IELTS Writing Task 2 question types
Five guides, one for each common Task 2 instruction. Each covers how to spot the type, the paragraph plan, the mistakes that cost marks and original practice questions — Aim for Band 7+, though nothing here is a promised score.
Five guides
Pick the guide for your instruction line
Each card shows the cue to look for and the job of each paragraph.
Opinion
One statement, one position. You say how far you agree and defend it.
“To what extent do you agree?”
Open the guideParagraph plan
Discussion
Two opposing views. Explain each fairly, then say which you find stronger.
“Discuss both views”
Open the guideParagraph plan
Advantages and disadvantages
One development, its benefits and its costs, and sometimes a verdict on which weighs more.
“Do the advantages outweigh…?”
Open the guideParagraph plan
Problem and solution
Causes or problems paired with solutions. Each solution must answer something you named.
“What are the causes? What can be done?”
Open the guideParagraph plan
Two-part
Two separate direct questions. Answer each one, in its own paragraph.
“Two direct questions: answer both”
Open the guideParagraph plan
- A question of your ownPaste a question ↓
Quick drill
Spot the type from the instruction line
Six real instruction lines. Pick a type for each — one of them is a look-alike.
Instruction line 1 of 6
“To what extent do you agree or disagree?”
Which type is it?
Not quite — this is Opinion.
One claim. “To what extent” asks how far you accept it.
Not quite — this is Opinion.
The same job as “to what extent”, with less room for nuance.
Not quite — this is Discussion.Look-alike trap
It contains the word “opinion”, but the prompt presents two views. You owe both views before your own.
Not quite — this is Advantages and disadvantages.
One development, its benefits and its costs — and here, a verdict on which weighs more.
Not quite — this is Problem and solution.
Causes paired with solutions. Each solution must answer something you named.
Not quite — this is Two-part.
Two direct questions. Answer both, each in its own paragraph.
Pick a type to see the answer.
Spotted 0 of 6
Three steps
How to use these guides
- 1
Read the instruction line first.
The type lives in the last sentence or two of the prompt, not in the topic.
- 2
Open the guide for that type.
The plan is a set of paragraph jobs — you still choose the arguments.
- 3
Practise on a question you have not seen.
Start writing carries an original question into the checker, where you write the essay yourself.
Paste and plan
A question of your own
Paste a full Task 2 question, including the instruction line. The box reads that line and returns a paragraph plan.
- Structure only — you supply the arguments.
- No model is called.
Keep going
Practise with real structure
FAQ
Questions about question types
Short answers on the types, the practice questions and what the guides do not do.
Most Task 2 instructions fall into five families: opinion, discussion, advantages and disadvantages, problem and solution, and two-part questions. A positive-or-negative development question is a close relative of the opinion type.
Task Response asks whether you answered every part of the task. Each type asks for a different set of parts, so identifying it first stops you answering a nearby question instead of the one set.
No. Every question on these pages is an original practice question written for Band7, not taken from a live exam paper, a Partner task, or another site.
No. They teach the question types. The Task 2 checker gives a practice Estimated Band for an essay you write, and that is not an official IELTS score.
Pick a type, then write the whole essay
The checker keeps your question in this browser while you sign up. Aim for Band 7+, and treat the Grade Report as practice, not an official result.
Task 2 checker