How Many Types are There? Tips and Strategies: TO WHAT EXTENT AGREE/DISAGREE

NOT AN EASY TASK

 

This guy says there are only FOUR.
that's a low number.  From woxy.co

How many types of Task 2 questions are there?

Ask an IELTS expert how many different types of Task 2 writing questions there are and the answer would usually be 5 (Discuss Both Views; Agree/Disagree; Advantages/Disadvantages; Problems/Causes/Solutions; Two-Part Q's). If you ask an IELTS student who claims to be serious about study, and they cannot answer that question at all, then they have a serious lacking in their knowledge of the test.

You should not approach an agree/disagree question in the exact same way as you would a discuss both
views question. Advantages/disadvantages questions have particular requirements that problems/solutions ones do not. To maximize your possibility of success, you need to have an awareness of the differences between what each type of question is asking and what strategy to take that best suits your goals and abilities. 

Wait. Is it eight or nine? Picture from myIELTSclassroom.com

Note that I mentioned "usually" in what experts would say for the number of different types of questions. Whereas the orthodox answer is the 5 I've mentioned, some questions don't fit easily into one of those categories. The direct question type, in which the essay starts with a single open-ended question, is an example. There are best way forward questions, somewhat like problems/solutions, but mostly  addressing solutions and more opinion based. Positive/negative development questions are akin to adv/disadv questions, but not quite the same.  Is it five? Seven? Eight? At her 100 Essay Questions page, Shelly Cornick (above) presents nine! So the number depends on who you ask and what they think "main type" means.  Some might say there's only two types: discursive and expository (I won't explain, but google it if you're curious).
 

Then there are the different variations within a question type. In the academic test, all advantages/disadvantages questions ask you to discuss which side outweighs the other, but it hasn't always been that way and I've seen ones without that outweighs bit in general training sample questions. There's problems/solutions versus causes/solutions. Is a question asking "What is your opinion on this?" a direct question or a variation on the discuss both sides and give your own opinion type? Some of these variations could be said to be different enough that they are their own type of questions.

The exact number isn't really all that important. Based on the Cambridge books and reporting from test-takers, the large majority of Task 2 questions being asked still fall into one of the main 5 types described initially. Let the IELTS clerics debate the exact definition of a question type in the staff room.

To what extent do you know this type?

Regardless of the actual number, the importance of having a familiarity of the requirements and a strategy for fulfilling them stands. In April, I began producing a series of videos about each of the main types of Task two questions. They include my comments, tips, and examples of student essays. The first one is about discuss both views questions and can be found here.

Today, I would like to present a lesson about perhaps the most common of the agree/disagree type, the to what extent do you agree or disagree question. It might stand alone as its own category apart from those that just ask if you agree or disagree. Part one of my two-part discussion introduces the question, shows you and breaks down two examples from the official Cambridge series and discusses a technique for what I see as the most important thing when looking at this type of question, ie, understanding exactly what they're asking you to agree or disagree with.

Note: I glisten throughout because my air-conditioner wasn't working and it is the hottest time of the year here in Myanmar.

I'd like to make some notes on what I said there in the commentary, here only 36 hours later. First off, I may have overstated how frequent the premise/thesis structure to the question is. Just in the last couple of days, I've noted several examples of just a thesis with no premise, but this might be because I've been paying closer attention. In any case, the main point remains: do not make the common mistake of spending time agreeing or disagreeing with the premise. By definition, the premise is a given fact.

In part two, I'm off-camera and there's discussion of brainstorming, what's in the Public Band Descriptors that particularly impacts this type of question, an interesting example from a survey I conducted on Facebook on how well people could find what they're actually being asked in a sample question and it ends with a correction of a real candidate's practice essay. It's more amusing than the first one as well.

I'd like to reflect on what I said in that video too. At 30 minutes, there was a lot.

First, I recognize that my recommendation of "Shoot for an 8, and if you fail, at least you've got your 7" is flawed logic. You could "Shoot for an 8" and get a 5.5. I know that. It does, however, reflect a debatable topic in IELTS prep over which there is disagreement.

Which is a better way to approach the IELTS?

A) Understand what it takes to get your target band score and focus intensely of doing those things.  

B) Always shoot for the highest score you can achieve, even if it means attempting risky, more difficult strategies for which your English level may not be high enough. 

The practical side of me says "A" is the better approach, but another part of me hates the idea of "dumbing things down" when it comes to writing. Why shouldn't teachers encourage students to get the highest score possible? Well, I know I couldn't run a marathon right now, and I would be stupid to try, but if I were in better shape, no coach would have any business telling me to stick to the shorter distances.

Lastly, there were some basic questions about this type of question that despite its length, I never explicitly answered.

Do I have to discuss both sides? Should I present views I don't agree with? 

In the video, I answered this question in two different ways and the best answer would be "it depends".  No, you do not have to discuss the "other side". By "other side" here we commonly mean those other people who hold an opinion opposite of yours. However, I think that if you don't, you're limiting your Task Response score to Band 7. Of course, many would be thrilled to get a 7 in TR, as it's no easy task. To get to Band 8, the essay must be a "well developed response" and in my eyes, that word 'reponse' means you are responding to all parts of the issue, including those you disagree with. Present them faithfully to what their best arguments are, but be clear about WHY you think their points do not override your stated opinion. 

What kind of outline works best?

Write four paragraphs.

• Introduction
• Paraphrase (without changing the meaning) the premise (if there) and the thesis (the statement your agreeing/disagreeing). In the first video, I recommend paraphrasing the thesis in your head when analyzing the question to make sure you understand what you're being asked, so you've already done some of that.
• Briefly state the two main ideas you're going to discuss (without going into details about the support)
• Thesis sentence. What you think about the two ideas just mentioned.
• Outline sentence. (optional) A brief description of the road you're about to take reader down.
• Body Paragraph 1
•  Bridge 1. Connect the first BP to the Intro by leading with something that naturally follows how you ended the intro, this could be a dependent clause to your topic sentence, or even, radical idea here, its own sentence. 
• Topic Sentence. As noted, it can be combined with the bridge, but there is no absolute rule that the topic sentence be the first sentence. Just make it very clear that it represents to topic of the paragraph
• 2-3 supporting sentences. Use explanations, conditionals, and examples which expand on and reinforce the topic sentence. Be sure to include your opinion (which can be done using adverbs and word choices) of these ideas.
• Body Paragraph 2 
• Bridge 2. Same as above, but connecting BP1 to BP1
• As above
• Conclusion
• Summarize the discussions in BP1 & 2
• DO NOT include language like "this essay has discussed..." we know that. We just read it. 
• Without overdoing it, and without bringing up any new ideas, I think an  essay should end with something impactful. 

Lastly, if you'd like to read my model answer to the question in the second video, please do so here.