A lot of my IELTS students like to start their Task 2 essays with a long and complicated introduction.
This is a really bad idea.
I know a lot of examiners and to be honest they’re not especially clever, and they get tired and hungry like just like everybody else.
So it’s a good idea to make your IELTS essay as simple and clear as possible, and this is especially true for the introduction, as that will be the first thing they read.
So think of the reader (the very tired examiner) and keep it simple.
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Dave
The most important part of your introduction
If your opinion is clearly presented in the introduction and then confirmed in the conclusion, then it makes your whole essay clearer.
You can see from the table below, for a band 7 and above, your position should be clear “throughout the response”, which means from your introduction to your conclusion.
Putting your opinion in your introduction won’t guarantee you a band 7 for Task Achievement.
But it makes it more likely because it will make your writing more logical.
So this will also improve your cohesion and coherence score as well
Band Score |
Official IELTS description(Task Achievement) |
What it means |
7+ |
“Presents a clear position throughout the response.” |
Your overall opinion is very clear and is well supported by all your reasons and examples in your whole essay. |
6 |
“Presents a relevant position, although the conclusions may become unclear or repetitive.” |
Your overall opinion is good but you don’t always clearly support it with reasons or have clear conclusions. |
5 |
“Expresses a position but the development is not always clear and there may be no conclusions drawn.“ |
You have an overall opinion but you often don’t support it with reasons or have conclusions. |
4 |
“Presents a position but this is unclear.” |
You have an opinion but you don’t explain or support it clearly. |
How to write a clear and simple introduction
A basic introduction has three sentences:
1. A simple paraphrase of the question.
2. Your position (overall opinion).
3. What you will do in the essay. (This sentence is optional.)
Let’s check out some examples on the topic of railways!
Example 1 (agree or disagree question)
Governments should spend money on railways rather than roads.
To what extent do you agree or disagree?
For this kind of question you can discuss one or both sides.
But either way you must clearly state which side your opinion agrees with. If you don’t do this you can’t get higher than a 5 for Task Achievement.
As I suggested earlier, it’s best if you include your opinion in the introduction and conclusion.
Introduction for discuss one side e.g. strongly agree
It is often suggested that governments should increase investment in railway infrastructure rather than on new roads. Personally, I agree that the benefits of rail, which include less traffic and pollution, outweigh the apparent benefits of new roads. I will explain my reasons in this essay.
Introduction for discuss both sides e.g. agree
It is often suggested that governments should increase investment in railway infrastructure rather than on new roads. I will discuss both views but personally, I agree that the rewards of investing in trains, which include a reduction in traffic and pollution, outweigh the benefits of building new roads.
Example 2 (discuss both sides question)
Some people think that governments should spend money on railways.
Others believe that there should be more investment into new roads.
Discuss both sides and give your opinion.
For this kind of Task 2 question you need to discuss both sides of the question.
As with agree/disagree question above, you must clearly state which side your opinion agrees with.
The best way to do this is to include your opinion in the introduction and conclusion.
Technically, it’s OK to write a very general introduction and leave your opinion to the end.
But this isn’t as clear, and you might run out of time before you’ve got to your conclusion, so overall it’s a more dangerous strategy.
So here is the example introduction.
Notice that it’s exactly the same as the discuss both sides from the agree/disagree question.
Introduction for discuss both sides e.g. agree
It is often suggested that governments should increase investment in railway infrastructure rather than on new roads. I will discuss both views but personally, I agree that the rewards of investing in trains, which include a reduction in traffic and pollution, outweigh the benefits of building new roads.
Example 3 (two questions)
Nowadays governments are investing more in public transport such as buses and trains rather than in building new roads.
What are the reasons for this?
Is this a positive or negative development?
For this kind of task you need to discuss both questions equally.
The second question requires an opinion so you must clearly state which side your opinion agrees with.
Again, as above the best way to do this is to include your opinion in the introduction and conclusion.
Introduction for positive development:
It is often noted that many governments are adopting policies which invest in public transport rather than in road infrastructure. Personally, I feel the main reasons for this are an increase in congestion and a reduction in air quality in big cities. I therefore feel this is a positive development. I will explain my reasons in this essay.
Salut!
I’ve noticed you use the verb “feel” to express your position on the topic. Will it be ok to use the standard verbs, namely, I believe, I think, In my opinion…. I endorse this view point because…?
Thanks!
Yes, those are all fine! You can also say ‘I would endore this view…’
Did you mean endorse, Sir?
Yes, thanks, mistyped it!
Hii, i am Diya. I am finding a lot of difficulty in my IELTS and i need your help. I always scored 5.5 in writing in real exam. Hence, please give me some useful tips.
Thankyou
Join my zoom class.
I really have hard time paraphrasing the introduction please advise
It depends on your level. If you are confident in your English, change it around a lot. If not, just change a few words. Try changing the part of speech, for example ‘construction’ a noun, to ‘construct’ a verb. The key is to write it fast because the opinion sentence is more important.
Is that helpful for you?
I struggle to find new umbrella words for outline, topic sentence and conclusion. My requirement is 7 band in writing. What should I do. I scored 6.5 in writing twice.
For example the question is
Employee should be allowed to work from home. Agree or disagree.
My main points are work life balance and economical.
Now I have to repeat main points in the
1. Outline
2. Topic sentence
3. Conclusion
So, I cannot think of new ways of saying work-life balance thrice. Please help me
For a specific term like that, don’t stress too much – that is not what is holding you back from band 7.
Some other ways – balance work and life, have more personal time, have more time for one’s family/hobbies, not allow work to intrude, better balance work and life, get away from work
Don’t try to think of one to one synonyms – few of those exist in English. Try to think of wholly different ways of saying the same thing such as have more time for yourself.
I struggle with writing the introduction “Discuss both views” because I want to highlight my main views and provide my opinion without much paraphrasing.
Whats is the best way of doing it?
Completing university education is thought by some to be the best way to get a good job. On the other hand, other people think that getting experience and developing soft skills is more important.
Discuss both views and give your opinion.
Some people argue that tertiary education is the most effective method to improve career prospects while others believe that it is better to acquire work experience and soft skills. University education is valued in technical occupations whereas soft skills are essential of business and management. I will discuss both the views but personally I believe that higher education is more beneficial because soft skills could be learned while working.
Now the problem is I have to think of many synonyms while writing such intros.
I do
What should I do?
Should I use “former/latter” view?
Or
should I add the main points while paraphrasing only?
Some people believe it is important to give gifts and presents to friends and family to show that we care about them. Others think that there are better ways to show affection to them. Discuss both the views and give your own opinion.
Expressing love towards our loved ones is extremely important. While some people think that giving gifts is the best way to do this since materials are the only way to show love, others think respect is a better way. I will discuss both the views but I agree with the latter view.
Please help me.
Or should I use Although structure? Like you use in most of your sample answers.
What is the most rewarding and easy structure as my requirement is of 7 bands?
Using a subordinate structure like although is good because it helps your cohesions/coherence and grammar and also allows you to easily include both main ideas.
That’s why I often use it. Try it out and maybe it will work for you too!
Hi Ming,
Yes it is a real challenge to do that in the introduction. If you can’t paraphrase enough you can also leave your main ideas out of the introduction and just include your opinion.
Both of your introductions are very good. I wouldn’t worry too much about the paraphrasing problem. I repeat words in my essays as well. Trying to overparaphrase can also hurt your score a lot.
Depending on the question, try to include your main ideas in the introduction but don’t stress about it.
i want to improve reading as well as writing can u help me plz i always have poor vocabulary how cn i improve it
To improve your vocabulary… read more!
Learn about some activities to do here: https://howtodoielts.com/read-the-news-improve-ielts-reading/
why do we say: governments should increase investment “in” railway rather than “on” new roads?
It’s just the collocation that does with investment – we invest in.
Invest on is probably ok but sounds a little unnatural.
Hello Dave,
I’ve also had this question for a while.
Why did you use “on” for the “new roads” in the very first example even though the “in” is better for the word of investment?
I really appreciate your site!!
Thanks.
You can say investment on or investment in – though in is more common, Miku.
It is often noted/suggested that goverments SHOULD increase invesments in public transport, such as trains or buses inspite of building new roads. Personally, I feel the main reasons are a reduction on traffic congestions and air pollution. Therefore, I would endorse this is a positive development.
note: Hi admin, is this a proper introduction? Meanwhile, I am deeply appreciate with your website contents and design style. IT IS EXTREMELY USEFUL for most of us! Many thanks
That structure is fine, An!
You can say instead – not in spite of.
It is often suggested that government should spend more money on railways rather than building new roads. In my opinion, developing railway infrastructure is a wise idea, it would help in reducing pollution and tame the environmental hazards.
Great work Valeed!
Careful with parallel structures – reducing… taming…
ok
Ok thank u very much for this. And this is very useful to us so much.
sorry but it is very wrong to include your opinion in a discussion essay
You don’t have to take my word for it – you can consult the public band descriptors or the official IELTS website. They clearly state that you should have a clear position ‘throughout’ – don’t trust me – trust IELTS!
Can I write formate for writing task 2 in the ielts exam?
What do you mean by ‘formate’?
she means format / structure
In recent times governments are investing hugely in public transportation system rather than constructing new roads. In my view, this will reduce congestion and overloading while making business transactions faster. I think it will bring positive development.
I will explain my reasons in the essay.
Great intro, Florence!
you state 2 important reasons: less traffic and pollution… but if we explain more than these two cases in 2 bodies, what we should say in the introduction?
It is believed by many people that lawmakers should invest money on railway inspite on roads. I largely agree with that government should utilise money on railways as it reduce pollution nd traffic nd will elaborate here under.
If question asks us (Do you think the advantages of this issue outweigh the disadvantages?)
What should be our strategy?
hi
Hi Saeed!
Being not authorized ,capital punishment continues in many countries. Some are of the views that parents should have the power to discipline their children in this manner.Despite ,the unacceptability of this view,this essay agrees that parents should exercise there authority on their children because it will make them a better member of the society and enable them to have a good sense of behavior in the future.
Great work, Adekoya – keep it up!
I keep seeing paraphrasing
How important is it in writhing task
It’s important but students often exaggerate its importance – do it when possible, but don’t stress too hard about it, Lucy!
New follower,just too insightful. Wish I had known this site for awhile, it’s not too late though.
Hope it helps you, Patience!