In Writing Task 2, the questions can be divided into four main categories. These categories are:
- Discussion
In this category, there are three smaller types of questions:
– Discuss both views and give your opinion.
– Do the advantages outweigh the disadvantages?
– Is this a positive or negative development?
When you face these kinds of questions in your exam, you are expected to discuss two things: two opposing views, the advantages/disadvantages of something, or the negative/positive aspects of a trend.
For this category, you should state some ideas for both views, and then give your own opinion (which view do you support?).
- Argument
The question for this category is: (To what extent) Do you agree or disagree?
For this type of question, instead of having to discuss both viewpoints, you only need to state your opinion and support only your opinion in the essay. Whether you completely agree, partly agree or completely disagree with the question’s statement, you have to give ideas to support this opinion throughout the essay.
- Causes – Effects – Solutions
You will be asked to discuss two out of these three things. It can be Causes and Solutions, or Causes and Effects, or Effects and Solutions, depending on the question.
For this type, read carefully what the question asks for, and give your answers based on that.
- 2-part questions
In this category, you will be asked two random questions. You should read the questions carefully, and answer accordingly.
An example of this type of questions: “Nowadays many people decide to live alone. Why does this happen? Is this a positive or negative trend?”
In the following lessons on this website, I will show you the way to deal with each of these categories.
