This document provides guidance on how to structure and write an opinion essay for the IELTS Writing Task 2 question that asks "To what extent do you agree or disagree?". It outlines the typical introduction, body paragraph, and conclusion structures and includes examples of how to state an opinion, generate ideas, write supporting paragraphs with topic sentences, explanations, examples and concession sentences, and conclude by summarizing the key points and making a prediction. The document uses sample questions and outlines the entire process for crafting an effective opinion essay response to this very common IELTS task.

1. IELTS Writing Class
Task 2
To what extent do you agree or
disagree? (Opinion Essays)

2. • To what extent do you agree or disagree?
• This is one of the most common IELTS writing
task 2 questions.
• Many students fail to do well in this type of
question because they do not have a clear
opinion and they do not use an appropriate
structure.

3. • In this lesson we will look at:
• Structure
• Deciding Opinion
• Idea Generation
• Writing Supporting Paragraphs
• Writing a Conclusion
• Practice
We will use a question from an IELTS past paper to help
us understand the task.

4. Structure
• Paragraph 1- Introduction
• Sentence 1- Paraphrase Question
• Sentence 2- Thesis Statement
• Sentence 3- Outline Statement
• Paragraph 2- Supporting Paragraph 1
• Sentence 1- Topic Sentence
• Sentence 2- Explain Topic Sentence
• Sentence 3- Example
• Sentence 4- Concession Sentence
Paragraph 3- Supporting Paragraph 2
Sentence 1- Topic Sentence
Sentence 2- Explain Topic Sentence
Sentence 3- Example
Sentence 4- Concession Sentence
Paragraph 4- Conclusion
Sentence 1- Summary
Sentence 2- Prediction or Recommendation

5. Match the sentences to the structure
Every year several languages die out. Some
people think that it is not important because
life will be easier if there are fewer languages
in the world.
To what extent do you agree or disagree with
this opinion?

6. Deciding Opinion
In this essay IELTS examiners want you to give a
clear opinion, so it's really important for you to
make a decision when you read the question.
You will also need to do this on order to write an
effective thesis statement.
Let's look at an example:

7. Example
In some countries an increasing number of people are suffering from health
problems as a result of eating too much fast food. It is therefore necessary
for governments to impose a higher tax on this kind of food.
To what extent do you agree or disagree?
With this type of essay we have two choices:
• We agree with the statement
• We disagree with the statement
So for this essay you can say either:
• It is agreed that governments should tax fast food
• It is disagreed that governments should tax fast food

8. Idea Generation
Now we have to think of ideas.
There are 5 ways we could do this:
1. Brainstorm
2. Mind Map
3. Five Questions Method
4. Common Topic Familiarisation
5. Coffee Shop Method

9. Now try one method for the question below
Most high-level positions in companies are
filled by men even though the workforce in
many developed countries is more than 50
percent female. Companies should be required
to allocate a certain percentage of these
positions to women. Do you agree?

10. Idea Generation
Reasons why companies should be required to allocate a certain percentage of high-
level positions to women:
• Equal pay for equal performance
• Women can bring qualities to work place that men do not have
• Women currently outperform men at university
• A balance of genders leads to higher productivity and a more harmonious
workplace
Reasons why companies should not be required to allocate a certain percentage of
high-level positions to women:
• Certain jobs require skills only men have
• Positions should be allocated to people on merit not gender
• Women can take large amounts of time off to have children

11. We don't need to use all of these, just two for
our supporting paragraphs. Remember the
examiner wants you to fully support your
arguments, not just list a lot of ideas. Pick the
ones you feel comfortable talking about.
Now we have two supporting ideas we can
move on to our introduction.

12. Supporting Paragraph 1
Supporting Paragraph 1
This paragraph should include:
• Topic Sentence
• Explanation
• Example
• Concession

13. Topic Sentence
A topic sentence tells the examiner what the
rest of the paragraph is about. In other words, it
is a summary of your first idea.
It should look something like this:
Despite years of so called ‘equal rights’ for
women in the work place they continue to be
underpaid.

14. Explanation
We now need to expand on this point a little. A
good way of doing this is to assume that the
examiner has no knowledge of this subject and you
have to explain clearly what you mean.
Here is what this could look like:
Many women who do exactly the same job as
their male colleagues earn less money and this is
unfair.

15. Example
We should now think of an example to support our
point. Think about any recent news stories, studies
or adverts. If you can't think of one, make one up.
The examiner won't check if it is real or not.
For example, a recent survey of accountancy and
legal firms in the United Kingdom found that
women earn on average 17% less than men with
identical roles.

16. Concession
We have now fully supported our first point and the last
thing we need to do is write a concession statement. This
statement shows that there may be a counter argument
or limits to your point. A concession statement
demonstrates that you have thought about the other side
of the argument, thus making your argument stronger.
It could look something like this:
However, this may be due to women taking maternity
leave and falling behind their male counterparts.

17. The full paragraph should look like this:
Despite years of so called ‘equal rights’ for women in
the work place they continue to be underpaid. Many
women who do exactly the same job as their male
colleagues earn less money and this is unfair. For
example, a recent survey of accountancy and legal firms
in the United Kingdom found that women earn on
average 17% less than men with identical roles.
However, this may be due to women taking maternity
leave and falling behind their male counterparts.

18. Supporting Paragraph 2
Now try it yourself with the second supporting
paragraph.

19. Example
This unfairness is compounded by the fact that
females are currently getting higher grades in most
university courses. Even previously male
dominated fields, such as law and medicine, now
see women in the ascendency and they should
therefore be rewarded with top roles. For
example, females recently outperformed males for
the first time in law in U.K. universities. Despite
this, employers should bear in mind that roles
should be handed out on merit, not gender alone.

20. Conclusion
As stated before a good conclusion should include:
• Sentence 1- Summary
• Sentence 2- Prediction or Recommendation
Don't write any new ideas in this paragraph.
A summary should just restate your thesis
statement and your main supporting points.

21. Prediction or Recommendation
Finally, we should make a prediction or
recommendation based on what we have already
discussed. This shows the examiner that you have
really understood the question and the points you
have been making.
Finally, it is predicted that with the ever increasing
health problems associated with obesity,
governments are sure to introduce some kind of
'fat tax' in the near future.

22. Try writing a conclusion for the essay I
give you

23. Example
In conclusion, junk food should be taxed at a
higher rate because of the good precedent set
by alcohol and tobacco and the fact that the
increased cost should reduce the amount of
fast food people buy.

24. Your Turn
Some people believe that unpaid community
service should be a compulsory part of high
school programmes (for example working for a
charity, improving the neighborhood or
teaching sports to younger children).
To what extent do you agree of disagree?

25. IELTS Advantage
For more great resources on IELTS task 2 agree
or disagree essays, please check out our
website http://ieltsadvantage.com/