IELTS WRITING TASK 2 TIPS

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v  Read the question carefully 5 times in order to understand and categorize the question.

v  There are 3 types of writing style according to nature of question.

·         Problem Solution Essay (Don’t give any opinion here)

·         Argument Led Essay (Advantage/Disadvantage Essay) (Give opinion)

·         Opinion led Essay (Massive part is opinion)

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Problem Solution Essay

1.       Introduction:

·         Rephrase the title

·         Extend

·         Mention context

2.       Problems:

·         Topic sentense

·         Examples

·         Personal Examples

·         Context (detail)

3.       Solutions:

·         Topic sentence

·         Examples

·         Personal experience

·         Context (detail)

4.       Conclusion:

·         Summarize

·         Concession (admit there are two sides, eg when there is a problem, there is a solution)

·         Do not give opinion in this type of essay

Argument Led (Advantage and Disadvantage)

1.       Introduction:

·         Rephrase the title

·         Extend

·         Mention context (current affairs, situations, politics, environment)

2.       Advantages:

·         Topic sentence

·         Personal experience, examples

·         Examples

·         Context

3.       Disadvantage:

·         Topic sentence

·         Personal examples

·         Examples

·         Context

4.       Conclusion:

·         Summarize

·         Concession (admit there are two sides)

·         Give opinions    

Opinion Led Essay

There are three ways to write opinion led essays:

·         Argument led (advantage and disadvantage)( we can use this format in some of opinion led essay question but this don’t fit in all questions)

·         Pure agreement or pure disagreement (100 % agree or 100 % disagree)

·         Partial agreement. (best fits for ethical questions)

How to answer ethical questions?

Best way to answer ethical questions is to adopt partial agreement essay format

Here’s how!

1.       Introduction:

·         Rephrase

·         Extend

·         Mention context

2.       Agreement (partially agree here)

·         Acknowledge the question, examples, personal experience, and context.

3.       Alternatives (hesitations/reservations)

·         Acknowledge the questions, examples, personal experience, and context.

4.       Conclusion:

·         Summarize

·         Concession (explain again about the alternatives)

·         Give opinions.

Key skills are…

Explore the question

Write good topic sentence

Include examples

Give personal examples and context.

Here is a sample essay to understand what are topic sentence, context and concession and other things to boost up an essay.

Question: Modern communication mean that it is no longer necessary to write a letters.

                To what extend do you agree / disagree?

Give reasons for your answer and include relevant examples from your own knowledge and experience.

Now, what format should I choose to tackle this type of question?

Argument led (which is more of advantages and disadvantages, we can discuss advantage/disadvantage of modern technology here, but we won’t be able to make a point here or justify our essay); Problem solution? (clearly we cannot discuss problems and solutions here in this question).

So this is opinion led type. Still there are 3 approaches to answer this in opinion led question. 

Argument led does not fit in. pure agreement or pure disagreement needs hell lots of points supporting your views and may sounds monotonous. So opinion led partial agreement best fits in here.

*Notice the highlighted words in the question, we will discuss this later.

Solution:

[Introduction]

Many people argue that writing a letter is no longer necessary with the massive development in communication. The introductions of internet and mobile phones have revolutionized the way we used to communicate because these technologies have brought us luxuries of ease and quickness. Therefore these modern tools have been used extensively in major cities like Kathmandu, Pokhara, Biratnagar, Dharan and so on. However I still believe there are some circumstances where writing a letter has no alternatives.

(The opening sentence is the rephrase of the title question. The 2nd sentence is the extension of the topic sentence. The linking word “therefore” is linker word that links 1st and 2nd sentence to the context (the 3rd sentence) “However” is a linker word that links a contradictory sentence with previous lines. And the last sentence describes that you are partially agreeing with the question statement. In academic writhing etc is not good word to use so use “so on” instead of it.)

[Body]

Modern communication has decreased the need to write the letters, as to why writing a letter could be an unnecessary burden for a modern man because e-mails are prompt and is more convenient way. Some software actually allows us to dictate and words are typed by computer itself. Furthermore internet, telephones and mobile phones allow us to contact with a person living far from us. This has helped small and multinational business, individuals or an organization. For instance, a CEO (chief executive officer) at corporate office located in Kathmandu can phone a branch manager located at Pokhara to e-mail him report on performance appraisal of his staff working at Pokhara. This process can happen within a minute, provided report is ready. On the other hand, if CEO still needs to post a letter, this process would have taken ages.

The first sentence is a topic sentence in the body of essay; this opens the topic under discussion (i.e. writing a letter is unnecessary). 2nd line is example. Furthermore is a linking word linking similar (justifying why it is unnecessary) example in 3rd line. Remaining sentences are the context applying to individual and business and a huge detailed (context) example of the point is corporate context justifying the initial point. The word “for instance” links the example and context in this case. So this body has it all. i.e topic sentence, example, experience (in one way) and the context. Topic sentence acknowledges the question.

 

[body 2: alternatives, hesitations, reservations: in this case the word alternatives doesn’t not work, in some other case alternatives works, her it is hesitations or reservations.]

This opening sentence shows hesitations   in some circumstances and is a sentence that acknowledges the question. 2nd line is a personal experiences and an opinion. “In addition to this” gives more points against previous body. A website name gives more detail (also example) and this makes out context. The last line is another context in Nepal.

In contrast, there are some circumstances where writing a letters has no alternatives. I personally believe written words have human touch, which makes us feel cared and special. That is why I would always live to receive a written letter from my loved ones. In addition to this, written letter is must in legal and job purposes. Even though, some job hunting sites accepts e-mail as an application, such as merojob.com, there are many companies where written letter is a must. In Nepal, government agencies and corporations do not accept an e-mail for any purpose, which is why I believe posting a letter would not disappear in the future.  

[Conclusion]

Though modern communication is more convenient, reliable, and fast, writing a letter is mandatory in legal circumstances. Research also shows that written words has personal touch and many marketing strategy developer use written words and letters as marketing tools. Therefore I partially agree with the statement that states “writing a letter is no longer necessary”.

1st line summarizes 1st and 2nd body and that you are aware of both sides (summary and concession). And last line clears your opinion.

1st line summarizes 1st and 2nd body and that you are aware of both sides (summary and concession). And last line clears your opinion.

1st line summarizes 1st and 2nd body and that you are aware of both sides (summary and concession). And last line clears your opinion.

Ideas Worth Spreading: By Gautam lama

Here is a list of my favorite ten videos from ted.com that I randomly encountered on YouTube. These are priceless videos but TED’s motto (Ideas worth sharing) made it free on the internet which means you can see it free anywhere any time. I want  help it spread more by means of my blog. Hope it works. My list contains ten videos in no particular order. These are some of the talks from remarkable people on ted.com, nevertheless there are many inspiring, informative, persuasive, courageous, fascinating, beautiful, funny and many more videos to watch on www.ted.com

             TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes. Featured speakers have included Al Gore on climate change, Philippe Starck on design, Jill Bolte Taylor on observing her own stroke, Nicholas Negroponte on One Laptop per Child, Jane Goodall on chimpanzees, Bill Gates on malaria and mosquitoes, Pattie Maes on the "Sixth Sense" wearable tech, and "Lost" producer JJ Abrams on the allure of mystery. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design, and TEDTalks cover these topics as well as science, business, development and the arts. 

1. How to spot a liar

 On any given day we're lied to from 10 to 200 times, and the clues to detect those lie can be subtle and counter-intuitive. Pamela Meyer, author of Liespotting, shows the manners and "hotspots" used by those trained to recognize deception -- and she argues honesty is a value worth preserving.

2. Jill Bolte Taylor: How it feels to have a stroke

Jill Bolte Taylor got a research opportunity few brain scientists would wish for: She had a massive stroke, and watched as her brain functions -- motion, speech, self-awareness -- shut down one by one. An astonishing story.

Brain researcher Jill Bolte Taylor studied her own stroke as it happened -- and has become a powerful voice for brain recovery.

3. Ken Robinson: schools kill creativity

Sir Ken Robinson makes an entertaining and profoundly moving case for creating an education system that nurtures (rather than undermines) creativity.

4. Nancy Duarte: Common structure of greatest communicators

Why are some presentations spellbinding and some not? Well, this is the question Nancy Duarte takes on as she shares with the audience the secret of an excellent presentation. In this fascinating talk Nancy Duarte explains the model that she developed for designing transformative presentations. She explains the essential qualities of an excellent presentation by analyzing the speeches of Martin Luther King and Steve Jobs. She reminds us that the only way to spread important ideas is to make sure that one is communicating his or her ideas effectively using strong presentation skills. 

5. Four principles for the open world: Don Tapscott

The recent generations have been bathed in connecting technology from birth, says futurist Don Tapscott, and as a result the world is transforming into one that is far more open and transparent. In this inspiring talk, he lists the four core principles that show how this open world can be a far better place.

6. The art of stress free productivity: David Allen 

Productivity guru and coach David Allen talks about "Stress Free Productivity" at TEDxClaremontColleges. He talks about appropriate connectivity and other key elements of productivity. Watch this cool guru to find out.

7. Living beyond limits: Amy Purdy

Amy Purdy talks about the power of imagination. She explains how our lives are not determined by what happens to us, but by the choices we make. Imagination allows us to break down borders, to move beyond our circumstances, to create and constantly progress.

Amy Purdy has been through hardships that most of us will never face -- or can even fathom. But what makes her story so incredible is not that fact that she lived a "normal" childhood and spent her high school years as a passionate artist and snowboarder, then traumatically lost both her legs at age 19, but how she has persevered, taking implausible challenges and rising above them.

Today, Amy is an athlete; currently the top ranked adaptive female snowboarder in the world. Amy also spends a good amount of time helping others; specifically those with physical challenges get involved with snowboarding, skateboarding, wakeboarding and other action sports through the organization she co-founded Adaptive Action Sports. Challenging herself while making a positive impact on the world is a true testament to Amy's spirit.

8. The power of introverts: Susan Cain

In a culture where being social and outgoing are prized above all else, it can be difficult, even shameful, to be an introvert. But, as Susan Cain argues in this passionate talk, introverts bring extraordinary talents and abilities to the world, and should be encouraged and celebrated.

9. The art of choosing: Sheena Lyengar

Sheena Iyengar studies how we make choices -- and how we feel about the choices we make. At TEDGlobal, she talks about both trivial choices (Coke v. Pepsi) and profound ones, and shares her groundbreaking research that has uncovered some surprising attitudes about our decisions.

  

10. Your body language shapes who you are

Body language affects how others see us, but it may also change how we see ourselves. Social psychologist Amy Cuddy shows how "power posing" -- standing in a posture of confidence, even when we don't feel confident  can affect testosterone and cortisol levels in the brain, and might even have an impact on our chances for success.