There are mainly Eight Categories of IELTS essays.

1. Two Viewpoints and Your Opinion

• In this essay you are asked to discuss two different viewpoints of people and give your own opinion on the issue.

• You have to give your opinion in the introduction in the thesis statement making your position clear in the very beginning which helps the examiner assess that you have understood the task well.

Examples:

1. Some people think that teenagers should follow the example of older people. Others think that it is natural for teenagers to challenge what older people say. 

Discuss both views and give your opinion. 

2. Some people think that e-books are the death of paper books while others think that paper books will never disappear. 

 Discuss both sides and give your opinion.

3. Some people think that art subjects are essential subjects for children at school while others think it is a waste of time. 

Discuss both views and give your opinion

2. Only Your Opinion.

This asks you to give only your opinion on what and how you think of the issue.

Examples:

1. Some students work while studying. This often results in lacking time for education and constantly feeling under pressure.

What is your opinion about this?

2. Advances in technology and automation have reduced the need for manual labour. Therefore, working hours should be reduced.

To what extent do you agree or disagree? (Your opinion) 

3. Some people believe that violence on television and in computer games has a damaging effect on the society. Others deny that these factors have any significant influence on people’s behaviour. 

What is your opinion?

4. Many people think that the government should spend more money on providing faster means of public transport.

Do you agree or disagree? 

3. Is it Positive or Negative?

If the question asks you ‘Is this a positive or negative development?’ you are being asked to give your opinion. Therefore, I consider this to be an “opinion” question, quite similar to the question ‘To what extent do you agree or disagree?’.

Notice the use of the word ‘or’: 

Positive or Negative – Agree or Disagree. 

Here you are not being asked to discuss the positives and negatives, rather you have to build up your point of view whether the trend, development or impact of something is positive or negative in your opinion.

Examples:

1. Many people these days are now living alone. 

Is this a positive or negative development?

2. Many employers are now offering their employees the option to work from home. As a result, employees will have freedom to work from anywhere and they will have more flexible working hours in future.

Do you think it is a positive or a negative development?

3. Some universities now offer their courses on the Internet so that people can study online. 

Is this a positive or negative?

4. Advantages and Disadvantages

This type of Essay demands a discussion from you on pros and cons or benefits and drawbacks of the issue presented in the essay. You don’t have to give your opinion or build up your viewpoint as a discussing point.

Examples:

1. Space exploration costs taxpayers an exorbitant amount of money each year. 

What are the advantages and disadvantages of spending money on space exploration?

2. Many elderly people are no longer looked after by their families but are put in care homes or nursing homes. 

What are the advantages and disadvantages of this trend?

3. There seems to be an increasing trend towards assessing students through exams rather than continual assessment. 

What are the advantages and disadvantages of exams as a form of assessment

Sometimes there is a question like:

1. Computers are becoming an essential part of school lessons.

Discuss the advantages and disadvantages and give your own opinion.

Note: 

In this case it is both an opinion and a discussion essay at the same time. Your structure will reflect this by having separate paragraphs for advantages and disadvantages, but also having a clear position in the thesis statement. In the body passage you can either add your opinion to the side you are taking with or you can state your opinion separately but in each case you will have to clearly support your opinion with logic and argument with an example.

5. Do Advantages outweigh disadvantages

For many IELTS candidates this topic is a bit confusing as they choose to take up the same approach (of discussing advantages/benefits and disadvantages/drawbacks) as they do in the essay “what are the Advantages and Disadvantages of this?”

Remember:

• This question is asking for your opinion. The word “outweigh” tells that you are being asked to take a clear position of your own what and how you think of the issues.
• Answer the question in this way – do you think the advantages are more important or the disadvantages are more important? Which one?

Examples:

1. The rise of convenience foods has helped people keep up with the speed of the modern life style. 

What are the advantages of this trend? Do the advantages outweigh the disadvantages?

2. Some people think that it would be better for large companies and industry to move to regional areas outside large urban centers. 

Do you think the advantages outweigh the disadvantages?

3. It is often considered that change is more beneficial to people than trying to avoid it and have everything remain the same. 

Do you think the advantages are more than the disadvantages?

6. Two Questions Essays

Very often there are two question essays asking for problems and solutions, or causes and solutions, or causes and effects (benefits or drawbacks).

Examples:

Cause and Solution Essays

i. Overpopulation in many major urban centers around the world is a major problem. What are the causes of this? How can this problem be solved?

2. More and more wild animals are on the verge of extinction and others are on the endangered list. What are the reasons for this? What can be done to solve this problem?

3. Many small, local shops are closing as they are unable to compete with large supermarkets in the area. How does this affect local communities? How could this situation be improved?

Problem Solution Essays

1. In the developed world, average life expectancy is increasing.

What problems will this cause for individuals and society?

Suggest some measures that could be taken to reduce the impact of ageing populations.

2. Nowadays many people have access to computers on a wide basis and a large number of children play computer games.

What are the negative impacts of playing computer games and what can be done to minimize the bad effects?

3. The internet has transformed the way information is shared and consumed, but it has also created problems that did not exist before.

What are the most serious problems associated with the internet and what solutions can you suggest?

Cause and Effect Essays:

It can be further subdivided into Causes & Benefits and Causes & Drawbacks.

1. Travelling is increasing day by day.

What are the reasons for this increased travelling and what are the benefits of it in your eyes?(Cause and Benefit)

2. Nowadays more people are trying to find ways and opportunities for working online.

What may be the possible reasons for this tendency?

What benefits can it have for individuals and the companies?(Cause and Benefit)

3. Overpopulation is a serious issue. What are the major reasons of rapidly increasing population and what negative impacts it has on urban areas.(Cause and Benefit)

4. Influence of human beings on the world’s ecosystem is leading to the extinction of species and loss of biodiversity.

What are the primary causes of loss of biodiversity?

What negative impacts it has on our environment.

Be Careful! 

In the cause and effect essay you have to discuss the effects (positive/negative what may have been asked) of a certain problem/trend/development with causes/reasons and not the solutions, which is a big mistake made by many candidates. This leads to failure in task understanding.

7. Three Questions Essays

These are rare but not exceptional and you may come across such an essay.

Examples:

1. Are computers essential features of modern education? What subjects can be better taught using computers? Are there aspects of a good education that cannot be taught using computers?

2. Tourism is an ever growing industry.

What benefits do you think tourism brings to individuals and society?

What problems does this have on the environment?

What measures could be taken to solve the problems?

8. Unusual Question Essays.

Sometimes essay questions do not match the above essay categories, so we can categorize them as direct or unusual question essays.

i. Nowadays companies are using various innovative methods to improve their sales targets?

What are those methods?

Which is the most effective method?

ii. People pay more attention to famous celebrities (such as film stars, sports persons and singers etc.) than scientists or prominent writers. 

What attracts people more to celebrities? 

iii. Wealth and material belongings often measure the success that a person has.

Is wealth the best measure of success and what really makes a person successful?

iv. Most people agree that money cannot be happiness. 

Why is happiness difficult to define? How can people achieve happiness?

5. The internet is a great course of information and has opened up opportunities for people to learn all over the world. 

Is all information reliable on the internet? 

What could be done to control information online?