour criminals
> Inflation should be controlled
> Employment rate should be increased especially for unskilled labour with increased in daily rates
> Prices on groceries should be controlled so that anyone can afford
Great Bilal – keep working hard!
Does that technique work well for you?
These methods are very informative and handy, thanks Sir!
You’re very welcome, Mai!
Are you living in Vietnam?
Dave you are an angel! keeping helping people!! I hope god rewards you for your hard work!
Thank you!
Hey Dave, aside from scientific american, are there any sites (reading) you’d recomend that’d put out research articles related to science, tech, art,etc? I follow a couple on twitter, but non seem to be on par with sa. Thanks again!
Thanks for asking Katirya as I’m sure lots of students would be interested in the answer (and sorry for the late reply – been under the weather the last week!).
If you want one that is geared towards a mass audience, then I highly recommend Wired.com.
Some other good ones include:
https://blog.csiro.au/
https://www.iflscience.com/
https://nautil.us/
https://www.theparisreview.org/
Anyone else have other suggestions?
Since you added the word ‘wuss’ to liberals I’m happy to say you’re now on my AdBlock list.
Haha, it was just sarcastic – a little joke!
1)stringent action by govt. such as prison or heavy fines
2) teach moral values during academics
3)increase employment opportunity
4)Govt. should ban items such as guns and knife which causes crime
5) Parents should nurture them to encourage for become a good man in society
Great work, Sohal – hope those tips are helpful for you!
Really useful. Thanks!
have more people get basic education; spread knowledge and law of security and crime through the media and websites;improve and optimize laws for crime;promote the quality of life;increase the employment rate;government should enhance security and law enforement;give systematic and complete instructions to criminals in order to decline the rate of reoffending;