This post will show you my strategies for thinking of better ideas for Writing Task 2 questions.
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One of the biggest fears students have is opening up the writing paper, looking at the question and having no idea what to write. Idea generation in IELTS Writing Task 2 is something students worry a lot about, but it doesn’t have to be that way.
The reason for this fear is natural, but there are easy solutions.
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First World Problems
Most of the students I teach come from developing countries and they often complain that IELTS Task 2 questions are biased towards ‘Western’ countries and are mostly ‘First world problems’. For example:
In some countries, young people are encouraged to work or travel for a year between finishing high school and starting university studies. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages for young people who decide to do this.
‘What the hell is a ‘gap year?” shouted most of the learners in my class. I did have some sympathy for them on this question. Most of the Vietnamese students I currently teach have no first-hand experience with taking a year off before going to University. This seems like a very ‘Western’ idea to them and they felt a little bit annoyed with the question, which is totally understandable.
Fortunately, questions like these are rare and most of them will be on familiar topics that most people have an opinion on, such as health, education and the environment. Remember that this is a language test not a general knowledge test.
Do my ideas have to be entertaining?
Many students also worry that their ideas are not interesting enough or they are too boring. The examiner is not looking for you to entertain her. They are looking for you to demonstrate an ability to write an essay in English supported by evidence and relevant examples. There are no extra points for interesting ideas. What the ideas must be is relevant to the question being asked. Have a look at my post on question analysis for help with that.
You can have the most boring ideas in the world and still get a band score 9, as long as your ideas are relevant.
This may seem illogical to some people who have already been to university and know that your ideas should be both relevant and interesting. Stop thinking about how you write at university level, this is an IELTS exam, not a university essay. Give the IELTS examiners what they want and nothing else.
Solutions
Below I will outline several solutions that have worked well for my students in the past. They are:
- Common Topic Familiarisation
- Brainstorming (least effective)
- Mind Mapping
- 5 Questions Method
- Personal Opinion Method (most effective)
No One Size Fits All
![Logic:some Tips For Thinking And Writingthoughtfull English Logic:some Tips For Thinking And Writingthoughtfull English](/uploads/1/3/7/8/137825108/356941605.jpg)
The main thing I have learned from teaching my students these methods is that no one method is suitable for everyone. You have to try each of them out and see which one works for you. When you are practising remember: the examiner is looking for relevant ideas that you can support by explaining them and giving examples. You should also use the one that gives you ideas quickly. You will only have 2 or 3 minutes for idea generation in the exam. Don’t worry if this is taking you a lot of time at the moment, you will improve with practice. Pick a method below, set yourself a time limit and practice with some old past exam papers.
- Common Topic Familiarisation
This simply means knowing the 10 common topics that come up in the exam and learning some vocabulary associated with these repeated topics. The wider your vocabulary the easier it will be for you to think of ideas. If you have time, don’t just stick with the 10 most common topics, go even further.
When you have free time, have a look at some English newspapers and identify some topics that might come up in the IELTS test. When you do this you should be doing two things. The first is simply noting down any unknown vocabulary, try to guess the meaning from the context and then look up the meaning to confirm on your smartphone or dictionary. This will really help you, not only for writing part 2 but also for all the other parts of the IELTS exam.
- Brainstorming
Brainstorming is basically thinking of as many ideas as possible relevant to your topic. It was developed by an advertising agency, in order to come up with new ideas for advertising campaigns. The technique involves putting keywords in the middle of a page and then writing down as many ideas associated with that idea as possible.
Some students, and many teachers, love this method and if it works for you then continue to use it, but I have a few problems with it. Firstly, some students spend too much time on this stage and try to think of too many ideas. Sniper assassin finalspiter games. Secondly, because they are thinking very generally, their ideas are not relevant. It then takes extra time, which you don’t have in the exam, to sort out the relevant from the irrelevant ideas.
- Mind Mapping
Mind mapping is a way to visually organise your thoughts on to paper.
Some people love this method because it represents how their brain is working and allows them to organise their thoughts. It is much more organised than simply brainstorming and can be done very quickly once you have practised a few times with different questions.
A good technique is to place the keywords in the middle and then place the micro-keywordson the branches.
The only disadvantage to this method is that some students spend too much time creating the perfect mind map. There are no points for creating beautiful mind maps; they are only there to help you with ideas so do it quickly.
- 5 Questions Method
This method uses who/what/why/where/how question words in order to generate ideas for Writing Task. This works best for people who think very logically and also know a little bit about the topic already.
Let’s look at an example:
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In some countries, young people are encouraged to work or travel for a year between finishing high school and starting university studies. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages for young people who decide to do this.
Why- to gain work experience, to experience life in different countries, to understand different cultures, to make money before going to university, lazy, not mature.
Where- tourist destinations, developing countries, local business, internship in big company.
How- save money, permission from parents and university, apply for internship/job, travel to inexpensive countries.
So as you can see, in a couple of minutes we have generated many ideas by asking ourselves just three of the five questions. These ideas are much more than we need to complete the task, so always remember to choose the ones you feel comfortable writing about after you generate your ideas.
- Personal Opinion Method (or coffee shop method)
Personally, I think this is the most effective method for generating ideas for Writing Task because it is the fastest and helps students focus on the question.
The method is simple. I ask students to imagine they are sitting with their friend or family member in a coffee shop and they ask your opinion. In an exam, there is a lot of pressure on you and you often find it difficult to think, but if you were in a relaxed environment with a friend you would have no problem giving your opinion.
To think of more ideas you just imagine that your friend has the opposite feelings to you about the topic and write their ideas down.
Let’s look at the example below:
Your friend- ‘Do you think it’s a good idea that young people take a year off between school and university to work or travel?’
![Logic:some Tips For Thinking And Writingthoughtfull English Logic:some Tips For Thinking And Writingthoughtfull English](/uploads/1/3/7/8/137825108/313600975.jpg)
You- ‘Yes. Many young people are not mature enough to go to university at 18 and travelling or working will help them mature. Working for a year could also allow them to save money and gain valuable work experience. If they go travelling, they will get to experience different cultures.
So you see you have just thought about all the ideas you will need for this question. You can write your ideas down (recommended) or just think about it for a minute.
This idea gives you a very clear idea about your opinion on the question and will help you stay relevant and write a clear, coherent essay. Like any method it takes practice, so try it out with a few past questions.
I hope this has been of help to you and please let me know if you have any questions or feedback.
If you have any other ideas, I’d love to hear from you.
Further Help
Click here to download your FREE study plan to guide you through your IELTS preparation.
Below you will find a video lesson that will show you how to think of ideas for Writing Task 2:
You can find more video lessons like this on my YouTube Channel and Facebook page.
Need more help with Writing Task 2?
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Great writers are great thinkers. As two-time Pulitzer Prize winner David McCullough said, “Writing is thinking. To write well is to think clearly. That’s why it’s so hard.” It’s through writing that we exercise our ability to think; they’re not mutually exclusive tasks.
Great writing requires observation, reflection, analysis, and an artful presentation of information, in addition to selecting information in the editing process. Critical thinking is the discipline of “actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing . . . information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action.” By improving your writing, you can improve your thinking. It’s a wonderfully simple, but misunderstood, relationship.
Despite the apparent importance of critical thinking, it’s lacking in today’s workforce. Last year, Forbes.com released the results of a study showing the top-ten job skills employers want. Topping the list is “the ability to make decisions and solve problems.” In order to succeed in today’s workplace, we need to demonstrate that we have the critical thinking skills necessary in order to make decisions and solve problems.
Writing develops critical thinking skills
Writing improves the thinking process and contributes to the development of critical thinking skills because an individual has to clearly state ideas and lay out arguments in such a way as to cultivate higher order thinking. When writers respond to complex problems, they have the opportunity to state all their ideas and explain how they would solve these problems. This is critical thinking in action.
Writing improves how you learn
Writing also improves conceptual learning. Studies have shown that the “recursive and reflective nature of the writing process contributes to student learning” and writing helps students to think. Writing in certain disciplines promotes analytical thinking on certain subjects, which is in line with critical thinking.
Writing brings you closer to a subject
Furthermore, writing about a subject every day brings you closer to it. When you are dealing with a large, complex problem, or writing about a research subject, for example, writing about it every day keeps the subject fresh in your mind. You are moving closer to the resolution of the problem or research subject each day by thinking it out on screen.
Logic:some Tips For Thinking And Writingthoughtfull English Dub
In order to improve your writing and your thinking, apply these three tips:
1 Learn to create an outline
A good outline structures your thinking and shows you a clear path from the beginning to the end of whatever you’re going to write, whether it’s a blog post, essay, research paper, or dissertation. You will see the bigger picture, or point, of your writing. An outline shows where any ideas need to be clarified further and where strong connections or transitions need to be made. The classic outline structure organizes ideas and supporting information using roman numerals followed by capital letters followed by lowercase letters; you can learn to create an outline here.
2 Start strong, finish stronger
The comedian Louis C. K. says that he improves his acts each time he writes by putting his best joke from his last show at the beginning of the next. Then he writes the rest. All the jokes have to be better, because he needs to finish stronger, guaranteeing his shows get better each time. This foresight pushes him to improve constantly. Try applying this to your writing. Go through your journal, portfolio, or last piece of writing and find your best paragraph or sentence. Use that as the beginning for a new piece; then write the rest.
Logic:some Tips For Thinking And Writingthoughtfull English Language Arts
3Explore a complex topic
Logic:some Tips For Thinking And Writingthoughtfull English Language
A study from 1978 showed that students who were given challenging writing assignments were prompted to delve into deep, serious thought on the subject of their study. This proves the link between writing and thinking. Give yourself a challenging topic, perhaps something you’ve never studied or read about before, and write about it. You’ll be forced to extend your thinking in ways you haven’t before.
World Thinking Day is coming up on February 22, which is the day Girl Scouts, Girl Guides, and other organizations will reflect on this year’s theme, “Connect.” How do we connect to ourselves and to others? How do connections improve our lives? Consider the connection between your writing and critical thinking skills and how you can work to improve both of them. They’re inextricably linked, so apply these tips to become a better critical thinker and writer, and note how, as you focus on your thinking process, your writing improves.