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IELTS Β· Articles Β· October 20, 2026 Β· 27 min read

IELTS Writing Task 2 sample essays: four types explained, plus 150 topics

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Below are four Task 2 essays of different types. Each paragraph is labelled with its role, and each essay has notes on what works against the IELTS criteria. At the end are 150 topics grouped by task type; you can write any of them in the Nomto practice room and get a band.

These essays were written for this article as a guide to a high band. They are not official IELTS samples and have not been marked by examiners. The opinion essay (agree or disagree) and the general structure are covered in the Writing Task 2 guide.

What to take from a sample

Discuss both views: online courses or the classroom

Some say online courses are as good as classroom teaching, while others believe nothing can replace a real teacher in a classroom. Discuss both these views and give your own opinion.

Introduction: both views and your position. Online courses have become a common alternative to the classroom, and opinions differ on whether they can match traditional teaching. While I accept that digital learning suits certain subjects and learners, I believe that a teacher in the room still offers something a screen cannot fully replace.

First view. Those who favour online courses point to their flexibility. Lessons can be watched at any time and repeated as often as necessary, which is particularly valuable for adults who study alongside a full-time job. Recorded lectures can also be paused, which helps students whose first language is not the language of instruction. Online platforms also give people in small towns access to lecturers they would never otherwise meet. For theoretical subjects, where most of the work is reading, listening and practising alone, the results can be just as good as in a lecture hall.

Second view. On the other hand, supporters of classroom teaching argue that learning is a social process. A teacher who can see students’ faces notices confusion immediately and adjusts the explanation, whereas an online tutor often discovers the problem only when a test is failed. Classrooms also provide routine and gentle pressure from classmates, which helps less motivated learners to keep going. This may explain why online courses are so often left unfinished.

Your opinion and conclusion. In my view, the two approaches work best in combination, but if I had to choose, I would keep the teacher. Information is now available everywhere; what students lack is feedback, encouragement and someone who expects them to turn up. In conclusion, online courses are an excellent tool for motivated learners, yet for most students, and especially for children, they cannot replace the attention of a real teacher.

281 words. Write your own essay on this topic β†’

Advantages and disadvantages: news from social media

More and more people get their news from social media rather than from newspapers or TV. Do the advantages of this development outweigh the disadvantages?

Introduction: the topic and which side outweighs. Social media has overtaken newspapers and television as the main source of news for a growing number of people. Although this shift has made information faster and more varied, I would argue that its drawbacks, above all the spread of unreliable stories, outweigh these benefits.

Advantages. The main advantage of reading news on social media is speed. Reports and videos from the scene of an event appear within minutes, long before a newspaper can print them. For breaking news in particular, no other medium can compete. Users are also exposed to a wider range of voices, including eyewitnesses and experts who would rarely be invited onto a television programme. In addition, the news is free and reaches people who would never buy a paper, which keeps a larger part of society informed.

Disadvantages. However, these benefits come at a considerable cost. Posts are not checked by editors, so rumours and deliberately false stories circulate as easily as facts, and they are often shared more widely because they are more shocking. Furthermore, platforms tend to show people content similar to what they have already liked. As a result, users gradually see only one side of a debate and become less willing to accept that they might be wrong. Finally, complex issues are reduced to headlines and short clips, which gives readers the feeling of being informed without any real understanding.

Conclusion: answering the question. In conclusion, social media delivers news quickly and to more people than traditional media ever did. Nevertheless, because accuracy and balance matter more than speed, I believe the disadvantages of relying on it are greater, unless readers make the effort to check stories against professional sources.

273 words. Write your own essay on this topic β†’

Causes and solutions: traffic in cities

Traffic jams are a serious problem in many big cities. What are the causes of this problem, and what measures could be taken to solve it?

Introduction: the problem and what follows. Congestion is now part of daily life in most large cities. The problem has two main causes, the growing number of private cars and the lack of good alternatives to driving, and both can be addressed by sensible planning.

Causes. The most obvious cause is that there are simply more cars than the roads were built for. As incomes rise, a car becomes affordable for more families, and many households now own two. At the same time, cities have spread outwards, so people live far from their workplaces and have little choice but to drive. Parking in the centre is often cheap, which makes driving even more attractive. The situation is made worse when public transport is slow, crowded or does not reach the suburbs, because even people who would prefer not to drive see no realistic alternative.

Solutions: each answers a cause. The most effective solution is therefore to make public transport faster and more convenient than driving. Dedicated bus lanes and frequent trains give commuters a reason to leave their cars at home, particularly if tickets are cheap. Secondly, city authorities can discourage unnecessary journeys by charging drivers to enter the centre at busy times, and the money raised can be spent on buses and cycle paths. Finally, employers can help by allowing flexible hours or remote work, so that not everyone travels at the same time.

Conclusion. In conclusion, traffic jams are caused mainly by rising car ownership and the absence of attractive alternatives. If governments invest in public transport and manage demand for road space, while companies spread working hours, congestion can be reduced significantly. None of these measures is quick or cheap, but together they would make a real difference.

278 words. Write your own essay on this topic β†’

Two-part question: family meals

In many countries, fewer families now eat their meals together. Why is this? Is it a positive or negative trend?

Introduction: answering both questions. In many countries the family dinner is becoming a rare event. This is mainly the result of longer and less regular working days and of the distractions of technology, and I consider it a negative trend, because shared meals do more for a family than simply provide food.

Question 1: why. There are two main reasons why families eat together less often. Firstly, working patterns have changed. Parents frequently come home late or work shifts, while children have sports clubs and extra lessons in the evening, so it is difficult to find an hour when everyone is at home. Secondly, ready meals and food delivery have made it easy for each person to eat whenever they like, often in front of a screen, and a meal at the table no longer feels necessary.

Question 2: positive or negative. In my opinion, this development is harmful. A regular meal is one of the few moments when family members talk to each other without hurry, and parents often learn about their children’s problems at the dinner table rather than through direct questions. Without this habit, people may live in the same house and still know little about each other’s lives. Children, in particular, learn the habit of conversation by sitting at the table with adults. Eating alone also tends to be less healthy, since people who eat in front of a screen choose convenient food and pay less attention to how much they eat.

Conclusion. In conclusion, busy schedules and convenient food explain why shared meals are disappearing, and I believe families lose an important opportunity for communication as a result. Even two or three meals together a week would be worth protecting.

272 words. Write your own essay on this topic β†’

150 Task 2 topics by type

The task type decides the essay plan, so the topics are grouped by it. Each link opens the topic in the practice room, where you can write the essay against the clock and get a band on the four criteria.

Opinion: agree or disagree

Discussion: discuss both views

Advantages and disadvantages

Causes and solutions

Two-part question

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