Discussion essays are a common type of IELTS writing task 2 essay question where you are given two sides of an argument to discuss and give your opinion. This guide is full of writing tips, useful language and a sample essay to help you produce a high-level IELTS writing task 2 discussion essay. Read on to learn more!
Table of Contents
1. Discussion Essay Overview
As with all IELTS writing task 2 essay questions, you will have 40 minutes to produce a formal essay (at least 250 words in length).
With a discussion essay, you will be presented with two sides of an argument and then asked to give your opinion.
Remember, there are five main types of writing task 2 questions:
- Advantage/disadvantage
- Discussion
- Double question
- Problem/solution
- Opinion
1.1 Understanding the question
A discussion question should be easy to identify: You will first be given an IELTS statement and then a question that will usually be worded something like:
- Discuss both sides and give your opinion
- Discuss both sides
With this type of essay question, you can choose to either take a thesis-led approach where you give your opinion in the introduction and conclusion, or an evidence-led approach where you give your opinion in the conclusion.
We will show you both structures later in this guide and a sample essay that takes an evidence-led approach.
1.2 Example discussion essay questions
Here are some example discussion essay questions. Pay attention to the question words so you quickly identify a discussion essay question:
Some people say that governments are responsible for dealing with environmental issues. Other people believe that it is the individual’s responsibility to take action to protect the environment.
Discuss both views and give your opinion.
Some people think that environmental problems should be solved on a global scale while others believe it is better to deal with them nationally.
Discuss both views and give your opinion.
There seems to be an increasing number of serious crimes committed each year. While some think the best way is to use the death penalty as a deterrent, many people believe that other measures will be needed.
Discuss both sides.
Some people feel that it is better to live in a city while others believe that life is better in the countryside.
Discuss both views and give your opinion.
Also, read the following IELTS Essay Writing Guides
Many people think governments should fund art, while others believe that artists should be responsible for funding their work.
Discuss both views.
2. Essay Structure for Opinion Essays
2.1 Essay structure 1
Thesis-led
| Introduction |
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|---|---|
| Main body paragraph 1 |
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| Main body paragraph 2 |
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| Conclusion |
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2.1 Essay structure 2
Evidence-led
| Introduction |
|
|---|---|
| Main body paragraph 1 |
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| Main body paragraph 2 |
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| Conclusion |
|
Note that we have suggested giving two topic sentences per body paragraph. However, it is perfectly fine to spend more time writing one topic sentence and developing that idea fully.
The best way to see what structure works best is to complete an essay under timed conditions.
3. Planning your Discussion Essay
Planning your essay should only take 5 minutes but could make a real difference to your overall score.
We’ve put together some useful tips to plan a discussion essay.
3.1 Identify keywords and phrases
You should always make sure you understand exactly what topic you have been asked to write about by locating the topic words in the IELTS statement.
Take a look at the statement for our model answer. We’ve underlined the topic words for you:
Some people think that environmental problems should be solved on a global scale while others believe it is better to deal with them nationally.
The topic of this essay is environmental problems. We have also put some other keywords in bold that give more information about the topic, in this case, the question is not just about environmental problems but about dealing with these problems on a global scale or nationally.
3.2 Organise your ideas
If you want to score well in Coherence and Cohesion, then you need to create a logical and well organised essay. You could organise your ideas using notes, bullet points, columns, or whatever method you like. For a discussion essay, you could consider arranging your ideas by argument and supporting examples:
Argument 1:
- Environmental issues should be addressed at global level/ richer nations = financial ability
- International cooperation is necessary worldwide
Examples:
- World leaders can make laws to promote the use of renewable energy and reduce the use of finite resources
- Resources to develop and invest in green technology / drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions
- Different nations need to reduce carbon emissions
Argument 2:
- National laws that impose rules
- Regional and community action is more effective than global efforts
Examples:
- Recycling quotas and waste reduction
- Communities can coordinate direct action
- Litter picking campaigns
3.3 Identify vocabulary
Although it is not essential, it is a great idea to note down any unusual or useful vocabulary during the planning process to increase your score in Lexical resource.
Here are some ideas we came up with for our sample essay linked to the topic of environmental problems :
- Finite resources
- Greenhouse emissions
- Enact meaningful change
- Recycling quotas
- Green technology
4. Writing your Discussion Essay
4.1 Introduction
The first thing you need to do is rewrite the given IELTS statement in your own words. This is called paraphrasing and it is a key skill needed for the writing section of the IELTS exam.
Look at the example of our paraphrase statement, can you see what’s changed?
| IELTS Statement | Paraphrased Statement |
|---|---|
| Some people think that environmental problems should be solved on a global scale while others believe it is better to deal with them nationally. Discuss both views and give your opinion. | There is no doubt that the modern world is facing many serious environmental problems, such as climate change, an increase in natural disasters and air pollution. It is often argued that these environmental issues should be tackled globally. However, there are also those that argue that these problems can only be dealt with at a regional level. |
Notice that we have taken an evidence-led approach where we do not give our opinion in the introduction and instead put this in the conclusion.
We suggest also adding an outline sentence to briefly explain what our easy will do:
This essay will examine both points of view.
4.2 Main body paragraphs
For both of your main body paragraphs, you will need language to introduce the two discussion points given in the statement.
Each body paragraph should focus on one side of the argument.
Here’s a reminder of our recommended essay structure for the body paragraphs (remember, you do not have to write about two points in each paragraph, you can stick to one):
| Main body paragraph 1 |
|
|---|---|
| Main body paragraph 2 |
|
Impersonal Passive:
The impersonal passive is useful for this type of essay when introducing ideas. Here are some example sentence starters:
- People often say that…
- A common argument is that…
- People often claim that…
- Some people say that…
- People generally think that…
- People often put forward the argument that…
Here is another example taken from our sample essay:
It is often argued that these environmental issues should be tackled globally.
Relative clauses:
Relative clauses are an efficient way of providing more information about the main idea of your sentence as well as a way of increasing your Grammatical range and accuracy.
Here is a reminder of the relative pronouns needed to form a relative clause:
- Who
- Which
- That
- Whom
- Whose
- Where
- When
And here are some example relative clauses linked to the topic of our sample essay:
- On the other hand, there are many people who believe that environmental change is only possible at a more local level and that only individual nations can make the biggest difference.
- It is believed that there should be national laws that impose rules such as recycling quotas and waste reduction.
4.3 Conclusion
Your conclusion is an essential part of your writing tasks 2 essay and you will find it difficult to score over a band score 6.0 in Task achievement if you do not include one.
There are two main things you need to do for a successful conclusion:
- Restate both sides of the argument (using different words than you did in your introduction)
- Give your opinion/ restate your opinion on which side of the argument you think is the most important (this will depend on whether you have taken a thesis-led or evidence-led approach)
Take a look at our conclusion for the sample answer and identify the opinion:
In conclusion, although it is clear that environmental issues need to be addressed at a global level, it is my view that national efforts can make the biggest difference. Communities can work together to implement policies quickly and effectively and enact meaningful environmental change.
5. Example Discussion Essay and Exercise
Here is the discussion essay that we have been using in this guide.
We have removed some keywords so you can test your knowledge on discussion essays by selecting the correct missing word.
Good luck!
5.1 Complete the Sample Discussion Essay
Some people think that environmental problems should be solved on a global scale while others believe it is better to deal with them nationally.
Discuss both views and give your opinion.
5.2 Discussion Sample Essay
There is no doubt that the modern world is facing many serious environmental problems, such as climate change, an increase in natural disasters and air pollution. It is often argued that these environmental issues should be tackled globally. However, there are also those that argue that these problems can only be dealt with at a regional level. This essay will examine both points of view.
One reason that people believe environmental issues should be addressed at a global level is that richer, more developed nations have the financial ability and power to do so. World leaders can make laws to promote the use of renewable energy and reduce the use of finite resources. Furthermore, they also have the resources to develop and invest in green technology that could drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Another argument that can be put forward is that, to make major environmental changes, international cooperation is necessary worldwide. For instance, different nations need to work in unison to agree on their reduction in carbon emissions.
On the other hand, there are many people who believe that environmental change is only possible at a more local level and that only individual nations can make the biggest difference. It is believed that there should be national laws that impose rules such as recycling quotas and waste reduction. Additionally, it is argued that regional and community action is more effective than global efforts. For example, communities can coordinate direct action such as litter picking campaigns.
In conclusion, although it is clear that environmental issues need to be addressed at a global level, it is my view that national efforts can make the biggest difference. Communities can work together to implement policies quickly and effectively and enact meaningful environmental change.
