How Can I Add Balance To My IELTS Agree - Disagree Essay - My IELTS Classroom Blog

12/15/21, 4:46 PM How can I add balance to my IELTS agree/disagree essay?
- My IELTS Classroom Blog
Join us at My IELTS Classroom today for our video

courses, marking service, 1-2-1 lessons and so much
more…
TRY OUR FREE LESSONS!
How can I add balance to

my IELTS agree/disagree
essay?
22 JUNE 2018
https://blog.myieltsclassroom.com/how-can-i-add-balance-to-my-ielts-agree-disagree-essay/ 1/17
12/15/21, 4:46 PM How can I add balance to my IELTS agree/disagree essay? - My IELTS Classroom Blog
How can I add balance to my

IELTS agree/disagree essay?
When you open your exam paper and see the instruction Discuss both
views and give your own opinion, it’s obvious that you HAVE TO give
equal space to both opinions in your essay to fully address all parts of
the task.
But, what happens when the instruction asks you To what extent do you
agree or disagree? Is it still important to discuss both “sides” of an
argument, or are you free to have a “strong” position? And, if you do
consider the other position, how and where can you do this in your essay
so that your position remains clear? I mean, how can you show
“balance” when arguing your own opinion?
Well, these are the complex questions I am going to be answering in

today’s blog! (And don’t stop reading until you get to the end, because
the good stuff is near the bottom!)
Can I have a strong position in an

IELTS agree/disagree essay?
I’m going to get straight to the point and say
YES!
A strong position is when you either 100% agree with the statement, or
100% disagree. And it is absolutely fine to do this. The question To what
extent do you agree or disagree literally means how much do you agree
or disagree. So you can definitely respond by saying that you totally
agree or totally disagree.
In fact, for most IELTS test-takers, having a STRONG position is

absolutely the BEST thing to do. Why? well, because it will guarantee
that you have a CLEAR position. And what do clear positions mean?
A 7.0 for Task Response!
If you have ever spent time in a university EAP classroom, then To what
extent questions should remind you of Argumentative Essays – the
essays where you present your opinion in the introduction, and then
spend the rest of the essay defending it. And, the most common (but
not the only) way to answer these questions is with a structure that
looks like this:
Introduction: Introduce topic of essay + state opinion
BP1: Reason / Argument 1 for opinion
BP1: Reason / Argument 2 for option
Conclusion: Summarise arguments and restate opinion
Now, I am totally against giving students templates for essays, or

sentences that can be used in any piece of writing – these never lead to
high scores. But that’s not what this is! The method of presenting a
strong argument in the introduction of an essay and defending it in the
body has been accepted in universities around the world for decades. To
say that there are no “types” of essays is clearly wrong – any good
Academic Writing book is based on essays types, which each have their
own expected style.
Ironically, learning this style is the first and easiest step in essay writing.
What is much harder is learning how to write good topic sentences, or
how to build logical arguments using complex sentences, or how to
make sure your essay has unity and coherence. Thats why all of the time
and energy wasted by IELTS test-takers on organisation is so sad for me.
This time would be much better spent on LEARNING LANGUAGE SKILLS!
Anyway, back to giving balance. Maybe some of you are thinking right
now
“ Shelly if we follow the plan above, we won’t consider

any arguments for the other side in our essay? You are
recommending that we give only ONE view of
the argument. Is that enough for a 7.0?
Well, my response to that question, would be
Where in the band descriptors does it say that

you need to consider arguments for the other view
for a 7.0?
Where in the band descriptors does it say that a
strong position will be penalised?
In IELTS, there should be only ONE motivation for including something in
your writing, and that’s if the band descriptors require you to do so. So,
have a look at the Official IELTS Band Descriptors for Task Response, and
tell me what stops me getting a 7.0 if I use strong position approach?
Where does it say that I can’t 100% agree or disagree?
The answer is nowhere! There is NOTHING in the band descriptors that

says the candidate has to consider alternate opinions or positions OR
has to provide balance. All the band descriptors ask you to do is
1. address all parts of the task – the task asks to what extent you
agree or disagree, and I clearly state that I 100% agree or disagree
and give reasons why
2. present a clear position – I 100% agree or 100% disagree! THAT IS
THE CLEAREST POSSIBLE POSITION!
3. expand and support that position with relevant, well-extended
arguments – I think that this is the part of the essay people should
focus on more! Having clear well-extended arguments that include
a nice range of complex sentences!
Does this mean there is never a

need to add balance in an IELTS
Agree/Disagree essay ?
So, we now know that it is definitely possible to achieve a 7.0 for Task
Response using a strong position approach. However, in My IELTS
Classroom, I try not to limit my students scores in any way. And, this
means that even though a 7.0 for Task Response is good, I would like all
of my students to have the chance of achieving an 8.0 or even a 9.0.
And, if we look carefully at the 7.0 band descriptor again, it contains this
phrase:
there may be a tendency to over-generalise

This means that an over-general essay can achieve a 7.0, but no higher.
Now, in my first blog I gave some great techniques for avoiding over-
generalising in sentences, but now I think that our WHOLE ESSAY could
be considered over-general if we don’t consider ANY arguments for the
other side.
And so to avoid being over-general, I do always teach my students to

add some balance to their IELTS agree/disagree essays. Not much, but
enough for the examiner to see that they did consider the alternative
view. And to stay consistent with our strong position, I suggest my
students add balance using two simple methods: The Straw Man
Technique or Adding Acknowledgement.
Let’s look at each of these, in turn, to see how they work and how you
can easily add them to your IELTS agree/disagree essays.
The Straw Man Technique

OK, let’s imagine that we are answering this IELTS question:
“ University education should be free for all students.

To what extent do you agree or disagree?
And, you decide that you are going to take a strong approach by 100%
agreeing, so you sit down and write an introduction and first body
paragraph like this:
In many countries today, obtaining a degree is becoming

increasingly expensive. However, I strongly believe that all
students should have free access to tertiary as it would benefit
both individuals and society as a whole.
Firstly, a free higher education system ensures that all

individuals have equal access to opportunities. If students have
to pay tuition fees, those who come from low-income families
will either be forced to take out massive loans to attend
university, or not attend at all. As a result, there will be no
opportunity for young people from poor families to climb the
social ladder as jobs that require a degree are much more highly
paid than those that don’t.
So far, so good. Your opinion is clearly stated in the introduction (100%

agree), and in your first body paragraph you have given and clearly
explained your first reason for having this view. Great You are on
track for a 7.0.
But, you don’t want a 7.0, you want an 8.0, so you want to add balance
to your paragraph. How are you going to do this? Remember, we don’t
want to destroy the clarity of our opinion, but we do want to show the
examiner that you considered the other view.
Well, the easiest way is to simply show the examiner a WEAK argument
for the other side, and then immediately destroy it with an argument for
YOUR position. This is the what we call the Straw Man Technique. This
technique is wonderful because it does two things at the same time:
1. When you present the weak argument for the other view you show
the examiner that you considered the other position and, hence,
your essay has balance
2. When you destroy the argument, you show the examiner that your
position is the most reasonable and, hence, your conclusions are
well-drawn
A Straw Man sentence is usually always a CONTRAST sentence. First, we

present the other view, and then we destroy it with our opposite view
While some argue that social media has led to people becoming
more isolated, I would say that in fact it has actually helped
strengthen the bonds between people.
Although it could be argued that people wear similar clothes
because they like to copy each other, I think that the truth is
actually much simpler: there is only a limited range of fashion
choices available in mainstream shops.
Some argue that school uniforms remove the opportunity for
children to show their uniqueness through fashion. However, I
would counter this by saying that when children are dressed in the
same clothes, it actually allows them to show their individuality in
other more meaningful ways.
Can you see what we are doing here? We are giving an argument for the
other view, and then immediately saying why we think it is wrong. This
technique is so simple and yet so powerful!
But, where should you put this weak argument for the other side? Well,
to make your paragraphs as logical as possible, the best place to put it
is directly after the topic sentence. Remember, To What Extent essays
are about OUR position, so we don’t want to start a paragraph talking
about somebody else’s view! Let me show you by adding a sentence
using the Straw Man Technique to our first body paragraph:
Firstly, a free higher education system ensures that all

individuals have equal access to
opportunities. Although some argue that it is not the
government’s responsibility to educate students over
the age of 18, I believe that it should do everything in its
power to eradicate social inequality. If students have to
pay tuition fees, those who come from low-income
families are either forced to take out massive loans to
attend university, or not attend at all. As a result, there
will be no opportunity for young people from poor
families to climb the social ladder, as jobs that require a
degree are much more highly paid than those that
don’t.
BOOM
And, that’s it. Now my paragraph has balance. All I had to do was add a
contrast clause that first presented the opposite view, and then showed
why I disagreed with it. And, by adding this one simple contrast
sentence, I have now shown the examiner that I considered the other
position . And so, ta-da, my essay is no longer over-general and the
door to an 8.0 for Task Response opens again!
Now, some of you might be thinking: Wow, that’s great! But, if it’s good
to add one weak argument for the other view, wouldn’t it be even better
to discuss ALL of the possible ideas for the other side? I mean, if adding
one short clause is a good way to offer balance, wouldn’t having a whole
paragraph that discusses the opposite view be even better? Well, to
those people my response would be
WHY?
WHY do you want to add more arguments for the other view?
How does adding a paragraph of arguments for the other side help YOU
to show YOUR OPINION?!
Remember, that is what the question asked us: To what extent YOU
agree or disagree! It didn’t ask you to consider what other people think,
only what YOU think. I mean, nobody asked you what “other people”
think, so why are you going to waste time discussing it in your essay? In
the Straw Man technique, we only present an argument for the “other
side” to make OUR opinion stronger – the focus is still very much on
what WE think. I mean, essentially there is NO OTHER SIDE in these
essays! There is only YOU and YOUR OPINION!
Imagine how you would feel if you asked a friend if they liked the last
Star Wars film and they answered you like this:
“ Well, some people said that it has one of the best plots
of the series. It is also argued that the effects are better
than the other films. Advocates of this film also believe
that …..
You would think your friend had gone crazy! I mean, why are they talking
about “some people” when you asked them for THEIR opinion!!! You
don’t care what other people think!!! This is how I feel when I start
reading a To What Extent and in the first paragraph there is nothing
but arguments for the other view! I think why are they telling me this? I
want to know THEIR opinion, not other people’s!!! For me, a paragraph
like this does NOTHING to help you show your position.
In fact, even if you added your own comments or arguments against the
“other side” in a paragraph like this, the focus of the paragraph would
still be “other people” and not YOU.
Plus, there is a great danger that you are going to make the same
arguments again in the next paragraph, when you finally get to express
your own opinion (which is what you should be doing in a To What Extent
essay!). The whole thing can become a mess very quickly. And rather
than having a nice essay that argues strongly for one position and
shows progression, you now have a muddled one.
Even worse, I worry that many examiners will look at an agree/disagree

essay that starts in this way and think “Mmm, here is a student who
uses the same fixed plan for every essay – introduction, ideas for the
other side, ideas for my side, conclusion.” And this will almost certainly
result in a low score …..
So, for these reasons I would strongly recommend you don’t devote an
entire paragraph to arguments for the alternative view:
1. It takes the focus away from YOU and YOUR opinion

2. It can lead you to make repetitious arguments
3. Unless you can argue skilfully, it looks like you have mistaken the
question for a Discuss Both Sides essay (and even worse, learned
only one essay “plan”)
Acknowledging or Conceding to
the Other Side
OK, so in the Straw Man Technique, we present an argument for the

other side that we DISAGREE with. But, what happens if you think that
there actually are some good arguments for the other view?
Well, then we can simply show the examiner that we recognise and
accept that there is a good argument against our position. Yes! It is
absolutely acceptable to do this and still have a strong position! Let me
show you to do this by adding some acknowledgement to the 2nd body
paragraph of my education essay:
There are also benefits to society as a whole when

education is free. Although I concede that the cost of
providing free access to higher education would
be extremely high, the money that governments would
receive back in future taxes would more than outweigh
this initial expense. It is obvious that the more educated
a society is, the more productive and advanced it will
be. Gaining a degree gives people the knowledge and
skills to perform higher-level employment roles,
especially in technical fields like science and
engineering.
Can you see how this is different to the Straw Man Technique? This time
I’m not saying the alternative view is wrong –
I am ACKNOWLEDGING or ACCEPTING or CONCEDING that it is

CORRECT, but that it doesn’t change my strong opinion
Acknowledging arguments is a very powerful tool for avoiding over-

generalising. In fact, acknowledging that the other view has good
arguments can be the start of writing an essay that DOESN’T HAVE have
a strong position. You see, if you felt that there was such a good
argument for the other side that you want to discuss in more detail in
the essay, you could devote a whole paragraph to it.
But, if you do this, you have to change your opinion slightly and
transition between paragraphs smoothly, and employ many other high-
level writing skills that most students aspiring for a 7.0 simply don’t
have!!
That’s why I only teach balanced opinion essays to my most skilled

students. And even then, I tell them not to use it in the exam unless they
have to!
I am not going to even try to describe how to write an essay that partly
agrees or disagrees here. I have a whole 40 minute lesson devoted to
this in my video course, and for some students it does give them the
chance to really achieve the Band 8 and 9 scores. But, as a teacher who
has helped thousands of students get through the IELTS exam, my
advice is and always will be
Don’t make your essay more complicated than it needs to be!
Ok, there was a lot in this lesson, so let’s just do a short review of the
main points that you need to take away:
IELTS Agree / Disagree Essay

Summary:
If you need a 7.0, have a strong position and argue for it – it’s
simple, easy and it works.
If you want a 7.5 or higher, then add some balance to your strong
position by using the strawman technique or acknowledging the
other view. You can do this in one of your paragraphs, or both.
Don’t have a whole paragraph devoted to the “other view” – the
only opinion the matters is a To What Extent essay is YOURS
You can write an essay in which you partially agree or disagree, but
I would only attempt this is you have guidance from a good
teacher and understand how to show this view correctly
throughout your essay.
Well, I hope that I managed to make my points clear today – this is a very
complicated topic! In fact, there are more than 2 hours of lessons in my
online course that teach how to give clear opinions and add balance –
it’s hard to condense that into one blog post! If you still have questions,
then please use the comment box below. I am always happy to help
And, if you liked this post, then please head over to My IELTS
Classroom – real lessons with a real teacher in a real classroom that
bring real results!
TOPICS FEATURED IN THIS POST
Writing
SHARE:
NEXT POST
How can you think of ideas for your IELTS essay?
PREVIOUS POST
British Council vs IDP? What you need to know about the IELTS
Franchise
All Posts, Writing, Speaking, Listening, Reading, Grammar, General Advice, Podcast
REAL EXPERTS,
REAL LESSONS,
REAL SUCCESS!
If you like my blog, you'll love our IELTS

Writing packages
45 hours of video lessons with a genuine IELTS expert
that prepare you for ANY IELTS question
Integrated grammar and writing skills lessons to help
you reach 7.0+
Hundreds of downloadable practice activities and
model answers
TRY OUR
FREE VIDEO
LESSONS
TODAY!

My IELTS Classroom Comment Policy
Ask questions, help others, be kind.
12 Comments My IELTS Classroom 🔒 

1 Login
 Favorite 1 t Tweet f Share Sort by Best
Join the discussion…
LOG IN WITH
OR SIGN UP WITH DISQUS ?
Name
Awoyemi Seyi DonBosco • a year ago

Good afternoon, how I had a topic that says The most important
thing for government is provision of housing for her citizens.
I started by introduction by writing, but it often argued that due to

overpopulation and increase numbers of homeless citizens on the
streets many believe that governments needs to provide shelter for
the people. I totally disagree by saying other sectors such as
agriculture health, poverty education are equal significant too.
My body paragraphs I was defending my view
Until I got to conclusions and I wrote, I admittedly housing is

important but other sector if properly developed, the environment
will be better.
Please did I make sense. I m expecting my results soon

△ ▽ • Reply • Share ›
Ann • 2 years ago • edited

Hello, Teacher Shelly.
Your blog is the best and most informative site that I have read.
Aside from the site being helpful, I am enjoying reading it and I
was like imagining how you look like while writing this. Keep it up!
I only have one quick question to make sure that I have

understood it right.
If you want a 7.5 or higher, then add some balance to your strong
position by using the strawman technique or acknowledging the
other view. You can do this in one of your paragraphs, or both. -----
Based on my understanding on this one, if I will use my strong
opinion view essay type if it applies to the essay question type, it's
ok to insert the weak argument side after my topic sentence in
body paragraph 1 then still continue with my second paragraph
with my second argument to justify my strong opinion to at least
raise my TA score to 7.5? Thank you. -Ann
ShellyIELTS Mod > Ann • 2 years ago
Hey Ann. Yes, you can use the straw-man technique to

show the opposite view after the topic sentence and then
argue against it. This won't automatically give you a higher
TR score, that will depend on many other factors such as
the quality of your arguments, how extended they are, and
if they are relevant, but it now opens the door for that
possibility.
I have a long lesson about how to add balance in my essay

video course: www.myieltsclassroom.com
Ann > ShellyIELTS • 2 years ago • edited

Hello, Teacher Shelly.
Wow. I am truly amazed with your swift and best

response! :) Blessed to have found your blog and
how I wished I I had found it sooner before failing
my IELTS twice. We'll further read and subscribe
asap. :)
Best blog and teacher ever. Real, educative, and

fast response.
pankaj Kumar jindal • 2 years ago

Could I only use me either strawman technique or concession
technique? Or it would be better to use both in two different
paragraphs?
ShellyIELTS Mod > pankaj Kumar jindal • 2 years ago
Hey Pankaj - so, you NEVER want to use both in one

paragraph. That would be too much. Just one in a
paragraph - or even one in an essay - is enough :)
Joko MacKenna • 3 years ago

Joko MacKenna • 3 years ago
I should have read this months ago. It so cogently answers the
question that will never die: "Do I have to discuss both sides in an
opinion essay?" Have to? No! Should you? Probably.
I do have a question though. Do you think there's a difference in

the one-side/my-side approach depending in whether the writer
agrees or disagrees? What I mean is that if the writer agrees with
the question, then just expressing that side is quite natural. If the
writer DISAGREES with the statement, then one has to talk about
what you're disagreeing with and the rationale behind it.
Thoughts?
Badr Mizher • 3 years ago

What about examples? As there are no examples in your body
paragraphs, will it lower the score?
ShellyIELTS Mod > Badr Mizher • 3 years ago
Hey Badr - thanks for your question :) So, I think it is a

common misconception that examples have to start with
"For example" and give the results of a study. In fact, this is
not true (and is maybe the most basic way of supporting
your ideas).
When IELTS gives the instruction "Use examples from the

real world to support your ideas" - they mean that you can't
give simple opinion that is not supported by facts or
references to the real world. If you look at my paragraphs, I
give a lots of facts from the real world to support my claims:
"If students have to pay tuition fees, those who come from
low-income families are either forced to take out massive
loans to attend university, or not attend at all."
" as jobs that require a degree are much more highly paid
than those that don’t."
" Gaining a degree gives people the knowledge and skills

to perform higher-level employment roles, especially in
technical fields like science and engineering."
I have got another blog post about how to write good

examples that explains this in more detail:
http://blog.myieltsclassroo...
Badr Mizher > ShellyIELTS • 3 years ago

Thanks for your reply.
I've been wondering if you offee correction

i ?
services?
ShellyIELTS Mod > Badr Mizher

• 3 years ago
Hey Badr - yes, I offer corrections. Why don't
you email me at
MORE FROM…
Writing Packages
Speaking Packages
Reading Packages
Listening Packages
1-2-1 Lessons
Live Lessons
Marking
© My IELTS Classroom Blog 2021. All rights reserved. My IELTS Classroom Ltd is registered in England &
Wales. Company Number 10507172 Registered Office: 71-75, Shelton Street, Covent Garden, London, WC2H
9JQ, ENGLAND
Website by Frontwards Design.

How Can I Add Balance To My IELTS Agree - Disagree Essay - My IELTS Classroom Blog

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

You might also like

How Can I Add Balance To My IELTS Agree - Disagree Essay - My IELTS Classroom Blog

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

How Can I Add Balance To My IELTS Agree - Disagree Essay - My IELTS Classroom Blog

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

12/15/21, 4:46 PM How can I add balance to my IELTS agree/disagree essay?

- My IELTS Classroom Blog

Join us at My IELTS Classroom today for our video

TRY OUR FREE LESSONS!

How can I add balance to

How can I add balance to my

Well, these are the complex questions I am going to be answering in

Can I have a strong position in an

In fact, for most IELTS test-takers, having a STRONG position is

A 7.0 for Task Response!

Introduction: Introduce topic of essay + state opinion

BP1: Reason / Argument 1 for opinion

BP1: Reason / Argument 2 for option

Conclusion: Summarise arguments and restate opinion

Now, I am totally against giving students templates for essays, or

“ Shelly if we follow the plan above, we won’t consider

Where in the band descriptors does it say that

The answer is nowhere! There is NOTHING in the band descriptors that

Does this mean there is never a

there may be a tendency to over-generalise

And so to avoid being over-general, I do always teach my students to

The Straw Man Technique

“ University education should be free for all students.

In many countries today, obtaining a degree is becoming

Firstly, a free higher education system ensures that all

So far, so good. Your opinion is clearly stated in the introduction (100%

A Straw Man sentence is usually always a CONTRAST sentence. First, we

Firstly, a free higher education system ensures that all

Even worse, I worry that many examiners will look at an agree/disagree

1. It takes the focus away from YOU and YOUR opinion

OK, so in the Straw Man Technique, we present an argument for the

There are also benefits to society as a whole when

I am ACKNOWLEDGING or ACCEPTING or CONCEDING that it is

Acknowledging arguments is a very powerful tool for avoiding over-

That’s why I only teach balanced opinion essays to my most skilled

Don’t make your essay more complicated than it needs to be!

IELTS Agree / Disagree Essay

TOPICS FEATURED IN THIS POST

All Posts, Writing, Speaking, Listening, Reading, Grammar, General Advice, Podcast

If you like my blog, you'll love our IELTS

12 Comments My IELTS Classroom 🔒 

 Favorite 1 t Tweet f Share Sort by Best

Join the discussion…

Awoyemi Seyi DonBosco • a year ago

I started by introduction by writing, but it often argued that due to

My body paragraphs I was defending my view

Until I got to conclusions and I wrote, I admittedly housing is

Please did I make sense. I m expecting my results soon

Ann • 2 years ago • edited

I only have one quick question to make sure that I have

ShellyIELTS Mod > Ann • 2 years ago

Hey Ann. Yes, you can use the straw-man technique to

I have a long lesson about how to add balance in my essay

Ann > ShellyIELTS • 2 years ago • edited

Wow. I am truly amazed with your swift and best

Best blog and teacher ever. Real, educative, and

pankaj Kumar jindal • 2 years ago

ShellyIELTS Mod > pankaj Kumar jindal • 2 years ago