1. Question types
Below are over
100 IELTS Writing sample questions. All of the essay questions below have
been taken from real past papers and will give you an idea of what to expect on
exam day. You will
notice that the questions can be separated into five main question
types:
5. Double Questions (Two Questions)
2. Common IELTS essay topics
They are also
split into 13 categories. These common IELTS essay topics have
appeared regularly over the last few years. IELTS is always changing, but the
common topics can help you prepare more effectively by studying within them and
improving your vocabulary related
to them.
All questions
are from Task 2 and you should look at our Task 1 page for help with that. Do you need me
to correct your essays and give you feedback on them? Check out our essay correction service.
1. Criminal Justice
Some people
that there should be fixed punishments for each type of crime. Others, however,
argue that the circumstances of an individual crime, and the motivation for
committing it, should always be taken into account when deciding on the
punishment.
Discuss both
these views and give your own opinion.
Some people
believe that capital punishment should never be used. Others, however, argue
that it should be allowed for the most serious crimes.
Discuss both
views and give your opinion.
Some people
believe the purpose of prison is to punish, while other would argue that
rehabilitation is its primary role.
Discuss both
views and give your own opinion.
Some people
feel unsafe when they are in public and at home.
What are the
possible causes for this and what are some possible solutions?
Some people
say that excessive noise should be a criminal offence, while others say they
should be free to make noise without limitation.
Discuss both
views and give your own opinion.
2. Health
Some people
say that the best way to improve public health is by increasing the number of
sports facilities. Others, however, say that this would have little effect on
public health and that other measures are required.
Discuss both
these views and give your own opinion.
In some
countries levels of health and fitness are decreasing and average weights are
increasing.
What do you
think are the causes of these problems and what are some possible solutions?
Research
indicates that the characteristic we are born with have much more influence on
our personality and development than any other experiences we may have in our
life.
Which do you
consider to be the major influence?
Schools should
do more to teach students about their health and wellbeing.
Do you agree
or disagree?
More and more
schools allow fast food restaurant to sell their products to their students.
Is it a positive or a negative development?
3. Education
University
students must pay all tuition fees, because it benefits mostly them
individually, rather than the society as a whole.
Do you
agree or disagree?
Some say that
music, art and drama are as important as other school subjects, especially at
the primary level.
Do you agree
or disagree?
Some people
believe that studying history is very important and we must study the past to
understand the present. Others say that it is useless and should not be studied
at all.
Discuss both
views and give your own opinion.
Some teachers
tend to reward students who achieve high academic results. Others,
however, support and reward students that show the most improvement.
Discuss both
views and give your own opinion.
Giving
lectures in halls to large numbers of people is an outdated
method of teaching. With the technology available today there is no
justification for it, and everything should be done online.
To what extent
do you agree or disagree?
In most
universities students focus on specialised subjects, however some people
believe that universities should encourage students to study a
wider variety of subjects.
To
want extent you agree or disagree?
It is
generally believed that some people are born with certain talents, for instance
for sport or music, and other are not. However, it is sometimes claimed that
any child can be taught to become a good sports person or musician.
Discuss both
these views and give your own opinion.
Some people
think that universities should provide graduates with the knowledge and skills
needed in the workplace. Others think that the true function of a university
should be to give access to knowledge for its own sake, regardless of whether
the course is useful to an employer.
What, in your
opinion, should be the main function of a university?
Some parents
think that childcare centres provide the best services for children of
pre-school age. Other working parents think that family members such as grandparents
will be better carers for their kids.
Discuss both
views and give your opinion.
Governments
should spend more money on education than on recreation and sports.
Do you agree
or disagree?
Some people
believe that unpaid community service should be a compulsory part of high
school programmes (for example working for a charity, improving the
neighborhood or teaching sports to younger children).
To what extent
do you agree or disagree?
Some people
think that it is better to educate girls and boys in separate
schools. Others, however, believe that boys and girls benefit more from
attending mixed schools.
Discuss both
these views and give your own opinion.
Some people
think that parents should teach children how to be good members of society.
Others, however, believe that school is the place to learn this.
Discuss both
these views and give your own opinion.
Universities
should accept equal numbers of male and female students in every subject.
To what extent
do you agree or disagree?
In some
countries young people are encouraged to work or travel for a year between
finishing high school and starting university.
What
are the advantages and disadvantages of this?
Some people
think that a sense of competition in children should be encouraged. Others
believe that children who are taught to co-operate rather than compete become
more useful adults.
Discuss both
views and give your own opinion.
Some people
believe that children are given too much free time. They feel that this time
should be used to do more academic work.
How do you
think children should spend their free time?
In many
countries schools have severe problems with students behaviour.
What do you
think are the causes of this? What solutions
can you suggest?
University
students should pay in full for their own education instead of the society
funding their studies. The reason is that individuals tend to benefit after
graduation more than the society.
To what extent
do you agree or disagree? Give your own opinion.
Some people
believe that students should be allowed to evaluate and criticise their
teachers to improve the quality of education. Others think this is
disrespectful to teachers.
Discuss both
views, give your opinion and include relevant examples.
4. Youth Crime
Nowadays many
young people deliberately damage public places.
What are the
causes and solutions?
Some people
believe that a person’s criminal record should be removed when they reach
the age of 18.
To what extent
do you agree or disagree?
More and more
young people are using drugs and alcohol and as a result, breaking the
law.
What are the
causes of this problem? What are some
possible solutions?
Children
should never be put in prison with adults no matter how serious their crime.
To what extent do you agree or disagree?
5. Celebrity
Being a
celebrity - such as a movie star or professional athlete- brings problems
as well as benefits.
Do you think
that being a celebrity brings has more benefits or drawbacks?
Some people
feel that entertainers (e.g. film stars, pop musicians or sports stars) are
paid too much money.
Do you agree
or disagree? Which other
types of job should be highly paid?
Successful
sports professionals can earn a much more money than people in other
important jobs. Some people think this is fully justified while others think it
is unfair.
Discuss both these views and give your own opinion.
6. Environment
There is a
growing demand for fresh water nowadays and this is becoming a global problem.
What are the
causes and solutions?
Many people
think that too much attention and resources are given to protection of wild
animals and birds.
Do you agree
or disagree?
Increasing the
price of petrol is the best way to solve growing traffic and pollution problems.
To what extent do you agree or disagree? What other measures do you think might be effective?
Nowadays we
are producing more and more waste.
What are the
causes of this? What can be
done to help reduce the amount of waste?
Many people
believe that companies and individuals should pay to clean up the environment
in proportion to the amount of pollution they have produced.
Do you agree
or disagree?
Global warming
is the biggest threat we face today.
To what extent
do you agree or disagree?
7. Technology
Children today
are too dependent on computers and electronic entertainment. It would be better
to encourage them to spend more time outside playing sports and games.
Do you agree
or disagree?
Some people
say that public libraries are an important public resource and should be free,
others say that they are just a waste of public money.
Discuss both
views and give your own opinion.
Some people
think that excessive use of smart phones badly affects teenagers’
literacy skills.
Do you agree
or disagree?
The internet
contains a lot of information that can help people, however, sometimes
the information is inaccurate or wrong.
Do you agree
or disagree?
Nowadays the
way many people interact with each other has changed because of technology.
In what ways
has technology affected the types of relationships people make? Has this
become a positive or negative development?
Computers have
made the world a better place to live.
Do you agree
or disagree?
Some people
believe that the use of mobile phones in public is as annoying as smoking and
should be banned.
Do you agree
or disagree?
8. Employment
Most
high-level positions in companies are filled by men even though the workforce
in many developed countries is more than 50 percent female. Companies should be
required to allocate a certain percentage of these positions to women.
Do you agree?
Nowadays more
and more people have to compete with young people for the same jobs.
What problems
does this cause? What are some
possible solutions?
Women and men
are commonly seen as having different strengths and weaknesses.
Is it right to
exclude males or females from certain professions because of their gender?
As most people
spend a major part of their adult life at work, job satisfaction is an
important element of individual wellbeing.
What factors
contribute to job satisfaction? How realistic
is the expectation of job satisfaction for all workers?
Some people
think that people in senior positions alone should make decisions in a
business, while others think that employees should be involved in the decision-making
process too.
Discuss both
views and give your own opinion.
Nowadays many
people work part or full time from home. Some people say that working from home
has many benefits while others disagree.
Discuss both
views and give your own opinion.
For some
people a high salary is the most important criterion when choosing a new
job while others are satisfied if the job contributes to society.
Discuss both
views and give your opinion.
9. Globalisation
In many
places traditional food has been replaced by international fast food.
This has adverse effects on individuals and society.
Do you agree
or disagree?
More and more
people are visiting historic site and sometimes tourists may damage these
ancient sites. The number of people visiting these places should be
strictly limited.
Do you agree
or disagree?
Shopping has
developed from a necessary activity to a kind of entertainment.
To what extent
do you agree or disagree?
Many small
businesses are being forced to close because they are unable to compete with
multinational corporations.
What problems
does this cause and how can those problems be solved?
Multinational
companies are becoming increasingly common in developing countries.
What are the
advantage and disadvantages of this?
10. Government Spending
People prefer
to watch foreign films rather than locally produced ones.
Why do you
think this happens? Should the government support local film makers
financially?
Some people
think that governments should invest more in public services instead of wasting
money on arts such as music and paintings.
To what extent
do you agree or disagree?
Some people
believe that the government should pay for and offer housing to people who lost
their homes or cannot afford them.
To what extent
do you agree or disagree?
Some people
think that the government should fund music, dance and arts lessons for
children. Others think that they should be funded by private businesses or by
children’s families.
Discuss both
views and give your own opinion.
Many people
think that the government should spend money to explore outer space, while
others think that it’s a waste of public money.
Discuss both
views and give your own opinion.
Some people
think that mothers should spend most of their time raising their family, and
therefore the government should support them financially.
Do you agree
or disagree?
11. Development
In some
countries the numbers of children aged 15 and younger are increasing
dramatically.
What are the
current and future effects of an ever increasing population?
A recent study
showed people in developed countries are not as happy as they were before
development.
What are the
causes of this and what are some possible solutions?
Sometimes
celebrities get invited to international aid events.
Do you think
that such events deviate from their main purpose by inviting famous people?
Some people
believe that richer countries should give poorer countries more financial
assistance.
To what extent
do you agree or disagree?
Some people
believe that no aid should be given to developing countries
that have poor human rights records.
To what extent
do you agree or disagree?
12. Public Transport
Some people
think that a car is the best way to travel in cities while others believe a
bicycle is a better way to commute.
Discuss both
views and give your own opinion.
Many cities
have serious problems with traffic congestion.
What are the
causes of these problems and what are some possible solutions?
A growing
numbers of cities are making their centres pedestrian-only zones.
What are the
advantages and disadvantages?
Some people
believe that the best way to reduce traffic congestion is to increase the
price of petrol.
To what extent
do you agree or disagree?
13. Society
Every year
several languages die out. Some people think that it is not important because
life will be easier if there are fewer languages in the world.
To what extent
do you agree or disagree with this opinion?
It is becoming
increasingly popular for people to travel to tourist destinations during public
holidays.
What problems
does this cause? What solutions
are there to these problems?
Today, the
high sales of popular consumer goods reflect the power of advertising and
not the real needs of the society in which they are sold.
To what extent
do you agree or disagree?
Some people
believe that visitors to other countries should follow local customs and
behaviour. Others disagree and think that the host country should welcome
cultural differences.
Discuss both
these views and give your own opinion.
At present the
media affects people’s lives significantly.
What impact
does this have on society? Is it a negative or positive development?
Young people
say that traveling to different countries benefits them and society.
Do you agree
or disagree? Give your opinion.
These days
more fathers stay at home and take care of their children while mothers go out
to work.
What are the
main reasons for this? Do you think this is a positive or a negative
development?
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