Video Lesson

Writing Task 2
I E LT S W R I T I N G T A S K 2

Model answer
Chosen by you
Topic: Supporting weaker students
Question type: Problems + Solutions
LOOK AT THE TASK 2 QUESTION

Many students struggle in class and do not leave school

with good educational qualifications. Why do some pupils
struggle? What do you think should be done to help
students who find studying difficult?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your
own knowledge or experience. Write at least 250 words

GET A HIGH IELTS GRADE

BAND 9 MODEL ANSWER (300 WORDS)
School is not a positive experience for everyone. Although some youngsters thrive in class, many teenagers are
desperate to leave formal education and do so without recognised qualifications and with few relevant skills. We
clearly need to understand the causes of this unacceptable situation so that we can tackle it.
Many of the reasons why some youths have such a negative experience in the classroom are connected to the
quality of teaching.Tutors are often obliged to teach subjects- such as algebra, physics or geography- which seem
entirely irrelevant to their pupils. Sometimes the material used is too hard or too easy. Regularly, incompetent,
unmotivated or uncaring teachers are unable to control and inspire their students, leading to high levels of
disruption and even truancy or bullying.
Other reasons for poor performance in school are related to the wider society. We live in a world which values
wealth and physical appearance but not necessarily intelligence or the acquisition of knowledge.Those who excel
at school do not tend to have high social status. It is not therefore surprising that younger people are unwilling
to put effort into completing assignments or passing assessments.
Probably the most effective approach would be to focus on the quality of teachers, the curriculum and course
content. It is essential that those who work in the education profession are well-respected and well-
remunerated. It is equally vital that teachers lacking the necessary abilities are re-trained or dismissed. Similarly,
experts in pedagogy need to assess the course-books and websites used to ensure that they are relevant and
appropriate. Making fundamental changes in social attitudes could also radically improve students’ performance.
However, this would require a huge amount of work and may not be achievable in the short run.
Overall, it is essential to recognise that improving academic standards needs to be a priority. Making sure that
young learners who experience difficulty are supported could reap massive rewards. A society in which everyone
was well-educated would certainly be healthier, more peaceful, and more prosperous.
PREPARING TO ANSWER: NOTES
QUESTION:
Many students struggle in class and do not leave school with good educational
qualifications.Why do some pupils struggle? What do you think should be done to
help students who find studying difficult?
Notes:
Question type: (causes of) PROBLEM + SOLUTIONS
Why do some pupils struggle: 1. Poor teachers who cannot control and motivate
students. 2. Poor teaching materials or irrelevant courses. 3. Parents who do not
support or help. 4. A society which does not value learning.
What should be done: 1. Teachers should receive better training and/or be dismissed
if they are not good enough. 2. Governments should invest in stimulating and relevant
courses and material. 3. Parents should have to attend classes in which they learn to
support their children’s learning. 4. Pupils could be given rewards or incentives to do
well in school. 5. Students should not be allowed to leave school until they have
passed exams in basic skills. 6. Governments could introduce awareness-raising
campaigns to teach everyone the importance of doing well at school.
It is possible to include solutions which connect specifically to the causes. It is also
possible to include general solutions which do not connect to a specific cause.
ANALYSIS
TASK RESPONSE
COHERENCE AND COHESION
LEXICAL RESOURCE
GRAMMATICAL RANGE AND ACCURACY
OTHER LANGUAGE
OTHER LANGUAGE
OTHER LANGUAGE
OTHER LANGUAGE
INTRODUCTION
School is not a positive experience for everyone. Although some
youngsters thrive in class, many teenagers are desperate to leave
formal education and do so without recognised qualifications and with
few relevant skills. We clearly need to understand the causes of this
unacceptable situation so that we can tackle it.

It is often a good idea to start your IELTS

essay with a general statement about the topic
(weaker students). Sometimes you can base
your general statement on a paraphrase of the
statement part of the question
INTRODUCTION
School is not a positive experience for everyone. Although some
youngsters thrive in class, many teenagers are desperate to leave
formal education and do so without recognised qualifications and with
few relevant skills. We clearly need to understand the causes of this
unacceptable situation so that we can tackle it.

It is possible to add a second sentence to the

general statement.This second sentence
usually refers more specifically to the question
INTRODUCTION
School is not a positive experience for everyone. Although some
youngsters thrive in class, many teenagers are desperate to leave
formal education and do so without recognised qualifications and with
few relevant skills. We clearly need to understand the causes of this
unacceptable situation so that we can tackle it.

This is a combination of a complex sentence and a compound

sentence.The main clause of the complex sentence is
connected to two other main clauses by and (in both cases).
Writing such complicated sentences is a strength if you avoid
errors but you should mix different sentence types in your
writing and not try to only use complex sentences
INTRODUCTION
School is not a positive experience for everyone. Although some
youngsters thrive in class, many teenagers are desperate to leave
formal education and do so without recognised qualifications and with
few relevant skills. We clearly need to understand the causes of this
unacceptable situation so that we can tackle it.

To thrive = to do well; to succeed. IELTS examiners

are looking for higher-level words with specific
meanings. When an examiner sees a few of these
words in your essay, the grade for LEXICAL
RESOURCE is likely to be 7.0 or higher
INTRODUCTION
School is not a positive experience for everyone. Although some
youngsters thrive in class, many teenagers are desperate to leave
formal education and do so without recognised qualifications and with
few relevant skills. We clearly need to understand the causes of this
unacceptable situation so that we can tackle it.

We can use do/does/did/will do so to avoid

repeating a phrase based on a verb.This
connects two parts of the sentence.
Example: Many young school-leavers have
always wanted to join the army and do so
as soon as they are allowed to
INTRODUCTION
School is not a positive experience for everyone. Although some
youngsters thrive in class, many teenagers are desperate to leave
formal education and do so without recognised qualifications and with
few relevant skills. We clearly need to understand the causes of this
unacceptable situation so that we can tackle it.

We use few and a few with plural nouns. We

use little and a little with uncountable nouns.
Few/little = not many/not much; not enough. A
few/a little means some; a small
number/quantity; possibly enough
INTRODUCTION
School is not a positive experience for everyone. Although some
youngsters thrive in class, many teenagers are desperate to leave
formal education and do so without recognised qualifications and with
few relevant skills. We clearly need to understand the causes of this
unacceptable situation so that we can tackle it.
We can use so that or in order to when we want
to connect an action with its purpose or
intended result. When the subject of both parts
of the sentence is the same (we), it is usually
possible to use either so that or in order to. Here
we could write …in order to tackle it
INTRODUCTION
School is not a positive experience for everyone. Although some
youngsters thrive in class, many teenagers are desperate to leave
formal education and do so without recognised qualifications and with
few relevant skills. We clearly need to understand the causes of this
unacceptable situation so that we can tackle it.
This is a THESIS STATEMENT. It would be
possible to write I intend to examine the
causes of this problem before going on to
discuss possible solutions. However, this
sentence also makes the essay plan/structure
clear and seems much more natural
PARAGRAPH 2
Many of the reasons why some youths have such a negative experience
in the classroom are connected to the quality of teaching.Tutors are
often obliged to teach subjects- such as algebra, physics or geography-
which seem entirely irrelevant to their pupils. Sometimes the material
used is too hard or too easy. Regularly, incompetent, unmotivated or
uncaring teachers are unable to control and inspire their students,
leading to high levels of disruption and even truancy or bullying.
This is a strong TOPIC SENTENCE. It includes a
phrase which connects it to the THESIS STATEMENT
and a phrase about the topic of the paragraph.The
rest of the paragraph deals with this topic
PARAGRAPH 2
Many of the reasons why some youths have such a negative experience
in the classroom are connected to the quality of teaching.Tutors are
often obliged to teach subjects- such as algebra, physics or geography-
which seem entirely irrelevant to their pupils. Sometimes the material
used is too hard or too easy. Regularly, incompetent, unmotivated or
uncaring teachers are unable to control and inspire their students,
leading to high levels of disruption and even truancy or bullying.
We can use dashes ( - ) to add extra information which is useful but
not necessary. Dashes can be useful to add non-defining information
which we want the reader to focus on.They can also be useful
because they allow us to introduce complex vocabulary as examples
PARAGRAPH 2
Many of the reasons why some youths have such a negative experience
in the classroom are connected to the quality of teaching.Tutors are
often obliged to teach subjects- such as algebra, physics or geography-
which seem entirely irrelevant to their pupils. Sometimes the material
used is too hard or too easy. Regularly, incompetent, unmotivated or
uncaring teachers are unable to control and inspire their students,
leading to high levels of disruption and even truancy or bullying.
We could write the material which is used.
However, using a participle clause instead of a
relative clause seems more formal and academic
PARAGRAPH 2
Many of the reasons why some youths have such a negative experience
in the classroom are connected to the quality of teaching.Tutors are
often obliged to teach subjects- such as algebra, physics or geography-
which seem entirely irrelevant to their pupils. Sometimes the material
used is too hard or too easy. Regularly, incompetent, unmotivated or
uncaring teachers are unable to control and inspire their students,
leading to high levels of disruption and even truancy or bullying.
Adding complex adjectives to a noun is impressive. It
is important to know specific words which mean
good, bad, big, small, interesting etc.
PARAGRAPH 2
Many of the reasons why some youths have such a negative experience
We can use phrases like leading to, resulting in
in the classroom
and causingare connected
to connect a resultto
or the quality
outcome to of teaching. Tutors are
a cause. When you connect two ideas in the
often obliged
sametosentence,
teach subjects- such
it improves your as algebra,
grade for physics or geography-
COHERENCE AND COHESION
which seem entirely irrelevant to their pupils. Sometimes the material
used is too hard or too easy. Regularly, incompetent, unmotivated or
uncaring teachers are unable to control and inspire their students,
leading to high levels of disruption and even truancy or bullying.
PARAGRAPH 2
Many of the reasons why some youths have such a negative experience
in the classroom are connected to the quality of teaching.Tutors are
often obliged to teach subjects- such as algebra, physics or geography-
which seem entirely irrelevant to their pupils. Sometimes the material
used is too hard or too easy. Regularly, incompetent, unmotivated or
uncaring teachers are unable to control and inspire their students,
leading to high levels of disruption and even truancy or bullying.

This is an essay about problems in schools. To get a

Band 7.0 or higher you will need to include language
which is specifically connected to this topic
PARAGRAPH 3
Other reasons for poor performance in school are related to the wider
society. We live in a world which values wealth and physical appearance
but not necessarily intelligence or the acquisition of knowledge. Those
who excel at school do not tend to have high social status. It is not
therefore surprising that younger people are unwilling to put effort into
completing assignments or passing assessments.

This is another strong TOPIC SENTENCE. It

contains a phrase which connects it to the previous
paragraph and to the THESIS STATEMENT, and a
phrase which tells us the topic of this paragraph.The
rest of the paragraph fully supports this topic
PARAGRAPH 3
Other reasons for poor performance in school are related to the wider
society. We live in a world which values wealth and physical appearance
but not necessarily intelligence or the acquisition of knowledge. Those
who excel at school do not tend to have high social status. It is not
therefore surprising that younger people are unwilling to put effort into
completing assignments or passing assessments.

It will impress the examiner if you can include

lots of nouns and noun phrases in your
writing.This is called nominalisation and is a
feature of formal and academic writing
PARAGRAPH 3
Other reasons for poor performance in school are related to the wider
society. We live in a world which values wealth and physical appearance
but not necessarily intelligence or the acquisition of knowledge. Those
who excel at school do not tend to have high social status. It is not
therefore surprising that younger people are unwilling to put effort into
completing assignments or passing assessments.
A good way of widening your vocabulary
quickly is to learn words from the same
family. Examples: excellent behaviour; to
perform excellently; the wish to promote
excellence in teaching; to excel at sport
PARAGRAPH 3
Other reasons for poor performance in school are related to the wider
society. We live in a world which values wealth and physical appearance
but not necessarily intelligence or the acquisition of knowledge. Those
who excel at school do not tend to have high social status. It is not
therefore surprising that younger people are unwilling to put effort into
completing assignments or passing assessments.
There are some prepositional phrases we use without a/the
when we want to write generally. Examples: people spend
too much time in bed; patients in hospital should be
expected to pay for their food; studying at university is
harder than most people think
PARAGRAPH 3
Other reasons for poor performance in school are related to the wider
society. We live in a world which values wealth and physical appearance
but not necessarily intelligence or the acquisition of knowledge.Those
who excel at school do not tend to have high social status. It is not
therefore surprising that younger people are unwilling to put effort into
completing assignments or passing assessments.

When you connect two sentences, your writing is

more coherent.Therefore shows that this sentence
contains a result or consequence of the situation
described in the previous sentence
 It is important that information in a paragraph
PARAGRAPH 4 reflects the TOPIC SENTENCE.The paragraph
discusses the quality of teachers
Probably the most effective approach would be to focus on the quality
of teachers, the curriculum and course content. It is essential that those
who work in the education profession are well-respected and well-
remunerated. It is equally vital that teachers lacking the necessary
abilities are re-trained or dismissed. Similarly, experts in pedagogy need
to assess the course-books and websites used to ensure that they are
relevant and appropriate. Making fundamental changes in social
attitudes could also radically improve students’ performance. However,
this would require a huge amount of work and may not be achievable in
the short run.
 The paragraph also discusses the
PARAGRAPH 4 curriculum and course content

Probably the most effective approach would be to focus on the quality

of teachers, the curriculum and course content. It is essential that those
who work in the education profession are well-respected and well-
remunerated. It is equally vital that teachers lacking the necessary
abilities are re-trained or dismissed. Similarly, experts in pedagogy need
to assess the course-books and websites used to ensure that they are
relevant and appropriate. Making fundamental changes in social
attitudes could also radically improve students’ performance. However,
this would require a huge amount of work and may not be achievable in
the short run.
PARAGRAPH 4
Probably the most effective approach would be to focus on the quality
of teachers, the curriculum and course content. It is essential that those
who work in the educationHowever,
profession are well-respected
the TOPIC and
SENTENCE does not well-
refer to making
fundamental changes to social attitudes.This is because the
remunerated. It is equallyTOPIC
vital that teachers
SENTENCE referslacking theeffective
to the most necessary
approach and
the evaluation of making fundamental changes in social
abilities are re-trained or attitudes
dismissed. Similarly,
indicates that this experts in pedagogy
is not an effective need
strategy. So, this
part of the paragraph also supports the TOPIC SENTENCE
to assess the course-books and websites used to ensure that they are
relevant and appropriate. Making fundamental changes in social
attitudes could also radically improve students’ performance. However,
this would require a huge amount of work and may not be achievable in
the short run.
PARAGRAPH 4
Probably the most effective approach would be to focus on the quality
of teachers, the curriculum and course content. It is essential that those
who work in the education profession are well-respected and well-
remunerated. It is equally vital that teachers lacking the necessary
abilities are re-trained or dismissed. Similarly, experts in pedagogy need
to assess the course-books and websites used to ensure that they are
When the subject of a sentence is a long phrase, we
relevant and appropriate.
can often Making and
put it in a that-clause fundamental changes in social
replace it at the
beginning of the sentence with it. Using a range of
attitudes could alsostructures
sentence radically willimprove students’
impress the examiner performance. However,

this would require a huge amount of work and may not be achievable in
the short run.
PARAGRAPH 4
Probably the most effective approach would be to focus on the quality
of teachers, the curriculum and course content. It is essential that those
who work in the education profession are well-respected and well-
remunerated. It is equally vital that teachers lacking the necessary
abilities are re-trained or dismissed. Similarly, experts in pedagogy need
to assess the course-books and websites used to ensure that they are
relevant and appropriate. Making fundamental changes in social
We can use an infinitive to introduce the reason
attitudes could also radically improve students’
or purpose performance.
of an action. However,
Using this infinitive allows
you to connect two parts of the sentence
this would require a huge amount of work and may not be achievable in
the short run.
PARAGRAPH 4
Probably the most effective approach would be to focus on the quality
of teachers, the curriculum and course content. It is essential that those
who work in the education profession are well-respected and well-
remunerated. It is equally vital
We usethat teachers( ’lacking
an apostrophe thepossession.
) to indicate necessary When
used with a plural noun, it usually goes after the –s.You
abilities are re-trained or dismissed. Similarly,
need to be careful experts
with irregular in pedagogy
plurals: need
men’s clothes;
women’s football; children’s rights; people’s opinions
to assess the course-books and websites used to ensure that they are
relevant and appropriate. Making fundamental changes in social
attitudes could also radically improve students’ performance. However,
this would require a huge amount of work and may not be achievable in
the short run.
PARAGRAPH 4
Probably the most effective approach would be to focus on the quality
of teachers, the curriculum and course content. It is essential that those
who work in the education profession are well-respected and well-
remunerated. It is equally vital that teachers
A good lacking
way to widen yourthe necessary
vocabulary
is to learn word families: to achieve
abilities are re-trained or dismissed. Similarly,
greatness; experts
a lasting in pedagogy
achievement; an need
achievable goal; an unachievable target;
to assess the course-books and websites used to
a high-achiever; anensure that they are
under-achiever
relevant and appropriate. Making fundamental changes in social
attitudes could also radically improve students’ performance. However,
this would require a huge amount of work and may not be achievable in
the short run.
CONCLUSION
Overall, it is essential to recognise that improving academic standards
needs to be a priority. Making sure that young learners who experience
difficulty are supported could reap massive rewards. A society in which
everyone was well-educated would certainly be healthier, more
peaceful, and more prosperous.

This is a form of second conditional sentence. It is

used to describe a situation which is currently
unreal and/or a situation which the writer does
not expect to become real.The if-clause (if we had
a society in which everyone was well-educated,…)
has been re-written as a noun phrase
CONCLUSION
Overall, it is essential to recognise that improving academic standards
needs to be a priority. Making sure that young learners who experience
difficulty are supported could reap massive rewards. A society in which
everyone was well-educated would certainly be healthier, more
peaceful, and more prosperous.

This CONCLUSION begins by

repeating/reiterating the idea
that this is a serious problem
CONCLUSION
Overall, it is essential to recognise that improving academic standards
needs to be a priority. Making sure that young learners who experience
difficulty are supported could reap massive rewards. A society in which
everyone was well-educated would certainly be healthier, more
peaceful, and more prosperous.

It goes on to explain that finding

solutions would be very good
CONCLUSION
Overall, it is essential to recognise that improving academic standards
needs to be a priority. Making sure that young learners who experience
difficulty are supported could reap massive rewards. A society in which
everyone was well-educated would certainly be healthier, more
peaceful, and more prosperous.

It finishes by supporting the

previous sentence and explaining
why finding solutions would be so
good
CONCLUSION
Overall, it is essential to recognise that improving academic standards
needs to be a priority. Making sure that young learners who experience
difficulty are supported could reap massive rewards. A society in which
everyone was well-educated would certainly be healthier, more
peaceful, and more prosperous.

In the CONCLUSION to a PROBLEM AND

SOLUTION essay it is also possible to: 1. Evaluate your
solutions (say why they would work) 2. Explain whose
responsibility it is to solve the problem (the
government; individuals) 3. Describe your feelings about
the situation (hopes; wishes; worries; fears; predictions)
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