Two-part Question Essays: Structure (British Council Academic IELTS: Writing): Study Material

Two-part question essays: structure

Introductions

Rephrasing the question

• In the introduction, you only need to do two things:

  • introduce the topic

  • briefly state your opinion

• Two sentences are enough for the introduction

• The first sentence should paraphrase the question

• Use the task question as your starting point and circle the keywords in it

• Think of synonyms and alternative phrases for those keywords and use them to rephrase the question

• Make sure your paraphrase keeps the same meaning as the task question

• You will lose marks in Task Response if you simply copy the task question

Expressing opinions

• The second sentence of your introduction should clearly show what you think

• You do not need to give detailed explanations

• Simply show your overall direction

• Use the first person “I” (I would argue that/I believe that, etc) and remember that you will then need to keep your opinion consistent throughout the essay

Example of a good introduction

• Task question:

  • More and more people want to work from home. Why is this happening? Is this a positive or negative trend?

• A possible introduction:

  • Many people nowadays prefer to work remotely rather than in a traditional office environment. There are several reasons for this, and I believe that the shift towards remote work is more advantageous than harmful

Body paragraphs

• It is usually logical to address one question per paragraph

• Begin with a clear topic sentence that directly answers the question

• You can  then explain a cause, show its effect and give a real-life example

• Make sure all your ideas are relevant to the questions

• Keep your paragraph focused and  do not drift into answering the other question

• Each paragraph should add a new perspective, so avoid repeating what you said in the other paragraph

• Express your opinion and make sure it is consistent with what you said in the introduction

• Check that each sentence clearly connects to the topic sentence

• Make sure both paragraphs are similar in length

Conclusions

What must be in a conclusion

• The conclusion should:

  • summarise your answers to both questions

  • restate your main ideas briefly

• Keep it simple and write one or two sentences

• You can begin with:

  • In conclusion,

  • To conclude,

  • To sum up,

• Make sure that:

  • you do not introduce new ideas

  • your conclusion matches your introduction