ELSAC Workout: IELTS, Writing Task 2

Language Focus: Enhancing coherence and cohesion, vocabulary and grammar in writing task 2

Level: Foundation / Undergraduates
Time: 1 hour
Suggested next workout: IELTS Writing Task 2: Argumentative, Advantages and Disadvantages, Cause and Effect Essays
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Material developed by Hebe Wong, Leila Ungutbayeva.

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Activity 1

The Writing Task 2, the second part of the writing test in IELTS is worth 66% of the test. Students are recommended to spend about 40 minutes on this task. The marking criterion for Task 2 include 4 main areas.

Task response (25%)
Coherence and Cohesion (25%)
Lexical resource (Vocabulary) (25%)
Grammatical Range & Accuracy (25%)

Students should write at least 250 words in this task to express their views on various topics in a range of essay types.
This worksheet will focus on two common types of essays in Task 2.

"Discussion" and
"Problem and solution" essays.

IELTS Writing Task 2: Enhancing your band score

Activity 1: Reconstructing a plan (Task Achievement)

The first part of the question for an IELTS discussion essay will be a statement containing two opposing views. You will then be asked to discuss both sides of the argument and give your own opinion.
The following is a sample topic for Discussion essay.

"Some people think that sports play an important role in society. Others think they are nothing more than a leisure activity.

Discuss both views and give your opinion."

Here is some typical wording that might be used:

Discuss both views and give your opinion.
Discuss both these views and then give your own opinion.
Discuss both sides of this argument and give your own opinion.

Activity 1a Refer to the essay below and identify the main view of the writer.

Activity 1b

Task response (25%)
Coherence and Cohesion (25%)
Lexical resource (Vocabulary) (25%)
Grammatical Range & Accuracy (25%)

Students should write at least 250 words in this task to express their views on various topics in a range of essay types.
This worksheet will focus on two common types of essays in Task 2.

"Discussion" and
"Problem and solution" essays.

IELTS Writing Task 2: Enhancing your band score

Essay 1

Some people think that grandparents should live together with their children and grandchildren, while others say that elderly people should be encouraged to live independently. Discuss both sides of this argument and give your own opinion.

Even though there is a common belief that seniors ought to live with their extended family, there is also an argument that they should live separately and be autonomous [1]. In this essay both points of view will be discussed in detail, but personally, I strongly advocate the idea of the elderly living with their family [2].

On the one hand, some people believe that it is beneficial to be self-sufficient later in life since in retirement people strive to dedicate a lot of time to their hobbies [3]. It goes without saying that looking after grandchildren is energy draining and it might be a hindrance to an active lifestyle [4]. Therefore, some grandparents tend to choose living separately to spend more time doing things they find enjoyable, such as traveling the world, doing sports, learning new languages and starting a new business [5]. It is reasonable, considering the fact that pensioners worked diligently to be able to afford their favourite pastime later in life [6].

However, when the older generation lives with their offspring they can maintain a healthy psychological state [7]. This is largely due to the fact that the younger family members often take care of their grandparents by helping them to do household chores and cook meals [8]. As a result, they are engaged in the communication process that might lead to the strengthening of the bond between two generations [9]. Owing to this close bond, seniors can experience a feeling of being indispensable in the family, and it may grant them a purpose in life [10]. For example, findings from a recent Harvard study have revealed that the elderly who have quality relationships with their next of kin are more likely to be happy and healthy [11].

To sum up, although having an opportunity to explore new hobbies is essential for the elderly, they might get more benefits from living with their offspring since they will have a substantial amount of time to build a quality and fulfilling relationship with the family which is crucial for the well-being of community [12].

Activity 1b Identify the purpose of the sentence in the essay by typing its number (e.g. 1,2,3) in the boxes provided below:

Introduction
Paraphrase the question	⁽¹⁾
Thesis statement - stating two opposing views and give your opinion	⁽²⁾
Main body paragraph 1
Topic sentence - outline the view you don't agree with	⁽³⁾
Explanation - explain why this view is held by some people	⁽⁴⁾
Example - give an example	⁽⁵⁾
Main body paragraph 2
Topic sentence - outline the view you agree with	⁽⁶⁾
Explanation - explain why this view is held by some people	⁽⁷⁾
Example - give an example	⁽⁸⁾
Conclusion
Summarize the main points	⁽⁹⁾
State your opinion	⁽¹⁰⁾

Activity 1b

Activity 1c

Activity 1c Organization:

Activity 1c

Activity 2

Activity 2: Improving range of vocabulary (Lexical Resource)

Essay 1 Task
Some people think that grandparents should live together with their children and grandchildren, while others say that elderly people should be encouraged to live independently. Discuss both sides of this argument and give your own opinion.

Activity 2a What words and phrases does the writer use to avoid repeating the same words or phrases in the essay?
Find out the synonyms of the words in the following sentences and put them down in the box below:

grandparents	Independent-(ly)	children and grandchildren
⁽¹⁾	⁽⁵⁾	⁽⁶⁾
⁽²⁾	⁽⁷⁾	⁽⁸⁾
⁽³⁾
⁽⁴⁾

children and grandchildren

⁽⁹⁾

⁽¹⁰⁾

This is largely due to the fact that the younger family members often take care of their grandparents by helping them to do household chores and cook meals [8].
For example, findings from a recent Harvard study have revealed that the elderly who have quality relationships with their next of kin are more likely to be happy and healthy [11].

Activity 3

Problem-solution essays are a type of essay question that appear quite often in Task 2. In this type of essay, you need to discuss the problems with regards to a particular topic and then suggest possible solutions to these problems. Below is an example of problem-solution essays:

Essay 2 Task
In some countries the average weight of people is increasing and their levels of health and fitness are decreasing. What do you think are the causes of these problems and what measures could be taken to solve them?

Nowadays, the levels of healthiness and fitness are declining in some societies due to the fact that the average weight of people has increased in the last decade [1]. I think this is mainly because of their sedentary lifestyles and the popularity of fast food, but there are some solutions [2].

A reason why people have generally grown overweight and unhealthy is that almost everyone either drives or takes public transport to work or school [3]. As a result, there has been a serious decline in most people's levels of physical activity, leading them to burn fewer calories and gain weight [4]. Another reason could be the overconsumption of fast food [5]. A cheeseburger has many high-calorie ingredients such as Mozzarella cheese, sauce and bread [6]. This means that eating a lot of fast food constantly would have negative effects on blood fat levels and increase one's weight [7].

A possible solution to improve public health and fitness is for people to increase their daily physical activity, for example through walking to work if they live close to their workplaces, jogging in the morning or evening and taking regular exercise at the gym [8]. In addition, what governments can do is to launch publicity campaigns against obesity so that people are informed of the dangers of a high-calorie diet [9]. For example, posters could be designed to illustrate how back pain results from obesity and they should be distributed in public areas [10]. This would encourage many to control their calorie intake [11].

In conclusion, the decline in health and fitness and increase in the weight of many people in various countries owe mainly to a lack of physical activity and the high consumption of fast food [12]. However, these problems can be dealt with if people increase their daily physical activity and are informed of the dangers of eating too much [13].

Activity 3 Reconstructing the essay outline (Task Achievement)

Activity 4

Activity 4: Using correct tenses and phrases for introduction (Grammatical Range and Accuracy)

Complete these typical statements for introductions in problem-solving essays using the verbs in brackets in correct tense:

Activity 5

Activity 5: Using linking words to propose solutions to the problem (Coherence and Cohesion)

In problem-solving essays when you need to explain the reasons or propose solutions to the problems, you can use in order to/so as to+Verb and so that+subject structure. The examples are provided below:

Many people move from the countryside to the big cities in order to find a better job.
Instead of going to supermarkets for their food, a lot of people have their shopping delivered to their house, so as to save time
Many people prefer to work from home so that they can avoid commuting every day.

Activity 5a: Match the beginnings of the sentences in column A with the endings in column B:

A

1. The government should ban smoking in public places in order to

2. Many people take a gap year between school and university so as to

3. It is common for retired people to move out of cities and buy a house in the countryside so that

4. It would be a good idea to charge for plastic bags in supermarkets

5. Many parents with young children only work part time

6. The government should impose a tax on junk food

7. Cars should be banned from city centers on Sundays

8. Schools should teach children how to sort the waste so that

9. In my opinion, the government ought to put more police officers on the streets

10. A solution is for the government to build more sports facilities

a. so as to encourage people to eat more healthily.

b. in order to avoid traffic jam.

c. they will be conscious of the amount of garbage people consume.

d. so as to decrease the number of overweight people.

e. so as to try to cut crime.

f. get some work experience or have a break.

g. prevent people from passive smoking.

h. in order to reduce the number of the bags we use.

i. they can relax and get away from the stress of big cities.

j. so that they can spend more time with their children.

Activity 6

Activity 6: Using unless/otherwise grammar structures to write conclusions

We use these grammar structures to show what will happen if the problems are not solved. The examples are provided below:

Unless we can attract more talented young people into teaching, children's education might suffer.
Actions should be taken urgently, otherwise our societies are likely to face greater health problems in the future.

Activity 6a: Read the following sentences and decide whether they are True or False by clicking on the (T) or (F) letter next to the statements

CONGRATULATIONS! You have completed this workout and improved your IELTS fitness. Your results are below. Record your results as proof of independent learning. Take a rest, then repeat this workout to beat your personal best, or try a different one.

Suggested next workout: IELTS Writing Task 2: Argumentative, Advantages and Disadvantages, Cause and Effect Essays

Student's Name (Type in):

Final Result of IELTS Writing Task 2

Date:

Activity	Correct	Maximum	Percentage
Practice 1a	0		0%
Practice 1b	0		0%
Practice 1c	0		0%
Practice 2	0		0%
Practice 3	0		0%
Practice 4	0		0%
Practice 5	0		0%
Practice 6	0		0%
Total Score	0		0%

Time Taken:

What view does the writer of Essay 1 support in the task?
	a. Grandparents should live with their children
	b. Elderly people should be encouraged to live independently.
	c. Neutral

It is common that the ideas which the author disagrees with are usually presented first in the essay. Why?
	a. It is easier to present the views that the author disagrees with first
	b. It makes the arguments that the writer agrees with in body paragraph 2 stronger and gives a clear understanding of the writer's position in the conclusion
	c. It is required by IELTS Writing Task 2 assessment criteria
	c. d) All of the above

Body Paragraph 1	Reason 1	Reason 2
Body Paragraph 1	⁽¹⁾	⁽²⁾

Body Paragraph 2	Solution 1	Solution 2
Body Paragraph 2	⁽³⁾	⁽⁴⁾

Statements	True or False
1. Unless governments spend money on improving public transport in big cities, traffic congestion will only get worse and worse.		True	False
2. We should recycle more, otherwise the amount of rubbish we throw away can get out of control.		True	False
3. Unless actions to fine people who drop litter in the streets are not taken, urban environment might continue to be dirty and full of rubbish.		True	False
4. Unless governments do not raise teacher's pay, fewer people will be likely to choose to become a teacher.		True	False