You will definitely do better in the Writing section of IELTS Academic if you take some time to familiarize yourself with different types of essays that can appear in the exam, learn and practise useful tips and strategies for each of them.
What are two-views-and-opinion essays about?
Students and candidates might often find it difficult to distinguish between two-views-and-opinion essays, opinion essays or advantage and disadvantage essays . However, if you read the task carefully, you will easily identify which type of essay you are supposed to write because questions for two-views-and-opinion essays can be worded in several different ways. For example:
What does this mean? In this type of task, you will have to complete three different tasks:
- write why people hold the first point of view;
- write why other people adhere to the second;
- write which position of these two you choose and why.
For example:
The task above looks at two views:
- students should spend the same time on all subjects;
- students should spend more time on the subjects they like.
That is why you have to write why people think students should spend equal amount of time on different subjects, and why others consider that it is advisable to spend more time on favourite subjects. Finally, you have to choose one of these opinions and provide reasoning.
It is likely that you will use the wrong structure for your essay if you misidentify the type of the question. It is also one of the reasons why many candidates do not give their opinion, do not provide arguments for both views, or they do not develop both sides of the arguments appropriately, i.e. to an equal extent. These are considered blunders because the question clearly states that one has to give their opinion. Regardless which side you take, give equal attention to both. Providing more weighty reasons for the view you prefer leads to a badly balanced essay and high chances of poor task achievement, i.e. your lower score.
READ ABOUT: How to link ideas in IELTS essays
Steps for writing an essay
You might have read about different ways to write a two-views-and-opinion essays but the one we are offering will make you write your essay in a few simple steps.
Step 1. Analyse the task.
As we have mentioned above, you have to read the task carefully. Next, underline the key information in the topic. By doing so you will have a better understanding of what to write about and what you do not need to do.
After that, try to paraphrase the statement for yourself using simple language in order to understand it better.
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Step 2. Map out your essay.
It is important to plan your essay in detail. This will help you outline it properly and provide a good score for the structure and organization.
Since you are going to write about two different views, it is a good idea to brainstorm details and examples to support both sides. These should be reasons to support the views and some examples.
Next, decide on your own opinion. You have to choose whether you support view 1 or view 2. If you can’t choose, go for a balance. Think of details and examples for your opinion as well.
Step 3. Write your essay.
First, write the introduction where you have to introduce the topic, the issue, state your opinion and what will be discussed.
The main body should include 3 paragraphs:
- in body paragraph 1, give reasons for view 1 (a topic sentence and details/examples)
- in body paragraph 2, give reasons for view 2 (a topic sentence and details/examples)
- in body paragraph 3, give reasons for your own opinion (a topic sentence and details/examples)
Finally, write the conclusion where you need to summarize views 1 and 2, and restate your opinion.
Step 4. Check your essay.
First of all, pay attention to spelling mistakes. Next, read your essay and look for mistakes you typically make. After that, make sure you do not repeat yourself too much and use proper linking devices to receive a high score for the criterion of Coherence and Cohesion.
READ ABOUT: How to check your IELTS writing
Essay structure
If you use our tips for writing your two-views-and-opinion essay, it will have the following structure:
INTRODUCTION:
|
| MAIN BODY:
Paragraph 1:
Paragraph 2:
Paragraph 3:
|
CONCLUSIONS:
|
In our course , we you will learn how to build all possible types of essays step by step. You will practise brainstorming ideas and writing different parts of the essay, learn useful language to present your ideas and make your essay well-organized and coherent. You will do a lot of writing practice and receive feedback from our IELTS experts. Finally, you will take a mock test that will allow you to feel the taste of a real exam.
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