IELTS Writing Task 2 asks you to give your opinion on an important social issue. In this particular opinion essay IELTS sample, the question type is called “agree/disagree.” Agree/disagree essays want you to take a position on an issue that is stated. From there, it’s your job to say if you agree or disagree with the initial statement, supporting your own opinion with examples and details. For more details on this and other question types for the second part of the IELTS Writing section, check out our complete guide to the most common IELTS Writing Task 2 questions.
Below, we’ll look at a model essay, based on an example question. The question is original to Magoosh, but is patterned closely off of real IELTS questions. The model essay is based on an excellent IELTS Writing template for Task 2 created by Rachel, one of Magoosh’s top IELTS experts. Note that this essay is at band 9, the highest IELTS Writing score you can receive. More information on why this is a band 9 response can be seen below the essay.
Agree/Disagree Sample Essay
First things first! Let’s look at the sample prompt.
Example Agree/Disagree IELTS Writing Task 2 Prompt
It is now possible to order almost any item over the Internet and have it delivered to one’s home. As a result, people are no longer patient or careful in their shopping habits. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement? Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
Write at least 250 words.
Example Response
Online shopping and home delivery causes concerns that consumers may become more hasty and less cautious. However, I do not believe that online shopping has this effect. In fact, I would say that the opposite is true. In this essay, I will discuss the reasons that online shopping actually helps shoppers make smarter choices.
Internet shopping actually makes people more patient while they shop, not less patient. This is because, even with home delivery, online shopping is actually less “instant” than traditional shopping in stores. After all, if someone goes into a store, they can leave minutes later with the items they purchased. However, even the fastest delivery methods for online goods take at least a day. As a result, people are actually more accustomed to longer waits before they receive something they’ve bought.
Not only does online shopping make buyers more patient, it also facilitates careful, informed choices for buyers. This is because there is more competition between different sellers online than there is in a single store. If someone goes to a store in person, they will see a relatively small range of brand names, and they certainly won’t see the offerings of other stores. In contrast, online customers can compare just about every brand of any given product and browse the websites of multiple stores. This gives customers all the information they need to make the best possible purchases.
When shopping on the Web, customers can learn patience because they must wait for their items to be delivered to them, and even more importantly, customers can access all of the information they need to choose the right items. Ultimately, online shopping is truly a positive development, not a negative one.
Word count: 283
Why This Essay is Band 9
This is a very strong essay because it satisfies the level descriptors in the official IELTS Writing Task 2 rubric. Read that official score guide carefully and compare it to this essay, and you’ll see why the example above scored so well. Also, for a more detailed band 9 level score report from Magoosh, see the scorer commentary immediately below.
Scorer Commentary (agree/Disagree IELTS Essay, Band 9)
This score report is patterned after the official level descriptors for IELTS Writing Task 2. This report also looks a lot like the Magoosh IELTS essay scoring service.
Overall Band Score: 9
| CATEGORY | Task Achievement/Response | Coherence and Cohesion | Lexical Resource | Grammatical Range and Accuracy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SCORE | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 |
What was done well in the essay:
- This essay is above the 250 word minimum. (This is very important for getting full points!)
- The writer does a good job of meeting the task requirements. They take a clear position where they favor online shopping and disagree with the claim that it makes people less careful or patient.
- The paragraphs are well organized. The introduction and conclusion clearly preview the essay and give good final thoughts, respectively. The body paragraphs each have their own well-organized topics. The first body paragraph provides good explanations and examples to show that online shopping doesn’t make people less patient; the second paragraph provides comparable support to the idea that online shopping allows people to be more careful.
- There are some nice key phrases to tie ideas together. Examples include “however,” “in fact,” “actually,” and “not only.”
- Vocabulary and grammar show no serious errors, and a good variety of word choice and structure.
Magoosh’s Other Sample IELTS Writing Task 2 Essays
We have model essays for each of the question types for the second IELTS Writing task. Click the links below to access our other sample essays:
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To read out model essays for the other Task 2 IELTS Writing question types, click the links below:
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