IELTS Writing Task 2, a structure for band 7 and above.

IELTS Writing Task 2 asks for a 250 word essay in 40 minutes, responding to a point of view, argument, or problem. Most candidates know this much. Far fewer know exactly what the four scoring criteria are looking for, or why a longer, more elaborate essay sometimes scores lower than a shorter, more disciplined one. A band 7 essay is not about sounding impressive, it is about doing four specific things well, and doing them in a structure flexible enough to fit whatever question actually shows up on the day, since the exact prompt is never known in advance.

The four criteria your essay is actually scored on

Task Response asks whether you have fully and directly answered the specific question asked, with a clear position and relevant supporting ideas, not just a generally related discussion of the topic. Coherence and Cohesion asks whether your ideas are organized logically, with clear paragraphing and appropriate linking between ideas. Lexical Resource asks how wide and how precisely you use vocabulary, rewarding natural, accurate word choice over forced, overly complex words used incorrectly. Grammatical Range and Accuracy asks whether you use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures accurately, rather than only simple sentences, or complex sentences riddled with errors. Each of these counts equally toward your overall Task 2 band, which means a brilliant vocabulary wrapped around a poorly organized argument will not score as highly as candidates sometimes expect, since no single criterion can fully compensate for a weakness in another.

The most common essay types

Opinion essays ask whether you agree or disagree with a given statement, and require a clear, consistent position stated early and maintained throughout. Discussion essays ask you to discuss both sides of an issue, often before giving your own opinion, and require genuine, balanced coverage of both views rather than a thin nod to one side before arguing for the other. Problem and solution essays ask you to identify causes or problems and propose solutions, requiring practical, specific suggestions rather than vague gestures at improvement. Advantage and disadvantage essays ask you to weigh both sides of a situation, sometimes also asking for your own view on which outweighs the other. Misreading which type of essay a prompt is asking for is one of the most damaging mistakes in Task 2, since it directly affects Task Response regardless of how well written the rest of the essay is, and this kind of misreading often happens under time pressure rather than from a genuine gap in understanding the categories.

A flexible four paragraph structure

An introduction paraphrases the question in your own words and states your overall position or the structure of your response, in two to three sentences, without restating the prompt word for word. Two body paragraphs each develop one main idea, the first sentence stating the idea clearly, followed by explanation and a specific example or supporting detail. A conclusion summarizes your position in different words than the introduction used, without simply repeating it, and brings the essay to a clear close rather than introducing a brand new idea at the last moment.

This four part shape, introduction, two developed body paragraphs, conclusion, is flexible enough to handle any of the four common essay types, since what changes between them is the content inside each paragraph, the position taken, the balance between viewpoints, the specificity of a proposed solution, not the underlying shape itself. Some candidates, aiming for a higher band, add a third body paragraph when the prompt genuinely calls for three distinct ideas rather than forcing extra content into two paragraphs that would otherwise feel thin, though two well developed paragraphs are entirely sufficient for the vast majority of prompts.

Why fully addressing the task matters more than length

Many candidates write considerably more than 250 words, sometimes assuming length itself signals quality, while missing part of what the actual question asked, for example giving only their own opinion on a discussion essay that explicitly asked for both views to be discussed first. Task Response rewards directly and fully answering the specific question, not volume. A disciplined 270 word essay that addresses every part of the prompt clearly will outscore a rambling 400 word essay that drifts away from what was actually asked.

Common structural mistakes

Giving a one sided answer to a discuss both views question, without genuinely engaging the side you personally disagree with, is one of the most frequent Task Response errors. Opinion essays that never clearly state a position, instead listing pros and cons without committing to a stance, also lose Task Response points, since the question specifically asked for your opinion. A conclusion that repeats the introduction in nearly identical wording signals weak control of language to an examiner, even when the content itself is reasonable, since varying the language to restate the same idea is itself a skill being assessed.

How paragraphing and linking words affect your score

Coherence and Cohesion rewards clear paragraph breaks that separate distinct ideas, and natural linking language, however, as a result, in contrast, that connects ideas logically rather than just listing them one after another. Overusing a small set of memorized linking phrases, repeating "moreover" or "furthermore" in nearly every sentence, reads as mechanical rather than genuinely cohesive, and examiners notice this pattern quickly. Cohesion is about the logical relationship between ideas being clear, not about the sheer number of linking words inserted into a paragraph.

A brief worked outline

For a prompt asking whether technology has made people less social, an opinion essay might open by paraphrasing the question and stating a position, perhaps that technology has changed socializing rather than eliminating it. The first body paragraph might explain how technology enables new forms of connection across distance, with a specific example like maintaining long distance family relationships. The second body paragraph might acknowledge a genuine downside, reduced face to face interaction in some settings, addressed honestly rather than dismissed, before the conclusion restates the overall position in fresh wording. This outline holds the same shape regardless of the exact prompt's specific wording, which is what makes it a structure rather than a memorized essay.

A second example helps show how the same shape adapts to a different essay type. For a problem and solution prompt about traffic congestion in large cities, the introduction would identify the problem and outline the essay's approach, the first body paragraph would explain a specific cause, like insufficient public transport, and the second body paragraph would propose a specific, practical solution tied directly to that cause, rather than a vague call for "better infrastructure." The same four part shape carries both essays, even though their content and purpose are quite different.

Why this is a structure, not a memorized template

The shape described here, introduction, two body paragraphs, conclusion, is a planning tool, not a script to recite. The actual content inside each part, the position taken, the examples used, the specific solutions proposed, has to respond directly to whatever prompt actually appears on test day. A genuinely memorized essay, written and rehearsed in advance regardless of the real question, runs into the same problem discussed around memorized Speaking answers, content that does not quite fit the real prompt, which directly damages Task Response no matter how polished the language sounds. The structure exists to organize your own real thinking under time pressure, not to replace that thinking with something prepared in advance.

Why Task 2 counts for more than Task 1

Within the overall Writing band, Task 2 counts for roughly twice the weight of Task 1, since it demands a longer, more complex response and a fuller demonstration of all four scoring criteria. This means a strong Task 2 essay can meaningfully lift an overall Writing score even if Task 1 was only adequate, while a weak Task 2 essay limits the overall Writing band regardless of how strong Task 1 was. Candidates managing their limited preparation time well tend to weight their practice accordingly, giving Task 2 the larger share of both study time and, on test day, actual writing time.

How to allocate your 40 minutes

A reasonable split spends about five minutes reading the prompt carefully and planning, deciding on a position and the two main ideas for the body paragraphs before writing a single sentence of the actual essay. The bulk of the remaining time, around 30 minutes, goes to writing the four paragraphs, and the final five minutes go to checking, rereading specifically for grammar slips, missing words, and whether every part of the original question was actually addressed. Skipping the planning step to start writing immediately often produces an essay that drifts partway through, since the position and structure were never fully decided before the writing began.

Grammar patterns that quietly cost points

A few grammar issues show up often enough in Task 2 essays to be worth specific attention. Subject verb agreement errors increase when sentences get longer and more complex, exactly the kind of sentence Grammatical Range and Accuracy rewards attempting. Article errors, missing or misused "a," "an," and "the," are common and noticeable across an entire essay once a pattern starts. Run on sentences, several full ideas joined with only a comma rather than proper punctuation or a conjunction, undermine Coherence and Cohesion even when each individual idea is clear. Practicing a mix of simple and complex sentences deliberately, rather than defaulting entirely to one or the other, demonstrates the range this criterion is specifically looking for.