IELTS Writing Task 2 question types, and how to plan each one (2026)

In both versions of the test, Task 2 gives you a point of view, an argument or a problem to discuss, and asks for at least 250 words in about 40 minutes. IELTS asks for an academic or semi-formal, neutral style, full sentences rather than notes or bullet points, and relevant examples, which can come from your own experience.

What the task tests

IELTS lists what Task 2 can assess, depending on the task. In IELTS Academic, it is your ability to present a solution to a problem, present and justify an opinion, compare and contrast evidence, opinions and implications, and evaluate and challenge ideas, evidence or an argument. In General Training, it is your ability to provide general factual information, outline a problem and present a solution, present and possibly justify an opinion, and evaluate and discuss ideas, evidence or an argument, on topics of general interest such as whether children's leisure activities should be educational.

Answer the part of the topic you were asked about

IELTS gives its own example of the commonest slip: if a prompt is about one particular aspect of the wider topic of computers, you should focus on that aspect only, not write about computers in general. The topic tells you the subject; the instruction tells you what to do with it.

A point of view, an argument or a problem; 250 words; 40 minutes; and the instruction is what the examiner checks you answered.

ielts.org lists what a Task 2 essay may need to do: give general factual information, give reasons for a problem or outline its causes, present solutions, justify your opinion, evaluate evidence and ideas, assess how far you agree with a statement, decide whether there are more advantages or disadvantages, and explain why a situation has occurred.

Its table of common prompts pairs each type with the wording you will see:

• Opinion: "To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?"
• Discussion: "Discuss both views and give your own opinion."
• Advantages and disadvantages: "What are the advantages and disadvantages of...?"
• Positive or negative: "Is this a positive or negative development?"
• Causes and solutions: "What are the causes of these problems and suggest solutions?"
• Multi-part: two or more direct questions, such as why something is popular and what effects it has.
• Multi-part with an opinion: a direct question followed by one that asks you to judge, such as whether some problems outweigh the benefits.

Where types stop helping

The same article warns against using the types as templates. If you answer with a formulaic response, a learned response that closely matches the question, your essay will not address the task appropriately and you will lose marks, and the public band descriptors list memorised phrases and formulaic language as a weakness. Use the type to count the parts of the question, then answer the question in front of you.

Seven common shapes and one rule: the instruction tells you the parts, and every part needs an answer.

An opinion prompt gives you a statement and asks how far you agree with it. ielts.org's article on these essays gives three possible positions: you agree completely, you disagree completely, or you partly agree, which means you also partly disagree. All three are legitimate answers. What the band 7 descriptor asks for is a clear and developed position.

A plan

The article advises four paragraphs: an introduction of two sentences, one paraphrasing the question and one giving your position; two body paragraphs; and a short conclusion that repeats your answer without introducing anything new. If you partly agree, one body paragraph gives your reasons for agreeing and the other your reasons for disagreeing. It also advises no more than four ideas in total, each developed with reasons, examples and detail, because a few well-developed ideas are better than many thin ones.

Opinion prompts that ask you to choose

Some opinion prompts ask you to decide between two options. ielts.org's example asks who should pay for elderly people's care, the government or the family, and lists mistakes that include giving reasons why both should pay without making a decision, drifting into the problems of living in a care home, and not giving a clear opinion. You can decide that both should pay, as long as you say how that would work.

An example

Prompt, written for this guide: "Some people believe that university education should be free for every student. To what extent do you agree or disagree?" A partly-agree plan: an introduction whose position is that tuition should be free for students who could not otherwise attend, but not for everyone; a body paragraph on why free tuition widens access, with an example; a body paragraph on why paying for every student's degree may take money from schools, with an example; and a conclusion that restates the position.

Decide how far you agree before you write, say it in the introduction, and do not change your mind in the conclusion.

A discussion prompt sets out two views and asks you to "discuss both views and give your own opinion". That is three parts, not two. An essay that explains both views well but never says which you hold has left one out, and the band descriptors mark a response down when the main parts of the prompt are incompletely addressed.

A plan

An introduction that paraphrases both views and states your own; a body paragraph on the first view, with its reasons; a body paragraph on the second, with its reasons; and a conclusion that gives your opinion again, and why. Some writers give their own view a paragraph of its own. Either way, it must be clear where you stand.

An example

Prompt, written for this guide: "Some people think children should start learning a foreign language at primary school. Others believe they should wait until secondary school. Discuss both views and give your own opinion." The first body paragraph explains why an early start helps; the second explains why waiting can make sense; the introduction and the conclusion say which you favour, and why.

View one, view two, and yours: three parts, and yours must be visible.

These prompts ask you to weigh something up, and the exact wording decides how far. "What are the advantages and disadvantages of...?" asks you to explain both. "Do the advantages outweigh the disadvantages?" asks you to explain both and decide which weighs more. "Is this a positive or negative development?" asks for a judgement, supported by reasons.

The mistakes IELTS names

ielts.org works through a prompt asking whether the disadvantages of international tourism outweigh the advantages, and names four mistakes: only listing the advantages, only listing the disadvantages, presenting both but not deciding if one outweighs the other, and not presenting your opinion. Its plan is to decide your position first, present both sides, give more points to the side you think weighs more, and repeat your position in the conclusion.

An example

Prompt, written for this guide: "More and more people now work from home instead of in an office. Do the advantages of this outweigh the disadvantages?" If you decide the advantages weigh more: an introduction with that position; a body paragraph on the advantages, with more points; a body paragraph on the disadvantages, with fewer; and a conclusion that says again why the advantages outweigh them.

Show both sides, and when the prompt asks which weighs more, say which.

A causes and solutions prompt asks two things: why a problem exists, and what could be done about it. ielts.org's table gives the wording "What are the causes of these problems and suggest solutions?", and presenting a solution to a problem is one of the abilities IELTS lists for Task 2 in IELTS Academic and, as outlining a problem and presenting a solution, in General Training.

A plan

An introduction that names the problem and says in a sentence what causes it and what would help; a body paragraph on two causes, each explained; a body paragraph on solutions; and a short conclusion. Link each solution to a cause you gave, so that the second paragraph answers the first.

An example

Prompt, written for this guide: "In many cities, traffic congestion is getting worse. What are the causes of this problem, and what measures could be taken to solve it?" Causes: more private cars, and public transport that does not reach where people live. Solutions: better bus and train routes to those areas, and a charge for driving into the centre at busy times.

Causes explained, solutions that answer them, and no solution without a cause behind it.

A multi-part prompt asks two or more direct questions, and each one needs its own answer. ielts.org's example asks why shopping is so popular and what effects its popularity has on individuals and society. Its general advice applies twice here: check whether the statement refers to more than one idea, such as individuals and society, and make sure you refer to both.

A plan

An introduction that answers each question in a sentence; one body paragraph for each question; and a conclusion. When the second question asks you to judge, as in whether some problems outweigh the benefits, treat that part like an advantages and disadvantages prompt, and decide.

An example

Prompt, written for this guide: "Many young people now spend several hours a day on social media. Why is this? Is it a positive or negative development?" The first body paragraph answers why; the second decides whether it is positive or negative, with reasons.

Count the question marks: each one is a part of the essay.

Whatever the type, the same steps come first. This is ielts.org's advice for the moment you read a prompt, in order:

• Read the statement first, for its main ideas.
• Check whether it refers to more than one idea, and refer to each.
• Count the parts of the question, and cover all of them.
• Read the question words, such as what extent, why, suggest, decide or evaluate, and answer those.
• Express your position clearly.
• Support your ideas with relevant examples from your own knowledge and experience, not made-up statistics and research.
• Give each paragraph one clear idea, developed.
• Do not use memorised essays that might not address the task.

Time and length

IELTS advises about 40 minutes for Task 2 and at least 250 words. It does not penalise a longer answer, but warns that a very long answer may leave no time for checking and correcting, and some ideas may not be directly relevant to the question. Planning in notes before you write, as the agree or disagree article recommends, is what stops you writing whatever comes to mind.

Read, count the parts, decide your position, plan in notes, write, and leave time to check.

Most of these come straight from IELTS's own pages.

• Answering the topic, not the question. IELTS's own example: a prompt about one aspect of computers is not an invitation to write about computers in general.
• No clear position. Opinion, discussion and outweigh prompts all ask for one, and the band 7 descriptor asks for a clear and developed position.
• A memorised essay or template. ielts.org says formulaic responses do not address the task and lose marks.
• Copying the prompt. The band descriptors say any copied rubric must be discounted, so paraphrase it.
• Invented evidence. ielts.org's advice is examples from your own knowledge and experience, not made-up statistics and research.
• Too short, or in notes. Under 250 words there may not be enough evidence for the higher bands, and answers in notes or bullet points are penalised.
• Grammar habits. The errors in our guide to common English mistakes Arabic speakers make count under grammatical range and accuracy. See how IELTS Writing is marked for all four criteria.

Answer the question on the page, in your own words, with your own examples.

Liguastic marks Task 2 on the four criteria, so task response, whether you answered every part of the prompt, comes back as a score of its own.

Writing on Liguastic

You write a Task 2 answer and hand it in. It comes back scored on four criteria in half bands, with up to six corrections that quote your exact words, give a better version and a one-line reason, and one next focus rather than a list of everything. You can rewrite it, and the second draft comes back compared with the first: which flagged problems you resolved and which are still there. Corrections go to a notebook you can re-read. Exam Day runs the reading mock and a timed essay under the clock with no pausing and returns one combined estimate. See writing feedback.

Where it stops

• Every band is an estimate from our own grader. No examining body has reviewed a single number, and there is nowhere to submit one: the band an institution reads comes from your test centre. Liguastic has no affiliation with IELTS.
• Practice writing is Task 2 only. Task 1 appears once, in the placement paper.
• Our AI marks the essays. The corrections and the bands come from our grader, not from anyone IELTS certifies. See how scoring works.

A new account starts with a free placement check and no card. See pricing.

Four criteria, half bands, and your own sentences quoted back.

Every source below was read on 22 September 2026, and every rule on this page is linked in the sentence that states it. The example prompts were written for this guide; the instruction wordings are IELTS's own.

IELTS

• ielts.org, IELTS Writing Task 2: How to understand IELTS question prompts: what an essay may need to do, the table of common prompt types, the tourism and elderly-care examples, and the advice list
• ielts.org, How to write an agree/disagree essay for IELTS Writing Task 2: the three positions, planning in notes, four paragraphs and a two-sentence introduction
• IELTS Academic: Writing test format: Task 2's length, time, style, the abilities it tests, and the computers example
• IELTS General Training: Writing test format: the General Training abilities and topics
• IDP IELTS, IELTS Writing band scores: the public band descriptors for task response
• British Council IELTS, Academic Writing practice tests: official sample tasks and sample responses with examiner comments

Liguastic sources

• How IELTS Writing is marked: the four criteria in detail
• Writing feedback: what comes back on a Task 2 essay and in what form
• How scoring works: what is measured, what is not, and where the method is weaker

Method

1. Take the prompt types and their wordings from IELTS's own table, not from preparation sites.
2. Take each rule from IELTS's format pages or the band descriptors, and each piece of advice from ielts.org's own articles.
3. Write the example prompts and plans for this page, in the style of the real test.
4. Check every claim about Liguastic against the product rather than its marketing, and re-read every source on each refresh.

What this page could not verify: IELTS's test format pages list the abilities Task 2 tests, not a fixed set of question types. The types here are ielts.org's table of common prompts, and a real prompt can combine them. If anything here is wrong or has changed, write to hello@liguastic.com and we will check it and correct the page.

IELTS® is a registered trademark of its owners. Liguastic is not affiliated with or endorsed by them.