IELTS WRITING TASK 2: How to structure an argument

Welcome back to engvid today. We are looking at how to structure an argument in particular

We're going to be looking at an IELTS writing task two if you're doing the general paper

But this is a lesson that's relevant to anyone looking to improve their means of presenting two sides of an argument

Anyone who's engaged in any type of formal writing?

Okay. So here we have a sample question that you might be confronted with if you're doing an IELTS

It's not particularly. Well written itself this question. It's really long-winded

They need to learn to be a little bit more

Concise

using a few less words

What we're gonna do is we're going to read it and we're gonna highlight or underline

Yeah, I'm not gonna highlight I'm gonna underline what the key words are because this is what I recommend when you're doing something like this

So you just have write this is what I need to do and you understand

okay, right some people believe that teaching children at home is

Best for a child's development while others think that is important for children to go to school. Okay, right

So it's talking about home education

so I'm going to put

So what's better for a child going to school or not is what that says in 5,000 words

What do I need to do?

discuss the advantages of both methods so that's going to school or not going to school and

Give your own opinion

give reasons for your answer and

Include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience?

Okay

So key words here. I would say advantages

Opinion

Reasons well obviously would put reasons it doesn't need to tell us to do that for your answer and include any examples

from your own knowledge

Or experience

What do you think and why okay, I'm gonna flip it over and show you how I would structure a

250 word answer to this question. Let's just think about 250 words. So

That's on a side of a 4 that's like a side and a half one and a half pages

So, you know you could have a good

What five paragraphs in that? Let's see how to do it

Okay

so from the first page

we got that we need to be talking about home schooling saying whether it's good or bad and giving our examples and

experience

Okay, so maybe once you've read through your very long-winded question

You could just make a note similar to that just to go right this is what I have to do

Okay. So what I've done here is I've written how I would write the introduction and then I have provided some useful phrases from

making points and

Expanding on them expanding to grow okay

so

with your introductory paragraph

You want to be giving the sort of the overall story what's going on are many people using home education

Lots of people going to school what a what's the rough idea? Why are some people choosing home education? This is how I write it

whilst the vast that means the large the bigger majority so majority most people of

people choose to have their

children educated in mainstream that means sort of normal government education a

growing

minority

small amount of people enjoy the freedom of a less structured

approach approach

okay, listen quite so

Advanced words in here. Let's just make sure we fully understand so vast big so most people

Vast majority of it's just another way of saying

Most people choose to have their children educated in mainstream education great

Structure terms of structure that means you're doing this at this time this at this time

Okay

approaches a way of doing something I approach London by using the

M3 motorway. Okay approach is your way to something approach to education?

Okay, so what kind of phrases are going to be useful?

To get talking about something. What are the kind of phrases that you can use again?

And again again when it comes to writing an essay like this

First one one thing that is noticeable about

home education

Students in normal schools is that they have loads of homework

for example one thing that is noticeable so I can notice I it it strikes me a

key point is

that

home educated

Children will probably do better if there are other home educated children nearby that they can do activities with

Another example of

an advantage for home education is

that

There are lots of resources available

perhaps I

Have noticed that in government schools the standards of

Education are rising

Yep is talking about our

Yet we've been asked to talk about our experience. So phrases like I have noticed is exactly what you're meant to be doing

Go into as much depth as you can

Expanding let's grow these ideas

this is significant because this is important because

It shows that

This is it. So let's think of a point here

It's good for children to go to school because they make friends

This is significant because it will help them to develop their social skills

This is a crucial difference because home educated children may have to spend more time on their own

Words for comparing and contrasting. Okay. So we've had whilst we had it

here

Whilst

students in mainstream schools in normal schools

Have a timetable of homework that they are meant to do each week

Okay, then I say something about home educated children in

Contrast home educated children are free to choose what they want to do

in comparison, okay another word for comparing in

comparison

Students in normal schools did a digital to do

although

Okay, so this sort of shows that there is a change

Like I can I good to have this at the beginning of a sentence although students in mainstream

education have

Access to theaters swimming pools not many of them

Will be using those facilities

After 3 p.m. When most children go home

Ok

Or you could have it in the middle of a sentence

Mainstream

in mainstream schools

students have access to these facilities

Although for some okay, so I'm showing a difference

Words for building. Ok also. Ok. Here's another idea

Another point, is that ok moreover. Now. I'm going to build on that idea

Okay, so moreover. It's just a word for saying here's some more reason about that

In addition. Ok, it's just a it's a smart way of saying and ok

addition to add something

You need to have a conclusion

So you're going to start that overall and you'll have this of overall picture of both sides

Okay, so we've got lots of phrases. How would you actually organize your answer in terms of the paragraphs that you write?

so it suggests an

Introduction where you're looking at the the story so far the the big picture

I

would then maybe do

two points on the two paragraphs on the first side big reason another big reason really talk about it in as much detail and

then go up onto the other side and have two main paragraphs about the other side of the argument and

Then have a conclusion at the end. So that'd be six paragraphs in total. Which would give you about

250 words

Okay, very quick recap, how do we do a writing task like this you go through the question

You highlight you underline. So you understand exactly what you have to do

You plan before you write you plan these paragraphs? Okay, so you go, right? What are the main ideas here?

Okay, so I'll have a quick introduction. I'll say that then I'll have my first paragraph. I need to say that my second paragraph

I'll say that

My third paragraph. I'm looking at the other point of view my fourth paragraph

I'm going to be talking about home education making that point fifth paragraph

is that other point but the argument and then we finish with a

Conclusion maybe giving one more idea in the conclusion. I

Hope that's clear. Remember time spent planning his time. Well spent

Fail to prepare and you prepare to fail why don't you prepare to succeed by doing today's quiz. See you in the next one toodaloo